This is how immortals are cultivated

Although Jin Bailu was called Madam by Zhu Biaotou, she was not very old and was about the same age as Fang Suichu and Li Qingming.

Jin Bailu is good-looking. She has the genes of a noble family. She usually has fine clothes and delicious food, and is well-nourished, so naturally she has a good appearance.

However, Fang Suichu just took a quick glance and then looked away.

"Mr. Fang, actually this time..."

"The world is big, but eating is the most important thing. Let's talk about it after we eat." Fang Suichu interrupted Jin Bailu.

Because the restaurant is already familiar with Fang Suichu, when Fang Suichu arrives, the foreman will ask the kitchen to make intensive preparations, so the dishes are naturally served very quickly.

Fang Suichu started eating directly as he had said to Jin Bailu.

Speaking of which, although Fang Suichu eats fast, his eating posture is not rude, and he even eats with a smooth rhythm.

It's quite relaxing, you know what. If this were the food-streaming phenomenon of my past life, it would have been very popular.

Before Jin Bailu came, he naturally had some knowledge of the other party's actions in Cangsong City in the past few days.

At this moment, he was also quietly watching Fang Suichu eat.

During this period, the other party had been observing him in a hidden way, hoping to learn something from him.

Chapter 30 Escort Mission

Fang Suichu said they should eat first and talk about other things later, and he really just buried his head in his food, not saying anything else. Li Qingming and Wu Yuanshuo, on the other hand, were sizing up Jin Bailu, the host. The woman wasn't embarrassed at all, and she gave the two women a warm smile before waiting in silence.

The sun finally set and night fell, and Fang Suichu finally stopped serving the dishes and told the waiter that he didn't need to continue.

After wiping his mouth with the towel provided by the store, Fang Suichu looked at Jin Bailu.

Jin Bailu was very patient and had said nothing before, but only spoke now:

"I wonder where the fairyland is, Mr. Fang?"

"There is no such thing as a fairyland. He is currently a wandering cultivator, traveling with my two sisters."

Jin Bailu wanted to ask something, but was interrupted by Fang Suichu:

"Just say what you want to say. I don't like this kind of empty talk."

Although he spoke softly, Jin Bailu suddenly felt a sense of pressure when he met the pair of dark eyes opposite him.

He had been observing this person before. His exaggerated appetite was certainly not something that ordinary people could possess, but other than that, Jin Bailu could not see any "inhuman" qualities in him.

But how could Jin Bailu forget that night in the forest when the other party sucked in the evil moonlight, which frightened the arrogant mountain king so much that he knelt down and begged for mercy, but was slapped to death and even the spiritual material that fell was taken away.

In other words, it is precisely because everything seems normal that it shows how powerful and terrifying their methods are.

"You must have been in a hurry to return to the capital before, but now you are still staying in Cangsong County. Obviously, you have encountered some trouble that has forced you to hesitate."

Fang Suichu's words brought Jin Bailu back to his senses.

Practicing treacherous methods can severely affect one's sanity, distorting one's nature and ultimately reducing one to a mindless, monstrous form. The more one approaches a practitioner, the more cautious one must be. After all, one never knows what kind of madness lies within this seemingly normal person.

The other party didn't like the protracted and useless negotiations, so Jin Bailu no longer hid it.

After all, the person in front of us is really the only way to break the current crisis.

"Yes, Mr. Fang, I do have a problem right now."

"Wait."

Fang Suichu stopped Jin Bailu, then called the waiter over and asked for a plate of melon seeds.

Fang Suichu grabbed a handful of melon seeds and gave them to Li Qingming and Wu Yuanshuo respectively, then grabbed another handful for himself.

Fang Suichu is not the kind of person who would not watch the CG when completing a mission. Since it is a mission CG, he must watch it carefully.

"Ms. Jin, please start your story." While cracking melon seeds, Fang Suichu said to Jin Bailu.

Jin Bailu: “…”

After a moment's silence, Jin Bailu slowly spoke and told him about the trouble he was talking about.

The Jin family of Shuzhou is a family that started out as merchants. There is no such thing as suppressing merchants in this world. For a caravan to travel through dangerous wilderness, it is something that only extremely powerful and wealthy families can do.

The Jin family has businesses in every county in Shuzhou, and even does business in other states.

The Jin family has a very special family education. After their children become adults, they have to participate in the annual assessment of their own business. Although they are very rich, they do not keep idle people.

Even in the future, the selection of the head of the family will not be based on whether he is the eldest son, but will be based purely on his strength.

Jin Bailu was like this. After reaching adulthood, he left the family and went to run a branch in another place. He would only return to the family for a reunion during the annual Chinese New Year.

"A month ago, I received a call from home. It wasn't a letter, but a one-way signal using the secret technique of our Jin family. The message had only one meaning: my children away from home must immediately drop what they are doing and return home."

"But you didn't go back, not because you didn't want to, but because you couldn't."

Fang Suichu said:

"Someone is trying to stop you from going back."

"That's right... Four days ago, the Tongxiang Escort Agency's convoy and I rested briefly for one night in Cangsong County, and the next day we set off again for the provincial capital."

“But, on the way we were attacked.”

"It wasn't a monster, but a cultivator's trick. Escort Leader Zhu was severely injured, but I don't know if it was out of respect for my Jin family or the Tongxiang Escort Agency, they didn't kill us all. That's why we were able to escape back to Cangsong County yesterday."

"Someone is trying to stop you from returning home, but they're not outright killing you. Does that mean they're from within the Jin family?"

"The reason they stopped you is because they think you're a threat. They believe that as long as you can't go back, even if you're still alive, you won't pose any threat."

"And your threat... considering the situation at the Jin family, it seems to be only due to your status and talent."

"The head of your Jin family is dead?"

"Your brothers and sisters from the same clan are fighting over the family property and status, so they don't want to see you go back?"

Jin Bailu's pupils shrank slightly upon hearing Fang Suichu's words. He had already deduced the outcome of the matter simply from his own words. If he hadn't been certain this gentleman had nothing to do with the Jin family's affairs, Jin Bailu would have almost assumed he was sent by one of his brothers and sisters.

But this is impossible. His brothers and sisters are not capable of driving such a person around at will. Otherwise, there would be no need to fight for the position of the head of the Jin family.

"It's exactly what you said." Jin Bailu nodded.

"According to the accurate information I received not long ago, the head of the family...my father is dead."

"Because the branch I was previously in was far from the capital, I learned the news later than the other brothers and sisters. And, I don't know which brother arranged for someone to stop me."

"That's why I've sent you a letter inviting you here."

Jin Bailu stood up from his seat and bowed solemnly to Fang Suichu, who was still cracking melon seeds.

"I would like to ask you to escort me back to the state capital."

Fang Suichu became more energetic and put down the melon seeds in his hand:

"That is, if I escort you, I'll be facing off against the other guys."

Fang Suichu's low voice made Jin Bailu, who was bending over, feel nervous.

But she didn't dare to hide this kind of thing and could only say yes.

"Speaking of which, encountering that 'mountain king' that night was quite strange. From what I understand, Tongxiang Escort Agency is a local tyrant in Shuzhou. They should be familiar with the distribution of spirits, ghosts, and gods in the mountains and rivers."

"That tiger is not an ordinary monster..."

Fang Suichu's words made Jin Bailu's heart sink even more.

In fact, after she found herself blocked from returning home, she realized that Shanjun's appearance that night was no coincidence. It must have been planned by her brothers at that time.

That day, Fang Suichu's misfortune was clearly unprovoked.

"Speaking of which, based on what you said about your family's size, if there's a fight for the position of Patriarch, there should be some cultivators involved, right? What level are they at?"

"A master from the Spiritual Secret Realm... But please rest assured, if we are only escorting them to the provincial capital, any obstacles along the way cannot be from the Spiritual Secret Realm."

Fang Suichu's previous words made Jin Bailu worry that this person would find it troublesome and refuse, so she immediately spoke in a hurry.

"If Mr. Fang can agree to this, I will definitely reward you handsomely afterwards."

But when she looked up, she saw a very excited face.

"Agree, why not? It sounds like there are quite a lot of weird things in the task process." Fang Suichu said.

"Miss Jin, right? Kill those monsters blocking the road... No, I mean, I agree to escort you to the state capital."

Jin Bailu nodded subconsciously at the straightforward agreement, but when she came to her senses, she felt something was wrong.

Chapter 31 Leave it to me

Fang Suichu's route home had to pass through Shuzhou Prefecture and Tongcheng Prefecture.

He could also take on a mission along the way. Putting aside the mission settlement and the generous reward that Jin Bailu mentioned, Fang Suichu was in urgent need of killing a few monsters and getting some resources so as to completely complete his Bone Tempering Realm training.

Fang Suichu was very satisfied with this.

After everything was settled, Fang Suichu returned to the inn with Wu Yuanshuo and Li Qingming.

The next day, a car from Tongxiang Escort Agency came to the inn to pick up the three people.

"Not bad, there's a special car for pick-up." Fang Suichu sat down on the comfortable soft seat of the carriage with satisfaction, enjoying the massage from Wu Yuanshuoni's soft hands.

The carriage was not the one that Jin Bailu had before, but another carriage that Jin Bailu had obtained from the Jin family business in Cangsong County, so that Fang Suichu and the other two could travel together.

This arrangement made Fang Suichu even more satisfied.

According to their original plan, the three of them had to save on travel expenses and not use a carriage to get to the provincial capital. At least that was the case when Fang Suichu was collecting money from monsters along the way. But now, the transportation method and route were also directly arranged.

The carriage drove into the backyard of the Jin family branch, and the familiar Tongxiang Escort Agency people were there.

Jin Bailu came out to greet them, followed by the leader of this group of escorts, Zhu Biaotou.

At this moment, Zhu Biaotou no longer looked as burly and vigorous as before.

His muscles shriveled up, turning the originally strong man into a thin and sickly person.

His eye sockets were sunken and had a dark blue color.

"Mr. Fang..." Seeing Fang Suichu coming, even in this state, Zhu Biaotou still forced himself to salute with his fists.

Last night, when he heard that his employer, the young lady of the Jin family, had invited this expert, Zhu Escort Head was relieved. Otherwise, this escort mission would have been a failure.

After paying his respects to Fang Suichu, Zhu Biaotou paid his respects to Li Qingming and Wu Yuanshuo, who seemed to be Fang Suichu's female relatives.

"Hello, ladies..."

Zhu Biaotou's appearance caused Li Qingming and Wu Yuanshuo to look at him sideways.

Li Qingming even asked, "Boss Zhu, what are you doing..."

She obviously thought that Zhu Biaotou's appearance was caused by the evil cultivator who had blocked Jin Bailu's way before.

This time, what we are going to encounter is not a strange creature, but a real person who practices strange things.

According to Jin Bailu, although the person who blocked her way was only at the Spirit Induction Realm at most, Zhu Biaotou's appearance still made her a little worried.

The methods of each Taoist school are different, and some are so insidious and horrifying that they can even cause the cultivators in the spiritual secret realm to fall.

"Did you use your escort agency's methods?"

Fang Suichu's words interrupted from the side, and he looked at the escort leader with some curiosity.

After hearing Fang Suichu's words, Li Qingming also realized what was happening. It turned out that Zhu Biaotou's miserable state was not caused by the injury from the roadblocker, but was the sequelae of some method he had used.

"Earlier, your energy and blood were like firewood that kept piling up, but now the firewood has burned out."

"You're not just overdrawing your energy and blood right now, but also your lifespan in the future. If you don't have something to replenish your energy in this state, I'm afraid you won't live more than three years."

"Of course, your previous condition wasn't good either. Forcing firewood together to burn is like forcing your lifespan to ebb. You wouldn't live past forty."

"Mr. Fang has good eyesight." Upon hearing Fang Suichu's words, Zhu Biaotou smiled bitterly, but his attitude towards Fang Suichu became more respectful.

"For example, in my position as the head escort at Tongxiang Escort Agency, no one usually works there past the age of thirty."

"We don't have the true qualifications to practice cultivation, so we can only rely on this secret method. This is what we were told when we joined the escort agency."

"In fact, I can retire from the escort agency next year, take my share of the salary and enjoy it."

"That's really tragic..."