Evil Qi

"What on earth is going on here?" Shopkeeper Zhu demanded in a deep voice.

Seeing the situation in such a sorry state, Shopkeeper Zhu could not control his anger, nor did he wish to.

This was, after all, the central area of Flying Horse Market. Gao Xian had only arrived two months ago and barely knew anyone; who would come to his home in the middle of the night to set a fire?

Even if there were a real grudge, it would be far simpler to just kill Gao Xian directly.

Shopkeeper Zhu suspected that Gao Xian had done this himself, perhaps because a batch of pills had failed, ruining a large quantity of medicinal ingredients, and he felt he couldn't account for the loss.

Or perhaps this kid had secretly sold the finished pills and set the fire to destroy the evidence!

Gao Xian lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Shopkeeper Zhu. His years of working a nine-to-six grind had given him extensive experience in dealing with angry superiors.

Avoiding eye contact and maintaining a humble posture was an effective way to prevent a conflict from escalating.

"I don't know who it was—someone ran over and threw a Flame Bomb. It nearly scared me to death."

Gao Xian's face was a perfect mask of innocence mixed with lingering shock.

The roaring flames illuminated the courtyard, and Shopkeeper Zhu could clearly see the subtle expressions on Gao Xian's face; he couldn't find a single flaw.

This caused Shopkeeper Zhu to doubt his own judgment. Could he have wronged the kid?

After all, Gao Xian was only in his early twenties and had spent all his time learning alchemy; he lacked life experience. If he were guilty, he wouldn't be able to act so naturally.

The quality of the pills Gao Xian provided was excellent and had earned much praise. It was clear that Gao Xian had a real talent for alchemy.

One really couldn't be too harsh with such a talent.

Shopkeeper Zhu was uncertain, so he took advantage of the firelight to look Gao Xian over once more.

The flames were intense but unstable, flickering and dancing, causing Gao Xian's face to shift between light and shadow, appearing somewhat ethereal.

Gao Xian remained calm. He was indeed destroying evidence, but he would compensate for the losses. There was nothing to fear.

He said loudly, "Brother Zhu, no matter who did this, I will pay for the damages."

Shopkeeper Zhu shook his head with a strange expression. "No, that's not right... that's not right..."

Gao Xian felt a slight jolt of alarm. How could Shopkeeper Zhu tell something was wrong?

He knew that speaking too much led to mistakes, so he didn't dare to chime in or offer explanations without knowing what Shopkeeper Zhu meant.

He put on a blank, confused look and stared at Shopkeeper Zhu.

Shopkeeper Zhu cast a Qi Observation Technique on himself, and as spiritual light flickered in his small eyes, he looked at Gao Xian again and finally saw the issue.

He took two steps back, suddenly becoming quite nervous. "Little Gao, have you encountered anything unusual lately?"

Gao Xian was baffled. Was Shopkeeper Zhu actually afraid?

He thought for a moment and said, "Nothing unusual, though last night I thought I saw a black shadow flash by. Maybe that's the guy who set the fire!"

Shopkeeper Zhu's expression grew even more grave. "Little Gao, I see your forehead is darkened. I fear you have encountered an evil spirit and been tainted by malevolent energy. This is very, very bad!"

"Ah?!"

Gao Xian was both shocked and suspicious. Was Shopkeeper Zhu actually seeing something, or was he just trying to scare him?

He hurriedly asked, "Then what should I do?"

"Every trade has its master. You must go find Zhou Ye, the owner of Spirit Talisman Hall. His Lesser Yang Talisman is extremely powerful and excels at dispelling malevolent energy."

Shopkeeper Zhu emphasized, "If malevolent energy enters your body and isn't handled properly, it will corrode your mind and body and attract more evil spirits. At that point, your life will be in danger. This is no joke."

Hearing Shopkeeper Zhu speak so gravely, Gao Xian felt a touch of fear himself. He couldn't help but think of that fleeting black shadow—could he really have been cursed?

Gao Xian asked with some difficulty, "What about the house?"

He wanted to take this opportunity to play the victim; perhaps if Shopkeeper Zhu's heart softened, he would have to pay less.

When the matter of the house was raised, Shopkeeper Zhu's expression turned even more serious. "You still owe five hundred White Dew Pills, which converts to fifty spirit stones. I won't even bother calculating the cost of the other medicinal ingredients.

"These fifty spirit stones will be deducted from your monthly wages at a rate of four stones per month. It will be paid off in a year and a half."

Gao Xian was speechless. His monthly wage was five spirit stones; if four were deducted at once, he wouldn't have enough to eat or drink...

Shopkeeper Zhu was truly a qualified capitalist. Personal favors were one thing, but money was another—the two were never to be mixed.

Wait, that wasn't right. Why would it take a year and a half to pay off?

"Brother Zhu, did you calculate that wrong?"

Shopkeeper Zhu wore a pained expression. "The medicinal ingredient business has high volume but low margins; it's hard-earned money. My own spirit stones are barely enough for turnover. Since fifty spirit stones are tied up with you and the repayment is spread over such a long time, I naturally have to charge interest..."

The reasoning was so sound that Gao Xian almost wanted to give Shopkeeper Zhu a thumbs-up. He deserved to be the boss, and he deserved to make money!

"It was my lack of foresight. It is my fault." Gao Xian did not argue; it was just a matter of paying a few more spirit stones.

He had secretly sold Shopkeeper Zhu's pills, and the fact that he wasn't being asked for ten times the compensation was already generous enough. He had no right to be unhappy.

"You are a reasonable man, brother."

Shopkeeper Zhu was satisfied with Gao Xian's obedient attitude. He thought for a moment and added, "The house needs to be renovated. You should find somewhere else to stay for a few days."

"As for tonight,"

Shopkeeper Zhu had originally intended to take Gao Xian back to the apothecary, but then he reconsidered. The kid was tainted with malevolent energy; he certainly couldn't bring him back there.

"Hurry and find Zhou Ye to resolve that evil energy."

After saying this, Shopkeeper Zhu waved his hands repeatedly, signaling for Gao Xian to leave at once.

Gao Xian dared not delay. Although Shopkeeper Zhu was greedy, he was generally reliable in his dealings; since the man was so eager to be rid of him, it was clear the evil energy was no small matter.

He packed his belongings into a bundle, slung it over his back, and set off.

Fortunately, the moon in the sky was bright, which gave Gao Xian a small sense of security.

Following the directions provided by Shopkeeper Zhu, Gao Xian found the Spirit Talisman Hall on the edge of the central street of the Flying Horse Market.

The Spirit Talisman Hall, as the name implied, was a shop that sold magical talismans.

The storefront was not large, and a dark red lantern hung at the entrance; upon closer inspection, the lantern was actually covered in intricate talismanic scripts.

Gao Xian had no research into magical talismans, and after glancing at them twice, he could not recognize what they represented—likely warding off evil or repelling filth.

He sighed to himself, Truly a shop selling magical talismans; they are wealthy and imposing!

The doors of the Spirit Talisman Hall were tightly shut, leaving Gao Xian no choice but to knock forcefully.

After a while, an aged, dry voice drifted from behind the door: "We are closed. Come back tomorrow if you have business."

Gao Xian hurriedly spoke up: "I have an urgent matter to discuss with Mr. Zhou."

Fearing a refusal, he added, "I am Gao Xian, a disciple of Xu Mingyuan of the Lianyun Sect. Shopkeeper Zhu from the apothecary sent me. I ask that you please grant me this convenience."

The entire Flying Horse Market had been established by the Lianyun Sect, and all major trades within the market—such as magical artifacts, medicinal pills, and talismans—were controlled by the sect.

Zhou Ye was naturally a member of the Lianyun Sect as well.

The Lianyun Sect was vast, but Xu Mingyuan, as a master alchemist of the sect, still held some renown.

Shopkeeper Zhu of the apothecary was also a significant figure in the Flying Horse Market.

Gao Xian figured that by invoking these two names, Zhou Ye would likely show some face. He had actually met Zhou Ye before, though he did not know if the man remembered him.

Sure enough, there was movement behind the door, and it soon swung open.

An old man in green robes stepped out. He unceremoniously raised his lantern to illuminate Gao Xian's face. "It's you. What business do you have so late at night?"

The old man in green recognized Gao Xian and was about to lecture him, but before he could finish, he noticed something amiss. "Your forehead is darkened and you are entangled with evil energy. You brat, you've got some rotten luck!"

Gao Xian had been half-doubting the situation, but now that the old man in green had confirmed it, he truly began to panic.

"Mr. Zhou, is my condition serious? Is there still a way to save me?!"

The old man in green looked Gao Xian up and down before saying slowly, "Whether you can be saved depends on how many spirit stones you have..."

Although he had met Gao Xian and had a slight acquaintance with Xu Mingyuan, he could not possibly offer his services for free.

Gao Xian wanted to sigh; these cultivators were even more calculating than small-time peddlers! But since his own life was at stake, he could not afford to throw a tantrum.

"The matter of spirit stones is easily settled."

Gao Xian said respectfully, "Please, Mr. Zhou, save me first."

"Very well."

The old man in green extended his hand. "Ten spirit stones."

Gao Xian felt a sense of relief. Including the ten-plus spirit stones Old Wang had given him, he had fifteen in total—he could absolutely afford it!

Zhou Ye accepted the ten spirit stones, his expression softening slightly. "Come in."

Upon entering, one found a main hall where two oil lamps illuminated the room brightly.

In the center stood a screen painted with a landscape, and in front of it was a square table with tea sets, clearly intended for receiving guests.

Along the walls on both sides were long tables displaying various items like magical talismans and Daoist texts.

As Gao Xian was examining the room, a woman in blue robes emerged from behind the screen. "Father, who is here so late?"

The woman in blue was in her early twenties, with willow-leaf eyebrows and curved eyes, her features radiating a moving, delicate charm.

Her hair was coiled high, pinned with a golden phoenix hairpin. The red gemstone pendant on the pin swayed gently with her movements, shimmering with a beautiful spiritual glow under the lamplight, which only served to make her skin appear as white as snow.

The deep blue Daoist robe seemed to ripple with water-like light, lending the woman an even more ethereal and refined aura.

Gao Xian was slightly startled. The woman was actually wearing a magical robe, which was why her entire body shimmered with spiritual light—what a wealthy woman!

The woman in blue had not expected an outsider to be in the room. She froze upon seeing Gao Xian, then blinked and scrutinized him carefully, a look of pleasant surprise appearing on her face.

Zhou Ye had his back to the woman and could not see her expression. He replied casually, "Xu Mingyuan's disciple. He's been tainted by evil energy, so I'm taking a look at him."

He then added, "Ling'er, you go back first. Don't stay here; don't let the evil energy infect you. It's not good for your health."

"Father, then I shall return first."

As the woman in blue left, she cast a deep look at Gao Xian, her gaze filled with a hint of joy and eagerness.

Gao Xian felt a strange itch in his heart. What did that look mean? Could it be that this woman had a history with him too?!