With the dispute in the Blue Flower Pavilion settled, an assortment of fruit, vegetables, and delicate pastries had already been laid out in Mu Lan's room. Fine wine filled their cups, and everyone raised theirs and drank. Even Golden Roc opened his beak and sucked, drawing a cupful of wine into a stream that flowed down his throat, then showed a look of intoxicated bliss. It seemed he had drunk no small amount over the past month or so, spending his days enjoying himself in the Blue Flower Pavilion, free to roam at ease amid boundless wine and women.
Not only that, Golden Roc kept spreading his wings to nudge Mu Bai, shooting him meaningful little looks that urged him to finish his wine without leaving a drop. Xi Bazì was hardly willing to sit quietly either. Calling him "Brother Xiao Bai" at every turn, he urged Mu Bai through several cups in succession, allowing him to leave nothing.
Mu Bai had rarely drunk before, but his talent for drinking was awakened just like that.
When they were pleasantly tipsy, Xi Bazì repeatedly signaled Sweet Potato Boy with his eyes. With only half his head showing above the table, Sweet Potato Boy did not see him. Besides, he had spent the whole evening with his head down, eating and drinking. How could he notice Xi Bazì blinking madly to signal him?
You drink your wine. I, Sweet Potato Boy, have my own pleasures, don't I?
Mu Bai understood Xi Bazì's meaning, however, and raised his cup. "Brother Bazì, Brother Sweet Potato-hey, hey, Brother Sweet Potato..."
Hearing Mu Bai calling him, Sweet Potato Boy jerked his head up and struck the back of it against the edge of the table with a bang.
Mu Bai stood there with his cup still in hand, desperately holding it in, but finally could not help bursting into laughter. Mu Lan covered her mouth with a handkerchief, her body shaking without cease and tears spilling from her eyes. Xi Bazì and the great Golden Roc made no attempt to hide it, rocking back and forth with laughter as though competing to see which could be more outrageously unrestrained.
Sweet Potato Boy flushed scarlet with embarrassment and slammed the table. "Believe me when I say I'll smash this lousy table!"
"We believe you, we believe you. It's the table's fault. Sweet... big brother, don't get angry."
"Hahaha..."
Mu Bai forced back his laughter. "Ahem. I've been in the sect for over a month now, and I've been fortunate to have you two elder brothers looking after me. Let me offer you both a humble cup of wine as a small token of my gratitude."
Mu Bai raised his cup in a toast, and Xi Bazì stopped laughing. "You're mistaken, Brother Xiao Bai. Being able to serve you is a blessing for us brothers too, isn't it? It's certainly given the two of us more prestige..."
"Mm-hmm. Xi Bazì and I both like you very much, Elder Mu. You're a good man, and loyal to your friends!"
As Sweet Potato Boy spoke, he deliberately stretched his neck to bring his head into view, lifted his cup, and drained it. Then he urged Xi Bazì and Mu Bai to finish theirs before saying anything else.
After the drinking was over, Xi Bazì still pulled Sweet Potato Boy out of the room. He knew to give Mu Bai and Mu Lan some time and space to talk alone.
Unable to persuade them to stay, Mu Bai could only let them go. Golden Roc also left the room and wandered majestically about the Blue Flower Pavilion's main hall.
Inside the room, the two sat in silence for a moment before Mu Bai relayed the Spirit Taming Sect Master's response to Mu Lan.
Hearing Mu Bai's account, Mu Lan grew despondent. A cup of wine went down, and tears slid from her eyes like rolling pearls.
Ever since leaving the Spirit Taming Sect, Mu Lan had entertained guests from all quarters in Spirit Command City. In her heart, she still thought of that sect master-the broad-muscled, curly-bearded man Mu Bai had seen in the Spirit Command Hall, who indulged in women under the grand name of practicing the Way of Female Cultivation: the Spirit Taming Sect Master, Dao Zun Zhou Qichang.
Spring remained as before, while she had grown thin; red traces of tears soaked through her silken handkerchief. Yet Zhou Qichang had long since cast this devoted woman from his mind.
Seeing this, Mu Bai felt a sense of injustice.
"Sister Mu Lan, tears of heartache should only be shed for someone who cares. He is heartless. You deserve a better place to belong."
"I left the sect a year ago and took shelter here, hoping I might still have a chance to enter the sect and see the sect master once more. Now, it seems I was merely being foolish, failing to recognize my place. Thinking of it that way, there is nothing left in this Blue Flower Pavilion for me to linger over..."
"Sister Mu Lan, if you leave, do you have anywhere to go?"
"I'm a woman of the pleasure quarters, drifting alone. I have nowhere to go."
"The world is treacherous. Why not stay in Spirit Command City and do some business? Xi Bazì, Sweet Potato Boy, and I can offer you some support from within the Spirit Taming Sect."
"By business, young master, do you mean selling pills?"
Mu Lan already knew that Mu Bai had now been appointed Pill Hall Deputy Hall Master. With his backing, selling pills in Spirit Command City would indeed be a good livelihood.
"Exactly!"
With that, Mu Bai took out two Soul Bags and set them on the table. "Sister Mu Lan, these Soul Bags contain a hundred Soul-Returning Pills and a hundred Soul-Nurturing Pills, respectively. Are you confident you can sell them within five days?"
Mu Lan had never imagined that, after meeting only a few times, Mu Bai would dare entrust her with such an enormous quantity of valuable pills to sell. His trust and his kindness in helping her through hardship warmed her heart, and she could not help shedding a woman's tears once more.
"Sister Mu Lan, are you confident? Five days from now is when I have to hand in my monthly pill quota to the sect. I can't be late..."
"I have some confidence!" Mu Lan wiped her tearful eyes with her handkerchief and looked solemnly at Mu Bai. "As far as I know, large numbers of cultivators have recently come to Spirit Command City to buy pills, and prices have risen like boats on a rising tide. Pills of this second level in particular have no shortage of buyers. In fact, they're nearly out of stock!"
"Then take them, sister. I'll come for the Soul Crystals in five days. Whatever you haven't sold, I'll take back and hand over to the sect."
"At a conservative estimate, these pills are worth thirty thousand Soul Crystals. You feel safe leaving them with me to sell?"
"Why wouldn't I? Even if you took them and left Spirit Command City, they would give you some security for your future livelihood." Mu Bai stood and placed the two Soul Bags in Mu Lan's hands. "To tell you the truth, each pill costs roughly a hundred and thirty Soul Crystals in the Pill Hall. We'll split the profit equally. Just give me twenty-eight thousand Soul Crystals in five days."
Earning two thousand Soul Crystals by reselling them in five days was undoubtedly an astonishing sum for a woman on her own. Mu Lan was also a perceptive woman. After thinking it over, she certainly would not refuse Mu Bai's kindness.
With everything made clear, neither said any more. Mu Bai rose to take his leave, but Golden Roc was rather unwilling to go. Thinking that bringing him into the sect would pose many inconveniences, Mu Bai left Golden Roc at the Blue Flower Pavilion in Spirit Command City once again.
Mu Bai trusted others, but he was by no means reckless. On his way to Spirit Command City, he had already formed a plan to buy and sell pills. After all, he could not spend too much of his energy fulfilling his monthly quota. He had chosen Mu Lan as his agent partly because he knew no one else in Spirit Command City, and partly because, through the wisp of a spiritual imprint on Golden Roc's mind, Mu Bai could see some of Mu Lan's actions over the past month or so. Though she was a woman of the pleasure quarters, she deeply valued affection and loyalty. Her promises had always been worth a thousand pieces of gold; she was neither heartless nor faithless.
Leaving aside how Mu Lan handled that batch of pills for now, Mu Bai still had other matters to attend to. He therefore asked Xi Bazì and Sweet Potato Boy to return to the Spirit Taming Sect first, while he felt the white wolf hide coat with his hand and slipped into the bustling crowds on Spirit Command City's streets.
After finally finding a pawnshop, he felt rather embarrassed, but braced himself and walked inside anyway.
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