Chapter 3: Cultivator's Supreme Treasure
Li Xuan sprawled on the ground, lying on his back, laughing uproariously at the sky.
"Cultivators, Supreme Treasures, pills!"
"Mine! All mine!"
Struggling, he stood up and started rummaging through Huang Lij's clothes.
"How can there be no storage bag? Didn't the novels say every Cultivator has one of these?"
He searched for a long time, even stripping off his underpants.
Tiny birds drifted with the wind...
"A bead, a light purple jade talisman, a few paper talismans, a beast skin map, a few milky white stones, and a few bottles of unknown pills..."
"That's it? What about cultivation methods? What about the Measuring Aperture Stone?" Li Xuan continued searching, unwilling to give up.
"Really nothing else?"
"Damn!"
He had sharp ears and clear eyes; he had heard Huang Lij say clearly that this infant's Spiritual Aperture was four inches and one fen. Could it be that Cultivators could measure a person's Spiritual Aperture without a Measuring Aperture Stone?
And the supreme treasure...
Li Xuan picked up the bead; among this pile of items, this was the most likely to be the supreme treasure.
He put these things away.
Li Xuan then looked at Huang Lij, who was now just a pile of mangled remains.
"No, I have to search again!"
Li Xuan licked his lips; he wouldn't allow even a tiny bit of Opportunity to be missed!
He pulled out the long saber stuck in the ground with a chipped blade and hacked at Huang Lij's body again.
"Sorry, I'm afraid you might revive... and I have to search, maybe you old sly dog hid the treasure inside your belly..."
Li Xuan complained as he chopped, "Why are your skin, flesh, and bones so hard? You're tiring me out!"
"Also, don't come looking for me on the road to the Underworld, it was the mother wolf who harmed you..."
Li Xuan almost chopped the flesh and blood into mincemeat, but still found nothing.
"Poor ghost, you're comparable to that mountain bandit!"
In his previous life, Li Xuan was a mercenary who valued money over life. Although he had improved somewhat in this life due to the influence of his Old Dad and Mother, he was still very greedy for money.
He really wanted to take this robe as well. It was very tough, inlaid with gold threads, and looked expensive.
But it had embroidery on it, clearly indicating a powerful force!
He lit a fire and threw the clothes and flesh into the flames.
"Awoo~"
Li Xuan turned his head and looked at the mother wolf.
"You want to eat?"
The mother wolf seemed to understand, nodding in a very human-like manner.
"Damn it, it even nodded. Are you perhaps a demon beast?"
He had never seen a Cultivator before and always felt that these strange and mystical things were far away from him.
But now, on second thought, this mother wolf was truly too intelligent.
Li Xuan picked up his saber, ready to chop it up.
"Awoo~" The mother wolf howled and retreated backward.
"Waa waa waa~"
After the wolf's howl came an infant's cry.
Li Xuan picked up the infant. "You haven't forgotten to save your wet nurse. You have some filial piety."
This infant failed to be possessed; blood flowed from its seven orifices. He didn't know if it could survive.
Using his saber, he picked out a few pieces of flesh and blood from the fire and threw them over.
The mother wolf, holding the flesh and blood in its mouth, quickly fled with the wolf cubs.
Halfway there, it suddenly turned its head and let out a howl.
"Hurry up and get lost!"
"Waa waa waa~"
The infant cried out again...
It took a full hour of burning. Li Xuan collected all the firewood he could find nearby before finally burning the flesh and blood clean...
He then buried the bones that wouldn't burn in four different places, concealing the traces.
Li Xuan took a few steps and looked back repeatedly, confirming that no resurrection event occurred right after he left, before leaving safely.
"Goods, you better be worth something!"
"With your family's silver and these treasures, my Li Family is about to get rich..."
...
Baishui County is located in the northernmost part of Changning Prefecture. Further north is a large mountain; there are different names for what the mountain is called.
Anyway, in Li Xuan's village, it was just called "Big Mountain"!
Baishui County is named after the Baishui River and Baishui Lake, but...
Li Xuan looked at the nearly dried-up riverbed in front of him and smiled bitterly.
"Baishui turning into muddy water, how are the common people supposed to live like this..."
He used the mountain bandit's copper coins to pay the city entry fee and inquired for a long time before finding Master Wang's new residence.
Just as he reached the entrance, he saw the main gate wide open, draped in white mourning cloth, with mournful music playing continuously inside.
Li Xuan was startled.
Could it be that Master Wang had died?
Li Xuan didn't dare to enter rashly. Five years ago, their escort team took Master Wang's job and held Master Wang's letter of credence.
If Master Wang was already dead, whether his descendants would acknowledge it was another matter.
After all, no one wanted an extra person to share the family property for no reason!
He wandered around the vicinity several times and only learned from scattered words that it was Master Wang's eldest son who had died of illness.
Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. Now the silver should be secure.
And they would have to give him more...
Li Xuan knocked on the door knocker, and a person who looked like a steward came out.
The steward saw Li Xuan with short hair, carrying a saber, and emanating the aura of a rough martial artist.
"Young man, you've had a tough journey. How many brothers are there in your family?"
"I am the second son, a manor guard."
The steward breathed a sigh of relief. So he was an escort!
Today was the day of the eldest Young Master's funeral. It was good as long as he wasn't a troublemaking outlaw or Scattered Cultivator.
Li Xuan stopped talking nonsense and took out the yellowed, old letter of credence from his waist.
"An escort from Zhenyuan Escort Agency. Five years ago, I was entrusted by Master Wang. Today, I have come specifically to fulfill the agreement!"
...
The main gate was for receiving guests. The steward led Li Xuan in through a side gate; they didn't see many people along the way.
Pushed open a side room, a thin old man quickly stood up.
"Holy crap, this is Master Wang? How come I remember him being fat five years ago?"
Master Wang took the infant, his cloudy eyes glistening with tears.
"He looks like him! Truly looks like him!"
Master Wang's withered fingers trembled as he touched the infant's face.
"My poor son!"
Master Wang had just experienced the pain of losing his son, and now he was fortunate enough to gain a grandson. Under such great joy and sorrow, he actually cried out loud.
It took a long time for him to calm down.
"This gentleman..."
"My name is Han Li!"
"Strong man Han, how did my son die?"
Li Xuan sighed, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "The escort team passed the border of Zhennan Prefecture. After heavy rain came a great drought, with alternating cold and scorching heat. The second Gongzi contracted a fever..."
"We also encountered mountain bandits multiple times. We, the guards, were not strong enough to protect him. A team of over a dozen people fled and fought all the way, and in the end, only I survived with the young Gongzi..."
"The second Gongzi has passed away. I have failed in my trust and originally had no face to see the main family again. However, thinking that the young Gongzi in my arms is the second Gongzi's only Bloodline, I dared not violate the oath and specially came here..."
This Master Wang benefited from his ancestors' blessings and managed his household with benevolence. In Baishui County, he was considered a famous kind and wealthy household.
With myself crying so sorrowfully, surely he would give me at least a thousand taels, right!
This was the only grandson exchanged with over a dozen lives over five years!
That's right, this infant was Master Wang's only grandson. Li Xuan had already inquired about it. Master Wang's eldest son only left behind two daughters... and it seemed his wife was still pregnant with one.
"How can you say that? My Wang Family should thank Strong man Han for his great kindness."
"Steward, go and get double the remaining payment..."
Li Xuan's eyes lit up.
Double! That's a thousand taels!