The braided young man, who looked like a bear from Northeast China and had a distinct Northeastern accent, was named Bai Kedi. His master, surprisingly, was the renowned ‘Lord Dong’ who lived in seclusion amidst the white mountains and black waters!
Jiang Fei had heard about Lord Dong from Taoist Priest Qingxu. This man was the master of Little Wine Gourd, and his reputation was on par with that of the Drunken Monk from the Western Plateau. Both were truly top-tier masters in the current martial world.
Thus, hearing Bai Kedi’s introduction couldn’t help but cause Jiang Fei some slight shock.
“To think both these guys have such impressive backgrounds. If I were to absorb all their internal energy, their masters would probably come charging to Jin City to avenge them, right?” Jiang Fei thought to himself.
Of course, if these two really came with malicious intent, looking for trouble or even trying to kill him, given Jiang Fei’s nature, he definitely wouldn’t hold back even if it meant stirring up a hornet’s nest. He’d still absorb their internal energy without hesitation!
However, from the looks of it now, although these two were somewhat playing dumb and seemed a bit arrogant, they probably didn’t come with any sinister plans against him.
“The Drunken Monk, Lord Dong. Well, well, disciples of two such reclusive masters have come to the capital to find me. And what about you two? What are your backgrounds? You wouldn’t happen to be disciples of that Wild Grass Taoist from beneath Mount Lu, would you?” Jiang Fei turned his gaze toward the man and woman who appeared to have an extraordinary air about them.
The two walked up to Jiang Fei and said, “We aren’t fortunate enough to be disciples of esteemed seniors like Lord Dong, the Drunken Monk, or the Wild Grass Taoist. However, our origins won’t be unfamiliar to you, Jiang Fei. Because you’ve already had dealings with us.”
Jiang Fei slightly furrowed his brow and said, “I’ve had dealings with you? My memory has always been pretty good. But I really don’t recall meeting you anywhere.”
Upon hearing this, the two smiled. Then the man reached into his pocket, pulled out a dark red token, and tossed it directly to Jiang Fei.
Jiang Fei caught it, glanced at the two first, then looked down to see what this token was.
The moment he looked down, he understood.
Because on this token, there were no overly complex or intricate patterns, nor was there a dragon-like totem engraved. There was only a traditional Chinese character for ‘Kill’, every stroke of it brimming with a murderous aura!
Jiang Fei wasn’t unfamiliar with this token. He had seen one before at the Cui family’s old residence in the capital and knew the power it held.
Back then, Jiang Fei had even been willing to expend his ‘Sadly Fragrant Breeze’ drug, wishing to get such a token to carry with him.
Jiang Fei looked up at the two in surprise and asked, “You, like Qiaoqiao and Shouqiang, are members of the Seven Kill Group?”
The woman took half a step forward and nodded, “Correct. We are also members of the Seven Kill Group. You’ve seen this token before, so you should be able to tell if it’s real or fake.”
Internal energy surged within Jiang Fei as he suddenly exerted force with his hand, squeezing the token hard. He found that the token didn’t deform at all, and he had no idea what material it was made of. Jiang Fei knew then that this token was likely genuine.
A man and woman who could associate with figures like Little Wine Gourd and Bai Kedi probably weren’t frauds either.
Just as Jiang Fei was about to return the token, the woman suddenly said, “You don’t need to return that token. From today on, it’s yours.”
Jiang Fei didn’t react immediately, asking somewhat puzzled, “Why?”
The woman seemed a bit resentful and dissatisfied, glaring as she said, “Wasn’t it your own request? Back then, you made an exchange demand to Qiaoqiao and Shouqiang, didn’t you want this very token?”
The Seven Kill Group was famous not just domestically but internationally. Anyone who knew the name trembled in fear, and no one dared to provoke them. But now, here they were, being coerced and having to hand over a token for free in exchange for something.
If this got out, the Seven Kill Group would probably lose all face.
“Oh, I almost forgot about that!” Jiang Fei immediately realized and said delightedly. Taking another careful look at the mysterious dark red token in his hand, he decisively tucked it into his pocket.
This was a good thing! With it, many troubles in the future would no longer be troubles. Of course, Jiang Fei had to keep it safe.
“Thank you both for delivering the token from afar. And thank Shouqiang and Qiaoqiao as well. You are truly good people.” Jiang Fei’s initially not-so-great mood finally brightened a bit.
Even though he had been inexplicably dragged here by Little Wine Gourd today and ended up fighting with the guy, as long as there was a gain, it didn’t matter.
“Is a simple thank you enough?” the man from the Seven Kill Group asked with a smile, looking Jiang Fei over.
“What else do you want?” Seeing the man’s look, Jiang Fei was a bit worried his sexual orientation might not be normal.
“The medicine! Your uniquely concocted drug!” the man said impatiently.
They had broken their principles, bypassing the usual assessment and achievements to give the Seven Kill Token to someone outside the group. Wasn’t it all to obtain that formless, scentless ‘Sadly Fragrant Breeze’ that could instantly incapacitate people?
Of course, awarding the Seven Kill Token to Jiang Fei wasn’t completely without assessment.
Before this, they had surely investigated Jiang Fei’s background thoroughly, knowing what kind of person he was and what he had done. If Jiang Fei were truly someone with questionable character, the Seven Kill Group couldn’t have given him the token so unprincipledly.
“Oh. The medicine! I almost forgot about that if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Jiang Fei rubbed his nose, saying somewhat sheepishly.
Without showing any emotion, he quickly brought up the system interface in his mind, then went to the pill section of the shop, spent 3,300 gold coins to temporarily exchange for three bottles of Beisu Qingfeng, handed them to the other party, and said, “I don’t know if it’s because I’m too lucky, but I’ve found some amazing medicinal herbs recently, so I’ve made three more bottles. You can take them and use them first.”
The man carefully stored away the three bottles of Sadly Fragrant Breeze.
This was an invaluable treasure with countless potential uses. Soon, he asked again, “You’re not planning to exchange just these three bottles for our Seven Kill Token, are you?”
Jiang Fei shook his head and said with a smile, “Of course not. But this drug really isn’t an ordinary thing; it’s very troublesome to concoct. I only have these three bottles on me right now. Use them sparingly. In about a month at most, after I prepare more, I’ll send another three bottles your way.”
If you give too much at once, people won’t treasure it properly. You have to give it to them bit by bit, slowly, so they understand that Sadly Fragrant Breeze isn’t easily obtained.
Otherwise, if they recklessly used it all up regardless of the situation and then immediately came demanding more from him, where would he get so many gold coins to satisfy their consumption?
So, even though Jiang Fei had saved up quite a few gold coins in his wallet now—9,000, enough to buy eight bottles of Sadly Fragrant Breeze at once—he only gave them three for now, precisely to make them use it sparingly!
Moreover, Jiang Fei couldn’t possibly deplete all the gold coins in his wallet at once; he needed to keep some for other uses.
Before, he wasn’t sure who his upcoming enemy would be. But after hearing the conversation between Little Wine Gourd and Bai Kedi, Jiang Fei finally understood who launched that seemingly unstoppable sword strike he had foreseen in his mind.
The contemporary Japanese sword master, Yagyu Munenori!
Facing such an enemy, with his Northern Profound Skill not yet upgraded and his Solitary Nine Swords also not improved, to be honest, Jiang Fei felt a bit unsettled. Keeping some gold coins handy, just in case they might be useful, was a precaution.
“Alright then. Don’t forget to give us three more bottles in a month,” the man said, looking at Jiang Fei with a half-smile.
Such a miraculously powerful drug was naturally the more, the better. They would never have enough of it; having a long-term, unlimited supply would be best.
“I won’t forget,” Jiang Fei chuckled.
Now that Jiang’s Pharmaceutical Company had successfully established itself, business would surely grow larger and larger, sales would expand wider and wider, and making a fortune daily wouldn’t be a problem. In the future, the money earned each month would be astronomical, and his gold coins would come rolling in. He basically wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough gold coins anymore.
Even if he spent 3,300 gold coins monthly on Sadly Fragrant Breeze, equivalent to 1.65 million RMB, Jiang Fei felt he could bear the cost.
Just as Jiang Fei was in a pretty good mood, feeling quite pleased, Bai Kedi, the braided man holding two long bamboo poles, glanced over and sneered disdainfully, “The Seven Kill Token. It might have quite a deterrent effect on ordinary people, but how much use would it be against a sword master like Yagyu Munenori?”
“As for your so-called drug, I admit that once someone falls for it, even a master with immense internal strength would be immobilized. But do you think any master lacks vigilance? When engaging in battle, wouldn’t they guard against such a move, completely sealing off their breath?”
There was a hint of looking down on the Seven Kill Group in his words.
But hearing Bai Kedi, the two Seven Kill Group members, although their expressions turned somewhat awkward, did not refute him.
Clearly, Bai Kedi’s words were true. The Seven Kill Token didn’t hold much deterrent power against masters of Yagyu Munenori’s caliber anymore.
Jiang Fei’s somewhat sidetracked mood was pulled back by Bai Kedi. He said, “I didn’t plan on using these two things to deal with that so-called sword master Yagyu Munenori either. However, I’m quite curious about how you two know that Yagyu Munenori has come to China and is looking for trouble with me?”
Little Wine Gourd, who had been drinking, immediately lost his usual frivolous expression upon hearing this and said seriously, “Because we’ve seen him. And he said it himself: since you defeated Miyamoto Kazuma, he’s coming to challenge you!”
