Chapter Twenty: Resentment

Ge Qian glanced over, a faint smile on his face as he spoke: “Cong Cong, I see you manage things well—the medicine garden is in perfect order. This bottle of Fasting Pills is your reward.” With that, he casually flicked the exquisite jade bottle to the little white fox before him, thinking to himself that spending a single Marrow Cleansing Pill to acquire such a spiritually intelligent fox was truly worth every bit.

Inside, Meidie simmered with frustration, but over these past four months, her mind had undergone a profound transformation, and she had benefited greatly. She wrote again: You think just one bottle of Fasting Pills is enough to send me off? At least get me a few demon herbs, won’t you?

Ge Qian nodded. “Now that I’m a Grade Five, First Rank Alchemist, what are demon herbs to me? I’ll reward you with a demon core instead. So you must continue to manage the medicine garden. Do you understand?”

Hearing that Ge Qian had become an alchemist delighted Meidie. But the thought of continuing to manage the garden felt bitter—yet, with the promise of a demon core to quickly boost her strength, she wrote: Fine, we’ll manage the garden together. When I need to enter closed cultivation, you’ll have to handle it alone, understood?

Ge Qian replied, “It’s settled then. There happens to be a small bazaar behind the mountain today—I’ll see if there are any demon herbs to exchange for. Work hard; you won’t miss out on your share of the rewards! I’m off.”

With that, Ge Qian opened the formation and strode out of the garden, heading straight for the small bazaar behind the mountain.

Today, the marketplace was especially lively, the cries of vendors filling the air. Ge Qian weaved through the crowd, searching stall after stall displaying spiritual medicines.

“Senior brother, look! Isn’t that the famous good-for-nothing Ge Qian? Not bad—he actually reached the second level.”

“What’s so great about that? It took him four years to reach level two. You and I did it in less than a year.”

“He’s a useless one. Can you really compare yourself to him?”

“Exactly. I can’t compare to a good-for-nothing. We’re no geniuses, but at least we’re not useless.”

Ge Qian paid these remarks no mind. He’d heard far worse. In his eyes, he was an uncarved piece of jade, while these people were nothing but rubble. If jade stooped to argue with rubble, both would shatter in the end—and it was always the jade that lost more.

Having advanced to the second level, he walked calmly up to the stall of a mid-sized, squinty-eyed cultivator at the fourth stage of Qi Absorption. The man’s name was Hu Ye. Thanks to a run of luck, he’d recently gained a good harvest from the mountains—after handing his share to the sect, he still had plenty left.

Today, he hoped to trade for some pills. He’d never risk a trip to the Five Peaks City unless absolutely necessary.

Ge Qian had already spotted the spiritual herbs laid out on a red cloth. There were enough for a furnace of Marrow Cleansing Pills, more than enough for a furnace of Fasting Pills, plus two extra supporting herbs. For someone in the Qi Absorption stage, this was a small fortune.

He clasped his hands in greeting. “Greetings, senior brother. You have so many spiritual herbs—what are you looking to trade for?”

Hu Ye smiled obsequiously. “Ideally Marrow Cleansing Pills, but I’ll accept a few Fasting Pills. Do you have any pills, junior brother?”

Ge Qian smiled gently. “I’m afraid I don’t have any pills.”

Hu Ye’s small eyes widened as he barked, “Then what are you asking for? Oh, right, my mistake—a useless one like you wouldn’t have any pills. Get lost, as far as you can, and don’t get in the way of my business.”

Suppressing his irritation, Ge Qian replied, “Senior brother, at least let me finish before you drive me off.”

Hu Ye snapped impatiently, “Then spit it out and make it quick.”

This was his second trip to the bazaar, and his herbs still hadn’t sold. Having to hand them to the sect would be a loss, so he was already in a foul mood.

“I don’t have any pills,” Ge Qian explained, “but I do know how to refine them. Elder Cui in the medicine garden taught me the art. From your herbs, I could make five Marrow Cleansing Pills and ten Fasting Pills. If you trust me, hand them over, and in seven days, I guarantee you’ll have the five Marrow Cleansing Pills and ten Fasting Pills. If you were to buy pills with spirit stones, this is what you’d get for the same price. Besides, I’m a Grade Five, lower-rank alchemist—I won’t cheat you out of a single pill,” Ge Qian added sincerely.

Hu Ye considered this, his expression shifting several times before he replied, “How am I supposed to trust a useless one like you, unless you show me the pills first? Otherwise, get lost. If you ruin my herbs, your life won’t be worth as much as what you’ve destroyed.”

Ge Qian hadn’t expected such distrust. If he took out pills, perhaps Hu Ye wouldn’t say anything, but he knew better than to flaunt his wealth. After all, Wang Meng’s death was still suspected to be the result of being robbed after traveling to and from Five Peaks City. Caution was best.

Helpless, Ge Qian turned to try his luck with other fellow disciples. Just then, a fragrant breeze brushed past, and a petite, delicate-featured young woman at the sixth stage of Qi Absorption appeared before him.

She smiled, the corners of her mouth lifting. “Junior brother Ge, I heard Elder Cui has gone into seclusion. Is it true?”

Ge Qian immediately recognized her—Hong Mei, the only girl among the three who entered the sect with him. With her Water Spirit Root, she’d advanced the fastest, reaching the sixth level in no time, though for some reason she hadn’t broken through after a year.

The once shy young girl was now his senior sister, and Ge Qian couldn’t help but sigh at the pragmatic reality of cultivation: the higher the cultivation, the greater the status. Age and seniority meant nothing.

He replied quickly, “Senior sister Hong, it’s true. Elder Cui has been in seclusion for a year now. As for when he’ll emerge, I don’t know.”

Hong Mei shook her head. “Who said I was looking for Elder Cui? I’m looking for you. They say you’re a Grade Five, lower-rank alchemist—is it true?”

“It is,” Ge Qian answered honestly.

Hong Mei hesitated for a moment, as if making an important decision. “I have the spiritual herbs for a furnace of Water Spirit Pills, to help me break through my bottleneck. If you can refine five pills for me, I’ll give you one Marrow Cleansing Pill as payment. What do you say?”

Ge Qian replied, “If you have the pill recipe, I can definitely refine them.”

Delight lit up Hong Mei’s face. “I have the recipe, but these spiritual herbs are extremely important to me. You must succeed—failure is not an option.”

Ge Qian understood well enough—if he botched the job, Hong Mei would surely skin him alive. The vast medicine garden of the Heavenly Star Sect surely held what he’d need to make up for any loss. Moreover, this was a golden opportunity; if he succeeded, he’d never lack for herbs to refine.

He said, “Senior sister, rest assured—it will be flawless.”

Hong Mei smiled broadly and handed him a jade box—no need to ask, it contained the herbs for Water Spirit Pills, along with a densely written recipe.

Without even looking, Ge Qian stowed them in his storage pouch. “Senior sister, I’ll go study the recipe now.”

“Good—the sooner, the better,” Hong Mei replied.

Ge Qian turned and hurried away.

Hu Ye, seeing how well the two got along and how thoroughly they ignored him, felt his self-esteem take a blow. He’d liked Hong Mei for a long time, dreamed of dual cultivation with her, but never dared confess due to his low cultivation. Now, watching the woman of his dreams chatting affectionately with a “useless” disciple, he was deeply aggrieved.

Nevertheless, he forced himself to speak: “Senior sister Hong Mei, if there’s anything among my herbs you want, just take it. But, forgive me for being blunt, aren’t you worried that useless fellow will botch your herbs?”

Hong Mei herself had her doubts—she’d only resorted to this because she had no choice. Ever since reaching the sixth level, she’d hit a bottleneck. After much searching, she’d finally acquired the recipe for Water Spirit Pills and spent a year gathering the necessary herbs. Yet another problem loomed: if she went to a shop for alchemy services, when would she ever save enough spirit stones? Such rare pills always sold for a high price.

She hadn’t expected to meet Ge Qian, so eager to volunteer his services. A year without progress had driven her nearly mad—she decided to take a gamble.

Hu Ye’s words brought her anxiety back to the surface, and she snapped, “Hong Mei is not a name for you to call so freely. If I hear you say it again, I’ll cut out your tongue.”

With that, she turned and left. Hu Ye felt his tongue go cold, sweat breaking out on his brow. He cursed silently, “You think you’re something special? Just wait until I’ve mastered my techniques—then I’ll have you. You want that useless one to refine your pills? I’ll kill him and take the herbs. Let’s see how you break through then.”

End of Chapter 20: Resentment