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

Luo Qian was still worrying about the bullets when Du Lengning arrived with ten pills. "My uncle refined these. They can be injected directly into an Immortal Beast." Luo Qian examined them, and Du Lengning added, "They dissolve the moment they touch blood." Luo Qian nodded and sighed. "But we don't have enough money right now."

Du Lengning froze. "How can that be? We've made quite a bit lately." "We've made quite a bit, but we've spent plenty too. And this time, we need to put up two hundred and fifty pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade at once!" Luo Qian said evenly. He went over the past few months' income and expenses with Du Lengning. After everything, they had only one hundred and sixty pieces left.

Du Lengning stared blankly too. "Old Luo, we're ninety pieces short. Where are we going to find that much money?"

As they spoke, Li Feier came in shyly, pulled a length of Measuring Cord from her sleeve, and tossed it in front of Luo Qian. Then she turned and fled.

Du Lengning froze, picked up the Measuring Cord, and said, "What a woman of fierce virtue! Old Luo, did you seduce her and cast her aside? Look, the young lady's warning you with this Measuring Cord: if you won't take responsibility, she'll hang herself from a beam!"

"Bullshit!" Luo Qian snapped. "Go on, hang yourself from a beam and let me see it. If you manage to die, I'll give you my life too!" Du Lengning smiled awkwardly. An Immortal could float up without even standing on a stool. How could one hang oneself from a beam?

"Heh, heh..." He gave a dry laugh. "Anyway, there's definitely something going on between you two. Why else would she be so shy? Speaking of which, what's the Measuring Cord for?"

Luo Qian picked up the Measuring Cord and suddenly smiled. "This Measuring Cord is ninety pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade!"

Luo Qian descended to the Lower Realm. This time, he neither went to his own base nor contacted Pei Sefei. He knew that if he contacted her, his hopes of getting in and out quickly would be dashed. Back in the Immortal Realm, a hulking beast and a supreme expert were waiting for him. If he delayed a few days in the Mortal Realm and the Jadewater Qilin kicked the bucket, all his efforts would be like drawing water with a bamboo basket. He would have nowhere to go even to cry.

He darted into an upscale shopping mall, took out the Measuring Cord, and had an in-depth discussion of women's sizes with an attractive saleswoman. Then he bought two sets of expensive, Sexy Lingerie and returned to the Immortal Realm.

Li Feier was waiting for him at the Toad Mountain cave residence. When she saw her boss return, she hurried over. "Did you get them?" Luo Qian frowned. Why does that sound so strange?

"Pay up," Luo Qian said. "How much?" Li Feier asked, blinking. Luo Qian thought it over. Women were bound to haggle when they shopped, so he might as well start high. "One hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade." Whether Li Feier was all bust and no brains or simply didn't mind spending someone else's money, she immediately reached for the jade. "Here..."

"Wait!" Luo Qian had another thought. "I meant one hundred pieces of High-Grade Immortal Jade each. I have two." "Here you go!" Li Feier turned her palm over, and two hundred pieces appeared in the cave residence, lustrous and dazzling, stacked neatly together.

But Luo Qian kept staring at Li Feier's pale little hand, almost drooling. Sun and Moon in the Palm was a Fifth-Tier Immortal Art, two tiers above Du Lengning's Universe in the Sleeve. If he had that art, smuggling goods would be so much easier!

"You!" Li Feier blushed deeply. Though she was a dignified fifth-tier Immortal, Luo Qian's stare made her shyly hide her little hand behind her back. His gaze followed it and landed on her pert little backside. Luo Qian swallowed. This time, it was sheer lechery. You're the one tempting me. I didn't have any of those improper thoughts to begin with...

He handed Li Feier the two beautifully packaged sets of Sexy Lingerie. "Be careful on the way back. Don't let anyone find out." Li Feier said confidently, "Don't worry. Who could discover anything inside my Sun and Moon in the Palm?" With that, she activated the art and flew out of the Toad Mountain cave residence. Behind her, Luo Qian muttered, "Easy to say. Then how did someone find the Game Console?"

With money in hand, Luo Qian took the ten pills from Du Bo'an and went to Beautiful Water Cliff to find Xiao Xiangzi again.

Two days later, Xiao Xiangzi personally brought the Sniper Rifle and ten bullets to the Toad Mountain cave residence and handed them to Luo Qian. "Old Luo, you really are underhanded, coming up with the idea of hiding poison inside them." Xiao Xiangzi held up a bullet. "Your idea made me tweak the original design. The casing is still cast in three layers of sturdy Wuluo Gold mixed with Heavenly River Star Sand. But for the tip, I used a very special material. Heh, it's a specialty of Beautiful Water Cliff: the Blood Eel Inner Core of the Beautiful Water Blood Eel. Inside the eel, it's nothing special. Once removed, it becomes harder than refined steel. But the moment it meets heat, it melts into a pool of blood-rich essence, excellent for replenishing blood and qi. When it meets poison, though, it speeds up the poison's effects. I wrapped your poison inside the Blood Eel Inner Core and used it as the tip. What do you think? A perfect match for your dirty trick, isn't it?"

Luo Qian was filled with regret. He should have explained everything that day. No wonder Xiao Xiangzi had looked so strange when Luo Qian took out the pills.

"Don't misunderstand. These pills aren't—" Before Luo Qian could finish, Xiao Xiangzi cut him off. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." He set the things down and sauntered off with a look that said he knew exactly what kind of man Luo Qian was. Luo Qian fumed. It seemed his image as a devious schemer was set as firmly as a statue in Xiao Xiangzi's mind.

Carrying the most formidable syringe in history, Luo Qian tucked the magazine away and headed to Ningyao Mountain. Du Bo'an stared at the strangely shaped "syringe" in surprise. "Young Luo, is this the little needle you told me about?" Luo Qian gave an awkward smile. "A little needle is for people. As you said yourself, the Jadewater Qilin has thick skin and tough flesh. How could an ordinary needle pierce it? So I specially prepared a formidable one." He hefted the Sniper Rifle.

Looking at the "weapon" in Luo Qian's hands, Du Bo'an began to waver. Perhaps trusting him had been a mistake.

"Uncle Du, it's getting late. Let's go," Luo Qian urged. Du Bo'an glanced at Du Lengning, but his nephew merely spread his hands. Helpless, Du Bo'an said, "All right. Let's go."

The four of them arrived at Water Peak. Zhao Xihe was pacing around his Jadewater Qilin, so anxious he kept tugging at his beard. When he saw Du Bo'an, he hurried over and seized his arm. "Brother Du, Brother Du! My Bi'er is nearly done for. The bond between our minds is growing weaker and weaker. You must find a way to save him!" Judging by his distress, the Jadewater Qilin truly could not hold on much longer.

Zhao Xihe was a Beast Cultivator, but he was also one of the Nine Great Experts of the Heaven Ranking. His grip made Du Bo'an cry out in pain. Only then did Zhao Xihe realize what he had done and hastily let go, clasping his hands and bowing repeatedly. "Brother Du, forgive me. I let my anxiety get the better of me."

Du Bo'an rubbed his arm and said through the pain, "It's all right. Mr. Zhao, I've refined the Elixirs. This young man says he has a way to administer them. You can discuss it with him."

Du Bo'an took the opportunity to push Luo Qian forward. He was far from certain that Luo Qian's terrifying syringe was safe. He had said only that he had refined the Elixirs; if anything went wrong with the injection, it would have nothing to do with him.

"Oh? What method do you have, young man?" With his beast so ill, Zhao Xihe was willing to trust anyone. Luo Qian took out a bullet. "The Elixirs Uncle Du refined are inside this. Once it's fired into the Jadewater Qilin, he'll absorb the medicine and be cured."

"Good! Get started!" Zhao Xihe said at once.

Luo Qian took out his syringe, but Zhao Xihe immediately shouted, "Wait!" He stepped in front of the Jadewater Qilin. "Young man, can you tell me what this Immortal Artifact in your hands does?" "Oh, this? It's a kind of syringe I invented," Luo Qian said, bobbing his head. He was nervous. Things had come this far; all he could do was bluff his way past the old man!

Zhao Xihe regarded him with obvious suspicion. "A syringe?" Luo Qian had no choice but to give him a crash course in basic Western medicine. Then he said, "Rest assured, sir. Before I ascended, I was a veterinarian."

Zhao Xihe's eyes lit up. That last sentence did the trick: his suspicion instantly turned to trust. "Very well. I'll leave everything to you, young man!"

Luo Qian smiled, nodded, and thumped his chest. "Rest assured, sir." He loaded a bullet, then nudged Du Lengning beside him. Du Lengning nodded and stepped forward. Releasing Immortal Essence from both hands, he examined the Jadewater Qilin's internal structure and found a thick blood vessel close to the skin. "Right here."

Luo Qian chambered the bullet and aimed at the spot. He estimated the range, adjusted his distance from the Jadewater Qilin, gritted his teeth, and pulled the trigger.

Bang! Smoke billowed. Zhao Xihe and Du Bo'an both jumped. That was a syringe? Amid a blaze of light, a red-glowing projectile shot into the Jadewater Qilin. Though the beast lay sick and motionless, its whole body shuddered in pain.

Through their spiritual bond, Zhao Xihe clearly felt the Jadewater Qilin's agony. He roared, "You whelp! How dare you harm my Immortal Beast!"

Whoosh! A surging force burst from Zhao Xihe's body and hurled Luo Qian hundreds of meters into the sky like a storm. The tremendous power struck him like a battering ram. Before Luo Qian could even put away his syringe, he let out a scream and died once again.