Chapter 32: Repaying a Life-Saving Favor on the Spot

 

A family of five wild demonic boars emerged from the darkness—one large and four small, their eyes glinting with feral hunger.

Xie Jiuniang, having finished collecting the beast blood and storing the corpses in her storage pouch, nimbly climbed up a large tree, showing no intention of helping her companions.

The cyan-robed cultivator took the lead, single-handedly engaging the largest boar. Cheng Huaixin’s group drew away two of the smaller ones, leaving the remaining two for the group of seven to handle. As long as they remained cautious, killing the wild demonic boars wouldn’t pose a significant challenge.

Apart from the cyan-robed cultivator and Cheng Huaixin, who possessed rich combat experience, the others were clumsy, their talismans and spells flying haphazardly. They were all novices in the art of battle.

Xie Jiuniang watched from her perch with disdain. It wasn’t that she particularly disliked these people; they were simply fighting for their own master.

Once the group had finished their battles, Xie Jiuniang slipped down from the tree and collected the beast blood in a container. “It would be a pity to let it flow onto the ground. I’ll gather a little. If any of you want some, hurry and collect it.”

How much could low-grade beast blood be worth? They had already acquired the valuable blood from the demonic crocodiles earlier.

However, not everyone looked down on it. Two cultivators took out containers to collect the blood.

The wild demonic boar meat had a strong, unpleasant odor, far inferior to the taste of well-raised spirit pigs. It wouldn’t fetch a good price if sold, and it would take up space in their storage pouches. Moreover, they had already divided the demonic crocodile meat and didn’t think much of the wild demonic boar meat.

The cyan-robed cultivator took the wild demonic boars’ tusks, and the others followed suit, not even bothering to skin the beasts.

Xie Jiuniang unabashedly collected everything. Every little bit counted; she had a family to support and Little Jianjian to feed. Little Jianjian had already devoured 120,000 spirit stones upon his appearance, proving to be a spirit stone-swallowing beast.

The cyan-robed cultivator suggested leaving. “The smell of blood here might attract other demonic beasts.”

Cheng Huaixin and the others had no objections. Xie Jiuniang smiled and agreed.

As they were leaving, the female cultivator who had bought Red Fruits from Xie Jiuniang earlier approached her, accompanied by a male cultivator. The two were siblings.

The female cultivator smiled. “I’m Gan Long, at the fifth level of Qi Refining. This is Gan Meng, my second brother, at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Thank you for saving him earlier.”

Xie Jiuniang rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “How much is a life-saving favor worth?”

“It’s priceless,” Gan Meng replied earnestly.

Xie Jiuniang grinned with satisfaction. “I like honest people like you, not those who beat around the bush. I think… a life-saving favor should be repaid on the spot, don’t you agree?”

Gan Meng said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist Xie, feel free to speak your mind.”

Gan Long listened anxiously, her heart tightening as she recalled Xie Jiuniang’s various antics.

Xie Jiuniang asked Gan Meng to open his storage pouch and let her choose any item inside as repayment for saving his life.

Without a second thought, Gan Meng opened his storage pouch and allowed Xie Jiuniang’s spiritual sense to enter and examine its contents.

Gan Long wanted to stop him, but it was too late. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan while Xie Jiuniang made her selection.

Unbeknownst to them, Xie Jiuniang was deliberately toying with the siblings. In her previous life, the person who proposed repaying a life-saving favor on the spot was a female cultivator in the cyan-robed cultivator’s team. Since Gan Long was the only female in their group, it had to be her.

So, there was nothing wrong with adopting the same method of repayment, right?

Xie Jiuniang initially thought there wouldn’t be anything valuable, and indeed, nothing caught her eye. Just as she was about to choose the most expensive item, she discovered a token.

A fusang tree pattern?

She immediately selected this token.

Xie Jiuniang waved the token before storing it in her storage pouch. “Thanks, I’ll take this.”

“No—”

Gan Long wanted to stop her. “Little sister, can you choose something else? This is a memento left by my mother.”

“Sorry, no can do.” Xie Jiuniang walked away with a smile.

Gan Long wanted to say something more, but Gan Meng stopped her. “Little sister, it’s not necessary. If Mother knows in the afterlife, she shouldn’t blame us, as I’m still alive.”

Gan Long fell silent. No matter how important the memento was, it couldn’t compare to her second brother’s life. However, she couldn’t help feeling resentful that her mother’s only memento was taken away.

Xie Jiuniang glanced at the cyan-robed cultivator walking ahead. This person was quite cautious. They had spent an entire night together, yet he hadn’t even mentioned his name. Considering that she hadn’t encountered him again in her previous life…

After walking a short distance in the night, they encountered another demonic beast territory ahead and had to make a detour. If they couldn’t go around, they would fight!

Everyone spent a thrilling night, with Xie Jiuniang being the most relaxed throughout.

Some people had the idea of luring the demonic beasts towards her and then saving her. After all, her exchange with the Gan siblings hadn’t been discreet.

Repaying a life-saving favor on the spot!

As long as someone saved her, they could use it as an opportunity to obtain the wooden hairpin.

The idea was good, but the actual implementation proved too difficult. She was like a slippery loach, sliding away swiftly whenever she encountered the slightest danger. She even sold Agility Talismans while escaping.

Wasn’t that infuriating?

---

In the mountain’s early morning, birds chirped and insects buzzed. Dewdrops hung on leaf tips, emitting a soft glow under the morning light.

The group only found a cave to rest and recover their spiritual power before dawn.

Xie Jiuniang was energetic, processing the demonic beast corpses outside the cave. She collected useful materials, sealed large chunks of fresh meat for preservation, and cut the miscellaneous pieces into small strips. After salting them briefly, she roasted them on stone slabs to make jerky.

She was having a great time.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Tianxu Sect’s new disciple recruitment institute, numerous mirror images floated in the air. The scenes in the mirrors shifted with the movement of people, reflecting the current situation in the assessment grounds.

One of the mirrors showed a busy little figure making jerky.

A Nascent Soul elder couldn’t help but take a closer look. While others were rushing on their journey, this little girl was leisurely roasting jerky. Had she even walked twenty miles?

Oh, there was someone else…

At this moment, Cheng Huaixin examined the authentic-looking jerky. “Can this be eaten? You didn’t even wash the meat.”

“It’s fine. I’m not going to eat it anyway.”

Xie Jiuniang was well aware that her culinary skills were lacking. How could she possibly eat something she made herself? She was preparing these to sell. “Do you want to buy some? One spirit stone per pound.”

“No way!” Cheng Huaixin shook his head firmly. That little black-hearted merchant was selling jerky made from unwashed scraps at one spirit stone per pound?

Cheng Huaixin then said, “I want to buy some talismans.”

Xie Jiuniang, who initially didn’t want to pay attention to him, immediately perked up. “What talismans do you want to buy?”

“Three Agility Talismans and one Binding Talisman.” Cheng Huaixin took out thirty-five spirit stones.

Xie Jiuniang handed over the talismans and completed the transaction with a smile. “Don’t you want to buy more? The stock is running low.”

“Too expensive.” Trusting her would be a mistake!

Cheng Huaixin took the talismans and returned to the cave.

Xie Jiuniang thought her prices were reasonable and that Cheng Huaixin was just stingy.

Inside the cave, Sun Axing was surprised. “Brother Cheng, you really bought them? Not to mention the Binding Talisman, the Agility Talismans alone cost five spirit stones each. You could buy ten of them outside for that price.”

“Her talismans are better than the ones outside.” Cheng Huaixin had noticed Xie Jiuniang using them the previous night. “I suggest you all buy some too. The sect assessment is more difficult than we imagined. Otherwise, if you use up what you brought…”

The other three were stunned by his words.

Cheng Huaixin hinted, “The three of you should go together to buy. If you buy a lot, you might be able to negotiate the price. If not, ask her for some free gifts.”

At the same time, he gave Sun Axing a meaningful look.

Sun Axing understood and turned around, flipping her hair.

Suddenly, the exquisite hairpin on her head fell to the ground…

“Oh no, is it broken?” Sun Axing picked it up with a troubled expression and walked out of the cave.

The other two followed her out.

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