Repay resentment with justice!
Without hesitation, Zhou Xun took the cloth bag.
He opened it and said:
"Fifty Spirit Essence. You lot really did bleed for this!"
Seeing Zhou Xun accept the bag, the few of them assumed he had forgiven them and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In a familiar tone, they said:
"Brother Zhou, it was your little brothers' fault last time. Another day, we'll definitely set a table at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and personally apologize to you!"
Zhou Xun waved a hand and said coldly:
"Enough. You've delivered the Spirit Essence. Don't appear before me again in the future. Between us, grudges and friendship alike are wiped clean with a single stroke!"
The attendant froze, exchanging glances with his companions.
"What, you're dissatisfied?" Zhou Xun frowned slightly.
"No, no!" The attendant quickly came to his senses, tugging his companions away at a brisk pace.
Having gained fifty Spirit Essence and taught those people a lesson, Zhou Xun was in a fine mood.
He returned to the banquet and chatted merrily with everyone.
Before the banquet began,
that high-salaried middle-aged Spirit Butcher also came personally to offer congratulations, bringing a rather generous gift.
Originally, Zhou Xun had not invited this man. He had always found him unfathomable and did not wish to associate with him too deeply.
Since he had come, Zhou Xun made the best of it.
Naturally, he received him warmly as well.
Afterward, more than ten neighbors from Green Willow Alley each presented congratulatory gifts of several Spirit Essence.
Even Lan Song, whom he had met at Mystic Talisman Pavilion that day, had somehow learned of the news.
He sent someone to deliver a congratulatory gift of five Spirit Essence.
So many visitors had truly exceeded Zhou Xun's expectations.
Fortunately, Dan Xiong Hai had bought enough spirit ingredients. Otherwise, he would not have been able to entertain them all, which would have been rather discourteous.
It seems I underestimated the prestige of the Danbao Pavilion Pill Refinement Apprentice title! Zhou Xun thought to himself.
During the banquet, everyone raised cups and exchanged drinks, and the atmosphere was exceedingly lively.
It was not until evening that the guests gradually dispersed.
After seeing off the final guest, Zhou Xun was just about to close the door.
"Pill Refiner Zhou! Pill Refiner Zhou!"
A strong voice called out.
Zhou Xun looked toward the sound.
A robust man in his thirties stood there with dark skin and a scar across his face, clasping his fists toward him.
"Brother Hong San, didn't you leave already? Is there something else?"
This man was one of the dozen or so neighbors who had come to offer congratulations that day.
"There is indeed something I wish to discuss!" The man nodded without hesitation.
"Come in and talk!" Zhou Xun welcomed Hong San inside.
"May I ask what Brother Hong San has come for?"
After guiding the man to a seat and pouring him a cup of spirit tea, Zhou Xun finally asked about his purpose.
This Hong San was considered one of the notable figures in Green Willow Alley.
Not only was he an expert at the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, he was also a high-ranking member of one of Red Leaf Square's Four Great Clans of Rogue Cultivators on the outskirts.
As the largest cultivator market within five thousand li, Red Leaf Square was home not only to a great many cultivators within the market itself.
A large number of low-level Rogue Cultivators also gathered outside the market.
Without the deterrence of the Enforcement Squad, murder and treasure-snatching occurred from time to time.
Thus, familiar acquaintances banded together for warmth, seeking to protect themselves.
As these groups grew, more than a dozen forces of varying sizes gradually formed around the outskirts of the market.
The four strongest among them were the Iron Mountain Gang, Blood Eagle Society, Preservation Spirit Association, and Jadeite Hall.
Hong San was one of the hall masters of the Iron Mountain Gang.
Hearing this, the man got straight to the point:
"Pill Refiner Zhou should know that the Four Great Clans have jointly prohibited trading activities outside the market!"
"Correct," Zhou Xun nodded.
The value of a market lay, first, in its spirit vein, and second, in its ability to provide a good trading environment.
If trading activities flourished outside the market, they would naturally affect the business within it. Without crowds and activity, the value of the major shops inside the market would also plummet. Naturally, the Four Great Clans of Red Leaf Square would not permit such a thing.
"In truth, trading outside the market has been banned time and again, yet it never stops. In fact, these under-the-table trades are the main source of income for our four great forces!"
This was also the "secret" known to all cultivators of Red Leaf Square.
So long as no one openly set up stalls or opened shops in broad daylight, those private, under-the-table transactions had little effect on Red Leaf Square's business.
Naturally, the Four Great Clans could not be bothered to manage them.
"As far as I know, the Iron Mountain Gang's biggest business is selling talismans, isn't it?" Zhou Xun was somewhat puzzled. If anyone should seek him out, it ought to be the Preservation Spirit Association, which mainly dealt in pills.
"Recently, demon beasts have erupted from Hundred Savages Mountain, and many demon-hunting cultivators have returned!"
"The supply of materials for making talismans has been greatly reduced, causing talisman prices to soar. Most of our business comes from low-level cultivators. Once prices rise, our talismans naturally become difficult to sell!"
"My hall has more than a dozen mouths to feed, so I thought of opening up another source of income," the man explained.
"Now that Pill Refiner Zhou has been accepted by Danbao Pavilion, if you and I cooperate, the possibilities are immense!"
As Hong San spoke, a trace of excitement appeared on his face.
"I'm not even a Pill Refinement Apprentice yet. How could I possibly be of help?"
Zhou Xun probed.
"Pill Refiner Zhou may not know this, but Danbao Pavilion is the largest pill shop in Red Leaf Square. It sells only genuine pills, so naturally it has no use for low-level pills ruined during refinement!"
"But for us low-level cultivators on the outskirts, such things are rare treasures indeed."
"If Pill Refiner Zhou can collect those failed pills, I, Hong San, will take every last one. What do you think?"
"I cannot agree to this at present!" Upon hearing this, the man was about to persuade him.
Zhou Xun continued explaining:
"I have merely been accepted so far. I know next to nothing about Danbao Pavilion's inner workings. Even if I agreed to Brother San now, I fear I would be unable to produce any pills!"
"How about waiting until I enter Danbao Pavilion and find a way to obtain failed pills, or even genuine pills? Then I can cooperate with Brother San."
Zhou Xun did not reject him outright.
Whether buying cultivation resources or spirit herbs in the future, he would need a great deal of spirit stones. A stable source of Spirit Essence was also extremely important.
At this moment, he neither agreed nor refused, leaving behind an understanding first. Whether he would truly cooperate with Brother Hong San in the future would rest entirely on a single thought of his own.
He could advance or retreat as he pleased.
"Pill Refiner Zhou has thought things through more thoroughly. Then it's settled—if you find a source of pills, be sure to remember me, Hong San!" The man nodded.
He then took an exquisite wooden box from his robes and handed it to Zhou Xun.
Zhou Xun was about to decline.
"The gift from earlier was Hong San the neighbor's congratulatory gift. This one is Hong San of the Iron Mountain Gang's gift. I ask that Pill Refiner Zhou not refuse!"
Zhou Xun nodded and accepted the wooden box.
If he refused now, Hong San would only think he had no intention of cooperating, and he might even offend the man.
"Then many thanks, Brother San!"
"Farewell!" The man clasped his fists with both hands, then left.
Watching Hong San's departing figure, Zhou Xun fell into thought.
This small celebration had swept away the poverty of his former days.
Zhou Xun sorted through all the congratulatory gifts and began taking stock.
First were the spirit herbs sent by Second Uncle Dan.
It was a lower-grade first-rank Qi-Inducing Grass, precisely the main ingredient for refining Qi Induction Pills.
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