Three days passed in a flash. When the agreed-upon day to refine the pill for Patriarch Fang arrived, President Song and Master Ji accompanied Shi Yu as they set off toward the Fang Clan mansion.
Having formed his Golden Core, President Song was now exempt from the city's no-fly restrictions. However, being in a foreign prefecture, it was best to keep a low profile. Moreover, the Fang Clan mansion was not far, so riding mounts was convenient enough.
Stepping onto the dedicated mount lane, the three mounted their saddles and gently pulled the reins. Their sturdy, vibrantly furred steeds let out cheerful whinnies and bounded forward on all four hooves.
The mount lane appeared to have been newly renovated. On both sides of the path, ancient trees were draped in entwined green vines, and fragrant blossoms bloomed in abundance. The sight was even more splendid than when they had first arrived.
Master Ji sat comfortably on his saddle, glancing at the passing scenery on either side before chuckling with amusement, “Going through all this trouble for something useless.”
Hengze Prefecture was, after all, the central prefecture of Changyuan Prefecture and the face of the entire region, so maintaining appearances was essential. Thinking of this, Shi Yu could not help but smile. “It is indeed quite pleasant to look at.”
Halfway there, as they rounded a bend, a fallen Moonlit White Deer appeared in their view ahead. A couple, both cultivators, stood beside a Purple Lightning Steed, crouching down and looking distressed as they gathered around the white deer.
Another group of cultivators stood nearby with equally grim expressions, their lips moving rapidly. Because of the distance, Shi Yu's group could not hear what they were saying.
Shi Yu looked closely and noticed the woman had a gentle appearance, with a lingering charm of her youth in her features—she looked strikingly familiar.
She could not help murmuring softly, “Sister Zeng?”
President Song, who was holding his reins, heard her and asked, “You know her?”
Shi Yu nodded.
That woman was precisely the person who had traded her the remnant recipe for the Extreme Devouring Pill in exchange for a Lesser Longevity Pill when Shi Yu first arrived in Hengze Prefecture.
Although she had not yet fully deciphered the recipe for the Extreme Devouring Pill to this day, Shi Yu had derived the recipe for the Lesser Extreme Devouring Pill from that remnant and gained significant benefits from it.
The remnant recipe had been far too incomplete to command much of a price in the first place, whereas Shi Yu had exchanged a valuable Lesser Longevity Pill for it. That deal had certainly not been a loss for Zeng Rong. As for what Shi Yu had managed to gain from it, that was entirely due to her own ability, so she had not taken advantage of Zeng Rong either.
Still... having crossed paths before, Shi Yu did not mind lending Zeng Rong a helping hand.
As they drew closer, the voices from the two groups gradually became audible.
A man's harsh, aggressive voice declared, “No matter what, your horse rammed our Moonlit White Deer to death because you weren't watching where you were going! Pay up and settle this!”
He seemed to be the leader of this group of cultivators, and upon his words, the others nodded in agreement one after another.
Zeng Rong's willow-leaf brows knitted together. Though her voice was gentle, one could hear the suppressed anger within: “Fellow Daoists, although our Purple Lightning Steed accidentally struck this white deer, why was your white deer stopped dead in the middle of the mount lane right at a blind curve?”
The honest-looking man beside her chimed in to support her, “Indeed! A rider's view is obscured around a bend. Even if you needed to pause your mount, you should have pulled over to the side. A Purple Lightning Steed is naturally fast, and by the time we saw it, it was already too late to dodge—”
“I don't care if you could dodge or not! Bottom line: your horse struck our deer dead, so pay up!” The leader sneered and waved his hand. The rest of his group immediately swarmed forward, surrounding Zeng Rong and her husband.
Shi Yu spoke up, “Sister Zeng seems to have run into trouble.”
Hearing this, President Song and Master Ji knew she intended to intervene, so they guided their spiritual beasts toward the scene as she wished.
Seeing the group surround them, Zeng Rong's face turned pale. She thought to herself, Must we spend money to buy our way out of trouble today? But the spirit stones my husband and I have on us are meant for purchasing goods...
Neither she nor her husband was weaker in cultivation than any individual in this group of cultivators. Unfortunately, the other side had strength in numbers. If a fight broke out, her side would definitely get the worst of it. Yet hand over the spirit stones? She was truly unwilling.
Just as she was caught in a dilemma, Zeng Rong heard a clear, smiling maiden's voice ring out nearby: “A spirit beast has a sturdy physique. How could a simple collision kill it?”
She looked up toward the sound and saw a young girl wearing a face veil strolling over.
The girl glanced at the dead spirit beast on the ground, and after only a moment, she let out a soft scoff. “This Moonlit White Deer clearly ate Vein-Rupturing Flowers and Enclosing Jade Fruits by mistake. The poison invaded its flesh and meridians, so it was already on the verge of death.”
Riding beasts were expensive, and compensating the mount stable for a death was a substantial fee. Without a doubt, these people were deliberately targeting an unlucky passerby to scam them into taking on the loss.
Seeing Shi Yu see through the truth with a single glance, the group of cultivators' expressions changed. The leader bellowed with a lack of confidence, “What the hell do you know?!”
Zeng Rong, on the other hand, stared blankly at her, unable to stop herself from whispering, “M-Miss Shi?”
Although Shi Yu wore a veil, it was not a magic artifact and lacked any shape-shifting or obscuring properties. Thus, anyone familiar with her could still recognize her despite the veil.
Having interacted with her before and left with an extraordinarily deep impression, Zeng Rong recognized her at a glance.
A year and a half ago, during the tournament at the Alchemy Exchange Conference, the massive shadow-recording stone mirror in the square had broadcast the scene inside. Only then did she realize that the young girl who had traded remnant recipes with her was actually an astonishingly gifted young alchemist.
After the tournament ended, Zeng Rong had considered visiting Shi Yu, but after learning her true identity, she did not dare approach her to chat. Later, when she heard news that Shi Yu had disappeared inside the Yanyang Spiritual Realm, with rumors spreading everywhere that the genius had fallen, Zeng Rong had shed sad tears for several days.
Seeing Shi Yu again now, her feelings were a mix of shock and delight beyond words. For a moment, she even forgot her own current dilemma.
Noticing that Zeng Rong had recognized her, Shi Yu gave her a gentle nod.
Somehow, Zeng Rong's panicked and angry emotions gradually settled down.
Meanwhile, seeing that Shi Yu was merely a young girl, the group of cultivators felt a burst of annoyance at having the truth exposed. However, that annoyance quickly faded, replaced by arrogant bravado. The leader sneered, “Even if that's true, so what? I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, or else...”
A clear threat hung in the air.
Yet the lead man noticed that there wasn't the slightest trace of fear in the young girl's eyes, making his heart beat uneasily. What kind of background does this little girl have...?
Before he could figure it out, he saw two elders who had remained silent with restrained aura behind the young girl step forward. They stood half a step behind her, deferring to her as their leader.
Then, one of the elders let out a low grunt, withdrew his aura-restraining art, and abruptly unleashed a boundless pressure from his body.
The group of cultivators instantly found it hard to breathe, as if a mountain were pressing down on their chests. Their faces turned deathly pale, sweat pouring down like rain. They raised their heads in terror, only to see the elder looking back with an expressionless face and eyes like sharp blades. With just a single glance from him, they could no longer withstand the crushing pressure and fell to their knees one after another with a thud.
A Golden Core powerhouse! This was actually a Golden Core powerhouse!
Their expressions changed dramatically, their entire bodies trembling violently.
At this point, how could they dare harbor any thoughts of extortion? Panicking completely, they bowed frantically and begged for mercy: “True Lord, spare us! True Lord, spare us!”
What was even more terrifying was that this Golden Core True Lord actually stood half a step behind the young girl. If so, then this young girl's status...
They did not dare think any further. Shivering uncontrollably, they turned around and prostrated themselves toward Shi Yu: “Young Sovereign, spare us! Young Sovereign, spare us! It was our dirty minds that birthed such evil thoughts! Please forgive us this once!”
What in the world? Young Sovereign? Hearing this title gave Shi Yu a bit of a headache. With a strange expression on her face, she wondered where their wild imaginations had run off to, actually mistaking her for some Young Sovereign of a prominent grand clan.
“...”
Although these people had harbored ill intentions, their actions were not worthy of death.
Clearing her throat lightly, Shi Yu said, “You may go. Do not do such things ever again.”
Receiving these words, the group felt as though they had received a grand pardon and frantically agreed: “Yes! Yes!”
Fearing Shi Yu would not believe them, they even bit their tongues and swore a solemn oath. Once a cultivator swore an oath, they would not easily break it, as doing so could easily invite inner demons—proving they were truly terrified.
After making the oath, the group hurriedly untethered their remaining mounts to flee, not forgetting to thrust a large bag of spirit stones to Zeng Rong and her husband, pleading with them to forget this encounter.
Once the people had fled, Shi Yu turned around to look at President Song and Master Ji, who were standing behind her with amused, pleased expressions.
“...”
She said helplessly, “You two really made me exploit the tiger's might.”
Just now, President Song and Master Ji had intentionally stood half a step behind her to mislead the crowd. She had no idea what kind of wicked sense of humor had possessed them.
Stroking their beards with beaming smiles, the two elders looked quite unbothered by their childish prank.
Shaking her head, Shi Yu walked over to Zeng Rong and removed her veil. “Sister Zeng, long time no see.”
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