The Past Like Smoke

Qin Fei looked at the Wooden Ox before him, caught between laughter and tears.

He understood that Old Zhang had broken through to become a first-tier talisman master and wanted to lend him a helping hand.

Little did Old Zhang know that Qin Fei himself had made this puppet.

Qin Fei did not want to turn down Old Zhang's kindness, so he kept the truth to himself and accepted the puppet.

After some thought, he took a jade bottle from his Storage Bag and placed it on the table.

"Old Zhang, last time I traded you wine for your insights into drawing talismans. I can't take this for nothing either, so please accept this."

Qin Fei naturally knew that the price of a little wine could hardly compare to those insights.

Old Zhang had only said that last time to give him an excuse, so he would not feel too embarrassed.

This time, Qin Fei could use the same excuse to repay him.

Old Zhang picked up the jade bottle suspiciously and opened it. He looked inside, and surprise flickered across his face.

"A Spirit Ascension Pill?"

He recognized the pill at a glance, but put the stopper back in and pushed it back.

"I can't take this."

Qin Fei held his hand down and patiently urged him:

"Old Zhang, if I remember correctly, you've been stuck at the Qi Refining Third Layer for years, haven't you? Take this pill. It might just help you break through."

But Old Zhang shook his head, his gaze dimming.

"Kid Qin, I'm not just being polite. Don't you know what I'm like? If this thing could help, I'd ask you for it even if you didn't offer. It's just..."

As it turned out, Old Zhang had tried Spirit Ascension Pills long ago.

He had drawn talismans in the market for years and built up a considerable amount of savings.

Hoping to break through, he had bought Qi Gathering Pills and Spirit Ascension Pills suited to him.

But he was already past sixty, and his Qi and Blood had declined. No matter which pill he took, he could not break through the bottleneck to the Middle Qi Refining Stage.

And as he grew older, that once minor bottleneck grew increasingly firm.

Seeing his chances of breaking through dwindle, Old Zhang could not resign himself to it and prepared to make one last attempt. Who would have thought it would become the decision he regretted most in his life?

He bought a bottle of pills used to improve Late Qi Refining cultivation, hoping their violent medicinal power would break through the bottleneck.

Not only did it fail, but the impact left the meridians in his body riddled with injuries.

Had he not made some preparations beforehand, he might even have lost his life.

From then on, however, any possibility of breaking through was completely cut off.

Qin Fei could not help sighing as he listened. In his impression, Old Zhang was an optimist who often bickered and shot the breeze with him.

Who would have thought he was a man whose Qi and Blood had declined and whose cultivation could advance no further?

Seeing that the mood had grown somber, Old Zhang grinned.

"See? I didn't want to say anything, but you insisted on asking, and now the mood's all gloomy.

"But you don't need to worry about me. Everyone has their own fate. Ever since Qing'er came along, I've long since shifted my attention to this girl."

Old Zhang then poured two large bowls of wine and said excitedly:

"The truth is, I came with more good news for you. Senior Caiyi of the Azure Wood Palace took a liking to Qing'er and accepted her as a disciple!"

Qin Fei was slightly startled to hear the name.

"You mean Fairy Caiyi, who's at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage?"

Caiyi's name was no stranger even in a borderland like Shangyu Market.

Twenty years ago, the humans and barbarians had fought a great war. The humans had been defeated, and the border had retreated eight thousand li.

Yet some heaven's chosen had distinguished themselves in that war.

Back then, Fairy Caiyi had still been at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. She had fought three cultivators of the same stage alone, killing two and injuring one. From then on, her name had spread through both human and barbarian lands.

Old Zhang nodded slightly, gazing dotingly at the girl beside him.

"That's the senior. She's in Shangyu Market now. Once this barbarian border raid is over, she'll take Qing'er away to join the Azure Wood Palace."

"That's wonderful news! With that senior teaching her personally, Qing'er's future will be boundless. You and I must drink a great bowl to that!"

Qin Fei was genuinely happy for Qing'er. He raised his bowl and drained it in one gulp.

Old Zhang was equally delighted. He emptied his cup and continued:

"Senior Caiyi also brought back a few old acquaintances this time. You know them too."

"Old acquaintances? Could it be Tiezhu and the others?"

"Exactly!"

Once, among the market stalls in the southeastern section of Shangyu Market's outer district, there had been five great blackhearted merchants.

Qin Fei and Old Zhang had led the pack, while Tiezhu and his companions had made up the other three.

They had all been Rogue Cultivators at the bottom of the ladder. Close to one another, they had huddled together for warmth.

Later, the Azure Wood Palace had come to the border to recruit disciples, but Old Zhang had been too old to take part.

Qin Fei had happened to run into trouble with his cultivation and nearly died, so he had missed the opportunity as well.

Tiezhu and the others had been luckier, managing to enter the Azure Wood Palace.

It had been five years since they had parted, and they had not seen one another since.

Speaking of it now, Qin Fei felt that the past was like smoke. The days when they had pinched every penny over a few pieces of Spirit Essence seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Tiezhu told me they came on a mission this time and don't plan to leave anytime soon. He also asked how you were doing and suggested we get together when we have time."

"Getting together sounds good. It's been so long that I really do miss them."

After a little thought, Qin Fei agreed.

He also happened to want to hear what the world outside was like.

He drank with Old Zhang until midnight before seeing the two of them off.

Rather than use Spiritual Power to drive off the effects of the wine, he carried that drunkenness with him and plunged straight into bed.

That night, Qin Fei had a dream.

He dreamed that he had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and that his friends and family had gathered at his Foundation Establishment celebration.

But the good times did not last. The dream changed.

He dreamed of the Barbarian Tribe invading, of Shangyu Market falling, and of his friends dying tragic deaths.

He woke from the dream.

Qin Fei's forehead was drenched in sweat.

The sun was high in the sky. It was already noon.

Yet Qin Fei felt no warmth. His heart still trembled with lingering fear from the dream.

"Whew, I've been under too much pressure lately. The barbarian border raid is drawing closer and closer. Though I haven't said it aloud, I'm still worried deep down."

"It seems I need to hurry up and make the Flame Martial Envoy. If I can have a Late Qi Refining puppet guard me, that should be enough to keep me safe from worry."

What left Qin Fei somewhat helpless, however, was that one man's labor had its limits.

Only a month remained before the barbarians' "border raid." Given his current skill in crafting puppets, he could make at most another thirty or forty Wooden Oxen and Flowing Horses.

At twenty pieces of Spirit Essence earned from each one, that would add up to only seven or eight Spirit Stones.

For other Rogue Cultivators, that might have been a decent sum.

But for him now, it was a cup of water on a cartload of burning firewood.

He had estimated before that even if he succeeded in making the Flame Martial Envoy on the first try, it would still require a hundred Spirit Stones.

And if he added the cost of making Flame Martial Guards, it would only be more.

Seven or eight Spirit Stones were not even enough to pick his teeth with.

If only I had a few more people to help me make them.

Qin Fei sighed inwardly. He glimpsed the materials on the table out of the corner of his eye, and a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind.

He seized desperately on that flash of inspiration, then slapped his thigh.

"Oh! Factories in my previous life had already achieved automation, so why am I still making everything by hand?"

As the idea grew clearer and clearer, Qin Fei's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

With a sweep of his hand, he set several Puppet Soldiers on the ground.

With his strength at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, he could command dozens of them at once without a problem.

And was that not free labor?