Starting from the Tiger Demon Yaksha, the demon immortality

Chapter 176, Section 175: A Time of Crisis and Adversity
"There's quite a bit of fish roe in its belly."

Li Cunxiao dug out a series of glistening, round, white pearls from the blood-stained abdomen.

Red carp roe is a rare ingredient found only in the body of a female red carp. Consuming it allows one to connect with water and breathe naturally underwater.

In addition, it can make people develop a strong resistance to the toxins of snakes and other similar creatures.

"Thirty, sixty, I'm afraid it's no less than a hundred."

Li Cunxiao's face was beaming with smiles; this was an unexpected bonus from the demon-slaying mission.

Red fish roe is considered a highly sought-after material for demons. Martial artists who are not skilled in naval warfare love the pills made from it.

However, although these hundred or so fish eggs look like a lot, compared to this five or six-zhang-tall behemoth, they are only a handful in the size of two palms.

If used for alchemy, it would only be enough for two or three batches, resulting in significant losses.

However, since the effects are relatively poor when consumed directly, most people prefer to refine it into pills before taking it.

"I have the body of a celestial being, and I can come and go without hindrance. This item is not very useful, but it can supplement my ability in water combat and detoxification to some extent, which is better than nothing."

"Give it to Chief De Cong, keep some of the pills he refines for Mu Cha and Master, and exchange the rest for other resources."

There was too much demon flesh left, and Li Cunxiao couldn't carry it back himself, so he asked Village Chief Huang to deliver a message to the county government.

High-grade demon meat is also a good thing; we'll have Pingyang County convert it into silver notes.

The villagers watched Li Cunxiao working there, their faces filled with gratitude and awe, but no one dared to approach him.

Half an hour passed in this way. While thinking, he quickly decomposed all the other materials suitable for refining weapons and alchemy, except for fish roe.

Despite its enormous size, if you cut off the essential parts, it would only be the size of a bundle.

"Where is the hero who slew that beast?"

A sound came from afar, and Li Cunxiao turned his head to look. He saw a man in a green robe and a turban leading a group of yamen runners towards him.

Huang Chang hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, forcing a smile and saying a few polite words before leading the person over to meet him:
“Brave warrior, this is Magistrate Sun from Pingyang County.”

Upon hearing this, Li Cunxiao clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then said nothing more.

Seeing his cold demeanor, the county magistrate was initially displeased, but upon glancing at the corpse beside him that reeked of blood, his smile deepened.

"This beast is ferocious, rampaging on land and water. Even with the combined efforts of many skilled men from the county government, they could only barely drive it away. I never expected the hero to be so brave, managing to fight it all by himself."

Li Cunxiao, now known as "County Magistrate Sun," is hiding his identity and doing private work, so he naturally doesn't bother with any social interactions.

"I cannot take the corpse of this fourth-tier demon with me. Could the county government do me the favor and arrange the funeral?"

As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb against his index finger a few times, while glancing at Village Chief Huang.

The latter suddenly realized what was happening and quickly ordered his attendant to bring the silver notes and the medicinal herbs.

County Magistrate Sun was stunned for a moment, then realized that he was just a hired hand who was paid to do something.

Then you must not offend them.

In the past, during peaceful times, these skilled江湖人 (jianghu people, people from the martial arts world) were all people the government wanted to win over. Many constables and head constables came to power in this way.

Moreover, with war raging and demons rampant, the prestige of the imperial court and government is waning day by day, and these江湖人 (jianghu people) who live by the sword are increasingly disregarding the law.

It's not uncommon for officials to be killed and rebelled. If someone like this, who can kill demons single-handedly, harbors resentment and seeks revenge, wouldn't I die unjustly?
"Of course! You've rid the village of a great scourge, so naturally we can't let you have any worries. But I wonder, how much would it take to satisfy you?"

Li Cunxiao was taken aback when he heard this. Looking at the obsequious manner of this County Magistrate Sun, he realized after a moment that the other party's tone did not sound like he was offering to pay for demon materials. He probably thought that Li Cunxiao was asking for payment and was making an exorbitant demand.

I was both amused and exasperated, but I didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"This is a demon that has just entered the fourth rank. I have already taken the main materials. What's left is basically demon meat. County Magistrate Sun, just give it to me at the market price."

Upon hearing this, County Lieutenant Sun breathed a sigh of relief, apologized, and then stepped forward to carefully examine the body, occasionally trying to turn it over with his arms.

After a moment, he turned back and said:

“Brave warrior, this demon weighs about 1,800 jin. After processing it, about 600 jin will still be usable.”

"How about one catty and fifty taels?"

As he spoke, County Lieutenant Sun couldn't help but glance at the ditch that stretched from the bank to his feet, a ditch that was over ten meters long. He felt even more awe for the person in front of him.

The nearly two-thousand-pound behemoth was sent flying in one swift motion, judging from the marks.

It's not that other Huangting martial artists can't do it, but the key is that the opponent's control over true qi is extremely strong, which can be seen from the fact that there is not a drop of blood on the ground, but the demon's brain is a complete mess.

'At least at the peak of the Yellow Court realm, why would someone with that level of skill do such a thankless and arduous task?'

Li Cunxiao was unaware of the complex emotions Sun County Magistrate was going through, but he was quite satisfied with the price he offered.

In the process of processing demon flesh, a great deal of loss is often incurred in order to remove its malevolent energy.

If it were someone from the Medicine King's Academy, at least half of this 1,800 jin could be preserved.

If it were the Eastern King Mu Gong, he would probably be able to leave more than two-thirds behind.

However, the local county government clearly did not have this capability.

Besides losses, the prices of raw materials and finished products are obviously not the same thing.

Fourth-tier demonic beasts on the market are subject to purchase restrictions. The government office and Tiangu Temple charge them 100 taels per catty, and there is no market for them. After changing hands a few times, the price can easily double.

At present, Li Cunxiao is only selling raw materials, and County Magistrate Sun is unwilling to offend anyone, but he also cannot be taken advantage of.

If he were to buy it at the finished product price, the county magistrate would surely skin him alive and make County Lieutenant Sun bankrupt to pay off the debt.

"Okay, then we'll go with fifty taels per catty. That'll be thirty-eight thousand taels of silver in total. But I don't want the silver; give me gold notes instead."

Upon hearing Li Cunxiao's words, County Magistrate Sun felt a sense of disbelief.

In the past, we have dealt with powerful ghostwriters. Although these people are not so powerful as to ride roughshod over the county government, they are always demanding exorbitant prices and have no manners whatsoever.

He was prepared to haggle, but he didn't expect the other party to agree so readily, which caught County Magistrate Sun off guard.

"Of course! If you want it in gold notes, I'll round it up for you, how about four thousand taels of gold notes?"

Li Cunxiao could tell that the other party had deliberately raised the purchase price to show goodwill, so he simply nodded.

He had tens of thousands of taels of silver, which was more than enough for his daily expenses.

Gold is not only a hard currency, but it can also be refined into pure gold, which can be used to purchase higher-grade resources. Now is the time to save some.

In the end, that village chief Huang was just a nouveau riche, and even if he were asked to produce it, he probably wouldn't be able to, but the county government must have sufficient reserves.

Once the matter was settled, Village Chief Huang received his payment.

Li Cunxiao glanced at it and saw that it was a silver note worth ten thousand taels, plus a dozen or so third- and second-tier spiritual herbs.

All things considered, the total value is worth 50,000 taels of silver.

Even a newly ascended fourth-tier demon, still injured, would be charged roughly the same price. Li Cunxiao didn't haggle, leaving behind the grateful Huangjiacun villagers, and went directly with County Magistrate Sun to the county government office to collect the money.

The people in Pingyang County didn't make a fuss. When they heard that he had solved the demon, they were all very respectful. Not only did they give him gold notes, but the county magistrate, seeing that Chi Li had no ornaments, even gave him a set of saddlery.

However, Li Cunxiao's trip was purely for show, and he didn't want to make a big fuss. There was no need to put up those pseudonyms, parasites, and aliases, making him look like some kind of aristocratic scion.

Having received the gold notes, Li Cunxiao rode away.

Chi Li was fast on his feet, and by the time curfew was lifted, he and his horse had returned to the escort agency.

Back at the escort agency, all the markets in the city were already closed, so going to Fanlou was out of the question.

Different tasks require different forms of payment.

For tasks that didn't require direct contact with the employer, Fanlou acted as an intermediary, relaying the payment on their behalf.

Li Cunxiao was on a guard duty this time, and since he had already met with his employer, he naturally didn't need to go through another intermediary.

He returned to Fanlou to submit proof of task completion, which was also the "resume" of the ghostwriters in Fanlou.

The more tasks you complete, and the better you complete them, the more powerful employers will take notice of you, and Fanlou will also send you out on specific tasks in addition to the publicly announced ones.

Back at the escort agency, he informed Zhang Lishi and the others that he had returned, and then spoke with Mu Cha for a while.

Li Cunxiao returned to his room, took out the prepared medicinal powder, and used it to process the materials taken from the red carp a second time.

He was busy until 11:15 PM, and only after sorting and putting away the fish roe, fish bones, and other items did Li Cunxiao have the time to take stock of his harvest.

With 10,000 taels of silver notes, plus his previous savings, his wealth was approaching 60,000 taels of silver.

The four thousand taels of gold notes were specifically reserved for the future refining of pure gold; the savings could not be touched.

The world is getting more and more chaotic. Before coming to the state capital, the gold-silver exchange rate was one to four, but now it is almost one to ten.

In other words, it takes ten taels of silver to exchange for one tael of gold.

As for grain prices, they are ridiculously high. Nowadays, it takes about 100 copper coins, or one qian of silver, to buy a jin of rice.

In other words, a dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice weighing fourteen jin (a unit of weight) would cost a full liang (a unit of weight) and four qian (a unit of weight) of silver.

Even in the bustling city, the dockworkers who carried loads earned only four or five taels of silver a month, and they didn't get a single day off. Even so, it was barely enough for a family of three to make ends meet.

“The state capital is already considered good; at least there are city guards, so we don’t have to worry about demons.”

“But villages like Huangjia Village are by no means isolated cases.”

"Without the help of martial artists, the entire village would have been swallowed by the demons. This is probably the reality in most places."

Since the Ullambana Festival, his reputation has soared, and he has also gained the favor of the abbot of the temple, making him a figure of unparalleled prestige.

Having left the high places for so long and walked into the low-lying areas, Li Cunxiao felt somewhat heavy-hearted as he thought about these things.

"Is this also that senior's goal?"

"Exterminate demons and defend the righteous path. That's enough. Why worry unnecessarily? Let's do what we can. How can one person manage everything in the world?"

Li Cunxiao banished his chaotic thoughts and took stock of the harvested spiritual herbs.

The spiritual herbs given by Village Chief Huang, along with the red fish roe, are almost enough for De Cong to refine a batch of pills.

When I get the pills, I'll share some with Mucha and the others, and that will put my mind at ease.

After two days and two nights without food, drink, or sleep, and having gone through a battle in between, even someone with a celestial body would still be somewhat exhausted.

Li Cunxiao lay on the bed, fully clothed, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Separated by a wall, Qi Ci stood by the window, looking at the young man on the bed. He smiled and took out five bottles of Qi-accumulating pills from his cloth bag. With a gentle toss, without making a sound, the porcelain bottles were neatly placed on the table.

He knew in his heart that doing good deeds without expecting anything in return was noble, but very unrealistic.

If doing good deeds doesn't bring good rewards, then expecting someone to follow the right path is just wishful thinking.

Only after ten good deeds can one receive a copy of the Copper Wheel of the Holy King's Wheel Fist; this condition cannot be changed.

However, we can't give him martial arts skills for now, but we still need to give him some other rewards. Otherwise, we'll just be wasting his kindness, which would be a real loss.

"You get what you pay for; it may not be very compassionate, but at least it's fair."

"I hope you can continue to persevere in the future."

In his sleep, Li Cunxiao seemed to vaguely hear someone speaking.

But when he woke up, there was no one else in the room, only five bottles of pills on the table.

"Who has been here?"

Li Cunxiao was startled at first, but after taking a few steps forward, he saw a few small characters on the table.

"A good deed."

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that the senior Buddhist monk came and said this. Was he also there when I went to Huangjia Village?
"There's a reward for completing the task. This senior is quite adept at patient guidance. A Qi-accumulating pill?"

Li Cunxiao opened the bottle, took a look, and smelled it. His eyes lit up immediately. Now, he not only cultivated, but also refined pills and practiced martial arts. He often used this to accelerate the recovery of his true energy, so as not to waste time on it.

This approach is certainly very effective, but the Qi-accumulating pills provided by the government and De Cong are not quite enough.

However, if he could get Qi-building pills every time he completed a mission, he could take drugs without restraint. In that case, his efficiency in refining true qi, making pills, or practicing martial arts would at least double!
"It seems this task needs to be done frequently."

Li Cunxiao quickly came up with a plan. He waited until dawn, when the city gates opened, and then went to Fanlou to settle things.

When he arrived, the Yaksha mask was still on display at the counter on the first floor.

Seeing that Li Cunxiao had completed the task so quickly, although his expression could not be seen, his tone clearly showed that he was very surprised.

'To defeat a fourth-tier demon single-handedly? Even if he's only just entered the fourth tier, his strength is probably close to the peak of the Yellow Court realm.'

When they talked behind the Yaksha mask, their tone became somewhat warmer.

Most martial artists at the True Form Realm go into seclusion, and there are very few independent practitioners at the Heavenly Ladder Realm.

There aren't many ghostwriters in this building with this level of skill.

'It seems I'll be able to get more and better assignments in the future.'

In high spirits, Li Cunxiao returned to the escort agency, took the red fish roe and the spiritual herb, and rode back to Tiangu Temple.

Immediately, he rushed into the alchemy room of the Medicine King's Courtyard, found De Cong, and got straight to the point:
"Master, if I can finish my work in the alchemy room ahead of schedule, could you grant me a few more days of rest?"

(End of this chapter)