The water gurgled!
In a short while, everyone arrived at the waterfall, which was about a foot wide.
"Give me the bucket!" Zhang Laoda snapped at He Pingsheng, then snatched the bucket and personally went to the water's edge to fill half of it.
Zhang Laoda laboriously carried the water to the woman in green, then, with a Face full of smiles, said, "Young Lady, please inspect it!"
"Mm!"
The woman in green nodded, then scooped some water with her hand and put it into her mouth.
Her brows furrowed.
"Junior Sister, how is it?" The woman in pink walked over and asked.
Before the woman in green could speak, the woman in pink also scooped water into her mouth, and after tasting it, she immediately became furious, saying, "This water source has been polluted by you... Boy, you deserve to die..."
She glared at He Pingsheng with wide eyes.
The woman in green, however, shook her head and said, "Not necessarily. This water is flowing water. Even if it was polluted a bit by him, how could it completely lose its original taste?"
"I think, most likely, there's a problem upstream!"
"Come!"
The woman in green let out a soft cry, and then the magical power within her body suddenly surged out. She used an immortal technique that He Pingsheng couldn't understand, and a stream of water flew from the waterfall, landing precisely in the woman in green's snow-white hand.
The woman in green took the opportunity to put the water into her mouth.
The woman in pink asked, "Senior Sister, how is it?"
The woman in green shook her head, "This water is not right. The taste is vastly different from before. It's likely that the problem originated from the source!"
"The source?"
The woman in pink looked up, following the waterfall upwards.
At the very top was the direction from which the water came, the highest section of the mountain range behind Xiuzhu Peak.
Here, with its sheer cliffs, ordinary Disciples simply couldn't climb it.
Utility Disciples like He Pingsheng could never hope to reach the mountain peak in their entire lives.
Therefore, in a sense, the change in water quality probably had nothing to do with He Pingsheng.
The woman in pink knew very well in her heart that she had blamed the wrong person.
But as an Inner Sect Disciple, her status was so noble that she naturally wouldn't apologize to a 'lowly' Utility Disciple. Instead, she turned her head, glared fiercely at He Pingsheng, and let out a cold snort.
"You are responsible for fetching water. When the water quality changed, you should have informed me immediately. You are solely responsible for this matter!"
One always needs to find some excuse, don't they?
But the woman in green gave no Face to the woman in pink. She looked at He Pingsheng and sighed, "It's not his fault to begin with. Alright, Junior Sister, we should report this matter to Master and let others investigate it!"
"What is your name?"
The woman in green looked at He Pingsheng.
He Pingsheng cupped his hands, "Replying to Young Lady, this Disciple is He Pingsheng!"
"This matter should have nothing to do with you. My Junior Sister misunderstood you!" The woman in green extended her jade hand and handed a snow-white porcelain bottle to He Pingsheng. "Inside are two Gold Bone Pills. Take one, and your injuries will heal within three days!"
"As for the remaining one, it's your compensation!"
He Pingsheng felt a surge of anxiety, unsure whether to accept it or refuse.
But the woman in green had already tucked the porcelain bottle into his embrace.
"Senior Sister..." The woman in pink beside her looked reluctant and said, "He's just a lowly Utility Disciple. Why apologize to him? If he dies, he dies. Does our Xiuzhu Peak care about one or two Utility Disciples?"
"Junior Sister, you mustn't say that!"
"I heard Master say that Mortals cannot be killed casually, otherwise, you will incur Karma, which will be detrimental to your future cultivation. I am doing this for your own good!"
The voices of the two grew softer and softer.
He Pingsheng looked up and found that the two women had already walked far away.
Phew...
He let out a sigh of relief.
Beside him, Zhang Laoda also let out a sigh of relief.
Many people around them looked at the porcelain bottle in He Pingsheng's hand with covetous eyes.
He Pingsheng was so scared that he quickly clutched the porcelain bottle.
"All of you... get the hell out of here..."
Zhang Laoda waved his big hand.
Then those people, scared, instantly left.
By the large mountain spring, only He Pingsheng and Zhang Laoda remained.
"Xiao He..." Zhang Laoda put on a smiling Face and said, "What I just said was for the Young Lady above to hear. Don't take it seriously, alright? Could I really beat you to death?"
"Our Xiuzhu Peak is also a place that follows rules!"
He Pingsheng didn't speak. He didn't know how to respond to Zhang Laoda.
Because at that moment, he truly felt the killing intent from Zhang Laoda.
"My beating you up was actually saving you!"
Zhang Laoda continued to look at He Pingsheng, chuckling, "Think about it... if I hadn't made a move to hit you, wouldn't that Young Lady have made a move to hit you? Her sword was already pointed at you!"
"If I made a move, at most I'd just beat you up, make your nose and mouth bleed, and give you some superficial injuries!"
"But if I hadn't made a move, and that Young Lady had, she would have cleaved you with one sword, and you'd be a cold corpse right now!"
"No... it should be two halves of a cold corpse!"
He Pingsheng shivered for no reason.
Although Zhang Laoda was being a bit unreasonable, what he said was true. If that woman had made a move, he might really have lost his life.
Of course, this didn't mean Zhang Laoda was being kind.
"So, Xiao He!" Zhang Laoda, with a thick skin, said, "I saved your life!"
"You can't not repay a life-saving favor, can you?"
As he spoke, his gaze drifted towards He Pingsheng's embrace, looking at the white porcelain bottle.
He Pingsheng finally understood at this moment: This fellow wants my Medicinal Pill?
"Zhang Laoda!" He Pingsheng said, "I'm injured... This Medicinal Pill is still needed to recover from my injuries!"
"Otherwise, I won't be able to complete my tasks these next few days!"
"Hehe..." Zhang Laoda chuckled and said, "Don't you have two?"
"How about this... give me one!"
"You use the remaining one to recover from your injuries!"
"And!" Zhang Laoda continued, "Starting tomorrow, I'll give you an easier job. I'll have someone else do the water fetching tomorrow!"
"How about it?"
He Pingsheng began to calculate in his mind.
Firstly, not giving it was probably not an option.
If he didn't give it, this fellow would keep coveting the item, and he would suffer in the future.
Secondly!
If he gave it, he could also get some benefits in return.
Forget it... A wise man submits to circumstances. This isn't cowardice, but a slight compromise!
"Alright!" He Pingsheng said, "I hope Zhang Laoda, you keep your word and arrange an easier job for me tomorrow!"
He opened the porcelain bottle, took out a red Medicinal Pill, and handed it to Zhang Laoda.
Zhang Laoda didn't take it but gestured with his mouth, "I want the one with the bottle!"
To put it bluntly, this fellow wanted to take the bottle along with it.
Fine...
He Pingsheng didn't bother to quibble over such a small thing and gave the bottle to Zhang Laoda as well!
Zhang Laoda took the bottle, opened it, and glanced inside, saying, "That's right, it's indeed a First Grade Gold Bone Pill!"
"Boy, I'm happy today, so I'll teach you something!"
"Do you see the patterns on this Medicinal Pill?"
"These are called Pill Markings. One Pill Marking means this Medicinal Pill is Low Grade, two are Medium Grade, and three are High Grade!"
"Let's go!"
Zhang Laoda tucked the white porcelain bottle into his embrace and then left triumphantly.