Talking about compensation was easy; parting with money was hard. He was now utterly penniless, having just been cleaned out by the Scripture Repository.
If he were still the third young master of the Marquis Manor, he could naturally write a letter and have the manor send over "supplies." But from now on, everything would have to rely on himself.
As he spoke, he reached out, and Big Black Cat Yuanbao at his feet immediately understood. Slightly excited, it sprang up and landed in the crook of his arm.
He lifted Yuanbao and parted its black fur, revealing an obvious puncture wound. It had entered through its back and emerged from its belly. The wound had yet to fully heal, and threads of foul-smelling, icy poisonous blood still seeped out.
Beyond that, there seemed to be a cold, sinister aura inside Yuanbao's body. He could not make sense of it for now and planned to examine it carefully after returning to his room.
Yin Xunshan's White Bone Nail was somewhat sinister. It had not been easy for Yuanbao to survive.
"Your cat is rather pitiful. It was likely struck by a yin-cold artifact, its body entangled with toxic yin energy. If it is not removed soon, it will surely leave behind lasting damage."
Zhao Keyi stood gracefully atop a smooth river stone. As the breeze drifted past, her figure appeared ever more delicate and shapely. Seeing Li Qingyun inspect Big Black Cat's wound, a trace of pity and sympathy finally appeared in her sharp, bright eyes.
"How about this? Since you are short on money for the time being, I have a suggestion. I once tried cultivating lightning arts as well, but could not grasp their essence. I asked Daoist masters to explain them, yet gained little.
"Why not tell me about your insights into comprehending and casting them, Junior Brother? So long as it gives me some inspiration, we can consider the compensation settled..."
Li Qingyun was delighted at her words and gently nodded. "All right."
"Mm, then come sit at my cabin!"
Seeing that he was willing, Zhao Keyi was pleased as well. A smile appeared on her face for the first time.
The stream-valley cabin was bright and refreshing.
The two sat cross-legged. One spoke in an unhurried flow, while the other listened with rapt attention, occasionally interjecting with points she found confusing.
The fresh mountain breeze carried the moistness of the stream and mischievously drifted into the cabin from time to time, stirring the clothes and hair of the young man and woman within. For a moment, an indescribable sense of leisure and ease filled the air.
Li Qingyun had observed the dark curtain behind the mysterious Daoist effigy in his mind, and the insights he gained were naturally extraordinary. His understanding of the Lightning Seal spell far surpassed that of this Senior Sister Zhao by an unknown margin.
As he explained, he gently stroked Yuanbao at his side, secretly sending spiritual power into its body to disperse the toxic yin energy entwined around its wound and speed its healing.
The spiritual power carried faint traces of lightning intent and greatly restrained the wound's toxic yin energy. By the time he explained the Lightning Seal technique for the third time, Yuanbao was already in much better spirits, its cat eyes far more lively.
By then, night had begun to fall, draping this tranquil stream valley in a layer of darkness.
"Senior Sister Zhao, I think you have more or less grasped it. It is getting late, so I will come trouble you another time."
Li Qingyun looked at the night sky and took the initiative to bid farewell.
Though he quite enjoyed the atmosphere of sitting face-to-face in the stream-valley cabin and discussing the Dao, a lone man and woman could stay together during the day without issue. Lingering into the night would be somewhat improper.
In the course of explaining things wholeheartedly, he had gained something himself as well, feeling that his understanding of the Lightning Seal had deepened somewhat.
"Mm, thank you for your instruction, Junior Brother. It has inspired me greatly. Then... take care on your way."
Zhao Keyi had clearly gained much and was still reluctant to stop, but she did not try to keep him. Rising, she saw Li Qingyun out of the cabin.
Lightly tapping the river stones beneath his feet, Li Qingyun gave his arms a slight shake to maintain his balance. His Daoist robe billowed in the wind as he leaped up as if riding the breeze, then drifted down more than ten meters away like a wisp of cloud. Repeating this, he crossed the stream valley in the blink of an eye and stepped onto the small riverside path ahead.
Big Black Cat was not the slightest bit slower than Li Qingyun. It sprang high and crouched low, leaping like lightning as it followed close behind.
In the blink of an eye, man and cat landed on the bank beyond the stream valley.
As Li Qingyun entered the maple grove, he unconsciously turned to look back. At the cabin in the stream valley behind him, Zhao Keyi's slender figure still stood in the night. He could even seem to feel the softness of the night breeze lifting the strands of hair by her cheeks.
At the same time, Zhao Keyi in the distance seemed to smile and wave to him, then turned gracefully and entered the cabin.
When he returned to the Bamboo Lodge, He Xiao had not yet come back.
Big Black Cat Yuanbao prowled around inside the Bamboo Lodge, even jumping onto He Xiao's bed and table. Cat Lord seemed to be familiarizing itself with its new surroundings.
"Yuanbao, come over and sit properly. Let me see what is going on with that cold aura inside you."
After Yuanbao had become familiar with the room, Li Qingyun beckoned for it to come over.
If his guess was correct, Cui and Yin Xunshan's group had probably planted a "Gu" in Yuanbao as well, just as they had done to him.
Fortunately, he had now entered the path of cultivation and had become more proficient with a lightning art.
The six hand seals of the Lightning Seal were far more than mere conduits for casting spells. As his comprehension deepened, he felt that the Lightning Seal had even more uses waiting to be developed.
"Just as I thought!"
He sent a thread of spiritual power into the cat's body. The instant it touched the bloodsucking Gu inside Yuanbao, before the Gu could react, his spiritual power suddenly transformed into a binding Lightning Seal and directly dragged the Gu out!
Under the Lightning Seal's intimidation, the Gu worm trembled in fear.
"Die!"
Dragged out of its host, the bloodsucking Gu looked fat and vicious, its entire body blood-red. Who knew how much of Big Black Cat's vital blood it had devoured?
Back in the carriage, Yin Xunshan must have activated this bloodsucking Gu, catching Yuanbao off guard and affecting the cat's ability to fight. That was why it had nearly been killed by the White Bone Nail!
Li Qingyun naturally showed it no mercy. The Lightning Seal compressed inward, and the bloodsucking Gu instantly became a ball of bloody light before being vaporized into nothing by his spiritual power!
Cui and her son regarded him as a thorn in their eye, and they knew even more clearly how extraordinary Big Black Cat was. Since they had acted, they naturally intended to kill both man and cat, leaving not the slightest future trouble behind.
Yet though they had plotted and schemed every possible way, how could they have known that Li Qingyun would shatter it all in a single day?
"Meow!" Yuanbao gratefully rubbed against its owner's hand.
The poop-scooper finally had some skills. Cat Lord's constant care and protection had not been wasted after all.
"Go find yourself a nest, but do not go over to the other side..."
Li Qingyun waved Yuanbao off to find somewhere to settle down, then found himself speechless.
Big Black Cat meowed twice, then burrowed into the best spot at the head of his bed, comfortably lay down, narrowed its eyes, and pretended to sleep.
So be it...
Shaking his head, he began meditating cross-legged and took out his copied notes on the Lightning Seal to read.
In truth, he was sending his consciousness into his mind, beginning to freeload on the ripples of lightning-art imprints behind the mysterious Daoist effigy.
Since he planned to descend the mountain with Zhao Yifan to slay demons and suppress ghosts, the deeper his comprehension of the Lightning Seal, the better. It would surely prove greatly useful then, and he could not exactly take Senior Brother Zhao's thirty percent of the spirit stones and contribution points for nothing.
He Xiao did not return until deep into the night. He was still radiant with energy, and a faint fragrance of perfumed grease drifted from him.
"Junior Brother Qingyun, you actually bought a spirit cat. It seems the Marquis Manor values you greatly. A spirit pet like this is worth a fortune!"
Seeing the extra Big Black Cat in the room, He Xiao could not help becoming interested and even envious. He reached out to pet it, only for Yuanbao to bristle and bare its fangs. Startled, he retreated several steps, looking rather sheepish.
"Be careful, Senior Brother. My cat has quite the temper, and its claws and fangs are especially sharp..."
Li Qingyun smiled and warned him that Yuanbao was not a cat one could casually pet.
His own cat—what was the point of letting someone else pet it?
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