Chapter 23 First Encounter with Ya Fei, Setting Off for the Tagor Desert!

Chapter 23: First Meeting with Ya Fei, Setting Off for the Tagor Desert!

Ya Fei was stunned for a moment. Her jade-white legs beneath the cheongsam couldn't help but cross as she leaned her body slightly forward.

"pill king's request might be a bit difficult..." She paused, then flashed a smile, her charming eyes like silk.

"Our auction house can hand over the ice spirit flame grass to you right now, but..."

"We might not be able to gather a fourth-tier magic core immediately. Please wait a day or two, pill king."

Gu He didn't answer Ya Fei. Instead, he picked up his teacup, inhaled the fragrance, and said indifferently,

"Your establishment's Longjing is a bit stale; it could use a change."

Ya Fei froze for two seconds. Once she realized the meaning behind Gu He's words, she smiled apologetically.

"Tonight—I only need tonight—and I'll be able to place a Rank 4 Ice-attribute Monster Core into your hands, pill king."

Just as she finished speaking, Ya Fei's sharp eyes caught an attendant at the door waving to her.

"What is it, Xiao Ping?"

The attendant named Xiao Ping hurried over and whispered a few words to Ya Fei.

Ya Fei then gave a seductive smile, her eyes rippling with a watery, flirtatious light.

"pill king, Clan Leader Miteer heard you were here and came specifically to see you," Ya Fei informed Gu He.

Although she was of the Mittel bloodline, she belonged to a distant branch. Her treatment was almost like being exiled, so she had always yearned to befriend powerful figures to make the auction house flourish and to make herself...

Even stronger.

Gu He drained his tea in one gulp and said, "Stale tea has its own flavor when tasted occasionally."

Ya Fei smiled slightly and rose to leave gracefully just as Miteer Tengshan entered the room.

Although Clan Leader Tengshan used his Dou Qi to maintain some of his appearance and didn't have a full head of white hair, his aging was still visible to the naked eye.

Dressed in yellow robes, his movements carried the stiffness of old age.

He greeted Gu He and sat down.

Hearing that Gu He needed a Rank 4 Ice-attribute Monster Core, he didn't say a word and pulled from his private treasury.

"pill king, please take a look. Do these two Monster Cores meet your satisfaction?"

Gu He's gaze swept over the two Monster Cores surrounded by cold mist inside the exquisite wooden box, and he spoke flatly,

"I only need one."

Miteer Tengshan laughed heartily but did not take them back.

One must know that in the Jia Ma Empire, countless people wanted to give gifts to Gu He but had no way to do so.

Gu He glanced at him coldly, naturally understanding his thoughts.

Heh, that old fox Mittel.

"You are a businessman, so you naturally know how expensive a favor from me, Gu He, is."

His finger lightly brushed his storage ring, and he tossed a jade bottle toward Miteer Tengshan.

Facing Miteer Tengshan's surprised and confused gaze, he explained slowly,

"Inside is a qingming longevity pill, a Sixth-Grade Pill. it can increase a person's lifespan by ten years... however, a person can only take it once in their life."

Gu He gently picked up the tea lid and tapped the cup. "Ten years of life. Clan Leader Tengshan, how expensive do you think a favor from Gu He is?"

Miteer Tengshan's eyes first lit up with joy, then he felt the jade bottle in his hand become increasingly heavy.

He had just wanted to use a single fourth-tier magic core to trade for a favor from the pill king—what wishful thinking!

While a fourth-tier magic core was hard to find, could it compare to a Sixth-Grade Pill personally refined by the pill king?

Moreover, it was the longevity pill he needed most urgently right now.

This was simply saving him from a desperate situation!

Miteer Tengshan opened the bottle's stopper and took a deep breath of the pill's fragrance. Looking at the patterns on the pill, his cloudy old eyes shot out an alarming light; he simply couldn't bear to put it down!

He thought carefully for a moment, then nodded.

"It was my oversight, Elder Gu He..."

"The Mittel Family already has many connections with the Cloud Mist Sect. Now that I have benefited from you, any request from you, Gu He, or the Cloud Mist Sect will be my top priority in the future."

Gu He smiled. "As one of the three great families, I hope Mittel's word is as good as gold."

Miteer Tengshan's voice took on a hint of respect. "Naturally!"

After the aged voice fell, the room went quiet for a moment. Miteer Tengshan suddenly thought of his granddaughter who had just left the room.

Though her Cultivation talent was average, her figure was quite curvaceous, and she was the chief auctioneer of the auction house. She could barely be considered a match for Pill King Gu He.

"Does the Elder have someone he fancies?"

"What do you think of my granddaughter... is she alright?"

Hearing Miteer Tengshan's question, Gu He was taken aback, then said somewhat sarcastically,

"Clan Leader Tengshan, you truly are a businessman!"

With those words, he had no desire to talk further and rose to leave the room.

The door opened, and Gu He saw Ya Fei across the way with red-rimmed eyes.

"..."

Ya Fei was silent for only a moment before looking up with a smile. "Safe travels, pill king..."

The smile was a bit forced.

Gu He casually closed the door behind him, took a clean handkerchief from his storage ring, and held it out to her, saying flatly,

"The path is one you walk yourself."

Ya Fei kept her head down. The woman who had been brimming with confidence and charm just a moment ago was now overflowing with loneliness, looking very much like a rose covered in dew.

Gu He's hand stayed in the air for a few seconds. Seeing that Ya Fei wasn't taking it, he prepared to pull it back.

"Mm..."

Along with the sound, the handkerchief in Gu He's hand was tugged away.

Ya Fei gave a low response and took the handkerchief, dabbing at the red corners of her eyes.

Gu He didn't look at her, but he said,

"You can just call me Gu He from now on."

Ya Fei was stunned.

"Um, okay... Gu He."

Gu He flicked his sleeves. "Then I'm leaving."

"Okay..." Ya Fei watched his back, her slender hands clutching the white handkerchief as the light in her eyes gradually brightened.

He said the path is one you walk yourself...

In just a few moments, she transformed back into that supremely confident and infinitely charming auctioneer.

Every move she made drove men wild.

...

Having gathered the ingredients, Gu He immediately refined the final item, the Blood Lotus Pill. Then, he sought out two of the Jia Ma Empire's top ten experts—

Yan Shi, who held the title of Lion King and was famous for his sonic Dou Techniques, and the old man Feng Li, known as the Wind Walker.

Although he didn't bring the Dou Huang Yun Yun to the Tagor Desert this time, it was necessary to bring two Dou Wang level experts for support.

The conditions Gu He promised were, naturally, various Medicinal Pills—provided, of course, that he returned to the imperial capital safely.

Subsequently, the trio boarded a Winged Bird and flew toward the Tagor Desert.

...

In the desert.

Under the scorching sun, the yellow sand beneath their feet was like burning iron pellets. Every time one's sole stepped down, it made their lips twitch involuntarily.

However, Gu He, Yan Shi, and Feng Li didn't feel this way.

They weren't ordinary people, after all, but among the top ten experts of the Jia Ma Empire.

*Step—*

*Sizzle—*

The muscular brute Yan Shi suddenly stomped hard on the sand dune beneath him. A Sand Magic Scorpion was instantly exposed and then slain by Yan Shi's Dou Qi.

"This godforsaken place doesn't even have an oasis. Those Snake-People can actually stand living here!" Yan Shi couldn't help but remark.

When Gu He invited him to the desert, he had been blunt: he wanted to negotiate with Medusa to obtain a Heavenly Flame.

Gu He spoke with such certainty that he didn't doubt him. However, he had many complaints about the desert environment.

"The Snake-People tribe originally lived in the forests. Because we humans needed space and kept expanding our territory, they were forced to leave the forests and settle in the desert," Gu He explained.

Yan Shi hadn't expected Gu He to reply to him and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Do you think they are pitiful?"

Gu He shook his head slightly. "Natural selection, survival of the fittest."

All things compete; only those who ultimately adapt to nature can survive.

The strong and wise will surely win; the weak and foolish will surely lose.

Feng Li nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Gu He's brow furrowed, and he barked,

"On guard! There's a Commander-level Snake-Person!"

Yan Shi and Feng Li's gazes turned solemn.

...