Chapter 42: This man is not as good-looking as master. Master has smoother skin, slenderer waist and...(1)
Translator: DragonRider
After Mu Chen tramped Bo Jinyu, he flew in a burst over the competition stage and happened to see Gu Yunjue kick an allegedly genius cultivator off the stage. Mu Chen felt a little relived at last and a slight smile appeared on his cold face, ‘My little disciple is totally a genius at every aspect except pill concocting. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter whether he can concoct pills or not, so long as he stays with me, otherwise he’ll be tempted to practice devil cultivation again.’
“Master,” Gu Yunjue flew over and stopped beside Mu Chen, with a smile on his face, “Are you free this afternoon?”
Mu Chen nodded as he teased his little disciple’s unruly hair.
"It’s really nice then since this disciple want to be accompanied by master to go down the mountain. I heard this morning that someone has obtained three Five-Colored Blossoms which he will only barter for something he wants. Shall we go there and have a look?"
"Five-Colored Blossoms?" Some delight appeared in Mu Chen’s usually cold eyes. But he seemed a little worried, frowning his eyebrows, because he knew that the more he hoped, the more likely he’d get disappointed. Five-Colored Blossoms grew in the devil realm. Not rare though, they were easily dead after being uprooted from the ground other than being preserved with superior magic tools. What’s more, they had to be nursed carefully with spirit power on the road to the immortal world. Since the owner spent so much effort bringing them here, he must have some ambitious purpose.
‘Bartering…what does the owner truly want?’
In his last life, Mu Chen had risked his life going to the devil realm by himself and managed to get the Five-Colored Blossom with injuries left all over his body. Unfortunately, something just happened before he could use them.
Looking at Gu Yunjue’s mild smiling face without any evil spirit, Mu Chen sighed, ‘Good fortune has come to honor me in this life thanks to my little disciple?’
Mu Chen’s eyesight seemed a little queer at that moment as if he was looking at some spirit pet that could bring good fortune: Lucky cat?!
Gu Yunjue sensed Mu Chen getting peculiar in seeing this disciple. Being afraid that Mu Chen would be lost in much more conjectures, Gu Yunjue dragged his master away with the arms around Mu Chen's waist, like cuddling his sweetheart.
When they arrived at Qiyang City, the news of Five-Colored Blossoms had spread everywhere that they simply got clear the location without even asking. Since many people had gathered in Qiyang City for the competition among the four sects, stories of the Five-Colored Blossoms had already stormed the whole city.
Gu Yunjue held Mu Chen's hand tightly all the way. Even though people gave way for them after recognizing their identities, Gu Yunjue still pulled his master into his arms subconsciously in case that others might touch a corner of Mu Chen's clothes. However, Mu Chen sniggered that this little disciple would get timid in the crowd and like clinging to his master as if he’d get lost in a blink of inattention. Such an adorable little bird!
Then they came to a small medicine shop only to see few people there. After all, Five-Colored Blossom could only be used in certain limited conditions. The owner seemed to be at his forties, wearing a beard. Seeing Mu Chen coming over, the owner hurried to greet, and bowed even deeper as he found Gu Yunjue standing beside Mu Chen, "Can I help you, my distinguished guests?"
Mu Chen looked the shop up and down and asked in a stable tone, “I heard you have Five-Colored Blossoms, don’t you?”
"I see, you also come here for Five-Colored Blossoms. In this case, you must have known our rules here. So long as you can take out something that satisfies our lord, naturally we can barter it with you.” The owner stroked his beard and explained to them enthusiastically.
Gu Yunjue held Mu Chen to take a seat and chuckled, "What does your lord want?"
“Well…” The shopkeeper hesitated for a while, his hands quivering inside the sleeves.
‘Absolutely it depends on what you want!’
For fear of saying something wrong, he thought it over and responded, “My lord intended to give the Five-Colored Blossoms to his beloved. So you may use beautiful herbs, if any, to exchange for it.”
“Beautiful Herbs?” Mu Chen felt the demand quite ludicrous, thinking to himself, ‘The lord’s wife should have so weird a taste. Planting herbs is just for appreciation?’
Then Mu Chen asked, “What do you mean ‘beautiful herbs’?”
The shopkeeper smiled, “What you think is beautiful should be beautiful. I believe in your taste.”
Mu Chen, “I think the foxtail grass at the roadside is beautiful. Do you want it?”
The shopkeeper tittered in embarrassment, “You must be kidding! It doesn’t count absolutely!”
Mu Chen looked at the shopkeeper thoughtfully, feeling something wrong.
The shopkeeper was freaked out by Mu Chen’s gaze. He immediately turned around and rushed to the rear room before he fetched a tiny ebony box. “Everyone in Qiyang City knows Elder Mu. My lord believes in you. So these Five-Colored Blossoms are all yours.”
Mu Chen just looked at it but did not take it, obviously with suspicion hanging in his mind.
Gu Yunjue suddenly took it over and winked at Mu Chen,
‘No matter what kind of purpose he has, we take the herbs first.’
Gu Yunjue moved the lid and saw three Five-Colored Blossoms lying quietly in the box, which were nourished and preserved by the spirit of a jade-like bracelet beneath. He handed the herbs to Mu Chen. "Master, they look real."
Just by a glace, Mu Chen had confirmed the herbs were of top quality. He nodded his head and Gu Yunjue immediately accepted it. It seemed that whatever Mu Chen would say, his little disciple would not take it out any more. Seeing Gu Yunjue act like a moneygrubber, Mu Chen was amused and decided to put aside his concern. "Many thanks to your lord! I’ll send ten herbs later. You have my word." He vowed to the shopkeeper in a solemn tone.
The shopkeeper, stroking his beard, agreed with a big smile. Then he finally got relieved after he sent them off.
‘The two lords finally leave!’
On the way back, Mu Chen still felt it incredible. ‘How could this herb be so easy to get?’ Just thinking about that, he heard some people fighting in the front. A nice voice scolded angrily, "My father is Pill City’s governor, and you should all suffer by offending Pill City!"
Mu Chen stopped, ‘The voice sounds so familiar.’
At that time, another man smirked, "My little beauty, I'm so scared!"
Mu Chen's face changed abruptly. ‘The man should be so impudent in board daylight!’ Mu Chen turned around and flew over, only to see the two red “lanterns” he had seen in the morning entangled in a tussle with a black-dressed cultivator. They were tightly suppressed by the other, obviously with little experience of fight. In addition, the black-dressed man was mean and dirty—the person he was tramping on was full of black fingerprints on the chest and waist, which implied that he had groped the victim all over the body.
Sensing someone coming over, the black-dressed suddenly got vigilant, apparently with no intention to continue any more. He took out a net-like magic tool, expecting to fight a quick battle.
Bo Jinyu was just about to ask for help but found it was Mu Chen. He gritted his teeth with a cold face and threw out a huge fireball toward the black-dressed man. The man just dodged it skillfully before he glanced at Mu Chen, exclaiming, "Elegant and reserved, another stunning beauty! It’s really my lucky day!"
Mu Chen looked even colder, seeing the other like a dead person.
“Humph!” Gu Yunjue snorted before his sword flashed out of the sheath with a resounding clang like a dragon roaring in the air. The white figure standing in the distance, not very tall though, cast a magnificent spirit that seemed to conquer everything. He looked at the black-dressed man with a faint smile, and uttered in a cold voice, implying an awe-inspiring intent of killing, “Master, just stand by my side. Let your disciple handle the bastard today.”
Hearing Gu Yunjue saying in that tone, Mu Chen was startled but nodded subconsciously.
‘The man seems much equal to my little disciple in cultivation, a good grindstone for him indeed.’