Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

Yu Yan looked at Zhou Yan's carefree, smiling face, remained silent for a long while, and then slowly spoke:

"Brother Zhou, where did this maid come from?"

Zhou Yan chuckled and waved his hand:

"Don't worry about that, just tell me if you want it or not."

Yu Yan shook his head:

"don't want."

"No!" Zhou Yan cried out anxiously.

"Old Yu, listen to me, that girl is really great. She's beautiful, gentle, and most importantly, cheap! Only seven hundred spirit stones to redeem her. Seven hundred! You wouldn't even dream of that normally!"

Yu Yan looked at him, his gaze calm:

"Brother Zhou, I owe you seven hundred yuan now."

So, is this guy trying to find a way to urge me to return the spirit stones?

Zhou Yan was taken aback, then waved his hand:

"Old Yu, don't misunderstand, I'm not here to rush you, this is all for your own good."

"Think about it, if you had a maid, you'd have someone to serve you, and your talisman-drawing efficiency might even improve. You'd earn spirit stones faster, and wouldn't it be much easier to pay back my seven hundred coins?"

Yu Yan: "..."

He couldn't figure out what Zhou Yan meant for a moment.

However, those who offer unsolicited favors are either up to no good or are thieves.

Although Zhou Yan is naturally outgoing and helpful, he wouldn't be this enthusiastic. First, he borrowed seven hundred spirit stones, and now he wants to give away a maid. If there's nothing else going on, he'll change his mind.

"Brother Zhou."

Yu Yan looked at him, his tone still calm:

"What exactly do you want?"

Zhou Yan's smile froze for a moment.

Then, he chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head:

"Well... Lao Yu, really, what could I possibly want? I just wanted to help you out."

Yu Yan didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Zhou Yan felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, coughed twice, and finally gave in:

"Okay, okay, I'll talk, I'll talk, alright?"

He moved closer to Yu Yan and lowered his voice:

"Old Yu, there is something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, but remained silent, signaling him to continue.

Zhou Yan organized his thoughts and said:

"That's right, I went to the Delightful Pavilion this afternoon not just for pleasure. That place is well-informed; I went there to gather information."

"and then?"

"Then I heard a rumor," Zhou Yan said in a low voice, "that Wanhuo Company will hold an auction a year from now."

Yu Yan's gaze shifted slightly.

An auction at the All-in-One Department Store?

The largest trading venue on the third floor is backed by three major families and a real person. An auction held by such a powerful force must be of a very high standard.

"What does this have to do with you asking me for help?"

"Of course it's related," Zhou Yan said. "There's something I want at that auction."

He paused, a look of longing appearing on his face:

"It's a second-tier spiritual herb called 'Gathering Essence Grass.' If refined into a pill, it can help cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage break through bottlenecks and increase the probability of Foundation Establishment by 30%."

Yu Yan's eyes flashed.

Ningyuan grass.

He had heard of this name before. It was indeed one of the most precious spiritual herbs for those below the Foundation Establishment stage. It was practically impossible to buy on the market; it only occasionally appeared at large auctions.

"You want that Qi-Gathering Grass?"

"That's right." Zhou Yan nodded. "I'm currently at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and in a few years I'll reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. By then, with the Qi Condensation Grass, my chances of Foundation Establishment will be much greater."

Yu Yan looked at him, seemingly lost in thought:

"So you're short on spirit stones?"

Zhou Yan gave an awkward smile:

"I'm desperately short. The starting bid for that Qi Condensation Grass is at least five thousand spirit stones, and the final price could be over ten thousand. My resources are far from enough."

Yu Yan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath and finally revealed his true purpose:

"Old Yu, I'd like to ask you to accompany me to my friend's family."

Yu Yan raised an eyebrow.

That friend.

That's the Qi Refining Level 8 cultivator who was swallowed by the snake demon.

"Your friend's family?"

"Yes." Zhou Yan nodded.

"His name is Lin Xiao, and he's from the Lin family of the Qing Kingdom. Although the Lin family isn't a particularly powerful clan, they are a family of cultivators with considerable wealth. When Lin Xiao went out to travel, the Lin family entrusted me to look after him, agreeing that no matter the outcome, as long as there was definite news, they would give me a reward."

He pulled a storage bag from his robes; it was the same one that had contained the snake demon's corpse earlier.

"Now that we have the body and the evidence is conclusive, all we need is a witness."

Yu Yan understood.

Zhou Yan wanted him to testify and prove that Lin Xiao had indeed died at the hands of the snake demon.

"So that's why you were so generous in lending me spirit stones before..."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Zhou Yan quickly interrupted him.

"Old Yu, don't overthink it! I lent you the spirit stones out of the good intentions, it has nothing to do with this! It just so happens that I was thinking of asking for your help, but I felt bad asking you for nothing, so I thought..."

He scratched his head and didn't continue.

Yu Yan looked at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes:

"So, you sent the maidservant because of this?"

Zhou Yan chuckled:

"Um... by the way, by the way."

Yu Yan didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly.

Zhou Yan felt uneasy under his gaze and quickly said:

"Don't worry, Lao Yu, you won't have made a wasted trip. As long as you testify, we'll split the Lin family's reward 30/70! You get 30%, I get 70%!"

Yu Yan remained silent.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth:

"Four times six! You get four, I get six! No more!"

Yu Yan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Brother Zhou."

"Um?"

"You get four and I get six?"

Zhou Yan was taken aback, then made a bitter face:

"Old Yu, you're being too ruthless..."

Yu Yan waved his hand, interrupting his sobbing:

"Don't rush into dividing the profits. Let me ask you, now that your friend is dead, will the Lin family still pay the agreed-upon reward?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan's face immediately broke into a confident smile:

"Don't worry about that. I already made arrangements with the Lin family. When they accepted the commission, they said that regardless of whether Lin Xiao was alive or dead, they would accept the commission as long as there was definite news. Although the Lin family isn't a top-tier family, they still have that much credibility."

He patted his chest:

"Besides, think about it, the Lin family definitely wants to know how Lin Xiao died, whether he had any enemies, and whether he would cause trouble for the family. If we take the body with us and explain everything clearly, they'll be overjoyed."

Yu Yan nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing that he was somewhat interested, Zhou Yan quickly pressed his advantage:

"Old Yu, just come with me. It'll only take a month at most, it won't take up much of your time. Once we get our payment, the seven hundred yuan you owe me will be settled, and we'll split the rest 40/60. You'll even get some spirit stones in the process, isn't that great!"

Yu Yan looked at him but did not answer immediately.

He was making plans in his mind.

A month is neither a long nor a short time.

I just finished talking to Wang Li about selling talismans, and we haven't even started yet, and I have to leave?

But then I thought about it again, and the victims like Wang Lidao's might not be concentrated in one area.

It was impossible for the couple to summon them all at once, but they could earn some extra money over a month.

However, we still need to complete the first transaction and establish a reliable channel before leaving.

and--

Looking at Zhou Yan's eager face, Yu Yan felt a slight stirring in his heart.

This guy may be a bit unreliable, but he's definitely a good friend. He's generous with spirit stones without batting an eye, and now that something good is happening, he's thinking of helping me out.

Although it was all because they needed something from each other, for Yu Yan, that was enough.

Since that's the case, there's no harm in helping him this once.

"it is good."

Yu Yan nodded.

"I'll go with you, but you'll have to give me some time to prepare."