Under the watchful eyes of the many cultivators present, Mu Shan swore an oath and personally wrote out a written pledge. At last, the matter was considered settled.
Once everything was done, Mu Shan stood there with her face swollen, crying as she mumbled indistinctly, “Are you satisfied now?”
Ordinarily, when a beautiful and charming female cultivator cried, people would naturally feel sorry for her and think Wen Qiao was being overly aggressive. But Mu Shan’s face was presently black and blue, without the slightest trace of her former beauty. With the obedient-looking and lovely Wen Qiao standing nearby as a comparison, no one could bring themselves to pity her.
Mu Shan had suffered all that pain for nothing.
Wen Qiao looked at her and suddenly said, “I fed you a supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pill earlier. The market price is two hundred yuan crystals per pill, so you have to pay me back.” Had it not been necessary to wake Mu Shan up, she would never have wasted a supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pill on her.
Mu Shan: “…”
Mu Shan nearly blurted out that she had never asked Wen Qiao to give it to her, so what did it have to do with her? Fortunately, Mu Ziming reacted quickly. He covered her mouth and pulled her into his arms, acting as though his junior sister was gravely injured.
Mu Ziming knew his junior sister’s temper very well. Even though she had been beaten into submission, a leopard could not change its spots. Naturally, he could not allow her to embarrass herself again.
Even so, the disciples of Qingyun Sect still felt their faces burning with humiliation and dared not say a word.
As disciples of a major sect, they had always been envied and respected by other cultivators. When had they ever been humiliated like this? Whether it was Mu Shan’s foul-mouthed insults earlier or her being forced to swear an oath now, both incidents greatly damaged Qingyun Sect’s reputation.
But what could they do?
Mu Shan had been the one to provoke the conflict in the first place. Furthermore, Qin Hongdao was standing guard here. This eldest senior sister of Scarlet Heaven Sect drew a clear distinction between gratitude and grudges. Right was right, and wrong was wrong. She only sided with the party in the right and would not show favouritism merely because the other side had an extraordinary background.
It could only be said that Qin Hongdao had contributed greatly to Wen Qiao’s beautiful victory today and to the complete resolution of her feud with Mu Shan.
Without Qin Hongdao, Mu Ziming alone would have been enough to suppress them, and Wen Qiao would never have had the chance to beat Mu Shan so thoroughly.
Mu Ziming understood this just as clearly. He was furious with Qin Hongdao, yet he could not openly fall out with her. His expression remained rigid throughout. After giving Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou a deep look, he supported Mu Shan’s weakened body and prepared to leave.
“Wait. We still haven’t fought yet,” Qin Hongdao said, blocking his path.
Mu Ziming’s cheek twitched. Suppressing his irritation, he said, “Senior Sister Qin, I am well aware that my strength is inferior to yours. I cannot compare with you, so I concede.”
“That won’t do.” Qin Hongdao raised her chin slightly. “It has been a long time since I last exchanged pointers with Junior Brother Mu. Since we happen to have some free time today, we might as well have a match.”
But he did not want to exchange pointers with her.
Mu Ziming knew perfectly well how such a match would end. He was not a masochist, so he had never intended to fight Qin Hongdao in the first place.
Unfortunately, Qin Hongdao was stubborn. Once she made a decision, no one besides her master could change her mind—and Mu Ziming certainly could not.
In the end, Mu Ziming could only agree.
The cultivators who had yet to leave immediately became excited. They threw the previous incident to the back of their minds and stared intently at the two people walking towards the open ground. Amidst the crowd came several muffled sneezes that their owners could no longer suppress.
The effects of the red smoke Mu Shan had used in her sneak attack had yet to fade. Although the cultivators felt terribly uncomfortable, none of them was willing to leave. They simply covered their reddened noses tightly with their hands and continued watching.
Wen Qiao carefully put away Mu Shan’s written pledge. She then pursed her lips and smiled at Ning Yuzhou, her dimples appearing faintly. She looked sweet, soft, and extremely adorable.
“Miss Min, you were incredible!” Sheng Yunshen said excitedly. “This is the first time I’ve seen anyone crush that eldest young lady’s arrogance.”
As a disciple of Scarlet Heaven Sect’s younger generation, Sheng Yunshen naturally knew Mu Shan. It could even be said that they had become acquainted through fighting.
Mu Shan had a terrible temper, while Sheng Yunshen was also a favoured genius of Scarlet Heaven Sect. Both had been spoiled by their elders and easily found the other disagreeable. Furthermore, Mu Shan was a young woman, so whenever the two clashed, everyone tended to side with her. As time passed, Mu Shan became increasingly arrogant, while Sheng Yunshen was made to look like a petty man who enjoyed bullying female cultivators.
Sheng Yunshen could not stand Mu Shan at all.
Now that he had seen Mu Shan suffer a loss, he was delighted. It had been worth dragging his weakened body over here just to watch the spectacle.
Ning Yuzhou stroked his young wife’s head and smiled. “Ah Suo did wonderfully. The strategy you used during the fight was excellent.”
Joy appeared in the corners of Wen Qiao’s eyes and brows. She was clearly very happy to be praised. She caught Wen Tutu as it leapt towards her, then took out a spirit pill and fed it to the rabbit.
The cultivators who happened to see this widened their eyes, then sank into sorrow.
Even the rabbit ate supreme-grade spirit pills. In this day and age, humans truly lived worse than rabbits.
After Mu Ziming accepted the challenge, he handed Mu Shan over to the disciples of Qingyun Sect.
The Qingyun Sect disciples felt uneasy when they saw Mu Shan’s miserable appearance.
In their minds, their little junior sister had always been bright and glamorous. Dressed in pink, she was pretty, lively, adorable, and charmingly innocent. Although she was spoiled and wilful, there had always been people willing to indulge her and clean up her messes. All she needed to do was remain lively and unrestrained.
But now, strands of hair clung to her cheeks, smeared with mud and some unknown rotting substance. Her face was terribly swollen, mottled with bruises of blue and purple. Even the corner of her eye had been split open, and blood stained her face. There was no trace of her former delicate beauty.
Had they not personally witnessed her being beaten into this state, they would never have recognised her as their arrogant little junior sister.
“Junior Sister Mu, are you all right?”
Mu Shan said nothing.
Her heart overflowed with hatred. Even though she wanted nothing more than to slice Wen Qiao into ten thousand pieces, extract her soul, and refine it to take revenge, she did not dare reveal the slightest hint of it.
She had truly been beaten into fear. That terror seemed carved into her bones. For the time being, not only did she dare not do anything to Wen Qiao, she even wished she would never have to see that terrifying woman again.
She still cared about her reputation. After all, her father, Perfected Dao Yan, was a peak master of Qingyun Sect. If this incident spread and caused her father to lose face, she would feel terrible as well.
In the end, Mu Shan could only swallow her resentment.
However, the gazes of the people around her made her feel as though something were lodged in her throat. She was so uncomfortable that she wished she could faint and escape reality.
Unfortunately, the supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pill Wen Qiao had fed her earlier was far too effective. Although her body felt miserable, she was not injured badly enough to lose consciousness. Being suspended in such an awkward state—neither well nor unconscious—was unbearably uncomfortable.
When the Qingyun Sect disciples saw that she remained silent, they could not read her thoughts from her badly deformed face. They therefore stopped asking questions and quickly turned their attention to the battle.
Everyone else did the same.
The battle between Qin Hongdao and Mu Ziming was extremely exciting. Since it was not a fight to the death, both restrained themselves considerably. Even so, their magnificent and overwhelming momentum remained terrifying.
Qin Hongdao’s long sabre flashed with a cold, snowy light. Wherever its blade pointed, no living creature dared remain, forcing everyone to retreat again and again.
When the long sabre came to rest beside Mu Ziming’s neck, his expression darkened.
“Senior Sister Qin, you win,” he said.
Qin Hongdao clicked her tongue and withdrew her weapon. “Junior Brother Mu, you didn’t use your full strength.”
Mu Ziming said calmly, “Senior Sister Qin’s strength has already surpassed mine. Even if I used one hundred and twenty per cent of my ability, I would still be unable to defeat you.”
“But had you wanted to, the fight wouldn’t have ended so quickly.” Qin Hongdao was somewhat displeased. “That wasn’t satisfying at all. I hope you’ll use all your abilities next time. Otherwise, I won’t show mercy again.”
Mu Ziming’s cheek twitched once more.
He did not want to fight her at all, much less have a next time.
However, in front of such a large crowd, he still had to maintain his dignified bearing. He could only give her his word like a gentleman.
Afterwards, Mu Ziming supported the injured Mu Shan and led the Qingyun Sect disciples away, intending to return to Cangwu Town for treatment.
“Wait,” Qin Hongdao called.
Mu Ziming’s brows twitched slightly.
Every time he heard Qin Hongdao call out to stop him like this, he had an ominous feeling. It gave him a terrible headache.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to stop, lest he lose the elegant bearing expected of Young Master Qingyun.
“Does Senior Sister Qin require anything else?” he asked.
Qin Hongdao did not make things difficult for him. Pointing towards the cultivators outside the battlefield, she asked, “What was that jar of stuff Junior Sister Mu used as a weapon earlier? Is there an antidote?”
As soon as she finished speaking, several sneezes sounded from the crowd.
These cultivators were truly going all out for the sake of watching the battle. Their eyes were red and their noses swollen, yet they had forced themselves to endure it.
Some cultivators were in such discomfort that, after sneezing repeatedly, they had become dizzy and disoriented. Their condition was extremely poor. Even though they had taken the detoxification pills they carried with them, the pills had not helped in the slightest. This showed just how powerful the substance in the jar had been.
Mu Ziming looked around and discovered that the Qingyun Sect disciples were in much the same state. He could only ask Mu Shan, “Junior Sister, is there an antidote?”
“No,” Mu Shan answered indistinctly. “Martial Uncle Cen gave it to me for self-defence. There’s no antidote. The effects will pass after some time.”
Everyone knew the Martial Uncle Cen she mentioned. He was Cen Baicao of Qingyun Sect.
Cen Baicao was a Heaven-grade alchemist who had spent nearly a century attempting to advance to the King grade. He loved experimenting with all sorts of strange and disorderly things. It was said that many Qingyun Sect disciples had suffered at his hands.
Cen Baicao especially doted on his little martial niece, Mu Shan. Many of the small defensive items she carried had been given to her by him.
However, Cen Baicao had only given her the defensive item without providing a corresponding antidote.
The cultivators felt bitter when they heard her answer.
How long did “after some time” mean?
Those who were still sneezing continued to sneeze. Those who were not felt as though their noses had become so numb they no longer belonged to them. Since they could barely breathe through their noses, they had no choice but to breathe through their mouths.
Breathing with their mouths hanging open made them look both foolish and inelegant. Were they supposed to remain in this ridiculous state until the effects passed?
Their cultivation had not yet reached the level where they could hold their breath for ten days or half a month without needing air.
From this alone, the potency of the medicinal powder Cen Baicao had created was obvious.
The cultivators who had suffered from it felt somewhat despairing. They could only blame themselves for coming over to watch the excitement. They could hardly force Qingyun Sect to detoxify them, could they?
Just as they were dejectedly preparing to leave, Sheng Yunshen called out, “Young Master Ning, do you still have any of those detoxification pills from earlier?”
Everyone immediately turned towards Ning Yuzhou. Naturally, they also recognised him as the alchemist who had recently risen to prominence in Cangwu Town.
Ning Yuzhou possessed an outstanding appearance and a noble, graceful bearing. Dressed in a simple pale-blue robe, he stood there leisurely. He did not resemble a cultivator. Rather, he looked like an aristocratic young master carefully raised by one of the great noble families of the secular world.
A faint smile rested on his lips, like a spring breeze brushing through willow branches. He seemed naturally sculpted from fine jade, and a single glance made it difficult for anyone to look away.
Yet he was indeed a cultivator, and he had lost none of the elegance and presence a cultivator ought to possess. These two qualities blended together within him, forming a contradictory yet irresistibly attractive temperament.
“I do. I happened to refine a batch of detoxification pills recently,” Ning Yuzhou replied.
As soon as they heard this, the more quick-witted cultivators hurried over.
“Alchemist Ning, I’ll buy one from you.”
Anyone who was not too foolish naturally understood Sheng Yunshen’s meaning. He was telling everyone that Ning Yuzhou possessed a type of detoxification pill capable of neutralising the effects of the red smoke. They crowded around him, eager to buy one.
The first cultivator to purchase a pill was about to swallow it when he suddenly made a surprised sound.
“This is a supreme-grade pill!”
Those words were like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil.
The cultivators immediately became excited and surged towards Ning Yuzhou.
Sheng Yunshen hurriedly shouted, “Don’t push! Come one at a time…”
Unfortunately, he was still physically weak and lacked the strength to hold them back. In the end, Qin Hongdao had to step forward and restrain the excited crowd. She ordered them to form a queue and declared that anyone who dared take advantage of the chaos would receive a strike from her sabre.
With Qin Hongdao intimidating them, the cultivators quickly and voluntarily arranged themselves into a long line.
Originally, there had not been that many cultivators who needed detoxification pills. However, everyone wanted a supreme-grade detoxification pill. Even if they did not need it now, they could save it for later.
Supreme-grade pills were priceless treasures with no supply on the market. Now that they had finally encountered a fool willing to sell them, how could they possibly let the opportunity pass?
Ning Yuzhou took a table and two chairs out of his storage bag.
He and Wen Qiao sat down. One sold the spirit pills, while the other collected yuan crystals. Wen Tutu crouched on the table with a spirit pill in its paws. Its ruby-red eyes stared closely at the cultivators buying pills and at the yuan crystals they handed over.
Not a single crystal could be missing.
The detoxification pills Ning Yuzhou sold were not expensive. He charged the ordinary market price for supreme-grade pills and did not take advantage of the situation to raise the price.
The Qingyun Sect disciples stared in stunned disbelief.
Even more shocking was the fact that every detoxification pill Ning Yuzhou sold was supreme grade.
What did that mean?
Although the detoxification pill was merely one of the lowest Yellow-grade pills, producing every pill at supreme grade was still horrifying.
A trace of surprise also appeared on Mu Ziming’s face. He glanced at Ning Yuzhou amid the crowd, his eyes darkening slightly. Supporting the injured Mu Shan, he said calmly, “Let’s go.”
The Qingyun Sect disciples looked at the long queue, then at Mu Ziming. With their noses bright red, they hesitantly said, “Eldest Senior Brother, we also want to buy detoxification pills.”
“That’s right, Eldest Senior Brother. Our noses are truly unbearable.”
“Eldest Senior Brother, why don’t you and Junior Sister Mu return first? We’ll go back after buying the pills.”
After hearing his junior brothers’ words, Mu Ziming could not stop them. He gave them a brief reminder, then carried Mu Shan away.
Half an hour later, every cultivator finally had a detoxification pill in hand. They left while expressing endless gratitude.
Although they had departed, their impression of Ning Yuzhou had become even deeper.
There were indeed many genius alchemists, but very few could refine supreme-grade pills while still at the Yellow grade. If he were allowed to continue growing, would there be any shortage of supreme-grade Black-, Earth-, or Heaven-grade pills from him in the future?
An alchemist like this could only be befriended. He absolutely could not be offended.
Furthermore, this alchemist was on good terms with Scarlet Heaven Sect’s eldest senior sister. With Qin Hongdao protecting him, who would dare harbour designs against him?
The Qingyun Sect disciples were the last to approach.
They felt somewhat apprehensive, worried that Ning Yuzhou might refuse to sell them pills because Mu Shan had offended him.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yuzhou merely asked, “Have you come to buy pills?”
After receiving an affirmative answer, he showed no unusual reaction and sold them detoxification pills just as he had everyone else.
After swallowing the pills, their noses finally cleared. The Qingyun Sect disciples were extremely grateful and stepped forward one after another to thank him.
“Alchemist Ning, thank you so much.”
A smile rested on Ning Yuzhou’s lips as he said gently, “There’s no need to thank me. Although Miss Mu is unreasonable, the rest of you did nothing wrong.”
The Qingyun Sect disciples were so moved that they nearly cried.
Alchemist Ning was truly a magnanimous and wonderful person.
One of the Qingyun Sect disciples immediately said, “Alchemist Ning, rest assured. Our junior sister was at fault first. After we return to the sect, if… if anything happens, we will explain the situation clearly to our elders. Miss Min was not at fault in this matter.”
“That’s right. Alchemist Ning, you can rest assured.”
Ning Yuzhou remained as gentle and mild as ever.
“Then I must thank you, fellow Daoists,” he said warmly.
“There’s no need! In the future, should Alchemist Ning sell supreme-grade spirit pills again, we will certainly come and trouble you.”
The Qingyun Sect disciples left with grateful expressions.
Qin Hongdao watched them depart with a faintly amused smile and clicked her tongue.
“Some of Qingyun Sect’s disciples are rather adorable.”
“That’s right. If Qingyun Sect didn’t have Mu Ziming and Mu Shan, its atmosphere would be much better,” Sheng Yunshen agreed.
One was calculating and scheming, while the other was spoiled and foolish. Neither of them was any good.
Then they turned towards Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao, who was helping Wen Tutu put the yuan crystals into a storage bag.
They felt that this married couple was truly… rather unusual.
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