Utterly Unreasonable

Zhou Ning had long expected the Su Household to use its power to pressure him.

After all, his cultivation was low and his strength lacking. Even with his alchemy skills, he still wouldn't be safe on his own.

That was why he had made a point of corresponding with Gu Xiangning over the past year.

Next, he produced a token engraved with the character "Ye." Ye Menglong of the Ye Household had given it to him in Yongyang Commandery last year.

Having made his point, Zhou Ning said no more.

"True Person Yaoxian... a False Core True Person of the Azure Mystic Sect. Her strength surpasses the Su Household's ancestor, and she has the Azure Mystic Sect behind her besides."

Su Junsong no longer dared to pressure him.

Su Wen, on the other hand, had a fiery temper. The spiritual pressure around her only grew stronger, and her eyes remained fixed on Zhou Ning.

"Ridiculous. Do you think having someone to back you means you can shake the Su Household's hundred-year foundation?"

A mere lowly retainer at the Qi Refining Middle Stage had gained some influence and actually dared to talk business with the Su Household?

"Just what do you think you are?" Su Wen shouted.

Zhou Ning showed no fear. He knew full well that a dog that bites doesn't bark.

If Su Wen could really have had him in her grasp, she wouldn't have wasted a single word. She would have acted ruthlessly and decisively, just as she had when she crippled the cultivation of Bamboo Creek Island's retainers.

Zhou Ning chuckled. "Deacon Su, I really admire you."

Su Wen said, "Oh? What do you admire about me?"

"I admire how you still dare to intimidate others when you're so clearly in the wrong." Zhou Ning shook his head with a laugh.

Su Wen's expression froze, and then she flew into a rage!

Su Junsong now saw Zhou Ning's true colors clearly. He immediately stopped her. "Enough, Wenwen."

Su Wen might have been arrogant, but the Lineage's rules of conduct were strict, and she didn't dare overstep them in the slightest.

She said nothing more, though her face was full of resentment.

Su Junsong said, "Zhou Ning was your subordinate once, after all, and he's always admired you. How did things come to this?"

"Tch, what kind of respect is that?" Su Wen said disdainfully.

Even so, joy welled up in her heart. Her elder brother had acknowledged her contribution.

That meant the more Zhou Ning contributed to the Lineage in the future, the more she would benefit. If he became a second-tier Alchemist, perhaps even a Foundation Establishment Pill would be beckoning to her.

At that thought, Su Wen's resentment toward Zhou Ning almost entirely vanished.

Who would quarrel with their own money tree?

The conversation that followed was on much more equal footing. The Su Household hired Zhou Ning as an Alchemist, guaranteeing him a minimum of three Spirit Stones a month.

In addition, he would receive three basic provisions: a Storage Bag, an array for his cultivation grounds, and a bamboo-leaf flying Law Artifact.

In return, Zhou Ning was to refine pills for the Su Household and guarantee his pill success rate, or bear the losses himself.

Zhou Ning examined the contract. Its terms weren't harsh, and he would retain his personal freedom. Both sides signed a spiritual contract.

From that point on, Zhou Ning transformed from a lowly fish-hunting retainer into a guest elder of the Su Household, enjoying all manner of privileges.

Two days later.

Su Junsong stood in the courtyard, listening to a report from a hidden guard.

He nodded repeatedly.

Su Wen said, "Elder Brother, I told you there was nothing wrong with Zhou Ning."

She had now begun to defend her money tree.

After signing the spiritual contract, Su Junsong had mobilized the Household's forces to investigate Zhou Ning's background thoroughly, as well as the full course of his journey to becoming an Alchemist.

"Superb fire-control techniques, a Pill Furnace given to him by Yunjin, a Fire-Gathering Array set up by Aunt, hunting fish to earn money, frequent purchases of medicinal herbs, pawning his Law Artifact, selling a Vermilion Fruit, an alchemy manuscript from the Azure Mystic Sect..."

Everything in his past could be traced. His accomplishment hadn't come out of nowhere.

Hearing the various rumors, Su Junsong couldn't help feeling moved. Everyone at Forget-Return Market and on Bamboo Creek Island had laughed at Zhou Ning, yet he himself had refused to admit defeat.

"Only a heart that holds fast through a hundred setbacks can find a path through ten thousand changes."

How very much like the rise of their Su Household!

"Since there's nothing wrong, and Alchemist Zhou says he still wants to live on Bamboo Creek Island, make some arrangements for him there. Its Spirit Vein is enough to serve him until Late Qi Refining," Su Junsong said.

Su Wen's eyes lit up. "Elder Brother, in that case, what about Alchemist Zhang's estate?"

After Alchemist Zhang died, her Puppet Master husband had taken everything, including her Pill Furnace. At the time, Su Wen had had no excuse to ask for them, but now she had a pretext.

"Leave it for now," Su Junsong said. "First, escort Alchemist Zhou back to Bamboo Creek Island and bear witness."

In the sky above the lake, Zhou Ning stood atop a giant eagle with a dusky brown body.

This was the Su Household's Azure Feather Eagle, a Demon Beast of the Foundation Establishment Realm. A sweep of its wings whipped up gusts of fierce wind, and over short distances, it was even faster than his Tassel Boat.

Zhou Ning knew Su Junsong was displaying the Su Household's foundations to overawe him.

By the Su Household's usual practice, a guest elder was supposed to live on an important island such as Luyou Island.

But Zhou Ning believed that the presence of Foundation Establishment experts on those islands would hinder his activities, so he declined.

Su Junsong neither agreed nor disagreed. He only said he would escort Zhou Ning back to Bamboo Creek Island and establish his standing, so that petty troublemakers wouldn't disturb him.

Zhou Ning couldn't help feeling impressed. As expected of an Aristocratic Clan, they handled matters far more thoughtfully than he had imagined.

This would spare him the aggravating trouble of people questioning him because they didn't know he was an Alchemist, forcing him to "reluctantly" demonstrate his alchemy again and win everyone over.

On Bamboo Creek Island, Steward Su was drinking tea at his residence while Jiang Xi sat beside him, mixing herbs and studying alchemy.

He suddenly glimpsed a black speck in the sky. It appeared motionless, yet it grew larger and larger.

When it drew closer, Steward Su cried out in alarm, "An Azure Feather Eagle?"

Why would a Demon Beast from the Lineage come to Bamboo Creek Island?

His heart filled with unease. Had his skimming from the commissions been discovered?

The giant eagle plunged from the sky, and the fierce wind swept across the lake, sending waves rolling and spray flying.

As Steward Su and Jiang Xi watched in shock, the Azure Jade Eagle landed steadily in an open space at the residence. The wind from its wings swept through the courtyard, sending flowers and leaves fluttering and dancing wildly through the air.

Su Wen descended from the eagle's back and shouted, "Su Changhe, do you know your offense?"

Su Changhe panicked at once and hurriedly bowed. "Miss Su, what offense have I committed?"

Though they were both at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining, he was over fifty, while Su Wen was only thirty. Their prospects were worlds apart, and Su Wen's branch had originally been the main branch.

Thus Su Changhe, who commanded affairs on Bamboo Creek Island, humbled himself.

At the same time, he also saw Su Junsong, along with that lowly retainer, Zhou Ning.

Had the boy complained about him? Accused him of amassing wealth on Bamboo Creek Island?

In that instant, Su Changhe was both shocked and furious, and killing intent arose in him.

Su Wen's gaze shifted toward the pavilion, where a woman was dressed like a riot of flowers and looked utterly wanton. The sight stirred an unaccountable anger in Su Wen.

She unleashed her spiritual pressure, sweeping it toward her. "Why didn't you bow when you saw me?"

Jiang Xi felt like a small child facing a ferocious beast, her whole body going numb.

Su Changhe hurriedly stepped in front of her and intervened. "Miss Su, my wife has only just arrived and doesn't know the rules."

"Have you perhaps believed the words of some petty person?"

Su Wen said coldly, "The day before yesterday, Zhou Ning attained the skills of an Alchemist. He has now signed a spiritual contract with the Su Household. From today on, he is a first-tier Alchemist of the Su Household and will reside on Bamboo Creek Island for the time being."

"You knew he had a talent for alchemy. Why didn't you help him refine pills sooner?"

When her words fell silent,

Su Changhe was bewildered at first. How the hell was he supposed to know that?

Besides, even if he had known, why should he have helped Zhou Ning refine pills?

Then his expression changed, and he looked at Zhou Ning in disbelief. "He... he became an Alchemist?"

Was he dreaming in broad daylight?

Jiang Xi, meanwhile, turned pale and was utterly unable to accept it.

She knew all too well how vast and profound the Dao of Alchemy was, how obscure and difficult to understand.

Zhou Ning? Why him?

Su Wen snorted. "A twenty-five percent success rate with Qi-Benefiting Pills. Do you know better than I do?"

Su Changhe's scalp went numb. To bolster Zhou Ning's standing, Su Wen was actually throwing her weight around at his expense!

Fortunately, he had merely put on airs that day. He hadn't listened to Jiang Xi and seized Zhou Ning's Pill Furnace, or wouldn't he have been finished today?

Su Changhe plastered a smile on his face and took two Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag as though cutting flesh from his own body.

Then he offered his congratulations. "Alchemist Zhou becoming an Alchemist truly shows that Bamboo Creek Island is a place of outstanding people and blessed lands. It has produced a wondrous prodigy!"

Zhou Ning looked at Su Changhe's old face and laughed inwardly. He hadn't expected the man to speak so prettily.

He recalled the two times he had asked Steward Su for leave, and how the man had put on airs, then compared that with his current deference.

He felt much better.

Only with strength and status could one have dignity. Some scores would have to be settled slowly.

Su Wen said smugly, "Alchemist Zhou, accept them."

Su Junsong watched it all with great satisfaction. You didn't know the price of firewood and rice until you ran the household; every Spirit Stone had to be split in two before it was spent.

He knew Su Changhe lorded it over Bamboo Creek Island and made a considerable profit.

But he had presided over the couple's wedding banquet, so it would hardly do to hold Su Changhe accountable openly.

Now Su Wen had played the villain, and they could also gain the newly risen Alchemist's loyalty. Excellent, excellent.

Zhou Ning was likewise pleased to receive Spirit Stones for nothing.

The Su Household might be bad, but they certainly knew how to handle people. He had originally thought Su Junsong had come straight to the steward's residence to establish his identity. He hadn't expected him to get some money out of it too.

Zhou Ning accepted them with feigned reluctance and tucked them into his Storage Bag.

The Storage Bag had been given to him by Su Junsong as part of an Alchemist's provisions. It had plenty of space and would have cost at least three Spirit Stones.

Watching Zhou Ning's performance, Su Changhe was so angry he nearly ground his teeth to pieces!

He had drunk the fishermen's blood for over half a year, working hard to earn those gleaming Spirit Stones, only to lose them all in one stroke.