All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 129 Using Intimidation to Obtain the Azure Fire Toad (Bonus Chapter)
"Besides the red apricot wine, there's also the 'poisoned wine' we drank at Qibingpu last time."

Zhou Qing recalled that when he bought the Demon-Slaying Blade at the Qibing Shop, the shop's third manager, Chu Teng, gave him a pot of wine, and it was with that pot of wine that he subdued the wine worm.

Previously, due to his low strength, he thought that Qibingpu was unscrupulous in its dealings, so he did not go there again.

Since the Demon-Slaying Blade broke, it has never been repaired, and the standard official sword of the Demon Suppression Division has never been easy to use.

In addition, the matter of changing the knife was delayed because of the need to cultivate Gu worms in order to deal with Lin Tianzheng.

With Zhou Qing's current strength, he no longer needs to worry about the surprise attack.

Repairing the Demon-Slaying Blade is secondary; obtaining the wine recipe from Chu Teng would be of great significance for cultivating wine worms.

With this in mind, Zhou Qing left his home and headed to Anhuafang in the eastern part of the outer city.

This time, he did not disguise himself but showed his true face.

He carried a long, rectangular wooden box into Qibingpu.

Behind the counter stood a fair-skinned, beardless middle-aged man, who was none other than the fifth manager of Qibing Shop, surnamed Xu.

"Could this be Lord Zhou? Are you here to purchase weapons, or to commission one?"

Manager Xu glanced at Zhou Qing and immediately recognized him, then walked out from behind the counter with a smile.

“Repair it.” Zhou Qing placed the wooden box on the counter.

"Repair?" Manager Xu was taken aback upon hearing this.

Repairing weapons is extremely troublesome, and sometimes the cost is even higher than reforging them.

Generally speaking, martial artists would go to a familiar weapon shop to repair their weapons, but Zhou Qing was clearly visiting Qibing Shop for the first time.

"This is.!!!"

Shopkeeper Xu opened the wooden box, looked at the three broken pieces of the deep blue longsword inside, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately closed the wooden box.

"Lord Zhou, I don't know," Manager Xu asked tentatively.

"Let's ask Manager Chu to come out for a chat."

Zhou Qing looked at Manager Xu with a calm tone and a half-smile.

"After all, this knife was forged by Manager Chu."

Upon hearing this, Manager Xu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly cupped his hands and said, "Lord Zhou, please wait a moment! I will go and fetch the Third Manager right away!"

After saying this, Manager Xu summoned a waiter to take good care of Zhou Qing, and then immediately went through the side door to the backyard.

Deng Deng Deng!
A moment later, a series of hurried footsteps came from the side door.

An elderly man with dark skin, a muscular build, and a bushy beard, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt, walked out from the side door. Behind him followed Manager Xu, who was also walking with hurried steps.

The bearded old man was none other than Chu Teng, the third manager of the Qibing Shop and the forger of the Demon-Slaying Blade.

Seeing Zhou Qing sitting calmly in his chair sipping tea, Chu Teng's expression changed slightly, then he smiled and clasped his hands in greeting:
"My name is Chu Teng, the third manager of Qibing Shop. I greet Lord Zhou."

"We're all old friends, Manager Chu, there's no need to be so polite." Zhou Qing smiled faintly, put down his teacup, but did not get up.

“Lord Zhou is right,” Chu Teng said, feigning doubt.

Wen Tailai and Zhou Qing did not speak, but slowly mouthed the words.

Upon seeing this, Chu Teng's smile became somewhat unnatural, but he quickly composed himself.

"Lord Zhou, may I speak with you in private? Only then can I understand your requirements for weapons and do my utmost to forge them for you."

Seeing that Chu Teng was showing signs of backing down, Zhou Qing, having achieved his goal, smiled and nodded: "Alright."

"Lord Zhou, please!" Chu Teng arrived at the side door and gestured for Zhou Qing to go first.

Zhou Qing didn't stand on ceremony and stepped through the side door into the inner courtyard of Qibingpu.

Chu Teng and Manager Xu followed closely behind.

The martial artists buying weapons in the front hall of the weapon shop, seeing this, began to discuss it curiously.

"Who is that person? So young, yet acting so arrogant!"

"The fact that the two managers of Qibingpu can entertain them together means they must be direct descendants of the five major families and six martial arts schools in the inner city."

"The two shopkeepers called him Lord Zhou, could he be from the government?"

"Judging by his age, he seems to be Zhou Qing, the patrol inspector of the Demon Suppression Bureau!"

"Is a mere inspector worthy of such respect from the two managers?"

"This Lord Zhou is no ordinary inspector; he is Wei Wushi's personal disciple! He broke through the flesh barrier at the young age of sixteen! A few months ago, he even captured Xue Zhong, the seventh leader of the Golden Knife Stronghold, who had entered the city to cause trouble."

"No wonder."

"These are the chosen ones of heaven."

The martial artists who bought weapons exclaimed that even those who had refined their muscles and tendons might not receive such respect from the two shopkeepers.

However, a genius who has the potential to become a martial arts master, or even a grand martial arts master, is indeed someone that Qibingpu should treat with care.

Zhou Qing, Chu Teng, and Manager Xu arrived at a secluded courtyard in the backyard.

"Master Zhou, please."

Chu Teng pushed open the door and let Zhou Qing go in first.

When Zhou Qing entered the room, Chu Teng and Manager Xu followed closely behind. Chu Teng invited Zhou Qing to sit down, while Manager Xu served tea to Zhou Qing.

"I have offended you in the past, and I hope Lord Zhou will forgive me."

Chu Teng pleads guilty.

Since Zhou Qing brought the Demon-Slaying Blade today and revealed his true form, it's clear that he knew about their previous schemes.

Therefore, Chu Teng adopted a very humble attitude from the beginning. Seeing the tense expressions of the two, Zhou Qing accepted the teacup offered by Manager Xu and smiled faintly.

"There's no need for you two managers to do this. I'm not here to interrogate you, but to cooperate with you."

"Cooperation?" Chu Teng was taken aback upon hearing this, but he didn't dare to believe that Zhou Qing really wouldn't pursue the matter, otherwise he wouldn't have shown his true colors today.

"I wonder what kind of cooperation Lord Zhou is referring to?"

Zhou Qing did not answer his question, but looked at the wine gourd at his waist: "I really liked the wine that Manager Chu gave me last time."

Upon hearing this, Chu Teng took off the wine gourd from his waist and offered it with both hands.

“I have three more pots in my room. Since you like them, I will give you all of my stock.”

Zhou Qing took the gourd, pulled out the stopper, and the fragrant aroma of wine instantly filled the entire room.

The wine worm in his dantian excitedly rolled over.

"Good wine!" Zhou Qing said with a broad smile.

"I'm glad Lord Zhou is happy." Chu Teng's expression relaxed.

Obviously, Zhou Qing returned the wine gourd to him the next moment.

"Master Zhou?"

“The toxicity in this wine is a bit weaker.” Zhou Qing’s smile disappeared.

Chu Teng's gaze sharpened. Zhou Qing had brought up the matter of poisoning the wine openly, clearly indicating that he was not willing to let the matter rest.

"The poisoned wine last time was like a raging fire that gnawed at the heart, leaving an unforgettable aftertaste. It was of great benefit to cultivating poison skills and assisting in body tempering."

Therefore, I have a difficult request: I hope Manager Chu will part with the wine recipe and the poisonous substances used to aid in brewing.

"I wonder if it's alright?" Zhou Qing stopped beating around the bush and directly stated the purpose of his visit.

"The secret recipe and the Jade Fire Toad are both family heirlooms! Lord Zhou's actions are truly..." Chu Teng wanted to say that Zhou Qing was making things difficult for him, but he didn't want to offend him again, so he could only hold back.

"How about exchanging this for it?" Zhou Qing hadn't expected him to agree so readily.

With a flick of his sleeve, a large, crimson centipede, over five feet long, appeared on the floor of the room, its back covered with pale gold patterns.

Moreover, the giant centipede's body was intact; apart from the fatal blow to its head, its carapace and legs were completely undamaged.

呲呲
The centipede's blood and venom seeping from the wound dripped onto the floor, quickly corroding a large hole in the wooden floor.

"This is a centipede variant?! Its venom is incredibly potent!!" Chu Teng exclaimed in surprise.

"And it was a fatal blow! The body is perfectly preserved. It's good enough for refining." Manager Xu couldn't help but speak up as well.

"How is it?" Zhou Qing asked calmly.

"This..." Chu Teng's expression was uncertain. Centipede species are extremely rare. Just by looking at its terrifying venom, one can tell that this centipede must have grown in a deep mountain full of miasma. Even a Bone Refining Realm martial artist might not be able to kill it with one blow under the influence of miasma and obtain such a complete corpse.

"Third Brother?" Manager Xu was somewhat tempted.

The Five Poison Demon Blade is currently lacking the crucial alien centipede and alien spider. If they can successfully forge the divine weapon, they will have a chance to advance further.

Seeing that Chu Teng hesitated, Zhou Qing continued:

"Then I'll take one last step back. Manager Chu, hand over the wine recipe and the poison used to aid in brewing, and I'll let bygones be bygones for your previous poisoning."

If I find the Fire Cloud Mushroom and successfully brew wine, I'll send you several jars as a token of our friendship.

Chu Teng remained silent.

"Hmm?" Seeing that Chu Teng remained silent, Zhou Qing's smile gradually faded. He flicked his sleeve and picked up the golden-backed centipede from the ground.

"Since Manager Chu and Manager Xu are unwilling to be friends with me, then so be it."

Perfect timing! Senior Brother Wei will be returning soon with divine weapons, and then I can have him take charge on my behalf.

If that still doesn't work, then I'll have to use the connections of the Mu family to ask the county magistrate to uphold justice."

"Wait! Lord Zhou, please calm down." Manager Xu, who was standing to the side, quickly acted as a peacemaker, looking anxiously at Chu Teng.

"Third brother?!"

If it were a threat from an ordinary person, they could simply deny it to the death, since there would be no evidence left anyway.

After all, Qibingpu is not to be trifled with; it also has friendly connections with Blood Exchange Realm Grand Martial Masters.

However, when faced with Zhou Qing, a promising young genius, reconciliation is the wisest choice.

Moreover, if it really comes down to background, even if Qibingpu could beat Zhou Qing, the two of them couldn't.

If things really escalate to the point of a complete breakdown, even if Zhou Qing has no evidence, the head manager will protect Qibingpu's reputation to the death, and Qibingpu's reputation will still be affected afterwards.

If they manage to keep the wine shop and the Jade Toad, they'll definitely lose their positions as managers.

There are countless people eyeing this position.

Rather than suffer mutual destruction, it's better to offend a genius with a powerful background.
Why not become friends?

After thinking it through, the gloom on Chu Teng's face dissipated, and a warm smile appeared on his face. He bowed to Zhou Qing with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Please wait a moment, Lord Zhou. I will bring you the wine recipe and the Jade Fire Toad."

"Brother Chu, you're too kind. Calling me Lord Zhou is too formal," Zhou Qing said with a smile.

"In that case, I shall take the liberty of addressing you as Brother Zhou." Chu Teng quickly got into character, his smile growing even brighter.

After speaking, Chu Teng went into the inner room and soon brought back a wooden box, which he presented with both hands.

Zhou Qing took the wooden box, opened it, and saw a red toad about the size of a thumb inside, with a folded leather wine container underneath it.

(End of this chapter)