43. A Man Must Earn!
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A few days later, Luoyin's 'Peace and Quiet' had run off somewhere he could no longer find it!
After Yiguang's departure, Yinying was now using Luoyin to distract himself from his sense of loss.
Yin Xing was trying to compete with Yinying for Luoyin's time!
And since the Xu disciples were back from their secluded cultivation, Xu Min, Xu Wen, and Xu Lian were visiting as often as possible!
Xu Min, "Zhang Yin! Let's go out for wine!"
Xu Wen, "2nd Disciple Zhang. Please teach me how to make that protective array. And that talisman... Can I bind a regular beast to myself?"
Xu Lian, "2nd Disciple Zhang! What are you doing today?!" She nervously touched her two forefingers together. "C- Can I treat you to a meal?!"
Xu Lian apparently had a crush on Luoyin!
For two rather hectic weeks, Luoyin was polite and indulgent, but after that, he was desperate to evade them all!
Luoyin, "Ah, sorry, sorry! I got lost on the way here!"
Xu Min, "This is your own house!"
Luoyin, "Oh my, I can't seem to recall what book I saw that talisman in..."
Xu Wen, "You said you invented it!"
Luoyin, "Aiya! Sorry I'm late, I stopped to admire some crabapple blossoms!!"
Xu Lian, "Crabapple blossoms in winter?! You won't even put your heart and soul into the lie?!!"
As for Yinying, Luoyin had awoken him from his grief, reminding him that he now had a child to care for and train. This made Yinying go invisible again, so he could sneak into the Xu residence and play with his son, guiding him through his earliest days.
And as for Yin Xing... Luoyin firmly chased him out!
"Go back to Starry Pavillion! You've stayed here long enough! Do you want the Sky Emperor to come knocking?!"
"But Older brother!"
"Don't bother. Aren't you tired of hiding here?" Yin Xing hid whenever any of the servants or disciples approached. "Rather than stay here, help me tell Old Man Bao I'm alive... He might kill me if he finds out later!
"Also," He sighed. "...help me look into someone else."
"Who?" Yin Xing curiously asked.
~"The Late Sky Empress."~ Luoyin switched to telepathy.
~"Sky Empress?!"~ Yin Xing was surprised. ~"I won't be able to read her star..."~ He reminded Luoyin, who nodded.
"I know."
The Night Immortals could read almost all stars in the heavens, but to keep their powers in check, the Sky Emperor always placed a seal on each Night Immortal.
At the very least, the Sky Emperor and Fate Immortal would know if the Night Immortal ever read the stars of any High Immortal and above.
Much less the Sky Emperor's late wife...
"Just investigate normally, but be extremely careful."
Yin Xing nodded, but before he left, he gave Luoyin some much-needed information on the original 'Zhang Luoyin'.
"It bothered me that Zhang Luoyin resembled you so much, so I looked into it. Turns out he's connected to you from the past.
"You once created a faux body to save a mortal woman beyond hope... Do you remember?"
"Ah! So she's -?!"
"Zhang Luoyin's ancestor, yes... It might have been because you infused too much of your own aura, but her child looked exactly like you, and at least one son in every ten generations has looked like you. It was a bit creepy to watch... Once, you were even a roughened fisherman with tattoos,
who liked to walk barefoot along the muddy shores!!"
Luoyin, "That wasn't me!"
Yin Xing, "He looked exactly like you!"
Luoyin, "What is this strange phenomenon?!"
Yin Xing, "The consequence of interfering in Mortal affairs!
"As for the Starlight furnace inside him, it somehow found its way to the mortal realm and it was discovered by a mortal a long time ago... Those two bloodlines have merged, and the descendants are the current Duan family that Luoyin's mother hails from!"
Luoyin sat down heavily. "*Hao Tian-ah! One should really never interfere in the Mortal Realm!"
(*Good Heavens!)
Yin Xing merely shook his head. "I'm leaving, older brother!" He said, and then disappeared.
~"Be careful of Xu Weiyan!"~ His voice rang out. ~"She's trying her hardest to protect you now, but there's no telling what she would do after learning your identity! Don't drop your guard!"~
Luoyin experienced a fleeting feeling of flattery at the thought that Xu Weiyan was protecting him, but then he promptly remembered that one disciple's words: "...'knowing the owner before beating the dog'!"...
This left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
~"Tch! Who says she's trying her hardest to protect me?! Isn't she just protecting her own face?!"~
Yin Xing, who had been using a light travel technique to return, nearly tripped at the reply.
Then he reminded himself that this was the same 'Bailong' who had once believed a full-fledged powerful phoenix had remained in his house as his accountant, simply because she was 'used to the work'!
A part of Yin Xing now felt sorry for Xu Weiyan...
Back in his bedchamber, Luoyin sighed as Yin Xing's aura completely vanished.
'That fellow is also more observant...' Xu Weiyan did occasionally enter his thoughts these days accompanied by warm feelings he refused to explore!
He could only blame 'Zhang Luoyin' for this!
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The next day, Luoyin awoke with a distinct thought...
'Immortal Kai Zhen might really kill me, if he learns I've not earned anything since the original deal with Lord Xu!'
So Luoyin immediately went to find Meng Qiu, his head servant, and handed him some gold. "I need you to set up a hidden kitchen in the back, and then purchase three large medium quality furnaces for it!"
If Meng Qiu was curious, he didn't show it as he bowed. "Y- Yes Master!"
Next, Luoyin bought a compass and returned to the caves where he had awakened.
Back then, he had noticed that the natural qi there was good, and the stream was constantly wetting the earth.
'Perfect for a garden!'
Luoyin sat in the lotus position and performed a few hand seals.
As Bailong one of his greatest accomplishments had been to create a place known as 'Four-Petal Garden', which rivalled any herb garden in all three Realms, and he had done it all under water!
On Caoyang, he had planted another much smaller garden, and,
'Now I must plant one here...'
He sighed and brought out eight flags, similar to the ones he had used on Yiguang. But these ones all had individual colours with four representing the cardinal points, while four representing the four seasons.
A few minutes later, the flag formation was set up, and the flags hidden themselves and the cave!
Anyone who happened upon it wouldn't see it, and anyone deliberately trying to find it, would be directed away by a 'compellation' charm.
The next step was to buy seeds, or transplant herbs from the nearby forests, and thanks to the starlight furnace, he even managed to summon a few seeds right from Four-Petal Garden!
In just five days, Luoyin had planted a fairly large garden within the cave, with sun roofs for the plants which needed it, and complete darker regions for those which needed the darkness.
Some were planted near the stream, some were planted 'inside' the stream! And for some, he went as far as creating formations to keep moisture out, or provide the rare conditions they needed like excess wind, or fire, or even sea water!
By now, his three furnaces were ready, and he tested them by refining three different pills at once... Six qi refining pills, six foundation pills, and six pills for common colds.
In the Mortal Realm, there were ten pill grades. Luoyin wasn't sure what realm thesepills were, but they were good enough for weaker immortals!
"Hmph! Selling these would bring in some money!"
So he went to Yue City's Pill Pavillion, a towering seven-tier octagonal pavilion, designed to intimidate.
But with no ounce of fear, Luoyin strode in and introduced the cold pills...
"Heh! Do you think just anyone can refine pills?" The local alchemists jeered. "You're hopeless at cultivation, so you want to stick your foot in here?!"
"Dream on! Leave before we prove you useless in two fields!"
But Luoyin didn't say anything, and simply began counting down. "Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven..."
"Has he gone crazy?"
"Six, Five, four, Three, Tw-."
"Who brought a powerful pill in here?!!!!" Everyone turned to look up at the Head Alchemist, who was hurrying down the stairs.
He had scented the pills from afar and appeared in less than ten seconds! The local alchemists exchanged puzzled looks.
"Ei??!! Can Zhang Luoyin's pills be that good?!!"
"We've never seen such a high-grade cold pill!" The Head Alchemist told Luoyin, after studying them. "It's timely too! Given the Winter chill, these will sell for quite a sum!"
'Heh! Why else would I make cold pills now?!' Luoyin thought, struggling to keep his excitement of his face.
By evening, Luoyin had refined another set in the Head Alchemist's presence, and after tasting one, the man was almost bowing to him.
"You're a hidden gem!" The Head Alchemist praised him. "Tell me, what was that strange herb you used?"
"Ehehe, it's a secret for now." Luoyin replied. "I will let you know after our first half-year of business, and then I'll openly trade it with the Central Herb Garden."
And by the end of the day, Luoyin had signed a 70-30% deal with the Pill Refinement Hall.
Seventy percent in his favour!
After that, the Head Alchemist was nearly blown away by the foundation pills and qi refining pills.
"I've never seen anything like this before!" He marveled. "These are grade eight at least!
"And you have an eye for business! With the Sect Tournament coming up, we'll surely make a fortune!!"
But all Luoyin thought was, 'Gold! Tons of Gold!'
At least he'll no longer be ashamed to face Immortal Kai Zhen!
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