Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1111 569: The Peddler's Secret Technique

He Jiaqing stared at the bamboo shoot for a long time and shook his head, "Ancestor, I still don't understand. There are hundreds of Taoist sects in Puluo State, how could this one bamboo shoot possibly be refined into hundreds of medicinal powders?"

The Stealing Master Xiao Qianshou laughed upon hearing this, "You brat, if I knew how to refine medicinal powder, would I be wasting time here chatting with you? I would have refined ten thousand portions of medicinal powder by now, adding ten thousand disciples to our Taoist sect."

He Jiaqing said, "Ancestor, you want so badly to add disciples to our Taoist sect?"

Xiao Qianshou sighed, "Why wouldn't I? I dream daily of making our thief cultivation the top Taoist sect in Puluo State, but it's not up to me to decide, it's all up to the Peddler!

The Peddler can hold sway in Puluo State not because he's a good fighter, but because he controls the lifelines of each Taoist sect,

which sect has many people, which has few, is all in the Peddler's grasp. Let me tell you this, without the Peddler, the Taoist sects in Puluo State would be reduced by seventy to eighty percent, even the largest Literary and Martial Taoisms might go extinct."

He Jiaqing was not too convinced, "How could Literary and Martial Taoisms go extinct? These are the orthodox paths!"

"Why wouldn't they go extinct? Who says they're orthodox? Just randomly ask a young person in Puluo State how many are sincerely willing to study literary and martial arts?

In the early days, studying literature meant ten bitter years for the sake of passing exams and seeking wealth and glory, the most suffering task in the world,

And now that Puluo State no longer values those credentials, how many are willing to learn literature?

Learning martial arts is just as tough as learning literature, and it also tests the family background. Who dares to let their children learn martial arts if the family has no foundation? When there's not enough to eat or drink,

the Peddler just sells a few more packs of medicinal powder, and literary and martial becomes orthodox. If one day the Peddler stops selling medicinal powder, these two Taoisms would be doomed,

Look at our Taoist sect, there are a lot of people in the world who want to gain without labor, but why hasn't our thief cultivation flourished?

Because the Peddler won't allow it, because the Peddler won't provide medicinal powder. One day if the Peddler gets angry and cuts off the medicinal powder, our Taoist sect would be extinct in a few years,

The Peddler determines which Taoist sect can survive, and which must perish, turning clouds to rain and rain to clouds, this is the authority and status of the Lord of Puluo!"

He Jiaqing stared at the bamboo shoot in his hand, his eyes gradually going blank.

Bang!

Xiao Qianshou knocked the cup with the lid, snapping He Jiaqing back to reality.

"You little brat, why are your eyes glazed over? Have you taken a liking to this treasure? Do you wish to become the Lord of Puluo?"

He Jiaqing quickly placed the bamboo shoot back on the table, "Ancestor, I'm not the material for that, this thing is yours, I dare not have any inappropriate thoughts."

Xiao Qianshou sighed, "I think you really are the right material, I'll give you this bamboo shoot. If you can figure out how to refine the medicinal powder, remember, the first thing is to glorify our Taoist sect."

He Jiaqing waved his hand, "How dare I..."

Xiao Qianshou stopped laughing, his brow slightly furrowed.

He Jiaqing quickly took the bamboo shoot, "Thank you, Ancestor, for your generosity."

...

Qiu Zhiheng returned home, still feeling frightened, unable to eat or sleep.

He had ascended Kuwu Mountain, though possessing an Eighth Layer physique, he still suffered some poisoning, yet he even refused to drink the antidote, pacing back and forth in the room.

His wife, Bamboo, stepped forward and asked, "What happened, why are you in such a panic?"

Qiu Zhiheng replied, "I offended someone from Snowflake Beach."

"Snowflake Beach? The ones who mint Ocean Dollar? How did you get into trouble with them?" Bamboo was surprised.

"They want to use our family as hostages to force Old Qi to show himself. I refused and had a fight with them,

I couldn't defeat him and nearly lost my life, but was later saved by Old Xu."

Bamboo was even more shocked, "How did Old Qi offend Snowflake Beach?"

Qiu Zhiheng shook his head, "I still can't make sense of all this. What I'm worried about now is whether we can still stay in Medicine King Valley."

Bamboo, stunned for a moment, asked with her head lowered, "We have painstakingly built up our business here, are we just leaving it behind?"

Qiu Zhiheng was also reluctant, but after years of trials and tribulations, he could sense the danger. If faced again with someone like Fan Zhongfu, he would be powerless without rescue, leaving the entire family awaiting death alongside him.

With both options difficult, the couple was still discussing when a shop assistant called out, "Shopkeeper, that old regular with the surname Xu says he's brought a shipment of herbs for you."

Xu Han often visited the Medicine Shop to buy medicine, and the assistants all recognized him.

Qiu Zhiheng hurriedly invited Xu Han into the backroom, while Bamboo prepared tea and snacks for Old Xu.

"Old Xu, thank you for saving me on the mountain today..."

Xu Han didn't respond, he opened a cloth bag, revealing a bag of fresh red apricots.

Qiu Zhiheng was surprised, "Are these Blood Skin Apricots?"

Old Xu nodded, "Since you didn't manage to gather any while collecting herbs on the mountain today, I brought some back for you."

Qiu Zhiheng waved his hands repeatedly, "Old Xu, I went to pick Blood Skin Apricots originally for Elder Yao, we can't accept these."

"Just take them, Yao Xin won't miss them, let's not discuss this further," Xu Han placed the bag aside, "the person you met on the mountain, do you recognize him?"

Qiu Zhiheng said, "You mean the person from Snowflake Beach? I've never seen him before."

"I'm not talking about the one from Snowflake Beach, don't worry about the Snowflake Beach issue. I mean someone else."

"Someone else..." Qiu Zhiheng thought for a long time, indeed it seemed there was someone else, but he had no clear impression.

Old Xu sighed, "This is removing the head and tail, you've been caught by his technique."