Chapter 290: Chapter 7: Stealing Half a Day of Leisure from Life
Ever since the poisoning began, Ling Yunpo oddly found himself with nothing to do.
In the past, this personage stayed at Shushan’s Qingluo Peak, his daily life was nearly monotonous:
He accompanied Senior Sister An in her breathing exercises, practiced swordplay with her, and occasionally descended the mountain to buy her alcohol.
Now, with his True Yuan polluted by impurities, he could neither refine Qi nor practice swordplay, and could only wander aimlessly around the town, pretending to be diligently trying to expel the impurities from his body.
In reality, given the chance to save and quit to Wei Dongliu, in an instant, he could transfer all that polluted Qi.
Regrettably, Senior Sister An never gave him such an opportunity.
When you say “not to leave by an inch,” you really meant not to leave by an inch!
Ling Yunpo almost resorted to the excuse of having an emergency, then suddenly remembered cultivators don’t need to use the restroom.
That was a close call, nearly gave himself away.
Cultivators, after Fasting, basically free themselves from the needs of eating, excreting, sleeping, and breathing. The only threats left to them are the limits of their lifespans and unexpected catastrophes.
Of course, many cultivators still maintain the hobbies they had before their Fasting, such as gourmet food, drinking, or sleeping… Senior Sister An especially liked to lightly drink a pot every day, and she controlled the refinement of the alcohol’s strength well, maintaining a slightly tipsy and delightful state of semi-consciousness.
The two were strolling down the streets of Lixi Town, when they happened to pass a tavern.
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A banner hung outside the tavern read, “Fragrance spreading across ten thousand mountains, poison toppling the golden silkworm gu.”
Ling Yunpo: ……….
As the owner of the Hundred-Poison Gold Silkworm Gu, he knew very well that the Gold Silkworm Gu was the king of poison in the Southern Border. It was not only immensely poisonous but also immune to all other poisons; the notion of it being felled by alcohol was laughable.
This tavern, do you not respect the “Advertising Law”?
Glancing to the side, he saw Senior Sister An also turning her head towards him, her eyes carrying a touch of pleading hope, like a rippling autumn pond, immediately softening Ling Yunpo’s heart.
If it were another girl, Junior Sister Xu would turn her head with snobbish pride and say, “I really don’t want to go in,” Jiang the Witch would coquettishly claim she was thirsty and wanted to “go in for a sip of water,” Miss Shi would ask with a smile, “Junior Brother, you want to drink, don’t you?”…
In short, none were easy to deal with.
Only my Senior Sister An is the gentlest!
Ling Yunpo decided then, he couldn’t allow his understanding Senior Sister An to be wronged.
“Ahem,” he coughed artificially and said, “Senior Sister, I’m thirsty from walking, shall we go in for some tea?”
“Drink water?” Senior Sister An hesitated, what I want to drink is not water…
“It’s fine if Senior Sister drinks alcohol and I drink tea,” said Ling Yunpo with a beaming smile.
“Alright!” An Zhisu immediately responded with joy.
The two entered the tavern and seated themselves on the second floor by the window.
Ling Yunpo called for the waiter and ordered:
“Half a pound of soy-sauce beef, bring some peanuts first, then this signature ‘poison toppling the golden silkworm gu’ of yours, bring us a jar of that.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” An Zhisu added, “bring the alcohol and bowls first.”
Ling Yunpo couldn’t help but smile wryly, why does his Senior Sister act like a child?
The alcohol was served quickly, and Senior Sister An couldn’t wait to pour herself a bowl, only then noticing Ling Yunpo across the table, his arms crossed under his chin, his expression amused and smiling as he watched her.
An Zhisu’s face turned red as she muttered:
“Junior Brother, would you like to drink?”
“I’d rather not, I’m not feeling very well,” Ling Yunpo made up an excuse and laughed, “Senior Sister, please feel free.”
An Zhisu lifted the ceramic bowl, first took a sniff, then delicately tasted a sip.
“It’s not that great,” she said, disappointed. “It’s even blander than Daughter’s Red.”
“Dear guests,” the waiter came over with peanuts and sliced soy sauce beef, overhearing her and casually remarked, “Our Hundred Flowers Clear Liquor might seem unremarkable at first, but it has quite a kick to it later on. Even parasites would get knocked out by it. Don’t worry, try it with these snacks.”
Ling Yunpo took the plate, pulled it towards himself, and started eating peanuts with chopsticks.
An Zhisu downed an entire bowl, when suddenly she heard Ling Yunpo ask:
“Senior Sister, about how much has your Refining Mansion cultivation achieved?”
“Hmm,” An Zhisu pondered for a moment, “Breathing and Qi Refinement for forty years, Cloud Sea Empty Cocoon accelerated thirty years, Mercurial Elixir Liquid sixty years, Millennium Stone Milk ten years… It should be one hundred and forty years, no mistake.”
“So, that would mean a High Grade Third Grade Golden Core?” Ling Yunpo sought confirmation.
“If nothing goes wrong, yes,” An Zhisu nodded her head.
“That’s good,” Ling Yunpo hinted at something, “This way, no one can say that Senior Sister hasn’t progressed in cultivation without master’s support.”
An Zhisu fell silent for a moment, her gaze deep, as if caught in some past reverie.
“Junior Brother,” she said softly, “the truth is, I have no idea when Master will come out of seclusion.”
“Huh?” Ling Yunpo was puzzled.
“Every time I go to the secret chamber on Qingluo Peak to speak with Master,” An Zhisu said sorrowfully, cradling the wine jar, speaking softly, “I’m actually just talking to myself.”
“I can’t contact Master at all.”
Ling Yunpo fell silent for a long while.
Isn’t it obvious? So Senior Sister, you actually thought I believed your lie from the start?
“Master…” An Zhisu drank another bowl of wine, suddenly saying with a sob in her voice, “Master might already be dead inside there.”
Ling Yunpo felt somewhat weary at heart.
Senior Sister An was absolutely right; the seclusion chamber where Su Jian had closed himself off was like a black box, one would never know what was happening inside unless it was forcibly broken open from the outside.
Perhaps Su Jian has long since perished inside, turned to a skeleton, while Senior Sister An and I foolishly wait for him to emerge!
Thinking of this, Ling Yunpo also became frustrated.
However, it wasn’t the first time he had been a Loose Cultivator. Qiu Changtian’s transcendent status in Kunlun, Luo Yan’s ease at Heavenly Craft Workshop, ensured Ling Yunpo was actually not short of resources for cultivation.
The only one restricted was Senior Sister An, but fortunately, with her own struggle, she had also managed to attain the opportunity for a High Grade Golden Core.
Forget it, it’s better to stick with each other, Senior Sister and I. Su Jian, if you want to come out, come out, if not, so be it!
With this thought, Ling Yunpo looked again at An Zhisu, only to see she had already passed out on the table.
Great! Ling Yunpo’s spirits immediately lifted.
Switch over to Wei Dongliu first to dispel the turbid qi in his body, then switch back!
When An Zhisu slowly awakened, she found herself lying on the bed in the inn.
Ling Yunpo was sitting by the bed, holding a bowl of sobering soup, gently stirring it with a spoon, scooped up a mouthful, and offered it to her lips:
“Here, Senior Sister, open your mouth.”
An Zhisu opened her mouth slightly and drank the sobering soup.
She suddenly remembered that as a cultivator, she could run her True Yuan to refine away the effects of alcohol, and didn’t need any sobering soup at all.
However, An Zhisu didn’t do so, instead she meekly enjoyed being fed by her junior brother, thinking to herself:
Perhaps, even if Master can never emerge from his seclusion, living like this, just Junior Brother and me depending on each other, isn’t too bad…