Chapter 143: The Hot Potato
Half an hour later, Elder Jing brought Fatty and Lu Hong to the Martial King Hall.
Outside the main gate, Fatty smiled and said, “Elder Jing, you go back first and wait for my good news.”
Elder Jing paused, frowning. “Aren’t we going together to find Jiang Haotian?”
“Elder, I’d really like to take you with us. But you know how much Jiang Haotian hates people from the Pill King Hall now.”
“Take Senior Brother Xue Yang, for example. Didn’t Jiang Haotian make his life miserable? He’s been running around borrowing gold coins and is now buried under a mountain of debt.”
“So if you go with us, there’s a very good chance this matter will fall through.”
“This…”
Elder Jing hesitated.
“Don’t worry, Elder. I absolutely won’t steal your credit.”
“Besides, haven’t you always been worried about the medicinal fields? Hurry back and take a look.”
Fatty gave him a reassuring pat.
Elder Jing thought it over, then nodded. “All right. Once it succeeds, remember to inform me immediately.”
“Of course.”
Fatty thumped his chest.
Elder Jing said nothing more. After handing the four bear paws to Fatty, he departed with peace of mind.
Watching the rapidly receding figure, Fatty’s face blossomed with delight.
Once that fellow Jing returned and took a look, he would surely be left speechless.
“Dead Fatty, what exactly are you up to?”
Seeing the grin on Fatty’s face, Lu Hong felt an ominous premonition rise within her.
“Oh, why ask so many questions? Come on, let’s go find Boss Jiang.”
Fatty dragged the suspicious-looking Lu Hong into the reception hall with great swagger.
A middle-aged man in his forties sat alone inside. When he saw the two of them, his brows immediately drew together slightly.
Both were wearing the robes of the Pill King Hall.
The middle-aged man rose and asked, “Why have disciples of the Pill King Hall come to the Martial King Hall in the middle of the night?”
Fatty cupped his hands. “Elder, we’re friends of Jiang Haotian. Please announce us.”
“What proof do you have?”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man became more cautious.
“Proof?”
Fatty thought for a moment, then shook his head. “We don’t have any. But tell him that Situ Tianyu and Lu Hong have come to see him, and he’ll understand.”
“Oh, right. We came to Yan City together with Jiang Haotian, Ling Yunfei, and Feng Ling’er.”
He added that last part as an afterthought.
“So you’re from Black Bear City as well?”
The middle-aged man looked at them.
Fatty and Lu Hong nodded.
After scrutinizing them from head to toe, the middle-aged man seemed to recall something. He asked Fatty, “Are you the one who helped Jiang Haotian spread those rumors?”
“That’s me, that’s me.”
Fatty nodded repeatedly.
The middle-aged man shouted, “Dong Yun, come down here.”
Tap, tap, tap!
A moment later, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy came down from the second floor. His eyes were bleary with sleep, and he yawned repeatedly.
The middle-aged man frowned and barked, “Wake up. Take them to see Jiang Haotian.”
“Jiang Haotian!”
The boy’s eyes lit up, and he instantly became energetic.
“You two, follow me.”
“Are you very close to Jiang Haotian?”
“Could you help me persuade him to refine several hundred supreme-grade pills for me?”
“If it works, I’ll make sure to thank you properly.”
The boy was extremely talkative.
All along the way, he chattered incessantly.
Even the shameless Fatty found it exasperating.
“What?”
“Boss Jiang actually lives here?”
“He really knows how to enjoy himself!”
The moment they arrived at the Tranquil Heart Lake, Fatty immediately felt resentful.
Whoosh!
Shi Zheng was sitting cross-legged on the terrace, cultivating. Hearing the commotion, he opened his eyes at once, and a cold gleam flashed from them.
The boy hurriedly said, “Elder Shi, they’re Jiang Haotian’s friends. I brought them here specially.”
Shi Zheng rose and leapt down, landing across the bridgehead.
“Greetings, Elder Shi.”
Fatty and Lu Hong quickly bowed.
Shi Zheng asked, “What have you come to see Jiang Haotian about?”
Fatty replied, “We couldn’t stay in the Pill King Hall any longer, so we came to seek refuge with Boss Jiang.”
“Seek refuge?”
Lu Hong froze. The unease in her heart grew even stronger.
Shi Zheng glanced at the two of them, then waved at the boy. “You may leave.”
“Yes!”
The boy bowed in response. He cast one reluctant glance at the tower before turning and hurrying away.
He had really wanted to meet Qin Feiyang.
But to him, that seemed nothing more than a distant hope.
“Come with me.”
Shi Zheng said this lightly, then led the two of them to the entrance of the first tower.
He knocked on the door and called, “Jiang Haotian, your friends have come to see you.”
A moment later, the door opened, and Qin Feiyang walked out.
He had spent the entire day refining pills.
Even his clothes carried the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs.
“Oh?”
When he saw Fatty and Lu Hong, he could not help being stunned.
Fatty chuckled. “Boss Jiang, you didn’t expect Fatty to come looking for you, did you?”
“I certainly didn’t.”
Qin Feiyang was quite puzzled. What had brought Fatty and Lu Hong to him?
He turned to Shi Zheng and smiled. “Elder, they really are my friends.”
“In that case, carry on.”
Shi Zheng smiled, returned to the terrace, and continued cultivating while keeping watch over the surrounding movements.
“Come in.”
Qin Feiyang turned and entered the room. He sat down in a chair beside the tea table and gestured toward the seat next to him, smiling faintly. “Make yourselves comfortable. Don’t be polite.”
On the tea table, a candle flame flickered gently, illuminating the small reception room.
Fatty swept his eyes around and clicked his tongue. “Boss Jiang, the Martial King Hall is treating you really well.”
Lu Hong’s brows furrowed. She turned to shut the door, then faced Fatty again and said sternly, “Dead Fatty, confess right now. Did you cause some enormous disaster in the Pill King Hall?”
“Well…”
Fatty stammered.
Lu Hong’s heart leapt. She urged him, “Speak!”
Qin Feiyang also knitted his brows.
They had come to him in the dead of night. It clearly could not be anything good.
“I did cause an enormous disaster.”
Fatty lowered his head and spoke in a small voice.
“I knew it!”
Lu Hong glared at Fatty, grinding her teeth in fury.
Suddenly, Fatty raised his head and beamed at them, looking immensely pleased with himself.
“Let me tell you something. Fatty successfully looted the Pill King Hall’s medicinal fields, and I even brought you four bear paws.”
“What!”
Lu Hong’s expression changed drastically.
Qin Feiyang shot to his feet as well, staring at Fatty in stunned disbelief.
Fatty looked at them disdainfully. “It was only a medicinal field robbery. Is there any need to make such a fuss?”
“This…”
Lu Hong pointed at Fatty, trembling with rage.
Was looting a medicinal field a minor matter?
That was the medicinal field of the Pill King Hall!
It was no different from plucking hair from a tiger!
No!
Even that was an understatement.
He had not merely plucked the tiger’s hair—he had practically skinned the tiger alive!
It was over.
This time, it was truly over.
She lowered her head helplessly and sat down in a chair, hating Fatty and herself alike.
How had she been so foolish as to run off with that dead Fatty?
Once the Pill King Hall discovered that its medicinal field had been looted, even if she had not done it, she would never be able to clear her name!
That bastard Fatty was truly going to be the death of her.
From Lu Hong’s reaction, Qin Feiyang immediately knew that this had nothing to do with her.
But now that they were all aboard the same pirate ship, getting off was impossible.
No one would believe her.
He glanced at Fatty, who was still basking in his own triumph, and let out a weary sigh. Returning to his chair, he said, “Fatty, although what you did has certainly made me feel vindicated, you’ve also brought a great disaster down upon me.”
Fatty’s expression changed. He hurriedly said, “Boss, I looted those medicinal herbs to help you refine pills. You can’t just leave me to die!”
Qin Feiyang rubbed his aching forehead. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Fatty immediately began speaking with spittle flying, his brows dancing as he recounted the story with immense pride.
After hearing him out, Qin Feiyang lowered his head and fell silent.
This matter was explosive.
The consequences would be extremely serious.
He was mentally and physically exhausted as well, and he truly could not think of any good solution.
Seeing that Qin Feiyang remained silent, Fatty’s expression began to change too. He asked nervously, “Boss Jiang, have you thought of a plan?”
Qin Feiyang looked up at him and shook his head. “To be honest, no.”
“What plan could there be?”
“The Hall Master, Elder He, and Elder Jia are all Battle Emperor-level experts. Once they lose their temper, who could protect us?”
“I say we leave Yan City at once, before the Pill King Hall notices anything.”
Lu Hong spoke up.
“You think Fatty hasn’t considered escaping Yan City?” Fatty said. “But there are so many vicious beasts outside. Leaving now would be no different from seeking death.”
Lu Hong snapped, “Then why did you do it? And even if you had to do it, why drag me into it? Did I owe you a grudge in a past life?”
Fatty gave an embarrassed laugh. “Aren’t we companions? Naturally, we should share both fortune and misfortune.”
“Share your sister! Do you call this fortune?”
Lu Hong was so furious that she began cursing outright.
“Then don’t ask for any of the pills we refine later.”
Fatty snorted coldly.
“All right, all right, stop arguing,” Qin Feiyang said. “What’s done is done, and it can’t be changed. Since we’re all grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, we must work together to overcome this calamity.”
“I have no solution,” Lu Hong said. “We might as well wait for death.”
Qin Feiyang asked, “Fatty, did anyone see you when you looted the medicinal fields?”
“Fatty swears that absolutely no one did.”
“Then fine. Our only option now is to deny everything to the bitter end. Without evidence, the Pill King Hall won’t dare do anything to you.”
Fatty’s eyes shifted, and he gave a sly grin. “Why don’t we turn the accusation around and say Elder Jing stole the medicinal herbs?”
“Do you think the great figures of the Pill King Hall are idiots?”
“The medicinal fields are a restricted area of the Pill King Hall. The fact that they allowed Elder Jing to guard them is proof that his character is beyond question.”
“If you do that, it’ll be like trying to hide something by protesting too loudly.”
Qin Feiyang rolled his eyes at him. That plan was clearly impossible.
“Boss, your brain is incredible!”
Fatty gave him a thumbs-up and began flattering him.
“Who else could successfully loot even the Pill King Hall’s medicinal fields?”
“Give me the medicinal herbs. If you keep them on you and they’re discovered during a search, we’ll all be finished.”
Qin Feiyang spoke gravely.
Fatty took out a Cosmos Bag and eyed Qin Feiyang warily. “Boss, you’re not going to keep everything for yourself, are you?”
“If he wanted to keep it all for himself, he would have killed you by now.”
Lu Hong rolled her eyes. How could he not even understand something so obvious? She truly had no idea how he had managed to loot the medicinal fields.
Fatty gave an awkward laugh and tossed the Cosmos Bag to Qin Feiyang.
Qin Feiyang immediately stored it inside the ancient castle.
The thing was a scorching hot potato now. Keeping it on his person would only invite disaster.
And at the moment, he had no energy to inventory its contents.