"Junior Brother, why have you gone silent? Let's calculate how many spirit stones this will cost."
Miao Qian chuckled as he spoke, casually picking up all the talismans from the stall and continuing, "You've got quite a collection here. Four Blazing Flame Talismans and six Spirit Concentrating Talismans."
Seeing this, Jiang Hao stopped thinking about anything else and politely said, "Each Blazing Flame Talisman is three spirit stones, and each Spirit Concentrating Talisman is five spirit stones. Altogether, four Blazing Flame Talismans are twelve spirit stones, and six Spirit Concentrating Talismans are thirty spirit stones, making a total of forty-two spirit stones. Senior Brother, you can give me just forty spirit stones."
"Forty spirit stones? You're quite generous, Junior Brother." Miao Qian acknowledged the price with a nod. But just as he was about to settle the account, he suddenly feigned surprise and exclaimed, "What a pity, Senior Brother didn't bring that many spirit stones with him today. How about I bring the spirit stones to you tomorrow? If you're worried, you can come back with me to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion and I can give them to you at my residence."
He finished with a chuckling, somewhat playful tone, "What do you think, Junior Brother? How about accompanying me to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion?"
Jiang Hao lowered his gaze, sighing inwardly. Following Miao Qian to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion was no different from courting death. With this thought, he could only give up. Patience was needed.
"Senior Brother jests. I'll wait here for you tomorrow." He replied courteously.
"Alright then." Miao Qian put away the talismans, smiling, "Make sure you're here waiting for me tomorrow, otherwise if I don't pay for your spirit stones, you'd might accuse me of bullying the young."
"Of course not." Jiang Hao shook his head. He then watched as Miao Qian departed. Others around them naturally observed the interaction, but few paid it much mind. After all, things like these happened from time to time.
Being alone or offending the wrong person often led to such situations.
...
Night fell.
On the road leading to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion, Miao Qian walked along the mountain path with a junior disciple, laughing, "Today was fruitful. I ran into someone who had offended our master and gave him a little beating."
"Senior Brother, you have such good luck. I hope to become as strong as you one day." The young cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining complimented after hearing the story.
"Here, take a spirit stone." Miao Qian said proudly. He had made over thirty spirit stones that day by reselling talismans.
"Are you going back tomorrow, Senior Brother?" The young cultivator asked.
"Of course, not just tomorrow, but every day from now on." Miao Qian's voice turned cold and vicious, "I'll bring other senior brothers and sisters to force him to cough up all his spirit stones, and finally leave his corpse at the Heavenly Joy Pavilion."
Sensing Miao Qian's change in tone, the Qi Refining disciple dared not speak further. He had heard about Miao Qian's secret affection for Senior Sister Yun Ruo, which ended in tragedy—only her corpse remained.
The disciple wanted to say something else when Miao Qian's mood improved, but he suddenly felt a blow from behind and then lost consciousness.
The sudden movement alerted Miao Qian, causing him to look back quickly: "Who's there?"
Whoosh~
As he turned, a dagger suddenly pierced his neck.
Caught off guard, he panicked.
When he tried to retreat, another dagger stabbed into him.
Blood gushed out uncontrollably.
In terror, Miao Qian clutched his neck, unable to see his assailant, and struggled to speak, "Senior, this must be a misunderstanding."
Whoosh!
At that moment, a long sword pierced through his body from behind.
Someone had stabbed him with a sword from the back.
"Senior, mercy." Miao Qian begged. Yet another long sword appeared before him, stabbing him directly.
Whoosh!
Next, several spirit swords pierced him from all directions.
Finally, a long spear nailed him to a tree.
As Miao Qian was on the brink of death, a shadow stepped forward, calmly removing his storage artifact.
"You... why?"
As the question left his lips, the dark figure's voice answered quietly, "I'm here to collect a debt."
His pupils contracted sharply—how could he, at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, be defeated so effortlessly?
Once certain that Miao Qian was dead, the shadow swiftly vanished.
A while later, the Qi Refining disciple awoke. Seeing Miao Qian's bloody state, he fled up the mountain in fright.
——
——
Jiang Hao sat in the main hall, counting the spirit stones with a furrowed brow, "Only sixty? A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator is actually this poor?"
As an Inner Sect disciple, Jiang Hao had over a hundred spirit stones during the Qi Refining stage. A Senior Brother at mid-stage Foundation Establishment should receive twenty to thirty spirit stones a month.
And yet he was this impoverished, even after selling off the talismans.
Otherwise, the total would barely be twenty or so.
"Well, it's still a profit." Jiang Hao shook his head. He had purposely left the spirit swords without retrieving them, after all, he had too many.
There was no need to kill the Qi Refining disciple—it wasn't necessary.
Everyone had witnessed the day's events; whether the Heavenly Joy Pavilion suspected him or not, having one less witness made little difference.
In theory, no one would trouble him because of his cultivation level.
He was only at the initial stage of Foundation Establishment, whereas Miao Qian was at the mid-stage—defeating him should have been impossible.
Plus, with the purple qi protecting him, he wouldn't be discovered.
Yet theories weren't helpful in the face of Heavenly Joy's vendettas that weren't beyond them.
"It all depends on Liu Xingchen, what his stance will be."
Jiang Hao realized that without evidence, as an Inner Sect disciple, the worst he'd face was compensation.
But as long as Liu Xingchen was on his side, nothing would happen.
This was also a chance to see if he was being targeted.
The fear was of course being exposed with evidence.
The next morning.
As Jiang Hao stepped outside, he saw Liu Xingchen standing there.
So he came, Jiang Hao thought, disguising his expression.
"Junior Brother, we meet again." Liu Xingchen motioned to the courtyard, "Let's talk inside."