The Difference Between Alchemists Surnamed Xiao
A day later, Qin Chuan and Jin Pang finished tending to their injuries at the same time.
"Senior Brother Jin, thank you for saving my life this time. If you ever need anything, just say the word. I'll help," Qin Chuan said, thanking Jin Pang first.
"You saved me too, Junior Brother Qin, so we're even." Jin Pang let out a stale breath and sprawled on the ground.
"I was the one who dragged you into this, Senior Brother Jin. Otherwise, those wolf demons wouldn't have hunted you down. I owe you, and this is also the money I owe you for the pills and spirit talismans. I don't know if it's enough. If it isn't, I'll make up the difference when I get out."
Qin Chuan put all his spirit stones in a storage bag and handed it to Jin Pang. He didn't have many, and they had all been gifted to him by "kindhearted" people he had met while training outside.
Shen Qingyuan gave him cultivation resources, but he was something of a gold-swallowing beast, like the protagonist of a men's web novel. Those resources weren't enough, so he always went out to train on his own and found "kindhearted" people to fund him along the way.
Of course, after swallowing so many resources, he had to drop some gold coins. So, like a men's web novel protagonist, he was invincible among those at the same level, and killing enemies above his level was as common as eating and drinking.
Jin Pang waved a hand, refusing Qin Chuan's spirit stones, and tossed out the two wolf demons. "Forget the spirit stones. If you want to make it up to me, Junior Brother Qin, just give me the corpse of one of the False Nascent Soul wolf demons."
"When I collected their corpses, I noticed they had a trace of Silver Moon White Wolf blood. That's good stuff. It can be used to refine Bone-Tempering Pills."
"We killed these wolf demons together. One of them should be yours, Senior Brother Jin," Qin Chuan replied at once.
"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony. Would you like to pick first, Junior Brother Qin?" Jin Pang's eyes remained fixed on the wolf demon that had first chased them.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Smiling at the corners of his mouth, Qin Chuan looked at the wolf demon Jin Pang had his eye on.
Seeing that Qin Chuan had taken a fancy to the wolf demon he wanted, Jin Pang reluctantly looked away and chose to let Qin Chuan have it.
Qin Chuan stopped teasing him and pushed the wolf demon Jin Pang wanted toward him. "This one's yours, Senior Brother Jin. The other one is mine."
Jin Pang was startled at first, then happily put the wolf demon into his storage bag. "Thank you for letting me have it, Junior Brother Qin."
He went on to ask Qin Chuan, "Junior Brother Qin, the False Nascent Soul wolf demons have already formed demon cores, and they have a trace of Silver Moon White Demon blood. They're extremely valuable."
"I'll use the wolf demon's core to refine Body-Tempering Pills. If you take one at night, you can use that trace of Silver Moon White Wolf blood to absorb the power of the stars and temper your body. It can both expand your meridians and strengthen your physique. If you're lucky, it can even improve your cultivation aptitude."
"I can't refine that kind of Body-Tempering Pill yet. I'll have to ask my grandfather to do it. If you want yours refined too, you can leave it with me. Free of charge!"
"Then thank you, Senior Brother Jin. How many spirit stones are the other spirit herbs needed to refine the Body-Tempering Pills worth? I'll pay you." Qin Chuan hurriedly handed the wolf demon's corpse to Jin Pang.
He knew the kind of Body-Tempering Pill Jin Pang was talking about was extremely difficult to refine. There were only a few alchemists on all of Pill Peak who could make it, so of course he had to shamelessly take advantage of the offer.
"Hehe, then let me take a little more advantage of you. How about using the False Nascent Soul wolf demon's body to pay for the other spirit herbs?" Jin Pang put the wolf demon's corpse back into his storage bag.
"All right. I'm the one taking advantage of you, Senior Brother Jin." Qin Chuan felt that his decision to ally with Jin Pang had truly been the right one. Jin Pang was so loyal that he certainly couldn't let him take the blame. He would have to think of another way.
While Qin Chuan was still thinking, Jin Pang moved closer and bumped him with his shoulder. In a low voice, he asked, "Junior Brother Qin, do you have a deep grudge against the sect master's faction?"
"What makes you say that?" Qin Chuan pretended nothing was wrong, but inwardly he wondered where he had slipped up.
"There's no need to hide it from me, Junior Brother Qin. When I was chasing you, I saw the sect master's youngest disciple, Gu Xiran, injured. Her wounds were caused by your sword qi. I can tell that much."
After saying this, Jin Pang looked at Qin Chuan's face again. "You concealed your appearance to attack Gu Xiran, and you were ruthless about it. Add to that your cooperation with me to kill Xie An, and I'd say you have a grudge against the whole sect master's faction."
"I was willing to risk saving you from the False Nascent Soul wolf demon's claws because I saw that you wanted to kill that white lotus Gu Xiran."
"Hmph! Not one of those people in the sect master's faction is any good. It's no surprise they've earned someone's hatred."
"I won't hide it from you either, Junior Brother Qin. Xie An and I won't rest until one of us is dead. If I had a chance to kill someone from the sect master's faction, I wouldn't pass it up either."
"Hehe, of course, I have my own reasons for telling you this. I'm a pill cultivator, and my combat strength isn't very high, so I want you to join me in killing the people from the sect master's faction."
"Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I'll act as though I never knew." With that, Jin Pang turned to look at Qin Chuan.
Under Jin Pang's gaze, Qin Chuan said, "I do have a grudge against the sect master's faction, the kind that won't end until one side is dead. But I can't tell you the details, Senior Brother Jin."
He knew it made no difference whether he admitted it or not, so he simply chose to admit it. That was more open and honest.
He also realized he had truly underestimated Jin Pang. Rough on the outside but attentive within, Jin Pang seemed petty, yet his little calculations weren't disagreeable. He knew when to advance and when to retreat, acted methodically, and was loyal enough to be worth befriending.
"Then let's kill Xie An right here, and that white lotus Gu Xiran too." When Jin Pang mentioned Xie An, Qin Chuan saw hatred burst forth in his eyes.
"What grudge do you have against Xie An, Senior Brother Jin?" Qin Chuan also turned his head to stare at Jin Pang.
Jin Pang leaned back against the stone wall and lowered his head before slowly speaking. "Anyone can find out about my grudge with Xie An by asking around a little. There's no need for me to hide it from you, Junior Brother Qin."
"Do you know about the four great cultivation clans besides the three great sects, Junior Brother Qin?" Rather than directly explain his grudge with Xie An, Jin Pang asked Qin Chuan a question of his own.
Information about the four great clans instantly surfaced in Qin Chuan's mind. After a brief moment of thought, he said, "I do. Though the four great cultivation clans can't compare to the Pure Void Sect, each of them holds a province of its own."
"The Bai Clan has specialized in formations for generations, the Lin Clan refines artifacts, the Gu Clan are sword cultivators, and the Xiao Family refines pills. Is Xie An from the Xiao Family?"
"That's right. Xie An is the current Xiao Family head's illegitimate son, who grew up away from the family. His real name should be Xiao An." Jin Pang spoke through clenched teeth. It seemed he truly hated Xie An to the bone.
Surnamed Xiao? Qin Chuan was momentarily dazed when he heard the name. There was a difference even between alchemists surnamed Xiao.
Although Xiao Huohuo liked to arrive just in the nick of time to save people, and after winning a contest liked to humblebrag, "I was just lucky," there was nothing wrong with his character. He repaid everyone who helped him, and even when facing his enemies, he never killed innocent people indiscriminately.
Then there was Xie An. In the script Qin Chuan had read, the things he did were utterly revolting. Just take his use of people to refine medicine to save the heroine, all in the name of love. It truly sullied love.
Xie An had done many things like that. Even if the novel's script made excuses to paint him in a better light, any normal person would know he was a hypocrite through and through, and the things he did were utterly disgusting.
Qin Chuan was lost in thought, while Jin Pang stared straight ahead with a complicated look in his eyes. There was hatred, sorrow... and many other emotions.