Free Web NovelChapter 138: Chapter 138: Asking for Help
"Brother Lanshan."
Early in the morning, Lanshan swayed into the courtyard, looking a little dazed.
"Ha! Shopkeeper Bai is here!"
"Ru’Er, come out here, quick!"
His face was flushed, and with his rough features and burly build, he could have scared a little girl to tears.
The Demon Hunting Team didn’t forbid alcohol, and he often drank heartily, but it was rare for him to be nearly drunk like he was today.
Lan Ru peeked out from the kitchen, an apron tied around her waist and a smile on her face.
"Have you eaten, Shopkeeper Bai? I’m cooking right now, would you like some?"
Bai Mo smiled and nodded.
"I came on an empty stomach. I’d appreciate it if you’d set out an extra bowl and chopsticks."
"Then you and my brother will just have to wait a moment!"
With that, Lan Ru turned and went back to her work.
The smell of alcohol on Lanshan was quite strong. He rubbed his face, and his tiger-like eyes instantly brightened.
"Last night, a bunch of tough scoundrels dragged me out for drinks. They took turns with me, and I ended up drinking quite a lot."
He felt a sense of satisfaction.
Everyone was saying that he, Lanshan, had now latched onto a Pill Master, and on top of that, had a sister cultivating in the Xuandao Sect.
After so many years of hard struggle, he could finally hold his head high.
He was the envy of everyone!
But even with a belly full of wine, he hadn’t agreed to any of their requests.
Those rascals weren’t easy to deal with; you had to keep your wits about you even while drinking with them.
"I’m a little fuzzy. The alcohol is getting to my head. I can hold on for another hour at most."
Lanshan held up one finger and said solemnly.
"What brings Shopkeeper Bai here so early in the morning?"
Bai Mo took a necklace from his robes, one made of strung-together beast teeth.
The beast teeth were not smooth; they felt quite coarse to the touch.
"This item, Brother Lanshan... where did you get it?"
This was the necklace Lanshan had given him yesterday. It was quite a peculiar object.
Lanshan leaned in to look at the necklace.
"Those are the teeth from a Demon Beast we took down a while back. I pulled them out and have kept them ever since. What’s wrong?"
Bai Mo quickly asked:
"Was this Demon Beast killed near the swamp?"
Lanshan thought for a moment before nodding.
"That’s right. The thing looked like a cross between a wolf and a jackal, with a long, narrow body. It took us a great deal of effort to bring it down."
They had only persisted because they’d heard that the teeth and bones of such Demon Beasts were valuable.
Bai Mo put the necklace away. The item could repel insects and ward off poison, making it a rare and valuable protective talisman.
"The Demon Beast you mentioned, Brother Lanshan, loves to eat a certain long-legged fish from the swamp."
"I’d like to ask you to find this fish for me!"
A fish with legs!?
Lanshan’s eyelid twitched.
"There’s such a species of fish? I’ve never seen one!"
Lan Ru peeked her head out from the kitchen.
"Brother, that’s a rare, strange fish. It only comes out at night."
"I heard people talk about it back at the sect!"
"Oh, I see." Lanshan sat up straighter.
’Ru’Er has certainly learned a lot in the sect.’
Bai Mo took out a book, flipped to a certain page, and handed it to Lanshan.
The latter extended a finger as thick as a carrot, held down the page, and studied the picture of a strange fish kneeling on four human-like legs.
His brow furrowed unconsciously.
"It looks this bizarre?"
’No wonder I’ve never heard of it. Who would eat such a thing?’
Without changing his expression, Bai Mo turned to the next page.
This one showed a fish with four legs like a crocodile’s, only longer and webbed.
"Not many people have seen this creature. Most of the folk illustrations are based on speculation and word of mouth."
"Even those who have seen it couldn’t get a clear look in the dark, which is why there are so many different versions."
"You just need to have a general idea of what it looks like, Brother Lanshan."
Bai Mo flipped through several more pages, revealing various images, including one of a strange fish standing upright on two legs.
Lanshan finally understood.
"What do you need this fish for, Shopkeeper Bai?"
Bai Mo took the book back and tucked it into his robes.
"I don’t actually need the fish itself, but rather the fish pearl it cultivates."
"A fish pearl?" Lanshan asked, confused.
Bai Mo nodded.
"This fish has a ’cold’ nature. In the swamp, there are strange, silk-thread-sized worms that love to eat its flesh and often burrow into its body to feed."
"But the worms aren’t very intelligent. The fish lures them to a specific spot, then secretes an oil to envelop and dissolve them."
"Over time, this mixture of oil and worms grows larger, and that’s how the fish pearl is formed."
Bai Mo pointed upward with his hand.
"The pearl is located in its upper palate, behind a membrane."
Lanshan listened quietly to Bai Mo, silently committing the details to memory.
"Is this fish a threat?"
Bai Mo couldn’t make any guarantees.
"According to the rumors, the strange fish eats people. It lures them into the swamp at night, waits for them to die, and then consumes their corpses."
"Based on that, its direct combat strength is probably not that impressive."
Lanshan nodded.
"The threat here might not be the fish itself, but the strange worms, or perhaps other creatures it cooperates with to hunt."
"And then there’s the terrain, miasma, traps..."
He analyzed the situation based on his own experience, his considerations impressively thorough.
Bai Mo didn’t dare to interrupt. When it came to matters like this, the other man was the professional.
After a moment, Lanshan snapped back to attention.
"Shopkeeper Bai, just wait for our good news."
Bai Mo said happily, "Then I’ll be relying on all of you."
Lanshan waved his hand dismissively.
"No need for such pleasantries. If you just say the word, that bunch of rascals will go charging out, howling with excitement."
"By the way, what do you need the fish pearl for, Shopkeeper Bai?"
Bai Mo sighed.
"In a little while, I have to go up to the main sect with my senior brother."
"There’s a rumor we’ll need to curry favor with the sect’s Spirit Beast and refine its gill pouches into a storage artifact. It’s supposed to be quite a troublesome affair."
"I have no choice but to prepare in advance."
Just then, Lan Ru came out carrying two bowls of millet porridge and placed them before Bai Mo and Lanshan.
After setting them down, she went back to get her own portion, bringing a small side dish with her as well.
Bai Mo blew on the porridge and carefully took a sip.
"Miss Lan Ru, will you be returning to the main sect with us then?"
As soon as he said this, Lanshan also looked over.
"Exactly. Ru’Er, you shouldn’t stay away for too long. You need to return to the sect to cultivate. It would be good to go back together so you can look out for each other."
But Lan Ru quickly shook her head.
"I had a hard time getting a sect errand that lets me stay outside for a long time. I’m not in a hurry to go back."
Hearing this, Lanshan’s expression changed. He couldn’t hide the flicker of worry that crossed his face.
Lan Ru said helplessly, "Brother, don’t worry. It’s just that cultivation within the main sect is arduous, more than what an ordinary person can endure."
"That’s why many disciples want to get out for a while..."
Bai Mo had never actually inquired about the cultivation atmosphere within the Xuandao Sect.
With Lan Ru right there, Bai Mo immediately asked about it.
Lan Ru mulled it over for a moment, then shook her head again.
"I’m not sure how to describe it. You’ll understand once you enter the sect, Shopkeeper Bai."
"The sect’s particular culture is very... distinct."
Seeing that Lan Ru didn’t seem to be lying and had no look of discomfort or resistance in her eyes, Lanshan finally relaxed.
"Hehe, if that’s the case, let’s eat our porridge first. Eat up!"
...
Not long after chatting with the Lanshan siblings, Bai Mo took his leave.
After finishing his porridge, Lanshan’s speech started to get a bit slurred, and his words became slightly muffled.
And it was clearly getting worse.
Bai Mo figured that by the end of the hour Lanshan had mentioned, he would probably be passed out drunk.
It just so happened that Han Meng, Limping Ma, and the others weren’t around; they were said to be out gathering information on market conditions.
So, Bai Mo took the opportunity to say his goodbyes.
When he returned to his shop, he found that Wei An had already tidied everything up.
Riding the wave of popularity from the previous day, quite a few Cultivators had already come to visit early in the morning and were asking Wei An about the pills’ effects and prices.
Wei An calmly made his introductions and accepted Spirit Stones, already looking quite the part.
This put Bai Mo at ease.
’I’ll refine some more pills to restock the inventory, and while I’m at it, I can think about the matter of the Feeding Pills.’
’After that, I’ll focus completely on cultivating. With the Array Plate, breaking through to the fifth layer shouldn’t be difficult.’
