The old man saw the two approaching, turned around, and walked straight into a small alley at the edge of the platform.
The alley was sandwiched between two three-story wooden buildings. Deep inside, the light was dim, completely different from the glittering market outside.
Lai Li’an and the others followed the old man into the alley, and the three of them stopped at its end.
The old man turned around, took off his conical hat, revealing a face covered in wrinkles. His eyes were deeply sunken, and his cheekbones jutted out high, as if something had hollowed him out from the inside.
“I overheard earlier—you two seem to be a bit short on Spirit Stones?”
Su Wan’er’s brow immediately furrowed.
She stepped forward half a pace, placing herself in front of Lai Li’an, her voice cold: “And what of it? Do you have some advice, Fellow Daoist?”
The old man quickly waved his hands, forcing a smile onto his face: “Don’t get upset, Fellow Daoist. I mean no harm. I just wanted to say that I have a deal. If the two of you are willing to help, the compensation is negotiable.”
Su Wan’er was about to refuse.
How could Master, someone of such stature, possibly do business with a sneaky street rogue cultivator like this?
But Lai Li’an’s voice came from behind her.
“Please go on, Fellow Daoist.”
Su Wan’er froze for a moment, then turned to look at Master.
Lai Li’an’s face still wore that calm, indifferent expression, but she keenly sensed something different in his gaze.
Master has his own reasons.
Su Wan’er closed her mouth and stepped back to Lai Li’an’s side.
When the old man saw that Lai Li’an had taken up the conversation, a glimmer of joy flashed in his eyes.
He lowered his voice: “My surname is Qian, given name Fu. I have a spirit field on the western outskirts of Yunze Market, about five acres, where I grow some low-grade spirit herbs. They’re not worth much, but they’re the savings of a lifetime. Three months ago, a group of people came to the western outskirts, took over my field, and kicked me out.”
He paused, and a sudden surge of hatred filled his murky eyes: “Before they left, they cast the Bone-Erosion Curse on me and said if I wanted to live, I shouldn’t report them to the authorities. Once they harvested this season’s spirit herbs, if they were in a good mood, they might give me the antidote.
But it’s been three months now. The herbs should have been harvested long ago. Not only did they not give me the antidote, they won’t even let me near the field.”
As he said this, he coughed a few times, bending over from the force of it.
When he straightened up, a trace of dark red blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
“I’m at my wit’s end.”
Qian Fu sighed.
“I came to the market today hoping to find someone kindhearted to lend a hand. I happened to hear the two of you talking about Spirit Stones. I thought, instead of going to the Task Hall and letting those middlemen take a cut, I’d rather ask you directly for help.”
He rolled up his left sleeve.
On Qian Fu’s left arm, a pitch-black pattern started at his wrist, crawled along his forearm, and extended all the way to his upper arm.
“When this thing flares up, it feels like thousands of ants are burrowing through my bones. Three months ago, it was still on my wrist. Once it reaches my heart, this old life of mine is over.”
Su Wan’er pressed her lips into a thin line.
She remembered a similar experience she had once endured.
The Spirit Erosion Curse of the Blood Lotus Sect, wrapped around her Spirit Root, slowly devouring her Cultivation day by day. She knew that feeling all too well. If it weren’t for Master, she would probably be an empty shell now, her Spirit Root drained dry.
‘So Master spoke up earlier because he guessed something like this was happening. Master is truly kind.’
“Fellow Daoist Qian,” Lai Li’an said in a flat tone, “you mean you want the two of us to take back your spirit field, and as payment, you’ll give us a sum of Spirit Stones?”
Qian Fu nodded eagerly: “Yes, exactly! I’m not a wealthy man, but I’ve saved up some money over the years growing spirit herbs. As long as the two of you can help me take back the field and drive those people away—or at least grab the herbs before they ruin them—I’m willing to offer fifty low-grade Spirit Stones as a reward!”
Fifty low-grade Spirit Stones.
Enough to buy more than a dozen portions of Spirit Ginseng Soup. Sounded pretty good.
Su Wan’er turned to look at Lai Li’an.
Her eyes were full of expectation, her lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something but didn’t dare.
Lai Li’an glanced at her, then at Qian Fu.
A group that could bribe the Law Enforcement Team—they probably weren’t weak. His true strength right now was only at the Foundation Establishment Peak. If the other side had a Golden Core cultivator, his only trump card was the Immortal-Slaying Delusion-Breaking Talisman, which was for keeping him alive. He couldn’t use it lightly.
For fifty low-grade Spirit Stones, was this risk worth it?
His mind was calculating rapidly.
Su Wan’er was watching him, and Qian Fu was watching him too.
Qian Fu swallowed nervously.
He knew this gray-robed man was at least at the Golden Core stage, and the girl was also at the Foundation Establishment Peak. These were the most promising people he had encountered in three months.
“Sixty!”
Qian Fu gritted his teeth and raised the price on his own.
“All my savings, sixty low-grade Spirit Stones! I really don’t have any more!”
Su Wan’er finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She turned to face Lai Li’an directly, her lips moving.
Lai Li’an knew what she was going to say.
It was the same kind of words she had spoken in the abandoned temple when she begged him to take her in.
‘Senior, he’s so pitiful. Let’s help him. I don’t need the reward either.’
He raised his hand to signal her to wait.
Su Wan’er swallowed what she was about to say, but her eyes remained fixed on Lai Li’an, filled with a plea.
Lai Li’an looked into her eyes and sighed inwardly.
‘Girl, with a personality like yours, you’re going to suffer in the Cultivation World.’
‘If you help every pitiful person you see, how many Spirit Stones can you spend, how many lives can you risk?’
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Qian Fu.
“Fellow Daoist Qian, where exactly is your spirit field on the western outskirts? Who are the people who took over your field? What’s their Cultivation? How many of them are there?”
A burst of light lit up Qian Fu’s eyes.
There was a chance!
“Senior! My field is at Sunset Slope on the western outskirts. Go out the West Gate of the Market, and it’s about the time it takes to burn an incense stick by flying sword. There are four people in that group. The leader is a rogue cultivator at Foundation Establishment Peak, surnamed Hong.”
“The other three are all at the Late Foundation Building Stage. They’ve taken over several spirit fields near Sunset Slope, not just mine. The other owners either got scared off or sold their fields cheap. Only I… only this old bones couldn’t bear to part with my field.”
As he spoke, his voice dropped again, as if he was about to shed tears.
Lai Li’an finished listening and quickly calculated in his mind.
One Foundation Establishment Peak, three Late Foundation Building Stage. This deal was doable.
Sixty low-grade Spirit Stones. He might not even need to lift a finger. Su Wan’er could handle it. This deal—could be made.
“Fellow Daoist Qian,” Lai Li’an said calmly, “we can help you.”
Qian Fu’s eyes reddened instantly.
His knees bent as if to kneel, but Su Wan’er caught him.
“Thank you, Senior! Thank you, Fellow Daoist! I… I don’t know how to repay…”
“No need.”
Lai Li’an waved his hand.
“Sixty Spirit Stones, paid in full after the job is done.”
“Of course! Of course!”
Qian Fu nodded repeatedly, wiping the corner of his eyes with his sleeve.
He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his chest.
On it was a rough drawing of the terrain at Sunset Slope and the location of his field, with very detailed markings.
Lai Li’an took the map, glanced at it, and tucked it into his robes.
“Wait for us at the West Gate of the Market this evening.”
Qian Fu thanked them profusely and left.
His figure disappeared at the end of the alley, and the alley fell silent again.
Su Wan’er stood still, twisting the hem of her skirt with her fingers.
She spoke softly: “Master, do we really have to take his money?”
Lai Li’an glanced at her.
‘No pay, no work—you spendthrift.’
Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud, so he had to make something up.
“Wan’er, do you know what a person cares about most deep down when they’ve given everything and have no way out?”
Su Wan’er looked up, staring blankly at Master.
In an instant, she remembered herself—being hunted, her Spirit Root destroyed, left with nothing.
Before she could answer, Lai Li’an continued: “It’s the last shred of dignity in a desperate situation. Giving charity for free only crushes that final bit of pride. But an equal exchange lets them stand tall, accept the help, without having to beg.”
“Venerable Self accepts his Spirit Stones—not because I’m after the reward—but to protect the last shred of his dignity. Next time you encounter something like this, don’t mention helping for free again.”
Su Wan’er stood frozen on the spot.
It took her a long moment to snap out of it, then she nodded heavily at Lai Li’an, her eyes filled with sudden clarity.
‘So Master had already thought of this layer. It’s far gentler—a thousand times more gentle—than my soft-hearted impulse.’
She gazed at Master’s calm, composed profile, and a wave of reverence surged in her heart.
It felt as if there would always be a depth of understanding and kindness in this person before her that she could never fully see.
‘So Master isn’t cold and distant. He’s hidden all his goodwill away.’