Three ground rules

"Ah... hiss, go easy."

"Sorry, I used a little too much force."

"It's fine. Keep going, a little lower."

"Boss, does this medicine actually work? It's not useless, is it?"

"It'll kick in soon. Don't worry."

"How about starting from the back? Your back looks like it needs more attention. We can do the front later."

"Sure. Go easy on the front and harder on the back."

"..."

Late at night, a young man and woman were exchanging hisses and gasps inside the agency.

Yue Wen was bare-chested, his body covered in bloody marks and bruises. The purplish-black streaks were a shocking sight.

Although they had scored a resounding victory against the tiger demons, he had taken quite a few injuries. There were scratches from tiger claws and welts from their whipping tails. The injuries on his front were relatively minor, but several wounds on his back went almost to the bone, making for a gruesome sight.

Zhao Xing'er was holding a jar of ointment and applying it to his body.

The red light of her Martial Spirit apparently offered protection and healing as well. She had taken more hits than Yue Wen during the fight, yet her skin was still fair and smooth, without a single wound.

Meanwhile, Yue Wen, who had kept his distance and kited the enemy the whole time, had ended up more badly injured than the frontline fighter.

That only made him more annoyed.

Still, cultivators had powerful physiques. These external wounds looked severe, but given enough time, he could expend some blood and vital energy to heal himself. As long as no lingering true qi was eating away at the wounds, they were no great problem.

Especially after reaching the sixth realm and forging a Dharma Body, a cultivator could regenerate even after having all five limbs severed, and survive having their head separated from their body. Their vitality would reach a terrifying level.

As she applied the ointment, Zhao Xing'er's cheeks grew slightly red.

Objectively speaking, Yue Wen did have a nice figure-the classic lean, lightly muscled build of a handsome young man, balanced and sleek.

But she was blushing not out of shyness, but because she had spotted a blade wound on Yue Wen's back.

Clearly, the tiger demons hadn't done that.

"It's fine. Given the state you were in, a little friendly fire was understandable." Yue Wen immediately guessed what she was thinking and reassured her.

"Boss, you don't blame me?" Zhao Xing'er asked, touched.

"I don't. Everything happens for a reason. Meeting you was a blessing." Yue Wen smiled. "You only worked one day today, so your base pay works out to a hundred, plus two hundred and fifty as your share of the job. I'll transfer three hundred and fifty to you in a bit. We all have our own dreams, so let's each go shine in our own way..."

"Boss, you're firing me?" Zhao Xing'er immediately stopped what she was doing.

"Why call it firing?" Yue Wen corrected her. "It's workforce optimization."

"Why?" Zhao Xing'er asked.

Yue Wen half turned and showed her the blade wound on his back again. It spoke for itself.

"I'll be more careful next time..." Zhao Xing'er lowered her head, wringing her hands together as she spoke softly.

"I believe you. It's just that this isn't something you can control." Yue Wen sighed. "Xing'er, my cultivation isn't high enough. If something happens, I really can't keep you in check. You should look for a bigger organization..."

"I've actually tried lots of jobs already." Zhao Xing'er pouted, her voice quiet. "But I always ended up hurting either my boss or my coworkers. You know how it is. Bosses have a million ways to piss people off..."

Yue Wen nodded in understanding.

He had never worked for anyone, but he had heard a thing or two. Three-legged toads might be hard to find, but idiot bosses were everywhere.

Who hadn't felt the urge to punch their boss's pig face at work?

But Zhao Xing'er was different from everyone else.

She couldn't keep her temper in check.

"This time, I told myself I'd be really careful..." she continued mumbling. "I never thought I'd still end up hurting you by accident."

"It's not so much that you hurt me. I'm more worried about what trouble you might cause later," Yue Wen explained. "Our place..."

"Waaah..." Zhao Xing'er seemed not to hear him at all. The more she talked, the sadder she became, her voice taking on a tearful note. "I finally found such a good boss. You're not greedy, you're not a creep, you're kind, and you're handsome..."

"Xing'er, you... oh, come on." At a loss for how to comfort her, Yue Wen said anxiously, "Why are you saying all these undeniable truths?"

"If even you don't want me, maybe I'll never be able to work again. I'll have to sleep on the streets, cold and starving, and die far from home..." Zhao Xing'er looked up, her eyes brimming with tears. "I hope I'll have a few matches in my arms before I die. That way, I'll get a chance to see my grandma one last time..."

"Zhao Xing'er!" Yue Wen called sharply, then lowered his voice in resignation. "If you really don't want to leave, you can stay."

"Yay!"

Zhao Xing'er immediately smiled. Her tears vanished as though they had evaporated in an instant, leaving only a sweet, smiling face.

Yue Wen: "?"

He had the vague feeling he'd been had.

He hastily added, "You can stay, but we need to agree on three ground rules."

"Okay." Zhao Xing'er obediently put away the ointment and nodded with a smile. "Go ahead, boss. I'll do exactly as you say."

"First, no hitting your boss." Yue Wen raised his fingers one by one as he laid out his conditions. "Second, no hitting customers. Third... if you absolutely have to hit someone, no weapons."

"Huh?" Zhao Xing'er looked a little troubled. "That's asking an awful lot, isn't it?"

"Pfft." Yue Wen burst out laughing. "If you really find it too difficult, I won't force you."

Sometimes, sheer speechlessness really did make it impossible to keep a straight face.

"But I'll definitely do my best!" As though making a tremendous commitment, Zhao Xing'er held up three fingers and nodded firmly. "Yes!"

After all their fussing that night, the sky was already turning pale by the time the two finally lay down to rest.

Yue Wen was used to such an irregular schedule. Sticking to his usual routine, he planned to scroll on his phone in bed for a while before sleeping.

As soon as he opened the Cultivation Chat forum, he discovered several new notifications and quickly checked them.

Of the four precious materials required for Chaos Dragon Astral Force, the Purple Jade Branch, grand unity mystic blazing cinnabar, and Dragon-Breath Flame Seed were all natural treasures that couldn't be produced by human effort.

Only Blazing Flame Powder could be refined by cultivators, making it the easiest of the four to obtain.

This medicine strengthened the flames within the dantian after the spiritual fire in the qi sea had been lit. Its refinement demanded exceptional precision, without the slightest room for error. Alchemists with that level of skill were rare, but if he searched all of Jiangcheng City, there should still be

a few of them.

So Yue Wen had posted anonymously in Cultivation Chat's local section, seeking high-quality Blazing Flame Powder and asking anyone with a source to contact him.

Trading requests on Cultivation Chat generally took the form of posts offering to buy or sell. Once someone replied, the poster would contact them to confirm the details, then both parties would choose a relatively safe place in the city to inspect the goods and complete the deal. It was an established process.

He would certainly have an easier time finding a supplier if he could trade across cities.

But first, traveling to another city to inspect the goods in person was inconvenient. Without an inspection, a private transaction offered no platform guarantee, and he didn't dare take the risk. Second, in this day and age, intercity shipping came with added costs. Crossing the vast wilderness was extremely expensive, and shipped goods could end up costing almost twice as much.

So local trades remained his first choice.

A full day had now passed, and the post had received several replies, though most were useless comments and ads.

["Shit-tipped spear, one poke and you're dead": Blazing Flame Powder? That's a top-grade spiritual medicine for strengthening fire. It's usually used to break through to the Astral Realm, right? Wonder which immortal sect this disciple belongs to.]

["Ziche Chenju": Are you serious about buying? If you're not, I don't have any... if you are, pretend I didn't say anything.]

["Please, heavens, give Chen Bo back to me": I'm jealous. This old man is fifty-eight this year, and I still have no hope of refining astral force.]

["Li Dakang, criminal law scholar": Add me for porn.]

["Old Bai": I have some. Exclusive, top-grade Blazing Flame Powder.]

["momo": I've recently found a new spiritual medicine for strengthening fire that I really want to try. It's just as good as Blazing Flame Powder, and dozens of times cheaper. Want to jump on it with me?]

"..."

After looking through the replies, Yue Wen decided that the user called "Old Bai" seemed to be the only reliable prospect. He opened the user's profile and found videos of exclusively formulated spiritual medicines. The user did seem to be an alchemist, though the page had very little traffic and apparently next to no business.

He wasn't sure how trustworthy this person was.

Deciding to try his luck, Yue Wen sent a private message. "Hello. Do you really have high-quality Blazing Flame Powder?"

"Yes." A few minutes later, the reply came. Apparently, the other party was a night owl too. "Three taels, five hundred thousand."

The price was enough to make his hand tremble, but Yue Wen had looked it up before. Blazing Flame Powder could sell for two hundred thousand per tael on the market. Three taels for five hundred thousand was actually on the cheaper side, even if it was a huge sum to him.

"Would it be convenient to meet tomorrow so I can inspect the goods?" Yue Wen immediately sent another message.

He planned to check whether the goods were legitimate before worrying about getting the money together.

The reply was straightforward. "Room 208, Building 167, You'ai Road, Half-Mountain District, City Six. Give my name at the main entrance and they'll let you straight in."

Looking at the remarkably detailed address, Yue Wen slowly furrowed his brow.

Going straight to your home on our first meeting?

We're just online acquaintances.

Isn't this moving a little too fast?