Throwing Themselves into His Arms, One Way or Another

"Mmph!"

The unprecedented sensation struck Ya Fei like lightning, leaving her entire body tingling and weak.

All her strength drained away, and she instinctively collapsed into Chu Zhou's arms, supple and boneless like a beautiful serpent.

Chu Zhou held her tightly, continuing to savor her unique sweetness. The atmosphere in the room grew heated, and one of his hands began to wander.

Just as he crossed the plains and prepared to scale the peaks, a hand suddenly stopped him.

"Little brother, don't push your luck." Ya Fei's gaze was sultry, her eyes glistening beneath a misty veil. "I'm not ready yet."

"All right." Since Ya Fei had made herself perfectly clear, Chu Zhou was in no hurry.

He had already claimed her first kiss up above. As for down below... getting her to repay him with a gushing spring would be no trouble.

"Thank you, Chu Zhou." A flicker of gratitude crossed Ya Fei's eyes as she tidied her disheveled hair, her voice warm with affection. "I can't give you more just yet. How about I assign a Da Dou Shi to guard you?"

"No need." Chu Zhou refused without hesitation.

He called this trip a chance to gain experience, but in truth, he was going out to stir up trouble.

It was fine for Xiao Yi Xian to know, but not a stranger, even if having one along would provide an extra layer of protection.

With his Flying Dou Technique, he could escape even from a Dou Ling. A Da Dou Shi guard would only be a burden.

"If you really want to do something for me, Sister Ya Fei, help me collect ten different Grade Four Pills." Chu Zhou sat beside her and drew her into his arms. "Preferably ones that can improve my cultivation as a Dou Shi, like the Qi Condensation Pill or the Fire Cloud Pill."

When it came to pills, grades one through three were merely introductory, suitable for those cultivating Dou Qi and Dou Zhe, with very few intended for Dou Shi. Their effects underwent a tremendous change starting at grade four, and their grades were determined by the quality of the medicinal ingredients and the difficulty of refining them, not simply their effects.

For example, Qi Gathering Powder, which guaranteed that someone at the ninth stage of Dou Qi could condense a Dou Zhe's Qi Spiral and advance to Dou Zhe, was a Grade Four Pill.

Then there was the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill. With one pattern, it could help a Dou Shi advance to Da Dou Shi, while a Da Dou Shi who took it had a small chance of gaining one star. Two patterns could grant two stars, and three patterns could grant three, making its effects comparable to a Fifth-grade Pill, though it could also backfire.

The Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, meanwhile, could raise a Da Dou Shi's strength by one star. Resistance to it was low enough that a Da Dou Shi with two pills could gain two stars.

The Qi Condensation Pill and Fire Cloud Pill were low-tier Grade Four Pills. The former could raise a Dou Shi's cultivation by one star, but each Dou Shi could only take one.

The latter could raise a Dou Shi with Fire Attribute cultivation by one star, and likewise, only one would be effective in their lifetime.

"You really don't stand on ceremony with me." Ya Fei gave Chu Zhou's chest a light, playful thump. "Grade Four Pills aren't so easy to obtain. I'll do my best to get you a Qi Condensation Pill or Fire Cloud Pill first. The others will depend on what opportunities come up."

Chu Zhou said he understood and told Ya Fei not to feel pressured.

When Nalan Yanran had come to break off her engagement, the two portions of Qi Gathering Powder she brought had shocked both the Xiao Clan's senior members and its core younger generation. They had even been personally refined by Pill King Gu He, which showed just how rare they were.

Many Grade Four Pills were already impossible to buy in the Jia Ma Empire, regardless of the price.

"I'll refine some Grade Three Pills for you over the next few days, so you can sell them at auction," Chu Zhou said, changing the subject.

Ya Fei gazed at him with smoldering eyes. "Little brother, how are you so capable?"

Gu Ni was only a grade-two Alchemist, yet Chu Zhou could actually refine grade-three pills. Pills of that level rarely circulated on Wutan City's market.

Wutan City would soon grow lively thanks to the Mittel Auction House.

Things indeed unfolded much as Ya Fei had predicted.

The Mittel Auction House held a small auction every two days and a major one every five.

Every auction featured Grade Three Pills, and the auctions held over those ten days immediately drew widespread attention.

Factions and individuals from several cities and towns near Wutan City all planned to come and attend the auctions.

Whenever Chu Zhou refined pills, he let Gu Ni observe the entire process and freely offered guidance, improving the older man's chances of successfully refining certain Grade Three Pills.

Gu Ni might still need some work before becoming a Third-Rank Alchemist, but after Chu Zhou left, refining a few specific Grade Three Pills to maintain the auctions' quality would definitely be no problem.

During this time, Chu Zhou also remembered to use the Dual Pill Refining Method to organize his pill-refining knowledge. Once the Pill Refining Furnace Ya Fei had commissioned arrived, he began teaching Xiao Yi Xian to refine pills.

"I did it! I really did it!"

Xiao Yi Xian watched the Pill Refining Furnace with complete concentration, silently counting the time. The moment it was ready, she opened the furnace and took out a fully formed Power Accumulation Pill.

Its quality was ordinary, but she had truly succeeded in refining it.

The excitement of realizing a dream she had thought impossible sent her rushing into Chu Zhou's arms, the pill still in her hand.

“Is this my reward? All that time I spent teaching you seriously wasn't wasted, then.” Chu Zhou wrapped his arms around Xiao Yi Xian's slender waist without hesitation.

It was a true willow waist, exquisitely slender.

As the man's hot breath reached her, Xiao Yi Xian finally realized what she had done. Her face flushed crimson, and she hurriedly broke free. "D-don't get the wrong idea! I was just too excited."

“Of course I won't get the wrong idea.” Chu Zhou lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. “I understand.”

“You don't understand!” Xiao Yi Xian kept feeling that Chu Zhou was deliberately twisting things.

“No need to explain.” Chu Zhou covered Xiao Yi Xian's mouth with his hand and smiled. “You've successfully refined a pill, so it's time we prepared to leave and gain some experience. I'll go see Sister Ya Fei first.”

With that, Chu Zhou turned and left without giving Xiao Yi Xian another chance to speak.

"How could he do that!" Xiao Yi Xian puffed out her cheeks slightly, but a few breaths later, she burst into a giggle and stood there grinning foolishly to herself.

She silently said in her heart, Chu Zhou, you're so good to me. Thank you.

Meanwhile, Chu Zhou found Ya Fei and discovered that she was taking a nap.

“Wake up. Your clothes have slipped off,” Chu Zhou said.

Ya Fei's eyes snapped open, and she instinctively looked down at her neckline and skirt.

Realizing that she was wearing a fitted long dress, Ya Fei gave him a helpless look. "You little rascal. You tricked me again."

“What do you mean, again? Have I ever tricked you before?” Chu Zhou folded his arms across his chest.

"A poor scholar who caught a grade-four Alchemist's eye?" Ya Fei raised an eyebrow slightly.

“All right, but I didn't have a choice about that either. Those were the Firmament Ledger's rules.” Chu Zhou spread his hands, then changed the subject. “Sister Ya Fei, have you still not managed to find any Grade Four Pills for me to buy?”

"I was planning to tell you about that tonight." Ya Fei crossed one leg over the other, revealing a stretch of fair calf, her eyes smiling. "We've made some money auctioning grade-three pills lately. I used my connections and learned that a grade-four Alchemist has refined a Qi Condensation Pill, but they want certain items rather than money. I'll need to arrange a few trades."

“I see. Keep working on it, then, Sister Ya Fei.” Chu Zhou nodded slightly. “I'm planning to leave to gain some experience. Whenever I reach a place with a Mittel Merchant Guild branch, I'll leave a letter for you. If anything comes up, you can send word to the Trade Association ahead of me.”

"You're leaving already? Won't you wait a few more days?" Ya Fei sat upright, hoping to persuade him to stay.

“Yes. The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll return. It's not as if I'm never coming back.” Chu Zhou sat beside Ya Fei. “As for those Grade Four Pills, there's something I'd like you to auction for me at tomorrow night's auction, Sister Ya Fei.”