Chapter Eight: Taking Stock of the Spoils

Zheng Qingqing raised her willow brows slightly and looked Li Chang'an over again.

This meeting.

It had not been long since the last one.

Li Chang'an still wore that cautious, vigilant look.

"I heard that the reason you were able to kill those two Rogue Cultivators was that you ambushed them with Talismans and caught them completely off guard?"

"That is indeed what happened."

Li Chang'an answered truthfully.

The whole process sounded perfectly normal.

But Zheng Qingqing knew very well.

When faced with two vicious Rogue Cultivators, not everyone had the courage to make a move.

Many cultivators would only hide to the side. Even when it was their own close friend being attacked by the Rogue Cultivators, they would not dare to act rashly.

Given Li Chang'an's cautious personality.

He must have made extremely thorough preparations before deciding to save them.

In other words.

Li Chang'an's Trump Cards were far more than two Frenzied Blade Talismans.

But as an ordinary Rogue Cultivator, where would he have gotten so many Spirit Stones to prepare that many Trump Cards?

Either he had encountered a Great Opportunity, or he had secretly mastered some skill for earning Spirit Stones.

Zheng Qingqing's thoughts turned, and she asked bluntly, "Li Chang'an, are you a Talisman Master?"

"Young Miss, you are exceptionally clever. I couldn't hide it from you."

Li Chang'an offered her a compliment, his tone utterly sincere.

Zheng Qingqing smiled sweetly, evidently enjoying the compliment, and her gaze underwent a subtle change.

Originally, in her eyes, Li Chang'an had merely been an insignificant passerby.

But now.

Li Chang'an, who possessed the skill of Talisman Drawing, was worthy of her regard.

"You want to end the Spirit Contract early and regain your freedom?"

Zheng Qingqing asked softly.

Li Chang'an nodded.

"Young Miss, will this be difficult?"

"Don't worry. It's simple."

Zheng Qingqing summoned a Maid and gave her a few instructions.

The Maid hurried away.

Before long, she returned with a Spirit Contract.

It was none other than the Spirit Contract Li Chang'an had signed with the Zheng Family all those years ago!

The Spirit Contract placed immense restrictions on Li Chang'an. The moment he acted against the Zheng Family's wishes, he would suffer backlash.

At best, he would be injured; at worst, he would lose his life!

He could not unilaterally dissolve the Spirit Contract, but the Zheng Family could.

Next.

Zheng Qingqing raised her delicate hand. A glimmer of light flashed across her pale fingers as she gently brushed over the three characters "Li Chang'an" at the end of the Spirit Contract.

"Done!"

Zheng Qingqing said with a smile.

On the Spirit Contract.

Li Chang'an's name slowly faded away, leaving only a blank space, as if it had never existed.

He immediately felt his entire body grow lighter.

It was as though some shackles had been unlocked. His whole person seemed reborn, and even his soul felt incomparably refreshed.

"Thank you, Young Miss!"

Li Chang'an was delighted and hurriedly expressed his thanks.

Zheng Qingqing covered her lips as she smiled. "You eliminated two Rogue Cultivators for my Zheng Family. This is what you deserve."

From then on.

Li Chang'an and the Zheng Family could be considered even.

He would now deal with the Zheng Family anew as a Rogue Cultivator Talisman Master.

After a while.

Li Chang'an and Chu Daniu left the Hall of a Hundred Affairs.

Chu Daniu's Spirit Contract had not been dissolved. After all, he had not been the one to kill the Rogue Cultivators; he had merely received two bottles of healing pills.

Even so, he was already extremely grateful.

"The Young Miss really is a good person. She's beautiful and kind, without any of the arrogance of a scion of a great family. I wonder who'll be lucky enough to marry her in the future."

Chu Daniu held the pills and sighed from the bottom of his heart.

In fact.

Quite a few Young Cultivators in the Marketplace secretly admired Zheng Qingqing.

After all, whether in status or cultivation talent, she was someone most Rogue Cultivators could only look up to.

Li Chang'an smiled and glanced at Chu Daniu.

"Da Niu, focus on recovering from your injuries. Don't think about too much else."

"Big Brother Li is right!"

Chu Daniu scratched his head. He did not dare hope for anything so extravagant.

Afterward.

The two parted ways and returned to their respective rooms.

Li Chang'an shut the door, then took out the two Rogue Cultivators' storage bags.

"I can finally see what the spoils are!"

A smile appeared on his face, and his mood was quite good.

This time he had acted.

Although it had been somewhat risky, it had been completely worth it.

"I never had a storage bag before, so doing things was always somewhat inconvenient. I won't have that trouble anymore."

The two storage bags were enough for Li Chang'an to store all his necessities.

He spent quite some effort breaking the restrictions the two Rogue Cultivators had left on the storage bags.

After opening the bags and seeing what was inside.

His mood improved even further!

"The Spirit Stones in the two bags add up to more than a hundred."

"There are five bottles of Qi Nurturing Pills, three bottles of Qi Recovery Pills, and some healing and Calm Spirit pills."

Li Chang'an smiled at the corners of his mouth as he picked up the medicine bottles and identified them one by one.

Aside from the pills.

There were also various Low-grade First Tier Spiritual Medicines, most of them for healing injuries, and there were quite a few.

There were two Artifacts as well.

One was a Meteor Hammer, and the other was a Great Axe. Both were Low-grade First Tier Artifacts.

"There are also more than ten Low-grade First Tier Talismans, along with three First-tier Mid-grade Talismans. They're all for self-defense."

Li Chang'an picked up a Talisman and secretly counted his blessings.

Fortunately, he had ambushed them directly.

And succeeded in one strike.

Those two Rogue Cultivators had not had any chance to activate their Talismans.

"From now on, if I must act, I'll ambush whenever possible—even if I'm facing someone with a lower cultivation than mine."

Li Chang'an warned himself, then continued taking stock.

Finally.

He made a rough calculation.

The items in the storage bags were worth more than three hundred Spirit Stones in total!

In addition, each of the two storage bags was worth more than a hundred Spirit Stones.

"As expected of Rogue Cultivators. They really are wealthy!"

Li Chang'an sighed.

How could an ordinary cultivator in the early Qi Refining stage possess so many Spirit Stones?

It made sense when he thought about it.

Murder and arson had been highly profitable pursuits since ancient times!

"Although the money comes quickly, the risks are enormous, and the deeds are far too vile. I'd better honestly stick to Talisman Drawing."

Li Chang'an put everything away, then took out the inheritance Jade Slip he had obtained from the fish's belly.

He began studying the craft of drawing First-tier Mid-grade Talismans.

That evening.

Steward Zheng Jinbao came to visit.

"Chang'an, it's me. Are you home?"

Compared to last time, his voice had grown somewhat more enthusiastic.

Li Chang'an rose to open the door.

He saw Zheng Jinbao standing outside with a broad smile plastered across his face.

"Steward Zheng, is something the matter?"

Li Chang'an asked calmly, his expression unchanged.

Zheng Jinbao smiled. "Chang'an, you've really hidden yourself well. You became a Talisman Master without making a sound! You should know that Talisman Drawing is extremely demanding of one's talent!"

He praised Li Chang'an's talent for a few moments.

Only then did he explain the purpose of his visit.

"The Young Miss asked me to tell you that although your Spirit Contract with my Zheng Family has been dissolved, the house you currently live in still belongs to you."

"Oh? I don't need to rent it?"

Li Chang'an was slightly surprised.

The house he currently lived in had been assigned to him by the Zheng Family.

After all, according to the Spirit Contract they had signed back then, the Zheng Family had been required to provide them with a Spiritual Land for cultivation.

Clear River Market had been established atop a Second-tier Spirit Vein, making cultivation here exceptionally effective.

But now.

The Spirit Contract had been dissolved.

Li Chang'an either had to spend Spirit Stones renting a house like the other ordinary Rogue Cultivators, or leave the Marketplace.

Of course.

Now that he was a Talisman Master, he could afford the Spirit Stones needed to rent a house.

Zheng Jinbao shook his head with a smile.

"Chang'an, the Young Miss said that you've worked for the Zheng Family for so many years that you're practically half a member of the family. As long as you remain in Clear River Market, this house belongs to you."

"I see."

Li Chang'an pondered. Most ordinary cultivators probably did not receive such good treatment.

The special consideration he had received was likely because of his status as a Talisman Master.

This was a good fortune delivered right to his door.

He did not refuse.

The path of cultivation could not do without Spirit Stones. It was best to save wherever he could!