Chapter 79 (1/2): Saintess, Pay Up!

“Ha ha…” Linglong’s expression was a bit awkward. Master Uncle was teasing Master, and she certainly couldn’t side with Master Uncle to insult Master.

So it was better to change the subject.

The situation with Hua Jian had temporarily stabilized, so Linglong wanted to take this opportunity to ask Venerable Fenghua about the Medicine School.

Miss Medicine carried a great secret, but she herself didn’t know what it was, which troubled her somewhat.

Venerable Fenghua reached out and tapped Linglong’s head, telling her that she was currently undergoing Training, and everything she did during this time required her to bear the consequences and find the answers herself.

She was only the last line of defense; if Linglong wanted to get clues from her side, it would be cheating.

However, this was a different matter—Hua Jian’s identity was special. Her appearing to communicate with Linglong about Hua Jian was not a violation of the rules.

In other words, Linglong had to handle all other matters on her own, but when it came to things involving Hua Jian, she could seek Venerable Fenghua’s advice.

“Long’er, you know your Master’s temper. She looks gentle on the surface, but in reality, she’s harsher than anyone. If I help you break the rules, the ones getting punished will be the two of us.” The venerable stuck out her tongue playfully, looking more like Linglong’s Junior Sister than an elder who had lived over a hundred years.

A Junior Sister who, like Linglong, had gotten her hand smacked by the Yaochi Sect Leader.

“I’ll take my leave now. Here, take this Condensing Wind Pearl first. Return it to me after Hua Jian wakes up.” Venerable Fenghua retrieved a small, delicate cyan pearl from her Storage Pouch. It was a spiritual tool capable of drawing in air currents.

She handed the spirit artifact to Linglong so that she could gather the floral fragrance drifting from Hua Jian, preventing it from escaping outside.

The inn was crowded and full of curious eyes; if the scent leaked, it could cause trouble.

“All right!”

“You useless lot, how can you mess up such a simple task? What a disgrace!”

“Young Master, please give us one more chance. We won’t disappoint you this time!”

Several burly men, who had been knocked down by Hua Jian’s sneak attack, knelt trembling on the ground. Before them paced the young master of the Su Family, their employer.

This Su Family Young Master was the youngest in the main line of the Su Family, hence called Young Master, and was spoiled by his parents, developing the bratty temperament of a pampered son.

Since learning about the grand auction to be held in Huiyue City, he had wanted to secure an Entry Token, but the family’s official Token couldn’t be used by him. He had to find other means to snatch one.

The lucky youth he targeted was supposed to be a convenient mark—grab the Token and send the fool off to his death—but the plan was foiled, much to his frustration.

“We searched for his sister, but she was gone. Locals said the siblings left in the dead of night… I suspect that guy has already handed over the Token,” one black-clad henchman whispered fearfully.

This time it wasn’t that they were incompetent; the opponent was simply too cunning.

Who would have guessed another force was lurking behind the scenes, reaping the benefits? Didn’t that person know the one backing them was the Su Family Young Master?

“That guy’s methods are extraordinary. My brothers and I are all skilled Spirit Masters, yet facing him, we couldn’t detect even a hint of his aura. He’s definitely a fierce dragon crossing the river!”

“I think you’re all useless. All my friends have already gotten their Tokens. If you don’t get one before the auction starts and embarrass me, I promise I’ll make you pay with your lives! Get out!”

“Yes, yes, we’re going now!”

The henchmen scrambled out of the courtyard, continuing to seek out weak cultivators holding Tokens to ambush.

The Su Family Young Master remained in the center of the yard, muttering quietly to the sky, “Even that bastard has a Token. If I don’t get one, won’t I be looked down upon in the future?”

His expression twisted, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

This group of incompetents had failed repeatedly; he needed a backup plan.

This auction, he had to attend!

When Hua Jian awoke from her cultivation state, it was already dusk the next day.

She saw Linglong holding a strange little pearl in her hand, with an unknown colorful substance beside it.

What was that? Hua Jian blinked in surprise.

“Finished absorbing the medicine power? How do you feel?” Seeing Hua Jian awake, Linglong breathed a sigh of relief, placing the Condensing Wind Pearl and the gathered peculiar floral fragrance into the Storage Pouch given by Venerable Fenghua. Then she asked about Hua Jian’s condition.

Hua Jian clenched her fists. After absorbing the medicinal power, she felt slightly stronger, but there was no obvious change.

No sensation of clear mind or lightness of body at all.

“Just so-so, but my spiritual power increased a lot—enough to make up for several months of cultivation.” Hua Jian scratched her head, curiously asking, “Would increasing spiritual power like this make my foundation unstable?”

She had read novels before that said cultivation gained through medicine was fake, unstable, and the protagonist would just kill the cheaters outright.

“Is that so? This pill’s function is to clear impurities from your body, improve your constitution, and allow you to better train your body.” Linglong explained the pill’s purpose calmly.

And here lay the problem—this pill shouldn’t increase cultivation!

“Ordinary people taking this pill would expel accumulated impurities and filth from their bodies, but Hua Jian, you didn’t expel even a trace.”

Hua Jian lowered her head to sniff, finding no foul odor, only a pleasant fragrance.

She understood impurities and filth—they were usually smelly, dirty substances.

Yet, she had taken the pill Linglong gave her and nothing came out. Could it be a counterfeit?

“So…”

“You might have the extremely rare Flawless Body, innate and untainted.”

Hua Jian swallowed nervously. That sounded powerful.

“So this is my constitution?”

“No, it’s just one characteristic of your constitution. Don’t forget, your constitution still has many mysteries left.” Linglong shook her head, reassuring Hua Jian that her constitution wasn’t so bad.

The Flawless Body was just the tip of the iceberg.

Hua Jian raised her hand, examining it carefully in the sunlight outside the window, murmuring in confusion, “Why do I feel like I’m dreaming? When did I become this strong?”

But as a transmigrator, Hua Jian thought it was only natural for her constitution to be a bit special.

After all, she was the protagonist; there had to be something unique. The stronger the cheat, the better—who would dislike a powerful perk?

This constitution wouldn’t harm her; better if it were stronger.

For now, the topic of constitution was shelved. After some discussion, the two decided to quietly investigate the Su Family and see just how chaotic Huiyue City was.

With last night’s road robbery, Hua Jian suspected this was becoming the norm—people in the city were going crazy over the auction Tokens.

“Do you think I can snatch a few more Tokens and sell them to those who want them?” Hua Jian seemed to have found a way to make money.

Since so many wanted Tokens, she could be their middleman, moving Tokens around!

“Most people hide their Tokens in Storage Pouches, safe places. How do you plan to get them out of their pouches?”

Storage Pouches weren’t absolutely safe, but Spirit Masters usually sealed theirs with Divine Sense seals placed by Spirit Kings. Hua Jian alone couldn’t break those seals.

Having a cultivator one rank higher apply the seal was currently the most popular practice in the cultivation world.

Even merchants selling Storage Pouches advertised these protections; Spirit Emperor-level encrypted pouches were pricier than Spirit King-level ones.

“We’re good people, can’t do anything too bad.” Linglong reminded Hua Jian to stay mindful of their identities.

Those who snatched Tokens could do all sorts of despicable things, threatening Token holders into submission.

But such deeds were off-limits to them—they were disciples of the Saint Sect and had to uphold its dignity.

Even the hypocritical Tiandao Sect knew to put on a good show.

If Hua Jian really dragged her along to plunder and bully, Venerable Fenghua would be the first to disapprove.

“I know, but we can help those forced into a corner by Token snatchers. Give them another choice.” Hua Jian patted her chest confidently, saying she had a plan.

If bad guys bully good people, they could help the good guys strike back. Many didn’t surrender Tokens because they didn’t trust getting paid.

The Token thieves were truly nasty—no match for two beautiful young ladies.

“Besides, we need to investigate the Su Family’s affairs. Inevitably, we’ll come into contact with the city’s Dark Forces. Think of it as making some extra money.”

“By the way, I asked the inn’s maid and found a place where you can get a lot of news!”

Where was easy to gather information?

Naturally, some places in Smoke Willow District.

“This kind of place…” Linglong frowned, looking at the cluster of connected Boat Clusters nearby.

When Hua Jian was dragging her here, she should have realized—there was no way the place Hua Jian claimed to be full of news was anything respectable.

Though brothels and taverns were indeed full of all kinds of people and rumors, was it really appropriate for two young ladies like them to come?

“Don’t be shy. It’s just a Qinglou. I even worked in a place like this before.” Hua Jian was completely unfazed.

Just the Bat Brothel—what’s the big deal?

“Look, there are women going in too.” She pointed to several female cultivators nearby.

Cultivators here weren’t so conservative; men and women could live together if they loved each other, and no moralists came shouting about indecency.

Hua Jian’s former workplace, a tavern with Qinglou functions, even had a ‘big sister’ who only entertained girls.

That big sister didn’t do it for Spirit Stones but to play games with pretty girls, even tried to tempt Hua Jian, who sternly refused.

“Besides, we’re here on business, not pleasure. No need to be afraid! The upright have nothing to fear from shadows!”

With Hua Jian’s coaxing, Linglong was eventually pulled into Smoke Willow District. As a young and obviously innocent beauty, she immediately became the favorite among the many women there.

“Don’t come near, don’t come near! My Miss is shy; don’t scare her off!” Seeing a flock of women swarming toward Linglong, Hua Jian quickly stood in front of her, shouting to fend them off.

Her behavior showed she was an old hand in the world. With such a seasoned fox by her side, this innocent young lady would surely stay safe, disappointing the eager women.

“Who here has the best information? We want to hear some news.”

Upon hearing this, the women exchanged helpless looks.

Lately, people treated their place like a gossip hub, but their main business was pleasure, thank you very much.

Still… information gathering was indeed a side job for the girls here.

“I, I know a lot!” A girl in a pink dress immediately raised her hand. “There’s no street gossip in Huiyue City I don’t know!”

Hua Jian looked carefully at the girl who volunteered, then curiously asked, “Really? Then tell me: how many great families are there in Huiyue City? And how many young masters and young ladies do they have?”