Chapter 202 - 139: Arrangements Made, Death of the Tribulation Cultivator

Chapter 202: Chapter 139: Arrangements Made, Death of the Tribulation Cultivator

"Brother Chen."

Ruan Tieniu spotted Chen Jianghe walking out of Qingping Lane and immediately called out, his voice filled with excitement.

A smile on his face, Chen Jianghe entered Qing Street and went to meet him.

As the main street of Qinghe Marketplace, it was already bustling with traffic and crowds. The shops on both sides had opened for business, and even the vendors near the city gates had begun hawking their wares.

For Ruan Tieniu to be so openly excited on Qing Street, without any attempt to hide it, meant something wonderful must have happened to him.

"Brother Ruan, from the look of that beaming smile, did you strike it rich in the Youxian Mountain Range?"

Chen Jianghe asked with a laugh.

"Haha! A decent little haul."

Ruan Tieniu paused for just a moment before saying, "I’ll treat you to some tea at the Qingpin Tea House later, Brother Chen."

"Alright." Seeing that Ruan Tieniu seemed to be in a hurry to get home, Chen Jianghe didn’t press him and simply agreed.

He wasn’t curious about how Ruan Tieniu had made his fortune.

But since Ruan Tieniu had invited him for tea, he would surely bring it up then. He would find out what had made him so happy in due time.

Watching Ruan Tieniu’s back as he disappeared into Qingping Lane, Chen Jianghe didn’t linger and quickened his pace toward Fushou Lane.

Although Yu Daniu had only mentioned Yun Huizhen’s situation briefly in his letter, based on Chen Jianghe’s understanding of the man, her condition had to be quite poor.

Perhaps even worse than Yu Daniu had let on.

Jingyue Marketplace had no Tier Two Alchemists or Tier Two Pharmacists, but Qinghe Marketplace did. Perhaps they could help Yun Huizhen replenish her qi and blood and nourish her decaying Physical Body.

He arrived at Fushou Lane.

As he walked past Ji Wujin’s door, he glanced at the gate out of the corner of his eye and saw the "Away" sign hanging there.

’Hasn’t he returned from picking up his goods yet?’

Chen Jianghe wasn’t going "fishing" himself, but he hoped Ji Wujin’s fishing expedition was successful. If it was, he wouldn’t have to worry about buying Nourishing Spirit Pills and Spirit-Encompassing Spirit Liquid anymore.

He arrived at number 136, Blessed Residence.

DONG~ DONG DONG!

He knocked on the door ring, and before long, the courtyard gate opened.

When Zhuang Xinyan saw that it was Chen Jianghe at the door, the tension on her face dissipated.

"Elder Chen."

She invited Chen Jianghe into the courtyard and led him to the guest hall.

"Elder, you may have to wait a little while. Grandfather and Junior Sister just went into the Alchemy Room," Zhuang Xinyan said softly.

"Do you know who is performing the alchemy?"

Chen Jianghe asked.

If Alchemist Zhuang was the one refining, it would be quick. But if it was Jiang Ruxu, it would take much longer.

"It’s Grandfather. He’s refining High-Grade Qi Replenishing Pills."

Zhuang Xinyan brewed a pot of Spirit Tea and spoke in a soft, gentle voice, without a single wasted word.

After speaking, she stood obediently to the side, like the girl next door who never grew up.

Chen Jianghe looked at Zhuang Xinyan and sighed inwardly.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Zhuang Xinyan should be nearly forty this year, yet her demeanor and speech were still as simple and shy as a young girl’s.

He suspected that within Qinghe Marketplace, besides an ’outsider’ like himself, she had probably never interacted with anyone else.

Alchemist Zhuang protected her far too well.

But this had also stunted Zhuang Xinyan’s thinking, preventing her from even having a normal process of maturation.

Still, he couldn’t blame Alchemist Zhuang.

When one’s entire clan was annihilated, leaving only a single descendant, anyone would do the same, terrified that this last bloodline might encounter danger.

Fortunately, Alchemist Zhuang had taken on Jiang Ruxu as an apprentice.

Her personality was the complete opposite of Zhuang Xinyan’s. Jiang Ruxu was never timid in her work, wasn’t afraid to deal with people, and had her own opinions. In the future, she would be able to take care of Zhuang Xinyan.

"Xinyan, you should go cultivate. I’ll just wait here," Chen Jianghe said, looking at Zhuang Xinyan, who was fiddling with the hem of her clothes with her head down.

"Ah! Yes, Elder."

Hearing Chen Jianghe’s words, Zhuang Xinyan immediately scurried back to her room with mincing steps.

Chen Jianghe picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup, and took a slow sip.

The Spirit Tea at Alchemist Zhuang’s home was indeed better than the one at Qingpin Tea House. Even the two-Spirit-Stone-a-pot tea there couldn’t compare.

Perhaps the Qingpin Tea House had even better Spirit Tea.

But he had never tried it, feeling it was an unnecessary expense of Spirit Stones.

If he really got a craving, he could just come over to Alchemist Zhuang’s place to scrounge a cup and deepen their friendship at the same time.

About two hours passed.

Only then did Alchemist Zhuang and Jiang Ruxu emerge from the Alchemy Room.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you’re here."

They saw Chen Jianghe sitting in the guest hall, sipping tea.

Neither Alchemist Zhuang nor Jiang Ruxu found anything amiss; they truly treated Chen Jianghe as one of their own.

"Haha, I just came over to Alchemist Zhuang’s to ask for a cup of Spirit Tea," Chen Jianghe said with a chuckle, standing up.

"Then you must come more often, Fellow Daoist. Otherwise, this old man’s fine Spirit Tea will have no one to appreciate it."

"Exactly. Master doesn’t like tea, but he has to keep some on hand."

"Elder Chen, you really should come more often. It’ll save this Spirit Tea from being drunk by those so-called Alchemy Grandmasters."

Jiang Ruxu had opened up, not holding back in front of Chen Jianghe as she began to complain about the Tier Two Alchemists in Qinghe Marketplace.

"What’s this all about?" Chen Jianghe asked, confused.

"After word got out that Master was refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, it wasn’t just the Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivators who came asking for the elixir. Those other Tier Two Alchemists showed up too, using a ’professional exchange’ as a pretext to warn Master not to refine Tier Two Elixirs for outsiders before their conference."

"There’s a rule like that?"

Chen Jianghe was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the Tier Two Alchemists of Qinghe Marketplace to engage in a joint monopoly.

No wonder Qinghe Marketplace had quite a few Tier Two Alchemists, with five or six of them being Alchemy Grandmasters.

And yet, Tier Two Spirit Pills rarely appeared on the market in Qinghe Marketplace, and were seldom even seen at auctions.