6 Chapter 6: The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Fierceness

Steward Li was somewhat dazed. When had he said he would give him travel expenses?

However, under the circumstances, he had no choice. It was better to lose some money than to invite a disaster.

It was his own carelessness that had allowed Han Jing to find a clue, even though he had managed to bluff his way through it.

But from the looks of it, Han Jing clearly did not believe him.

"Cough..."

Steward Li cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness.

"Lin Jing..."

"Your negligence has caused our sect to suffer losses. It is against my wishes to expel you from the sect. Do you understand?"

Watching Steward Li's heartbroken expression, Lin Jing really wanted to punch him.

He was just too good at pretending.

However, Lin Jing could only pretend as if he knew nothing and said with a cupped fist salute,

"Steward Li, this matter was due to my own negligence; I can't blame others. I certainly won't bear a grudge against anyone."

Steward Li nodded and said,

"Hmm, it's good that you understand."

"Although you have been expelled from the sect, still, we should show the kindness one would expect from fellow disciples."

"Right now, the mountain's foot is in chaos, with Demonic Beasts rampant; only the Nanshan Market down the mountain can be considered safe."

"I have some Spirit Stones here. Take them. With these Spirit Stones, you will have enough to live in the market for a while after you go down the mountain."

As he spoke, Steward Li took out a small package and handed it to Lin Jing.

"How can I accept this? You really shouldn't have gone to the expense, Steward Li."

Lin Jing said as he took the package.

"He's not even pretending to be modest?"

Seeing Lin Jing's action, Steward Li was dumbfounded and couldn't help but murmur to himself,

"Wasn't Lin Jing a very honest person before? How did he change his nature so suddenly today?"

If Lin Jing knew what Steward Li was thinking, he would definitely laugh out loud.

"The previous Lin Jing was indeed very honest, but what does that have to do with me?"

Moreover,

Steward Li had even wanted to take his life before. Why should he be polite to him?

Right now, though, Lin Jing's attention was fully captured by the package of Spirit Stones; he didn't even notice the expression on Steward Li's face.

Opening the package, inside were no fewer than ten Spirit Stones. To think, Lin Jing, while working as a spiritual farmer for Qingyuan Sword Sect, could only get two Spirit Stones as a reward for the whole year.

Steward Li's offering of ten stones equated to five years of his income.

However, just as Lin Jing was excited, Han Jing, who had been silent all the while, spoke up at this moment.

"Junior Brother Li, how long has it been since you last went down the mountain?"

"I presume you do not know that, due to the recent uprising of Demonic Beasts, prices in Nanshan Market have skyrocketed, and these few Spirit Stones might not be enough."

Han Jing's tone was calm as he looked towards Steward Li, but his eyes revealed a sharpness, and the threat was clearly evident.

Steward Li's heart skipped a beat: "He wants me to bleed money."

"Forget it, under the current situation, Han Jing certainly won't let things go..."

Steward Li gritted his teeth and made a silent decision.

"Take it."

"Oh? It's been indeed quite some time since I've been down the mountain. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Han."

After saying that, he took out a Storage Bag and pulled out forty more Spirit Stones from it, handing them to Lin Jing.

"These are some savings I've held on to, this amount is all there is. I think this should be enough for him to live a while in Nanshan Market."

"Don't you agree, Senior Han?"

The last 'Senior Han' was said with a clearly elevated tone, showing that this was indeed his bottom line.

"Hmm, I think it should be enough too," Han Jing nodded and said.

"Thank you, Steward Li. I will forever remember the kindness of Steward Li, never to forget it for as long as I live."

Lin Jing didn't feel embarrassed at all and directly pocketed the Spirit Stones,

Steward Li watched with a pang of distress, as it had taken him quite some time to accumulate these Spirit Stones, and now he had given them all away.

Yet, even so, he still pretended to be carefree and nonchalant.

"Hmm, after you go down the mountain, you must live well, and it would be best if you learn a skill, so as not to disappoint the expectations I have for you."

"Steward Li, rest assured, I will definitely live well and certainly not let down your expectations."

It was a joke, how could he possibly not live well with the system by his side?

Having said that, Lin Jing looked toward Yuan Bo, who had been hiding behind Steward Li.

"Brother Yuan, I didn't expect even you to come to see me off; I am truly overwhelmed by your gesture."

"I never thought Brother Yuan would be so sentimental and righteous. I really didn't know any better before and opposed you in every way. Now that I think about it, I am deeply ashamed."

Yuan Bo glanced at Senior Han, who was looking their way, and hastily spoke:

"Yes... yes..."

"I'm also here to see you off. What happened in the past doesn't matter; it's all behind us now."

With that, he took out five Spirit Stones from his person and handed them to Lin Jing.

"This is all my savings. Now I'm giving them to Brother Lin as travel expenses, and I hope you don't find them too little."

After finishing his words, he glanced at Senior Han to see if there was any reaction, and only then did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"If I were to refuse Brother Yuan's kindness, I might hurt your feelings. Since that's the case, I must graciously accept."

With those words, he also pocketed the five Spirit Stones.

And Yuan Bo could only look on eagerly, though feeling reluctant, he dared not make any move.

"Lin Jing, you've broken through to the second level of Qi Refinement; it seems you've been working hard regularly. Once you're down the mountain, you must not slack off, understand?"

"Steward Li, don't worry, I will definitely practice diligently after I go down the mountain."

"Good, that's good."

"I have something else to do tomorrow, so I won't be able to see you off. Remember not to cause any trouble for Senior Han on the way."

"Yuan Bo, let's go."

After saying that, he was ready to take Yuan Bo and leave this place, a place he didn't want to stay a moment longer.

"Steward Li, please wait a moment."

Just as the two men were about to walk out the door, Senior Han suddenly spoke up, stopping them from leaving.

"What now?"

At this point, Steward Li couldn't hold back his frustration anymore. He had already bled enough today; did Senior Han still not intend to let him off?

"Don't be hasty, Steward Li. It's like this, I've heard that you, Steward Li, had previously copied and sold many copies of your family's Alchemy."

"Now that Lin Jing is going down the mountain, he needs a skill. Why not give him a copy? That way, when he's at the base of the mountain, he'll have something to rely on, right?"

After hearing Senior Han's words, Steward Li calmed down a bit. Although this matter was not a big deal for him, he still felt extremely annoyed.

Steward Li furrowed his brows, pondering for a moment.

"It's extremely difficult to master Alchemy, and the expenditures for a beginner are substantial; often, they spend more than they earn. I'm afraid it may not be suitable for him."

"Whether he can learn it or not depends on his own ability; we needn't worry about that."

"Don't you agree, Steward Li?"

Seeing that Senior Han was determined, Steward Li didn't dawdle and directly handed the basic copied manuals to Lin Jing.

"This is the 'Outline of Alchemy,' this is 'Spiritual Herb Identification,' and this book, it introduces various Elixir Medicines."

"The most important is this book." Steward Li said, picking up a book with a deep red cover.

Lin Jing looked up and saw the three big black characters 'Controlling Fire Technique' starkly before his eyes.

"The first step in Alchemy is being able to control fire, so the Controlling Fire Technique is very important. Do you understand?"

"Mm-hmm." Lin Jing nodded vigorously.

Steward Li then continued, "Of course, there are no elixir formulas inside. If you want formulas, you can only find them yourself."

"I sell this set for a hundred Spirit Stones normally; you're getting quite the bargain today."

"Lin Jing, aren't you going to thank Steward Li?"

"Thank you, Steward Li."