Su Qingcheng woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and confident. With Yao Meiyue's reassurance, she felt she could make her first big step towards recovery. Before she left her room, Su Qingcheng spotted a glint on her study table. Blinking, she walked towards her desk and spotted an elaborate black ring next to a piece of paper that simply said in bold, fierce lettering: GO GET THEM, TIGER. From this writing, Su Qingcheng knew already it was the doing of her sister, Su Yanran. That young lady must really have her eye on you to casually give you a storage ring like that…
Su Qingcheng was a bit startled when she heard Yao Meiyue's voice ring in her ear. Evidently this storage ring was considered to be a treasure for the voice to sound so alarmed. I don't know if it belonged to her originally, but this is a relic-class ring that appears to be gifted to her. I think this should be the Dragon Hoard Ring. Su Qingcheng had never heard of this domineering-sounding name before and was naturally alarmed by how casually Yao Meiyue described it. A relic class treasure or item could be considered to be incredibly rare on the Liandou Continent; usually these were one-of-a-kind objects that had very unique properties. In the case of the Dragon Hoard Ring, it was a storage ring that could store several times that of a regular high class storage ring, on top of that the space inside it was habitable, meaning you could store living beings inside it also.
Yao Meiyue was clearly not sure if Su Yanran was aware of such a treasure or if she just considered it to be a pretty thing. However this meant that whoever gifted it to her was either incredibly powerful or had a very strong backing. Su Qingcheng audibly gulped as she quickly wore the ring and discovered she could easily imprint her signature onto it to make it her's, meaning that Su Yanran never intended to keep it for herself in the first place. Immediately Su Qingcheng discovered that the two women directly related to her were more complicated than what you could see in first glance. Su Ran had a strong connection with her Tianqi Emperor-level master whereas Su Yanran could easily just gift a powerful treasure like that to her so decisively. Sighing inwardly, Qingcheng vowed to repay them someday.
Enough gawking. While the time is early, let's go ahead and collect the ingredients. Su Qingcheng was snapped out of her reverie and quickly proceeded to see her mother, who was currently sitting cross-legged inside a training room. Evidently, between Su Zhan and Su Ran, the mother was more martially minded than the father, who was definitely more proficient in being an administrator. When Su Qingcheng stepped in, she dared not to interrupt her mother who was in a meditating state. She could feel the Tianqi aura radiating from her mother and it was very clear that Su Ran herself was at least the third rank of a Tianqi Sage. Though Yao Meiyue seemed to disagree with this, reminding Su Qingcheng that her mother was just concealing her true strength. Sighing, Su Qingcheng patiently waited for her mother to finish.
Su Ran saw the Dragon Hoard Ring on her daughter's finger causing her to be a bit shocked. "What. Why did Yanran-er give that thing to you?" Su Qingcheng shrugged in response. She didn't know either and she wouldn't lie about that. Sighing, Su Ran simply shook her head. "Aiii. That young lady… She dotes on you more than I do. Anyway, what is it that you want?"
"I want Doctor Qian to make some medicine for me. But I need some ingredients." Su Qingcheng sighed, lying through her teeth. Lin Qian was the Su clan's on-call apothecary and doctor, someone who was capable of both creating pills and elixirs. This is actually a lofty title that is higher than even alchemists, who either specialize in pills or elixirs. However, Su Qingcheng lied as it would actually be Yao Meiyue making the elixir and not Doctor Qian.
"Huh? Medicine? Is it for your body?"
"Naturally it is. Here, this is what I need." Su Qingcheng pulled out a piece of paper from her ring, which had four ingredients written on it. Naturally, the neidan was omitted from this list.
"Oh. Yes, these should be easy to find. Since you asked early, we can bring it to your room later? I guess you'll go see Doctor Qian tomorrow?"
Qingcheng nodded again firmly. "Yes, mother." She then respectfully cupped her hands. "Then, I shall be taking my leave. I may be busy today doing some extra research, thus I will be in my room for the meantime. If anyone asks, tell them not to disturb me, please?" Qingcheng asked sheepishly. Actually, she intended to climb out her window and leave the premises secretly to enter Tang Gu City, which was of course the city the Su Clan and others was in. She would look for the neidan in its giant bazaar, known as Tang Gu Market.
With a motherly nod, Su Ran smiled. "Rest assured. I'll do my best to help you. Your father is too busy right now to do much. I think he is trying to do damage control as news of your challenge is spreading rapidly throughout the city." Su Qingcheng thanked her mother before quietly leaving, but before she could do so, she heard Su Ran's voice again. Turning her head around, she saw a mischievous gaze on her mother's face.
"If you plan to sneak out, you better cover up. It would be a shame if someone recognized you." Su Ran giggled, causing Su Qingcheng to sweat.
In Su Qingcheng's heart, she lamented deeply to herself as she quietly returned to her room. She probably recognized the ingredients on the list you gave her and knew that we lack a neidan. I think you should know the Su clan does not deal with hunting of magical beasts. Su Qingcheng gulped again, realizing that Su Ran was definitely concealing her background and power. How could she immediately tell something like that just by looking at a list of ingredients? Even Yao Meiyue, who kept bragging about her power, could surmise this.
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Once Su Qingcheng got back to her room, she picked out a large black cloak that covered her entire body, which had a hood. She put the hood over her head before she opened the window and snuck out. Fortunately the mansion did not have floors, so she could easily sneak out and shut the window. Making sure she was not seen by anybody, Su Qingcheng quietly snuck out of the Su clan residence and rushed in the direction of the Tang Gu Market…
A heavily cloaked youth rushed through the buildings and quietly headed into a bustling marketplace, full of colorful stalls and people peddling their wares. This cloaked young person attracted many gazes but nobody could tell who this person was. They seemed short, but exuded a mysterious aura that made people unwilling to look away. Naturally, this youth was a heavily cloaked Su Qingcheng, who knew people would recognize her if they bumped into her. However, because Qingcheng was wearing a hood, she could not clearly see well either as the hood covered her eyes. While she was looking at stalls that sold neidans, she unceremoniously bumped into a person about one and a half times larger than her.
Su Qingcheng, embarrassed as she fell backwards on her butt, looked up and gulped as the large figure turned around. Shockingly, it was a very well-built woman who looked like she could easily exchange blows with a man of similar stature. She was wearing very plain and non-descript martial garb, but displayed a majestic Tianqi aura that was the mark of a Tianqi Emperor. Gulping, Su Qingcheng exclaimed her poor fortune as she realized she might have offended a Tianqi Emperor by mistake. However, the tall woman peered into the face concealed by the hood before smiling faintly.
Under the shocking gaze of everyone, the woman laughed and shook her head. "Not to worry, little girl. Even if a trivial thing like this offended me, you do not have the qualifications worth my notice. Fortunately, I have a feeling that this was fate… You do not need to know who I am right now, kid, but I think that if you work hard, we will surely meet again. Take care, fellow." The woman laughed boisterously as she casually turned forward and continued on her way, ignoring the terrified Su Qingcheng who gradually composed herself and stood up, now under the scrutiny of many bystanders. She felt like she was being stared at like an animal at the zoo. Protectively covering herself even more with the cloak, she kept moving forward.
'Just who was that woman?!' Su Qingcheng tried to ask Yao Meiyue in her mind, but the spirit goddess refused to answer. Either Yao Meiyue was also scared, or she knew this woman but didn't want to tell Qingcheng either. The youth hoped it was the latter. Soon, she calmed herself and realized she was incredibly lucky that a Tianqi Emperor even bothered to say that many words to an insignificant Tianqi User ant like her, who an Emperor could flatten like a pancake as easily as flipping their hands over.
As Su Qingcheng under the protection of her cloak kept moving along trying to find a neidan stall, her increased perception due to Yao Meiyue could eavesdrop on many private conversations. According to this, she learned that in fact there was a female Tianqi Emperor making the rounds in Tang Gu Market in search of a particular medicinal ingredient. She had apparently traveled all over the continent in search for this ingredient but until now has met with nothing but failure. Feeling a bit bad for her, Su Qingcheng decided that she'd just forget about it for now because right now it was more important for her to regain her power and stop that wedding one year from now.
Eventually, after about an hour of searching, Su Qingcheng found a stall covered by a black cloth canopy, and there was a rugged male figure sitting cross-legged with a lot of cores and neidans scattered on the cloth before him. Smiling, Qingcheng approached before her gaze flickered. She recognized the man selling cores to be Xiao Hei, a rank five Tianqi Geomancer who was around the age of twenty. He was a high-ranking member of the Xiao clan actually, and in fact if Su Qingcheng liked men in that way, she would definitely be somewhat attracted to him. For now though, Qingcheng only held a deep respect for this guy, who was a Tri-Essence User that often left the city to hunt magical beasts.
Su Qingcheng was gawking at his wares when Xiao Hei smiled in a warm manner. "What's the young lady of the Su Clan doing all covered up like that?" he asked, causing Su Qingcheng to leap up in surprise.
"Uh?! Xiao Hei?! How did you recognize me?" Su Qingcheng frowned, loosening her hood a bit as she revealed her face to the young man sitting down.
"The news of your challenge to Xiao Tie is a big topic of the clan. I respect your tenacity and guts. Clearly, you must be here to find things to help you regain your power. I guess you might be looking for ingredients to let a doctor or apothecary make medicine for you. Actually, I don't like that spoiled Xiao Tie brat either," Xiao Hei sighed. "He has been spoiled by his dad. He isn't like us, who have better temperament and self-control. Truthfully, he is really like those silk-pants young masters. He would have been disowned by now if he weren't already a Tianqi Geomancer. How about this. I know you're looking for a neidan, so let me give one to you for free. In return, you better teach that guy a lesson. I'm not the only one cheering you on. Even my sisters, some of who still continue to be enamored by your manly tenacity, are also rooting for you. Therefore, you better give us some face and bring forth a miracle."
Su Qingcheng flushed when she heard these words from Xiao Hei. He looked very rough on the edges but he was actually a very decent and nice guy. He rarely ever flirted with women and the ladies and instead was concentrated on helping his family and training himself to get strong. Su Qingcheng knew that with some effort Xiao Hei could break from being a fifth rank Geomancer and become a first rank Tianqi Prince. Cupping her hands together, Su Qingcheng shamelessly requested the neidan of a First Level Metal beast. As it was just a first level neidan, Xiao Hei casually threw one over to her for free. This didn't escape some gazes of bystanders, who appeared a little envious. Xiao Hei scowled at them which caused them to retreat in a frenzy.
"Thank you very much, senior Xiao Hei. I really won't forget your generosity and kindness. I won't definitely won't disappoint you." Su Qingcheng smiled as she bowed respectfully and left, turning her back to Xiao Hei and slowly making her way back home. The rugged man smiled warmly.
"You have your family and you have us to back you up. What is a mere Xiao Tie? Sooner or later he will die at the hands of a woman. Therefore, you better give him a rude awakening. Hahaha." Xiao Hei muttered to himself before happily laughing to himself.