Chapter 29

Zheng Family's side residence.

Though it was called a side residence, it was still a courtyard with three entrances and three exits.

"You're saying he defeated you in a single move?"

Chen Chen was broad and imposing in build, dressed in a white shirt with an ancient book in hand. There was not a trace of sharpness in his bearing; he looked more like a scholar.

He turned a blind eye to Wild Wolf Saber Long Shi's severed left arm and frowned slightly.

"More than that. He was too young."

Long Shi pressed down on his barely scabbed left arm, agony twisting his face as he said unwillingly, "Young, extremely strong, fair-skinned, without any trace of having endured wind or sun."

Poisonous resentment churned within him. He wanted nothing more than to eat his flesh and sleep on his hide, yet he did not dare conceal the slightest thing.

Because if a fight broke out, these masters would absolutely refuse to take the lead. They would use him as the vanguard, and if they were insufficiently prepared, his entire family might be in danger.

Even if the other party could not be bothered with his family, if he died, those he had offended over the years would be more than happy to do the job for him.

Long Shi looked at him expectantly.

These masters above him possessed vast powers. Once fully prepared, they would not fear a young man with a bit of backing, would they?

"Since that is the case."

Chen Chen rested a hand on the ancient book and said slowly, "Then postpone it for now. The main family's affairs take priority."

Long Shi lowered his head.

After handing everyone at the general store a bonus of ten taels each—double for Huang Deyou, along with two days of leave to be taken later—Jiang Ding returned home.

This was an enormous sum of money.

It could buy over four thousand jin of rice, or one to two times more coarse grain, enough to support a family of several for years.

If those so-called big shots refused to let the matter rest, then no matter how much he liked his current life, he could only flee.

There was nothing he could do about being dragged into it.

But he would take revenge.

No matter which lofty big shot was involved, once he was strong enough to crush them, he would find every last one of them and stab them to death with a single sword.

One in the morning.

Jiang Ding glanced at his phone, skipping past the mountain of idle chatter in the class group. The Immortal Sect Library app had popped up with two unread messages.

When he opened them, Jiang Ding's face lit up.

"Rainbow Cloud Pharmaceutical, Shao Kangkang: Hello, sir. The α-acetyl-257 molecule found in and patented by you in Purple Spirit Grass has certain auxiliary effects on our company's refinement of a particular pill. After research by our company, we are willing to purchase full authorization for your patent for 155,000 mortal coins."

"What do you think?"

No one could violate the Immortal Sect's First Law.

This meant that after buying it out in one lump sum, the company would no longer need to pay Jiang Ding patent fees for using the Purple Spirit Grass component.

Jiang Ding had discovered Purple Spirit Grass while still in the Mortal Realm, and the patent term was three hundred years.

"155,000 mortal coins..."

Jiang Ding hesitated, unable to make up his mind.

Lacking the relevant knowledge, he could not judge whether this price was reasonable.

Large companies had many backup options in pill research and development. If he opened his mouth like a lion, they would give up on using this component.

There might not even be a pill that used this component. It could simply be a technical reserve made in advance by a large company.

Conversely, if it could be confirmed that this component of Purple Spirit Grass was irreplaceable, or even used in some high-value spirit pill, then patent fees of hundreds of thousands or millions of mortal coins, plus spirit coins, might be negotiable.

No longer hesitating, Jiang Ding got up and knocked on Lin Wanqiu's bedroom door.

Bang, bang, bang!

It was not long before Lin Wanqiu opened the door, bleary-eyed and with her hair in a mess. "Ding Ding, what happened?"

Jiang Ding pointed toward the sofa.

"...That's the situation. Mom, do you know anyone in the pharmaceutical field?" Jiang Ding explained it all and handed his phone to Lin Wanqiu.

"Hm?"

Lin Wanqiu's eyes immediately widened as she snatched the phone over.

"Our family is going to get rich!"

Her eyes sparkled. "I studied metal smelting in university, and that's what I do for work too, but I have a close friend from high school who works in this industry."

Not caring about the rudeness of making a call at one in the morning, she dialed the number.

After quite a while, she put down her phone.

"It's hard to tell."

Lin Wanqiu rubbed her brow. "Pills involve countless components and alchemical methods. From a single molecular structure, even an insider cannot judge its value unless they are an industry master or someone within Rainbow Cloud Pharmaceutical."

"We can't afford an Alchemy Master. They're too expensive."

"Then we can only accept their offer." Jiang Ding sighed. He understood nothing, so there was nowhere to begin bargaining.

By probability alone, there was a high chance that it was merely an ordinary, replaceable component. After all, medicinal ingredients that could be used in high-value spirit pills were exceedingly rare.

"It's already very good."

Lin Wanqiu said excitedly.

Jiang Ding gently stroked his sword hilt, wiping away the unwilling greed rising in his heart. "Mom, the economic base determines the superstructure. Since I've already earned such a large sum, can you promise me something?"

"Go ahead." Lin Wanqiu waved a hand grandly.

"Quit the overtime shifts you previously took on. For at least one year."

Jiang Ding looked into her eyes.

Rongcheng Steel Plant enforced an eight-hour workday, from eight in the morning to six in the evening, with a two-hour lunch break and three shifts rotating. Since Jiang Ding was in high school and Jiang Yuan was about to enter middle school, expenses were substantial, so Lin Wanqiu had voluntarily applied to work four hours of overtime every day.

"Well, you need money to practice martial arts..."

Lin Wanqiu hesitated. This was merely an unexpected windfall, like winning the lottery. There would be no follow-up income, and they could only sit and eat through their savings.

And martial arts training,

as far as she knew, could swallow any amount of money, especially for those with poor talent.

"Just one year." Jiang Ding placed a hand on his sword hilt, radiating vigorous confidence. "And haven't you heard? For martial artists, only when their thoughts flow freely can they achieve anything."

Lin Wanqiu noticed his movement and frowned.

She knew that her son had an extremely firm mind. Once he decided something, he was rarely swayed.

"...All right."

Lin Wanqiu agreed hesitantly.

To be honest, she had worked overtime ever since her girlhood. These past few years had truly become unbearable. Several times, she had called Grandma and cried, enduring only by gritting her teeth.

"That's wonderful! Good night, Mom!"

Jiang Ding smiled and walked back toward his room with light steps. His inner force circulated naturally, and his entire body seemed to become far more clear and open.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, his inner force flowed in sequence through the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian, then toward the third primary meridian, the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian.

The progress was roughly as he had expected.

Threads of inner force nourished and tempered the ten primary channels of the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian. A numbing, tingling pain came over him, only to be repaired, the pain gently soothed away.

He opened his eyes and let the kingfisher that had somehow entered through the window carry away a huge stack of specimens—various plants and insects, and even a mouse-like animal sealed inside a small cage.

It had nearly become a small mountain, and the tiny kingfisher perched at its summit was almost impossible to see.

Yet the little fellow did not seem strained at all. It steadily bundled everything up and carried it away, still having enough strength left to cast an invisibility spell as Jiang Ding had requested.

"Do you need help?"

Jiang Ding asked softly.

The mountain of specimens was larger than the window. It did not look like it could possibly fit through.

"Chirp, chirp!"

The kingfisher shook its pointed beak. A speck of green light spread from it, and the pile of specimens visibly shrank before it flapped its wings and vanished.

A spell?

Jiang Ding watched the scene in surprise. Not every delivery kingfisher knew that trick. This little fellow was an elite.

He took out his phone, set an alarm, replied to Rainbow Cloud Pharmaceutical's researcher, and dealt with the final unread message as well.

The instant he opened it, Jiang Ding's fingers trembled.