Buy a Knife

"Ping An, once you reach the capital of Black Wind County, Little Jing will be counting on you to look after her."

Meng Kuo looked reluctantly at his daughter. Once she left, he had no idea when she would return.

"Hmph, I'm stronger than him now. I should be the one looking after him."

Meng Jing tightened the mink fur around her neck, blocking the cold that seeped into her clothes.

Jiang Ping An climbed onto Little White's back. Amid the winter wrapped in silver, Little White appeared all the more sacred.

Meng Jing jumped up after him and burrowed into his arms for warmth.

For some reason, this man wore no padded clothes, yet his body was warm. Before snow could even reach him, it melted away, as though he were a furnace.

Before leaving, Jiang Ping An took four pills from his Storage Bag and tossed them to Li Yuntian and Meng Kuo.

The two caught them instinctively. Once they saw the pills in their hands clearly, both stared wide-eyed.

Li Yuntian held two Foundation Establishment Pills.

Meng Kuo held two Realm Breaking Pills.

The two were utterly stunned. How did Jiang Ping An possess so many expensive pills?

Even with their high status in Continuous Mountain County, these two pills were exceedingly precious to them.

They were far too valuable. They could not accept them.

By the time they came to their senses, Little White had already become a tiny dot racing through the snow.

"Daddy! Goodbye!"

Meng Jing's tearful farewell echoed amid the goose-feather snowfall.

Li Yuntian and Meng Kuo's eyes reddened.

Though they had ten thousand reluctant feelings, every meeting would eventually end in parting.

Life was a journey. Even as parents, they could only accompany their children for a stretch of the road.

The snow grew heavier, and the two youths went farther and farther away.

No one noticed the figure hiding in a corner, glaring at the departing Jiang Ping An with resentment...

Little White raced across the snowy ground, its speed completely unaffected by the blizzard.

Meng Jing secretly wiped away her tears. "Jiang Ping An, for the rest of this journey, behave yourself. Don't go stirring up trouble for me."

Jiang Ping An lowered his head and looked strangely at the girl in his arms.

Meng Jing grabbed the youth's cheek. "What kind of look is that? Do you think I'm the one who'll cause trouble? Wrong! Utterly wrong! If anyone causes trouble, it'll definitely be you!"

Seeing the youth's confusion, Meng Jing asked, "If you see someone being bullied, will you step in?"

"I'll judge the situation. If I can't win, I won't act," Jiang Ping An said.

He was not an idiot. Without the strength to back himself up, he would not rashly make a move.

"Wrong! You must not act, no matter when it is!"

Meng Jing smacked the youth on the head and lectured him, "How do you know whether the person you're about to teach a lesson has some great lineage or powerful faction behind them? If you hit them, won't they seek revenge?"

"Don't think those people will reason with you. If they do reason with you, it means either you're strong, or the people behind you are strong."

"The two of us have no one to rely on. If we offend someone, they could swat us to death with one slap, and there wouldn't even be anyone to avenge us."

"That's why I'm telling you not to cause trouble along the way."

Hearing Meng Jing's words, Jiang Ping An fell silent. He truly had not considered that aspect.

The basis for his earlier conflict with the Flat Water County soldiers had been killing a captain, and afterward, trouble had come in an endless stream.

It was a common occurrence for powerful cultivators to casually wipe out an entire city. If a powerful cultivator slapped him to death, no one would care at all.

"I understand."

Though Jiang Ping An felt helpless, he could not change anything. He was merely an ordinary low-level cultivator.

Meng Jing nodded in satisfaction. "Good that you understand. In short, even if you want to be a good person, you have to hold it in."

Jiang Ping An took out two Blood Spirit Pills and handed them to the girl. "Raise your strength as quickly as possible."

Meng Jing was slightly taken aback. "Princess Sister gave those to you, right? You haven't finished using them? Why give them to me? You're a Body Cultivator too, so keep them for yourself."

Meng Jing did not take them. Though she needed them badly, she could not delay his cultivation.

"My strength is inferior to yours. Improve quickly—it'll benefit both of us. You can pay me back later."

Jiang Ping An forcibly stuffed the Blood Spirit Pills into her hands.

"Hehe, so you finally admit I'm stronger, huh? Fine, I'll count these two as borrowed from you."

Meng Jing happily accepted them. She had already used up her Blood Spirit Pills. With nothing to do on the journey, having resources to cultivate with was naturally a good thing. She could return them to him later.

Meng Jing swallowed the Blood Spirit Pills and began cultivating.

She did not notice that Jiang Ping An's expression was incomparably grave, as though he were worried about something.

Little White was extremely fast. What would take other horses seven or eight days to travel, it covered more than half of in a single day.

Perhaps because they had traveled far away, it had not snowed here yet. The weather was merely freezing, with fierce winds blowing.

After riding all day, Meng Jing was somewhat tired. "Let's rest in Bright Sea County tonight. Zigui is much more prosperous than Continuous Mountain County. We can also buy something tasty here."

What she wanted most was to enter the city and buy something delicious.

"Alright."

Jiang Ping An did not refuse. Both humans and demon beasts needed rest. Only by staying alert could they react swiftly when danger arose.

Jiang Ping An dismounted and fed Little White five Qi Gathering Pills.

"Woodhead, how are you so rich?" Meng Jing suddenly asked.

Feeding a demon beast five Qi Gathering Pills a day was something even her father, a general, could not bear to do.

She had thought that when Jiang Ping An subdued this demon beast, his promise to feed it five Qi Gathering Pills a day had only been a lie to fool it.

She had not expected him to truly be able to afford it!

"An opportunity." Jiang Ping An could not reveal the matter of the Treasure Accumulation Basin.

"Wow! You're a rich man too! You have to buy me ten Sugar Cakes! No, twenty!"

Meng Jing did not press him about what opportunity he had encountered. Instead, she was delighted that the man had money and prepared to extort a good sum from him.

She happily ran into the city, ready to buy some delicious food.

Jiang Ping An led Little White behind her. As they entered the city, his gaze inadvertently swept behind them, and his expression turned grave.

This city truly was much more prosperous than Continuous Mountain County. Many cultivators and Martial Warriors could be seen within.

Many people also had exotic beasts as mounts. Aside from looking more handsome, Jiang Ping An's mount was not especially eye-catching. Some people even rode enormous toads.

"Wow, this blade is so beautiful."

Meng Jing was buying sweets when a blade in a shop suddenly caught her attention.

The blade's spine bore azure floral patterns, its lines smooth and graceful. It was two fingers wide, with a thin, light body suited for those who used light blades. A faint rune-like gleam flickered over it, and its forging was exceptionally refined.

"Miss, you have a fine eye. This is the treasure that props up our shop. Ten basic runes are engraved upon it, allowing it to unleash tremendous power. It is more than sufficient even for a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator to use."

The shopkeeper showed off his treasured blade.

"How much is it?" Stars shone in Meng Jing's eyes. She desperately wanted it. The blade was simply too beautiful.

"Only ten thousand Spirit Stones," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

"Ten thousand? That expensive?" Meng Jing's voice rose.

"It's very cheap already. The materials for this blade are expensive. If the rune engraving had not been so poor, causing this blade to drop several grades, it could have sold for even more."

Indeed, a weapon used by a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator cost far more than this.

However, a treasure's price was closely tied to its runes. The runes on this blade had not been engraved well, which was why it was much cheaper.

Meng Jing bit her red lip and reluctantly withdrew her gaze. She simply did not have that many Spirit Stones.

Counting the winnings from the previous competition and what her father had given her, she only had a little over three thousand Spirit Stones—nowhere near enough to buy this beautiful blade.

"Little Sister, Big Brother can buy it for you."

A voice with a strange tone suddenly rang out.

Meng Jing turned around in confusion and saw an extremely rotund man, round as a ball, grinning at her.

His eyes brimmed with revolting greed.

"Big Brother can give you the blade, as long as you become my concubine."

The others nearby suddenly scattered at the sight of him, as though they had seen a plague god. Clearly, they knew him, and he did not appear to be a good person.