I Am the True Lord of Running Away

Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Those Detestable Second Generation Immortals

"You said it yourself! My compensation for lost work, emotional distress, delayed cultivation, medical expenses, and the cost of used elixirs and talismans..."

Jiang Xu grew more and more fired up as he spoke.

He didn’t seem to notice Leng Qingqiu’s face turning ashen.

The surrounding Talisman Makers had all stopped what they were doing, their mouths agape as they stared at Jiang Xu.

"My heavens, ever since I joined the Talisman Pavilion, I’ve never seen anyone dare to be so arrogant toward Elder Leng!"

"Tell me about it. The last guy who refused to do Talisman Making and still dared to act so shamelessly... who knows how tall the grass on his grave is by now!"

"A true warrior!"

Jiang Xu, however, showed no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard a word from the people around him.

Although his cultivation was still at the Qi Cultivation stage.

But the Spirit-Devouring Insect in Jiang Xu’s hand was a genuine Tier Two Exotic Insect.

It alone was enough to handle an ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage Cultivator.

Since his own life was unlikely to be in danger, Jiang Xu was naturally fearless.

Besides, they were still within the Profound Origin Sect, so Jiang Xu naturally wasn’t afraid that Leng Qingqiu would do anything to him openly.

"In total, it comes to one thousand one hundred and ninety-one Spirit Stones. I’ll round it for you—just give me an even one thousand two hundred."

"One thousand two hundred! Why don’t you just rob someone?!"

Leng Qingqiu couldn’t take it anymore.

One thousand two hundred Spirit Stones was enough to buy a Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact!

Although she was a Second Generation Immortal and not short on Spirit Stones, she certainly wasn’t going to be taken for a sucker.

"Rob someone?" Jiang Xu replied with a straight face. "I’m not stupid. With my low cultivation, I’d be lucky to snatch a few Spirit Stones, let alone this many."

"No, absolutely not! Name something else!"

"Elder Leng, you wouldn’t want what’s between you and Senior Sister Yu to..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, Leng Qingqiu’s gaze turned exceptionally sharp. She flashed to Jiang Xu’s side, clamped a hand over his mouth, and dragged him out of the Talisman Pavilion in one swift motion.

"MMF MMF MMF~" Jiang Xu, his mouth suddenly covered, was terrified, but he was powerless to resist.

Seeing this scene, the crowd of Talisman Makers all felt that this was more like it; this made perfect sense.

"The last one was just like this... These people never learn their lesson."

"How many parts do you think he’ll be missing?"

"If each Spirit Stone counts as one part, even dismantling his entire body wouldn’t be enough."

"Indeed."

...

Jiang Xu, having been dragged away, did not resist.

Because he had a feeling she didn’t actually intend to harm him.

"I’m warning you, stick to the point and stop bringing up Xiaofeng!"

"Fine, no problem. Once the Spirit Stones are paid, the memory will fade."

"I’m an Elder! How dare a mere Qi Cultivation disciple like you try to blackmail me!"

"Elder Leng, I’m not blackmailing you. This is a reasonable request for compensation for my losses. Even if we went to the Law Enforcement Hall, I’d be in the right."

After saying this, Jiang Xu suddenly remembered something:

"Aside from the Spirit Stones, it would be even better if you could also get my status promoted to Inner Sect Disciple while you’re at it."

Hearing Jiang Xu push his luck, Leng Qingqiu was very displeased, but the thought of her business with Yu Wenfeng made her deflate.

As for doing something underhanded or using lethal force against Jiang Xu, Leng Qingqiu had never considered it.

She did indeed want to drive Jiang Xu away, but she couldn’t bring herself to kill someone over something like this.

"Making you an Inner Sect Disciple... it’s easy in a way, but also a bit difficult. You were missing for three years. If the higher-ups investigate, you won’t be able to explain it, and your chance at becoming an Inner Sect Disciple might just go up in smoke."

"Let’s lower the compensation to one thousand."

"Make it five hundred."

"You’re an Elder. Are you really going to haggle over a few Spirit Stones?"

"I still have to save up to get a Foundation Establishment Pill for Xiaofeng, and a new set of Tier Two Spiritual Artifacts costs a lot of Spirit Stones too. Even a landlord’s family runs out of grain sometimes!"

When Jiang Xu heard this, his eyes lit up.

"Elder Leng, in our Sect, can Foundation Establishment Pills also be exchanged for Spirit Stones?"

"What are you thinking? Of course not!" Leng Qingqiu said disdainfully. "But that’s for people like you. For me, although Foundation Establishment Pills are precious, I can exchange for one or two through certain special channels. It’s just that the price is absurdly high. Even with my financial resources, it’s a bit much to handle."

’Jiang Xu remembered that Leng Qingqiu was the descendant of some Golden Core Ancestor. She must be getting special treatment from somewhere.’

’These Second Generation Immortals are the worst!’

’Why is there a privileged class like this everywhere!’

’It was useless to dwell on it.’ Jiang Xu could see from her stance that he wasn’t going to get any more, so he could only agree to the price of five hundred Spirit Stones.

’It was a windfall anyway. Getting something was better than nothing.’

Before taking out the Spirit Stones, Leng Qingqiu said solemnly:

"This business with me and Xiaofeng—once you take this money, you keep your mouth shut tight! If I hear even the slightest rumor, don’t think that just because I’m not dealing with you now means I won’t. It’s just that I can’t be bothered with the trouble of dirtying my hands. Otherwise, hmph hmph..."

"Absolutely, absolutely! You can rest assured, I’m as tight-lipped as they come. This matter is between you, me, heaven, and earth. No one else will ever know!"

After Leng Qingqiu reluctantly took out the Spirit Stones, Jiang Xu snatched them and stuffed them into his pouch.

Leng Qingqiu opened her mouth, then closed it, wanting to say something but holding back. She felt like something was off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what had gone wrong.

"Elder Leng, how come you haven’t announced your relationship with Senior Sister Yu yet? It’s not a big deal. A relationship between two women is a matter of mutual consent, why treat it like a crime?"

"Don’t get me started. It’s all because my great-grandmother doesn’t approve of such things, otherwise I would have gone public long ago. Speaking of which, my relationship with Xiaofeng hasn’t been progressing much lately. I heard you before... you sounded like you’re very experienced with these things. Do you know how I can... heat things up between me and Xiaofeng?"

"That’s simple. It’s just that this method of mine took a lot of effort to come up with. If you want it..."

Seeing that Leng Qingqiu looked like she was about to fly into a rage, Jiang Xu immediately changed his tune:

"But since it’s Elder Leng who needs it, then of course I’ll gift you all my secret techniques for free!"

"Ahem. When the feelings between cultivation partners become flat and stagnant, it’s definitely because they’re lacking a bit of romance and fun. The occasional little surprise for each other is what makes a relationship last. Also, you have to provide emotional value. Showing concern for her well-being, being humorous and witty—these are the basics..."

He rattled on and on. Leng Qingqiu listened intently from beginning to end, endlessly praising Jiang Xu’s "secret techniques." Not long after, she hurried away, apparently to put them into practice immediately.

As Leng Qingqiu left, Jiang Xu shouted after her:

"Elder, don’t forget about my Inner Sect Disciple status!"

He heard no reply. Jiang Xu shook his head helplessly and turned to leave the Talisman Pavilion.

Back in the Talisman Pavilion, the Talisman Makers waited and waited, but when neither of the two returned, they all naturally assumed they had guessed the truth. "Mm, it seems that reckless fool is most likely dead. Elder Leng must be disposing of the body."