Chapter 138: Time for Jiang Chen to Put on a Front
This Elder Fei that the two medicine boys had mentioned was an extremely odd looking old man. His skinny body was accompanied by a bizarre looking head. As a result, he rather looked quite comical.
The old man’s body was as slender and thin as a stalk of ginseng, whereas his head was as flat as an old pumpkin.
This kind of strange head and body combination made this old fellow look weird no matter how he was viewed.
That pumpkin-esque head had almost no chin, but where the chin should have been was a tuft of a very long goatee.
“Greetings to Elder Fei.” The two medicine boys hastened to pay their respects when they saw the old fellow.
“The people of the Azure Heaven Northern Palace are acting more and more brazenly.” Elder Fei was quite infuriated. “How dare they throw their weight around in my Qingyang Valley!”
“Please calm your anger Elder Fei, those idiots probably thought that Elder Fei was sure to be within the palace in Qingyang Valley and wouldn’t appear here. That’s why they behaved so horrendously.”
“Mm. This explanation makes sense. But the mere fact that they dare to act wildly in my Qingyang Valley territory means that, I, this old man, am still too benevolent usually. Sigh.”
Qingyang Valley was also one of the Precious Tree Sect’s secular places for holding rites within the Skylaurel Kingdom, and it was on the same standing as the Palace. When it came down to it, they were actually from the same faction.
The old man’s thin eyes darted to and fro over Jiang Chen and the other’s bodies. “Who are you, and why are the people from the Palace chasing after you?”
Jiang Chen knew this old man had to have great power to be able to suppress senior brother Liu with just one move. He estimated that this old man’s training would not be less than that of Chu Xinghan’s of the Purple Sun Sect.
“Senior, to be honest we’re really quite innocent. We were just traveling on our way when those from the Palace lost their minds and insisted on chasing us to the death.”
Elder Fei cackled, “Isn’t that an easy question to answer? Those of the Palace are the greediest. Your spirit animals are clearly of a higher level than their green wyverns. It’d be an odd thing if they weren’t green-eyed with jealousy.’”
“So this was the case. The senior’s words have brought spontaneous enlightenment to me.” Jiang Chen was also one to tailor his words for the situation.
This old man seemed to be easier to talk to than those of the Palace, and thus Jiang Chen modified his tone to go along with the other’s.
“Spare me the sycophantic words. Although I don’t like to kill and rob people, but you must be punished for trespassing onto my territory.”
“Senior, we didn’t mean to, see…”
“Nonsense. I would’ve directly made you into fertilizer if you’d meant to trespass. How about this, I won’t bully you. 20 years. You can leave Qingyang Valley after you’ve been medicine servants for 20 years.”
Elder Fei spread out his hands, speaking with a tone of not letting personal considerations affect one’s execution of public duty.
Jiang Chen had a rueful expression on his face. Qingyang Valley’s actions were exactly as Tang Long had described previously. They really didn’t kill people, but instead made them serve as medicine servants for twenty years!
Jiang Chen couldn’t find it within himself to stay for two years, let alone twenty.
Not to mention, he’d thumped his chest and promised Tang Long earlier that he would bring the items back for him. He would’ve broken his word after seven days had passed, let alone twenty years.
However, judging from Elder Fei’s posture, he didn’t seem to be saying this just for show.
The circumstances were greater than the person.
“Kid, I see a look of shrewdness on your face. Don’t try plotting anything. Even one day less than twenty years won’t do. If you dare to run away, heh heh! Big Egg, Second Egg, tell them the rules.”
“We’ll capture you if you run away and chop you up for fertilizer.” The two boys answered in unison.
Jiang Chen’s face was full of black lines. Come on! I was a renowned pill master in my previous life, and now I’m forced to be a medicine servant for this crazy old man? What a shame!
“Alright senior, we’ll be medicine servants then. What chores will you be allocating to us?”
“Allocate what chores?” The old man rolled his eyes. “You amateurs start with hauling water. Spend ten hours everyday on learning spirit medicine knowledge and only then can you start learning how to handle medicine three months later.”
“Hauling water?” Jiang Chen almost blew up.
“What, you don’t want to?” The old man chuckled. “Then haul feces.”
“That’s alright! Haul water is it? I’ll haul water!” Jiang Chen gritted his teeth.
Qiao Baishi, who’d been quiet all along during this time, suddenly plucked up his courage at this moment. “Senior, can this junior say a few words?”
“If you’ve got something to fart, hurry up and let it out.” The old man was a bit impatient.
“Senior, junior has once learned some knowledge of pill medicines and has some foundational knowledge of pill medicines. We have twenty people here and twenty years each. How about I stay here and become a medicine servant for you for four hundred years, whereas you let them go? What do you say?”
Even Jiang Chen was greatly astonished by Qiao Baishi’s words. He knew that Qiao Baishi was loyal to him, but hadn’t thought that he’d be loyal to this extent.
“You know of pills?” The old man was a bit surprised. “You’re not lying to this old geezer, are you?”
“Senior, you are an expert, how would I be able to hoodwink you with this little bit of thought? Besides, retaining one specialist such as I for four hundred years of work should benefit you a lot more than keeping amateurs. They say that a year of work from a specialist is worth ten years from an amateur. Elder Fei, you’re still the one gaining from this arrangement at the end of the day.”
“Heh heh, you’re a loyal one alright. I’ll consider this matter. If I discover that you truly do have spirit medicine potential one day, then we’ll proceed as you’ve proposed.”
“Please no! Senior, I can wait, but my young master has urgent business in the capital and he can’t afford to wait. How about you test me now?”
The old man snorted, “I don’t have time right now. Damn it, I’ve traveled over the greater half of the Skylaurel Kingdom and haven’t found a single blade of the Mystic Ruler Grass. Damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Mystic Ruler Grass?
Qiao Baishi hadn’t even heard of this before. He wanted to demonstrate his abilities, but was at a loss of what to say.
Jiang Chen suddenly spoke up at this moment and said, “Senior, do you seek the Mystic Ruler Grass to refine the Peaceful Ruler Pill, or to refine the Profound Celestial Pill?”
“Mm?” The old man’s originally dim and darkened face suddenly changed when he heard Jiang Chen’s question. His murky eyes shot out a beam of light that swept over Jiang Chen’s face.
“Kid, you’ve heard of the Peaceful Ruler Pill?” Elder Fei planted himself in front of Jiang Chen with a swift step and broke the magical rope on Jiang Chen’s body with a squeeze of his fingers.
“Heh heh, what a coincidence. I truly have heard of it before.”
The old man’s eyes gleamed, but then sighed with depression immediately afterwards. “So what if you’ve heard of it. Even this old man know of the pill recipe, but it’s a pity that I can’t refine it because I can’t find the Mystic Ruler Grass. It’s all in vain.”
The Peaceful Ruler Pill was actually an ancient recipe for calming qi as well as calming the mind. At the end of the day, it was in the same series as the One Buddha Powder.
Except, the Peaceful Ruler Pill was on a much higher level. It was many times higher than the One Buddha Powder, and those of the true qi realm wouldn’t even be able to use this sophisticated pill.
“Oh yes, the Mystic Ruler Grass is very picky about its environment and is quite, quite difficult to find. It’s something that may only come by luck and not by merely searching for it.” Jiang Chen was also purposefully putting on a show now.
In actuality, within the memories of his past life, this Mystic Ruler Grass was the equivalent of a weed to the identity of his prior self. If it grew in his garden, it would be treated as a weed and pulled out.
This was to say that in the eyes of a divine level pill master, the Mystic Ruler Grass didn’t even have the right to be a house plant and enter their personal gardens.
Of course, in a mundane kingdom, this sort of spirit herb was truly something that could very well only come by luck.
“Kid, don’t put on this act with me. You heard the pill name somewhere and now you are putting on a show in front of me. Hold your plotting. Don’t even think of reducing the twenty years by a day.”
“Heh heh, I once heard a senior speak of something saying that the original ingredients for pills like the Peaceful Ruler Pill were too difficult to find. There are actually many pills with the same effects as it. He seemed to have mentioned the ‘Renewal Purity Pill’ or something along those lines. It’s said that the ingredients are easier to find, and have effects better than or on par with the Peaceful Ruler Pill I wonder if he was bluffing or not.”
“Renewal Purity Pill?? You.. you’ve also heard of the Renewal Purity Pill？?” It was like a spring in which a hundred flowers bloomed had suddenly appeared on the old man’s lean face.
“Of course I have, what’s so surprising about that?” Jiang Chen purposefully played dumb.
“What’s so surprising?” The old man hopped off one foot. “You say what’s so surprising? Do you know how much I paid just to beg someone to refine one Peaceful Ruler Pill for me? I paid the price, but even then I still have to search for ingredients like the Mystic Ruler Grass myself. The ancient pill recipes are all exclusive secrets, would you say this is surprising or not?”
Jiang Chen was delighted, this meant that the old man didn’t even have the recipe for the Peaceful Ruler Pill.
“If you want to call it surprising, then it’s surprising. If you want to say it’s ordinary, then it’s also ordinary. If you know how to handle it, it will not be difficult. If you think it’s difficult, then you don’t know how to handle it. “
“If you know how to handle it, it will not be difficult?” The old man hopped up again and grabbed Jiang Chen’s sleeve. “Kid, show me someone who knows! If you can find someone, I’ll be willing to pay whatever the price may be.”
“I’d love to find someone, but how can I go looking if I’m stuck here for twenty years?” Jiang Chen chuckled, knowing that this old man had taken the bait, hook, line, and sinker.
“Don’t give me this kind of foolish nonsense.” The old man waved his hand. “If you can find me someone who knows the Renewal Purity Pill, then you’ll be my senior. I’ll bow down to you and even call you daddy dearest. Twenty years? There’s no problem if I become your medicine servant for twenty years.”
“Do you mean that?” Jiang Chen was secretly delighted that this old man had come knocking at the door.
“What a dumb question. Does this old man look like someone who makes irresponsible remarks?”
“No, you don’t look like it.” Jiang Chen shook his head.
The old man’s small eyes spun madly. He’d thought that Jiang Chen had been bullshitting in the beginning, but now he seemed to have gleaned a bit of the truth as he listened. This kid seemed to possibly know what he was talking about?
The old many had spent the efforts of almost twenty to thirty years on the Peaceful Ruler Pill and had worked himself to the bone for it.
He’d tried everything, but always turned up empty-handed in the end.
Even if it was the slightest of chances from Jiang Chen that sounded quite unrealistic, he was still tempted. After all, this matter had become one of his internal demons.
“Kid, think carefully, don’t think of trying any tricks with this old fellow! If I find out that you’re pulling the wool over my eyes and want to take the advantage to run away, you’ll know the consequences!” The old man tried hard to keep a stern face and project a mean demeanor, wanting to use this to awe Jiang Chen.
“Elder Fei, your strength and abilities exceed mine. I don’t think I can get up to any tricks in front of you? Although your eyes are small, they’re extremely sharp! Do you think I don’t know? You look like the typical man of great wisdom who purposefully appears dim-witted.” Jiang Chen started fawning over him.
“Heh heh, you saw through even this? And to think I spent so much effort on concealing it.” The old man puffed his chest up as he stroked his goatee, indulging in self-admiration. “Kid, since you’re not up to some trick, then tell me, has someone truly grasped the Renewal Purity Pill in our Skylaurel Kingdom?”
“It’s nothing to do with the Skylaurel Kingdom, but a good friend I’ve had since young. He’s the one who knows. He appears every three or five years and I can always hear much of the matters of pill medicines from him every time he appears.”
“Oh? Such a wondrous person exists?” Elder Fei was somewhat skeptical.
“Yes, to be honest, I’m headed to the capital of the Skylaurel Kingdom this time because I’ve heard that his elderly self will be taking care of some business within the Skylaurel Kingdom. This is why I’ve come hurrying to pay my respects to him.”
“Can there be such a coincidence?” The old man felt even more baffled.