The Elder Fei mentioned by the two medicine servants turned out to be an old man with a very strange appearance. His withered body, as thin as firewood, combined with a head that looked like something out of a cartoon, gave him a comical look.
His physique was as slender and thin as a ginseng root, while his head was as flat as an old pumpkin.
This combination of head and body made him look utterly ridiculous no matter how you looked at him.
His pumpkin-shaped head had almost no chin, but right where the chin should be, he sported a long, thin goatee.
"Greetings, Elder Fei." Upon seeing the old man, the two servants hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.
"People from the Qianlan Northern Palace are becoming more and more brazen," Elder Fei said angrily. "They dare to run amuck on the territory of my Qingyang Valley."
"Elder Fei, please calm your anger. Presumably, those idiots thought Elder Fei would definitely be inside the Qingyang Valley Dojo and wouldn't appear in this area, so they were acting very presumptuously."
"Hmm, that explanation is somewhat reasonable. But them daring to cause trouble on Qingyang Valley's territory shows that I've been too lenient in general."
Qingyang Valley was also one of the Treasure Tree Sect's dojos in the Tiangui Kingdom, on equal footing with the Qianlan Northern Palace. In fact, they were all part of the same sect.
The old man's narrow eyes swept over Jiang Chen and the others. "Who are you? Why were the people from the Qianlan Northern Palace chasing you?"
Jiang Chen knew this old man was powerful—a single move had suppressed that Senior Brother Liu, and his cultivation probably wasn't inferior to Chu Xinghan from the Purple Sun Sect.
"Senior, it's truly a great injustice for us. We were simply traveling when these madmen from the Qianlan Northern Palace went crazy and chased us relentlessly, trying to kill us."
Elder Fei let out a strange, cackling laugh. "Isn't that simple? The people from the Qianlan Northern Palace are the greediest. Your spirit birds are even more high-grade than their Azure-Winged Dragons, of course they'd be jealous."
"So that's how it is. Senior's words have really enlightened me," Jiang Chen said. He was good at reading the room—speaking to people as people and ghosts as ghosts.
Seeing the old man seemed easier to talk to than the Qianlan Northern Palace folks, he softened his tone accordingly.
"Cut the flattery. Although this old man doesn't like killing or robbery, since you've come to my territory, you must be severely punished."
"Senior, we didn't mean to. You see..."
"Enough talk! If you'd done it on purpose, I would have chopped you up for fertilizer right away. Alright, I won't bully you. Serve as medicine servants for twenty years, and you can leave Qingyang Valley."
With a wave of his hand, Elder Fei spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, like he was just following procedure.
Jiang Chen's face fell. Qingyang Valley's style was exactly as Tang Long had described—they wouldn't kill, but twenty years as medicine servants? Forget twenty years, he couldn't stay even two! Besides, he had already promised Tang Long he'd deliver the item. Forget twenty years, if seven days passed, he'd be breaking his word.
However, judging by Elder Fei's demeanor, this didn't seem like an idle threat. The situation was stronger than the man.
"Kid, I see you look clever—don't even think about trying to scheme. Twenty years, not one day less. If you dare try to run away, heh heh! Da Dan, Er Dan, tell them the rules."
"If you run and get caught, you get chopped up for fertilizer," the two servants said in unison.
Jiang Chen's face darkened with a line of exasperation. In his past life, he had been the supreme alchemy master across the Myriad Heavens, and now he was being made to serve as a medicine servant for this grumpy old man—what humiliation!
"Fine, Senior. If we're to be medicine servants, so be it. What kind of work will you assign us?"
"Assign you what?" The old man rolled his eyes. "You're a layman. Start honestly by carrying water. Spend five hours every day studying knowledge about spiritual medicine. After three months, you can learn to identify herbs."
"Carrying water?" Jiang Chen almost erupted.
"What? Don't want to do it?" The old man chuckled. "Then you can carry manure instead."
"No! Carrying water! I'll carry it!" Jiang Chen said through gritted teeth.
Just then, Qiao Baishi, who had been silent, finally gathered his courage. "Senior, may this junior say a few words?"
"If you have something to say, spit it out." The old man sounded impatient.
"Senior, this junior has studied some alchemy knowledge and has a basic foundation in medicinal pills. There are twenty of us here, each with twenty years. How about this: leave me here, and I'll serve as your medicine servant for four hundred years instead. You let them go. How about it?"
When Qiao Baishi said this, even Jiang Chen was shocked. He knew Qiao Baishi was loyal, but he hadn't expected him to be this loyal.
"You understand alchemy?" The old man was somewhat surprised. "You're not trying to trick this old man, are you?"
"Senior is a wise man. How could my little tricks deceive you? Besides, keeping one insider to work for four hundred years is better than keeping outsiders, right? An insider's year of work equals a layman's ten years. By that count, you, Elder Fei, are actually making a profit."
"Heh heh, you've got loyalty, I'll give you that. I'll think about this matter. The day I discover you truly have a talent for spiritual medicine, we'll do as you say."
"Please don't, Senior! I can wait, but my young master has urgent business in the Royal Capital and can't afford to wait. Why not test me right now?"