Exactly seven days later.
Fang Xing transformed himself into the young daotong once again and set off to pick up the "Ore Essence Powder" from Hua Qianzhi. When Hua Qianzhi eagerly asked about the remaining twenty Spirit Stones he’d been promised, Fang Xing replied he’d have to return to study the powder first. If it was too easy to tell it was fake, Spirit Stones wouldn’t have any purpose once they were both put on trial!
Hua Qianzhi was so startled by these words that he immediately took back the bag and brought it to his room for more adjustments.
After leaving Black-Rock Valley, Fang Xing peeked into the bag and found nearly half a pound of gleaming dirt-yellow powder that was so full of Qi it started to release it right into the air. He quickly closed the bag and decided not to open it again until he got home, where he could examine it more closely.
‘Will the Book of Revelation be able to appraise a fake like this?’ Fang Xing wondered, although he knew it wasn’t likely. The Book of Revelation was similar to a spirit tool and didn’t have its own consciousness; even if it could identify a fake from a real, it probably couldn’t say how much of a resemblance there was.
Just as Fang Xing had expected, the Book of Revelation didn’t really tell him much once he’d gotten back to his cottage. As far as the Book of Revelation was concerned, this was nothing more than ore powder soaked in spirit water—very simple. Of course, even though it only revealed the base materials, Fang Xing knew the process of making it was far more complex than just putting some ore powder in spirit water. Hua Qianzhi must have gone through great effort to make sure it looked, smelled, felt like, and even tasted like the real thing, but the Book of Revelation wouldn’t detail these methods.
"Since he’s dared to give me this as the final product, he must have some confidence in it. I’ll take the chance!" In truth, Fang Xing had never seen real Ore Essence Powder before, but he decided to risk it anyway. Just as his first uncle had always said, how could a deception not have some flaws? Since he wanted the reward, he had to be willing to put his life on the line to get it!
While holding on to this mindset, Fang Xing spent the next two days in preparation and decided to bring along his dagger, his snuff bottle, the Nine Snakes’ Sword, and the metal cylinder with silver needles. He’d also hatched quite the scheme in that brain of his and was confident he’d considered every possible scenario. Anything beyond that would rely on adaptability and luck.
With that, he pulled the Mask of Wanluo over his face.
The risk in doing this wasn’t something that could be underestimated. Not only was Hou Qing far more powerful, but he was ruthless as well—not a simple target for a scam. Fang Xing could only hope Hou Qing hadn’t seen real Ore Essence Powder too often and wouldn’t know what to look for; if Hou Qing had only seen the real thing once or twice, it was unlikely he’d be able to tell this one was a fake.
By midnight, Fang Xing had already transformed himself into a tall man and rushed off towards the place they’d agreed upon.
The moon tonight was nothing more than a slim crescent, leaving the area rather dark. It was fortunate that Fang Xing was now in the second tier; although he couldn’t see as perfectly as though it was day, his new tier had given him much better sight than a non-cultivator and he could see around ten feet away without trouble. If anything, Fang Xing was actually relieved at how dark it was—without much light, it would be even harder for Hou Qing to notice the powder was fake.
Under the curtain of night, a tall and slender silhouette—with the shape of an ape and the speed of a fox—could be seen sweeping through the mountains and trees. After only a short while, the silhouette stopped at the top of the hill, where it was empty of people and dead silent.
Fang Xing brought his hands together, causing three claps to echo out while he waited.
"Shixiong, you’re almost an hour late! I’ve been waiting!" a cold voice suddenly rose up from behind. When Fang Xing turned and looked, he saw a white-veiled Hou Qing.
"I told you to come before midnight. I didn’t say I would!" Fang Xing sneered before extending his palm. "The Demon Pellet?"
Hou Qing didn’t move an inch. "My Ore Essence Powder?"
Fang Xing smiled before taking out a small bag from his pocket. "You bastard, you better not play any tricks on me. Getting this thing was like skating on thin ice, and that bi*ch nearly found out about this!" Fang Xing bluntly stated.
Although Fang Xing was young, he knew irrelevant details made a lie more convincing. The more details a lie had, the easier it was to believe, but it was best to be vague on specifics to keep knowledgeable targets from poking holes in the story.
Hou Qing took a step forward and reached out his hand. "Let me see it!" he demanded with quick, urgent breaths.
Fang Xing suddenly stepped back and sneered. "I don’t trust you. Give me the Demon Pellet first!"
Hou Qing paused for a moment before shaking his head. "Together!"
"Sounds good!" Fang Xing agreed with a smile.
As one, both hurled a small bag towards the other with their left hands. As for why they used their left hands for the toss, it was because the right had more dexterity to prevent any unexpected accidents from occurring.
Woosh….
As soon as the airborne bags touched their fingers, both of them immediately drew their new bag inward and opened it up to inspect the contents.
Inside his bag, Fang Xing found a small porcelain vase coupled with a small pile of red Spirit Stones, and there didn’t seem to be any mistake with the number of Spirit Stones, either. From the corner of his eye, Fang Xing noticed Hou Qing was also studying the contents of the bag just as he was, but Hou Qing’s gaze floated towards Fang Xing with a hint of a flicker….
Fang Xing’s pulse began to quicken—something was wrong. Hou Qing’s gaze was too similar to his own when he had ulterior motives….
Fang Xing had such a gaze himself because the Ore Essence Powder was fake, so what did it mean if Hou Qing was showing the same kind of look? He responded without even a moment of delay, pulling out the vase and uncorking it for a closer inspection of what was inside. After a moment of study, he suddenly span around in rage and threw the vase harshly against the ground. "You son of bi*ch! I risked my life for your powder and you try to scam me with this sh*t?" The moment he saw what was inside, he could tell what was wrong: this pellet wasn’t a genuine Demon Pellet, but a subsidiary.
When crafting, there were some alchemists who would put subsidiary pellets in the cauldron with the main pellet. The majority of the Qi would be concentrated into the main pellet during the process, and some of what was left would go into these subsidiary pellets. Although these pellets would have a very similar appearance to the main pellet and would technically be the same kind of pellet, their effects were not quite the same.
Strictly speaking, it wouldn’t be wrong to call them "second-rate pellets".
Fang Xing was furious. This was a Demon Pellet, but it was definitely not the one Hou Qing had originally promised. The pellet he’d been promised had been very high quality and had an abundance of Qi; even though this one might look and even smell the same, there was a considerable difference in how much energy it had inside.
Hou Qing didn’t find any problems when he checked his own bag of Ore Essence Powder, and he was reassured even more when he saw how genuinely furious Fang Xing seemed to be. He calmed down and showed a cold smile. "That’s a Demon Pellet, so what’s the problem?"
"Kid, don’t try to play this kind of game with me. If you try to take advantage of me, you better be prepared to pay the price!" Fang Xing fiercely threatened, continuing to play the role of someone connected to a powerful person with high authority in the sect.
As though waiting for this, Hou Qing just snorted with disdain. "Really now? I already checked when you arrived—you came alone. Do you think you’re strong enough to keep me from leaving on your own? There isn’t anyone I fear! And as for revenge… you’re such a fool. There are thousands of other disciples in the sect, so how are you going to find me when I leave? Hah!" With that, he gave Fang Xing another cold glance before turning to walk away.
Hou Qing dared to do this because his identity had been kept a secret. Furthermore, the Ore Essence Powder was still a stolen item; no matter how well-connected the other person might be, he wouldn’t dare to let this matter go public. If this event became known and the sect started investigating, the one who’d bear most of the misfortune would be the person who stole the Ore Essence Powder in the first place.
The Demon Pellet was simply far too important to Hou Qing, and he was unwilling to let go of it so easily. He dared to do something like this to keep his hands on it because of the raw confidence he had in his own strength and the belief this man wouldn’t be able to do anything to him on his own.
Fang Xing suddenly began to grow anxious. He was an actual bandit, yet he was going to be conned by this bastard? No way in hell! He had to do something!
"Hou Qing, you really think I don’t know who you are?" he blurted out.
Although Hou Qing was already ten feet away by now, he suddenly swept close in an instant. His eyes gleamed with clear murderous intent focused towards Fang Xing, and his hands made an incantation gesture to cause a silver sword to draw itself from his waist. "How do you know who I am?"
Fang Xing’s mind turned very quickly. He’d always had a quick wit, and the bastards at that bandit nest had forcibly caused it to develop. At this moment, he anxiously focused his mind to sift through every detail he knew about Hou Qing so he could develop a countermeasure.