The Three Chapters of Agreement

"Ah... hiss, be gentle."

"Sorry, I used a bit too much force."

"It's fine, continue, a little lower."

"Boss, is this medicine any good? It won't be useless, right?"

"The effect will kick in soon, it's fine."

"Why don't we start from behind? Your back looks like it needs it more. We can do the front later."

"That works too. Be gentle with the front, and a bit firmer with the back."

"..."

Late at night in the agency, a young man and woman were exchanging hushed sounds.

Yue Wen's upper body was bare, revealing numerous bloody scratches and bruises, with alarming dark purple patterns.

Although they had achieved a great victory in their fight against a group of Tiger Demons, he had still sustained quite a few injuries. There were claw marks from the tigers, as well as injuries from their whipping tails. The wounds on his front were relatively light, but several on his back were deep enough to nearly expose bone, presenting a grim sight.

Zhao Xing'er was holding a bottle of ointment, applying it to his body.

Her Martial Spirit Red Light should have also provided protection and healing effects. Despite taking more hits than Yue Wen during the battle, her skin was still fair and smooth, without a single scratch.

Ironically, Yue Wen, who had been fighting from a distance, was more severely injured than her, the frontline fighter.

She was getting even more annoyed.

However, cultivators had strong physiques. These external injuries, though severe-looking, could be self-repaired with enough time and some expenditure of Qi and blood. As long as there were no residual True Qi corrosions attached to the wounds, the problems weren't too significant.

Especially after reaching the Sixth Realm and forging a Dharma Body, one could regenerate severed limbs or even revive from decapitation. Their vitality would become terrifyingly tenacious.

As she applied the ointment, Zhao Xing'er's cheeks flushed slightly.

Objectively speaking, Yue Wen had a good physique, fitting the classic lean, handsome build – well-proportioned and sleek.

However, the reason for her blushing wasn't shyness, but rather a knife wound she spotted on Yue Wen's back.

It was clearly not inflicted by the Tiger Demons.

"It's okay, in that situation, some accidental friendly fire is understandable." Yue Wen guessed her thoughts and spoke to comfort her.

"Boss, you don't blame me?" Zhao Xing'er asked, touched.

"I don't blame you. Everything that happens is destiny, and meeting you is my blessing." Yue Wen smiled. "You only worked for one day today. I'll calculate your base salary as one hundred yuan, and your commission for this job is two hundred and fifty. I'll transfer three hundred and fifty yuan to you later. We'll have our dreams and live our separate lives..."

"Boss, are you firing me?" Zhao Xing'er immediately stopped her movements.

"How can you call it firing?" Yue Wen corrected. "It's optimization."

"Why?" Zhao Xing'er asked.

Yue Wen turned halfway, showing her the knife wound on his back again. Everything was self-explanatory.

"I'll be more careful next time..." Zhao Xing'er lowered her head, twisting her hands together, and said softly.

"I believe you, but this isn't something you can entirely control." Yue Wen sighed. "Xiao Zhao, my cultivation isn't high enough, and sometimes I really can't suppress you. You should find a larger organization..."

"Actually, I've already looked for many jobs." Zhao Xing'er pouted, her voice quiet. "But I either injured my boss or my colleagues. You know, bosses always have a million ways to make you angry..."

Yue Wen nodded understandingly.

He hadn't worked before, but he had heard things. Toads with three legs are hard to find, but stupid bosses are everywhere.

Who hasn't had the urge to punch their superior's pig-like face while at work?

But Zhao Xing'er was different from everyone else.

She couldn't control her temper.

"This time, I thought I'd be really careful..." she continued to mutter. "I didn't expect to accidentally injure you again."

"The main reason isn't that you accidentally injured me, but I'm worried you might cause trouble in the future." Yue Wen explained. "Our place here..."

"Wuwuwu." Zhao Xing'er seemed not to hear what he was saying, becoming more and more distressed, with a hint of a sob in her voice. "It's so hard to finally meet a boss like you, who isn't greedy for money or lustful, is kind, and handsome..."

"Xiao Zhao, you, oh dear." Yue Wen was at a loss for how to comfort her, and said anxiously, "Why are you saying such honest things?"

"If even you don't want me, then maybe I really won't be able to work anymore. I'll have to sleep on the streets, suffer from hunger and cold, and die in a foreign land..." Zhao Xing'er looked up, her eyes teary. "I hope I have a few matches in my arms before I die, so I'll have a chance to see my grandmother again..."

"Zhao Xing'er!" Yue Wen called out loudly, then said in a helpless whisper, "If you really don't want to leave, you can stay."

"Yay!"

Zhao Xing'er's face instantly lit up with a smile. Her tears vanished as if evaporated, leaving only a sweet, smiling face.

Yue Wen: "?"

He had a vague feeling he had been tricked.

He quickly added, "You can stay, but I need to set three rules with you."

"Okay." Zhao Xing'er obediently packed away the ointment, smiled, and nodded. "Boss, tell me, I'll definitely listen obediently."

"First, no hitting the boss." Yue Wen raised his fingers one by one, stating his conditions. "Second, no hitting customers. And third... if you really have to hit someone, no using weapons."

"Ah?" Zhao Xing'er's expression showed some difficulty. "Are the requirements that high?"

"Tch." Yue Wen chuckled. "If you really find it difficult, I won't force you."

When people are speechless, they really can't hold back.

"But I will definitely work hard to achieve it!" Zhao Xing'er said with great determination, raising three fingers and nodding heavily. "Mm!"

The two of them messed around all night. By the time they lay down in bed to rest properly, the sky was already turning white.

Yue Wen was used to this irregular schedule. He still followed his own rhythm, preparing to lie in bed and scroll through his phone before sleeping.

As soon as he opened the Cultivation Chat forum, he found several new messages in his inbox and quickly clicked to check them.

Among the four precious materials needed for the Chaos Dragon Gang, the Purple Jade Branch, Grand Unity Profound Blazing Cinnabar, and Dragon Breath Fire Seed are all heavenly treasures that cannot be obtained by human effort.

Only the Blazing Flame Powder can be refined by cultivators, making it the easiest to obtain among them.

The effect of this medicine is to boost the fire in the Dantian after the spiritual fire in the Qi Sea is ignited. The refining process must be extremely meticulous, and not the slightest error can be made. Although alchemists with such skill are rare, there should still be a few if you search throughout Jiang City.

Thus, Yue Wen posted an anonymous post on the Jiang City section of Cultivation Chat, seeking to purchase high-quality Blazing Flame Powder and hoping for contacts with channels.

Transaction requests on Cultivation Chat usually involve posting a request to buy or sell. If someone replies, he will then contact the other party to confirm, and they will choose a relatively safe location in the city for inspection and transaction, which is a standard procedure.

If cross-city transactions were possible, it would definitely be easier to find the goods.

However, firstly, cross-city in-person inspection is very inconvenient. If they don't inspect the goods, there is no platform guarantee for private transactions, and he dared not take the risk. Secondly, in this era, cross-city transportation incurs additional costs, and the price of traversing the vast wilderness is considerable, making the price of transported items almost double.

Therefore, same-city transactions are preferred.

A full day had passed, and the post had received several replies, but most were useless comments and GG.

["Spear dipped in shit, poke whoever dies": Blazing Flame Powder? That's the highest-grade fire-boosting spiritual medicine. It's usually used for breaking through to the Gang Realm, right? I wonder which Immortal Sect disciple it is.]

["Ziche Chenju": Are you serious about wanting it? If you're not serious, I don't have it... If you are serious, then I'll say more.]

["God, please give Chen Bo back to me": Envious. I'm fifty-eight this year, and I still have no hope of refining Gang.]

["Legal Scholar Li Dakang": Add me for videos.]

["Old Bai": I have it, exclusive top-tier Blazing Flame Powder.]

["momo": I recently got interested in a new fire-boosting spiritual medicine, it's no worse than Blazing Flame Powder, and dozens of times cheaper. Want to try it with me?]

"..."

Yue Wen looked through them all. The only reliable one seemed to be the user named "Old Bai." He clicked on the other party's profile page and saw videos of them exclusively refining spiritual medicines. They seemed to be a genuine alchemist, but their traffic was very low, and they seemed to have almost no business.

He wondered if it was reliable.

With a mindset of trying his luck, Yue Wen sent a private message, "Hello, do you really have high-quality Blazing Flame Powder?"

"Yes." After a few minutes, the other party replied, seeming to be a night owl as well. "Three taels, five hundred thousand."

The price sounded astonishing, but Yue Wen had searched before. Blazing Flame Powder on the market could sell for two hundred thousand per tael. His price of five hundred thousand for three taels, while a large sum for him, was actually on the lower side.

"Can we arrange an offline inspection tomorrow?" Yue Wen immediately sent the message.

He planned to check the reliability of the goods first before preparing the money.

The other party's reply was direct: "Building 208, Unit 167, You'ai Road, Half-Mountain Area, City Number Six. Just give my name at the entrance and come straight in."

Yue Wen looked at the very detailed address and slowly frowned.

Going directly to their home for the first meeting?

We're just online friends.

Isn't this developing a bit too fast?