19: Twelve people, half a cup of tea

This Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage Seventh Level was a Great Master of Talisman Making surnamed Zheng. Zhang Qingxiao did not know his specific name.

Everyone called him Master Zheng of Talismans. He was quite old, around seventy, and it was said he could craft the Golden Light Talisman.

The Golden Light Talisman was a more powerful defensive Talisman than the Body Protection Talisman. Because the spiritual energy shield it formed was golden, it was known as the Golden Light Talisman.

After lunch, Zhang Qingxiao and Zhou Quan went together to the home of Master Zheng of Talismans.

When they arrived, over a dozen people were already sitting in the main hall.

Zhang Qingxiao recognized most of the Cultivators by sight, but he had never spoken to them.

There were only two or three whom he knew well enough to greet when they met.

Seeing Zhang Qingxiao arrive, everyone stood up to welcome him.

Everyone had heard about what happened last night.

To be able to easily kill three Middle Stage Cultivators single-handedly—among those present, only Master Zheng of Talismans could accomplish such a feat.

After all, he was a Talisman Maker; if he had nothing else, he certainly had an abundance of various Talismans.

He could simply bury three Middle Stage Cultivators to death just by throwing Talismans at them.

Seeing how enthusiastic these people were, Zhang Qingxiao could only respond with polite pleasantries.

After greeting both those he knew and those he didn't, everyone took their seats at the invitation of Master Zheng of Talismans.

After waiting for about another quarter of an hour, everyone who had been invited arrived.

"Fellow Daoists, this incident happened suddenly, causing the Utility Disciple residential area to be more chaotic than in the past."

"For the sake of our own personal safety, I, Zheng, had no choice but to invite everyone here to discuss joint defense matters."

"According to past experience, it will take three days at the fastest, or seven days at the slowest, for those from the Chang Sheng Sect who went out to return."

"By then, the situation in the Utility Disciple residential area will naturally return to normal."

"I hope that in the coming time, we can organize ourselves to take turns keeping watch to prevent petty villains from taking advantage of the situation to harm us. What do you all think, Fellow Daoists?"

Master Zheng of Talismans smiled and nodded at everyone present one by one, directly stating his plan.

"This is how it has been done whenever chaos occurred in the past, so this time we will also follow the arrangements of Master Zheng of Talismans."

One of the Cultivators at Cultivation Level 4 immediately chimed in.

Following closely, the others responded one by one.

In any case, it was only for a few days. Once this chaotic phase passed, everyone could go back to doing whatever they were doing before, without any impact.

Since Zhang Qingxiao was already here, naturally he had no objections and joined the others in supporting the proposal of Master Zheng of Talismans.

Next, when it came time to divide into groups, the others nominated him to be the leader of one of the groups, but Zhang Qingxiao did not agree.

What a joke. Being a leader not only offered no benefits, but it also carried huge risks. He did not want to become the target of those desperate outlaws.

Zhang Qingxiao declined repeatedly, and Master Zheng of Talismans did not force him, choosing someone else to be the leader instead.

Because he did not know when those from the Chang Sheng Sect would return, Master Zheng of Talismans divided the invited Cultivators into three groups.

Zhang Qingxiao was assigned to the first group and would start keeping watch tonight.

Moreover, to accommodate Zhang Qingxiao, the place where he would keep watch was near his own doorstep.

After everything was arranged, Zhang Qingxiao and Zhou Quan said their goodbyes and left the home of Master Zheng of Talismans.

"Fellow Cultivator Zhang, why didn't you accept when they asked you to be the leader just now?"

"That was a rare opportunity. You wouldn't have to do any work, and you could command others."

As they were nearing Zhang Qingxiao's home, Zhou Quan, who had been holding back his words the entire way, finally couldn't resist asking.

"If trouble arises, you die faster."

Zhang Qingxiao really didn't care about any benefits; what he cared about more was his own life.

It was hard enough to have hope for longevity; he couldn't just throw his life away for a moment of gratification and die an unexplained death.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, are you not going home?"

Seeing that Zhou Quan was still following him, Zhang Qingxiao kindly reminded him.

"Hehe..."

"Going home... going home... I'm going home now."

Zhou Quan smiled awkwardly, scratched his head, passed by the entrance of Zhang Qingxiao's home, and walked toward his own house.

In the afternoon, Zhang Qingxiao refined a batch of Golden Marrow Pills and then began to Cultivate until it was completely dark outside.

He lit a fire in the yard, set up a reclining chair by the entrance, and lay on it, leisurely practicing the Spirit Detection Technique.

The Spirit Detection Technique consumed very little spiritual energy and was mainly used to probe the Realm and cultivation of others.

Originally, this minor Spell could at most probe Cultivators one minor Realm higher than oneself, but since Zhang Qingxiao had practiced it to proficiency, he could now probe the spiritual energy state within Cultivators two minor Realms higher than himself.

"Eh..."

While practicing the Spirit Detection Technique, Zhang Qingxiao suddenly saw a Cultivator at Cultivation Level 4 walking stealthily in the alley.

Just as he was about to ask who the person was, he saw the man slip into Widow Sun's house diagonally across from him.

A moment later, sounds that made one blush and heart race drifted to his ears.

However, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the sounds came to an abrupt halt.

That sneaky Cultivator at Cultivation Level 4 emerged from Widow Sun's house with a satisfied look on his face.

Not long after, another Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage Third Level went in, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he also came out with a satisfied look.

"Widow Sun, when did you start this business..."

"This is simply a sin!"

Ever since he started Body Refining, Zhang Qingxiao's eyesight and hearing had improved significantly.

His home and Widow Sun's were separated by an alley less than three meters wide; in the dead of night, the sounds were transmitted into his ears with absolute clarity.

At first, he didn't think much of it.

But one after another, it started to become unbearable for him.

Later, he simply took some cotton and plugged his ears.

Plugging his ears couldn't plug his brain; once he saw someone go in, those images would involuntarily surface in his mind.

"I want to see how many people can come in one night."

The long night was boring anyway, so this could count as finding something to do.

The seventh client... a cup of tea (five minutes).

The eighth client... two cups of tea (ten minutes).

The twelfth client... half a cup of tea (less than three minutes).

"At this speed, is it really just starting? It's a live version of 'already finished'."

"I didn't expect that among the Immortal Cultivators, there would be so many weak-kidneyed Young Masters."

From the hour of the Dog to the hour of the Rat, Widow Sun's little workshop managed to receive twelve clients.

He didn't know how those keeping watch outside were doing their jobs, letting these people sneak in.

Fortunately, after the hour of the Rat passed, no one else came, and Zhang Qingxiao's ears were finally at peace.

"Fellow Cultivator Zhang, keeping watch!"

"It must be tiring, why not come to my place for a sit, let me help you relax."

Widow Sun was draped in a thin, light outer garment, one hand holding the courtyard gate as she prepared to close up shop.

Just then, she saw Zhang Qingxiao lying by the entrance, cast a flirtatious glance, puffed out her chest, and spoke in a voice filled with sweet, seductive temptation.

"No, no!"

Zhang Qingxiao waved his hands repeatedly, so startled he nearly fell off the reclining chair.

This scene made Widow Sun bend over, giggling non-stop.

A beautiful sight, under the firelight, was vaguely visible.

She had previously set her sights on Zhang Qingxiao, back when she hadn't started this brothel business.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qingxiao had absolutely no interest in her.

Recently, life had been truly difficult, so she entered the brothel business.

How did that saying go? When a person is unlucky, even drinking cold water gets stuck in their teeth.

She hadn't been in the brothel business for more than a few days when, for some unknown reason, the brothel she was in shut down.

Helpless, in order to earn a little more, Widow Sun simply started a small workshop in her own home.

Who knew that the Sect would seal the mountains, causing the Utility Disciple residential area to become chaotic, and yet her business became better and better.

Seeing Zhang Qingxiao like this, she didn't continue to tease him, said a word about staying safe, and closed the door.