The Aloof Immortal Venerable is Pregnant with My Fox Cub - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Cang Ran carried Tan Qingxuan to Luofeng City. Most of the passersby in the city were demon cultivators, along with some rogue human cultivators.

The apothecary she frequented was called “Qiuhe Hall.” It was a shop run by a rogue human cultivator. The signboard was a bit old, and many people came and went seeking medical treatment.

As soon as they entered the door of Qiuhe Hall, a quick-witted shop assistant greeted them.

“Great Demon King, what brings you here? You could have just sent a small demon over. Why take the trip yourself? I’ll go get the manager right away.”

The shop assistant saw that Cang Ran was accompanied by an unparalleled beauty, and became even more attentive, leading them to sit in the back room and serving two cups of the finest fragrant tea.

Cang Ran took two sips. It was the same premium Biluochun tea she had drunk before. The tea was clear and refreshing, with a good taste.

She secretly glanced at Tan Qingxuan. Tan Qingxuan held the tea cup, quietly lowering her gaze to skim off the froth. Her demeanor was indescribably elegant and graceful.

Tan Qingxuan noticed Cang Ran’s gaze. Her motion of drinking the tea paused slightly, and she pretended not to notice, continuing to drink.

She had always traveled by sword before. Today was her first time traveling on a beast. This little demon, taking advantage of her physical weakness, purposely galloped and sped through treacherous spots.

As a result, she could only cling tightly to the fox demon’s spine, yet she saw the fox demon’s three large tails wagging happily.

The little fox demon looked pure and kind, but in fact, she had many wicked intentions.

Not long after they started drinking the tea, a middle-aged man around forty, plump and round-waisted, wearing a silk brocade robe, walked out from the front hall, lifting his garment.

He was hurried, his clothes dusty. Upon seeing Cang Ran, he immediately cupped his hands. “Great Demon King, I’ve been waiting for you for so long! Finally, you’ve arrived. What fine spirit herbs have you brought today? Quickly, let me feast my eyes.”

Cang Ran took out the spirit herbs from her storage bag. “Some fire-attributed spirit herbs. I selected the ones with long cultivation years. Manager Cui, please assess the price.”

Manager Cui purposely moved them all into the sunlight to examine them one by one. Seeing that the roots of the spirit herbs were intact, he nodded repeatedly. “Excellent, excellent. Most of these fire-attributed spirit herbs are over fifty years old. Good stuff.”

While rewrapping the examined spirit herbs, he spoke to Cang Ran, “Usually, we send specialized herbalists to dig deep into the mountains, and even after ten days, we might not find this good quality. With you, Great Demon King, we at Qiuhe Hall will never worry again.

I’ll take all these fire-attributed spirit herbs. Following the previous market price, ten stalks over fifty years old will be 500 low-grade spirit stones per stalk.”

A hint of shrewdness flashed in his triangular eyes. He looked at the few spirit herbs of other attributes, stroking his goatee. “The five wood- and ice-attributed spirit herbs there are all under fifty years old. They will all be priced the same, 100 low-grade spirit stones per stalk.

Great Demon King, does this sound fair to you? If it is, I’ll call the assistant to register them and settle the spirit stones for you now.”

Cang Ran had cooperated with Manager Cui several times over the past half-year. She didn’t know much about spirit herbs, but she could tell that the spiritual energy radiating from the other-attributed spirit herbs Manager Cui mentioned was indeed less than that of the fifty-year-old ones.

She was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked to the side and saw Tan Qingxuan slightly shaking her head at her.

Cang Ran pondered for a moment, then spoke to Manager Cui. “Let me consult with the young lady beside me first. I’ll give you an answer shortly, Manager Cui.”

The tip of Manager Cui’s pen, which was registering the herbs, froze. His previously smiling face vanished instantly. He gave Tan Qingxuan by Cang Ran’s side a scrutinizing look.

This young woman was exceptionally beautiful, with quiet, ink-like black eyes and an ethereal temperament. However, there was no spiritual energy fluctuation on her body; she was just a mortal. He figured she couldn’t cause any trouble.

Manager Cui cupped his hands. “Alright, you two discuss it first. I’ll check the front. Many demons have come to sell herbs these past two days, and I’m quite busy, so I really can’t spare any time.”

After Manager Cui walked away, Cang Ran asked Tan Qingxuan in a low voice, “What’s wrong? I checked the spirit herbs. There were no problems. Not much spiritual energy was overflowing, so they should be under ten years old.”

Tan Qingxuan looked at this silly fox. She has probably been cheated many times before, and was still foolishly counting money for others now.

She put down her tea cup, pointed to one of the ice-attributed spirit herbs, and asked, “Cang Ran, do you know what this spirit herb is called?”

Cang Ran looked closely but couldn’t see anything wrong. “I don’t know.”

Tan Qingxuan sighed inwardly and said slowly, “This is the Fierce Thunder Grass. It is an ice-attributed spiritual medicine that can only be reborn after being scorched by thunder fire. It takes hundreds of years to grow a single seedling. It is an indispensable auxiliary ingredient for alchemists refining mid-tier pills to resist thunder tribulation.

Although this medicine looks spiritually weak, only about ten years old, its value far exceeds all the fire-attributed herbs in your baskets. If you sell it to him at a discount, won’t you suffer a loss?”

“A fraudulent merchant! I sold him so many things, and he still dares to cheat me out of money!” Cang Ran clenched her fists. Her three large fox tails swayed with anger, slapping the chair with loud pats. “I’ll go settle the score with him right now! He’s trying to scam me. Does he want to die or not?”

Little demon, is it not a bit late to react now?

If Cang Ran knew that the fraudulent merchant’s purchase price was ten times lower than the true cultivation world price, she would probably rip the roof off his shop.

Tan Qingxuan handed a cup of tea to Cang Ran and said calmly, “No merchant is not cunning. He has been doing this for a long time. You have no proof, and he won’t admit it. You just can’t sell him this medicine cheaply today.”

Cang Ran was quite annoyed. Her eyebrows were knitted tightly. “Why won’t he admit it? He’s scammed me so many times! No way. Even if I have to dismantle this apothecary today, I won’t suffer this loss in silence!”

Cang Ran’s fox ears trembled with rage. She seemed genuinely furious.

Suddenly, with a few crack-crack sounds, the chair couldn’t bear the weight and was shredded into pieces by the alternate thrashing of the three thick fox tails.

Cang Ran almost fell to the ground, but a pair of slender, beautiful hands appeared in time to rescue her.

The cool, pale hands were clearly jointed. Veins were faintly visible under the thin skin, with only slight calluses at the web of her thumb and index finger.

Qingqing’s hands don’t look like hands that read and write. They look like hands that practice swords and martial arts. But she wasn’t a mortal Taoist. How could she recognize the spirit herbs?

A moment of thought flashed through Cang Ran’s mind. She quickly grabbed Tan Qingxuan’s hand and used the leverage to stand upright.

The hint of concern in Tan Qingxuan’s cool eyes instantly soothed Cang Ran’s bubbling, boiling anger.

Cang Ran realized that she must have looked fierce and savage in front of Tan Qingxuan just now.

A faint blush crossed Cang Ran’s cheek. Her fox ears flattened into “airplane ears.” “I was a little impatient just now. Please continue, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

Tan Qingxuan’s gaze fell on Cang Ran’s ears, and she said softly, “I don’t mean to make you suffer a loss, but you need to assess the situation.”

Tan Qingxuan paused here. She forgot that she was currently a mortal.

If she could see through Cang Ran’s cultivation level, Cang Ran would definitely suspect her.

But how could she remind Cang Ran that this apothecary was guarded by four Nascent Soul stage cultivators? With Cang Ran’s current cultivation, which was equivalent to a human cultivator’s seventh-stage Nascent Soul, charging in recklessly to fight four people was not the best strategy.

Seeing Tan Qingxuan hesitate, Cang Ran said confidently, “Don’t worry. Even though I’m only in the seventh stage of the Transformation period, I’m confident I have no rivals within the Transformation stage. I will definitely protect you. That Manager Cui is only a Core Formation stage cultivator. You don’t need to be afraid of him. I will stand up for you.”

This was the first time Tan Qingxuan had heard a little demon claim they would stand up for her. She had always been the one supporting the backbone of the entire sect. No one had ever said such words to her. It sounded incredibly arrogant.

A faint smile crossed her eyes, which she quickly masked. “When we came here, this Qiuhe Hall had opened several branches in Luofeng City. It should have some reputation here.

This shop has probably done this kind of thing before, yet no one has come to seek revenge. That can only mean the shop has fighters, and perhaps more than just the manager, a Core Formation stage cultivator.”

Cang Ran wasn’t afraid of a fight. If Tan Qingxuan weren’t here, she would go kick over Manager Cui right now, rip out his dark heart, and trample it to shreds on the ground.

But if it was truly as Tan Qingxuan said, and the opponent had superior numbers, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to look after Tan Qingxuan during the fight, and Tan Qingxuan would also get injured. She needed to find a solution that covered both bases.

Cang Ran furrowed her brow and asked, “What should we do then, Qingqing? Do you have a better idea?”

Since Tan Qingxuan decided to help, she had already thought of a plan that would both allow Cang Ran to vent her anger and gain an advantage.

“I do have a plan.” Before Tan Qingxuan could finish, she saw Cang Ran lean forward in front of her, offering her fluffy fox ears.

The sweet, seductive scent of peach blossoms wafted over. Tan Qingxuan was slightly dazed. She looked up and asked, “What are you doing?”

Cang Ran blinked. “A secret plan shouldn’t be heard by a third person. We can’t let others hear our plan.”

Tan Qingxuan was silent for a moment. This little demon was sometimes quite cautious. “That’s fine, but this is a bit too close.”

She pushed Cang Ran back slightly. Her tone was cool. “This is sufficient.”

Cang Ran couldn’t help but sigh softly in her heart. Qingqing is always like this, careful to maintain distance from others.

As a delicate orchid-like fragrance wafted by her side, Tan Qingxuan’s low voice was close by. Unlike before, it carried an intimate gentleness that only the two of them could hear.

Tan Qingxuan’s warm breath was also very close, seemingly sweeping over her neck and slipping into her collar.

Cang Ran tensed her body. Her heart instantly sped up uncontrollably. Oh no, I can’t hear anything now.

Cang Ran only remembered Tan Qingxuan’s beautiful, moving red lips opening and closing after hearing the plan. She couldn’t help but say guiltily, “Please tell me again.”

Tan Qingxuan gazed at Cang Ran quietly, as if waiting to see what mischief Cang Ran would try next.

Cang Ran’s ears drooped. She twisted her fingers, her voice weaker. “Uh, I was distracted just now.”

A hint of helplessness flashed in Tan Qingxuan’s eyes, but she noticed the tips of the fox’s ears were faintly pink, and a light blush floated on her pale neck, just like the vividly blooming peach blossoms she had received today.

She quietly shifted her gaze. Never mind. She would just consider it answering the confusion of an unenlightened disciple in the sect and repeat it once more.

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