Azure Origin Pill

With Xie Xuanyi's personality from ten years ago...

If he encountered a woman like Shen Yan with an "unknown origin," he would most likely ignore her. Riding together in the same carriage would have been utterly impossible.

But now it was different.

He was curious. If everything that had happened since he woke up in Jade Pearl Town was "destined," then what exactly did the person behind the scenes want to do?

He was going to Qing Province.

Shen Yan was also going to Qing Province.

This woman's appearance, her misfortune, and her plea for help were all too coincidental.

Xie Xuanyi wanted to see what tricks this woman could pull off after entering Qing Province.

Shen Yan became much more taciturn.

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk.

But her previous probing had hit a wall, making it clear that no matter what she said, she probably wouldn't get a response.

This handsome Xie young master seemed uninterested in women.

At least... uninterested in her.

So Shen Yan quietly changed into clean clothes, put on a cloak, warmed herself by the brazier in the carriage, and willingly played the "mute."

Xie Xuanyi enjoyed the peace and quiet, leaning against the carriage window, enjoying the scenery while sipping tea, and silently refining the Primordial Qi of heaven and earth.

The Deng Estate's carriage sped along the final mountain road in the Northern Prefecture.

Dead leaves filled the sky, swaying in the wind, a desolate scene.

However, this tranquility did not last long...

"Hungry, hungry!"

A childish cry broke the silence.

Shen Yan had long noticed that there was a sleeping little girl in the carriage, her skin as white as porcelain, her hair a rare crimson red, her appearance sweet. Although her features were still childish, one could already see a hint of exotic charm.

At first, she had only glanced at the little girl a few times because of her "beauty."

Later, she gradually realized something was wrong.

This little one seemed to be quite the sleeper?

The carriage had been bumping along the mountain road for four or five hours... Throughout it all, the little one's sweet snores had never stopped.

At this moment, Jiang Huang, still half-asleep, slowly sat up and hugged Xie Xuanyi with a smack: "Daddy! Food!"

"..."

Xie Xuanyi sighed, took out some dry rations, broke them apart, and patiently fed her bit by bit.

Jiang Huang wasn't picky, eating whatever she was given.

The entire feeding process was quite quiet. Jiang Huang looked half-asleep, squinting her eyes, very well-behaved. After eating, she habitually rubbed against Xie Xuanyi's clothes, wiping her mouth clean, and a comfortable purring sound came from her throat. After doing all this... she smacked her lips, savoring the taste, and then fell back to sleep.

Shen Yan's expression was subtle, and she didn't say a word throughout.

It wasn't until Jiang Huang went back to sleep that she asked incredulously, "Did I hear correctly? What did she just call you?"

"You heard correctly. She called me 'Daddy.'"

Just then, someone pulled open the curtain. Deng Baiyi, having regrouped, charged back in and sat down next to Xie Xuanyi, across from Shen Yan.

Having spent the last few days with Xie Xuanyi, she was no longer surprised by Jiang Huang's behavior.

"Daddy?" Shen Yan re-examined him and teased, "It seems Xie Gongzi is older than I imagined?"

Xie Xuanyi was helpless.

"Well... I am a bit older than you imagine."

He responded and said, "Actually, Jiang Huang's age should also be older than you imagine."

Shen Yan didn't continue on that topic.

She turned to Deng Baiyi and asked with a smile, "Deng Guniang, you were doing fine in the front. What brings you back?"

Of course, it's to make sure you don't have it so easy!

Deng Baiyi adjusted her posture and smiled just as sweetly: "Shen Guniang, Fengsui City is just ahead. The checkpoints in Qing Province are strict. You said earlier that the Shen family had prepared passage documents... I wonder, where are these documents?"

Over this period, Deng Baiyi had calmed down and thought carefully.

Although she didn't know Xie Xuanyi's purpose for bringing this woman into the caravan, she knew very little about the Shen family that Shen Yan spoke of.

After much deliberation, Deng Baiyi decided to question her thoroughly before arriving in Qing Province.

Shen Yan was silent for a moment, then bent down and took a stack of half-dried clothes from in front of the brazier, the same damp clothes she had changed out of earlier: "To be honest, this is all Shen Yan has in the world. The trip was originally going smoothly, but no one expected that when passing the Valiant Might River, bandits would suddenly rush out, scattering the caravan. I was only concerned with escaping, so how could I have worried about passage documents?"

Deng Baiyi narrowed her eyes slightly.

This explanation is reasonable, but one point doesn't add up.

Deng Baiyi continued, "So... your travel permit is gone, and instead of turning back, Miss Shen is thinking of continuing on to Qing Province?"

Shen Yan shook her head. "I can't go back."

"The Shen family's dealings were supposed to be secret, but we were ambushed, which means someone leaked information. Lingluo Mountain has quite a bit of property, and it's usually not very peaceful. I already have an idea who deliberately leaked the information this time."

Shen Yan gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "Given that person's personality, now that they've made a move, they won't easily let it go. This ambush is just the beginning. If I turn back to Lingluo Mountain now, I'll be walking to my death. My only hope is to go to Qing Province and seek help from a family friendly to the Shen family, so that I can reclaim sovereignty over Lingluo Mountain in the future."

This explanation is truly flawless.

Deng Baiyi glanced at the person beside her.

Xie Xuanyi didn't want to get involved in these two women's struggles, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended to be an old monk in meditation.

"He's a great philanthropist, but I'm not."

Deng Baiyi said unhappily, "Let's get the ugly words out of the way first. If you want us to take you to Qing Province, fine. But there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. We don't have a travel permit to go south, so why should the Deng family take you, just because you say you're the daughter of the Lingluo Mountain family?"

Shen Yan's reaction was very calm.

She looked directly into Deng Baiyi's eyes, held up one finger, and smiled. "To take me to Qing Province, one thousand taels of gold."

Deng Baiyi was stunned.

One thousand taels of gold!

The Deng Estate is considered to have quite a bit of wealth in Jade Pearl Town, but one thousand taels of gold is something they can't come up with at any time.

In peaceful times, one thousand taels of gold would be enough to buy a luxurious mansion in the Great Chu imperial city, add dozens of servants, and live a life of carefree eating and drinking!

Deng Baiyi hesitated.

She now has one foot in the door of cultivation and can barely be considered a Qi Refiner. For her, a thousand taels of gold isn't that significant, but she still has to take care of the Deng Estate... This thousand taels of gold is enough for her old father to live the rest of his life without worry, without having to toil.

"A thousand taels of gold isn't enough!"

At that moment, Xie Xuanyi, who had been silent all along, spoke.

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, "Miss Shen, you were in trouble on the Valiant Might River and fled all the way... nearly a hundred miles. That must have been difficult. Without the Thousand-Mile Talisman, I'm afraid you wouldn't have been able to wade through that muddy water earlier."

Thousand-Mile Talisman?

Deng Baiyi raised her eyebrows!

"..."

Shen Yan subconsciously shrank back.

This seemingly "promiscuous" Shen family daughter had changed her outer garment in front of Xie Xuanyi, but she hadn't changed her undergarments. Inside her undergarments, a talisman was pressed against her snow-white skin, with faint heaven and earth Primordial Qi gathering towards the talisman every moment.

Deng Baiyi, as a novice Qi Refiner, hadn't noticed anything unusual.

But all of this couldn't be hidden from Xie Xuanyi.

From the first glance, he knew... the so-called Shen family of Lingluo Mountain had a cultivator sitting behind the scenes.

That's normal.

Although Primordial Qi is thin and cultivators are scarce in the Northern Prefecture, if you want to occupy a mountain and enjoy a reputation in the surrounding area... you need some real strength to provide support.

The Shen family has a cultivator behind them, which explains everything.

"Young Master Xie, you have good eyes."

Shen Yan smiled softly. "From the first glance, I knew you weren't an ordinary person. My father, Shen Zhongqi, and Xu You, the deputy city lord of Taian City in Qing Province, are sworn brothers, brothers in life and death. This time, I'm going to Qing Province to find that deputy city lord of Taian City. If he's willing to help... the changes in Lingluo Mountain won't be anything."

There are nearly a thousand cities, large and small, within Great Chu. Taian City isn't big, but the position of deputy city lord isn't something anyone can hold.

The "Xu You" in Shen Yan's mouth is at least a Qi Guiding Realm peak cultivator!

"In that case..."

Deng Baiyi suddenly understood what Xie Xuanyi had said earlier: "Gold and white jade, what are they worth?"

To cultivators, gold and silver are just external possessions, no different from dirt!

"Three Azure Origin Pills."

Xie Xuanyi said, "I'll take you to Qing Province to see Xu You of Taian City. In return, you need to pay me three Azure Origin Pills."

Shen Yan stared intently at Xie Xuanyi.

Azure Origin Pills... Of course she'd heard of them. They're a kind of pill that condenses a large amount of Primordial Qi into a pill, and they're rare and priceless.

At least the Shen family of Lingluo Mountain doesn't have them.

"I've never seen such a thing."

Shen Yan bit her lip. She couldn't agree to this deal.

Azure Origin Pills are very precious.

Those who can take this kind of pill are not ordinary cultivators.

"You don't need to have seen them. If that deputy city lord of Taian City is really your father's sworn brother, then he must have them, and he won't be stingy about giving them to you."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, "Three Azure Origin Pills in exchange for you entering the pass is well worth it."

Shen Yan took a deep breath and said seriously, "This condition is beyond my ability. I need to think about it carefully."

"We're only a short distance from Fengsui City now..."

Xie Xuanyi said with a leisurely smile, "Miss Shen had better make a decision soon. There's not much time left for you."

"Creak."