So, Mo Qi increasingly felt that Yuan Qi Pills could be used for treatment. But the problem was, surely other alchemists had given Yuan Qi Pills to her before, and it must have failed!
He began to feel lost!
The place he was in was the residential area for female cultivators. As soon as he stepped out, he was surrounded by female cultivators. Accidentally, he was recognized by a few of them, and someone shouted, "Wow, it's the shopkeeper from Mo's Pill Shop in Lexi City."
"It's Mo Qi, Mo Qi actually lives next door to us!"
Thus, Mo Qi was quickly surrounded. These people, like wolves and tigers, were all there to demand pills.
Some were polite, saying they would pay for them!
Others were despicable, resorting to blackmail, saying he had trespassed into the female cultivators' dormitory without permission, and if he didn't hand over a few pills, they would report him to the dormitory supervisor.
Even if Mo Qi agreed to their demands, where would he get so many pills from?
"I really don't have many pills on me today. How about this," Mo Qi said, "Consider it that I owe each of you one pill. I'll bring them to you next time I come, or you can come directly to my shop to get them next time."
Looking at this group of women, like wolves and tigers with bared teeth and claws, Mo Qi had no choice but to compromise.
"Unless you write an IOU for each of us," one of them said.
"Yes, write IOUs," others echoed in unison.
At this moment, Shui Ling walked out of Jin Yan's room. Seeing Mo Qi surrounded, she intended to help him, but Jin Yan, from the outer circle, pulled her back.
"So many people!" Mo Qi frowned and scanned the crowd. "How about you write down the IOUs and I'll sign them?"
The female cultivators exchanged glances, then suddenly dispersed one by one, each returning to find writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones to write IOUs. Only Mo Qi remained in the courtyard. Just as Mo Qi was about to move away, the female cultivators suddenly surrounded him again, each holding a piece of paper or silk in their hands, already written on.
A female cultivator handed him a brush. Mo Qi took it, and everyone extended their paper and silk before Mo Qi. Mo Qi looked around and felt a headache coming on. "Alright, line up over there, lay them on the ground, and I'll sign them one by one."
A gust of wind blew. Looking up, Mo Qi saw that the female cultivators had already formed a straight line, with IOUs placed before them.
"So obedient!" Mo Qi praised. Then he was surprised to find that Shui Ling and Jin Yan were also in the crowd! This was naked opportunism.
However, looking at the neat rows, vibrant and colorful, Mo Qi suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment, forgetting his heartache. He began to sign them one by one. Just as he was about to sign the first one, he accidentally glanced at the content and realized something was wrong. It read: "Mo Qi owes Zhang Xiaona ten thousand Beauty Skin Pills."
He remained calm and looked at the second person's IOU. It read: "Mo Qi owes Ouyang Qi ten thousand Beauty Skin Pills, ten thousand Youthful Appearance Pills, ten thousand Spiritual Power Pills, and ten thousand Longevity Pills."
He remained calm and looked at the third. It read: "Today, Mo's Pill Shop is gifted to Huang Xiaoqin." Their appetites were getting bigger and bigger, and Mo Qi broke out in a cold sweat.
Mo Qi remained calm and said, "I'll start signing from over there." He walked directly to the end of the line, where Jin Yan and Shui Ling were standing. He looked at Jin Yan's IOU, which read: "I am willing to fulfill one wish for Jin Yan." Seeing Mo Qi staring at the words, Jin Yan couldn't help but blush, feeling a surge of heat. She immediately crouched down, preparing to put away the paper. Mo Qi immediately held her hand, picked up the brush, and signed his name.
Jin Yan, her face flushed red, withdrew her hand, taking the "IOU" with her.
Mo Qi then looked at Shui Ling's silk. It boldly read: "I am willing to dedicate myself to Shui Ling."
What?
Mo Qi stared at Shui Ling, but she showed no shyness at all. Instead, she covered her mouth and chuckled.
Mo Qi felt uneasy, sensing a conspiracy.
Then he thought, what did it matter? As a man, he couldn't possibly be at a disadvantage in such a situation. He immediately signed his name with a flourish.
As if her scheme had succeeded, Shui Ling immediately put away the silk and let out a series of giggling laughs, sending shivers down Mo Qi's spine.
Mo Qi proceeded to check them one by one. For those who wrote down one or two, three or four, or even a dozen pills, he signed his name. For those with astronomical figures, he simply skipped them. After signing one round, he turned back and said, "Among you, I have signed for everyone who wasn't making an outrageous demand. For those who haven't been signed, I'm willing to give you another chance. You can write a new one for me to sign. Remember, you only have one chance."
The female cultivators who had written astronomical figures initially weren't trying to be cunning; they were just having fun. Now, some of them had actually gained something for nothing through this method. They became serious, chasing after their fellow disciples to see how much Mo Qi had signed for, and then they rewrote their IOUs.
Thus, after a moment, many left satisfied. Some were not satisfied, blinking their eyes and casting seductive glances: "Shopkeeper, come to my room, let's chat."
Seeing those glances, Mo Qi felt that going with her would definitely lead to trouble.
"Follow me!" Another group directly grabbed him and pulled him away, pulling him in different directions as if they wanted to tear him apart. Mo Qi was momentarily plunged into a sweet agony.
Shui Ling immediately stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "I wish you a Happy New Year."
With a series of thuds, a large group fell, and Mo Qi fell too. Shui Ling stepped forward, pulled Mo Qi up, and ran into the room, giggling all the way: "He's mine, none of you try to snatch him from me."
Mo Qi held her soft, tender hand, feeling currents of electricity flowing through him, both酥 and麻.
A flash of inspiration struck Mo Qi. He suddenly felt that he might have a way to treat Xue Ying.
With a bang, Shui Ling closed the door behind her, releasing Mo Qi's hand. Then she turned around, took out the IOU, and stared at Mo Qi as if issuing a warning: "You've signed a contract of servitude. You're mine from now on, and you're not allowed to flirt with others."
My heavens, Mo Qi felt dizzy. He never expected her to design it this way! Truly "scheming and profound"!
There was a knock on the door outside. After a moment, it gradually quieted down, and a few voices faded away: "I didn't expect Shui Ling, that little girl, to become so feisty after becoming more beautiful."
Mo Qi bit his lip and blinked: "I am yours. I will give you everything I have now." As he spoke, he reached out to embrace Shui Ling's waist.
Shui Ling froze, let out a scream of "Ah," and rushed out the door.
Mo Qi, however, looked profound, like a god looking down at mortals, overlooking everything with a half-smile.
Then, Mo Qi, with his hands behind his back, slowly walked back into Jin Yan's room. Jin Yan and Shui Ling were sitting at the table, lost in their own thoughts, having forgotten to close the door.
Jin Yan glanced at the paper in her hand, her face flushing red. She looked again, and her face flushed red again. Shui Ling's face was completely red. She raised her head, covered her ears, and then buried her face in the table, chuckling for a while.
Seeing Mo Qi walk in, the two of them stood up abruptly as if bewitched. The paper in Jin Yan's hand instantly disappeared, likely tucked into her sleeve. Shui Ling, on the other hand, fled to the inner room.
Mo Qi said to Jin Yan, "Miss Jin, please take me to see Sect Leader Xue. I've thought of a way to try and treat Miss Xue Ying again."
Although Mo Qi said "try" and deliberately emphasized the word "try," Jin Yan's eyes still lit up: "Okay, let's go." She then led the way out, with Mo Qi following closely, heading towards Xue Renkui's house.
This time, it was the maid Xiao Hong who opened the door. After the door opened, everyone walked into the courtyard and saw two people, covered in dust and with red faces, coming out of the house in a hurry, looking as if they were fleeing for their lives.
Jin Yan recognized the first person as Elder Qi. She assumed the person with him was Ying Dansheng, whom he had invited. Judging by their appearance, the treatment had failed.
Then, they heard a scolding voice from inside the house: "Damn it, if you can't do it, don't come here and embarrass yourself. What kind of rubbish are you? Do you think my daughter is your test subject? Do you have any conscience? My daughter is like this, and you still made her vomit? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
It was Xue Renkui's voice!
Elder Qi saw Jin Yan and the others, knowing that Jin Yan had brought someone for treatment. He shook his head and said, "Don't bother going, it's useless." He then walked past them and left directly.
Ying Dansheng behind him looked at Mo Qi and said, "Don't bother going, it's useless." He then walked past them and left directly.
Jin Yan hesitated, standing there, not moving, gazing fixedly at Mo Qi. Mo Qi walked past them and continued into the house.
Xue Renkui stood at the doorway, glanced at the two of them, still seething with anger: "Do you all have to prove yourselves in this way?"
Mo Qi felt insulted. He wanted to turn and leave but was unwilling to give up. He met Xue Renkui's gaze: "Yes, we all want to prove ourselves, but I believe the joy of proving myself is far less than the joy of saving a life. I am here to save her."
Xue Renkui snorted coldly: "You all say you're here to save her, but who has cured her?"
Seeing that Mo Qi seemed to be speechless, he declared resolutely: "She will not accept any further treatment. I have decided to respect her decision and give her a final shred of dignity."
Mo Qi smiled: "I think a woman's final dignity should be to die beautifully."
Xue Renkui's eyes widened in anger, his fists clenched so tightly that they almost seemed to be bleeding: "What did you say? You're saying my daughter isn't beautiful?"
Jin Yan tugged at Mo Qi's sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.
Mo Qi ignored her and stared at Xue Renkui without backing down: "Everyone can see it, do I need to say more? If you want to deceive yourself, I can't help it."
Xue Renkui took a deep breath and slowly relaxed his clenched fists, saying helplessly: "But what can be done now? We have done our best. For more than ten years, I have been trying, searching for a solution, only to find that the harder I try, the more she suffers. I think we should let her go, and let ourselves go too."
"Letting her go is only an option when there is no hope left. But what if there is still a glimmer of hope? Your efforts over the past decade must have involved countless failures. I say, you have endured ten years of failure, and even one more failure would only add another sigh! But if you miss this glimmer of hope, you will face countless sighs on countless nights!" Mo Qi said.
Jin Yan gazed at Mo Qi dazedly, her eyes shining. She never expected Mo Qi to be so eloquent.
Xue Renkui was finally persuaded. With a final sigh, he let Mo Qi in.
Without any delay, Mo Qi listed a prescription for spiritual herbs and handed it to Xue Renkui. Xue Renkui immediately gave it to his personal guard, Xue Zhong, who took the list and went out. A moment later, the alchemy room delivered all the spiritual herbs on the list, as well as an alchemy furnace.
Mo Qi directly threw the alchemy furnace into his storage bag. Xue Renkui stared in astonishment. Was this kid here to covet his alchemy furnace?