Chapter 82 - 80: The Past

At the age of three, he was old enough to move out of his parents’ room and sleep alone.

Panx Juan’er insisted on sleeping with Zhang Deming. In her words, she was Brother Deming’s wife, so they were supposed to sleep together.

In the end, the adults couldn’t do anything about it and had to compromise.

They had only asked for Zhang Deming’s opinion as a formality. If he agreed, it wasn’t a big deal for two toddlers to sleep together. They were only three, after all.

Propriety between the sexes didn’t really apply at that age, especially since they had a childhood betrothal.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Deming refused. Panx Juan’er wailed and asked why.

That day, Zhang Deming created the first inside joke between the two families.

’A cute boy like me has to protect himself.’

That day, hearing three-year-old Zhang Deming say this in his childish voice in front of everyone, the adults from both families—who were all getting headaches from Panx Juan’er’s fussing—burst into laughter.

Those words became a running gag, remembered by the family ever since.

Whenever Panx Juan’er got too clingy with Zhang Deming, the adults would occasionally tease him, "Deming, a cute boy like you has to protect himself!

Don’t let this little girl take advantage of you!"

This would always be met with a roar of laughter from the adults and an indignant pout from Panx Juan’er.

’So, there should only be one person in the Celestial Spirit Sect who knows this line. It was our little secret.’

After a long moment, he chuckled and muttered to himself. ’It seems that little chubby girl from back then has changed quite a bit. So, I wonder if the little wife I was raising back then ever ran off or not?’

He got dressed, took out his Identity Card, and noted there were no intrusion alerts from the Array at the entrance.

’So, the owner of the room on the second floor that Steward Luh mentioned is Ling’er?’

’Well, let’s call her Ling’er for now.’

’So, is my being here the result of me freeloading off a woman? Not just some damn good luck?’

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. He’d deal with it the next time they met.

After all, he still didn’t know the situation with that old fogey who took Panx Juan’er as a disciple back then.

Just as he was about to lie down on the recliner and continue being a salted fish, a notification appeared on the card in his hand.

Zhang Deming turned and walked to the entrance. Qin Shizhong was waiting quietly by the warning Array, a huge bundle on his back.

Zhang Deming waved his hand, deactivated the Array, and said, "Come in."

Zhang Deming then turned and sat down at the stone table under the shade of a tree in the courtyard, watching Qin Shizhong walk in with the materials.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhang." Qin Shizhong smiled, placed the bundle of materials on the ground, and greeted him.

Zhang Deming nodded. "Let’s skip the pleasantries. Show me the materials.

Don’t disappoint me, or we can forget about any further cooperation."

Qin Shizhong said confidently, "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Zhang. Your requirements are very simple. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied."

He then took a cloth bag out of the bundle, placed it gently on the table, and opened it.

Inside the bag was a pile of white bones—all of them meticulously processed leg bones.

"Blast Deer Leg Bones from an Advanced Apprentice level beast. Due to their unique nature, they possess powerful Spirituality.

However, because the Spirituality becomes extremely volatile after the Blast Deer dies, the Spirit Bones become very fragile and easy to break.

Therefore, they’re not suitable for Artifact Refining, and their volatile Spiritual Power Attribute makes them unsuitable as an ingredient for most potions.

So, even though this is the material with the strongest speed-type Spirituality among Advanced Apprentice materials, it’s not very popular.

But it just so happens to meet your requirement of only caring about Spirituality, Senior Brother Zhang. I wonder if this is to your liking?"

He felt a little anxious presenting this item. Although he had specifically sought it out, it was, after all, an unpopular product.

Zhang Deming nodded. "This is interesting. A good item. What’s the price?"

Qin Shizhong was overjoyed to hear this. He was off to a good start.

He said happily, "Although it’s an Advanced Apprentice level material, because of the characteristics I just mentioned, we’re still selling it at a mid-level price.

One Spirit Stone for the leg bones of a single Blast Deer—so, four bones per Spirit Stone.

I’ve brought twelve bones this time, for a total of three Spirit Stones."

Zhang Deming nodded. The price was quite sincere. He reached out and pulled the cloth bag to a corner of the stone table.

Qin Shizhong bent down again and pulled a small, spiky cloth bag from his pocket.

"Spirit Thorn Demon Vine, Advanced Apprentice level. The entire Demon Vine propagates by division, but it has only one core.

Because the core, even at maturity, is only as long as a chopstick and slightly thinner, it’s still not suitable for Artifact Refining, even though its flexibility is passable.

However, due to the high concentration in its core, its Spirituality is among the strongest and most volatile of all Apprentice Level materials."

Zhang Deming frowned slightly this time. "You sell this by the root?"

Qin Shizhong nodded. "One Spirit Stone per root. I’ve brought five."

’This stuff meets my requirements, but at one Spirit Stone per root, it completely raises the material cost for the Spirit Nurturing Technique.

If it doesn’t have a significant impact on the success rate, it’s completely unnecessary.’

Zhang Deming pondered for a moment, then said, "Leave two for today. I’ll test them before I decide."

Qin Shizhong nodded, bent down again, and brought out the heaviest material this time. "Bone Armor Crocodile, Advanced Apprentice level.

Its spine and heart’s blood are top-tier Apprentice Level materials, while its shell bones are too heavy and malformed for Artifact Refining, but they have sufficient Spirituality."

As the bundle was opened, Zhang Deming saw pieces of semi-oval, malformed cylinders of fragmented bone.

After their brief interaction, Qin Shizhong had already gotten a rough idea of Zhang Deming’s line of thinking. He added,

"A Bone Armor Crocodile’s shell has five core pieces. Excluding the spine, that leaves four pieces with Spirituality on par with the Blast Deer Leg Bones. But you get the pieces from two crocodiles for one Spirit Stone.

In other words, eight shell pieces for one Spirit Stone."

Zhang Deming’s eyes lit up when he heard that. "This is good. I’ll take five Spirit Stones’ worth to try out."

"Uh, this stuff is really heavy, and I wasn’t sure if you’d need it, Senior Brother Zhang, so I only brought eight pieces," Qin Shizhong said awkwardly.

"Alright, then the eight pieces will do for now.

I’ll test them first. If there are no issues, then aside from the vines, I’ll stick with these two materials next time.

The vines are probably not a good fit. You can start looking for alternatives while you wait for my test results," Zhang Deming said.

Qin Shizhong nodded. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Zhang. I’ve got a good grasp of your general requirements now.

Strong Spirituality, moderate quantity, and an affordable price.

There are plenty of plant-based, vine-type materials that meet those criteria. I’ll be sure to find something that completely satisfies you next time, Senior Brother Zhang."

Zhang Deming nodded. "That’s seven Spirit Stones in total, right?"

"Yes, Senior Brother Zhang," Qin Shizhong said with a smile.

After they settled the bill, Qin Shizhong took his leave. Zhang Deming, meanwhile, carried the materials back into the house, ready to begin his operation to accumulate some initial capital.