Generously Opening One's Purse

Zhu Mei looked at the rat-faced man, her cold face filled with revulsion.

She sternly rebuked him.

"Zhao Dapeng, you have exhausted your schemes and flouted the Sect's regulations, all just to force me to marry this fool in the end. You had better dismiss this notion early; do not harbor such wishful thinking."

"Our mother and son may be weak, but even if we starve to death, we will never cross the threshold of that fool brother of yours."

Zhu Mei threw out a cloth bag from her hand, her voice remaining icy as she continued.

"Here are ten Spirit Stones. Do not come to disturb our mother and son again."

With that, Zhu Mei slammed the courtyard gate shut.

Zhu Mei's sudden and drastic change left Zhao Dapeng momentarily at a loss for how to respond. He could only watch helplessly as her figure was cut off by the gate.

How did this widow suddenly become willing to pay the rent?

The rat-faced man was also full of bewilderment. This was completely different from what they had agreed upon last night.

"Big brother, what should we do now? We agreed that you were going to find me a woman to sleep with."

Zhao Dapeng's face turned incredibly ugly, alternating between green and white. After a few breaths, he spat out, "Let's go back! Her man died outside and his belongings were lost. Let's see how long she can last relying solely on that fifty Spirit Stone bereavement pension!"

"But my woman..."

"I will just find you a mortal later."

......

In the neighboring courtyard, Ai Kun, who had overheard most of the exchange, shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"Zhu Mei's man was named Lu Hong, a highly ambitious individual. Back when he was alive, we shared a decent relationship. In this treacherous cultivation world, we could even be considered friends."

"I never expected that an old man like me, who prefers to hole up in the market town, would still be lingering on while he, who aspired to reach Foundation Establishment, would perish so early."

"The heavens hold unpredictable storms, and fortunes change in an instant."

"Stop lamenting here," Song Wen said testily. "I didn't see you stepping forward to help that orphaned widow and her son."

"I am just a useless old man who can barely protect himself. How could I possibly help them..."

After chatting for a while, the conversation drifted back to talismans. In the end, unable to withstand Ai Kun's constant pleading, Song Wen agreed to draw two Flying Talismans for him each day.

Song Wen claimed he could only produce a few Flying Talismans a day, but that was far from the truth. His Divine Sense was comparable to a late Foundation Establishment cultivator; the meager mental energy required to draw a Flying Talisman would not affect him in the slightest.

Even if he only used the orthodox spiritual power cultivated from the Everlasting Longevity Art, producing ten Flying Talismans in one go was a trivial matter for him.

......

Ten days quickly passed amidst cultivation, drawing talismans, and refining pills.

After no fewer than a hundred cost-blind attempts, Song Wen finally grasped a trace of the knack for pill refining.

During his most recent attempt, he had been only a single step away from forming the pills.

Although it had ultimately failed at the last moment, Song Wen was confident that with a few more tries, he would successfully refine Blood Qi Pills.

Just as he was preparing to disguise himself and head out, Ai Kun appeared at his courtyard gate.

"Zhang Cheng, have you finished drawing the twenty Flying Talismans you promised me?"

"They are ready."

As Song Wen spoke, he reached down to the Storage Bag at his waist and handed twenty talismans to Ai Kun.

Ai Kun took the talismans and verified that there were no issues with them, his weathered face wrinkling into a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Many thanks."

He casually handed a cloth bag to Song Wen.

Song Wen accepted the bag and probed it with his Divine Sense. There were actually eighty Spirit Stones inside.

Twenty Flying Talismans would fetch a market price of one hundred Spirit Stones in a shop. According to Fang Ning, the standard seventy percent acquisition rate meant it should only be seventy Spirit Stones.

"The count is wrong, isn't it? Why are there ten extra?" Song Wen asked.

Ai Kun smiled and said, "I know your success rate in talisman making is low and that you rely on this trade to scrape by. Since I asked for your help, I naturally cannot let you lose money. Consider those ten Spirit Stones my compensation to you."

"Then aren't you the one losing ten Spirit Stones?"

Ai Kun let out a bitter smile. "There is no alternative. Who told us to earn our living on the Beast Taming Sect's territory? We can only accept being squeezed."

What he did not explicitly say was that having Song Wen draw these twenty talismans saved him a vast amount of time and mental energy. He could use that time to draw rare talismans to sell on the open market for a high profit.

As for common goods like Flying Talismans, he would use them to fulfill his quota for the Beast Taming Sect.

Song Wen did not pry further, casually stowing the Spirit Stones into his Storage Bag.

Ai Kun suddenly kept peering toward the widow's courtyard. He looked exactly like a degenerate loitering at a widow's door, appearing as wretched as could be.

"You aren't lusting after Widow Zhu, are you?" Song Wen stared at Ai Kun with disdain.

Ai Kun glared back. "What nonsense are you talking!"

Then, he lowered his voice and whispered, "Do you know why Zhu Mei paid her rent so readily?"

Song Wen shook his head. "How would I know?"

Ai Kun leaned in mysteriously and whispered, "She went to work at the brothel."

"The brothel?"

Song Wen found it somewhat hard to believe.

The scene of Zhu Mei fiercely rebuking Zhao Dapeng and righteously refusing to marry that rat-faced man was still fresh in his mind. Song Wen had even felt a bit of admiration for her unyielding character, yet she had entered a brothel in the blink of an eye.

Ai Kun sighed. "She is a pitiful soul. She likely refused to marry Zhao Dapeng's brother because she didn't want her child to suffer under him. After all, that fool has no sense of restraint when he beats people."

Recalling the crow's feet already creeping around Zhu Mei's eyes and her slightly weathered face, Song Wen remarked, "If she goes to a brothel, can she even attract any customers?"

Song Wen genuinely worried that given her looks, she might labor for a month and still fail to clear her rent.

Ai Kun, who had been somewhat solemn moments ago, instantly perked up upon hearing this topic.

"You don't understand. A married woman, a widow, a dignified aunt, a mature lady-any one of these traits can attract plenty of patrons, let alone someone who embodies all four."

Seeing Ai Kun's spirited display, Song Wen teased, "You seem exceptionally enthusiastic. Have you visited her?"

Ai Kun's face immediately fell. "Absolutely not. I told you before, her man was my friend. A friend's wife is not to be disrespected. Now that she is in dire straits, I may not be able to help, but I certainly won't kick her while she is down."

"How is that kicking her while she's down? That is called 'generously opening your purse'!"

Ai Kun fell into deep thought. "What you say seems to hold a bit of sense. Let me ponder it."

With that, Ai Kun walked toward the exit. As he reached the courtyard gate, he suddenly turned his head back.

"Oh right, I forgot to mention. Do not wander around blindly right now, especially at night."

"Why? Is the market town unsafe lately?" Song Wen asked in confusion.

Ai Kun nodded. "Rogue cultivators have been disappearing one after another recently. Some vanished out in the wilds, while others disappeared right within the market town. In any case, just be careful."

Leaving those words behind, Ai Kun vanished around the corner.

...

Several days later.

Song Wen finally succeeded in refining his first cauldron of Blood Qi Pills. There were two pills in total, looking almost identical to the ones he had first consumed back at Ji Yin's place.

Holding the Blood Qi Pills and examining them for a long time, he confirmed there were no issues with the medicine. Song Wen steadied his excited emotions, opened his mouth, and swallowed one.

The long-lost sensation of blood qi rapidly depleting and spiritual power surging violently assailed him once more.

However, for the current Song Wen, that minor loss of blood qi could no longer affect him in the slightest.

Song Wen hastily circulated the Everlasting Longevity Art to refine the spiritual power from the pill. After spending half an hour, the spiritual power provided by the Blood Qi Pill was completely absorbed.

He opened his mouth once more and swallowed the second pill...

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