Chapter 277: Qing Qiu

Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Ever since it became unnecessary for him to make a trip to the old geezer daily, You XiaoMo had more time to refine pills.

Though he had obtained the TianXin sect’s level six recipes, the overall effects were – when compared to the recipe the old geezer gave him – much weaker, so he focused on refining pills through the old geezer’s recipe and then selling those at the market.

Three months later, the amount of points in his card had increased by a tremendous amount.

After that, he and Ling Xiao revisited the Soul Training Pavilion; they had wanted to see if there were any soul training manuals that bested the Heavenly Soul Scripture. Unfortunately, not only did they not see any, soul training manuals were about as rare as skill training ones. In addition, the old geezer didn’t seem to have any intentions to pass down the Heavenly Soul Scripture to him, either because he didn’t have it, or he had other plans for it.

Either way, he had no idea what that old geezer could be thinking, and hadn’t seen him in almost half a month.

Half a month ago, the geezer had said he needed to go somewhere, he didn’t specify where exactly or when he would return, but he had yet to come back.

On the plus side, the old geezer didn’t seal his study, so You XiaoMo could come and go as he pleased. Teng ZiXin once met him on the way, and since the old geezer was absent, Teng ZiXin could only access the study via You XiaoMo’s Red card.

But was he that generous? Of course not.

He had been planning to go to the study himself, but upon seeing Teng ZiXin, he changed his destination.

Teng ZiXin wasn’t thick skinned enough to come knocking either.

So, a month passed quickly without disruption, and You XiaoMo finally achieved a breakthrough to level six.

This breakthrough was achieved in even less time than the one from four to five; usually the higher one’s level, the harder cultivation becomes, but with the old geezer’s pointers, his cultivation speed saw much improvement. Now, he no longer needed both hands to help with the refining process of pills, and instead, like how the old geezer used a cauldron to refine pills, he could do it through releasing his soul power.

This method was much harder than using one’s own hands, and required finesse and control over one’s soul power, but once one became familiar with it, it would be much more efficient than refining pills with one’s hands.

For now, You XiaoMo could only split his attention between two tasks.

After the news of his breakthrough had spread, those who kept coming to bother him disappeared, and no longer did anyone come to mock him about his level being lower than Teng ZiXin’s.

Today, You XiaoMo took some refined Beauty pills to the market and CatQiu decided to come out with him.

Beauty pills were a type of level six magic pill. They weren’t very high grade, but were very popular nonetheless.

These magic pills came from the recipes he gained from the TianXin sect; ingestion could reduce aging and had a cosmetic effect. Though they weren’t very long-lasting, they gained massive demand from female mages upon entering the market.

No lady would scorn beauty, those were words to remember.

Though the academy had less girls than boys, You XiaoMo knew that the moment word got out about these beauty pills, the vast majority of women would come inquiring over them.

Ling Xiao didn’t come with him this time. Ever since his visits to the old geezer decreased, that guy had reverted to his usual laziness and hadn’t fought a single match this month. So, he was forced to the arena. Even if he didn’t ascend the rankings, he needed to defend his place as seventh.

You XiaoMo hadn’t even reached the market before he bumped into a woman on the way.

This woman’s beauty was as delicate as a flower and as perfect as jade, eyes like autumn water shone, and the young lady’s refined composure gave him a feeling of familiarity.

As he watched her walk towards him, he startled very slightly.

Qing Qiu smiled softly, “Schoolmate You, we meet again.”

You XiaoMo blinked in surprise, this person was a level six mage. Though level six mages weren’t rare in the academy, a woman who achieved so much at this age was very impressive, yet he had not heard of her.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, “And you are…?”

Seeing that he had already forgotten her, Qing Qiu didn’t think too much of it. Instead, she just twisted a lock of hair between her fingers and smiled, saying, “Before Schoolmate You came to the academy, you briefly went to QingShuang shop, the one who helped you identify your magic pills was me, might you recall?”

“Oh, so it’s…you. Is there anything you want?” You XiaoMo smiled with a hint of awkwardness. He vaguely recalled that incident, but had forgotten her appearance. At that time, she was probably still a level five mage.

“Do I have to want something from you for me to talk to Schoolmate You?” QingQiu retorted, smiling.

“Uh…” You XiaoMo had no idea how to respond.

Qing Qiu laughed softly. “I’m just joking, I do actually need something. I heard you refined a pill called the Beauty pill, and someone asked me to purchase some; might you have any for sale at the moment?”

You XiaoMo gave a small sigh of relief. So, she was just here to buy the Beauty pills. He was going to go sell them anyways, and since she asked, it doesn’t matter if he sold them to her now. He took out a bottle of Beauty pills. “How many does xuejie want?”

Xuejie: female upperclassmen 

Qing Qiu said, “Not much, just five is enough.”

You XiaoMo took out another jade bottle and gave it to her after putting five Beauty pills inside, saying, “Here are five Beauty pills, take a look, each one is thirty points.”

It wasn’t cheap, and most people wouldn’t be able to afford it, but for a woman who wanted to look pretty, even if it was fifty points, she would probably be willing to pay.

Hearing the price, Qing Qiu was a little put out, saying, “Can’t Schoolmate You sell it at a slightly lower price? I mean, we do count as acquaintances.”

You XiaoMo felt goosebumps rise on his arms; was she… being coquettish?

You XiaoMo felt his smile becoming awkward once more; how come he only remembered them meeting once? That doesn’t seem like being “acquainted”. However, this was his first time bargaining, and the other was a young lady, if he just refused that would be being too mean. So after hesitating for a moment, he agreed, “Just by two points.”

Qing Qiu pursed her lips a bit and then smiled, “Thank you then, schoolmate You.”

You XiaoMo was preparing to leave after the transaction was completed, but suddenly CatQiu jumped out of his clothes. Two round eyes looked around curiously; so innocent and cute!

Qing Qiu noticed CatQiu immediately and her face lit up. “Oh! That’s such a cute demon beast, can I hug him?”

You XiaoMo looked back at her awkwardly.

Seeing this, Qing Qiu realized her own brusqueness and fiddled with the strands of hair at her shoulder, disappointed. “Sorry, that was a bit abrupt of me. I need to go now. Goodbye!”

After walking a few steps, she suddenly looked back again, smiling sweetly at him.

“You-tongxue, Ward B’s annual tournament is in half a month, good luck with it!”

You XiaoMo: “… I will.”

After watching her leave, You XiaoMo frowned a little and turned to CatQiu. “CatQiu, do you think she was really here just to buy Beauty pills? I think she’s a little strange.”

CatQiu: “Meow~”

You XiaoMo: “…” Well, ok, he asked the wrong person, uh, beast.

With all the Beauty pills sold, You XiaoMo returned to the pavilion. Ling Xiao wasn’t much slower than him and arrived soon after. You XiaoMo’s face lit up in joy upon seeing him, yet before he could walk over, CatQiu suddenly jumped down from his shoulder and ran all the way to Ling Xiao.

CatQiu began to meow furiously at Ling Xiao: “Meorrow mewl meow meow meow…”

Ling Xiao frowned abruptly and raised his head to give You XiaoMo a strange look.

You XiaoMo felt slightly uneasy. They weren’t communicating, were they?

CatQiu glanced back at his owner and gave a few more meows.

As Ling Xiao finally walked towards him, You XiaoMo edged backwards, all the way until he hit a wall and was unable to retreat any further.

You XiaoMo’s voice shook as he asked, “Wh-what?”

Ling Xiao propped himself against the wall with one hand and smiled, staring directly into his eyes. “CatQiu told me, today you talked to a pretty lady and sold her magic pills for two points cheaper.”

“I can explain.” You XiaoMo swallowed thickly, turning his head to give CatQiu a glare. You tattle tale brat, see if I take you out anymore.

CatQiu flattened its ears against its head, looking at him balefully with tearful eyes. All it did was tell the truth.

Ling Xiao nodded. “Go on, I’m listening.”

You XiaoMo took a moment to formulate a response and said, “Actually, you know that lady too. When we first went to Qingshuang Pavilion to sell magic pills, that girl is called Qing Qiu. She suddenly stopped me on my way to the bazaar, saying she wanted to buy some pills and that she wanted a discount. I couldn’t refuse her at the time so I just agreed; I think she’s kind of strange, too!”

Ling Xiao’s expression contorted into something a little odd, and he hesitated before saying, “Next time she tries to talk to you, ignore her.”

You XiaoMo immediately nodded, “Right, next time I’ll do my best to avoid her.”

Ling Xiao buried his head against his neck, taking in a deep breath.

You XiaoMo flushed, pushing him away as he spoke. “By the way, how come you can understand CatQiu?”

Ling Xiao froze for a moment, but You XiaoMo didn’t notice. “Do you think everyone is as dumb as you?”

You XiaoMo: “…”

This didn’t have anything to with being dumb, okay? No matter how smart you were, it’s not possible to understand the language of beasts.

Ling Xiao bent down and bit down on his lip.

SheQiu immediately fled the room, but CatQiu wanted to know what was going on, staring at the scene with wide eyes. However, SheQiu quickly returned to grab it, lecturing it as it was dragged out, “You can’t look when the master and lord are showing their affection for each other; you’re still young, you’ll grow a stye.”

CatQiu: “Meow?” What’s a stye?

You XiaoMo: “…”

Ling Xiao: “Heheh…”