A Maiden Soft as Cream, Wisdom Sword Slays the Mortal Man

Just as Fang Shu had hoped, the liquid inside the Bronze-Skin Gourd was indeed a medicinal ingredient known as "Purple Lead Mica Milk."

It came from lead-iron ore veins and was fairly rare. Lead-iron ore and mica ore had to mingle together and form stone pillars like stalactites, then, through the accumulation of days and years and water dripping through stone, it would slowly take shape.

This substance possessed its own spiritual aura. A single drop was equivalent to three Essence-Nourishing Pills—and not ordinary Essence-Nourishing Pills, either. Only fine pills such as Tiger-Bone Essence-Nourishing Pills could be mentioned in the same breath as it.

Moreover, Purple Lead Mica Milk was an excellent material for refining pills and medicine, crafting artifacts and drawing talismans. It could also be used to cultivate certain secret arts, replacing or reducing the toxicity of certain materials.

Taking it over a long period could also strengthen the bones. Combined with certain medicinal ingredients, it might even forge a body of lead-and-iron bones.

Fang Shu suspected that Cheng the Jar had relied on this substance, hired someone to compound medicine, and thus broken through into the Dao, advancing into a First-Tribulation Immortal while tempering his bones until they were harder than iron.

Unfortunately, Fang Shu did not currently know a single pill master or medicine master. Nor did he dare expose the Purple Lead Mica Milk in his possession so casually.

"Hey! Customer, don't leave! If you think the price is too low, we can negotiate some more!"

Inside a pawnshop, an appraiser hurried down from behind the high counter, his manner changing from haughty to obsequious as he called after Fang Shu.

Seeing that Fang Shu had no intention of turning back, the appraiser finally stopped, stamped his foot, and cursed under his breath.

"What a shabby bastard, playing me for a fool! Could it be he can't afford an expert appraisal, so he came here to sponge off us?"

Just as the pawnshop appraiser had guessed, Fang Shu had deliberately come to the pawnshop pretending to pawn something off, all to gather information on Purple Lead Mica Milk—especially any potentially negative information.

After all, if this stuff had even the slightest hidden danger or flaw, pawnshop appraisers would make it sound ten times worse to drive down its price.

Even if they did not say everything, they could at least point him toward where to inquire.

Fortunately, after asking around, Fang Shu discovered that apart from needing to take Purple Lead Mica Milk intermittently and in separate batches, as well as the fact that each person could only consume a limited amount, it had no major hidden dangers.

It was a heaven-sent treasure at the Essence-Refining level, capable of nourishing the qi and blood of Essence-Refining Immortals with almost no risks.

For unranked Immortals like Fang Shu, who had yet to enter the Dao, Purple Lead Mica Milk was even more beneficial, increasing the chance of entering the Dao.

Having learned all this,

Fang Shu was even more delighted, no less so than the instant his Insect Method had reached completion.

Especially after he tried swallowing a drop of Mica Milk, satisfaction filled his heart, and he felt his immortal path brighten by several degrees.

For a time,

Fang Shu had gained both money and treasure, and had even obtained a map that was extremely likely to mark a place where treasures could be mined. As the saying went, when joy comes, the spirit shines; he was beaming from head to toe.

Yet only Li Hou'er, who dealt with him often, could barely make out a trace of that delight.

Li Hou'er did not think much of it, merely assuming that Fang Shu's second uncle, Yu Le, had sent him something good.

And amid such joy, Fang Shu naturally had not forgotten his second uncle.

That day,

Carrying a bottle of complexion-preserving mutton-fat ointment he had haggled down at Luo's Treasure House, Fang Shu walked into the Paper Workshop under cover of night and knocked on Dou Sufu's paper door.

Fang Shu had not arranged this visit with her in advance.

He had come both to ask around about several matters and to thank her for the milk tofu from last time.

Yet when Dou Sufu opened a crack in the door and saw Fang Shu, she smiled as though she had long been expecting him.

"Young brother of the Fang Family, why are you breaking into my doorway again at night?"

Fang Shu cupped his hands and offered up the medicine bottle. "Forgive the disturbance, Sister. I have come again today to seek your advice on an important matter."

"If that is so, then come in quickly."

Dou Sufu did not ask what the matter was. She pulled open the paper door completely and, as though she had been prepared all along, took out two wine bowls and a wine jug from the room.

Once the two were seated, before Fang Shu could even state his business, she happily poured the wine and began drinking first.

"These past few days have nearly stifled your sister to death."

Dou Sufu chattered on. "At last I've caught someone who can listen to your sister talk about something happy."

Fang Shu listened patiently for a while before learning that ever since Cheng the Jar had been stabbed to death, every neighbor in the Paper Workshop had been delighted.

Especially after Cheng the Little Jar had died as well, it was as if a stone had finally fallen from everyone's hearts, and the whole Paper Workshop had become festive.

But faced with such a vicious affair, and with the killer still nowhere to be found, the Paper Workshop neighbors all feared being made scapegoats. They did not dare discuss it at all in their daily lives.

As a widow with no one to rely on, Dou Sufu had been even more tight-lipped, terrified that even the slightest suspicion of being connected to the killer would stick to her.

Thus, Dou Sufu had held it in for a long time, unable to find anyone with whom to share this happy news.

Now that Fang Shu had finally come, and both their households had borne grudges against Cheng the Jar, while the two also had a small foundation of trust, Fang Shu became the confidant she had long been waiting for.

As Dou Sufu talked, she drank. Her cheeks gradually reddened, and her gaze grew hazy.

Fortunately, after Fang Shu had listened for quite a while and asked about his real business, she could still answer clearly enough. It seemed she knew her own tolerance for drink.

But Dou Sufu's clear answer made Fang Shu's heart sink.

"Yes, Cheng the Jar is dead, and no one will come to collect rent from the Paper Workshop for the time being. Your second uncle can indeed return. But there is no helping it—he signed a long contract."

Dou Sufu explained,

"At the mines, a short contract means anywhere from half a month to a year. A long contract, on the other hand, starts at no less than a year. During that time, you must eat and live inside the mines, and can only entrust others to deliver letters and goods.

"In other words, your second uncle must mine there for at least a year before he can return."

Fang Shu's brows immediately furrowed as he asked in a low voice,

"If I insist on bringing my second uncle back, how much money must I prepare to settle that long contract?"

Dou Sufu smiled at him and shook her head.

"This is not simply a matter of money. Besides preparing talisman money for breaking the contract, you must also have a powerful person backing you. Only if they accompany you into the mines might you be able to pull him out.

"Otherwise, the mines will not pay you any heed at all. They may even swallow your talisman money outright and still refuse to release him."

She looked Fang Shu up and down, then said,

"If you want to pull your second uncle out, either hire someone, or wait until you become a First-Tribulation Immortal yourself before going to retrieve him. The latter is best, because there are so many people in the mines that you will have to search for him one by one yourself.

"If you hire other Immortals to accompany you out of the market district, first, there is risk involved; second, they will have no patience at all."

These words twisted Fang Shu's brows into knots.

He said quietly,

"A year? But I heard the mines are quite dangerous. The longer one mines there, the more likely one is to encounter misfortune. Some people go in and never come back out."

He truly did not know whether his second uncle, Yu Le, could endure it.

After considering it carefully, Dou Sufu offered consolation.

"There is no need to be so anxious. Anyone who signs a long-term contract in the mines is certainly safer than those short-term and temporary miners during the greater part of the contract."

She gave Fang Shu a meaningful look.

"Only when the work is nearly done, or when the contract is about to end, do long-term miners face their greatest danger.

"In other words, you still have more than half a year to prepare slowly. During this time, the chance of Yu the Second running into trouble is not high."

Fang Shu was not foolish. The moment he heard this, he understood the implication.

During the early stage of a mine contract, because miners were paid little and had not worked long, they could not possibly save much money, much less secretly keep any valuable finds.

But once the contract was nearing its end, the miner would soon leave for good.

No mine would willingly let its "slaves" walk away. They would surely make things difficult in every possible way, erect all kinds of obstacles, squeeze out every last benefit as though making use of waste, and might even tacitly permit other miners to covet the person's belongings, murder for wealth, and take their lives.

Put simply, a mine was a man-eating place: easy to enter, exceedingly hard to leave.

Fang Shu needed a certain measure of magical power, status, or connections if he wanted to pull his second uncle Yu Le out ahead of time.

Thinking over these matters, he let out a long breath and nodded.

"Thank you, Sister Dou. I understand."

Seeing Fang Shu nod, Dou Sufu did not care whether he truly understood or merely claimed to. With the air of someone whose business was finished, she began urging Fang Shu to drink.

After several cups, Dou Sufu had ultimately overestimated herself and underestimated Fang Shu.

The smell of wine filled her entire body, and her languid gaze seemed to cling directly to Fang Shu.

Looking at Fang Shu's exceedingly youthful face, Dou Sufu seemed to see the equally youthful appearance of her beloved from ten years ago.

Or perhaps her memory of her beloved's face had long since blurred. After all, the time they had truly spent alone together had been very brief.

"My beloved..." The woman propped herself against the low table with one hand and murmured indistinctly.

Fang Shu could not make out what she was saying, but he knew Dou Sufu was drunk.

He intended to take his leave.

But just then, sounds of scolding, fighting, and running arose from several neighboring homes, followed by weeping cries. It sounded very much like Su Qingao had once again fled from her home in the night.

So Fang Shu obediently sat back down, intending to wait a little longer before leaving.

"You cheap whore, why are you running? Get back here and soak dates for me!"

The old man's shrill, venomous curses rang out without pause. "Didn't I raise you just so you could help me soak dates? ...Take smaller steps, or you'll spoil the dates."

"No, don't."

Compared to last time, Su Qingao's crying sounded even more humiliated and more numb.

But she did not hold out for long before she was once again dragged back into the paper house next door amid blows and curses.

Fang Shu withdrew his gaze, looked at Dou Sufu beside him in puzzlement, and asked,

"Is this old husband and young wife pair like this every night? After all this time, just soaking dates makes them kick up such a fuss, as though they are seeking death?"

Hearing this, Dou Sufu's face reddened even further. She lowered her head, somewhat afraid to look at Fang Shu.

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz as she secretly spat, "What a lecher."

After spitting those words, she looked at the innocent, green Fang Shu before her and unexpectedly teased him in a wildly improper manner.

"Does little brother want to eat dates too?"

Fang Shu froze, but he was not truly innocent or ignorant. That had all been an act.

Besides, though he did not understand what soaking dates meant, he understood the woman before him.

At that moment, her defenses had completely fallen, drunkenness had gone to her head, and she was still in that self-important state of playing with fire. It was precisely the easiest time to take advantage of an opening.

Fang Shu was confident that with only the slightest push, followed by a bit more forcefulness, she would be unable to call to Heaven or earth for help. Raw rice would become cooked rice on the spot, and she would be handled until she was utterly docile.

Yet such tender, wayward thoughts only circled through his mind once before he severed them.

Fang Shu gave a light laugh and softly recited,

"A maiden of sixteen, her body soft as cream; with wisdom's sword, I slay the mortal man."

"Hm?" Dou Sufu blushed and leaned closer, having not heard him clearly.

Fang Shu smiled at her and ordered her to open her mouth.

Drunkenly, she obeyed and tipped back her face, her red lips parting slightly.

With a flick!

Fang Shu flicked a mind-clearing pill into her mouth, then rose, cupped his hands in farewell, and walked away without the slightest lingering attachment.