Chapter 132: Rare Treasure, the Treasure-Offering Freak

"Little Daoist!"

A delicate, alluring voice reached his ears, followed immediately by a wave of fragrance. Ji Ming wiped his face; it felt damp, yet there was no moisture. The scent, the voice, and the clammy, bitter vapor had all been carried up from the depths of the well by a sinister gust of wind, directed specifically at him.

He glanced at the stone niche nearby. Shan Du sat as steady as a stone statue, unmoving, as if he had not sensed the machinations unfolding below. His demeanor suggested tacit approval. The wind gusted again, bearing another wave of that bitter, damp air.

"Little Daoist, please, grant us some food. My little one is truly starving."

Ji Ming remained unmoved, feigning a state of deep meditation. Long ago, when he had first arrived, Shan Du had mentioned the children in the well. Now that others were bringing it up, it was clear this was a trap set to lure him in.

"I have some talisman coins and shell pearls here. If the little Daoist would not mind, take them as payment for the food."

The sinister wind blew harder, eventually depositing several beads at Ji Ming’s feet. Each one shimmered with a hazy, iridescent glow.

"Treasures among shell pearls."

Ji Ming was privately astonished. He had never even seen such items at his Master’s residence; rumors held that they circulated only within the Dragon Palace. He collected the beads—there were no fewer than twenty. Unable to remain indifferent, he walked to the edge of the well and peered down at a large stone platform jutting from the well wall.

There, a disheveled woman with a swollen belly sat, her hair obscuring her face. She held four or five naked children, all of them looking up with expectant gazes. Out of the corner of his eye, Ji Ming saw the monk Huijin pressed against the wall, fighting to stay conscious, his frame as gaunt as a withered branch—a shadow of the spirited man he had been months ago.

*It’s truly a marvel that he has managed to hold on for these past few months,* Ji Ming mused.

"Little Daoist, little Daoist, do you see the six Nanshou Spirit Tablets by the well? If you obscure the star charts carved upon them, you can lower some food down to us."

The woman’s dress was partially disarrayed, and her long hair hung like tangled weeds, yet even so, they could not hide her voluptuous figure. She clutched her children tightly, pleading incessantly with the young Daoist who stood high above at the wellhead.

Ji Ming rolled a shell pearl between his fingers. It seemed the woman in the well, seeing his youth and lack of worldly experience, had decided to stage a pathetic melodrama. Yet, the performance was riddled with holes; the mere request to obscure the star charts was so absurd it was impossible for Ji Ming to play along. This was not just underestimating his youth—it was treating him like a fool.

Ji Ming asked directly, "Does the Little Qiu Dragon still have such treasures?"

The woman’s heart sank upon hearing the young Daoist’s question.

"The Dragon Child saw our mother-child misery and bestowed these pearls upon us. I only ask for a full meal for the children; they have gone without water or grain for a long time." The woman attempted to continue her performance.

The young Daoist at the wellhead was as cold as tempered steel, possessing a terrifying rationality; he simply stared at them. The woman’s expression hardened, and her arms tightened around the children until they began to writhe and wail.

"Shan Du, is this true?"

In the stone niche, Shan Du remained motionless in response to Ji Ming’s query, truly acting like an outsider. Finding no answers, Ji Ming lost interest. A disc of silver-gray light rose behind his head, illuminating the children in the woman’s arms. Within the radiance, the children revealed their true forms: green-faced, sharp-fanged, and ghostly. Clutching their heads, they leaped off the platform, only to be blown back up by the sinister wind, crawling along the walls in their ghastly forms.

"The little Daoist is quite clever."

Seeing that she could not deceive him, the woman changed tactics. "As long as you obscure the Spirit Tablets and let me out, you shall be an honored guest of the 'Mount Nanmu' in the future."

Ji Ming, who had no intention of engaging with the woman, paused upon hearing the name Mount Nanmu. "What connection do you have to the Earth Jackal Cave of the Red Stone Stronghold on Mount Nanmu?"

Before the woman could speak, the emaciated monk Huijin opened his mouth.

"Beneath Mount Nanmu lie five great demon strongholds, each governing different territories of the Li Ridge, revered as local earth gods by the mountain folk, with a heritage spanning ages. The Red Stone Stronghold once ruled the northwest of Li Ridge, but due to its struggle against the Panhu Great Mountain, its power has been in decline for centuries. Your mother, Qiao Gu, was a disciple of the demons in the Earth Jackal Cave, and this woman belongs to the demons of another great stronghold, the 'Black Stone Stronghold'."

"Hehe~" The woman laughed, her eyes feigning a sense of kinship. "Good child, I never expected such a connection between us. Speaking of that Qiao Gu, I have some impression of her—an inner-chamber disciple of the Earth Jackal Ancestor, though it’s a pity she later ran off with some wild man..." Realizing she had spoken too much, she gave a sheepish laugh.

Ji Ming ignored the woman from the Black Stone Stronghold and looked at Huijin. "Have you made up your mind? Have you thought it through?"

The monk responded only with silence. Though the harsh environment of the well had worn down his resolve, he had retreated once more when pushed to the brink. Beside him, the woman continued to chatter, attempting to climb the ladder of kinship. Eventually, when Ji Ming returned to his niche and resumed his meditation, the woman’s voice finally ceased; it seemed she had finally given up.

In his meditation, a long time passed—days, perhaps weeks. The unceasing wind and snow on the peak blurred Ji Ming’s sense of time; only the occasional visits from Old Ape or Wei Wulan kept him grounded. Here, Ji Ming found himself trapped in a dilemma of lacking cultivation resources. Holding the last of the precious shell pearls in his robe, he toyed with the thought of meeting the Little Qiu Dragon. However, Shan Du’s indifference and the woman’s calculated display of treasures made him wary, and he suppressed the urge.

"Roar~"

After an unknown duration, a clear dragon’s roar echoed from the well, jolting Ji Ming awake. In the nearby niche, Shan Du was gone, whether to the main hall or elsewhere, Ji Ming did not care. As more days passed, Ji Ming grew increasingly distressed. The monthly stipend from the Fire Ruin Cave was a drop in the bucket for his current needs; having been distributed only recently, it was already exhausted.

Beneath the pillar gate, a furtive figure crept up. Ji Ming, already agitated, was startled by the intruder and, without a word, summoned his Bone-Piercing Bead. The figure collapsed in terror, begging for mercy.

"This small one is here to offer treasures."

The figure held a rectangular sandalwood tray covered with a red silk cloth, from beneath which a treasure-light emanated. The figure was a wide-mouthed toad monster, wearing a collar and two small hand-forks at his waist—the attire of a warrior.

As the silk cloth was lifted, a pile of shell pearls was revealed, their brilliance illuminating the wellhead. The toad monster set the tray down and, without a word, retreated with great self-awareness, leaving the pearls to shine for Ji Ming.

*The Little Qiu Dragon has some high-level backing!*

In the West Garden meditation room of the Iron Prison Temple, a green-skinned Yaksha sat on a prayer mat, scratching his damp, seaweed-like hair. He asked with certainty, "Did he accept them?"

The toad monster cupped his hands in flattery. "With the Yaksha King’s brilliant strategy, that little Daoist will be bought by us sooner or later, just like Shan Du."

"No," the Yaksha shook his head. "Shan Du is not a successful example. Though he was bought, he insisted on the condition that he not be implicated. To rescue the Dragon Child without implicating Shan Du, who guards the well, is nearly impossible."

"Then will this one..."

"This is different. A novice at the second stage of Qi Refining—even if he grew up in the Fire Ruin Cave, has he ever seen so many treasures in his life? Moreover, young ones from the righteous path like him care most about their reputation. If we keep sending tray after tray of treasures, will he really have the heart to refuse us in the end?"

The toad monster flicked his long tongue, worried. "And if he takes the treasures but refuses to do our bidding, then in the end..."

"No rush, no rush. Courtesy first, force later."