Sky Wolf Mausoleum Again

"True dragons... that is only a legend. How could a dragon appear in such a remote little town?" Tang Xuan shook his head.

Lu Feng looked somewhat dejected, wavering for the first time. "Could there really be no dragon in this town?"

Lu Feng muttered to himself, but immediately rejected the thought. He believed Old Hei could not be wrong. Since he had sensed a dragon's aura, it had to exist.

Considering that Tang Manor had changed hands decades ago, Tang Chen might not necessarily know certain things about Azure Dragon Town. Lu Feng stopped asking and instead inquired about the doubt before him. "Uncle Tang, are there any items in the manor that were left behind by the former Wang Manor?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuan became more wary and questioned Lu Feng, "What is your relationship to Wang Manor?"

From the looks of it, Tang Xuan had likely mistaken Lu Feng for a descendant of Wang Manor who had come seeking trouble.

Tang Yuan, who had just opened the door, happened to see and hear this scene. He hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand. Brother Lu did not mean it that way."

He then recounted, detail by detail, the recent events in Azure Dragon Town, as well as Lu Feng's guesses and suspicions, to Tang Xuan.

Tang Yuan's voice was weaker than usual. Suppressed by the Spirit Suppression Pattern, he was now like an ordinary person, and there was no longer anything abnormal about his arm.

"I never expected Azure Dragon Town to have become so unsettled these past years," Tang Xuan said with a sigh. He pondered Lu Feng's earlier question, yet could not think of any item worth someone secretly moving against the Eight Manors. Wang Manor had indeed left behind quite a few things, but most were useless. Anything valuable had long since been sold off.

Suddenly, a scene from more than twenty years ago surfaced in Tang Xuan's mind. Just after they had struck Ma Manor off the rolls, Prison Manor had come to their door. He had thought they would inspect the place and hold them accountable, but unexpectedly, Prison Manor had merely said a few simple words.

"Keep the stone stool left behind by Wang Manor safe. In times of crisis, it can save Azure Dragon Town." Those had been the words the prison official had instructed Tang Xuan with.

Tang Xuan pointed at a pitch-black "stone" tucked away in a corner of the courtyard and repeated to Lu Feng what the prison official had said back then.

"This broken stone, not even as big as a head, can save Azure Dragon Town?" Lu Feng circled it skeptically. No matter how he looked at it, it was clearly an ordinary piece of Black Iron Stone. Other than being exceptionally hard, there was nothing special about it.

Lu Feng crouched down and wiped it off, scraping away some of the black lumps covering it. Faintly, he could see a few messy carvings on its surface, like a child's scribbles, etched haphazardly.

"I studied this stone for several days and found nothing special about it," Tang Xuan said. If not for the prison official's words, he would have thrown it away long ago.

Inside and out, left and right, top and bottom.

Lu Feng examined it again and again, yet found nothing beyond those disorderly markings.

Still, an inexplicable intuition arose within him. This black stone stool definitely had some inevitable connection to the true dragon.

Lu Feng slowly rose to his feet and regretfully returned the stone to its corner, looking somewhat forlorn.

"Brother Lu, don't leave tonight. Let us have a proper chat," Tang Yuan said to Lu Feng when he saw it was getting late. He then instructed the steward to prepare some late-night snacks.

Lu Feng had nowhere else to go anyway and had already planned to impose upon them for the night.

The two talked deep into the night by candlelight, discussing many interesting matters. They had the feeling of meeting too late.

The next day, before the sky had fully brightened, Lu Feng rose as usual to cultivate. After completing one circulation, he went out into the courtyard and practiced the Exquisite Steps.

They were only the most basic footwork drills, so he was not afraid of others seeing them.

Morning was when the mind was clearest, and also when he was busiest. From practicing movement techniques to reviewing array-inscribing methods, Lu Feng did not stop for a single moment, afraid of wasting the little time he had left.

From the upper floor of the pavilion, a pair of lazy eyes glanced at Lu Feng. A trace of approval appeared on the owner's face before he lay back down and fell asleep again, murmuring, "It is truly fortunate that Yuan'er has made such a fine friend."

Because the Spirit Suppression Pattern prevented Tang Yuan from cultivating, he had not intended to rise early. Yet he still woke up very early, simply because he had long formed the habit of morning cultivation.

When Tang Yuan opened his door and saw that Lu Feng had risen even earlier than he had and had already cultivated for quite a while, he could not help feeling a sense of mutual appreciation.

Since the four of them had agreed yesterday to gather at the same old place, the two left Tang Manor after Tang Yuan had washed up.

"Take this. It is for self-defense." A golden, gleaming object suddenly flew out from a small window above the pavilion.

Tang Yuan caught it in one hand, a trace of tenderness flashing through his eyes.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan met up with Jiang Ruoyun and the others. After a simple breakfast, they split into two groups.

According to the plan, Tang Yuan and Yan Mingchi would go to Sky Wolf Mausoleum, while Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun would head to Shi Manor.

On the way to Shi Manor, Jiang Ruoyun could not help asking again, "Is your prescription really worth one hundred thousand Copper Soul Coins?"

Lu Feng replied, "To a family of physicians and pharmacists, a prescription is worth far more than a mere one hundred thousand. Once they have this prescription, they can mass-produce Blood Return Powder. The profits it brings will be enough to recoup the cost."

"Even so, he did not even bargain. Isn't that far too generous?" Jiang Ruoyun did not understand.

Lu Feng recalled what had happened at Jiang Manor yesterday. After Old Man Shi heard the price of one hundred thousand, he had only hesitated briefly before agreeing. He had not even tried to bargain, which truly was somewhat abnormal.

Lu Feng guessed, "Perhaps he happens to need it badly."

When the two arrived at Shi Manor and had just approached the gate, they heard a servant at the entrance ask, "May I ask if you are Miss Jiang? The master has been waiting for quite some time."

Jiang Ruoyun nodded and was immediately led into Shi Manor's inner hall.

From the gates of Shi Manor to the inner hall, every patch of soil was planted with all sorts of flowers and medicinal herbs. Even the air was permeated with the scent of herbs.

As they entered the inner hall, Old Man Shi and the current lord of Shi Manor sat high above them.

"Did you bring the prescription?" Old Man Shi asked Lu Feng.

Lu Feng took out the prescription and handed it over directly. He was not worried that they would go back on their word. Shi Manor was, after all, a renowned presence in Azure Dragon Town, and surely would not break its promise.

"Old Man Shi, do you need this prescription so urgently because something has happened in the manor?" Lu Feng took the chance to probe.

Before the prescription was in his hands, Old Man Shi would never have said another word. After all, he had to guard against Lu Feng taking the opportunity to jack up the price.

But now, the prescription was already in hand. Once he had examined its authenticity, Old Man Shi lowered his guard and smiled bitterly at Lu Feng. "To be honest, a child in the manor was injured and cannot recover. We urgently need a good remedy for treating wounds..."

Lu Feng was startled. Sure enough, someone in Shi Manor had also suffered misfortune.

"May I ask where the injury was sustained?" Lu Feng probed, taking out more than fifty stalks of Lotus Insect Grass and handing them to Old Man Shi.

He had hoarded them only for profit, but Lu Feng did not want to delay Old Man Shi's efforts to save someone.

"Sky Wolf Mausoleum," Old Man Shi said flatly, raising a hand to indicate that Lu Feng should take the Lotus Insect Grass back.

"Little brother, what do you mean by this? Could it be that my grand Shi Manor is lacking a few stalks of medicinal herbs?"

His good intentions had not been appreciated, and Lu Feng awkwardly took them back.

Following up on this, Lu Feng asked to confirm, "Sky Wolf Mausoleum? Was the injury caused by the Poisonous Miasma Qi?"

Old Man Shi had the steward count out the soul coins as he casually replied, "How could miasma leave someone covered in wounds? It was those wolves. Recently, for some unknown reason, they have gone mad and bite anyone they see."

"That child Shi You went out to gather herbs and was unfortunately attacked by a pack of wolves. By the time he escaped back to the manor, he was already at death's door. Though spiritual medicine has preserved his life, his wounds have refused to heal for a long time. We can only hope your medicine will be of some help."

After saying that, Old Man Shi handed over several money bags. "Count them. One hundred thousand Copper Soul Coins—not one coin more, not one coin less."

Lu Feng took the money bags and weighed them in his hand. After confirming the amount was correct, he stored them in his Storage Ring.

Having heard Old Man Shi's words, Lu Feng was certain of Sky Wolf Mausoleum's dangers. The suddenly appearing miasma, the wild wolves gone mad—every sign showed that the place was far from ordinary.

Although he was worried about Tang Yuan's safety, Lu Feng did not rush over immediately. Instead, he first headed toward the marketplace.

If he did not make some preparations beforehand, he feared he would be unable to help even if he went.

Lu Feng separated more than eighty thousand Copper Soul Coins from the money he had received from Shi Manor and handed them to Jiang Ruoyun.

"I kept some to order arrow shafts. The rest should be enough for you to rent a house. Also, do you have a channel for consigning medicinal herbs? I have some Lotus Insect Grass I need to put up for consignment."

"You earned this money. I..." Jiang Ruoyun dearly wanted to accept it, but her pride made her hesitate.

"Take it and rent a house. I need a place to live too." Lu Feng smiled.

With that, Jiang Ruoyun felt much more at ease. She continued, "I know a medicinal herb shop that accepts consignments, but Lotus Insect Grass does not seem very valuable. What price will you list it at?"

"Five hundred per stalk," Lu Feng said after thinking for a moment.

"What?" Jiang Ruoyun was astonished, thinking she had heard wrong.

Though she did not know the exact price of Lotus Insect Grass, she remembered it costing only a few dozen Copper Soul Coins per stalk. Yet Lu Feng had just opened with a price of five hundred, dozens of times higher.

"Is that too low? Then make it one thousand per stalk." Lu Feng smiled.

"Have you gone mad? Isn't this only a few dozen Copper Soul Coins per stalk?" Jiang Ruoyun finally voiced her doubt.

"Then list it at eight hundred. People from Shi Manor will come to buy it," Lu Feng said after considering it.

"How many stalks do you have?" Jiang Ruoyun was doubtful. Could it really be worth that much?

"Around one thousand," Lu Feng said.

"One thousand stalks?" Jiang Ruoyun cried out in shock. If they really could all be sold, would that not mean eight hundred thousand at once?

Thinking of how Lu Feng had offered Shi Manor fifty stalks for free and they had refused them, that had been nearly forty thousand soul coins. Shi Manor was truly lavish. They would probably regret it to death later.

Lotus Insect Grass itself was difficult to cultivate. The reason it cost only a few dozen Copper Soul Coins per stalk was mainly because it had too few uses. But once Shi Manor used the prescription to refine Blood Return Powder, its price would certainly rise like the tide lifts all boats.

By the time the next batch of Lotus Insect Grass was cultivated, it would no longer be worth only a few dozen soul coins per stalk.

Lu Feng smiled calmly. This money was not actually much. If exchanged for array materials, it would only last for a while.

Array masters were so rare mainly because the resources consumed in their cultivation and growth were simply too great.