The breeze in May carries the fragrance of locust flowers.
On the mountain road, a man dressed in plain clothes was walking furtively.
He looked around from time to time, looking like he was a thief with a guilty conscience.
The man has a round face and walks like a duck.
Zhao Shun, he is the alchemist cousin mentioned in Xiao Dao Zhi.
Serve the Zhou family at the foot of the mountain and take advantage of your position.
He often steals some alchemy materials, then refines them and sells them on the black market.
But not long ago, the black market was banned.
Zhao Shun didn't want to lose this huge source of income, so he decided to take a desperate risk and trade with some casual cultivators.
Without the protection of the black market, who knows what accidents might happen.
What if the loose cultivators take advantage of the wealth and kill people to seize the wealth?
This kind of thing happens all the time in the world of immortality.
Therefore, he asked his cousin Xiaodao, who was in Wanshi Pavilion in Shushan, to find a guard for him.
The agreed place is here, but why is there no one there?
Zhao Shun looked around.
"You're half an hour late."
At this time, a voice suddenly came.
Zhao Shun raised his head and saw a man wearing a bamboo hat lying lazily on a branch.
He is holding a jug of wine in his right hand, and there is a cow beside him.
The cow also stood on a branch, with one foot independent.
Zhao Shundao: "My cousin... is Xiao Dao."
"knew."
"It's my first time here, so I'm a little slow, sorry."
After thinking about it, Zhao Shun explained.
Li Ping'an didn't dwell too much on this issue.
At first glance, this Zhao Shun seems to be someone who won't do bad things. Everything is written on his face.
People die for wealth and birds die for food.
"Let's go."
Along the way, Zhao Shun was a little worried.
"Um...what is your cultivation level?"
He was worried that Li Ping'an was not strong enough and would not be able to protect himself in case of an accident.
Li Ping'an didn't answer him, but just asked, "Don't talk too much about the transaction later. Trade, take the money, and leave. Do you understand?"
Soon, the two arrived at the trading location.
After waiting for a while, there was a sparse movement in the bushes.
The buyers came, three casual cultivators.
The man in the middle is wearing a black robe, with triangular eyes and a hooked nose.
His eyes were fierce and his face was full of flesh.
With such an appearance, no one would believe him even if he was said to be a good person.
The two burly men behind him also looked fierce.
The three of them released the pressure on them without any scruples.
Zhao Shun's heart was filled with fear, and his legs shook involuntarily.
To put it bluntly, he is just an ordinary alchemist.
Having little strength and courage is the current situation of most monks.
Zhao Shun did not dare to step forward and glanced at Li Ping'an.
Li Ping'an took a step forward, and the pressure on Zhao Shun suddenly disappeared.
Zhao Shun then said: "Well... let's start trading."
The middle-aged man said coldly: "Have you brought anything with you?"
"Naturally." Zhao Shun took out the elixir from the storage ring.
The middle-aged man took the goods and handed them to the man on the left for inspection.
After confirming that the elixir was correct, the three of them turned around and left.
Zhao Shun subconsciously stopped him, "Wait, where is my...money?"
The middle-aged man tilted his head slightly and looked at Zhao Shun with a cold gaze like a knife.
Zhao Shun was immediately frightened by the opponent's strong aura, and the fear in his eyes became even stronger.
He hesitated for a moment, but didn't dare to speak again.
The middle-aged man grinned, showing his uneven teeth.
His eyebrows were drawn into his temples, and there was a hint of murderous intent in the corners of his eyes.
"This is a fair transaction. We pay for delivery. We don't advocate free prostitution."
The middle-aged man's eyes moved away from Zhao Shun and fell on the blind man who made a sound.
Li Ping'an held the handle of the knife and took another step forward.
He said word for word: "Pay one hand and deliver the goods, fair trade, otherwise we have to take back our goods."
There was silence, and the surrounding air seemed to solidify.
Looking at the uncertain expressions on the three people's faces, it seemed as if they were going to fight in the next second.
Zhao Shun said hurriedly: "....Forget it, I don't want the money."
Li Pingan frowned slightly.
The middle-aged man had a sinister smile on his face and shrugged.
bass!!
Li Ping'an put his thumb on the handle of the knife and suddenly pulled out the knife for half a minute.
The condensed cold light kept flowing, with a sharp coolness.
Obviously he no longer wanted to talk nonsense, he said in a deep voice.
"One last time, pay!"
The middle-aged man was silent for a moment and waved.
The person on the left took out the spirit stone from the storage ring and handed it to Zhao Shun.
Li Ping'an said again: "A little bit, is the number correct?"
Zhao Shun was stunned for a moment and started counting.
His eyes narrowed to a slit, and his joy was beyond words.
"Is the amount correct?"
Zhao Shun nodded hurriedly, "Yes!"
Then he added, "It's just that three spiritual stones are missing, but it doesn't matter. Let's go."
The three casual cultivators were also preparing to leave.
"stop!"
Li Ping'an's voice sounded again, "Three spiritual stones are missing."
The middle-aged man's face instantly became even colder, his eyes fixed on Li Ping'an like a poisonous snake.
"Are you looking for death?"
In his opinion, this is not a matter of three spiritual stones.
But Li Ping'an didn't give him face, which was provoking him.
Li Ping'an was not afraid, "I am not seeking death, but I am missing three spiritual stones. You should make up for these three spiritual stones."
Zhao Shun also felt that Li Ping'an was really making a fuss out of a molehill, and advised, "It's also possible that I counted it wrong. It's only three spiritual stones. It's not enough."
Li Ping'an ignored Zhao Shun and repeated it in a calm tone.
"After completing three spiritual stones, you can make the next transaction, or the transaction will be cancelled."
The middle-aged man said coldly, "Just for three spiritual stones?"
Li Ping'an said nothing and had a firm attitude.
.............
Phew~
Li Ping'an took a sip of wine and led the old cow to walk slowly on the mountain path.
"Hey, brother, the way you just acted might have put both of us in danger, did you know?"
Zhao Shun had some complaints in his tone.
He was blaming Li Ping'an for almost having a conflict with him just now over three spiritual stones.
Fortunately, the other party gave in in the end.
Li Pingan was too lazy to explain to him at first, but then he remembered that he was Xiaodao's cousin.
So, I said to him seriously.
"Remember! This is not about the three spirit stones, but the other party is testing your bottom line.
You may cooperate with them in the future. Today it will be three coins, tomorrow it will be thirty coins, and the day after tomorrow it will be three hundred coins.
They will use this method to find out your bottom line, and in the end the only outcome waiting for you is death."
Zhao Shun smiled and said, "It's not that serious."
Li Pingan will not explain any more, but will give you one last piece of advice.
"Stop doing this kind of thing again, you are not this material at all."
Zhao Shun looked at Li Ping'an's back and snorted, completely disapproving of it.
People are addicted to food.
Li Ping'an deeply understood the meaning of these four words.
But none of this has anything to do with him. He had promised Xiao Dao to only protect Zhao Shun this time.
When I returned to Fangshi, I happened to meet an old man who wanted to buy Magic Heart Grass.
Fantasy Heart Herb is an herb that has hallucinogenic effects.
However, after Li Ping'an's processing, it became a good medicine.
The old man bought a few packs of herbs and looked at Li Ping'an up and down.
"Are you the pharmacist in this store?"
"yes."
"Very good." The old man said.
"Thank you."
The old man bought the medicinal herbs and left.
"Moo!"
Lao Niu noticed something was wrong and reminded Li Pingan that there was something wrong with the old man.
Li Ping'an hesitated for a moment and did not mind his own business.
It has nothing to do with who comes here to trade.
Two or three days later, Zhao Shun came to see Li Pingan again.
I hope Li Pingan can continue to be his bodyguard.
However, Li Ping'an refused and gave him a few words of advice.
Zhao Shun is really not the type to do bad things.
Good words can't persuade the devil to die.
Two months later, Li Ping'an had forgotten about the incident in his peaceful life.
It wasn't until one day when I was wandering around that I met Xiaodao that I learned about the murder of Zhao Shun.
Xiaodao sighed, "I have tried to persuade him before, but he just didn't listen."
Li Pingan said nothing, everything was as expected.
Man, as big as your butt is, wear pants as big as you want.
As time goes by, Fangshi's business becomes more and more prosperous.
In the blink of an eye, another five years have passed.
Li Ping'an spends his days in addition to refining necessary medicine, practicing and playing the erhu.
Just eat, drink, make tea, practice calligraphy, and fish.
The days are leisurely and uneventful, and occasionally I go to the pub in Fangshi for a drink.
When you are happy after drinking, you will tell others about what you have seen and heard.
In the past five years, he has never left Shushan.
I thought life would pass slowly like this, but unexpectedly, Li Ping'an recently felt like other partners in the store.
Including Lin Xue, things felt more and more wrong.
There have been hints of these things before.
Li Ping'an didn't pay much attention, but after a long period of contact, he connected small things together.
He got an incredible idea.
Lin Xue is in contact with people from the cult!?
No, it should be said that the disciples of Tongtian Peak are in contact with people from the cult.
To put it more bluntly, there is something wrong with Lin Xue’s father, the peak master of Tongtian Peak.