Chapter 140 - Washing Hands (Part IV) (Patreon)

While Verdant Creek rested her hands at her sides, still inclining her face slightly toward him, Lucian raised an eyebrow.

Interesting, he thought. She’s emitting no Qi waves.

He was aware that it was impossible for a Vice-Lord not to be a cultivator, so his Qi perception not picking up even the slightest trace of Qi meant she was hiding it.

She’s certainly wearing Qi artifacts, as no one would be crazy enough to leave their safety without life-saving tools, he thought, nodding toward the bed.

“Sit,” he said, glancing at the window and fully unleashing his senses to detect any unusual movement inside or outside the room.

Hearing his command, Verdant Creek cleaned the dust off her robe and gracefully sat down, her legs crossed. The black robes made it impossible to discern her figure, but the small smile beneath the plain green mask was easy to notice.

Her acting is top-notch, Lucian thought, staring down at her. She wants me to lower my guard, perhaps.

Noticing the prolonged silence, Verdant Creek tapped the bed and asked, “Are you satisfied?”

Frowning, Lucian shot her a questioning glance. He had no clue about what he was referring to.

“You must be checking whether I came alone,” she said, tilting her head. “Have you finished checking? Can we talk?”

She's impatient, Lucian noted, waving his hand to signal that she could continue.

Sighing, Verdant Creek hummed for a moment before saying, “When you arrived in the city half a year ago, my people followed you and reported back to me. They’ve been doing so ever since, at least once every week.”

Aware of the surveillance but not particularly concerned about the reports themselves, Lucian simply hummed to show he understood.

Seeing him half engaged in the conversation, she continued, “You must have known about it, since you slipped away from surveillance several times. I only want to explain why I did it, and what I want from you. But before that, I need to ask a question.”

Cocking an eyebrow, Lucian said, “Speak.”

She then stood up and faced him. Even with her face half-covered, Lucian could sense how serious she was.

“Are you a Demonic Cultivator?” she asked in a serious tone.

“No,” Lucian answered, sounding bored.

At best, he considered himself a rogue cultivator. He knew no demonic technique, as far as he could tell.

Verdant Creek stood still for a moment, as if evaluating him, then sighed in relief and patted her chest.

“Okay, okay,” she said, giving out a nervous chuckle. “Then can you teach me how to control my Qi deviation? They noticed you have a growing Qi Deviation inside of you, but you seem fine overall. That's very impressive.”

The question caught Lucian off guard, and his immediate reaction was to frown and say, “Elaborate on why this matters.”

Verdant Creek seemed satisfied that Lucian had not immediately rejected her request.

“I suffer from a condition caused by Qi deviation,” she explained. “I’ve spent years trying to solve it, but no solution has ever been found. Unless I learn how to control the deviation somehow, I won’t be cured.”

Narrowing his eyes, Lucian said, “Speaking about it so openly with a stranger is unwise.”

Hearing him, Verdant Creek laughed and waved away his concern.

“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist. Most people already know about it. It’s just that, like me, they believe there’s no hope.”

Intrigued by her tone, Lucian cocked his eyebrow. “I presume this condition will eventually kill you.”

Verdant Creek shook her head slightly.

“Not directly, but yes. It prevents my advancement, locking me at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment realm. So in a way, you could say my lifespan will end because of it.”

Sitting on the windowsill, Lucian examined her once more with his senses. He was very curious about her condition, as everyone he met until now with Qi deviation were enemies who died shortly after. Usually because he drained their blood.

“I can’t feel your cultivation," he said, his expression not masking his curiosity.

Chuckling, she pointed at her mask and said, “I have a few artifacts that block Qi perception and other investigative techniques. I don’t like people examining my body and condition.”

Then, after pausing for a second, she paced around the room, biting her lower lip. After a second, she stopped and turned toward him again.

“If necessary, I can allow you to examine my Qi flow,” she muttered with a conflicted tone. “I only ask that you refrain from using investigative techniques.”

Lucian was not entirely sure what she feared, but since he possessed no investigative techniques, nor any other type of Qi technique at all, he simply replied, “Sure.”

Sighing in relief, Verdant Creek tapped her green mask once. After she did it, Lucian felt a wave of Qi flood the room. He was ready to attack in case this was a plot to use some close-quarters technique.

As he observed her, he relaxed when he saw her standing still and the Qi flow within her body appearing mostly normal, showing no signs of activating a technique.

It was mostly normal, but not completely, because of her head.

Through his Qi perception, Lucian could see something akin to a node, which he assumed was a Dantian, where Qi flowed unnaturally. It was just like his inverted cultivation. This Dantian was also connected to meridians and chakra points, affecting the upper part of her head and locking it into that unnatural flow of cultivation.

I see why she can’t cultivate, Lucian thought, observing the rest of her Qi flow as closely as he could. While the rest of her body follows the natural path of cultivation, her head is locked in this Qi deviation.

For a moment, he flipped his cultivation, unleashing his inverted early-stage Qi Refining cultivation and comparing it to her flow.

It’s almost the same, he analyzed. But mine starts with the Spiritual Root, influencing all my meridians and chakras, while hers is far more restricted. If only part of my meridians and chakras had an inverted Qi flow, they would also be restricted.

Switching back to his natural cultivation, Lucian observed her reaction and said, “You don’t seem surprised by my cultivation at the Qi Gathering realm.”

With a chuckle, Verdant Creek replied, “Some kind of technique to deceive Qi perception, right? Having something like that in the past would have helped me. But a mask can conceal the truth, not change it.”

After she spoke, she tapped her green mask, and her Qi flow vanished. Then, without waiting for Lucian to respond, she continued.

“I would like your help. If you teach me how to control the Qi deviation and stop being affected by it, I can facilitate your sewage project and secure Grandmaster Miao’s spot in the Sect Tournament by helping eliminate the other participant. No matter who you need to kill, I'll aid you.”

Those ruthless words felt strange coming from such a sweet voice, but they did not affect Lucian.

“This isn’t enough to make me act,” he said, fully aware that he had no idea how to help her.

Rather than becoming dispirited, Verdant Creek stepped forward, her fists clenching in excitement.

“We can negotiate,” she said, almost shouting. “If you can help me deal with it, we can negotiate without a problem!”

In her opinion, if Lucian had accepted immediately, it would have meant he had little confidence in his ability to help and was merely probing her. But now that he was demanding more, it meant he trusted in his technique to solve her issue!

At least, that was how she interpreted it.

Hearing the excitement in her voice, Lucian quickly thought of a possible solution.

Maybe I could turn her into a ghoul, he analyzed. I just need to be clear about the consequences.

In his view, if there was someone capable of compensating him for using the fifth slot of the Rune of Pride’s ghoulification, it was her. He was certain he could obtain enough benefits to justify the looming activation of the Curse of Pride.

He didn't remember that Hao Bang was already his fifth ghoul.

But will it work? he thought, as Qi deviation was beyond his understanding. I need to test it.

After a moment in thought, he said, “I have a technique, but I would need to test it on other people with a condition similar to yours.”

Thinking that Lucian had never tried the technique on anyone but himself, she nodded.

“I can find some cultivators suffering from Qi deviation,” Verdant Creek said, pausing for a moment before asking, “But do they need to be at the Foundation Establishment realm? With a Qi deviation affecting their Dantian, eighth and ninth meridians, as well as the Third Eye Chakra and Crown Chakra?”

She did not mind being so detailed, as she assumed Lucian had examined her Qi flow long enough to notice where she was being affected.

Nodding and silently noting the information provided, Lucian replied, “The more similar their conditions are to yours, the better. But, overall, they just need to be cultivators with Qi deviation.”

And if you give me enough people, I can keep a few as blood stock, he thought.

After a moment of contemplation, Verdant Creek said, “We can proceed with that plan. I can send you a batch of people before next week.”

Then she cupped her hands and bowed. Lucian could notice the happiness in the sound of her soft voice.

“I thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist Lu Xian.”

Staring at her lowered head, Lucian replied, “I don’t need gratitude. Let’s discuss the payment, Vice-Lord.”

With that, the two remained in the room, negotiating the terms and conditions of their partnership for the rest of the day.