Translator: Cinder Translations
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Fang Ning was secretly pleased, but his face remained impassive as he continued to speak.
"I, Fang Ning, thank you all for your strong support. With all of us righteous cultivators working together, I believe it won't be long before the evil forces of the Corpse Demon Sect are eradicated."
After some polite words, his tone turned sharper.
"I hope everyone will work hard to draw talismans. Each person needs to submit a hundred talismans every ten days."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the talisman masters grew even more sullen.
A hundred talismans every ten days meant ten talismans a day. To complete the task from the Beastmaster Sect, they would need to spend two to three hours each day, not counting the time needed to recover their spiritual and physical energy expended in drawing talismans.
Fang Ning then began distributing a token to each person. Those who received the token were required to submit their talismans to the Beastmaster Sect's base in the market every ten days.
Due to Song Wen's low strength and poor talisman-drawing skills, Fang Ning did not give him a token.
At that moment, a figure and a cow appeared in the sky, flying towards the courtyard.
It was the beautiful Kou Chang, riding her azure ox.
The azure ox quickly landed in the courtyard, and Kou Chang, with her graceful and alluring figure, walked towards Fang Ning, carrying a pleasant fragrance.
A trace of barely noticeable disgust flashed in Fang Ning's eyes but quickly disappeared.
He took two steps forward and bowed.
"Fang Ning greets Senior Sister Kou Chang. May I ask what brings you here?"
"I heard that Junior Brother Fang Ning has two hundred-year-old dragon-striped herbs. I happen to urgently need dragon-striped herbs recently. Could I borrow them from you, Junior Brother?"
Dragon-striped herbs are second-tier spiritual medicines that can enhance the bloodline of spiritual beasts.
Fang Ning's lips twitched slightly, as if trying to conceal his displeasure.
This Senior Sister Kou Chang, who looked like a celestial being, was not an easy person to deal with.
Using her celestial-like appearance, Kou Chang had garnered many admirers in the Beastmaster Sect.
She neither accepted nor rejected their advances, but she accepted all the treasures given to her by her admirers.
Over time, many disciples who had gone bankrupt pursuing Kou Chang gradually saw her true nature. However, due to her status as a direct disciple, her cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the strength of her second-tier spiritual beast, the azure ox, they could only endure in silence.
Fang Ning, good at controlling his emotions, forced a smile despite his reluctance.
"If Senior Sister needs the dragon-striped herbs, they are yours. It is my honor to help you."
Saying this, Fang Ning felt as though his heart was bleeding.
Kou Chang often borrowed things from her fellow disciples but never returned them.
However, since Kou Chang had publicly mentioned the dragon-striped herbs, she had come prepared. She didn't intend to give Fang Ning a chance to refuse. If he dared to embarrass her in public, her admirers would make his life difficult in the Beastmaster Sect.
Fang Ning was unaware that the forced smile on his face mirrored the expressions of the scattered talisman masters who had reluctantly agreed to serve the Beastmaster Sect earlier.
Fang Ning reached into his storage pouch and took out a two-foot-long jade box, holding it respectfully with both hands and handing it to Kou Chang.
Kou Chang smiled sweetly and accepted the jade box.
"Thank you, Junior Brother, for your generous help. I will return it to you as soon as possible."
Fang Ning felt as if his heart was being cut with a knife, but he had to maintain a smiling face and exchange a few more polite words with Kou Chang.
Kou Chang's appearance attracted the attention of many talisman masters, especially old perverts like Ai Kun, who stared unblinkingly. Opportunities to get so close to Fairy Kou Chang were rare.
Song Wen, however, focused his gaze on the azure ox that was continuously pawing the ground.
This azure ox, with a trace of the divine beast Kui Ox's bloodline, even when landed, had white clouds wrapped around its four hooves, as if it were always treading on clouds rather than solid ground.
Amidst the white clouds, arcs of electricity flickered, and silver lights occasionally coursed over its skin, adding to its mysterious and strange appearance.
After a moment, Kou Chang rode the azure ox away, leaving behind a courtyard filled with her fragrance.
The talisman masters also left the restaurant and went their separate ways.
Song Wen was about to return to his place with Ai Kun.
He hadn't lost anything this trip and had learned some insights about making talismans, so he was in a good mood.
Song Wen thought Ai Kun might be feeling down, but as soon as they left the restaurant, the old man eagerly headed towards the brothel.
As he walked, Ai Kun said to Song Wen, "You go back on your own. I'm in a hurry. If I'm late, the image of the fairy in my mind won't be as clear."
Seeing Ai Kun's eager and lecherous expression, Song Wen shook his head.
This old man was a good person, always helpful and caring towards him, but he was utterly obsessed with women. Song Wen feared he might end up dying in a woman's arms someday.
When Song Wen first arrived at East Huafang Market and rented his small courtyard, Ai Kun was the first neighbor to greet him.
Upon learning that Song Wen was also a talisman master, Ai Kun became even more enthusiastic, introducing Song Wen to shops and itinerant cultivators in the market that sold talisman materials. He also informed Song Wen of the prices for buying talismans, saving him a lot of time.
Used to the cold and ruthless demeanor of demonic cultivators, Song Wen initially found it hard to accept Ai Kun's warm-heartedness.
Over time, Song Wen realized the old man had no ill intentions, and he gradually let his guard down.
...
As Song Wen approached his home's entrance, he noticed a crowd gathered in front of the courtyard to his right. From the crowd, he heard the crying and pleading of a woman.
Song Wen lived next to Sun Daxiong's family on the left and a widow and her son on the right. Her husband had been an outer disciple of the Beastmaster Sect and had fallen in the great battle between good and evil three months prior.
As Song Wen reached his courtyard door, he saw a pretty figure standing on the stone steps, looking towards the crowd.
"What's going on?" Song Wen asked quietly.
Without turning her head, Sun Ru, still watching the crowd, replied, "Aunt Zhu can't pay the rent, and Zhao Dapeng is trying to evict her and her son," Sun Ru said angrily.
It was no wonder Sun Ru was upset on behalf of the widow. After Zhu Mei's husband died, the Beastmaster Sect had promised that she and her son could live in the small courtyard until the boy came of age.
But now, only three months later, Zhao Dapeng, who managed the street, was using unpaid rent as an excuse to forcibly evict them.
"Zhu Mei, if you can't pay the rent by noon tomorrow and refuse to leave, don't blame me for being heartless and throwing you and your son out," Zhao Dapeng shouted angrily.
"You can't evict us. When the death notice was delivered, Senior Xu Feng said that according to the Beastmaster Sect's regulations, since my husband died for the sect, we can stay here until my son comes of age. My son is only ten. We should be allowed to stay for eight more years," Zhu Mei pleaded.
"Who told you that? Go find them," Zhao Dapeng replied, unmoved and unreasonable.
Finding Xu Feng would be difficult. Zhu Mei was only a third-level Qi Refining rogue cultivator. Just finding Xu Feng in the Beastmaster Sect would be incredibly challenging.
She probably couldn't even get into the sect's mountain gate.
If they were forcibly evicted, where could a low-strength widow and her young, yet-to-begin-cultivating son go?
Her husband had died, and the compensation was only fifty spirit stones, enough to rent a shack on the west side of the market for two years without spending a penny more.
Could they leave East Huafang Market and survive in the mundane world?
But could they even make it there alive?
(End of the Chapter)
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