While Han Li was sizing up the other man’s appearance, the man cheerfully entered the medicinal garden and greeted him warmly, “Junior Brother, you must be a disciple of Tianquan Peak, right? Your face looks unfamiliar—perhaps you just joined last year? If so, then I truly am your senior brother now.”
“My surname is Han, and indeed, I only joined about a year ago. Senior Brother must be an esteemed disciple of Yinjian Peak?” Han Li retracted his gaze and replied with a smile.
“So it’s Junior Brother Han. I’m Kuihuan from Yinjian Peak. A few senior brothers and I oversee a nearby spirit beast field located in a small basin a few dozen miles away. You should come visit sometime. Though my cultivation isn’t high, I’ve been here for seven or eight years, so I know everything about the Luo Yun Sect and all the disciples across the peaks. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me.” The man spoke with an air of familiarity.
Han Li smiled faintly. The man’s glib tongue reminded him of a self-proclaimed know-it-all from his days at the Seven Mysteries Sect—equally quick-witted and smooth-talking. Clearly, they were cut from the same cloth.
Though inwardly amused, Han Li harbored no dislike for the man.
“Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother. But Brother Kui, is there something important that brings you here?” He crossed his arms and blinked as he asked.
At this question, Kuihuan looked slightly embarrassed. After hesitating and scratching his head, he said, “Well, it’s not exactly urgent. I originally came to ask Senior Sister for a favor, but to my surprise, Senior Sister Yuan, who managed this garden for five or six years, left without notice. Now things are a bit tricky.”
“A favor?” Han Li frowned slightly, his eyes showing a trace of doubt.
“It’s nothing major. Junior Brother must know that us outer disciples, due to our mediocre aptitudes, aren’t highly regarded by the sect. When the sect distributes magical tools or pills, we’re naturally left out. And the meager spirit stones we earn in a year aren’t enough to buy cultivation-boosting pills. So, a few senior brothers and I have been catching a rare little creature called the Snow Cloud Fox in the nearby Green Mist Swamp and selling them at the market. Though not a spirit beast, these foxes are small, adorable, and surprisingly intelligent, making them very popular among the female disciples. We’ve made a tidy profit. But recently, we found a variant Snow Cloud Fox in the swamp with faint spiritual energy—it seems to have evolved into a low-level spirit beast. Naturally, we were thrilled. If we could capture it alive, it would fetch at least a hundred spirit stones—a rare windfall. Unfortunately, we acted too hastily and let it slip away. Since then, it’s been hiding deep in the swamp, rarely showing itself. We’ve scoured most of the Green Mist Swamp and occasionally spotted it, but before we could get close, it would vanish into the mud.” Kuihuan’s face was full of regret as he spoke.
Noticing Han Li’s thoughtful expression, he paused before continuing, “After observing for a while, we realized this variant Snow Cloud Fox loves aged Solomon’s Seal, especially those over ten years old. To lure it out, we’d need at least a fifty-year-old specimen to make it throw caution to the wind. But as you know, any herb decades old costs far more than a handful of spirit stones. Though we had some savings, we recently pooled our resources to buy a cultivation-boosting pill and are now broke. Desperate, I remembered that Senior Sister Yuan’s garden had two or three aged Solomon’s Seal plants, so I came to ask. But now that the garden is under Junior Brother Han’s care, I wonder… could you lend us one?” Kuihuan’s voice trailed off hesitantly at the end.
Clearly, he knew the request was somewhat unreasonable.
Han Li’s face remained unreadable as he listened. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, “There are indeed two Solomon’s Seal plants over fifty years old in the garden, meeting your requirements. Logically, as a junior brother, I shouldn’t refuse Senior Brother Kui’s first request for help. But you must understand—I have no authority to use any aged spirit herbs in the garden. If one goes missing or is damaged, I can’t explain it to the elders and might even face punishment. I’m afraid I can’t help with this.”
His tone was calm and firm, leaving the yellow-robed man visibly disappointed.
“Junior Brother, don’t worry. We’d only borrow the herb for a few days and return it intact. We’ll be extremely careful when uprooting and transplanting it—no mistakes. And of course, we won’t take it for free. If we succeed, we’ll share the spirit stones with you. You won’t lose out,” Kuihuan pressed on, unwilling to give up.
“My apologies. This matter is too significant, and I won’t touch the garden’s herbs. But if you’re short on spirit stones, I’ve saved some and can lend them to you to buy one at the market.” Han Li’s refusal was firm, but then his tone lightened as he offered an alternative.
Kuihuan’s face had darkened at the initial rejection but brightened at the latter suggestion. “Really? If you’re willing to lend us spirit stones, we won’t need the garden’s herbs. But a decades-old herb would cost at least thirty spirit stones. Do you really have that much?” His excitement was tinged with doubt—after all, that was a substantial sum for a Qi Condensation cultivator.
“I saved these spirit stones before joining the sect and have no immediate use for them. Consider it a temporary loan. If they can double in just a few days, I wouldn’t want to miss such a rare opportunity,” Han Li said leisurely.
“Haha, so Junior Brother Han is a shrewd businessman too! Rest assured, with this Solomon’s Seal, catching that Snow Cloud Fox is a sure thing.” Kuihuan beamed, now convinced of Han Li’s sincerity.
Han Li smiled wordlessly, reaching into his storage pouch and producing over twenty spirit stones of various colors, which he handed over without hesitation.
Kuihuan accepted them gleefully, thumping his chest with assurances of success. After a few more pleasantries, he excused himself, clearly eager to proceed.
Watching his retreating figure, Han Li’s smile faded, and he shook his head slightly. He had no real interest in the promised twenty or thirty spirit stones—he simply didn’t want to make enemies so soon after joining the Luo Yun Sect.
He planned to stay here for a long time, and Kuihuan, with his wide network, might prove useful someday.
With that thought, Han Li impassively reactivated the garden’s restrictions and returned to his stone chamber to continue cultivating.
…
Three days later, Han Li found himself staring at a sheepish Kuihuan, speechless.
The man hadn’t come to return the spirit stones—instead, he was here to ask Han Li to join them in capturing the Snow Cloud Fox.
“Can’t the few of you handle a low-level spirit beast on your own?” Han Li pursed his lips, skepticism evident.
“Junior Brother, you don’t understand. This Snow Cloud Fox is incredibly cunning and runs like the wind—ordinary flying tools can’t keep up. We borrowed a set of maze formation flags from an inner sect brother to trap it, but one of our group was suddenly assigned a mission and left the sect. Now we’re short a person to complete the formation. If we bring in someone else, we’d have to split the profits further, and the others aren’t keen. So I thought of you. Of course, we’d give you a larger share.” Kuihuan grinned.
Han Li stroked his chin, considering. Under normal circumstances, he’d refuse without hesitation—such trivial matters weren’t worth his time. But recently, while cultivating the fourth layer of the Great Development Art, he’d felt restless and unable to focus, a sign of hitting a bottleneck. Perhaps a short excursion would help. Breakthroughs were unpredictable, after all.
After a moment, he nodded slightly. “Since Senior Brother Kui insists, I’ll come along. I’m curious about this Green Mist Swamp anyway.”
A lazy smile played on his lips as he spoke.
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