After Marrying the Disabled Demon Lord as a Substitute, I Ran Away with His Child - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

After giving those three mortal bullies a thorough thrashing, Zuo Siqiu extorted a sum of money from them. As they left, she threatened, “If I ever see you picking on the poor like this again, I won’t be so generous as to leave you with your lives.”

The trio, who had only been acting tough by borrowing the influence of a relative, knew that the younger brother who had gone off to cultivate would never actually return to back them up or seek revenge. Hearing Zuo Siqiu’s words, they nodded frantically and fled in a pathetic scramble.

The neighbor’s auntie’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Zuo Siqiu. “Little lady, you are truly incredible! Your strength is even greater than my husband’s. I’ve never seen a woman as strong as you.”

Zuo Siqiu immediately straightened her clothes, reverting to her obedient and frail appearance. “Oh, it’s nothing much. I’ve just been a bit stronger than others since I was a child. Auntie, wait for me a moment, I’ll go get those eggs for you.”

Shortly after the auntie left, most of the households in their small alley learned that the home with only two young women was not to be trifled with. There was a little lady inside with Herculean strength who could kick an eight-foot-tall man eight yards away with a single blow!

The neighborhood women huddled together, gossiping with clicks of their tongues, wondering if the girl was betrothed. “If she isn’t, my boy is quite hardworking. I wonder if she’d take a liking to him. If he marries her, they’d never have to worry about being bullied again.”

Xuan Mo, sitting on the wall and overhearing these conversations, felt his internal fury burn even hotter. It seemed that as the Demon Venerable, he really ought to start a slaughter in the mortal realm. But the person he wanted to kill most was Zuo Siqiu, this woman whose audacity reached the heavens.

Zuo Siqiu remained completely unaware of Xuan Mo’s presence. When her sister returned today, she recounted the events.

Zuo Mudong immediately fretted, “Are you hurt? Don’t try to be a hero when things like this happen in the future.”

Zuo Siqiu didn’t care. “They were just mortals. Even if my body is injured, I’m not so weak that I can’t handle a few commoners.” She placed a bag of silver on the table and pushed it toward her sister. “This is the money I snatched from them. For you, Sister. When you come back tomorrow, bring me two more flatbreads, okay?”

Zuo Mudong pushed the money back with a smile. “If you want flatbread, just tell me. There’s no need to give me money; I can afford to raise you.”

But Zuo Siqiu insisted, “No, you also need to help me buy materials for refining tomorrow.”

Zuo Mudong was even less willing to take it. “Qiuqiu, you refine pills for Father and Mother, and for us. Why would I take your money? Even if you want rare treasures, I will do my best to get them for you. Don’t treat me like a stranger. I’m your sister, it’s my job to dote on you and provide for you.”

Atop the wall, Xuan Mo looked at the modest, ordinary pouch and let out a cold snort. How much could possibly be in there?

Inside, Zuo Siqiu held the pouch, her heart feeling sour yet warm. Remembering her trash biological father and the “Penny-Pincher” Xuan Mo, her voice sounded slightly aggrieved. “It’s just that, besides you and our parents, no one else has ever treated me like this.” She smiled, though her eyes looked a bit sad. “When I was at the Bixia Sect, I never got a single resource for free. Those senior brothers would even make me finish their refining tasks, saying I should be ‘grateful’ and not an ‘ingrate’.”

Hearing this, Zuo Mudong gritted her teeth. “Those people at the Bixia Sect deserve to die! It’s my fault for not being able to protect you as you grew up. But they’ve faced their retribution now.”

Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Zuo Siqiu joked, “Don’t be angry, Sister. I became rich after going to the Xuan Cloud Sect.”

Xuan Mo nodded on the wall. Indeed, after arriving at the sect, she got the first pick of all the good items in the “Black Shop.”

But the “face-slap” came immediately.

Zuo Siqiu continued, “Except Xuan Mo is stingy to the bone. We were technically a couple on the surface, but his shop wouldn’t even give me a discount! He’d say ‘put it on my tab’ but then he kept a meticulous record of every single cent in secret, making me refine pills to pay off the debt!”

“And he was always cold-faced and grumpy, as if everyone owed him a massive fortune.” Zuo Siqiu had a sudden realization. “Actually, they probably did. I had a huge debt shortly after arriving. The others in the sect probably won’t be able to pay him back in a thousand years!”

Xuan Mo, now standing in the courtyard, growled under his breath, “Nonsense!” Who else in the sect would dare put things on my tab?

Zuo Mudong had thought her sister lived well at the Xuan Cloud Sect, having heard many cultivators envy her for marrying Xuan Mo. She hadn’t realized the hardship behind the glamour. She stroked her sister’s hair. “Xuan Mo really isn’t human. You’ve suffered.”

Zuo Siqiu nodded. “Exactly. Xuan Mo isn’t human! But now that I’ve escaped, I don’t have to pay him back. I’ve actually made a profit.” She felt a small surge of secret joy.

That night, Zuo Mudong watched over her sleeping sister the whole night. Meanwhile, Xuan Mo spent the night in the courtyard, taking out all his offensive dharma treasures and polishing them one by one.

…

Inside the Mustard Seed Space

The soul puppets were resting after their work. Several souls who were on good terms with Zuo Siqiu’s parents sat nearby, praising them for having two such capable daughters, especially the younger one who broke their seals.

“I didn’t expect a Golden Core cultivator to master soul-refining techniques so skillfully. She’s a gifted child.”

“Though I’m just a soul now, I still remember some refining manuals. I’ll write them down for her in a few days. These pills are hard to make, though; I hope she doesn’t lose heart.”

Zuo Siqiu’s father said, “Actually, Qiuqiu isn’t as powerful as you think. Being able to break everyone’s seals this time was likely just her ‘fated opportunity’.”

Her mother added, “Qiuqiu has been a silly, sweet child since she was little. Her talent was actually much lower than her sister’s, but the girl had good luck. And because she forcibly summoned us back, she’s quite injured. She’s been resting all this time.”

The souls knew Zuo Siqiu had sacrificed much to save them, and many expressed their gratitude. However, some began to harbor darker thoughts. Not all the puppets were willing to stay in this space, working themselves to the bone farming for their “savior.” Some even thought their days as mindless puppets were better.

“This Zuo Siqiu is just a Golden Core brat, yet she wants to drive us like slaves!” a few whispered. “She has us doing the most menial labor. We have higher cultivation and seniority than her! This is an insult!”

“I’m not staying here. Have you seen the others? They’ve been kneeling so long they can’t stand up. Why lick the boots of a Golden Core girl? She’s not talented; she just got lucky and snatched a bunch of puppets for free.”

“If we want to escape, we need a plan. Where do we go?”

A white-bearded old man said, “I was once an elder of the Long Family. If I return, they will use every treasure in the world to help me reconstruct a body. Why stay here and plant grass for a brat?”

Another added, “I know the location of a secret immortal’s cave. I bet the Long Family would be interested in that.”

The plot thickened as they planned to use the Long Family to regain their status. As for Zuo Siqiu? They didn’t see her as a savior; she was just someone who happened to inherit Bi Mu’s “property.”

…

The next day, Zuo Siqiu entered the space as usual. A soul cultivator approached her. “Qiuqiu, I was a pill refiner once. I can give you some pointers.”

Zuo Siqiu showed him a low-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pill she had made recently. Because she was hiding, she couldn’t buy high-grade herbs or make her signature pills lest the Xuan Cloud Sect find her. Low-grade pills were in high demand in the mortal city for commoners dreaming of cultivation.

The soul cultivator sighed inwardly. A Golden Core cultivator making such a mediocre Grade-1 pill? She really is untalented. He wrote down some “insights” on a jade slip. “Take this. You saved us, so consider this a gift. These insights aren’t found in common markets.”

Zuo Siqiu felt a bit uncomfortable. The man spoke with a sense of superiority. Was a life-saving debt repaid with just a few notes? She realized some people weren’t grateful for the “farming” arrangement.

“Thank you,” Zuo Siqiu said with a smile, “but I’m currently following this manual.” She pulled out a copy of a high-level manual she’d read at the Black Shop. “I’ve been studying this one for a long time and shouldn’t switch now. I’ll return your notes.”

She hadn’t even looked at them. The soul cultivator’s expression soured. “May I see yours? I was a puppet for so long, perhaps a new genius has emerged that I don’t know about.”

Zuo Siqiu handed it over. The man’s eyes widened in shock. “Can one refine like this?! This person modified the recipe for a Qi-Replenishing Pill into so many variations… I truly wish to meet this master.”

He didn’t realize the “master” was the girl in front of him. Instead, seeing such high-level knowledge made him even more desperate to leave and rejoin the immortal world.

The next day, a group of souls approached her. “Junior Siqiu, did you come to tell us we don’t have to farm anymore? We knew you were a sensible girl who pities your elders.”

They were trying to trap her with “seniority” so they could stop working and prepare their escape. Zuo Siqiu looked at them with a sweet, soft smile. Her voice was sugary, but her words were sharp as glass.

“Elders, I don’t want you to work so hard either. But after I saved your lives and broke your seals, you were the ones who insisted on farming these herbs to repay me. I knew then that you were all honorable cultivators of great reputation!”

“I pity you, but if I let you stop, people in the cultivation world might hear that you went back on your word regarding a life-saving debt! I have to hide my pity and respect your honor, otherwise, I’d be ruining your reputation!”

The “soft knife” cut deep. She essentially accused them of being ungrateful liars if they quit.

Worse yet, the other souls who were actually grateful started cheering. “Qiuqiu is so kind! Thinking of our reputations like that!”

“We promised to farm, so we will! This plot is too small, we need more space!”

“A drop of kindness should be repaid with a fountain! Farming isn’t enough. Does anyone know how to raise spirit beasts? Or forge weapons?”

“That’s a great idea! Qiuqiu needs to earn money to raise the baby!”

The lazy conspirators were speechless. Now, not only were they farming, but they were also expected to start a full-scale sect production line!

Who was the idiot who suggested we try to slack off in the first place?