As Han Li was sizing up the other's appearance, the man walked cheerfully into the herb garden and greeted him enthusiastically: "Junior Brother must be a disciple of Heavenly Spring Peak, too? Your face looks unfamiliar to me. Could you be one who joined the sect just last year? If so, then I can officially call myself your senior brother."
"My surname is Han. I only joined about a year ago. You must be a senior disciple from Hidden Sword Peak!" Han Li withdrew his gaze and replied with a smile.
"So it's Junior Brother Han. I'm Kui Huan from Hidden Sword Peak. A few senior brothers and I are responsible for taking care of a spirit beast enclosure not far from here, located in a small basin a few dozen miles away. If you ever get the chance, you should drop by. My cultivation isn't high, but I've been in the sect for seven or eight years. There's nothing about the Luoyun Sect's affairs or the brothers from the various peaks that I don't know. If you ever have questions in the future, just ask me!" The man spoke with the ease of an old acquaintance.
Han Li smiled faintly.
The glib man before him reminded him of Little Abacus from the Seven Mysteries Sect, back in the day. The same eloquence, the same smooth-talking ways!
Obviously, they were the same type of person.
Despite finding it amusing, Han Li didn't feel any ill will toward him.
"I appreciate the offer, Senior Brother. But did you come here for something urgent?" Han Li crossed his arms over his chest and asked with a blink.
Hearing Han Li's question, Kui Huan looked a bit embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment before scratching his scalp and saying: "Nothing too urgent, really. I originally came hoping to ask Senior Sister for a favor. But I didn't expect Senior Sister Yuan, who managed this herb garden for five or six years, to leave just like that. Now things are a bit troublesome."
"A favor?" Han Li frowned slightly, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"It's not much. You probably know, Junior Brother, that we Outer Sect disciples aren't given much importance by the sect because of our poor aptitudes. When the sect distributes magical tools or pills, there's never a share for us. A year's hard-earned spirit stones aren't enough to buy pills that would advance our cultivation. So, a few senior brothers and I have actually been catching a rare little animal called the 'Snow Cloud Fox' in the nearby Green Trace Marsh and selling it at the market. This little fox isn't a demonic beast, but it's small, cute, and seems to understand human nature. So it's very popular with the female disciples in the sect. We've made a decent little profit that way. But not long ago, we discovered a variant Snow Cloud Fox in the marsh. It had a faint spiritual aura around it, as if it had evolved into a low-grade demonic beast. We were naturally overjoyed. If we could capture it alive, we could sell it for at least a hundred spirit stones. That's a rare big deal. But unfortunately, we were a bit hasty. We didn't think it through carefully, and the beast slipped through our fingers. Since then, this demonic beast has hidden deep in the marsh and rarely shows its face. We've searched most of the Green Trace Marsh and even encountered it a few times, but before we could get close, it would dive into the mud and vanish." At this point, Kui Huan's face was full of regret.
But when he saw Han Li looking thoughtful, he paused and continued: "Later, we observed it for a while and found that this variant Snow Cloud Fox really loves to eat Huangjing (Solomon's Seal) of considerable age, especially anything over ten years old. We figured that to lure it out, we'd need Huangjing of at least fifty years. Only then would it jump into the trap without hesitation. But as you know, Junior Brother, any herb that's several decades old costs more than a few or even a dozen spirit stones. We had some savings before, but we recently pooled our money to buy a bottle of cultivation-advancing pills. We don't have any extra spirit stones left. Helplessly, I thought that Senior Sister Yuan's herb garden seemed to have two or three stalks of aged Huangjing, so I came to check. I didn't expect the garden to be under your care now, Junior Brother Han. I was wondering if you could lend me one stalk of Huangjing?" Kui Huan's voice grew quieter and more hesitant as he spoke the last sentence.
It seemed he knew this request was a bit much.
After listening to him, Han Li's face betrayed no emotion. He didn't say yes or no. After a moment of silence, he said slowly: "The herb garden does indeed have two stalks of Huangjing over fifty years old. They would perfectly meet your requirements, Senior Brother. In principle, since it's the first time you've come to me for help, I shouldn't refuse. But you should know, Senior Brother, that I'm not authorized to use any of the aged spirit herbs in this garden. If any go missing or are damaged, I wouldn't be able to answer to the Uncle-Masters above. I'd probably be punished. I'm afraid I can't help with this, Senior Brother."
Han Li's words were spoken with exceptional calmness, causing the man in the yellow shirt to look visibly disappointed.
"Don't worry, Junior Brother. We'd only need to borrow the herb for a few days. We'll return it exactly as it was when the time is up. We'll be extremely careful when digging it up and transplanting it. Nothing will go wrong. Of course, we wouldn't borrow it for free. After we succeed, we'll give you a share of the spirit stones. We won't let you suffer a loss." He continued trying, still unwilling to give up.
"Sorry! This is a serious matter, and I won't use the garden's spirit herbs. However, if you really don't have many spirit stones on hand, I have saved up some myself. I can lend them to you and the others so you can go to the market and buy another one there." Han Li's refusal was firm, but then he changed the subject and offered with a light smile to lend them the spirit stones.
The yellow-shirted man's expression, which had darkened after the initial refusal, brightened immediately. He asked in surprise: "Are you serious, Junior Brother? If you're willing to lend spirit stones, then naturally there's no need to use the garden's herbs. But a herb several decades old costs at least thirty spirit stones to buy. Do you really have that many..." After his surprise, Kui Huan's face showed a trace of doubt.
After all, for a cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, this was quite a substantial sum.