Chapter 70: Rare Purple Pill

Who exactly burned down the Geng Family Pharmacy?

Yu Nan fell into a deep contemplation, but the shop assistants weren’t burdened with such thoughts.

They were throwing punches, they were roaring in fury, and many were already shedding tears.

Wang Xuejiao was the first to weep openly. "Eighth Lao, did you hear? The Geng Family Pharmacy was burned down! That bastard Geng Zhiwei was burned to death!

Eighth Lao, I’m useless, I can’t avenge you. But the heavens have opened their eyes, and some celestial being has descended to avenge us!"

The surrounding crowd echoed her cries. "That birdman Geng Zhiwei did so much evil! Heaven was bound to punish him!"

"He just stabbed us in the back, and then the Geng Family Pharmacy goes up in flames! That’s karma! That’s retribution!"

The crowd grew more agitated, but Yu Nan still hadn’t arrived at an answer.

The Geng Family Pharmacy had grown accustomed to its overbearing ways over the years, and it had certainly offended a great many people. There were certainly many who wished to retaliate against Geng Zhiwei.

But the Geng Family Pharmacy had the backing of the Jiangxiang Gang, the River and Lake Brotherhood, a notoriously ruthless organization. Who would dare to cross them?

The Four Great Families?

Impossible. They wouldn’t even deign to acknowledge someone like Geng Zhiwei.

The Three Great Gangs?

Also unlikely. They generally avoided entanglements with the Jiangxiang Gang; it was beneath their dignity and offered no profit.

Li Qi had insisted on staying at the old family estate last night, and now the estate had been burned down. Li Qi must have crossed paths with Geng Zhiwei.

Could it be that Li Qi single-handedly stormed the Geng Family Pharmacy and set it ablaze?

That was even less likely. Song Boming, the Geng Family’s Big Shot Chief Guard, was no pushover. He had plenty of elite soldiers under his command. Li Qi couldn’t possibly be a match for them alone.

Or perhaps Li Qi had a network of contacts and brought people to burn down the Geng Family Pharmacy and kill Geng Zhiwei?

If he had that kind of ability, Little Fatty Qin wouldn’t have suffered so much, and he wouldn’t have hidden in the Yu Family’s old estate.

If Li Qi was truly involved in this matter, it would completely upend Yu Nan’s understanding of the Wulin world.

The old storekeeper, Zhang Shiquan, reminded Yu Nan, "Shopkeeper, we must set off immediately! With Geng Zhiwei dead, the Jiangxiang Gang will inevitably take action. They won’t let us off after something this big!"

The old storekeeper was right. That was the most important thing. Yu Nan quickly led the group to set off, striving to reach New Land before nightfall.

After taking a bath and having dinner, Li Banfeng slept in the Mobile Home. He just couldn’t get used to sleeping anywhere else.

When he woke up, the bronze lotus had opened, revealing four lotus seeds inside.

The first three lotus seeds each burst open, yielding two Red Pills.

Li Banfeng originally had ten Red Pills, so now he had sixteen in total. With so many, Li Banfeng didn’t particularly cherish them.

But according to Yu Nan, this elixir was called the Mystic Blaze Pill and could be exchanged for ten days of cultivation at a price of one hundred and fifty thousand yuan each.

Sixteen elixirs could be sold for two million four hundred thousand yuan. Adding that to his previous savings, deducting his expenses, and subtracting the money spent on Little Fatty’s treatment and the yellow paper, Li Banfeng had a total fortune of three million two hundred and eighty-one thousand one hundred and twenty-two yuan, eight jiao, and four fen.

That was enough to buy a house in Yuezhou.

Of course, that was if he could return to Yuezhou.

Could he exchange that money for a travel permit?

He figured it shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as he found the right connections.

Was this all of Li Banfeng’s fortune?

Of course not!

When Geng Zhiwei and the two Martial Cultivators entered, they were carrying a box of silver dollars and four boxes of banknotes.

"You know, you could have just come, why bring so much stuff…" Li Banfeng felt a little embarrassed.

He opened the boxes and carefully counted their contents.

The box of silver dollars contained only nine hundred and twenty coins, not that much.

But if you converted it at an odds of five hundred yuan per coin, that was four hundred and sixty thousand yuan.

How much money was in the four boxes of banknotes?

The first box had eight hundred and sixty thousand yuan, the second box had nine hundred and twenty thousand yuan, the third box had a little less, seven hundred and thirty thousand yuan, and the last box had nine hundred and seventy thousand yuan.

The four boxes totaled three million four hundred and eighty thousand yuan, any one of which was worth more than the box of silver dollars.

Li Banfeng couldn’t understand why Geng Zhiwei had insisted on carrying the box of silver dollars while giving the four boxes of banknotes to his subordinates.

Three million four hundred and eighty thousand plus four hundred and sixty thousand was three million nine hundred and forty thousand.

Adding that to his previous savings, not counting the change, he had a total of seven million two hundred and twenty thousand yuan.

This wasn’t just about a down payment anymore.

Of course, five hundred thousand of that was for Teacher Yao. He absolutely couldn’t be in debt to the Medicine King.

"I’m not someone who values money that much," Li Banfeng sighed.

The phonograph spewed out a puff of steam.

"But I always feel like it’s much easier to make money in Prolo State than in Yuezhou," Li Banfeng sighed again.

This time, the phonograph didn’t mock him.

This money was indeed quite easy to earn.

After organizing his belongings, Li Banfeng stared at the last lotus seed, feeling somewhat uneasy.

This lotus seed still hadn’t burst open.

Li Banfeng was a little worried that it might explode too violently or produce some special entity, potentially injuring him in the process.

He placed the lotus seed in the corner of the main room and hid behind the phonograph.

Crack, crack, crack…

After waiting for nearly half an hour, the lotus seed finally cracked.

Just cracked, not burst.

Li Banfeng cautiously approached, put on his cotton thread gloves, and peeled away the lotus seed’s outer shell, revealing the elixir inside.

A deep purple elixir, just one.

The elixir was crystal clear, slightly larger than the Mystic Blaze Pill. From a distance, Li Banfeng could smell its fragrance, which was pleasing to the mind and body.

"What kind of elixir is this?" Li Banfeng murmured to himself.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

"Oh, Husband!" the phonograph suddenly spoke, startling Li Banfeng.

"This elixir is a rare treasure, Husband, you must keep it safe."

"Rare treasure?" Li Banfeng looked at the phonograph, surprised that she recognized elixirs.

This was a good thing. If his Wife knew about elixirs, why would he bother trying to find someone else to identify them?

"Wife, what is this elixir used for?"

"Oh, Husband, this elixir has many uses, but this servant’s stomach is empty, and I can’t remember for the moment~"

Empty stomach…

She wanted something to eat again.

She just consumed three fresh souls last night, and she was already hungry today?

"Wife, at this rate, Husband can’t afford to feed you~~"

Hmph!

The phonograph snorted coldly, striking the gongs and drums, and began to sing, "This servant has wholeheartedly followed Husband, yet I can’t even have enough to eat or drink. This servant is sad, this servant’s life is bitter~"

"Wife, don’t cry yet. Let’s talk about the elixir’s effects first…"

Hmph!

The phonograph snorted again. "This servant is hungry and can’t remember. Husband, find someone knowledgeable and sell this elixir."

Li Banfeng’s eyes lit up. "How much can it be exchanged for?"

"Oh, Husband, this servant is just hungry and can’t remember~"

Li Banfeng’s face turned green with anger. "All you know how to do is eat! You don’t even gain weight! You’re cold and hard. You don’t act like a Wife at all!"

Hmph!

Hmph!

Droplets of water dripped from the horn. The phonograph was crying.

"Husband is taunting this servant~ Hmph, Husband is treating this servant badly~ Hmph!" The phonograph sobbed as she sang.

Li Banfeng sighed helplessly. "At least tell me what this elixir is called. I’ll get you something delicious to eat after I exchange it for money."

"Husband isn’t lacking money at all, hmph~, Husband just doesn’t want to give this servant anything to eat, hmph~"

Li Banfeng couldn’t stand the phonograph’s nagging any longer and prepared to go out for a walk.

He picked up the pistol that Geng Zhiwei had brought.

It wasn’t a revolver. Li Banfeng had no knowledge of firearms. He didn’t know the model. He pulled at the barrel for a long time, but couldn’t load the bullet or pull the trigger.

What was the point of carrying this thing?

Li Banfeng put the pistol aside and took out the iron spike that the Martial Cultivator had given him.

"This iron spike is still more useful."

Li Banfeng waved the iron spike around a few times, and the phonograph couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

She was mocking Li Banfeng.

"Oh, Husband, where are you going with that weapon?"

"To buy vegetables!" Li Banfeng replied perfunctorily.

"Buy vegetables? Really!" The phonograph became interested and stopped ridiculing Li Banfeng. "Husband, the weapon in your hand isn’t called an iron spike. It’s called an iron ruler. It’s a beneficial weapon for both offense and defense."

A long spike with small, forked branches on both sides. This weapon was called an iron ruler.

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time and suddenly remembered something. He seemed to have seen the name "iron ruler" somewhere.

On television?

Even if he had seen it on television, Li Banfeng couldn’t recall the name.

In a novel?

Possibly. He must have seen it in some kind of writing…

Li Banfeng remembered. It wasn’t a novel, it was a Martial Arts Classics, taken from the Old Lady’s eldest son’s house.

Li Banfeng ran into the Outer Room.

Among the Martial Arts Classics that Decai had gathered, there was one that introduced rare weapons.

The classics gathered various strange weapons, including a special introduction to the iron ruler.

The iron ruler’s attack methods were relatively simple, mainly based on stabbing. The two forked branches were mainly used for defense.

Written descriptions were never so intuitive. Li Banfeng practiced a few times and felt that the iron ruler was not very useful. He then turned his attention to the pair of forks, the forks formed by two intertwined crescent moons.

"Wife, what are these things called?"

The phonograph was a little impatient. "Husband, there’s no need to bring so many weapons. Hurry up and go buy vegetables."

"How can I buy vegetables without weapons?" Li Banfeng was annoyed and scolded the phonograph, "Is it easy for me out there in the hail of bullets and rain of swords? You won’t even teach me how to use a weapon? How am I going to find something for you to eat?"

Whirr…

A cloud of steam came out of the horn as it trembled.

The phonograph was a little ashamed.

"Husband, don’t be angry. This servant was wrong. Those weapons are called Mandarin Duck Blades. They can’t be learned in a day or two.

Husband, this servant will first teach you how to use this iron ruler.

Husband, stand firm. First, thrust the ruler straight out!

Husband, steady your hand. Go slower. Practicing martial arts requires perseverance and patience.

This servant loves Husband’s courage. This servant loves Husband’s perseverance. This servant loves Husband’s spirit."

The recitative of opera, with the steam phonograph’s unique singing style, was filled with tenderness in every word and every sentence.

Li Banfeng felt very warm. There was an unprecedented trust and connection between him and the phonograph. Following the phonograph’s guidance, he constantly polished his martial arts.

The phonograph didn’t notice this connection. She kept encouraging Li Banfeng:

"Husband has great talent. Husband learns quickly. Husband’s thrusts are accurate and steady!

Husband, don’t be too hasty. Aim at the strength.

Husband, that… don’t use so much force. Don’t point the iron ruler at this servant.

Husband, you, how did you get another ruler?

Husband, you, this ruler, don’t point it at this servant either…"

End of Chapter