She could feel something different about these customers who showed up at the middle of the night and caused the innkeeper to wake the staff, and her eyes dashed to Wu Long’s side from time to time. Liang Yuhan’s illusion changed their appearances, but there was still something in Wu Long’s gaze that felt magnetic to the young woman.

He warmly smiled at her and when she was done gave a weighty leather pouch that seemed way more than what their order was worth.

“Thank you for your good work, the remaining amount after paying the bill is yours. Don’t worry about the innkeeper as he received his compensation already. We would not need any further assistance. Also, if you could be so kind to make sure no one disturbs us we would be grateful.” 𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He chuckled as she bowed with excitement and hurriedly left the room, shutting the sliding doors tightly behind her.

“Fufu, aren’t you sweet, if only you could be this kind to this Older Sister”

As soon as the doors shut down behind the servant, Liang Yuhan chuckled, her eyes meaningfully looking at Wu Long while she cleaned her smoking pipe of the ashes.

“Hohoho khu-khu, ah~ being young”

The old man chimed in as well, his eyes shining with an understanding light.

“Haha, I am just being a decent client. Besides, I remember being plenty courteous the last time we met, Madam Liang. Not to mention, aren’t you being the kind one to shield anyone in this town from being interrogated by concealing our presence here?”

Wu Long brushed their comments off with a light laugh and at the same time a few talismans flew out, sticking to the doors, walls, ceiling and floor of the room, shining with a dim light before disappearing.

Both the old man and Madam Liang narrowed their eyes at this sight as they felt a powerful formation shielding all types of perception engulf the room.

“Hoh, so you two do know each other well after all”

The old man’s eyes turned to Madam Liang whose lips curled up in a smile as she placed a medicine pill that fit almost perfectly in the bowl of the pipe, and lit it up, taking a few shallow puffs to get it started. The inscriptions on the pipe lit up and the pill started slowly turning as the embers engulfed it.

A herbal aroma filled the room as she then turned her gaze to Wu Long.

“I cannot say we know each other well, we’ve only met once before. Though he did say he would visit me again, but this young man never fulfilled that promise”

Her eyes shined with curiosity as well as other emotions she hid better.

“Haha, you call him young? Khu-khu, Madam Liang sure is brave to treat this monstrous man as some youngster ekhu-ekhu-khu…”

“What does the Senior-…?”

“Khu-khu, Khu-khu-khu!!!”

As Liang Yuhan’s eyes widened in surprise the old man’s bouts of coughs began with new force, as drops of blood stained his lips and the hand that he covered his mouth with.

“Here, take this”

Wu Long placed a few bottles of pills on the table, causing both of them to look at him with raised eyebrows.

A practitioner’s medicine was truly effective only if it was of the equivalent grade, so a Mortal Grade pill would have little effect on a Seven Profound Realms practitioner who had to take Profound Grade pills for a noticeable difference.

“They are a lot more potent than normal pills and this combination should make you at least feel better. Not to mention that the pills are just a means to an end, your condition is too severe to rely solely on medicine even if it was potent”

Wu Long explained, correctly interpreting their reactions.

“Do I need poison to kill or harm you?”

He then calmly added seeing the look in the old man’s eyes, who first widened them at his words and then his dried up lips under the white and gray beard spread in a wide silly smile.

“Haha, that is true”

“Senior!”

Liang Yuhan abandoned the comfortable position she sat in and raised her hand in protest as the old man quickly took out the pills and gulped them down without hesitation.

As she looked at the old man in a stunned disbelief, Wu Long took out a leather roll, and placed it on the table. As he untied the straps and let it open up under its own weight with only a nudge from his finger, thin gold needles with intricate inscription patterns on them came into their view, sitting on a fine silk.

He also separately placed a porcelain bottle beside the opened up leather roll but did not touch it further.

He then placed two rings with inscription patterns on both middle fingers and made a series of hand seals as the patterns on the rings and needles lit up and resonated, after which they floated into the air.

“Relax and don’t move as much as you can, allow my Spiritual Qi through or I won’t be able to help”

He warned the old man and seeing a light head nod from him, changed the hand seals as the needles floated toward the old man’s back, piercing his clothes and skin.

Liang Yuhan resumed her previous posture, observing the two. She drew on her smoking pipe, puffing clouds of light smoke into the air. The old man showed a surprised expression, as he soon started feeling better. Wu Long’s Spiritual Qi repairing the damage and alleviating his injuries.

“This is only temporary fix, but it should do for now”

After about an hour, Wu Long opened his eyes as his hand seals changed again and the needles were retrieved into a porcelain bottle he placed on the table beforehand that contained sterilizing solution.

“Haa~, thank you. Should I address you as ‘Senior’?”

The old man sighed with visible relief, a healthier color returning to his face over the past hour as Madam Liang watched on with wide eyes and his bouts of coughs becoming sparse and eventually stopping throughout the treatment. His voice now also sounded more steady, with only little signs of shakiness from before. 𝘳.𝑐𝘰

“No need for such formalities, you can just call me Wu Long”

“I see, ah, I have yet to introduce myself, my name is Zhao Xieren. I used to have a position before that fateful day, but most people just call me Old Man Zhao now”

He Xieren spoke in a humble tone as one would with one’s elder, much to Madam Liang’s astonishment.

‘His words from before, and this attitude. Just what is this?’

She pondered as she turned her gaze toward Wu Long. There was also the miracle he just performed, bringing the man on the very verge of death to at least a temporary visibly healthier state.

“I must thank you once again, I feel even better than I was before injuries, haha. I might be even inclined to request company from some of Madam Liang’s ladies”

The old man who became a little too lively said with gusto as Liang Yuhan rolled her eyes, obviously used to this behavior.

“He may not be joking, you know? The last time this old man sired a son was not even a thousand years ago. The three continents were once littered with his descendants, though most of them met untimely demises before continuing the line”

She said while shaking her head.

“Easy, old man. Learn moderation, or else you’ll ruin all of my efforts. Not to mention that I may have done a bit of repair to your general health but you know better than anyone that that part of your life is long behind you.

And you don’t have to thank me, you living is in my interests as well”

Hearing Madam Liang’s words, Wu Long chuckled at the energetic old man who lightly laughed with a bit of embarrassment.

“Haa~ I am aware. I was just joking, joking”

Zhao Xieren sighed with a wry smile, nodding with understanding at Wu Long’s words. It was quite obvious why would anyone benefit from him being alive, Madam Liang being the prime example, as her amicable relations with him was likely what allowed her to remain largely independent of the continent’s major powers.

“But… wouldn’t someone like you be able to get by even if I was gone?”

He then asked of Wu Long with a little hesitation and Liang Yuhan narrowed her eyes at this exchange as she puffed another could of smoke.The dimly lit room was now hazy due to the herbal smoke that filled it,and despite the cozy looking environment because of it, and the comfortable poses all three took sitting around the round table, the atmosphere was still tense as their eyes were reading each other’s emotions and reactions.

“Not really, at least not for now. As you can see I really am in the Revolving Qi Realm”

Wu Long chuckled, shocking both as they still had their doubts.

“Besides what I did wasn’t for free, as I do want something from you in return”

He then shifted his posture from reclining back to placing his right lower arm on the table and leaning forward as he spoke.

Both Zhao Xieren and Liang Yuhan tensed up, but did not show any surprise as they expected as much.

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