Chapter 45
Liu Zhiqian stared blankly, his gaze on the man before him triggering memories of another person.
In that ambush he never wanted to remember, that person had stood in the main hall of Yulu Gate with his head bowed, holding the severed head of the gate’s master, Wu Qianyuan.
The lifeless head still had its gray eyes open, blood dripping from the robe and pooling at the man’s feet, forming a bright red puddle.
He surveyed the crowd with a gaze as fierce as a beast.
When Liu Zhiqian met his eyes, the icy, bloodthirsty sensation made his heart constrict, and an involuntary shiver ran down his spine as if a large predator were watching him.
At that moment, Xia Yi finally reacted. Seeing everyone look fearfully and suspiciously at what was behind him, he quickly waved his hands. “We’re all friends here. Don’t panic; he’s not a bad guy; he’s my partner.”
“Your partner?” Liu Zhiqian snapped out of his memories, looking between Gu Wenzhu and Xia Yi, his expression confused and unable to process it.
“Yes, my partner, the Cang Yi Xian Zun, Cheng Ming said he saw in Taoyuan,” Xia Yi explained urgently.
“Then where did his power come from? I couldn’t even see clearly, and he disarmed several of my disciples, sending them flying.” Liu Zhiqian still seemed dazed, struggling to comprehend.
I don’t know either; my dog can turn into a divine beast, and a radish can become a celestial fruit, so why is it surprising that my partner can turn into Ultraman?
After all, I am the Child of Destiny.
Xia Yi turned back to Gu Wenzhu, noticing he was still tense, glaring fiercely at everyone. He quickly approached, softly reassuring him, “Brother Zhu, Brother Zhu, it’s okay now, you’re safe. It was just a misunderstanding; don’t be angry.”
“A misunderstanding? They nearly killed you, and you call that a misunderstanding?” Gu Wenzhu gritted his teeth, speaking each word with anger.
His eyes began to redden again, his body trembling slightly from the fear of almost losing Xia Yi.
Seeing that he seemed ready to strike again, Xia Yi internally screamed that it was bad. He didn’t care that there were so many people watching; he rushed forward and tightly embraced Gu Wenzhu’s waist, repeatedly saying, “Partner, we’re all friends here. They’re all my fellow disciples; it wasn’t intentional.”
The few disciples who had been knocked down were now being helped up, stumbling forward to bow apologetically to Xia Yi. “Junior Brother Xia, it was our recklessness. We assumed he was a demon from the underworld without asking first, and we almost hurt you.”
“Thankfully this young man stopped us; otherwise, we would have been in deep trouble.”
Afterward, they bowed deeply to Gu Wenzhu, their hands clasped in respect. As they bent down, one of them winced in pain but didn’t dare to make a sound.
Gu Wenzhu glanced down at Xia Yi, who was clinging tightly to him, and saw the anxiety in his eyes. His furious anger gradually subsided, and he calmed down.
Although his expression remained cold and stern, he no longer seemed inclined to rush into a fight.
Xia Yi couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
“Junior Brother Xia, he’s a man, right? He’s your partner? Or is his name really ‘Partner’?” Qinghui scrutinized Gu Wenzhu with wide eyes, repeatedly confirming his gender with bewilderment.
Xia Yi, uninterested in further explanations, succinctly replied, “He’s a man named Gu Wenzhu, my partner.”
Liu Zhiqian jumped down from the gourd and approached, whispering to Xia Yi, “Is he really your partner? He came over too?”
He looked at the tall, stern-faced Gu Wenzhu, struggling to utter the words “my partner.”
“Yes, he came with me. As soon as we arrived, we found ourselves here. He didn’t recognize your medicinal plants, thought they were wild herbs, and wanted to clear some land to grow food,” Xia Yi explained awkwardly, his voice growing quieter.
Only then did Liu Zhiqian’s gaze shift to the ground.
Looking at the neatly turned soil that Gu Wenzhu had prepared and the broken roots lying nearby, his face began to twitch involuntarily, and his lips trembled.
He hurried to the edge of the field, stumbling a couple of steps along the way. Carefully, he picked up the remnants of the plants, trying to piece them back together in his hands.
Finally, he despaired and lowered his hands to cover his face, his voice thick with emotion. “This is my Mu Ge, my Mu Ge. I’ve reached a bottleneck in my cultivation and was hoping to break through by consuming it. I’ve nurtured it for decades until it finally sprouted, and now it’s all gone, all gone.”
“Elder, I’m sorry for destroying your herbs. I don’t know how to compensate you. How about you replant them, and Brother Zhu and I will help you tend to them for decades?” Xia Yi felt guilty, standing there helplessly, unsure of what to do.
Seeing his distress, Gu Wenzhu took hold of his fingers and said softly, “It’s alright. If we’re to guard, we’ll do it together, no matter how many years it takes.”
“Don’t let Liu Zhiqian take advantage of you.” Suddenly, 179, who had been silent, spoke up. “What kind of herb is this? Decades? Pfft, didn’t you sell what you grew to the military in the county for just a few coins a pound?”
“I didn’t grow any Mu Ge; it was just a few coins a pound. Stop talking nonsense and let me figure out how to compensate Liu Zhiqian,” Xia Yi retorted, annoyed that 179 chose this moment to make jokes.
He didn’t even consider the context.
“I’m not joking! Can an onion just change its name to become a celestial herb? Are you blind or just foolish?” 179 replied, a hint of grievance in his tone. “We clearly grew a lot, and Gu Wenzhu took some to sell to the military.”
“Onion? Are you talking about the onion we grew?” Xia Yi pressed.
“Yes! Didn’t the onion leaves look just like this?” 179 said, indignantly. “I remember clearly because I worked alongside you in that patch every day!”
Xia Yi started to feel confused. He recalled that onion leaves didn’t look like this; they resembled scallions, clearly different from these wild herbs.
But then he thought about 179’s qilin and celestial fruit, which didn’t match what he had seen either.
“By the way, I have a lot of onions in the system space. Can you give me one?” Xia Yi said to the system.
As soon as he finished speaking, a purple fruit the size of an egg appeared in his hand. It was dark in color, covered with scales, and glimmered faintly beneath them.
“See? Onion,” 179 said dismissively. “Liu Zhiqian just wants to swindle you into staying here for decades to tend to his field.”
179, you’re quite something.
Meanwhile, Liu Zhiqian looked about to topple over.
He wanted to confront Gu Wenzhu, but looking at his face, which resembled Cang Yi’s and held an imposing presence, he found he couldn’t bring himself to.
Recalling how much Xia Yi had helped him as a disciple of Qishan and that he had nearly been harmed by his own people, Liu Zhiqian felt even more hesitant.
But then he glanced at the field of broken roots and branches, feeling a burning frustration. A tight knot of anger rose in his chest, making his face pale and his breath heave, as if he had been hooked up to a bellows.
“Elder Liu, take a look at this,” Xia Yi suddenly said.
Liu Zhiqian, his emotions mixed, looked at Xia Yi and was instantly drawn to the purple fruit in his hand.
“Mu Ge? Is this Mu Ge?” he exclaimed in disbelief.
He quickly walked over, taking the onion from Xia Yi and holding it up for a closer look.
“It really is Mu Ge.” After inspecting it carefully, Liu Zhiqian was filled with surprise.
He glanced at the completely uprooted field and hurriedly asked Gu Wenzhu, “Did you just dig this up from my land?”
“Impossible, my Mu Ge just sprouted; it will take decades for it to flower. To reach maturity and bear fruit would take at least another two or three hundred years,” Liu Zhiqian said, perplexed.
He then turned to Xia Yi, urgency in his tone. “Junior Xia, where did you get this Mu Ge celestial fruit?”
Onion, oh onion, this celestial fruit just saved my and Brother Zhu’s lives, Xia Yi thought, relieved.
Now they wouldn’t have to stay here for decades, toiling away under Liu Zhiqian’s command.
Feeling lighter, he smiled. “Well, I grew it.”
“You grew it?” Liu Zhiqian was initially shocked, then skepticism crept in. “How old are you, to be able to grow something that takes hundreds of years to bear fruit?”
“If you don’t believe me, I have plenty more,” Xia Yi replied casually.
“How many more?”
“About… dozens of pounds,” Xia Yi answered uncertainly.
“Dozens… of pounds?”
He couldn’t have heard that wrong, right? He said pounds?
Liu Zhiqian’s expression turned serious. “Junior Xia, don’t joke around. I’m asking seriously.”
“Seriously? Then let me think carefully.” Xia Yi frowned, trying hard to recall.
“I got it wrong; it’s not dozens of pounds.”
Liu Zhiqian let out a gentle sigh. I knew it.
“Those dozens of pounds have already been sold in the county. The yield from my three acres should be several hundred pounds?” Xia Yi frowned, mentally calculating.
Unfortunately, math had never been his strong suit.
Gu Wenzhu, listening nearby, was completely confused, but he kept a straight face, showing no signs of his bewilderment.
At that moment, Qilin, unnoticed by anyone, quietly approached Gu Wenzhu’s legs and lay down, tilting its horns aside and affectionately rubbing its head against his leg.
Thinking it was his dog at home, Gu Wenzhu instinctively reached down to pat Qilin’s head.
The Qilin closed its eyes in comfort and even licked the palm of Gu Wenzhu’s hand.
After a few pats, Gu Wenzhu realized something felt off. Looking down, he was startled.
He remembered that Xia Yi had just ridden this creature. He hadn’t looked closely earlier because he was too excited. Now, seeing this oddly-shaped being up close, he wondered if it was some kind of mountain spirit or monster.
Qilin, surprised by Gu Wenzhu’s vigilant and unfamiliar gaze, tightened its grip on the hoe it was holding, letting out a soft whimper that was both aggrieved and endearing.
The sound was like a low rumble of thunder.
Gu Wenzhu’s heart tightened, and he slowly moved closer to Xia Yi, positioning himself protectively in front of him.
Liu Zhiqian was momentarily stunned by Xia Yi’s mention of several hundred pounds, his interest waning as he waved his hand in resignation, no longer wanting to ask anything.
Seeing Liu Zhiqian still fondly gazing at the onion, Xia Yi suddenly recalled the congratulatory gift he had received from Meng Wanzi during his wedding.
No wonder Qi Zhou had been so captivated.
“Elder Liu, take a look at how many fruits Brother Zhu just destroyed. You can keep this one; I’ll compensate you for the rest.”
Ten times over.
