Xue Li and the others crowded around him curiously.
"Chu Qing, how did your Soul Rings change?"
Chu Qing released his Soul Spirit, the Iridescent Shield-Tailed Snake, and casually made up an excuse:
"When I left the Star Dou Great Forest, I ran into this Soul Beast, who was nearing the end of his life. He willingly sacrificed himself to me and pushed my Soul Ring onto the Man Faced Demon Puppet. I'm not too sure exactly how it happened, but so far, the result is good."
Everyone was puzzled, but they didn't doubt him much.
Even Xue Zhan put on a show of examining it and said:
"That's a good thing too."
That night, they gathered together, and Tang Wutong turned her grief and indignation into an appetite, sweeping across the dinner table.
As night wore on, everyone gradually returned to their rooms to sleep, while Chu Qing went to the backyard to meditate and cultivate.
A few seconds after lying down in her room, Tang Wutong abruptly opened her eyes again.
When she heard that everything around her had gone quiet, she secretly climbed out of bed, determined to avenge the punch she'd taken that day.
Holding her breath and concealing her presence, she went to the backyard and released her Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer. Three Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, black as ink, circled it.
She slowly walked toward Chu Qing.
Before long, a scream suddenly rang out, waking everyone in the Soul Fighting Society from their sleep.
"You hit way too hard."
Chu Qing stared speechlessly at Tang Wutong, whom he had kicked to the ground. She was clutching her bottom and crying out in pain.
Tang Wutong gritted her teeth, looking so aggrieved that she didn't want to speak.
She took out a rolled-up map, tore it in half as if venting her anger, and flung one half at Chu Qing.
"I'm furious!"
"I found a treasure map, and I was going to take you to find Immortal Herbs."
"Now, even if you beg me, I won't take you."
She stormed off.
Chu Qing raised a hand, and the half-map on the ground flew into it. It was the incomplete second half, and the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was clearly marked.
He nodded, though he couldn't help hesitating.
On her way back, Tang Wutong ran into Princess Xue Li, who had come out, startled and bewildered.
"Wutong, why are you walking with your hand on your bottom?"
Tang Wutong immediately pulled her hand away, straightened her stride, and said haughtily:
"It's nothing. Go back to bed. I just went and gave our junior brother a good thrashing, that's all."
The next day, Tang Wutong deliberately ignored Chu Qing, hoping to keep him in suspense.
But after several days of finding that Chu Qing was ignoring her too, she was the first to lose patience. She deliberately went over and paced in front of him, saying:
"Don't expect me to tell you!"
Before Chu Qing could speak, she ran off triumphantly.
Chu Qing shook his head helplessly, happy to let her carry on like that. It meant less trouble for him.
Seven days later, Xu Jiujiu visited the Soul Fighting Society, and Chu Qing took her out as her host.
Tang Wutong watched, gnashing her teeth in resentment.
"So that's why he could hold out so long. He already had a date!"
She looked at Princess Xue Li, who was frowning beside her, and said:
"Xue Li, don't you think my junior brother deserves a beating? He's so young, yet he's already picking up bad habits."
Princess Xue Li nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Over the following period, Chu Qing also took Xu Jiujiu to inspect the Soul Fighting Society's business operations firsthand.
After a few days, Chu Qing took her to see the actual state of the various distribution points.
Only after they had left Lingdou City did Xu Jiujiu tease him:
"Those two little girlfriends of yours don't seem to welcome me."
Chu Qing couldn't be bothered to explain and asked in return:
"What? Are you jealous?"
"You're no fun," Xu Jiujiu complained. "I was going to tease you."
Chu Qing sat cross-legged and began to meditate.
"If you're bored, let's cultivate together!"
Xu Jiujiu was a little speechless.
"Would it kill you to skip a few minutes?"
As she spoke, she nodded repeatedly.
"Oh~"
"I see. You just can't be bothered with me."
Chu Qing had no choice but to open his eyes again.
"Your Highness Princess Jiujiu, your beast of burden is at your beck and call."
A hint of amusement appeared in Xu Jiujiu's eyes.
"That's more like it. In that case, I want the right to set card prices independently in the Star Luo Empire from now on."
Chu Qing immediately shook his head.
"That won't do!"
"But I could print rare cards, collector's cards, and things like that especially for you."
Xu Jiujiu thought it over.
"That will just about do."
"There's another important matter. The cards related to the Evil-Eyed White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat can't be too strong or too weak."
"As for our imperial family's Star Crown Martial Soul, you know what to do."
Chu Qing chuckled.
"Of course. For your Star Crown Martial Soul's absolute attribute isolation, I'll make sure no cards specifically countering it come out for at least ten years."
"Not only that, for each of the eighteen star diamonds on the Star Crown, I'll create a whole series of Star God support cards."
Xu Jiujiu pursed her lips.
"That's not bad. It would be even better if you could also give me a copy of the Martial Soul information you've collected and compiled."
Chu Qing looked at her in mild surprise.
"You're a spy, aren't you? Our Soul Fighting Society is just an ordinary commercial card and board game society."
The two discussed their cooperation along the way and visited the various distribution points. Xu Jiujiu was a little surprised.
"How did you think of making money from these little things?"
Chu Qing didn't feel proud of it, though.
"Actually, it's not the cards that make money. It's the monopoly."
"As long as you have a monopoly, what can't you make money selling?"
"It just so happens that selling these cards isn't very threatening."
Xu Jiujiu nodded, but a concern began to trouble her.
"I've been looking around these past few days, and everything's been done quite well."
"But when you mentioned a monopoly, there was something I almost overlooked."
"What if someone makes pirated copies?"
"There's no real technical skill involved in making these cards. Any little workshop could copy them, and the problem is, a workshop like that could be hidden in any little corner of the continent. There'd be nowhere to look for it."
Chu Qing frowned.
"Fighting piracy is a problem. I really can't think of a good solution right now."
Seeing that he was out of ideas, Xu Jiujiu said:
"Forget it. What we need to do now is open up the market first. Having pirated copies help spread the cards isn't such a bad thing."
"Maybe we could even take the opportunity to pirate our own cards. Earning a little less is still earning something, and we could even take a loss to drive the other pirates out of business."
"As for piracy later on, that's still a long way off."
"I can't be bothered to think about it. It makes my head hurt."
"Now this princess is hungry. Hurry up and take me to find some local delicacies from around Dou Ling."
A smile appeared on Chu Qing's face.
"I know the area around the Spirit Rhinoceros Sect. I know where to find something that tastes awful."
Xu Jiujiu frowned slightly.
"Did I hear you wrong?"
Chu Qing immediately corrected himself:
"You heard wrong. Of course I'm taking you somewhere delicious, the place known as Spirit Rhinoceros's finest!"
Xu Jiujiu didn't believe him for a moment. She snorted softly.
"I'd like to see just how awful it is."
When they arrived, Xu Jiujiu frowned at the dingy little eatery before her but sat down inside, a little curious.
When she saw the pot of green hodgepodge they were served, she couldn't help asking in puzzlement:
"Do you have it this hard?"
Chu Qing picked up a bite with his chopsticks and ate it with a look of satisfaction.
"Put all a hundred of your worries to rest. Would I really lead you into a pit?"
"It's like durian. It smells bad, but it tastes delicious."
There wasn't a trace of trust in Xu Jiujiu's eyes. She tentatively picked up a little with her chopsticks.
"It tastes kind of strange."
Chu Qing chuckled.
"It's niubie. It takes a little getting used to the first time you eat it."
Xu Jiujiu grew curious.
"I could just about call myself a gourmet, but what is niubie? How come I've never heard of it?"
"It's fine. Ask around when you get back and you'll know."