“No wonder she wanted the materials,” Yu Yixiang said, giving Qian Duoduo a look that saw right through him. “On the surface, it’s for Artifact Refining for the sect’s shop, all grand and proper, but in reality, she wants to use them for practice. Her intentions are not good.”
Wang Meiruo’s crab claw left Qian Duoduo’s arm, and she glared at Yu Yixiang. “You’re the one with bad intentions! You’re bad from head to toe!”
“He wasn’t even an Artifact Refiner last month. This month, he barely succeeded at Artifact Refining. Can he succeed once out of three tries, or once out of five tries?” Yu Yixiang knew a bit about Artifact Refining. “These shop assistants praise him, saying these Advanced Mortal Weapons are refined by him. Do you believe such nonsense?”
Chu Tianqi had just managed to utter a “I” when Yu Yixiang’s icy gaze silenced him.
Wang Meiruo scoffed. “Your judgment is far inferior to mine. Just because you can’t do it, you think Brother Bu Huan can’t, and it’s nonsense? Long hair, short on insight.”
“This girl, her temper is still so fiery!” Qian Duoduo was secretly happy that she was spitting fire at Yu Yixiang, but he still went forward to pull her back. His posture made it seem like he was feeling guilty.
“Don’t get carried away just because you won a business battle with underhanded tricks. Those stories full of holes can only fool ignorant young girls.” Yu Yixiang continued to attack Qian Duoduo.
“Ignorant young girl, you, or her?” Qian Duoduo didn’t want to tolerate it anymore.
“Whoever calls you ‘Brother’ is the one,” Yu Yixiang’s anger was specifically directed at Qian Duoduo.
“Brother Bu Huan, you come and refine an Artifact, refine an Advanced Mortal Weapon, and let her unseeing fox eyes witness it.” Wang Meiruo, angered, gave Qian Duoduo a light punch.
“Hmph…” Yu Yixiang looked at Qian Duoduo with disdain. She was certain Qian Duoduo couldn’t, and wouldn’t dare.
“This Ice Phoenix woman is too infuriating, I need to dig a pit for her,” Qian Duoduo thought to himself, then squirmed, feigning a difficult expression. “This…”
“The Shop Guardian, do it, do it!” Chu Tianqi and the others whispered. They knew that Qian Duoduo could refine an Advanced Mortal Weapon as if it were a game, with no fear at all.
“Heh heh, please, Shop Guardian, show me your skills and open my eyes.” Yu Yixiang suddenly laughed.
“Hurry, make your move, open her eyes.” Wang Meiruo’s crab claw pinched Qian Duoduo’s flesh with all its might.
The pit hadn’t been dug well yet, not deep enough. Qian Duoduo endured the pain, took a breath, and said, “She tells me to make a move, and I just make a move? I’m not her subordinate, I’m not a monkey being played. For me to make a move, there must be a price, something to win or lose.”
Chu Tianqi and the others all looked at Yu Yixiang. They knew that this style was characteristic of their Shop Guardian; Lang Caihua and Cai Fuxue had been trapped in pits this way.
“Indeed,” Yu Yixiang fanned her nose, “Jin Buhuan carries a stench of money wherever he goes. If you think you can scare me with money, then you’ve miscalculated. Tell me, what do we win or lose?”
“Money, Duoduo’s money,” Wang Meiruo interjected.
Feigning much hesitation, Qian Duoduo spoke to Yu Yixiang. “Since it’s Artifact Refining, let’s bet on Magic Treasures. How does that sound?”
“Hmph, hmph hmph… Magic Treasures, aren’t you afraid the wind will flash your tongue? How many Magic Treasures do you have? Show them to me.”
Yu Yixiang knew Qian Duoduo inside and out, probably having heard about the things he did to earn money. He, Jin Buhuan, didn’t even have much money, let alone Magic Treasures.
“Not many, just a hundred. But, they’re not very Advanced, all Mortal Weapon ones.” Qian Duoduo took out the Hundred Item Recipes from his Storage Pouch and showed it to Yu Yixiang page by page. “Oh, by the way, I forgot you’re not an Artifact Refiner, so if you don’t have Magic Treasures, let’s not compete. If you lose again, who knows how many people will want to avenge you. I’m scared…”
Chu Tianqi secretly gave Qian Duoduo a big thumbs-up.
The pit Qian Duoduo dug was so deep and perfectly round that he couldn’t help but be impressed; once you fell in, you couldn’t jump out.
Yu Yixiang bit her lip. “I didn’t bring any Magic Treasures with me, but I’ll sign a Soul contract with you. We’ll bet a hundred Mortal Weapon Magic Treasures, and this debt won’t be forgotten.”
Soon after, she finished writing the Soul contract, in duplicate, with each of them keeping a copy.
“Alright, then shall we go into the courtyard and start Artifact Refining?” Qian Duoduo shook his head and sighed. Yu Yixiang not only brought the materials the sect’s shop needed, but also gave him a hundred Magic Treasures. She truly was a good person!
“Only three chances, no cheating, refining ten or eight times,” Yu Yixiang said seriously.
In the courtyard behind the shop, Chu Tianqi and the others moved a cauldron over, with three sets of materials laid out beside it.
What they were refining was the most popular Magic Treasure, the Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammer.
Qian Duoduo sat down and waved his right hand. “Senior Sister, please inspect the cauldron and materials.”
Yu Yixiang smiled. “You’re quite good at pretending, hurry and start.”
Wang Meiruo was so nervous that she was squeezing her left hand with her right.
Lighting the fire, refining, reducing, inlaying… Qian Duoduo completed the first Magic Treasure almost entirely from his arm muscles’ memory.
As expected, it was an Advanced Mortal Weapon.
“Senior Sister, please appraise it,” Qian Duoduo said, offering it to Yu Yixiang with both hands.
Her eyes were already wide with surprise, staring at the flowing purple light on the Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammer.
“Is it considered a success?” Qian Duoduo asked.
Yu Yixiang handled the Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammer a few times, her throat moved twice, and she said softly, with satisfaction, “Yes.”
Although she wasn’t an Artifact Refiner, from Qian Duoduo’s uninterrupted refining and his combination of fully upgraded materials, it wasn’t hard to know the result.
Her straightforward admission of defeat made Qian Duoduo begin to feel a slight liking for her.
She could win, and she could lose; she was a tough woman.
Wang Meiruo’s lips were tightly sealed, as if she had accidentally won a huge lottery, trying hard to control her wild joy and prevent it from erupting from her heart.
Qian Duoduo pressed his left hand on the cauldron and swiftly threw in the second set of materials with his right hand.
In a quarter of an hour, the second Wolf Fang Black Iron Hammer was refined.
Soon after, the third one was produced.
Three sets of materials, not one was wasted. Three Magic Treasures, all of Advanced quality.
Qian Duoduo thought proudly, “Is there anything more perfect than this?”
The courtyard was silent, with only the sound of conversation coming from the front of the shop.
“Hmph hmph, it seems I’ve brought this humiliation upon myself. The incredible Shop Guardian Artifact Refiner, hitting my face, a three-hit combo, feels quite comfortable, doesn’t it?” Yu Yixiang’s face was pale.
“I wanted to tell you that I didn’t waste any of the sect’s materials. Not a single piece was wasted.” Suddenly, Qian Duoduo felt like he had gone a bit too far. Those last two Magic Treasures shouldn’t have been refined.
After all, Yu Yixiang wasn’t Lang Caihua or Cai Fuxue.
“I admit I was short-sighted, I admit I lost. I will honor the hundred Magic Treasures I owe you, but I will defeat you in a fair and square competition and repay you double for the humiliation you’ve caused me.” Yu Yixiang glanced at Wang Meiruo. “The delivery mission is complete, we can return to the sect.”
Wang Meiruo was happy, but she didn’t want to return to the sect immediately. “Senior Sister, we just arrived in the city, and our stamina hasn’t recovered yet. Rushing back would be a bit dangerous.”
“Alright then, we’ll leave tomorrow morning,” Yu Yixiang said, then turned and went back into the room. The sect’s shop dormitory had rooms specially for sect members to rest.
Even though she was extremely angry, Yu Yixiang showed no loss of composure; her walking pace was neither fast nor slow.
This was quite terrifying.
Once her figure disappeared, Wang Meiruo immediately hugged Qian Duoduo’s arm and whispered into his ear, “Brother Bu Huan is truly amazing. I’ll have my Wang family send a few more carts of materials, and I’ll find you a hundred Magic Treasures, so you can quickly advance to a second-grade Artifact Refiner, then a third-grade, a fourth-grade…”
“I can’t just take your materials and Magic Treasures for free. We must split the money we earn equally. If you agree, I’ll accept,” Qian Duoduo told Wang Meiruo. His floating heart slowly settled down.