"By the way, Physician Zhou, the auction in Shiyan City will be held five days from now, right?" Yao Ranran asked, recalling the news the two of them had pried out yesterday.
Shi Yan City had grown so bustling these days precisely because the Hong Guang Auction House had recently acquired a priceless treasure: a piece of Che Lingzhi, a legendary immortal herb.
Che Lingzhi. A heaven-and-earth wonder. It was said that a cultivator who consumed even a single slice would immediately feel the call of the great Dao, regardless of their current cultivation. It could help one break through bottlenecks with overwhelming force, and beyond that, it extended the very span of life. It was the sort of divine treasure countless cultivators would bankrupt themselves to obtain.
Naturally, Yao Ranran wanted it too. But according to rumors, just the reserve price of that single piece of Che Lingzhi was set at ten million spirit stones. The entry fee for the auction alone was one million, and participants still had to prove they had the wealth to even qualify for bidding. Without such credentials, one could only stand outside, salivating, unable to make a single offer.
Yao Ranran could only bury that thought.
Forget ten million spirit stones—she could not even afford the one million required to enter.
Zhou Lili, however, had been deeply tempted. The moment she returned home yesterday, she overturned the family's savings that Zhou Shengqian had hoarded for over a century, adding it to the modest amount she herself had saved over the past decade. Altogether, it was just enough to scrape together the entry fee, nothing more.
Zhou Lili, unwilling to give up, even thought about selling off every Baibao Pavilion branch she had spread across Shi Yan City to liquidate them into spirit stones. Zhou Shengqian nearly beat her half to death with a cudgel for that thought.
Now, thinking of the auction just five days away, Zhou Lili could practically see with her own eyes the scene of someone swallowing the Che Lingzhi on the spot and soaring upward in ascension. The very thought made her pound her chest in frustration.
"Yes, yes, five days from now! Damn it, I wonder which dog-forsaken bastard will snatch away that immortal treasure!!"
Pu Yehai: "…"
Yao Ranran quickly interjected. "Physician Zhou, calm yourself, or you might fall into qi deviation!"
Zhou Lili beat her chest in despair, then grabbed Yao Ranran's hand pleadingly. "Fairy, let's sneak in and steal the Che Lingzhi tonight! Even if I can only watch you eat it, it would be better than seeing it fall into another's hands. Watching someone else ascend before my very eyes would feel worse than choking on dung!"
Pu Yehai was struck speechless. "This woman speaks far too boldly."
Yao Ranran gently patted Zhou Lili's pale hand. "Physician Zhou, Hong Guang Auction House belongs to Suohong Tower, one of the six greatest powers in the Eastern Wilderness. Their Toawer Master, Qin Lǚshā, has reached the Nascent Soul stage, and under her command are tens of thousands of disciples. It is said she has already dispatched two thousand elite disciples from nearby cities to guard the Che Lingzhi, and several Grand Elders are personally watching over it day and night.
So give up. We have no chance of stealing such a treasure."
Zhou Lili was stunned. Wait—how did Yao Ranran know so much detail? Even down to exactly how many disciples Qin Tower Master had deployed?
"You investigated this last night, didn't you?!" Zhou Lili stared with wide eyes.
Pu Yehai, for his part, was equally taken aback by how openly these two were discussing theft.
The news of Qin Lǚshā sending two thousand elites was something he himself had only just received yesterday. Clearly, this woman Yao Ranran had informants hidden in the city. Outwardly she seemed harmless, but in truth she was anything but. He would have to tread more carefully around her in the future.
Seeing Zhou Lili's incredulous expression, Yao Ranran let go of her hand calmly. "The Eastern Wilderness is chaotic. A theft or two is nothing unusual. But… I cannot do it. Suohong Tower's power is too overwhelming."
She had thought about sneaking in, but after receiving Lì Luoqi's message last night through the Mo Ming Marrow, she had abandoned the idea completely.
Two fists could not fight against a thousand hands. Staying alive was more important than any treasure.
Zhou Lili's current frenzy was nothing more than pig fat clouding her mind. Once the Che Lingzhi was bid away in a few days, and she saw it vanish into someone else's belly, that layer of fat would melt away soon enough.
"But it's Che Lingzhi!" Zhou Lili's voice broke with anguish, as if someone had dug out her very heart.
Pu Yehai could not understand Zhou Lili's torment. To him, a Qi Refining cultivator like her was not even worthy of glimpsing such a thing. She had already fallen into obsession, and what she needed now was treatment from a medical cultivator.
Fortunately, that was precisely what he was.
He spoke earnestly, "Zhou Daoyou, it is said a healer cannot heal himself. You have allowed Che Lingzhi to disturb your heart. You should take a Clear Heart Pill at once to prevent inner demons from invading. I happen to have some on me. Take one, and soon you will stop fixating on a treasure that has nothing to do with you."
Zhou Lili ground her teeth. "…Thank you so much."
Pu Yehai smiled faintly, like a winter plum blossom. "Zhou Daoyou, you are too polite."
He opened the bottle and handed her a round pill.
Zhou Lili swallowed it in one breath, her chest twisting with pain.
Yao Ranran then said, "There is one more matter. When the auction begins, I hope you can accompany me."
Zhou Lili blinked, her eyelids growing heavy. "Alright…"
Moments later, she slumped forward onto the table.
Startled, Yao Ranran asked, "Physician Zhou, what's wrong?"
Pu Yehai calmly explained, "The Clear Heart Pill has taken effect. While it calms the spirit, it also induces drowsiness."
Yao Ranran glanced at his pale face. "So that's it. I've never taken a Clear Heart Pill myself, so I didn't know."
Pu Yehai coughed lightly, lowering his voice. "I hadn't expected Fairy Ranran to be unaware. Clear Heart Pills are quite common. Most cultivators carry a few. It seems Fairy Ranran's cultivation has always gone smoothly, without the trouble of inner demons."
Yao Ranran thought it over and found his words reasonable. She stood up. "That may be true. But she won't rest well like this. I'll help her inside."
She stepped around the table and lifted Zhou Lili by the arm, her back turned to Pu Yehai.
Behind her, Pu Yehai's eyes turned cold as a blade. He rose silently, five slender silver needles nestled between his fingers, hand rising with lethal precision.
At the same time, his voice remained frail and soft. "Fairy Ranran, let me give you a hand."
But Yao Ranran had already hefted Zhou Lili effortlessly with one hand. She turned back with a smile. "No need. Ye Daoyou, your health is fragile. Leave it to me."
The silver needles vanished soundlessly back into his palm. Pu Yehai gave a weak smile. "Then I must trouble Fairy Ranran."
Yao Ranran blinked in puzzlement. "Trouble? Was this really trouble?"
She looked again at Pu Yehai—his face white as paper, his raised right hand trembling faintly—and she suddenly understood. To such a frail cultivator, yes, even this would be burdensome.
Moved by sympathy, Yao Ranran shifted Zhou Lili fully onto her shoulder and made sure Pu Yehai did not need to lift a finger. She carried her unconscious companion into the inner room.
The moment her back turned, Pu Yehai's pale face darkened like storm clouds.