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Chapter 7 - A Mystical Immortal Air
The long-robed elder quickly calmed down.
He’d spent his life warring across the realm, and he’d experienced slaughter and bloodshed. What types of wind and rain hadn’t he overcome?
He knew better than anyone that unbelievable methods, eccentric masters, and rare geniuses existed in great abundance.
The youth before him was undoubtedly not simple in the least!
“You were tailing us in secret earlier, weren’t you?” Zi Jin scrunched up her brow.
The long-robed elder was at a loss for words. Before Su Yi could respond, he said, “Don’t talk nonsense, girl. Given our young friend’s talents, how could he do something so shameful?”
As he spoke, he turned to Su Yi and cupped his fist. His eyes carried a hint of admiration. “My young friend, might I ask if you’ve noticed anything else?”
Grandfather, he….. Zi Jin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
With her grandfather’s status, even if you searched all nineteen cities of Cloudriver Prefecture, who was worthy of him “cupping his fist in respect”?
She couldn’t help but take a second glance at Su Yi. He was tall and thin, with handsome features. He wasn’t at all bad-looking.
However, his presence was slack and ordinary, as if he didn’t have any cultivation at all….
Could it be that….
His cultivation is so lofty and profound that it’s impossible to discern? Could he really be so terrifying?
Zi Jin’s family background was exceptional, and from a young age, she’d heard her elders’ tales of Earthly Immortals. They might look ordinary, but in truth, they’d long since transcended the Martial Dao. They were terrifying beings of enormous power!
Is it possible that this is no mere youth, but rather an elder capable of maintaining a youthful appearance?
When this thought occurred to her, Zi Jin’s heart shook, and a hint of bewilderment appeared on her face.
Su Yi would never have guessed that a mere cupped fist would give rise to so many thoughts in Zi Jin’s mind.
In the face of the long-robed elder’s questions, he said calmly, “Pardon my rudeness, but at your third level ‘Inner Furnace’ cultivation, I’m afraid you won’t be able to break through even if you pluck both Six Yin Grass and Extreme Yang Flowers.”
Su Yi paused for a moment, then continued, “Or rather, you’ve most likely long-since known that with your age and foundations, there’s no way you can take so much as a single step further down the Martial Dao by relying on ordinary cultivation methods. That’s why you decided to use the power of these two spiritual medicines to forcibly break through, right?”
The long-robed elder froze, and he felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if he’d been laid entirely bare, and Su Yi could see through all of his secrets.
When Su Yi first guessed the source of his wounds and the purpose of this expedition, the old man only half believed him.
But now, he was absolutely certain that this youth was an expert!
“Grandpa, how does he know all that?” Zi Jin couldn’t help but call out. She’d lost control of her emotions, and her extraordinarily beautiful face was awash with shock.
But after reawakening the memories of his past life, such a simple deduction was simple for Su Yi.
“Sir, your insight is astounding. I can’t help but admire you!”
The long-robed elder sighed and cupped his fist in respect once more. Even his form of address had changed; he no longer called Su Yi “young friend”, nor did he dare put on airs.
Su Yi inwardly nodded.
The Inner Furnace Realm was also known as the Grandmaster Realm!
With his current incarnation’s seventeen years of life experience, he knew full well that with the elder’s status as a “Grandmaster of the Martial Dao”, he wasn’t just impressive by Guangling City’s standards; he was like a giant of Cloudriver Prefecture!
After all, in a spiritually-barren land like the Great Zhou, reaching the Grandmaster level was enough to earn you a noble title and intimidate an entire region.
Despite the long-robed elder’s status, he was treating Su Yi with respect. That alone was a rare sight.
“Sir, if you can determine my grandfather’s injuries, you must know a way to treat them and save his life, right?” Zi Jin couldn’t help but ask. Her tender beauty and goose egg-shaped face lit up with expectation. A Grandmaster was like a dragon; the masses could only look up to them.
Sometimes, a single person could determine the rise and fall of a peak-level clan!
And her grandfather was no ordinary Martial Dao Grandmaster, either.
If he died from his wounds, it was sure to deal a devastating blow to their entire family!
Zi Jin was frantic with worry. When she saw Su Yi’s seemingly miraculous abilities, she felt as if she’d clutched her last thread of hope.
The long-robed elder felt a thread of hope too. He cupped his fist once more and said solemnly, “This old-timer is called Xiao Tianque. Within Cloudriver Prefecture, I’m somewhat well known. If you can save my life, I won’t forget the favor!”
He was a mighty Grandmaster of the Martial Dao, and had been for many years. He was well-aware that even another Grandmaster couldn’t possibly have seen through his injuries at a glance!
This alone was enough for him to consider Su Yi “mysterious and inscrutable.”
“If I couldn’t treat such trifling wounds, why would I bother saying all that?” Su Yi laughed. Xiao Tianque and his granddaughter both lit up.
“So long as you can treat my wounds, you can ask for anything you’d like in exchange. I won’t refuse any request!” Xiao Tianque’s expression was utterly grave as he made his solemn vow.
But on the inside, he felt great trepidation.
The way he saw it, with Su Yi’s miraculous abilities, ordinary compensation would be nowhere near enough!
But he was in no position to concern himself with that. He’d do whatever it took to live through this, no matter the cost!
Su Yi mulled it over, then said, “From your perspective, this might be lifesaving benevolence, but to me, this is but a trifle. How about this? Just give me a token ‘consultation fee’, whatever you see fit.”
“What?” Both Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin were stunned. Their eyes widened, and they dared not believe their ears.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s not that.” Zi Jin hurriedly shook her head, her expression strange. She stuttered, “I just wouldn’t… wouldn’t have expected it to be so… so…. Simple….”
Her voice trailed off, and she sounded embarrassed.
Su Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I can fix this with a snap of my fingers. Why make it difficult for you?
Xiao Tianque let out a long sigh, and he smiled bitterly. “You don’t understand, lass. Someone of his level doesn’t care about a bit of money. He’s simply doing this so we don’t owe him a favor.”
“Ah, so that’s it.” Zi Jin instantly felt enlightened.
That was so like an expert; he naturally didn’t need favors from people of their level!
Zi Jin hurriedly took a silver note from her purse and presented it respectfully with both hands. Voice chattering, she said, “Sir, here is a ten-thousand-tael silver note. It's a token of our appreciation, so please accept it.”
Ten thousand taels? And they’re just handing it over casually? Despite himself, Su Yi was stunned. Only then did he realize that this grandfather-granddaughter duo was far wealthier than he imagined.
It’s worth noting that the Wen Family, as one of the Three Great Clans of Guangling City, only gave Wen Lingzhao and Wen Lingxue three hundred taels of spending money per month.
“Ten thousand is too much.” Su Yi shook his head. Although he was in dire need of money to buy medicinal ingredients, he disdained making a fortune off something like this.
When Xiao Tianque saw this, he sighed inwardly. He was increasingly certain that the lofty expert before him didn’t care about money at all.
Or in other words, to this mysterious youth, saving his life and treating his wounds…. Was really no big deal!
He wasn’t greedy for wealth, nor did he want them to owe him a favor, yet he could see through him at a glance. If this wasn’t an expert straight out of a legend, Xiao Tianque would even be willing to pluck out his own eyes! In an instant, he became even more respectful toward Su Yi.
He was a wily old-timer, and farsighted, too. He inwardly decided that, once his wounds healed, he’d build a relationship with this lofty expert, no matter what!
But Zi Jin seemed troubled. She whispered, “But ten-thousand-tael notes are the smallest I have on me.”
Su Yi was at a loss for words. How wealthy does a family of the Great Zhou have to be for a little girl like this to be so showy with her money?
But before he could say anything, Xiao Tianque said solemnly, “Sir, to the ordinary citizens of this world, ten thousand taels of silver is indeed a massive sum. However, to me, it’s nothing at all, nor is it anywhere near enough to express my gratitude.
“It’s just as you said: to you, this is naught but a trifle, but to me, this is life-saving kindness!”
With that, he bowed at the waist and said sincerely, “Please, accept it. Only then can my granddaughter and I feel at ease.”
When she saw her grandfather bow with such politeness, Zi Jin was frantic. “Sir, you might laugh when I say this, but within the Great Zhou, one million taels of gold isn’t enough to exchange for the life of a Grandmaster like my grandfather, nevermind a mere ten thousand taels of silver.
“Please….. Accept it. Otherwise, my grandfather will spend his life tormented by guilt.” As she spoke, she, too, bowed and proffered the silver note.
Su Yi felt a bit ridiculous.
He’d thought this a trifle, a snap of his fingers. Who would have thought they’d be so determined to throw money at me…?
He couldn’t be bothered to refuse, so he simply accepted it and smiled. “Alright, you two needn’t be so courteous going forward, or this ‘consultation fee’ will burn my fingers.”
Xiao Tianque hurriedly rose, his face nothing but smiles.
Zi Jin sighed in relief. Her brow visibly relaxed, and she looked delighted.
“If you want to treat your wounds, in addition to taking medicine for a week, you’ll need to use a secret art to cleanse your body of corpse poison. Only then can you eliminate all latent danger.” As Su Yi spoke, he wrote out a prescription. It included over thirty types of medicinal herbs in total, but none of them were particularly rare or valuable.
The only item on the list that was the least bit precious was the ten-year-molt of a Jade Toad.
But Su Yi trusted that something like that wouldn’t trouble a Grandmaster like Xiao Tianque.
“Thank you for writing me the recipe!” Xiao Tianque held the prescription firmly and bowed once more, his heart full of excitement.
Su Yi nodded. “Take this medicine for seven days. After the week is up, wait for me here, and I’ll help you completely disperse any poison lingering within your body.”
“I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be on my way.” With that, he turned and left.
Xiao Tianque and Zi Jin watched until he faded into the distance. Only then did Zi Jin seem to come to her senses. Her pretty eyes darted about, and she whispered, “Grandpa, if not for him seeing through your secrets, I’d be certain he was a scam artist.”
Xiao Tianque snorted derisively. “Girl, don’t take nonsense. Ten thousand taels of silver, that’s all! How could a man like that care about such a paltry sum? Look at how he carries himself! He’s truly got the air of an immortal!
“Remember: next time you see him, you need to be more modest and respectful. You cannot be the least bit negligent!” As he reached the end of his warning, the old man’s gaze turned utterly severe.
Zi Jin stuck out her tongue, but she said obediently, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Xiao Tianque grunted, then sighed with emotion, “And here I thought I’d only have a few days to live after returning from Mother Ghost Ridge. Who would have thought I’d have a chance encounter with such a lofty figure? He showed me the right path and wrote out a prescription. What…. What did I do to deserve such fortune?”
Suddenly, he hit himself on the head, and he looked vexed, as if he’d only just remembered something. “I must be going senile! Just now, I forgot to ask that gentleman his name!”