I noted the guy standing in front of all the other thugs. The man wore cultivator robes, as his Qi flared all around him. I extended my senses and found the man to be in the lower fourth realm. I was both impressed by the show, and pitied all of them.

Impressed as even a large sect like Cloudy Peak Sect would easily pick a disciple in the 4th realm, even if they aren’t too young. The cultivator in front of me could pass for his mid twenties and would easily form the core disciple or heir of any sect outside the seven celestial peaks.

Yet, I pitied them at the same time as these goons had picked the worst time to arrive. Again. When there were so many of us around, and a prodigious thunder cultivator.

“Whatcha here for? We’ve already paid ya guys,” Su Lin said, straightening his back as he walked ahead. With the perpetual sleazy look and slouch it was easy to forget but Su Lin was quite tall and well built, taller than me, and I was fairly tall as well.

The thug glared, his presence flaring outwards. Surprisingly, Su Lin held his own, not budging an inch and a grin covered the man’s face.

“Yer the guy Silver Fang threw out aren’t ya?” the thug asked as Su Lin’s frown increased on his face.

Silver Fang. I’d heard Su Lin mention the name before. The guy running these thugs around? Wait, have I stumbled upon some kind of black market drug syndicate in real life?

“The protection fee has been raised, didn’t ya hear? It’s five golds now. Unless you want the halls sending their cultivators to see just what kinda pills you’ve got stocked up in there, I’d suggest either pay up or leave the shop and run,” the thug spoke, and I sensed Su Lin’s anger rising.

“Heavens, can’t even let an old woman live in peace can you?” the granny spoke, as she walked out, glaring at the thug.

“Don’t pretend to be some frail old woman, hag. We’ve heard about you, and what you used to do,” the thug spoke, as Granny Lang clicked her tongue.

“Pay them whatever they want,” she said, turning back to head inside. I saw Su Lin clenching his fists as he glared the thug down, a mocking grin on the man’s face.

My eyes drifted to the back, meeting the familiar thug Zou Chen from last time. The boy’s eyes widened as he turned to look at me, nudging the cultivator standing in front.

“Is that the guy? Cloudy Peak sect, not to mention an outer disciple,” the thug said, as his gaze drifted next to me, and towards Yan Yun and Liuxiang standing nearby. I had a suspicion that I knew exactly what the thug was going to say.

“What’s a beauty like that doing with the likes of these two? And a pretty boy huh? Never knew you swung that way Su Lin,” the thug said, laughing as his lackeys followed.

“You should leave them and come to Silver Fang. He’d appreciate your beauty a lot more closely. Even that pretty boy would make for a nice treat,” the guy said and I sensed Yan Yun’s Qi crackle within her core, but she surprisingly kept quiet.

What was even more surprising was the anger and disgust I found building in my chest as I stepped ahead.

“I’ve said it the last time, and I’ll say it again. You really don’t want to start a fight,” I said, as the thug turned to look at me.

“Think yourself strong? Leave the pretense. Ya may scare these cowards but any real cultivator would sense your middling Qi. But since ya seem so intent, this big brother won’t hesitate from putting some sense in you,” the thug said, grinning.

“Not me, but these two are,” I said with a smirk, pointing back towards Yan Yun and Liuxiang behind me.

The man stared at me confused, before he looked at the young girl, and a pretty looking boy behind me and his face turned red with fury.

“You dare?!” the thug screamed, his fist lashing out.

With a surprising quickness I turned to the side, my feet sweeping out as I grabbed an exploding pill in my hand, and ignited it.

Fire blossomed all around, rushing out in a whirling inferno as the thug’s clothes were singed, embers rising. I felt my right hand sting, burnt from the impact of the explosion as I coughed and watched the thug stare at me in surprise.

Fire burst his hair on the right side, his clothes black and charred. Guess he hadn’t expected a firebomb, amateur mistake.

“Let this one handle them Senior,” Liuxiang spoke as I jumped back in a rush, cycling Qi to my hand. I’d had enough showing off. A day of cultivation was no way enough time to catch up to years of faulty cultivation practice. And I didn’t plan to use any miasma here.

Liuxiang swept ahead, gliding as his needles came out. With swift hand movements he ran around, needles striking out the thug in key locations. I stared in surprise as the angered and raging thug roared, trying to walk ahead, only to collapse to his knees.

“Wha… what have you…?” the thug muttered, as the powerful fourth realm cultivator collapsed in front of Liuxiang, who wasn’t even near the peak of the third realm.

With an inhuman hiss, and a terrifying flicked of his wrist, Liuxiang looked down. “Yi poison. It won’t kill you, but perhaps you wished it would. This one does not appreciate being regarded as a plaything,” Liuxiang spoke, as a green aura flared around him, and I felt a shiver travel down my spine.

What the fuck? Was this the same kind and slightly weird guy I knew?

I saw the lackeys collapse, running away one after the other. A couple dragging the cultivator on their shoulders. Liuxiang’s aura settled down, as he bent down, picking up the needles that had fallen over, before turning back quietly, and dipping his head.

“Apologies, this one’s Yang Qi can sometimes cause aggression,” Liuxiang spoke and I finally realised that I’d been staring blankly at him.

“Uhh, no. I mean. Thanks? Is he really going to… y’know. Suffer that much? That seems a bit excessive,” I said, looking at Liuxiang.

“No, the poison was meant to paralyze. At worst it would give him a bad stomach for a few days,” Liuxiang spoke, as a smile crept on his face and I noted a very important personal rule.

Never, ever, fuck with people who knew poison. Liuxiang particularly.

I laughed nonetheless, imagining the guy suffering some diarrhea and a laugh escaped his mouth. Probably the best solution to any arrogant thug or young master. Diarrhea poison.

“Well, that was unexpected. And interrupted the class, but I think we should head out now anyways?” I said, looking around and received nods.

“I-I can’t,” Su Lin spoke up, turning to look at me, his fists still clenched. “I have to stay here. Those guys will be back, and ya won’t be here next time. They won’t let this go. This time it was one powerful cultivator. Next time there might be five,” Su Lin spoke, turning towards Yan Yun.

“I know, ya asked me to help in the tournament and everything. Lu Jie even cured Zhang and everything and I’m an ungrateful bastard but- I can’t. I won’t be returning to the sect. Zhang is weak and he needs me, and Granny can’t deal with these thugs on her own,” Su Lin said, bowing his head deeply.

I stood in silence, looking towards Yan Yun. I didn’t know the girl very well, with her background as a prodigious jade beauty, and while I could tell she was dealing with things, what she would do now would allow me to decide just what sort of a person she was.

“I’ll provide some spirit herbs for your brother, in exchange, I expect you to not mention anything about what you heard or saw the first time we’d met here,” Yan Yun said, and I spotted a tinge of red on her cheeks.

Su Lin looked up in surprise, a grin coming on his rat-like face before he bowed again. “I swear to the heavens.”

“I suggest leaving this place to move somewhere else. Without any sort of protection, no one would be able to stop those thugs from bringing harm to you,” Yan Yun said, as the boy raised his head.

“Why are these thugs coming to bother you, or Granny Lang? I know you’re clearly got some history here, and I was content to not pry till now, but this seems a bit excessive,” I asked, and Su Lin looked at me, before diverting his eyes away. He closed them for a moment, thinking for a moment, before he spoke up.

“Alongside the Alchemy Halls, the Silver Fangs run the black market on the pills. The halls keep their recipes a secret, and in control, but they also have many forbidden ingredients and pills. Silver Fang deals in those, and other pills that the halls won’t take. I’d been selling yours to them for a higher price than a normal pill, to buy more herbs for Zhang. They soon found yer pills to be more effective, and wanted me to bring ya to them,” Su Lin said and I stared in surprise.

“Wait, so… he’s the drug lord of this city and you were selling my pills in there and… he wants me?” I asked, my voice rising in pitch as I spoke, and received a nod from Su Lin.

“Now he’s tryna get me to bring him this Alchemist. The one whose Qi smells like grass and earth. The ‘Verdant Pills’ they call it,” Su Lin spoke and I facepalmed.

There went my plan to remain unnoticed.

Taking a moment, I thought silently on the matter. I knew my pills were improved, but I had also expected other experienced alchemists to have come up with much better versions of their own. Those that tried anyways. Unless I was missing something? Perhaps it was tied to how I cultivated, and why I could form these spirit anchors to herbs. I turned to look at Su Lin.

“So, this guy doesn’t know who I am right?” I asked, receiving a nod from Su Lin. “Alright. I think I have an idea to sort this whole mess,” I said, digging into my pouch.

I held out the lotus seeds I’d packed, and used to create the pill that I used to fix Zhang’s Qi deprivation.

“There’s a village near a Qi vein nearby. It’s called Taizhou and if you show the village head there, and tell them mine and Liuxiang’s name, they’ll let you move in. You already have the pills I gave, which should be enough to sell to get a home there for all of you,” I said, handing over the seeds.

Su Lin stared at me in surprise and I smiled.

“Hey hey, we’re business partners okay? I’ve only really known you for three months or so, but that’s enough time to know someone. And this isn’t a charity, it’s an investment. I need a lab, somewhere outside the sect where I can pursue my path and make pills in peace. Taizhou is close enough that I can easily run to the city for whatever I need, and with the cultivators arriving there due to the Qi vein, the Granny should have enough business as well. I’m sure the village will appreciate more cultivators around as well,” I said, as I handed the seeds to Su Lin.

Su Lin stared at me, bowing his head. “I was wrong about ya Lu Jie. I had thought that ya were like me. But yer meant for far greater things. May the Heavens bless you,” Su Lin spoke, and I scratched my cheek in embarrassment.

“I don’t think they do, they keep shooting lightning at me,” I said, as the boy stared at me before bursting out in laughter. Laughter that I matched with my own.

Looking at Su Lin, I felt an odd feeling in my chest. I hadn’t ever really gotten the chance to know Su Lin. But perhaps once I was done with this tournament, I could.

Smiling, I extended my hand, forming them in my fist as Su Lin looked at me in confusion.

“It’s called a bro fist. Just, form a fist and tap it against mine,” I said, as Su Lin stared at me for a while before he formed a fist, setting it against mine.

“I’d gladly call you a brother,” he said.

It took me a moment to realise what he meant when I finally caught on. Bro fist. Brother. Swearing each other as brothers. Oh well, too awkward to try and tell him that’s not what I meant.

I pulled my hand back, smiling as I turned and saw Liuxiang looking silently, though I could detect the smile in the faint upwards curve of his lips. Yan Yun stood with a complicated expression on her face.

I glanced behind, watching Zhang standing further within the shop, leaning on one of his brother's shoulders as he nodded and I nodded back, and turned around. What a strangely eventful trip.

“Time to head back I guess?” I said out loud, when a crackle and a grumble interrupted me.

“Labby is hungry master,” Labby exclaimed, as I could almost sense her drooling, I laughed, taking out a pill as I handed to my little rat, and began to head back to the sect.

There was a spirit herb hunting tournament that I had to prepare for.