Zhang Yuanxing and Uncle Xiong boarded their boat and left. Before long, they faded from view.
Fu Shan couldn’t help but laugh. “The son of the Zhang Family Head has sharp eyes. But it’s also laughable; he doesn’t realize that you’re like a dragon soaring through the heavens. How could you be as simple as he seems to think?”
“People his age love recruiting talents for their own use,” said Su Yi offhandedly. “At least he’s ambitious.”
Fu Shan nodded. “Were he to ask any other talented youth in Guangling City, I’m afraid few would have refused him.”
The Cloudriver Prefectural Capital was the heart of the nineteen cities of the Cloudriver Prefecture. It was a far cry from places as remote as Guangling and Cloudfall City.
The Cloudriver Prefectural Capital was home to numerous factions big and small.?Of them, four stood above all others. These peak-level factions included the prefectural government, which served the Great Zhou Dynasty directly, as well as the prefecture’s number one cultivation faction, Blueriver Sword Manor.?The other two were large-scale family clans, the Zhang and Yuan Families.
All other local factions paled in comparison.
As the son of the Zhang Family Head, it was easy to imagine just how lofty Zhang Yuanxing’s status was.?Even Fu Shan had to treat him with respect.
As they conversed, they strolled toward the thirty-foot bamboo grove. 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍．𝒄𝙤𝙢
The bamboo was lush and vibrant, with a faint, spiritual mist lingering around it. There were only a dozen or so mature bamboo plants. Although there were numerous others growing nearby, they had yet to reach maturity.
Mature Bluejade Spirit Bamboo was only about as thick as an arm, and only about ten feet tall. The stalks were lustrous and translucent as jade, and they looked as if they’d been carved from precious stones.
Fu Shan carried a spade. He laughed, “If any appeal to you, just say the word.”
Su Yi didn’t stand?on ceremony. He looked around, then?chose?one of the mature stalks.
Fu Shan immediately went up to it and used the spade to dig it up, including the roots.
It was, after all, a spiritual plant. Even its roots and leaves could be used to make medicine, while the stalk was a spiritual material. It was fair to say that every inch of the bamboo was precious.
“Master Su, please take another look and see if any others appeal,” laughed Fu Shan.?He’d brought Su Yi here precisely for the purpose of sharing the benefits of winning Spiritbamboo Island. This was also a way to build a closer connection with him.
Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “If you’re sure, I’d take another two stalks. Any will do.”
The stalk he’d chosen was of particularly high quality. With a few slight modifications, he could make it into an all-natural bamboo sword sheath.
He could use it as a walking stick in his daily life, and draw his sword instantly in battle. It would be extremely convenient.
Furthermore, this bamboo was a spiritual material, so it could nourish and protect Mortal Edge, too.
He planned to use the other two stalks of bamboo to refine a batch of talismans.
Rearing beasts and refining talismans, weapons, and pills.
Cultivators frequently engaged in all four. In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, they’d already formed a comprehensive system of cultivation based on these skills.
Pick a handful of low-class cultivators at random, and they’d all have lots to say about any one of these four subjects.
In his past life, Su Yi had been honored as the “Master of Ten Thousand Daos.” He naturally wasn’t ignorant of talisman refining.
Unfortunately, this was the Azure Continent, a spiritually-barren landscape.
Even if all he wanted to do was refine talismans, it was hard to find suitable spiritual materials.
This Bluejade Spirit Bamboo qualified as a tier-two spiritual material. It was just barely enough to withstand the power of basic talismans.
Su Yi naturally wouldn’t pass up such an opportunity.
Fu Shan went on to dig up two more stalks of mature bamboo, as well as a?shoot?hidden underground, all of which he gave to Su Yi.
“Master Su, this Bluejade Bamboo Shoot is a rare treasure. It’s brimming with spiritual energy, and its flesh is a delicacy. Ordinarily speaking, few could bear to consume something so precious.”
“Thank you.” Su Yi nodded his appreciation.
Fu Shan waved his thanks away. “No need for such courtesy. If not for you turning the tides at last night’s banquet, Li Jianyu would have seized control over Spiritbamboo Island.”
Before long, they returned to their vessel and began their return journey.?When they reached the Apricot Clinic, Su Yi stepped out of the carriage. Suddenly, he said, “City Lord Fu, I might leave Guangling City in the near future.”
Fu Shan was briefly stunned. Then, he sighed with emotion, “I’ve long since predicted that with your abilities, you couldn’t possibly linger in a tiny place like Guangling City for long. I just didn’t think this day would come so quickly.”
He paused, then asked hesitantly, “Might I ask your destination?”
“The Cloudriver Prefectural Capital,” said Su Yi casually.
He’d cultivated in Blueriver Sword Manor for three years, so the prefectural capital was relatively familiar.
Today, he’d begun “Refining Bone.” The next step was entering the Qi Accumulation Realm. It was only in a prosperous area like the prefectural capital that he could find resources sufficient to meet a Qi Accumulation Realm cultivator’s needs.
Fu Shan nodded. “When do you plan to set off?”
Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “A month from now at the latest.”
He wanted to wait for his little sister-in-law to get back first, and he still had to visit Mother Ghost Ridge.
Before he left, Fu Shan suddenly recalled something. “Right, Master Su, how should I respond to Zhang Yuanxing?”
“What do you think?” Su Yi asked right back.
“I understand.” After a brief pause, Fu Shan smiled. “When you leave, I’ll be sure to see you off personally.”
Fu Shan and his group quickly left, while Su Yi entered the Apricot Clinic.
“Sir.” Hu Quan, Wu Guangbin, and the rest of the clinic’s staff set aside the task at hand. All of them, even the servants, turned to look at Su Yi.
Their gazes were awed.
Word of last night’s Dragon’s Gate Competition had shaken both sides of the Great Azure, stirring up no shortage of waves within Guangling City.?Who could possibly remain ignorant of the fact that last night’s champion was none other than Su Yi?
As such, by the time the staff saw Su Yi enter the clinic, the way they saw him had undergone a cosmic shift.
“Everyone, you can return to your tasks,” said Su Yi. After this simple order, he approached Hu Quan. “Steward Hu, do you perhaps know which of our medicine pickers is most familiar with Mother Ghost Ridge?”
Hu Quan’s expression shifted. “Sir, that eerie place is dangerous! Under normal circumstances, it’s very rare for anyone to visit. What do you want to do there?”
“Don’t worry,” said Su Yi. “I just want to ask a few questions.”
Hu Quan mulled it over, then said, “That’s easily done. The Wen Family has over a thousand medicine pickers on payroll, and there’s sure to be someone with the information you need. I’ll ask around for you.”
“Alright, I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Rest at ease, sir. I guarantee I’ll have this done within the day!” Hu Quan pounded his chest and smiled.
Last night, he was fortunate enough to accompany Su Yi to the banquet. Everything he’d seen and heard had practically opened the door to a brand new world, and he’d spent the whole night awash in excitement.
He could brag about this experience for the rest of his life.
Su Yi didn’t linger. He left through the back door, but surprisingly, when he returned to the Apricot Cottage, there was a beautiful woman waiting for him in the courtyard. It seemed she’d been waiting for quite some time, too.
She wore a snowy white dress, and her hair was tied up in a bun. Her eyes were bright, her lips rosy. She was a dainty beauty, but her expression was pitiable, which gave her a certain moving charm.
His unexpected guest was none other than Nan Ying.
When she saw Su Yi push open the gates, she whirled around to face him, her jade-like features filling with delight.
But then, her delight faded. She bit her lip, and her beautiful eyes misted over. “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, I’m leaving Guangling City with Master Uncle Zhou today, but I couldn’t help myself; I had to come and see you one last time first.” Her soft voice carried a thread of grief.
Were Su Yi any other man, the sight of a weeping beautiful might very well have softened his heart.
Another man might assume that she’d been unable to resist coming to see him. Perhaps her feelings for him were too much for her to ignore?
But it was as if Su Yi didn’t even notice her. When he did respond, his response was completely off script. He just asked directly, “Did you climb over the wall?”
Climb….
Did I climb the wall…?
Nan Ying’s delicate, grief-stricken face went slightly rigid. The atmosphere was suddenly uncomfortably silent.
But before long, Nan Ying stabilized her heart and sighed. “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, I know what I said that day sounded heartless and mean, but if I didn’t care about you, why would I have come looking for you that day?
“True heartlessness would mean treating you like a stranger. If I didn’t care, I would have just drawn an irrevocable boundary between us. Why would I have visited you again just a year later? Why would I have come at you with such angry nonsense? It was because I lost my rationality and vented a year’s worth of accumulated sadness….
“That… That was because I still cared about you!” As she said this, Nan Ying’s voice was choked with sobs, and tears dripped from her beautiful eyes. She looked utterly forlorn.
“I’ll admit that what I said back then was hurtful, and I won’t demand you forgive me now, but… Can you give me a chance to assuage my conscience? I don’t want to leave Guangling City still carrying this guilt.”
Su Yi said nothing in response.
Nan Ying dashed up to him, frantic, her gaze pleading. “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, back at Blueriver Sword Manor, didn’t you say that no matter how many mistakes I made, so long as I changed my ways, you’d forgive me? You…. Surely you’ll forgive me, right?”
As she spoke, she reached for Su Yi’s sleeves.
Su Yi stepped back, and her hands grabbed nothing but air.
Nan Ying’s gaze was suddenly plaintive. She took a deep breath, then removed an exquisitely carved jade box from her sleeves and gently opened it.
Inside was a chicken leg, except it had long since shriveled and rotted. It had a sickly, black sheen, and it looked downright vile.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Su, do you remember? When you became the outer sect’s Sword Chief, the sect arranged a celebratory banquet. After the banquet ended, you came hurrying to find me with a chicken leg you’d carefully wrapped in a lotus leaf, all because you heard me say I’d yet to eat anything that?day….”
Nan Ying’s gaze was suddenly nostalgic, a mixture of honeyed sweetness and grief. “That night, I was so happy, I couldn’t even sleep. How could I bear to just eat the gift you gave me? I saved it, because although drumsticks are a common sight, the one you gave me has an irreplaceable position in my heart.”
Despite having the temperament of one who’d lived two lifetimes, Su Yi couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air. He pointed at the drumstick. “You… Have you been carrying that thing with you all this time?”
Nan Ying whispered, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, I’d rather die than lie about something like that…”
Su Yi turned and walked out of the courtyard.
This reaction was entirely unexpected.?Isn’t he supposed to pull me close and wipe away my tears?
Caught off guard, she instinctively called out, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, where are you going?”
Su Yi stood in the gateway, then turned and laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to find Ni Hao and repeat everything you just told me, word for word. Right, I’ll tell him that ‘dog blood’, cliche-ridden dreck about the drumstick too. I’m sure that once he hears it, he’ll see you in an entirely new light.”
Nan Ying reacted as if she’d been struck by lightning, stunned senseless.
Was my performance just now over the top?
If not, given my understanding of Senior Apprentice Brother Su’s personality, my story ought to have moved him!