Generously Opening One's Purse

Zhu Mei looked at the rat-eyed man, her cold face filled with disdain.

He shouted sternly.

"Zhao Dapeng, you've schemed and plotted, disregarding the sect's rules, all you've done is try to force me to marry this fool. You'd better give up that idea now and stop daydreaming."

"Although my son and I are weak, we would rather starve to death than share a door with your stupid brother."

Zhu Mei tossed a cloth bag into her hand and continued speaking in a cold voice.

"Here are ten Spirit Stones. Please do not disturb my child and me again."

After saying that, Zhu Mei closed the courtyard gate.

Zhu Mei's sudden and drastic change left Zhao Dapeng at a loss for how to react, and he could only watch helplessly as her figure was blocked by the courtyard gate.

Why did this widow suddenly agree to pay rent?

The rat-eyed man was also completely taken aback; this was entirely different from what they had agreed upon the night before.

"Brother, what are we going to do? We promised to find me a wife to sleep with."

Zhao Dapeng's face was extremely pale, turning blue and green in turns. After a few breaths, he finally spoke.

"Let's go back! Her husband died out there, and she lost everything. With only fifty Spirit Stone in compensation, let's see how long she can hold out!"

"But my wife..."

"I'll go find you a mortal."

In the neighboring Small Courtyard, Ai Kun, who had overheard the general events, shook his head and sighed.

"Zhu Mei's husband Lu Hong. He was an extremely ambitious man. When he was alive, we had a pretty good relationship. In this treacherous Cultivation World, we could be considered friends."

"I never expected that this old man who liked to stay in the market would still be alive. He was determined to become Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he died young."

"The weather is unpredictable, and so are human fortunes."

"Stop lamenting here. Why don't you go and help those orphans and widows?" Song Wen said irritably.

"I'm just an old man, barely able to take care of myself, how can I help them, mother and child..."

After chatting for a while, the topic returned to talismans. Song Wen finally couldn't resist Ai Kun's pleading and agreed to draw two Flying Talisman for him every day.

Song Wen claimed that he could only draw a few Flying Talisman each day, but that was not the case at all. His Divine Sense strength was comparable to that of Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, and the little spiritual power consumed in drawing Flying Talisman had no effect on him whatsoever.

Even using only the righteous spiritual power cultivated through the Longevity Art, drawing ten Flying Talisman in one go would be a piece of cake for Song Wen.

Ten days passed quickly as they cultivated, drew talismans, and Alchemy.

After countless attempts, regardless of cost, Song Wen finally grasped some of the secrets of Alchemy.

In his most recent Alchemy, he was just one step away from successfully completing the pill.

Although he ultimately failed, Song Wen was confident that with a few more attempts, he should be able to successfully refine the Blood Qi Pill.

Just as he was about to disguise himself and leave, Ai Kun appeared in front of the Small Courtyard gate.

"Zhang Cheng, have you finished drawing the twenty Flying Talisman you promised me?"

"It's ready."

As Song Wen spoke, he reached into his Storage Bag at his waist and handed twenty talismans to Ai Kun.

Ai Kun took the talisman, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, his old face beamed with a smile like a chrysanthemum.

Thank you.

He casually handed Song Wen a cloth bag.

Song Wen took the cloth bag and probed it with his Divine Sense; inside were eighty Spirit Stone.

Twenty Flying Talisman would sell for 100 Spirit Stone at the shop, but according to Fang Ning's offer of a 70% buyback price, it should be 70 Spirit Stone.

"The number of Spirit Stone is wrong! There are ten extra," Song Wen asked.

Ai Kun smiled and said, "I know your success rate in making talismans is low, and you rely on drawing talismans to make a living. Since I asked you for help, I naturally can't let you lose money. Consider those ten Spirit Stone as compensation for you."

"Then you'll lose ten Spirit Stones?"

Ai Kun smiled wryly, "There's nothing we can do about it. We're just trying to make a living on the territory of the Beast Taming Sect, so we can only accept our fate and be exploited."

What he didn't explicitly say was that Song Wen's drawing of twenty talismans would save him a lot of time and mental energy, allowing him to draw some rare talismans, sell them on the market, and earn a high amount of Spirit Stone.

He took the common Flying Talisman to deliver to the Beast Taming Sect.

Song Wen didn't ask any further questions and casually put the Spirit Stone into his Storage Bag.

Ai Kun suddenly kept glancing at the widow's yard, looking exactly like a lewd and wicked person.

"You wouldn't be eyeing Widow Zhu, would you?" Song Wen stared at Ai Kun with disdain.

Ai Kun's eyes widened. "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Then, he lowered his voice and said softly.

Do you know why Zhu Mei paid the rent so readily?

Song Wen shook his head. "How would I know?"

Ai Kun said mysteriously in a low voice, "She went to the brothel to entertain customers."

"Brothel?"

Song Wen was somewhat incredulous.

The scene of Zhu Mei scolding Zhao Dapeng and sternly refusing to marry the rat-eyed man was still vivid in Song Wen's mind. He admired Zhu Mei's fierceness to some extent. How could she have ended up in a brothel in the blink of an eye?

Ai Kun sighed, "She's a woman with a tragic fate. She probably didn't want her child to suffer, which is why she refused to marry Zhao Dapeng's younger brother. After all, that idiot doesn't know his own strength when he starts hitting people."

Thinking of Zhu Mei's crow's feet and slightly weathered face, Song Wen said.

"Will she be able to attract customers if she goes to a brothel?"

Song Wen was worried that with Zhu Mei's looks, even if she worked hard for a month, she wouldn't be able to earn enough to cover the rent.

Previously somewhat sullen, Ai Kun immediately perked up when the topic came up.

"You don't understand. A married woman, a widow, a dignified aunt, a mature woman; any one of these images can attract a lot of customers, let alone a combination of all four."

Looking at Ai Kun's radiant appearance, Song Wen teased.

"You seem quite interested; have you been there?"

Ai Kun's face immediately darkened. "No, I told you before, her husband and I are friends, and one should not covet a friend's wife. She's in trouble now, and while I can't help her, I can't kick her when she's down either."

"How can this be called kicking someone when they're down? This is called 'generous donation'!"

Ai Kun looked thoughtful. "What you said seems to make some sense. I'll think about it."

As he spoke, Ai Kun walked towards the door, but when he reached the gate, he suddenly turned around.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, don't wander around a lot lately, especially at night."

"Why is that? Has something been wrong with the market lately?" Song Wen asked, puzzled.

Ai Kun nodded. "Recently, several Rogue Cultivators have gone missing one after another. Some disappeared in the wilderness, and some disappeared in the market. In short, be careful."

With that, Ai Kun disappeared around the corner.

Several days later.

Song Wen finally succeeded in refining the first batch of Blood Qi Pill, a total of two, which were almost identical to the Qi and Blood Pills he took for the first time at Extreme Yin's place.

Holding the Blood Qi Pill and examining it for a long time, confirming that there was nothing wrong with the pill, Song Wen calmed his excited emotions and swallowed it orally.

The long-lost feeling of rapidly depleting vital Qi and Blood and surging spiritual power returned once more.

However, the little bit of Qi and Blood that Song Wen had consumed no longer had any effect on him.

Song Wen hurriedly activated the Longevity Art to refine the spiritual power of the pill. It took Song Wen half an hour to absorb all the spiritual power that the Blood Qi Pill had generated.

He opened his mouth again and swallowed the second pill...