Immortal Refiner

Upon entering the city, Li Qing immediately had Qi Kang change his clothes to avoid drawing attention as a refugee.

Before the curfew, they booked two fine rooms at an inn in the city. Perhaps due to the ongoing war, the cost of the two rooms was surprisingly low.

Having brought back a large amount of gold, silver, and valuables from the World of Eternal Night, Li Qing was now a wealthy man. These resources were enough to support his martial arts training for a long time.

If he ever ran short of money, Li Qing could always return to the World of Eternal Night to gather more. In that world, where food was extremely scarce, gold and silver had become nearly worthless.

Early the next morning, Li Qing sent Qi Kang out to gather information about the current situation in the city.

Meanwhile, Li Qing himself took some money and headed to a local herb shop.

”Shopkeeper, do you have these herbs?” Li Qing handed over a piece of paper with a list of ingredients needed for two wine recipes.

The shopkeeper took the paper without looking up, but after a quick glance, he froze and slowly raised his head to look at Li Qing.

”Oh, dear customer, you’re really putting me in a tough spot. My Hundred Herb Hall has been in Wangyuan City for many years, but I only have a few of the herbs you’re asking for,” the shopkeeper said with an awkward smile.

Li Qing hadn’t expected to find all the herbs at once, so he replied without surprise, ”Then bring out the ones you do have. I’ll take them all.”

Soon, the shopkeeper efficiently gathered the few herbs he had in stock.

”Customer, this Polygonatum here is a fifty-year-old treasure, so it’s a bit more expensive. What do you think?”

As he spoke, the shopkeeper showed the Polygonatum he had brought out.

The piece of Polygonatum was somewhat dried, resembling ginger, but with many root hairs on its surface.

Slap! Li Qing placed a gold leaf on the table and said firmly, ”Just wrap it all up for me.”

”Right away!” The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up at the sight of the shiny gold leaf, and he eagerly agreed.

While the shopkeeper busily packed the herbs, Li Qing casually asked, ”Shopkeeper, do you know where I might find the rest of these herbs?”

Without hesitation, the shopkeeper replied, ”Fengzhou, Quanshan City. It’s deep in the mountains, and over half of the medicinal herbs in Maple Country are dug up from there.”

”Besides Quanshan City, there’s also the Imperial Capital Shengtian in our Maple Country. As the capital, it’s not just a name—it’s the best place to find what you need.”

Quanshan City, Imperial Capital Shengtian.

Li Qing silently memorized these two locations. To gather the ingredients for the two wine recipes, a trip to these places would be unavoidable.

Quanshan City in Fengzhou was quite far from Wangyuan City, located in the southwest of Maple Country. Getting there would require crossing several provinces and would take a long time.

On the other hand, while Imperial Capital Shengtian was also far from Wangyuan City, it was situated in the central heartland of Maple Country, making it relatively closer.

Thus, Li Qing decided that his next destination would be Shengtian.

In no time, the shopkeeper carefully wrapped the herbs Li Qing had purchased in parchment paper.

When he handed the herbs to Li Qing, he couldn’t help but remind him, ”Sir, although I don’t know what you intend to do with these herbs, I must warn you that two of the herbs I just gave you are highly toxic. Please be careful.”

Of course, the highly toxic substances were the two required for the Five Poisons Blood-Activating Wine. Li Qing calmly replied, ”I am aware, no need for the shopkeeper to worry.”

With that, Li Qing left the gold leaf on the table, picked up the herbs, and departed. He repeated this process, visiting the remaining herb shops in the city.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the sources of these herb shops were all the same, overlapping with the types of herbs provided by the Hundred Herb Hall.

After visiting several shops, he only managed to collect one additional item: an old camphor root. The other herbs he sought remained elusive.

Seeing the scarcity of herbs in the border city to such an extent, Li Qing had already made up his mind to head to the Imperial Capital Shengtian as soon as possible.

Returning to the inn, Qi Kang had already finished gathering information.

Having bathed and changed into fresh clothes, Qi Kang no longer looked like a refugee. Instead, he appeared quite clean and presentable, with only a slightly sallow and thin face betraying any hint of his previous state.

Qi Kang dutifully reported to Li Qing, ”Young master, I’ve inquired at several taverns. The city’s current garrison is the Wu Li Army. They just clashed with the forces of Liang Country the day before yesterday. Due to bandit disturbances, the battle ended in a draw.”

Hearing the name ”Wu Li Army,” Li Qing showed no reaction, neither in his heart nor on his face.

He had anticipated this.

Before fleeing to the World of Eternal Night to escape the war, he knew that the Wu Li Army had been dispatched to the border for support. Now that they were engaging with the Liang Country’s forces, it came as no surprise to him.

Li Qing nodded, signaling Qi Kang to continue.

”Additionally, the city’s residents are free to leave through the west gate. However, not many have evacuated recently. The number of people leaving is about the same as usual, and merchant caravans still come and go from time to time. The people have great confidence in the Wu Li Army.”

As he spoke, Qi Kang cautiously observed Li Qing’s expression, hoping to glean some reaction.

Yet, Li Qing remained as calm as ever, showing no signs of surprise.

After all, the Wu Li Army was one of Maple Country’s pillars of strength. Most of its soldiers were martial artists, and those at the rank of Centurion and Chiliarch were masters who had cultivated Outer Strength and Inner Strength.

If such a force couldn’t even hold Wangyuan City, then Maple Country might as well declare its defeat in advance.

”Hmm, it’s good that we can leave the city. Let’s rest well today and depart from Wangyuan City tomorrow,” Li Qing said.

At this, Qi Kang’s mouth fell open. He stammered, ”Young master, don’t you need to gather more information about Wangyuan City? Won’t it be difficult to report back otherwise?”

Li Qing was taken aback. ”Report back to whom? I came to Wangyuan City merely to resupply before continuing on to the Imperial Capital to live out the rest of my days in peace.”

”What?” Qi Kang was dumbfounded. He awkwardly admitted, ”I... I thought you were a spy sent by Liang Country.”

When he reached the last part of his sentence, Qi Kang lowered his voice to a whisper, afraid that someone might overhear.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing was both amused and exasperated.

”How on earth did you get the idea that I’m a spy?”

”Well, didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted to sneak into Wangyuan City? And today, you asked me to go out and gather information about the city.” Realizing he had made a mistake, Qi Kang felt too embarrassed to continue.

For a moment, Li Qing couldn’t help but chuckle.

”Alright, don’t overthink it. Tomorrow, we’ll buy two horses in the city and then leave. There’s no real need to stay in Wangyuan City any longer.”

(End of the Chapter)

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