The woman carried herself with graceful poise, dressed in plain robes.
She was none other than his neighboring female cultivator, Su Shuangjiang.
What had brought her here? Lin Changheng couldn't figure it out. But he didn't mind her visit—in fact, he had something to ask of her.
He wouldn't mind if their relationship grew closer.
"Fairy Su, were you looking for me?"
A man's voice came from behind her. The female cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining seemed to sense him and turned around at once. Smiling openly, she gave him a slight curtsy.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Lin. This humble woman recently returned from the Wilderness. I heard that word on the street has it you spent ten years honing your skills and finally became an alchemist. Such perseverance is truly astonishing. I'm deeply impressed! As your neighbor of many years, I came to offer my congratulations."
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Fairy Su. Please, come in and sit awhile. Have a cup of spirit tea."
Lin Changheng parted the simple protective wards that came with the cave dwelling and opened the door to invite her inside.
"Then I'll accept your invitation."
Su Shuangjiang smiled and nodded. She didn't refuse again, but followed him inside.
In the room, Lin Changheng invited the female cultivator to sit while he prepared the spirit tea.
Su Shuangjiang glanced at him as he busied himself, then let her gaze wander around the room. Aside from the table and chairs and a few necessary household items, there was practically nothing else. It was very bare.
Fellow Daoist Lin had already become an alchemist, yet he still lived such a frugal life? It seemed he was a diligent cultivator who cared little for comfort and had no interest in pleasure.
What a pity that his Spirit Root must be rather poor. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be stuck in the early stages of the Qi Refining Realm after all these years...
"Fairy Su, please have some tea."
Lin Changheng moved briskly as he brought the tea over, then sat opposite her.
"Fellow Daoist Lin, this is a small token of my regard. It's nothing much."
Su Shuangjiang pushed over a gift basket. Inside were two spirit stones and two low-grade talismans, their surfaces glimmering faintly with spiritual light.
"No, no, this is far too valuable. I can't accept a gift when I've done nothing to earn it."
Lin Changheng glanced at the contents and shook his head.
A first-tier, low-grade talisman was worth about one or two spirit stones, so the gift basket was worth at least four spirit stones in total.
The more valuable the gift, the more uneasy he felt.
After all, every gift came with a price secretly attached. He couldn't just accept things recklessly.
But Su Shuangjiang insisted. Once a gift had been given, how could she take it back?
"Since it's Fairy Su's kind intention, I'll accept it. I don't have any other talents; I only know a little about alchemy. If you ever need pills, Fairy Su... well, perhaps I can help."
Lin Changheng finally nodded, but added this.
What he meant was: if she needed help with pills, he'd do what he could. As for anything unrelated to pills, he was sorry, but there was nothing he could do.
These days, all the factions were pulling back their forces in preparation for retreat. The market was showing signs of instability, and chaos reigned outside. Lin Changheng had to put self-preservation first.
Anything risky... was out of the question!
Hearing this, Su Shuangjiang looked at Lin Changheng carefully, took a sip of spirit tea, and said with a faint smile, "Of course."
Then she suddenly asked, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Lin has any pills that can improve one's cultivation?"
"I do, but they're all low-grade Crimson Flame Pills. I doubt Fairy Su would find them useful, would you?"
Lin Changheng's thoughts stirred, but he kept a calm smile on his face.
"They'll do!" Su Shuangjiang actually nodded. "How many do you have?"
Seeing Lin Changheng's puzzled expression, she pursed her red lips and explained.
It turned out the demon hunters had loosely organized alliances of their own. Many Rogue Cultivators banded together, helping one another in everyday life and occasionally joining forces when they ventured into the Wilderness.
With the Great Reclamation ordered by the upper sects imminent, every bit of extra strength increased their chances of survival. As a result, their demand for pills was considerable. But they risked their lives in battle, and they treasured their spirit stones—some were even miserly with them.
So they weren't keen on buying directly from the shops run by the major factions. Instead, they sought out alchemists themselves, hoping to buy at lower prices.
Some Rogue Cultivators even had families to support and were so short on cash that they bought inferior pills to take.
They joked, "We're going to end up in a demon beast's belly sooner or later anyway. Might as well build up some poison in our bodies, so the beasts can learn that the road of the world is slippery and human hearts are treacherous!"
"Just over ten."
Lin Changheng didn't reveal everything at once. This was their first deal, after all. It paid to keep something back.
"That'll be enough!" A hint of delight appeared on Su Shuangjiang's face. "What price would you like for them, Fellow Daoist Lin?"
"Why don't you name a price, Fairy Su?"
Lin Changheng countered.
"I wonder... would eighty percent of the market price be acceptable?"
A trace of embarrassment crossed Su Shuangjiang's pretty face. That discount would shave forty grains of Spirit Sand off the price; it seemed a little harsh.
But she was leaving room to bargain. If Lin Changheng objected, she would promptly raise her offer.
Lin Changheng tapped his fingers against the table, the steady knocks echoing through the room as he considered.
After a long while, he shook his head.
Su Shuangjiang gritted her pearly teeth and sighed inwardly, preparing to raise her offer herself.
"I can give them to you for seventy percent of the market price, but I may need you to help me with a small favor."
Su Shuangjiang was taken aback. "Seventy percent?"
She hurriedly asked for confirmation. "Do you really mean that, Fellow Daoist Lin?"
Before Su Shuangjiang could start wondering whether such a low price meant the pills were counterfeit, Lin Changheng rose and turned away. He appeared to take them from a drawer, but in fact he retrieved fifteen Crimson Flame Pills from his storage pouch. He returned to the table and pushed them toward the female cultivator.
He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to open them.
Su Shuangjiang was completely swept along by Lin Changheng's lead. Without thinking, she began inspecting the pills.
She randomly opened five or six small wooden boxes in a row. Each pill inside was round and plump, its aroma potent and its markings fine. They were all genuine Crimson Flame Pills!
"Brother Lin has only just become an alchemist, yet his skills are already so impressive. This humble woman is truly impressed. The pills are excellent quality, and I also thank you for offering such a generous price."
Su Shuangjiang's beautiful eyes shone as she spoke from the heart.
She had quietly changed from calling him Fellow Daoist Lin to Brother Lin. The way she addressed him was reasonable enough: Lin Changheng was a few years older than her. Though his cultivation was inferior to hers, he was still worthy of the title.
"Come now, there's no need to say that!"
Lin Changheng shook his head. "If you need pills in the future, Fairy Su, you can come to me. I won't interfere with what you do with them, whom or where you sell them to, or what price you charge. I only have one request, and I need you to promise me."
"Please, Brother Lin."
Su Shuangjiang's expression turned solemn as she listened attentively.
"Don't tell anyone that these pills came from me. You can say they came from any alchemist or shop you like, just don't mention me. Heh, I only want to cultivate in peace and don't want to be disturbed. Do you understand? Can you do that?"
"I, Shuangjiang, can swear a Dao Oath to guarantee it! If I ever break my promise, my Dao Heart will fall into turmoil when I try to break through a bottleneck, and I'll suffer the consequences!"
"Come now, there's no need for that. We've been neighbors for a long time. We can trust each other."
Lin Changheng said there was no need, but after Su Shuangjiang finished swearing the Dao Oath, a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.
Su Shuangjiang immediately took out twenty-one spirit stones and handed them to Lin Changheng. The deal was done.
They drank tea and chatted a while longer, and their relationship seemed to grow much closer.
Only then did Lin Changheng smile and ask:
"I wonder, Fairy Su, when you go out hunting demons, do you often encounter Fire Crows?"
Before you continue