48: Chapter 48 Friendships and Transactions

Xia Shaoxin was overjoyed and rushed to the stone door. "How did you two come to visit me?"

"We are acquaintances, after all. It would seem too heartless not to come and visit," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said.

Xia Shaoxin's throat choked up, feeling comforted by the truth of the saying, 'a friend in need is a friend indeed.'

A flash of light gleamed on the Teleportation Array at the cave entrance, and a basket appeared containing a roast chicken, a flask of wine, and a bowl of beef.

"Thank you, both Senior Brothers."

Xia Shaoxin immediately sat down, eagerly devouring the meat and gulping down the wine.

"You didn't end up in the prison of the State of Yue, yet after running to the Chiyan Sect, you still ended up in prison. Fate really plays tricks on people," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said with a sigh.

Uh.

Blunt as always, making it hard to respond.

"We originally wanted to visit you earlier, but we didn't want to draw too much attention, so we waited two months before coming," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said.

Xia Shaoxin froze for a moment and hurriedly asked, "What did you say? I've been locked up here for two months already?"

"Yes, just about two months. I kept a rough track of the time."

"Impossible!"

"It's pitch black inside, how could you tell the time? It has indeed been two months," Senior Brother Shao Junwei confirmed once more.

Then he turned to Senior Brother Liang Ruoran and said, "When a Mortal is locked in solitary confinement, serious problems will arise over time. But for us Cultivators, once we reach higher levels, we often have to enter secluded cultivation. It seems this is also a test."

Xia Shaoxin's chewing slowed down.

Because of the sudden turn of events, when he was locked in the cave, he only had two qi and blood pills left, which could be converted twice for a total of twenty spirit leaves, enough to last ten days.

After finishing them, he had forced himself to consume his own qi and blood to convert the bamboo leaves.

He remembered clearly that he had converted them ten times in total, fainting for an unknown amount of time each time.

That would be a hundred spirit leaves, enough to last four months.

Yet Senior Brother Liang and Senior Brother Shao said only two months had passed.

They certainly had no reason to lie to him.

In other words, inside this cave, he had actually managed to consume four leaves a day!

Could there be something special about this cave?

"Senior Brothers, does this cave I'm locked in have any history?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei said, "The Chiyan Sect has several prisons specifically for death-row prisoners. Yours is just one of them. How would I know its history?"

"It was originally just an ordinary cave, but a Senior set up a Formation here. Once you're sent inside, there is absolutely no way you can break the Formation to get out."

Xia Shaoxin really wanted to ask if this Formation had the effect of accelerating the absorption of Medicinal Pills.

He quietly took a sip of wine.

Whatever, as long as it worked.

Right now, he didn't care about anything else. He was just thinking about how to ask these two Inner Sect Disciples to harvest a large bunch of bamboo leaves and send them in.

To his surprise, Senior Brother Shao Junwei suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Junior Brother Xia, now that you're in this prison, there's no way you'll ever get out. Do you still have any goods from Dawu Mountain?"

Xia Shaoxin was stunned.

So they hadn't come here purely out of friendship.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran sighed and said, "I don't know where you hid your things. Since you're here, you definitely can't look after them anyway. Why not just give them to me?"

Xia Shaoxin smiled faintly. "Did you two never think about disabling the Formation and letting me out?"

"Impossible, it can't be done."

"The Formation was set up long ago by a Golden Core expert back when the Chiyan Sect still had a Golden Core Sect Head. With our mere Qi Refining Realm cultivation, we cannot disable it."

Xia Shaoxin didn't expect that there used to be Golden Core Cultivators in the past; each generation really was worse than the last.

His mind raced, and he said in a low voice, "Help me send some bamboo leaves in, and I will tell you where all my treasures are hidden."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei was utterly perplexed. "What do you need bamboo leaves for?"

"I like sleeping on a bed of bamboo leaves."

"Bamboo leaves have fine hairs, isn't that uncomfortable to sleep on?"

Xia Shaoxin insisted, "I just like sleeping on slender bamboo leaves, the kind that look like willow leaves."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran was in no mood to dwell on this and asked urgently, "Are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true."

"Alright, wait here."

Xia Shaoxin hurriedly called out, "They must be fresh, not withered!"

A moment later, the Teleportation Array flashed, and a sack filled with bamboo leaves appeared.

However, they were of varying lengths and mixed with some withered and rotten leaves; it was clear the work had been done very sloppily.

He estimated there were several hundred leaves. If he still couldn't successfully refine Qi with this many, he would truly have no face left.

"Alright, now you can tell me your secret," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran urged.

Xia Shaoxin sighed. "Senior Brother Liang, I'm sorry, but I actually can't get them for you unless you find a way to let me out."

"To be untrustworthy is to be worthless," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Do not toy with me."

"I'm sorry, just consider that I played you this once. If I can get out, I will definitely give you some of the finest venomous creatures from Dawu Mountain!"

There was a long silence outside before Senior Brother Shao Junwei let out a long sigh. "Forget it. Our friendship only goes so far. Since you can't get out, what's the point of keeping them hidden?"

Xia Shaoxin felt an inexplicable pang of sadness.

He had really hoped that Senior Brother Shao and Senior Brother Liang had come to visit out of friendship, not for a transaction.

However, their way of thinking was only human nature.

Locked in an immortal prison with a life sentence, everything outside of oneself lost its meaning. Giving them to someone destined would be the best outcome.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said in disappointment, "If you do have them, think it over. Leave me something to remember you by."

"We'll come see you again in a few days," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said. "If we come too often, it will arouse suspicion."

"Indeed. We are Inner Sect Disciples, and we've only met you a few times. They certainly wouldn't believe we have such a deep friendship."

Xia Shaoxin sighed and said, "Senior Brother Liang, Senior Brother Shao, I truly want to give you something, but unfortunately, I really don't have anything right now!"

The two of them lingered outside in melancholy for a while before taking their leave helplessly.

Xia Shaoxin carried the unfinished food and wine into the depths of the cave and immediately began converting the jade bamboo spirit leaves.

"So inside this cave, I can consume four spirit leaves a day. I refuse to believe I still can't activate my Dantian this way!"

No chores to do, no future to worry about.

Sleeping after eating, and practicing after sleeping, focusing entirely on one thing made life in this deathly silent cave not boring at all.

In the blink of an eye, several more months passed, and the bamboo leaves were almost gone.

...

Behind the main hall of the Chiyan Sect, in the reception room.

Elder Huang personally received a Qi Refiner from the court of the State of Yue.

"So Your Excellency is Fellow Daoist Cao Ben of the Punitive Division. It is a pleasure to meet you."

As fellow Cultivators, they did not use Mortal official titles, addressing each other uniformly as Fellow Daoists instead. This was the dignity of Cultivators.

"I have long heard of Elder Huang's great name, and meeting you for the first time today is truly my good fortune."

Cao Ben's words were not mere politeness. Although both were in the Qi Refining Realm, there was a significant gap in their strength. Elder Huang was being polite, but Cao Ben was entirely sincere.

Deacon Wu, standing to the side, reported, "Fellow Daoist Cao has come today to extradite a criminal wanted by the imperial court."

"Hmm? There is a criminal in my Chiyan Sect?" Elder Huang's face darkened with displeasure.

Cao Ben hurriedly explained, "When this person committed the crime, he was not a Chiyan Sect Disciple. Rather, he fled to the Chiyan Sect after killing several of our local officials."

"When did this happen?"

"It has been a year."

Elder Huang slammed his hand on his chair. "Absurd! The only Disciples who have joined my Chiyan Sect in the past year are young children. How could a child of just a few years old kill several of your officials?"

Deacon Wu hurriedly said, "Reporting to Elder Huang, this person is not a child, but an adult male."