Longzang

Chapter 56 What Can Be Tolerated
As the voices entered, a cultivator placed a gift box on the table and said, "My young master Xu Du accidentally injured my junior nephew Wei and feels very sorry. He has specially sent one hundred taels of immortal silver as an apology."

Zhang Sheng's face darkened. But before he could react, a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Little Wei Yuan, I heard you were stabbed?"

Before she arrived, her voice preceded her, and her words immediately revealed her past wounds—it was indeed the eldest sister who had arrived.

Ji Liuli entered the ward and saw Zhang Sheng. Her eyes lit up almost imperceptibly before returning to normal. She picked up the gift box and weighed it in her hand, saying, "A hundred taels of silver! That's far too much! Go back and tell your young master that our little Wei Yuan isn't worth much, and next time he can just give him a tael or two."

The cultivator's attitude towards Ji Liuli was clearly different. He smiled obsequiously and said, "Senior Sister Ji, my young master has always respected you. This matter has nothing to do with you..."

Ji Liuli's face darkened: "Just deliver the message, why are you being nosy? Get out!"

The man didn't dare say anything more and left looking dejected.

Ji Liuli came to the bedside, casually touched Wei Yuan's body, and said, "It's just a minor injury. Hmm, too much medicine was used, otherwise the injury would have healed by now. By the way, I heard that Bao family girl took a sword for you! Tell me quickly, what methods did you use to trick her into this state? Have you been doing something behind my back? How many times has it happened?"

This senior sister was truly gossipy; she arrived in a hurry and knew even more than Zhang Sheng. Her eyes shone as she awaited the answer. But how could Wei Yuan know why Bao Yun had shielded him from that blow? He had already fainted when he fell, and only learned the other details afterward.

The reason Wei Yuan was always betrayed by his own people in previous duels was actually due to Bao Yun's secret arrangements. Children can't keep secrets, and those who had been instructed by Bao Yun would always whisper behind his back. Wei Yuan, with his keen senses, naturally overheard everything. However, firstly, getting beaten up in a chaotic brawl wasn't a big deal; Wei Yuan was exceptionally thick-skinned. Secondly, Bao Yun had privately lent him a considerable amount of immortal silver, and combined with the loans from the public account, Wei Yuan was already several hundred years' worth of unpaid annual salary.

Even if Bao Yun had only secretly arranged it, Wei Yuan would have just accepted it and softened his stance so as not to hurt Miss Bao's hand, since making his sugar daddy happy was more important than anything else.

It would be good enough if Bao Yun didn't sabotage herself in this pre-exam duel; Wei Yuan had no idea why she would take a sword for him.

Ji Liuli asked for a long time but couldn't get any information, so she got a little unhappy. She casually pinched Wei Yuan's body and said, "This little injury is nothing. You can start cultivating tonight and continue to refine your foundation tomorrow."

Zhang Sheng frowned slightly as he looked at Ji Liuli's restless hands.

Fortunately, she stopped in time, and Zhang Shengcai did not retaliate.

Ji Liuli turned around and asked, "One hundred taels of silver? Can you really stand that?"

Zhang Sheng snorted and said, "If you hadn't been so long-winded, I would have already taught those two a lesson by now."

Ji Liuli said lazily, "Xu Du only has some status, but his talent is extremely poor. He even borrowed his luck from others. Even so, he almost failed to cultivate to the Earth Rank. He's a complete waste. Xu Zhuang is a waste who isn't so bad. They're just two wastes. There's no point in killing them. Besides, that kid is just jealous of Wei Yuan, which doesn't warrant death. There's no point in us taking action. We'll just get a reputation for bullying the weak."

Zhang Sheng knew this principle, but seeing Wei Yuan lying in bed, he couldn't swallow his anger.

Ji Liuli said, "Considering how much money you owe me, let's go, I'll take you to vent your anger!"

Zhang Sheng was skeptical, but he still followed her out of the ward.

After leaving the ward, Ji Liuli glanced back at the extremely simple ward and said, "A, B, C, D... there are only two of these Xin-level wards left in the entire Xuanming Palace, and they've become exclusive to your Tianqing Palace. Next time Xiao Weiyuan has something to do, change him to a better ward and put it on my tab."

Zhang Sheng snorted and said, "Mind your own business! Tell me how you want to vent your anger first?"

Ji Liuli asked, "Who in the Xu family has the best talent and the highest status in our generation?"

“Xu Henshui. But this matter has nothing to do with him.”

"That's because his surname is Xu. That makes sense." Seeing that Zhang Sheng still didn't understand, Ji Liuli explained, "We two are both somewhat famous. It wouldn't look good to beat up two good-for-nothings, but beating him up is no problem. We'll use the fact that Xu Du injured your disciple as an excuse to give him a good beating!"

Even Zhang Sheng, with his temperament, hesitated: "This...isn't it a bit far-fetched?"

"You don't understand! This guy is petty and always takes his anger out on others. After he got beaten up, he knows he can't get revenge on us, so he'll definitely take it out on those two good-for-nothings. Knowing his personality, he'll definitely make trouble for those two guys in everything from now on, and he won't stop until he's been causing trouble for several years."

Zhang Sheng could only sigh in admiration: "You're the worst of all!"

Ji Liuli laughed and said, "That's why I'm called Senior Sister Two-Five-Foot. The extra foot you have is just for show!" Zhang Sheng's face immediately darkened.

A moment later, the two men stealthily appeared outside a secluded courtyard. The courtyard was filled with orchids, exuding a serene and elegant atmosphere.

Ji Liuli listened for a moment and whispered, "This guy is composing poetry again. He's at his most wary right now. We'll strike at the same time. You suppress his movements, and I'll uproot his cultivation foundation!"

Zhang Sheng nodded, and in a flash, he disappeared from the spot.

Suddenly, sword energy shot into the sky from the courtyard, and the roof of the small building was blown dozens of feet away before silently turning into dust! Amid the sounds of wind and forest, a mournful cry of alarm could be faintly heard, and then silence fell.

Inside the room, Xu Henshui's body was still trembling slightly as he looked at Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli with a mixture of shock and anger.

Zhang Sheng stood by the window, hands behind his back, admiring the orchids in the courtyard, showing Xu Henshui only his back.

Ji Liuli stood in front of the desk, holding an orchid in one hand and a piece of paper with undried ink in the other, and recited in a rhythmic tone: "The fragrant orchid is plucked by a recluse... Oh, you wanted to be picked, so you should have said so earlier!"

Xu Henshui was so ashamed he wanted to die.

But that fairy orchid was in Ji Liuli's hands, so he couldn't die if he wanted to, and he couldn't live if he wanted to.

"Enough! What exactly do you two want? Are you here specifically to humiliate me?"

Ji Liuli said, "Your Xu family has a fellow named Xu Du who injured Zhang Sheng's disciple for no reason. Isn't it right for him to humiliate you?"

"Who is Xu Du?" Xu Henshui frowned in thought.

He deeply resented the infighting within his family, so he had never paid much attention to the people and affairs of the Xu family. After thinking for a while, he remembered that there seemed to be such a person in his family, but he forgot whether it was his cousin's child or his sister's child, and there was nothing worth paying attention to.

"Anyway, you're from the Xu family. Since your Xu family has caused trouble, you should at least make some kind of gesture, right? And why do you only apologize to the Bao family and ignore us? Does that mean our Wei Yuan isn't human? In short, this isn't over!" Ji Liuli unleashed a torrent of words at Xu Henshui.

With his Dao Foundation in someone else's hands, Xu Henshui had no choice but to bow his head: "Fine, fine! Even if it's the Xu family's fault, how do you intend to apologize?"

"How about this, I'll halve the amount of money I owe you for your medicine, just as a token gesture."

Xu Henshui's voice suddenly rose: "Why don't you just rob it?"

"I wouldn't do something like that. Besides, if I were going to rob you, would I leave you half?" Ji Liuli scoffed.

Xu Henshui turned to Zhang Sheng, gritting his teeth, and said, "Zhang Sheng! Is that what you mean too?"

Zhang Sheng stood with his back to Xu Henshui, motionless, as if lost in a trance. In truth, his face was burning, his heart pounding; Ji Liuli's actions were utterly shameless. But what Ji Liuli owed Xu Henshui was, in effect, what Zhang Sheng owed Xu Henshui. Upon hearing that the debt could be halved, Zhang Sheng became somewhat reluctant to speak.

Zhang Sheng would never have done such a thing before, but now, firstly, Ji Liuli was standing in front of him, and secondly, his Sword Technique of Slaying the Void had become highly proficient, and his sense of shame had faded considerably. Although he still felt quite ashamed, he could still bear it. After all, it was hundreds of thousands of taels of immortal silver—how many shreds and how much filling would that require?
When Ji Liuli saw Xu Henshui resist, his eyes lit up: "You won't agree, huh? Then don't blame me for being impolite."

With a wave of her hand, Ji Liuli conjured a basin of water in front of her, then sprinkled flour into it and stirred it. Next, she took out various condiment dishes, then started a fire in a wok with oil.

Xu Henshui usually values ​​the pleasures of life, so she occasionally cooks. When she saw Ji Liuli about to dip the orchid into the flour soup, she screamed and finally understood what Ji Liuli was trying to do: she was going to thicken the orchid sauce!

Tolerable or unbearable!
...Even if it's unbearable, you have to endure it.

With tears in his eyes, Xu Henshui could only agree to halve the cost of the medicine and promise to supply enough medicine whenever Ji Liuli needed it. It was only with great difficulty that he managed to get rid of the two plagues.

(End of this chapter)