A small casual cultivator!

引：

The world is like the tide, making it difficult to cross even with a boat. All living beings are like mayflies in the pond, born in the morning and dying in the evening, drifting with the tide all their lives.

……

Taihe Town is an old town located deep in the mountains. It is made of blue bricks and black tiles, surrounded by clouds and mist. It is hidden among strange peaks and dangerous mountains, and usually few people visit it.

Early in the morning, after a light rain, the town woke up in the morning light. Today was market day, and the people living by the water went out early after packing up their housework. Gradually, the market in the town became bustling.

Everyone gathered together, the hawkers' cries filled the air, it was bustling and lively.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Suddenly, a lot of people gathered at the small stone bridge on the street, and the sound of a woman crying could be faintly heard from among them.

"Dear brothers and sisters-in-law, we are passing by to collect herbs. Today, my grandfather accidentally fell off a cliff while collecting herbs in the mountains and was injured. Now he urgently needs money to save his life, so we have no choice but to sell this rare wild ginseng. My brother and I have no parents, and it was my grandfather who raised us with great difficulty while digging herbs. We beg you to have pity on us and give us a fair price."

In the middle of the crowd, a young man and a young girl were kneeling on the ground holding a lush ginseng and shouting helplessly.

On the wooden cart next to them lay an old man covered in blood.

An old woman with gray hair lowered her head and sighed: "Oh, what poor children they are."

"Yes, it's so unfortunate. A hemp rope always breaks at the thinnest part, and misfortune only finds the unfortunate."

"This medicine looks good."

"Indeed, this is the first time I've seen ginseng with such lush branches and leaves."

Discussions gradually arose around them. The townspeople were simple and kind-hearted, and there were many sympathetic voices.

"But... why does this ginseng look a little weird?" Someone looked at the thing in the young man's hand in surprise.

It was a ginseng with an extremely strange appearance, covered with toad-like bumps, and its dense roots were actually wrapped around a palm-sized black stone.

"Ok?"

In the alley beside the street, a thin boy wearing a straw raincoat was walking with his head down. He seemed to sense something, stopped, looked at the palm of his hand, and murmured, "Is there any movement?"

After a while, seeing that no one spoke, the girl pulled up her hair, her eyes reddened, and she kowtowed to the people around her while crying and trembling, "Please, everyone, save my grandfather. I beg you."

Seeing that his forehead was already red and swollen, a kind-hearted man finally couldn't bear to watch it anymore and stepped forward to support him. "You two are really pitiful. I don't have much spare money, only four taels of silver. Are you willing to sell it to me?"

"Only four taels? My friend, you are not honest. This ginseng looks quite old and is a rare medicinal herb. I'll give you five taels!" As soon as he finished speaking, someone else spoke up.

"Then I'll add another hundred coins..."

Neither of them wanted to give in, so they started arguing and the price kept getting higher and higher.

Lu Luan squeezed into the crowd, looked at this scene, shook his head, and cast his gaze on the ginseng in the young man's hand. No, it should be the black stone where the ginseng roots were coiled.

"It looks like this is it." Lu Luan said silently.

He knew that there was something strange about the stone, so he stepped out and said to the two men, "Brothers, stop arguing. This ginseng is good. I am willing to pay eight taels of silver for it."

"What... eight taels!"

Everyone was shocked and looked at the ordinary-dressed boy in disbelief.

"Little brother, although this is a good medicinal herb, you shouldn't be too anxious. You should ask the adults to make the decision." The person who was bidding advised him.

Lu Luan just smiled slightly and then took out a silver note from his pocket.

"Kid, don't do that. It's hard to tell the real thing from the fake. Only experts can identify this kind of good medicine correctly. Be careful, these people are scammers." A kind-hearted person gently pulled him from behind.

"Such a good medicine, I am waiting to take it home to honor my elders." Lu Luan ignored them and continued to ask the two: "Two big brothers, how is it?"

The two men looked at each other and said with a smile: "Since you are so generous, we won't fight with you."

"Thanks."

Lu Luan squatted down and handed the banknote in his hand to the young man, "Brother, I have been kind-hearted since I was a child, and I hate to see people suffering. Here is ten taels of silver. No need to give me the change. Take it and save this old man."

The young man and the girl beside him kowtowed to him and said, "Thank you for your generosity, young benefactor. I hope you will have a bright future and many children and grandchildren in the future."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the brother and sister dragged the wooden cart and left with the dying old man.

"Huh? Why are the two people who were bidding the price gone?"

Suddenly, there were voices of surprise from the crowd.

"Yeah, where are they?"

"The two siblings are missing too."

"Little brother, you've been cheated. They are liars. Hey, it's a full ten taels of silver!"

Everyone around him looked at him with sympathy and felt sorry for him.

Lu Luan ignored him and just looked at the stone in his hand and smiled without saying anything.

Soon he left, leaving everyone sighing.

When he came to the dark, he looked around first, and then opened his palm after making sure that there was no one.

I saw a chubby little bug appear in the palm of my hand.

After coming out, the bug climbed onto the black stone in the blink of an eye, holding on tightly with its feet. Lu Luan shook his head in annoyance and said, "Look how anxious you are."

Lu Luan, a wandering cultivator, was at the second level of Qi Refining and was fourteen years old. He originally had an old man master, but he was beaten up two years ago and died due to the serious injuries.

Without his protection, in order to avoid monsters and beasts, he now travels between various mortal towns, using the abilities of little bugs to resell worldly treasures for a living.

"I wonder what kind of spiritual object is in here?" Lu Luan rubbed his hands on his clothes, looking expectant.

I saw a small sword appear in his hand, and he gently cut it, and the corners of the black stone began to crack.

"smell good."

The next moment, he smelled a refreshing fragrance.

“I didn’t expect it to be rock saliva!”

When Lu Luan saw the ointment flowing inside, he was pleasantly surprised. This was a good stuff. He quickly took out a few thumb-sized jade bottles from his storage bag to collect the rock saliva in the stone.

After a while, he looked at the small bottle in his hand and said with some regret: "It's a pity that there are too few. If there were a little more, it would be enough for me to break through."

"Squeak."

Seeing that he was going to take it for himself, the insect on his hand immediately became restless and started jumping up and down, making noises of protest.

"Don't worry, I won't miss you."

Lu Luan smiled softly and dropped a few drops into the palm of his hand. This was his lifeblood and he couldn't neglect it.

This little bug is called the medicine bug. It feeds on spiritual objects. It can smell the spiritual aura within ten feet around it and can also detect some dangers in advance.

Moreover, it can usually be hidden in the palm of his hand, and it was left by his master.

His master was also a casual cultivator, an old man at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Before he died, he repeatedly warned him to keep the secret carefully and not reveal it to anyone.

After the insect finished eating, he put away the bottle and looked forward, "It's time to find those people and ask them where they got the stone. Maybe there are more around."

Then he took out a yellowed talisman from the storage bag, made a hand seal on it, and threw it out gently.

The talisman flashed in the air and then turned into a small paper crane, which flew shakily into the alley nearby. Lu Luan chased after it with a smile.

He is an immortal cultivator. Isn't it easy for him to find a few mortals using his immortal methods?

A remote part of town.

"I didn't expect it to be so smooth. There's actually an idiot willing to spend ten taels of silver to buy just one fake ginseng!"

"That boy must have something wrong with his brain."

In an empty alley, the few people who were there were walking and talking and laughing. The old man covered in blood was now walking in front with his hands behind his back.

"Master, how did we perform today?"

The girl next to him grabbed the old man's arm and shook it, asking with a smile.

The old man stroked his beard lightly, with a puzzled look between his brows, "Strange, your acting is not real. I just wanted you to practice, but I didn't expect that someone would actually fall for it."

The young man next to him guessed, "He must be a child from a wealthy family. He is so ignorant. I should have paid a little more if I had known."

"Be content." The old man gave him a disdainful look.

"Everyone, are you talking about me?"

Lu Luan stood on the stone steps in front of them at some point, looking at them with amusement.

After hearing the voice, several people were startled at first, but they felt relieved when they saw that he was alone. The two men on the left and right walked forward with fists flexing, and said maliciously:

"Boy, do you regret it?"

"Ah! Ah!"

But as soon as the words fell, the two men suddenly fell to the ground, holding their stomachs and screaming in pain, their faces turning the color of liver.

"Oh no, we met an expert!"

The others wanted to run, but when Lu Luan moved his fingertips, three stones popped out and they all fell to the ground.

"Little brother, we are wrong. Let us go and I will return the banknote to you."

The old man saw him coming towards him and was so scared that he quickly handed over the banknote. Lu Luan took it, squatted in front of him, played with the sword and asked: "Tell me, where did you get the things you used to cheat?"

"There is an abandoned mountain temple on the roadside in the mountains behind. We took shelter from the rain inside a few days ago and accidentally found it next to a stone well." The old man said anxiously.

"In the mountain temple?"

There was a strange light in Lu Luan's eyes. After being abandoned for a long time, the dilapidated temple might attract some things that were usually hidden in the mountains because of the incense offerings there before.

He stared at the old man's eyes for a while, and then left after making sure that he was not lying. He did not care much about these ordinary people who were committing fraud.

After watching him leave, several people felt as if they had been released and immediately ran away crawling.

At this time, drizzle began to fall from the sky again. Lu Luan put on his hat, looked at the mountain behind the town shrouded in fog, and walked in.

……

"That's it."

After half an hour and crossing two mountains, he finally saw a few shabby houses in a forest.

As no one has taken care of it, the temple is now crooked and covered with all kinds of weeds. The stone statue of the mountain god is covered with gray spider webs.

When you walk in, you can see broken doors and windows, water dripping everywhere, potholes everywhere, even moss growing on some of the wood, and a pungent smell of decay permeates the air.

"It looks like it has been abandoned for quite a while. I wonder if there are any treasures left in there?"

Lu Luan fanned his hands in front of him and looked at him with a frown.

"Huh? There's some movement."

Not long after, the medicine bug in the palm of his hand felt something and began to emit a strong strange feeling. He stopped and then a look of surprise appeared on his face.