Volume One: Days in the Shantytown - Giving an Immortal Beast an Injection (Part One)

Zhao Xihe was one of the Nine Great Beast Cultivators of the Heaven Ranking in the Immortal Realm. The Immortal Realm had Heaven, Earth, and Human rankings for essence cultivators, martial cultivators, spell cultivators, Artifact Cultivators, Pill Refiners, and Beast Cultivators. Anyone on those lists was either a power who ruled a region or a standout of his age. Each ranking held nine names in each discipline. Over the centuries, more than ten million people had ascended to the Immortal Realm. The strength of the hundred and sixty-two experts chosen from their ranks needed no explanation.

Zhao Xihe counted himself among the nine Heaven Ranking Beast Cultivators, and his strength was unfathomable. Behind him stood the Vertical and Horizontal Sect, sixth among the eight great sects. There was almost nothing he could not get done. That was why the Heaven Ranking Pill Refiners had not driven him off with sticks when he brought his Immortal Beast to their doors. But Pill Refiners were not veterinarians. None was eager to treat a beast, and they dragged their feet. After months of treatment, the Jadewater Qilin had only grown worse.

Before long, Zhao Xihe saw what was going on. The Heaven Ranking Pill Refiners considered treating an animal beneath them, but they could not bring themselves to refuse him. So they stalled, and his beloved beast paid the price.

Once he understood, he had a plan. The Heaven Ranking experts stood on equal footing with him and had no reason to curry favor. Other experts were different. He took his Immortal Beast to seek out Pill Refiners below the Earth Ranking. Du Lengning's uncle, Du Bo'an, ranked second among the Human Ranking Pill Refiners, putting him just inside the top twenty. He had made something of a name for himself. And with Distant Hall behind him, Du Bo'an would surely need the Vertical and Horizontal Sect's goodwill. Zhao Xihe brought the Jadewater Qilin to Ningyao Mountain.

When the tightfisted Old Du saw the great Zhao Xihe arrive, he was overwhelmed. He arranged lavish, comfortable quarters for him and sent someone to report the news to his elder brother, Du Bo'an. He even thought of Du Lengning's friend Luo Qian, who ran a pharmacy.

Luo Qian dragged Du Lengning to Cloud-Rising Peak, Ningyao Mountain's main summit. Of its five Dustless Peaks, Du Zhongping cleared Water Peak for Zhao Xihe and strictly forbade his disciples to climb it without permission and disturb Senior Zhao.

Risking a scolding—or worse—from his father, Du Lengning took Luo Qian up Water Peak. The Jadewater Qilin was a hulking creature the size of a small mountain, but now he lay there listlessly, sick and motionless. He did not even open his eyes. An old man with a white beard paced anxiously nearby. He carried an air of authority that commanded respect without a show of anger.

Du Lengning's uncle, Du Bo'an, was carefully examining the Jadewater Qilin while Du Zhongping stood beside Zhao Xihe. "Brother Du, what do you think?" Zhao Xihe needed his help and addressed him with respect. Du Bo'an closed his eyes and pondered for a long while before saying, "Mr. Zhao, the Jadewater Qilin's illness is not difficult to treat, but it has become severe. He vomits and has diarrhea. Whatever he eats comes straight back up. How am I to give him medicine? I have no experience treating Immortal Beasts, but I am still seventy percent confident I can cure him. The problem is getting the medicine into him."

Repeated delays had left the Jadewater Qilin at death's door. He could no longer keep anything down.

"A medicinal steam bath might work, but the Jadewater Qilin's hide is so thick that even an ordinary Immortal Artifact cannot harm it. We could steam him until he was cooked and the medicine might still never penetrate his skin."

Zhao Xihe grew frantic. He cupped his hands and said, "Brother Du, please, you must save Bi'er, whatever it takes. He is like a brother to me. Tell me anything you need. If you cure him, I will reward you handsomely!" He had only just begun calling Du Bo'an "brother," and now he had declared himself a brother to a beast, unwittingly putting Du Bo'an in the same company. But Zhao Xihe was beside himself with worry, and Du Bo'an did not hold it against him.

"Mr. Zhao, let me think it over carefully. We must proceed with caution. The Jadewater Qilin's condition does not look promising. I fear he cannot withstand many more attempts." Zhao Xihe knew it too. He could only nod. "I leave everything in your hands, Brother Du." He bowed all the way to the ground. Du Bo'an hurried to help him up. "Brother Zhao, there is no need. A healer cares for his patients as a parent would. He may be a beast, but he is a living creature. Rest assured, I will do everything I can!"

Du Lengning and Luo Qian had been hiding nearby. As soon as Du Bo'an came out carrying his medical case, they stepped forward. "Uncle, may we have a word?" Du Lengning drew him aside. "This is my good friend Luo Qian." Du Bo'an had heard of him from Du Zhongping. He nodded to Luo Qian with a smile. "Young Luo." After a hurried greeting, Luo Qian asked, "Uncle Du, do you really have a way to cure that Jadewater Qilin?"

Du Bo'an's expression turned grave. He shook his head slightly. "It will not be easy. The illness itself is straightforward, and I know what Potion to use. But how to administer it—that is the difficulty. I have spent my life studying alchemy and healing the sick. I have always had to consider the illness and the Potion, but never have I faced a patient I could not give Potion to. What am I to do?"

"Uncle, could you inject the Potion directly into his body?" Luo Qian asked. "Inject?" Du Bo'an stared blankly. Luo Qian had no choice but to give him another introductory lesson in Western medicine.

Du Bo'an frowned slightly. "If it bypasses digestion and enters the body directly, that could work. Yes. I would need to adjust some of the ingredients in the Potion and refine it further." He looked at Luo Qian. "But the Jadewater Qilin's hide is so thick. How could a tiny syringe pierce it?" Luo Qian grinned. "Leave that to me, Uncle. Prepare your medicine, and I guarantee success the moment we set out."

He turned to leave, then suddenly turned back. "Uncle, Zhao Xihe is one of the nine Heaven Ranking Beast Cultivators. If you cure his Immortal Beast, the reward should be considerable, shouldn't it?" "Well..." Du Bo'an looked uncomfortable. "I concern myself with healing. I have not given much thought to that." Luo Qian was helpless. It seemed he would have to discuss payment with Zhao Xihe himself.

He had the most formidable syringe in history, but its current bullets could not pierce the Jadewater Qilin's hide. To make it work, he needed the bullets Xiao Xiangzi had described, made from a mixture of Water Exquisite Jade and Heaven-Burning Fire Jade. Replace the bullet's tip with Du Bo'an's medicine, and it would become an injection. A Sniper Rifle bullet was deadly to a person, but to a giant like the Jadewater Qilin, it posed no more threat than a syringe did to a human. One such bullet, though, would cost a fortune. Luo Qian had no intention of paying for it himself.

Surely one of the Nine Great Experts of the Heaven Ranking would not accept his help for nothing. Luo Qian thought of the legendary masters in stories who repaid the smallest kindness by casually tossing out a Divine Artifact. Some down-and-out lucky fellow would then soar into the sky and forge a mighty dominion. That was how the legends always went.

Still indulging in that fantasy, Luo Qian arrived at Beautiful Water Cliff. He collected the past two days' profits from his pharmacy—five pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade—then went to see Xiao Xiangzi.

Xiao Xiangzi was startled to hear that he really wanted to make those bullets. "Old Luo, we do not even know whether they will work as expected. Are you really willing to spend that much Immortal Jade on an experiment?" Luo Qian winced too. Two hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade! Damn it, he did not even have that much to his name anymore.

Then he remembered the precious piece of Purple-Qi Jadeite he still had. A piece that size ought to fetch two pieces of Top-Grade Immortal Jade.

Luo Qian took out the jade pendant. "How much is this worth?" Xiao Xiangzi's expression changed. He took it, turned it over in his hands, and grew more solemn by the moment. He carefully returned the pendant to Luo Qian and smacked his lips. "Six hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade!" Luo Qian was stunned. He knew Purple-Qi Jadeite was valuable, but he had never imagined it was worth so much. He had expected no more than two hundred pieces for the pendant. Five Game Consoles had brought him six hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade—an even better profit than Massage Chairs!

"If it were only Purple-Qi Jadeite, it would be worth two hundred and fifty pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade at most. But look closely..." Xiao Xiangzi pointed to faint, smoke-thin lines inside the pendant. "There is a linked formation inside it: three layers of the Heavenly Guardian Formation. No ordinary Artifact Cultivator could inscribe this. It would take one of at least the sixth rank. You know Purple-Qi Jadeite's greatest virtue is that it amplifies an Immortal Formation's power as much as possible. This formation is exceptionally strong, and its three layers are linked together. I doubt even an eighth-rank Immortal could break it with a single blow. This is an Immortal Artifact that could save your life!"

Xiao Xiangzi gave Luo Qian a suspicious look. "Where did you get something this valuable?" Luo Qian bristled. "Why are you looking at me like that? A customer left it with me as collateral. What, do you think I stole it, swindled someone out of it, or tricked them into handing it over?"

To his dismay, Xiao Xiangzi nodded as though that sounded entirely reasonable. "With your character, I would not be surprised if you lied, cheated, stole, robbed, or swindled your way into it..."

Now that Xiao Xiangzi had explained the pendant's merits, Luo Qian was reluctant to sell it. Such a fine thing could keep him safe. He was a Tribulation Immortal; with this, it would be like having an extra life.

"I would advise you not to sell it," Xiao Xiangzi said. "Something like this is hard to come by." Luo Qian thought it over, tucked the pendant away, and asked, "How much would it cost to make ten of those bullets you mentioned?" Xiao Xiangzi said, "Two hundred and fifty pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade should be enough. Two pieces of Top-Grade Immortal Jade can be ground into a pile of jade powder, enough to fill ten bullets."

"Should that not be two hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade? Why two hundred and fifty?" Luo Qian asked in surprise.

Xiao Xiangzi rolled his eyes. "The casings and tips cost money too. If you are using materials that good for the medicine, you cannot skimp on the rest of the bullet or it will not have enough power. And another thing... Do you think this Artifact Cultivator is one of your shop assistants, here for you to summon and order about as you please? I charge for my work!" He practically roared the last sentence.

(I will sneak in one more request for votes! Whether you are passing by or stopping in, Shi San thanks you...)

Click to view image link: