Gao Shang was a little surprised.
Su Yuntao was twenty-two this year, yet he was only rank twenty-six.
Moreover, Su Yuntao had Spirit Hall behind him, while these two relied entirely on themselves.
Earlier, when he had looked only at their strength, he really had not thought much of them. But factoring in their ages and cultivation conditions made things different.
At least among ordinary commoner Soul Masters, reaching this rank at their age already put them above average.
After learning the broad outlines of their circumstances, Gao Shang nodded and continued asking:
"How much do you know about Zhou Qi?"
Wang Tianyuan fell silent for a moment before finally shaking his head.
"Zhou Qi approached us himself this time. I don't know exactly what his background is either. But I heard that he has a distant relative who's very powerful."
"That relative helped him set up his medicine shop in Nuoding City."
"A distant relative?"
Gao Shang frowned, feeling that this story did not quite hold water.
If Zhou Qi really had a powerful distant relative who was willing to help him, why would he choose a small place like Nuoding City to establish himself?
Nuoding City lay on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire. Though it had some advantages in trade, it was ultimately less prosperous than the empire's heartland. Wouldn't picking any more economically developed city be better than staying here?
But with so little information at hand, Gao Shang could not reach any conclusions for the moment.
Just as he was about to end the conversation, Hong Hua's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Cough... Boss, I have a theory that might be useful to you."
Gao Shang turned to look. Hong Hua had woken up at some point.
However, the pill he had first given Hong Hua primarily treated mental trauma. Having taken a heavy punch from Gao Shang, she was now pale, and her physical condition was even worse than Wang Tianyuan's.
"Hong Hua, whatever your theory is, go ahead."
As he spoke, Gao Shang spent another two hundred Gold Soul Coins to buy two healing pills and handed one to each of them.
Hong Hua took the pill and swallowed it without hesitation.
A moment later, she opened her eyes again. Some color had returned to her face, and at least she could speak normally now.
Feeling the changes in her body, a trace of something unusual appeared in her eyes. As a mercenary, she knew very well how valuable this little pill was.
If she could take a few along when she went out on missions, her chances of survival would definitely more than double.
After catching her breath, Hong Hua continued:
"Boss, although I don't know whether Zhou Qi's relative is real, Zhou Qi is definitely no ordinary person. He may very well be stronger than us, and he's most likely already a Soul Elder."
"A Soul Elder? Why do you say that?"
This information really caught Gao Shang somewhat off guard. A medicine shop owner in a small city was actually a powerful Soul Elder? That sounded far too implausible.
"A feeling."
"As an agility attack-type Soul Master, my perception is stronger than Wang Tianyuan's. When I face Zhou Qi, I can clearly feel a faint, elusive sense of pressure from him."
"Even a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster couldn't give me that feeling. That's why I think he may very well have the strength of a Soul Elder."
Hong Hua called it a theory, yet her tone was certain, forcing Gao Shang to reconsider.
Originally, he had planned to find an opportunity to dispose of Zhou Qi without anyone being the wiser.
But now, it seemed this matter could not be rushed.
Although his current strength was enough to handle ordinary Soul Grandmasters, there was still a considerable gap between him and a Soul Elder.
To ensure he could kill him, he would at least need to purchase a class-four offensive Soul Tool from the System Shop, along with a class-four Defensive Soul Tool.
Otherwise, actually coming to blows would be far too dangerous.
But if he did that, he would probably spend nearly all the Gold Soul Coins he had worked so hard to save.
More troubling still, what if Zhou Qi was not a Soul Elder, but a Soul Master of an even higher rank?
So before taking action, he had to determine Zhou Qi's exact rank.
"All right, I'll find a way to investigate this later."
"You can tidy up the side room and storage room to the right of the master bedroom. Get some proper rest over the next few days."
Seeing that the two had regained some ability to move, Gao Shang stopped questioning them. After making simple arrangements for their lodgings, he got up and went to the front hall.
Gao Shang was quite satisfied that Hong Hua had taken the initiative to warn him about the danger Zhou Qi posed.
Whether it was to repay him for saving their lives or because they had grown tired of mercenary life, at least for now, these two seemed reasonably trustworthy.
As for whether he would groom them into trusted aides in the future, that would depend on how they performed from here on.
When he reached the front hall, Sun Meng had already tidied everything up efficiently. She was sitting in a chair, her brows slightly furrowed, as though something was weighing on her mind.
"Sister Xiao Meng, what are you thinking about?"
"Ah! N-nothing. Boss, are we leaving now?"
Gao Shang's sudden words startled Sun Meng. She hurriedly stood and waved her hands repeatedly, then lowered her head and clutched the hem of her clothes after speaking.
Gao Shang gave her a puzzled look, unable to work out what she was thinking.
Assuming that Sun Meng still did not dare sit at the same table as Su Yuntao, he reassured her:
"Don't worry, Sister Xiao Meng. You've looked after me for so many years that I've long thought of you as my own older sister. Brother Tao won't object, so don't treat yourself like an outsider."
"I'm not! No... How could I be your older sister? I'm your..."
Sun Meng became incoherent, eager to explain but unable to make herself clear.
"All right, Sister Xiao Meng, you don't need to explain. I understand what you mean. While we still have time, go change your clothes."
Gao Shang rubbed his temple helplessly. Sun Meng was always efficient in her work, but she simply could not let go of her former status. Especially when facing Su Yuntao, she always became terribly nervous.
There was little Gao Shang could say to change this mindset. He could only take things slowly.
He had asked Sun Meng to change because she was still wearing her work clothes, having only taken off her apron.
"Um, Boss, I don't have any spare clothes. I washed my other set this morning."
"Uh..."
Gao Shang felt a little awkward. Now he finally understood why Sun Meng had looked so conflicted earlier.
Sitting at the same dining table as Su Yuntao in her work clothes would indeed feel a little uncomfortable.
But this was not because Gao Shang treated Sun Meng poorly. Rather, he had never cared much about clothing himself. Whether in his previous life or now, he was the sort of person who considered two sets of clothes to alternate between each season sufficient.
In fact, much of the time, those two sets were identical in both style and color.
Presumably, Sun Meng had been influenced by him, which was why she only had two sets of clothes as well.
Of course, Gao Shang would not admit that he had been negligent. Otherwise, he would be the one losing face.
"It's fine. I've already bought clothes for you."
He took Sun Meng's hand and walked leisurely toward the backyard.
Outwardly, he acted as though he had everything well in hand, but his consciousness had already opened the System Shop and begun searching for suitable clothes based on Sun Meng's figure.
To finish choosing as quickly as possible, he even activated his Martial Soul. His Sharingan spun rapidly, and a Soul Ring rose around his feet.
Sun Meng followed closely behind Gao Shang, her gaze falling on the hand he was holding, her face a little flushed.
But when she saw the Soul Ring rising around Gao Shang's feet, her expression turned somewhat puzzled.
Weren't we going to change clothes? Why did he need to activate his Martial Soul too?
Could those two from earlier be so ungrateful that they still wanted to attack?