Chapter 625: A Tongue As Sharp As A Blade
“Reason this out?” The arrogant girl sneered and said: “Oh, this bumpkin who started by attacking me wants to reason it out? Did you lose your confidence?”
“Lose my confidence?” Due to his bad mood, he was more than happy to deal with someone who was asking for it. He lazily looked at her and said: “An ugly farm girl like you thinks you can make me lose my confidence? I don’t see anything about you that can scare me. Your chest? You think your flat chest that resembles a basin can scare me? Or is it your ass that’s as dried as tofu? Or is it…”
Normally, Li Qiye wouldn’t act as crass as this, but who told this arrogant girl to encounter him while he was in a bad mood? Her aggressive and arrogant attitude made Li Qiye lose his will to act cordially.
The haughty girl turned red while trembling from anger. She was not only proud because of her strength, but also because of her beauty and figure. Even if she wasn’t number one in the Stone Medicine World, she would be within the top five!
She indeed had many suitors and admirers in the Stone Medicine World; it was a common sight for her to be surrounded by young talents like the moon encircled by the stars. They fawned over her in hopes of the slightest sign of affection or caring words.
But now, this nasty man dared to say that her chest was as flat as a basin and her butt was as withered as dried tofu — these words were very hurtful to girls.
The arrogant girl pointed at Li Qiye while shivering in anger: “You… Brat, what is your name? I want to kill you even though I have never killed a nobody before!”
Li Qiye was too lazy to bat an eye and said: “Oh? Angry from being ashamed? Earlier, you wanted to reason it out, but now you want to go back on your words? In my opinion, someone at your level should just go back to your mother’s arms and not come out to show off.
“Going back on your words and this untrustworthy… You must have just run out from some wilderness, right? At the very least, you don’t seem like someone who comes from a great clan. Disciples from great clans do not stoop down to this level. Staying true to one’s word is the most basic of etiquette for these great clans…
“Of course, if you want to fight, then I’ll play along. After all, a village girl from the remote regions like you doesn’t know anything about credibility and trust. Such an uncultured girl like you only knows how to use force to solve problems. Okay okay, I will do it your way. Let us fight and use our fists to resolve our quarrel.”
Li Qiye continuously spewed out malicious words. However, he didn’t give a damn since this arrogant girl was not worthy enough for him to maintain a gentleman’s bearing. Moreover, he wouldn’t even look straight at such a girl, so why the need to maintain a courteous persona? His tolerance and friendliness were dependent on the other party.
“You!” The arrogant girl wanted to vomit blood due to anger. She had always been aggressive, but no one had ever dared to talk back to her, thus Li Qiye’s cruel rebuttal came as a shock.
She took a deep breath and finally contained her urge to kill as she stared at him with her arrow-like glare. She scowled and said: “Fine, today I will be a reasonable person and won’t hold what happened earlier against you. But in the future, you better not fall into my hands, or I’ll let you taste the cruel fate that awaits my opponents!” With that, the arrogant girl turned around and left very quickly. With a rumble, the carriage disappeared into the night.
Li Qiye didn’t bother to give her a second glance. He stretched his back and didn’t care for this matter. To him, it was even more insignificant than a speck of dust. With a gentle brush, this matter of the arrogant girl would be blown away; it was not enough to occupy his thoughts.
He looked at the scenery once more before murmuring: “Yan’er, with me here, the Giant Bamboo Country will continue to stand strong!” He then disappeared amidst the high moon.
That night, Li Qiye returned to Ancient Pine’s mansion back at the capital. He went back to his room and slept without thinking about anything else.
Of course, no one in the mansion knew that Li Qiye had gone on a sightseeing journey throughout the night.
The next day, Li Qiye lazily woke up. Since it was rare for him to return to the capital of the Giant Bamboo Country, he had quite a good night’s sleep.
A servant brought him a water basin to clean himself. Meanwhile, Bai Weng was waiting outside. Shi Hao woke up early as well and saw Bai Weng, so he also stood there, waiting with him.
Bai Weng greeted Li Qiye the moment he walked out: “Did Young Noble sleep well?” He felt that serving Li Qiye was an honor.
To an alchemist, following the future Alchemy Emperor was the greatest of glories. It was like an expert contributing to an Immortal Emperor. This would bring honor to their family!
“It wasn’t bad.” Li Qiye said with a grin. Only Li Qiye knew what happened last night.
Bai Weng respectfully said: “The demon monarch has not returned since he is meeting the other demon monarchs. I’m afraid he won’t be back till noon. He said that after coming back, he will take Young Noble to see Her Majesty.”
“There’s no rush.” Li Qiye smilingly said: “Today, we will go sightseeing. This is Shi Hao’s first time at the capital, so we should buy a few items for him. For an alchemist, skills might be important, but so are the cauldrons and other items that are also required to doing a good job at refining.”
Bai Weng quickly said: “If Young Noble wants to find a cauldron for Shi Hao, I can ask the monarch. He has a collection of good cauldrons so maybe one will be suitable for Shi Hao.”
Li Qiye shook his head and said: “No need, let me pick one.”
Bai Weng immediately knew that a regular cauldron wouldn’t earn Li Qiye’s grace, so he said: “I am very familiar with the capital and know of several shops with a lot of treasures. Let me lead the way so that Young Noble can pick.”
Shi Hao was startled after hearing the conversation between the other two. With some difficulty, he finally managed to step in and say: “Brother Li, I also want… a cauldron… but I don’t have many refined jades.”
Bai Weng couldn’t help but smile. He believed that if Li Qiye wasn’t paying, he would be happy to do so. Of course, he didn’t dare to make a decision before Li Qiye voiced his opinion.
Li Qiye smiled and said: “Don’t worry, it is nothing. Leave it to me.”
“But…” Shi Hao didn’t know what to say. Li Qiye had given him too many things; not only did Li Qiye teach him pill refinement, he but also took him to the capital. To say that Li Qiye gave him another chance at life wasn’t even close to enough. Shi Hao was a simple fella so he couldn’t articulate his gratitude well.
“No buts.” Li Qiye gently tapped Shi Hao’s shoulder and said: “You’ve earned it. If you want to thank me, then keep on working hard on your pill refinement and do not shame me. That would be the greatest thanks, understand?”
Shi Hao took a deep breath while tightly gripping his fists and spoke in the most serious of manners: “Brother Li, rest assured, I will do my best and be diligent!”
At this time, Bai Weng was very envious of Shi Hao. As the proverb says, fortune favors fools. Even if Shi Hao’s talents weren’t the best, his future would be bright with Li Qiye’s tutelage. Bai Weng had seen — with his own eyes — Li Qiye’s skill, so Shi Hao would surely become an amazing alchemist in the future.
“Let us go.” Li Qiye told the two and started walking. Shi Hao and Bai Weng quickly followed.
However, the moment the group took a step out from Ancient Pine’s mansion, they were stopped. It was a young man blocking Li Qiye’s path, someone with a very haughty appearance. He had more than ten disciples behind him.
The young man arrogantly asked: “You are that alchemist named Li, correct?”
Li Qiye didn’t bother to look at this type of crowd as he replied: “What if I am?”
The young man sneered: “I heard that you want to compete for the alchemist position? Haha, you better open your eyes so you don’t waste time. The candidates to participate in the Alchemy Conference have already been decided, and you have no part in it. Be smart and quickly leave, don’t dawdle at the capital.”
Li Qiye lazily looked at the young man at this time and asked: “Competition for the alchemist position?”
The young man thought that Li Qiye got the message and sneered: “As long as you know. The capital isn’t a place for a human with a dubious origin like you to stay around. It is a dangerous place, so you better be careful or else you’ll lose your life. That would be unfortunate.”
Although it sounded like a warning, it was clearly a threat towards Li Qiye.
Li Qiye burst out in laughter. Such a threat was not worthy of serious consideration, so he didn’t even bother asking who the guy was.
Bai Weng was slightly taken aback by the young man. He was familiar with the people in the capital so he immediately knew the young man’s identity after seeing the crest embroidered on his vest.
Bai Weng responded quickly by inserting himself in the middle of the young man and Li Qiye, then he raised his voice and said: “Young Noble Lie Jie, please return. Our Young Noble does not wish to see you.”