Chapter 90 - 80: A 1000-Year Demon Pill, the Prefecture City Maiden’s Defeat, a New Bow and a Maidservant, a Bountiful Harvest

Chapter 90: Chapter 80: A 1000-Year Demon Pill, the Prefecture City Maiden’s Defeat, a New Bow and a Maidservant, a Bountiful Harvest

"You took this from the young lady?"

"Out here in the wilderness, this girl must not be left alive!"

After slipping the arrow into his quiver, Gu Baichuan, who had been collecting the Heart Essence Blood of the Ancient Apes, noticed the commotion and hurried over.

When he saw what Ji Xiu was holding, he was stunned. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, and he was ready to shed his official robes and commit murder and robbery!

’When you come across something like this, there’s no way you just let it go.’

This young lady possessed Golden Muscle and Jade Veins and had reached First Refining Perfection. Although her Bone Tempering had only penetrated to the marrow and wasn’t fully accomplished, she already showed the magnificent beginnings of a Golden Bone.

Her strike had been as swift as a thunderbolt. Yet, when she saw it had failed, she’d grown wary of him and her knees had given way in an instant. She was certainly one who knew when to yield...

Clearly extraordinary!

That, combined with the "Jadeite Cai" he had just heard mentioned, made Gu Baichuan slowly rest his hand on the hilt of his saber.

Sensing the chill in the air, Cai Ling’er shivered. A look of utter despair crossed her face, and she almost forgot she was still being held captive.

’You have to admit, the old are always the most cunning.’

’This young man’s protector wanted to take my life in a single breath, yet the boy himself only wanted the interest...’

’The young man was a little too soft-hearted.’

"Huh? Uncle Gu?!"

She had been preparing to close her eyes and await death.

However, as Cai Ling’er turned her head, she saw Gu Baichuan’s somewhat familiar figure and froze in astonishment.

Gu Baichuan, who had already half-drawn his Brocade Spring Saber, froze as well.

Then, he scrutinized her for a long moment, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

"You’re... the apprentice of Grand Craftsman Feng Zhaoyuan from the Jiangyin Foundry Bureau?"

"The most beloved granddaughter of the patriarch of the Jadeite Cai Family, the one who studied the arts of the Side Sects... Huh, it really is you."

"Yes, yes, that’s me! Uncle Gu, your Iron Arm Great Bow, and every batch of Divine Strategy Armor-Piercing Arrows—my Master forges them for you! Don’t you remember? We see each other all the time!"

Cai Ling’er’s words tumbled out in a rush, as if she was afraid Gu Baichuan’s saber would lop her head off. She choked for a moment, then quickly continued.

"Uncle Gu, next time you come for Divine Strategy Armor-Piercing Arrows, I’ll give you a fif—no, I’ll pay to have them forged for you myself! Please, be merciful..."

Gu Baichuan’s hand hesitated on his saber, drawing it slightly before pushing it back, then drawing it again. He finally sighed.

"Forget it, Ji Xiu."

"I know her Master. He’s the officially designated Qi Dao Grand Craftsman of Jiangyin Prefecture. Much of the standard-issue weaponry for the Jiangyin Garrison Mansion and the Garrison Sub-Command is forged at his workshop, by Feng Zhaoyuan himself."

"How about we let her live?"

Ji Xiu shrugged.

"I never planned on killing her."

"But... there’s no reason for me to hand over something that’s already found its way into my possession."

"Lord Gu, you wouldn’t fall out with my Master over her, would you?"

Recalling Duan Chenzhou’s claim that they were "friends through life and death," Ji Xiu—who hadn’t heard the latter half of the story—was utterly confident.

Gu Baichuan let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head.

"That’s not it at all. Your Master saved my life once. My relationship with him... Never mind. It’s not like he’s some saint, but..."

"You’ve learned my archery, and you have such an innate talent for it. Even if we don’t bring him into it, I’d still be on your side."

Gu Baichuan’s expression was complicated as he gazed at the Iron Arm Great Bow on Ji Xiu’s back.

Having just caught her breath, relieved to have narrowly escaped with her life, Cai Ling’er clutched her chest. But upon hearing this, she immediately pouted, looking displeased.

"Hey, you’re not seriously putting on airs, are you, kid?"

She rolled up her sleeves and marched forward.

"I give you an inch and you take a mile! Just who is this Master of yours who’s so incredible?"

"Do you have any idea who I am? Within Jiangyin Prefecture, what Young Master or Young Lady from any trade would dare to be so brazen with me?"

Face smudged with dirt, knees caked in dust, and with two green leaves still stuck to her, the Seventh Miss Cai bared her teeth and held out her palm.

"Seriously? I ran for hundreds of li, excavated the ancestral tomb of the Long-armed Ancient Ape in the Earth Dragon Cave, and personally dug this thing out of a coffin. You think you can just take it because you say so?"

’Smelly brat, what’s he so smug about!’

’He’s just some guy from a backwater county. So what if he earned the favor of Centurion Gu from the Northern Garrison Command, learned Hand-Entry Martial Arts, and reached Bone Tempering?’

’Does he really think he can stand up to her? The Legitimate Daughter of the Jiangyin Grand Lineage, who has reached First Refining Perfection, cultivates the Golden Bone Technique, has driven her force into her very marrow, and can even produce the Tiger and Leopard Thunder Sound?’

’With her pedigree, even a True Inheritance disciple from some common county’s Martial Arts Hall who had achieved Great Success in Bone Tempering wouldn’t be able to defeat her!’

’With the backing of a great family from Jiangyin Prefecture, wasn’t defeating a mere copper bone boy from a lower stage a complete certainty?’

’I don’t care who his Master is.’

She rolled her wrists, a fierce look on her face.

"Give it here. Don’t force this young lady to get serious, or I’ll have to beat you up."

Ji Xiu, holding the Demon Pill, grew curious after hearing what Gu Baichuan had said.

"You know Artifact Refining?"

Cai Ling’er crossed her arms and snorted.

"I am the queen of the Side Sect arts, an Eighth-Grade Artisan! As long as I have the materials, there’s no weapon—saber, spear, sword, or halberd—I can’t forge!"

"And if my Master wasn’t so stingy with Tier Seven materials for me to practice on, I could forge even a Seventh-Grade Treasure Weapon, as long as it doesn’t involve the Qi Dao!"

"It’s just that I haven’t reached Perfection in Flesh, Bone, and Skin, so I lack a bit of the sheer power needed to swing a great hammer, that’s all."

Seeing that she had reached First Refining Perfection with her Golden Muscle and Jade Veins, possessed a Martial Stance, and was around his own age, Ji Xiu showed a rare hint of seriousness.

"Then..."

"Let’s have a match."

"It doesn’t matter who my Master is."

"But if I win, you will forge an Eighth-Grade great bow for me, free of charge. I want one that requires a Fifty-Stone draw weight—the strength of six thousand jin!"

"How about it?"

Fifty Stones?!

Cai Ling’er scoffed.

"A typical Bone Tempering Expert can exert, at most, a thousand jin of arm strength. Even after a full blood refinement and tempering their body to Iron Bone, once they reach Great Success, they can only manage about Thirty Stones—and that’s already over three thousand jin."