Chapter 1043: Drug Efficacy Wearing Off
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Upon exiting the place, Xiao Beis.h.i.+ and Song Jinhu bowed as they piled their apologies on Xia Fei. Meanwhile, Xiao Beis.h.i.+ did not mention even a word about the soul weapon that Xia Fei had ruined. Best he could do was pretend that nothing had even happened to it.
Gan Ming came out from the underground facility while pressing his sect junior. Xiao Beis.h.i.+ coldly harrumphed. “Hmph! What else are you waiting for? Say sorry to Brother Xia Fei!”
It was hard to imagine how much indignation and sorrow Hongtu was presently feeling, being forced to apologize to Xia Fei, the same person who had eradicated his second brother and his family.
Gritting his teeth, Hongtu mustered a low apology. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
In front of Jinhu and Xiao Beis.h.i.+, Xia Fei did not dare to pursue the matter any further. After all, he was perfectly fine while it was Xiao Beis.h.i.+ who had lost two disciples and a precious soul weapon from this clash.
It was as the saying went: ‘Leave oneself room in all things, to have enough s.p.a.ce for growth in the future.’ There was no need to burn bridges with Xiao Beis.h.i.+ right now, as it would hardly benefit him.
Thus, Xia Fei nodded his head slightly and said, “It’s best to keep in mind that being a soul pract.i.tioner isn’t a free pa.s.s to misbehave. Don’t blame me for being merciless next time!”
Hongtu slumped his head and did not give a response. If he were to explode with emotion right there and then, it would only give Xia Fei a chance to kill him. Since he did not protest, Xia Fei would naturally not have any reason to kill him, which he could not help but feel unhappy about.
“Well, what’re you waiting for? Scram! First thing I’ll do when we get back is lock you up for three years!” remarked Xiao Beis.h.i.+ frigidly.
Gan Ming’s face went pale, and he swiftly brought his sect brother away. Xia Fei also had Song Jinhu’s men escort Enya to Xiang Beiyang, since it was far too dangerous for her to remain by his side.
“Brother Xia, I’ve prepared a generous gift for you to beseech clemency from the one above. It’s my disciple who had offended your esteemed self, and as far as how to deal with this matter, I do hope that you can ask the grandmaster to show mercy,” said Xiao Beis.h.i.+ with a smile.
“What grandmaster?” Xia Fei asked back.
“Why, of course it’s that grandmaster who forged the October Flying Snow! May I ask how I should address you and your grandmaster?” asked Xiao Beis.h.i.+.
Xia Fei had finally understood at this point why everyone was being so courteous toward him. It turned out that they were of the belief that he had a Spiritualist master as his backer! It looked like the term Spiritualist was really highly valued, so much so that just saying the name was enough to make these people act all obedient.
Radix laughed. “A Spiritualist master? To think that these people could come up with something like that. If they were to learn that you actually made the October Flying Snow, I’m afraid that their very eyeb.a.l.l.s might fall out of their sockets from immense shock!”
Xia Fei purposely coughed twice before answering, “Oh, you’re talking about my master.”
He did not intend to tell these people the truth. After all, he had hardly established his foundation in the Alpha Universe. If these people wished to a.s.sume something like that, he would let them do so. Having a so-called master, whose strength no one could fathom, would be very beneficial to Xia Fei from here on. Debunking that belief now would only make him lose the air of mystery surrounding him.
“So it’s Brother Xia Fei’s master! I wonder where this elder might be and if I’d ever have the honor to visit them,” asked Xiao Beis.h.i.+ hurriedly, a flattering look on his face even as his eyes gazed at him eagerly.
Xia Fei frowned. “My master has a very strange temper. I think that it’s best if you don’t meet, in the event you end up making the elder unhappy…”
“Indeed, what Brother Xia said makes sense. How can a great Spiritualist be someone any random person will be able to meet just because they desire it? I’ve spoken too hastily.” Xiao Beis.h.i.+ corrected himself, disappointment evident in his voice.
Xia Fei smiled. “You can’t meet my master, but given how you prepared a generous gift, I do feel obliged to undertake this difficult task of sending it his way, and I won’t forget to mention your name when I do.”
Radix initially felt stunned when he heard this, but he was soon laughing uproariously. Xia Fei truly lived up to his reputation as a man with a voracious appet.i.te. This was true even when it came to him taking advantage of others. The moment Xia Fei heard that there was a gift, he reached out and accepted it at once. Normally, most people would first go through the process of rejecting before finally accepting the gift with reluctance, but Xia Fei had outrightly readily accepted it!
Xiao Beis.h.i.+ had actually only casually mentioned it. Given how urgent the situation had been earlier, he of course had not had time to prepare any gift to speak of. However, since Xia Fei already voiced his acceptance of the supposed gift, he could no longer rescind his words. The best he could do now was make up some reason to tell Xia Fei that the gift would be sent his way in a few days’ time.
On top of losing two disciples and a soul weapon, he was now even expected to send a gift. Xiao Beis.h.i.+ felt absolutely displeased deep down, but he could at least find solace in Xia Fei’s promise to mention his name to that mysterious grandmaster.
…
Xiao Beis.h.i.+ offered to treat Xia Fei to a meal, but the latter rejected it; instead, he retired to his room.
That batch of medicinal ingredients Xia Fei had bought last time had already been processed into medicine, and they had yielded a total one hundred bottles. According to Xia Fei’s estimation, as long as he could finish them all, he could more or less make a full recovery from all his injuries.
Xia Fei had felt a bit of discomfort when he had clashed with Hongtu’s soul weapon using his White Dragon’s Screech earlier today, and this was the reason why he had been in such a rush to retire to his room. He wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and find out what was wrong with his body.
After finis.h.i.+ng an entire bottle of medicine, XIa Fei used his perceptive senses to do a full sweep of his body.
After he was done scanning himself, Xia Fei sat down on a couch and wordlessly lit a cigarette. His eyebrows were tightly drawn together.
“What’s the matter? Is the medicine effective?” asked Radix.
‘By my estimation, the medicine I brewed should be enough to heal me completely, but it’s already the third day, and the effects have been far from being satisfactory,” replied Xia Fei.
Radix pursed his lips. “I’m afraid that this has got something to do with your activated Soul Mark. Though it’s just a single Soul Mark, it’s actually a fairly important step for warriors. It represents the fact that you’ve ended your cultivation of the body and have now begun your cultivation of the soul!
“You’re a lot stronger than you were before, so the medicinal ingredients you need must be even more potent now.”
Xia Fei nodded. “What you said makes sense. The ingredients that are sold on the streets of Red Dwarf Star can clearly hardly be deemed as quality ingredients in the Alpha Universe. Looks like I’ll need something even stronger to heal up my injuries completely.”
Radix chimed in. “As for why you got injured by Hongtu during your fight with him, it’s only because you have yet to grasp the knack for soul power. You forcefully used soul power against your opponent with that one thrust. As he’s someone with two and a half Soul Marks, his soul power is certainly stronger than yours, so you’re naturally the one who suffered from that exchange of blows.”
“Fortunately, you used the White Dragon’s Screech, and it let you suppress Hongtu many times! That’s also why you managed to destroy his soul weapon, but it’s at the expense of the light injury you received.”
Xia Fei wrinkled his forehead. “Are you saying that while I have soul power, I don’t know how to use it properly?”
“Precisely. I don’t know about your strange Soul Mark, but no matter what kind it is, you still need an appropriate art to support it. While it’s good that you managed to master Soul Liberation, Soul Shade, and Soul Light through your effort and experimentation, you’ll require soul arts a tier higher if you wish to be even stronger.
“Neither I nor anyone else can help you on this matter because of unique your Soul Mark is. I even suspect that there may not be a single soul in the universe who has the same Soul Mark as you do.”
Hearing Radix’s words, Xia Fei had come to a sudden realization. What he needed now was guidance, but too bad that no one out there could teach him the ways of a Spiritualist.
Furthermore, Xia Fei needed money, a lot of it. Reality had proven that all-powerful medicinal ingredients from the Law Realm were no longer effective to him, so what Xia Fei needed was to purchase truly peerless treasures.
…
The afternoon of the second day, Xiang Beiyang visited Xia Fei’s residence with Enya in tow.
“Brother Xia, I heard that you’d sent men to obtain the list of inventory of several major apothecaries on Red Dwarf Star. Were the medicinal ingredients that you procured last time not enough?”
There were several thick stacks of doc.u.ments on the coffee table, but Xia Fei had already looked through them all once and found none of the top-grade ingredients he required.
Xia Fei shook his head. “It’s not the quant.i.ty that’s the problem; rather, all of them proved to be inferior in terms of potency.”
“Oh, no! That’s not good. Why don’t I send my men out on Golden Eagle 19? That place is the trading hub of this star region. After all, Red Dwarf Star is far too backward, and anyone in search of the really good stuff can only acquire them on Golden Falcon 19,” Xiang Beiyang explained.
“Golden Eagle 19? Wasn’t the Soul Hunter we met yesterday with four Soul Marks from there?” Xia Fei asked Radix this.
Radix nodded in affirmation. “That’s right. He is called Xiao Beis.h.i.+ and can be deemed as having a fairly decent grade of cultivation among Soul Hunters. Since even someone like him stays on Golden Eagle 19, the resources there must be much better than what’s available on Red Dwarf Star.”
“Boss Xiang, how far is this Golden Eagle 19 from here?”
“A fast s.h.i.+p will take you there in three days, while a commercial liner will take five or even six days,” Xiang Beiyang replied.
Xia Fei was silent, stroking his chin with one hand.
Enya seemed to be quite surprised, tilting her head to the side as she asked, “What is it? Do you wish to head to Golden Eagle 19? May I come with you?”
Xia Fei ignored the girl; instead, he handed a spatial ring to Xiang Beiyang. Inside was the gift that Xiao Beis.h.i.+ had sent to him this afternoon. Tang Wannian had also hurriedly sent a gift of his own after hearing about this matter. With how extraordinary Xia Fei’s status appeared to be, even Xiao Beis.h.i.+ felt the need to curry favor with him. Naturally, Tang Wannian felt the same. Besides, considering that Tang Yingyue’s illness had taken a turn for the better, Tang Wannian knew well that the value of the October Flying Snow was not just two million. As such, he had felt somewhat guilty about it, so he sought to cover a bit of the loss Xia Fei made from the transaction by giving him a present.
“What is this?” asked Xiang Beiyang.
“Just some things I have no use for. Help me exchange it for cash; I have a need for it,” Xia Fei said breezily.
Xiang Beiyang took the ring and quickly left.
He knew very well that Xia Fei’s background was nothing simple. Tang Wannian had recently been inviting him out for dinner quite frequently; the person had even introduced some business ventures and people in the financial circle to him. All this was to show Xia Fei face; now that Xia Fei needed his help, he was of course more than happy to do his best in a.s.sisting him.
*Click*
The door shut behind him, leaving just Xia Fei and Enya. She blinked, before getting up to her feet and asking, “Shall I brew you some tea? I’ve recently acquired Ash Tree Golden Monkey from Boss Xiang; it’s a top-quality tea. When brewed, it has a golden sheen and a very enticing scent.”
“Sure.” Xia Fei did not reject the offer, but he added as an afterthought, “Brew the tea and send it to me in my room.”
With that said, Xia Fei got up and retreated to his room.
Xia Fei was very secretive about what was inside his room, and he had never once allowed Enya access to it. Today, he had actually permitted her to enter his room. This little lady could not help but feel her heart beating in trepidation, her cheeks flus.h.i.+ng brightly.
“What is he planning to do?”
“Could he be…”
“How embarra.s.sing and in broad daylight, too!”
Enya gingerly brought over the tray of tea. She opened the door and entered Xia Fei’s room with plenty of thoughts bouncing in her head.
The moment she opened the door, however, she froze in place.
She saw that Xia Fei’s room was filled with a large pile of medicinal ingredients, and he was sitting in the middle of all these as he used a machine to purify each medicine.
“You’re here.” Xia Fei did not even raise his head as he continued to busy himself with what he was doing. He merely asked in a somber voice, “Tell me about yourself. ‘Crane Clan Guardian’…. Just what exactly is that about?”