Chapter 121: We Were Once One

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Yan Shu hurriedly followed, but Xiao Jihan refused to acknowledge her any further. She even set aside her pride to tell him a joke, yet he didn’t spare her a single glance. The anger radiating from him had transformed into a chilling coldness. Though he was an immortal cultivator immune to heat and cold, Yan Shu felt waves of chill. Like a clay figure still holding some ember, she had been persistently warm while facing his cold shoulder, which left her uneasy. Yet, seeing their favorability score had dwindled to just ten points, she swallowed her frustration and kept it to herself.

They traveled in silence until reaching the outskirts of the city to meet Liu Zhiqing and the others. By then, night had fallen completely, leaving only a bright moon hanging in the sky. Liu Zhiqing, standing idly with the other disciples, mindful of his master’s dignity and rather bored, spotted Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan approaching and immediately perked up to greet them. But upon noticing their sullen expressions, he hesitated before stepping forward and quietly inquired, “What happened? You both look so downcast. Did the senior brother punish you?”

Yan Shu shook her head. “Senior brother didn’t say much. He just handed Xiao Jihan a jade slip containing all the rules and had him copy it ten times as a penalty.”

“That’s not so bad,” Liu Zhiqing sighed with relief and looked toward Xiao Jihan. “Though there are many rules, senior brother only does this for your own good. Not everyone in this world is a fool. Even if you mean no harm, you might be exploited or framed by those with ill intentions. Knowing the rules is the only way to use them to your advantage.”

The chill around Xiao Jihan lessened somewhat as he murmured, “I understand. Thank you for your concern, Third Senior Uncle.”

“It’s nothing,” Liu Zhiqing waved his hand and leaned closer to whisper to both Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan, “You two should keep your inheritance a secret for now. Though your cultivation stands out among the young generation, it’s nothing compared to the old masters in the immortal cultivation world.”

“The human heart is the most unpredictable thing. It’s always wise to be cautious. As for the opportunity in the Fantian Secret Realm, you’d better have another story prepared.”

“No need to worry, Senior Brother. We’ve already thought it through,” Yan Shu promptly explained. “We plan to claim that the opportunity came from the Karma Fire Red Lotus, and Xiao Jihan was left behind because the secret realm was sealed.”

Liu Zhiqing nodded. “That works. Yuwen Che isn’t one to gossip, so there’s no need to worry about him. But that means we owe him three favors. After all, it was partly thanks to him that the little junior sister obtained the Karma Fire Red Lotus.”

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Hearing this, Xiao Jihan pulled two porcelain bottles from his pouch and handed them to Liu Zhiqing. “Here are two bottles of seventh-grade Soul-Calming Pills, ten in total, to repay the favors.”

Soul-Calming Pills not only enhance cultivation but also stabilize the mind and ease the invasion of inner demons. Ten pills to repay three favors was about right.

After some thought, Liu Zhiqing accepted the pills and turned to Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan. “The problem is, Yuwen Che is very clever. Once he sees seventh-grade pills, he’ll surely suspect something. Not to mention the matter of eighth-grade pills.”

In the original story, Xiao Jihan created a new identity to sell pills and even became close friends with the Demon King, the pavilion master of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

Yan Shu believed he must have already planned for this.

Sure enough, without hesitation, Xiao Jihan whispered, “It’s not difficult. We’ll fabricate an identity, and to make it easier, we should create several identical masks.”

Liu Zhiqing immediately understood and happily patted Xiao Jihan on the shoulder, excitement shining on his face. “You’re clever and cunning—I like that!”

These masks were, of course, human-skin masks—not literally made from human skin but named so. Among mortals, such masks were hard to detect, but among cultivators, they were akin to wearing a fox or raccoon mask.

Wearing a mask publicly signals reluctance to reveal one’s true identity. If one doesn’t want to lose business, they won’t insist on prying. And if someone did, cutting off business wouldn’t be a big deal.

After all, fifth-grade pills were already rare, and eighth-grade pills were unheard of—practically unique. It wasn’t that they begged to sell; buyers begged to buy!

Making several identical masks wasn’t a waste either. Only a few knew the truth. The Fourth Junior Brother was a sword cultivator who was often away from the sect, making him the ideal candidate to impersonate the false identity.

However, the Fourth Junior Brother had a flaw: he was terrible with accounting!

Liu Zhiqing once, out of laziness and focusing solely on pill refining, thought since the Fourth Junior Brother was often out running errands, he might as well take the pills to sell and bring back the spirit stones.

In the end, he gave him goods worth ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones, but Shi Wanqing only returned with five thousand low-grade spirit stones.

At first, Liu Zhiqing thought it was an accident and comforted Shi Wanqing, but then it happened a second time.

After that, there was no third time.

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Since Shi Wanqing couldn’t go, it had to be the three senior brothers. They were all peak leaders; they couldn’t avoid showing up. Rotating the duty was the safest plan. Moreover, the world was full of greedy little devils. The more people played the role, the deeper the cover would be.

Liu Zhiqing smiled and whispered, “Xiao Han, though we’re family, it doesn’t mean you should work for free. From now on, any pills you refine but don’t need, just give them to me to sell. We split the spirit stones fifty-fifty. How about that?”

Hearing this, Yan Shu’s face darkened.

Getting something for nothing and splitting it fifty-fifty? How shameless is Third Senior Brother?!

Xiao Jihan, unsurprisingly, said nothing.

Liu Zhiqing awkwardly chuckled twice, then gave Xiao Jihan a brotherly pat on the shoulder. “Xiao Han, I’m not taking advantage of you, but of the little junior sister! She has Life Essence Soil, which can supply the spiritual plants needed for pill refining. The fifty percent I take is because of that.”

Yan Shu: ...

Is she really holding a script for the beloved character?

She fell into deep doubt.

Xiao Jihan glanced sideways at Yan Shu, then turned to Liu Zhiqing and said calmly, “No need. She and I are one entity. From now on, except for personal use and reserves, all pills I refine will be given to the senior uncles to contribute to the Xuanyuan Sect.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhiqing’s face brightened with joy as he patted Xiao Jihan’s shoulder again. “Rare to see you so enlightened! Truly one of us. Rest assured, from now on—wait a moment.”

He frowned mid-sentence. “You said you and the little junior sister are one entity. What does that mean?”

Xiao Jihan didn’t answer immediately but turned to Yan Shu and asked softly, “Senior sister, are we truly one entity?”