"Stand up. It is Ji who is seeking your help. There is no need to be so polite."
Ji Yuan lifted his hand upwards, and Hu Li felt a gentle force coming. He couldn't continue kneeling, and his body stood up uncontrollably.
Ji Yuan looked Hu Li up and down again and said with a smile.
"You are a fox spirit with spiritual power opened up. You can absorb some magic power. The changes I have made on you can last for a while. Take this opportunity to find your whole family to see me. Go ahead."
Since Ji Yuan had given the order, Hu Li certainly did not dare to neglect it. He bowed and retreated.
"Yes, yes, Xiaohu will go right away. Please wait here, Immortal. Xiaohu will be back soon!"
After saying this, Hu Li turned around and walked out of the back door, then flew away with a few nimble leaps. He knew that the other foxes didn't run far, and they didn't even run out of the Wei family manor, it was just that this abandoned manor was larger.
The moment Hu Li walked out of the house, he could no longer suppress the excitement that he had tried so hard to suppress. He ran a few steps and suddenly jumped into the sky. As a result, the power under his feet exploded and he jumped more than ten feet high.
“Hey hey hey ah~~~~”
When in the air, he waved his arms and legs around aimlessly, and found that he could actually use the air to gain momentum. Stepping on the air flow was like stepping on cotton, and the speed of his landing could be controlled to a certain extent, just like the so-called lightness skill of those martial artists in the world. He glided forward lightly, and when he landed, he had jumped nearly a hundred feet forward.
“Hahahahahaha, hahahahaha… I can fly, I can fly!”
Ji Yuan was in the house listening to the excited laughter and shouts coming from afar, and he couldn't help but think back to his past. He thought back to when he didn't know how to fly, he also felt very happy just by jumping high.
Letting Hu Li go find those foxes in his current state can be considered as a way for him to lobby Ji Yuan privately, and it can also prove to the other party that he is more suitable than Ji Yuan to appease those restless foxes.
Things turned out just as Ji Yuan had expected. Hu Li's current situation was the best explanation. He found foxes quickly with excitement and easily made them willingly follow him to see Ji Yuan.
So within a quarter of an hour, more than twenty foxes gathered again in the house which was still in a mess, and stood in front of Ji Yuan to worship him. Some of them were in human form, and some were just foxes. Their postures were different, but their desire and piety were almost the same.
"Master Ji, we have a total of thirty-two spirit foxes, twenty-six of which are here. Xiaohua is going to find the other five, and they will all come to see you soon!"
Hu Li said this, looked at his fellow tribesmen around him, and bowed to Ji Yuan.
"Please have mercy, Immortal."
Hu Li, who already had a certain prestige among the foxes, had become the leader of the foxes at this moment. When he found the other foxes, Hu Li said that he had seen that the gentleman was extraordinary a long time ago, so everyone ran away, but he deliberately did not run away. His current state made him even more convincing.
Seeing this, the other foxes also hurriedly saluted. No matter whether they were in human form or foxes, their posture of saluting was meticulous and showed unprecedented respect.
"Please have mercy, Immortal!"
"Well, everyone, get up. This matter cannot be explained in a few words. I will stay in this deserted manor for a while. During this time, I will slowly explain this matter. I will also observe your character and guide you on some matters of cultivation according to your different situations..."
Seeing that these foxes were obviously excited, Ji Yuan also knew what they were all looking forward to.
"Well, let's talk about your practice first. Let's sit down..."
Ji Yuan's voice was gentle, and he did not use any magical commands, but it had a calming power that could calm the restless foxes, whether they were panicked or excited, and they subconsciously did what Ji Yuan said.
Although these foxes were still somewhat wild, Ji Yuan felt that they were relatively clean. As the saying goes, no one is perfect, not even monsters. Although some of these foxes stole some roast chicken and wine, that was not an unforgivable thing.
Because the foxes were really shallow in their cultivation and the problems they faced were very obvious, Ji Yuan pointed out the key points in just a few words, which made the foxes suddenly enlightened. Although they did not get the magic solution, they were not as confused as before.
Two hours later, Ji Yuan left the house and found a suitable house to rest. The excited foxes respectfully saw Ji Yuan off and started the banquet again. They could eat what they hadn't finished before, and it didn't matter if it was a little dirty.
…
There is a special courtyard behind the Wei family's wasteland. Some buildings around it have been damaged to a considerable extent, with only a few intact. This is where Ji Yuan once stayed overnight. It was also on that night that a group of inhuman and incorporeal creatures from the Wei family tried to surround and kill him.
The environment here is quiet and it is a familiar place, so Ji Yuan still chose to stay here temporarily. A few days later in the morning, Hu Li trotted to the outside of the yard and looked inside through the half-open door. Jin Jia stood outside the yard like a door god, motionless, and his eyes seemed to never close.
The magic power of Ji Yuan in Hu Li's body had disappeared long ago, but even so, his spirit was very different from before, and there were also substantial changes. At least one change was very obvious. Hu Li could maintain his illusory appearance during the day.
At this moment, Hu Li, who was standing in front of the courtyard gate, straightened his clothes and looked at the position of the sun. Instead of stepping directly into the courtyard, he confidently knocked on the half-open gate.
“Boom boom boom…”
"Mr. Ji, it's me, Hu Li. We have collected enough suitable herbs and are back. We can exchange them for money to pay back the money we paid for stealing roast chicken and wine!"
“Knock, knock, knock…” “Sir, are you awake?”
Not long after, Ji Yuan opened the door, yawned and walked out.
"Hoo hoo... Okay, let's go and walk around the city together."
Ji Yuan was quite satisfied with the efficiency of these foxes. What made him even happier was that their so-called remembering of the shops and people whose food had been stolen was not just talk, but they were able to really reveal all of them, including their locations and how many times the food had been stolen.
If Ji Yuan had not appeared, perhaps he would have gradually forgotten about it over time, and might have become more and more unruly and even started to harm people, but at least at this stage the situation is two points better than what Ji Yuan had imagined.
"Sir, how do we get there?"
"Let's go on foot. Do you have a carriage?"
Ji Yuan knew that Hu Li was wondering if he would have the chance to fly into the clouds, but Ji Yuan didn't have that thought in mind.
Including Jin Jia, the three of them left the abandoned manor of the Wei family and soon arrived in Luping City. Even in the current war period, this place is still a more prosperous and stable place than the Zuyue Kingdom.
There were many pedestrians and vendors on the streets, and it was bustling and noisy everywhere. This was the first time that Hu Li appeared in Luping City before the sun set. He had never seen so many people on the street together. He followed Ji Yuan and Jin Jia with curiosity but also a little timidity, his eyes darting around, looking a little funny.
"Be more open-minded. If you want to see it, just look at it openly."
"Yes Yes."
Hu Li agreed to this, but the improvement was very limited. Ji Yuan did not say much. He would get used to this kind of thing. The smell of herbs not far away was getting stronger and stronger. Without looking, Ji Yuan knew that they were near the pharmacy.
They arrived at a large shop called Qicaotang. Ji Yuan stopped outside the shop, while Hu Li went in alone carrying a sack.
A middle-aged shopkeeper was fiddling with an abacus at the counter and making a note in the account book. When he saw someone coming in, he first looked at Hu Li, then at the two sacks in his hands, and then asked.
"Sir, are you here to ask for a consultation or to order medicine?"
"Uh, well, I'm here to sell medicine."
"Selling medicine?"
The shopkeeper stroked his beard and looked at Hu Li again. Seeing that he looked nervous, he thought for a moment and pointed at the sack.
"You brought some herbs you picked yourself to sell, didn't you?"
"Yes, yes, yes! That's right. These herbs are all collected from deep mountains that are extremely difficult to reach. Look at how much they are worth. I have to pay them back after I sell them!"
Hu Li put the sack on the counter and poured out all the herbs inside. The shopkeeper, who had been indifferent, was secretly shocked when he saw these herbs. There were Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonum multiflorum and Polygonatum sibiricum, and even a few thick old ginsengs. It was obvious at a glance that they were all precious medicinal materials of great age.
The shopkeeper picked up a ginseng and weighed it, then took a closer look. It was not completely dried, but when he looked at Hu Li, who had a nervous and expectant look on his face, he smiled and said after his mind raced.
"I want all these herbs. How about I pay two hundred copper coins?"
"Two copper coins?"
Hu Li was stunned for a moment, and asked a question without waiting for the other party to answer.
"How much roast chicken and wine can I buy with two copper coins?"
"At least I can buy dozens of roast chickens and a few jars of good wine!"
Hu Li frowned. This was a little bit not enough to pay off the debts to those foxes, and Mr. Ji had said that they had to pay interest.
"Boss, this money is a little..."
"Why? Too little?"
The shopkeeper took the initiative and sneered.
"Don't think I don't know that your herbs are not legitimate. Giving you two hundred yuan instead of reporting you to the police is already a kindness. How about this, I'll add another hundred yuan. There's no more!"
"Well, then... well, three taels of silver is three..."
When Hu Li was hesitating and about to agree, Ji Yuan's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Wait a minute!"
Hu Li looked behind him and saw Ji Yuan walking slowly into Qicaotang, so he hurriedly bowed.
"gentlemen!"
"Um."
Ji Yuan looked at Hu Li and the shopkeeper and shook his head slightly. He had originally planned to let Hu Li do business on his own. Even though he knew he was definitely being cheated, he wanted to teach him a lesson. But this was too much of a cheat.
"Boss, there must be a bottom line for everything. It's less than three taels of silver. Is it too much to want to swallow this sack of medicinal materials?"
Originally, three taels of silver were roughly equivalent to three taels of copper coins, but Zu Yue cut corners on the copper coins, and a real one tael of silver was enough to exchange for nearly one and a half taels of silver. Three taels of silver was not even two taels, and the difference was too huge compared to the value of the herbs. It was too much.
"Sir, what you said is very serious. This herb obviously came from an illegal source. It might have been stolen from another pharmacy. I'm lucky I didn't report him to the police. It seems he knows you, too. Could it be that you two are accomplices?"
Ji Yuanjin had a certain bearing, which made the shopkeeper dare not look down on him, but he still had to be tough when necessary.
"Is it from a dishonest source? The herbs in the mountains are all ownerless. Whoever digs them up will own them."
Ji Yuan walked to the counter, picked up an old ginseng, gently twisted the roots, and rubbed off some soil from it.
"Some of the soil on these old ginsengs is still slightly moist, so they are clearly just dug out. The shopkeeper who runs the Qicaotang, wouldn't be unable to see that these old ginsengs are so plump right now, and there's no way they can be dried medicinal materials, right?"
"Humph, maybe he stole someone else's newly-picked herbs. I think he has shifty eyes and must be a petty thief. How dare he say he has never stolen anything?"
"You...you...I have stolen things before, but only food. These medicines were not stolen by me, sir, you can testify to that!"
Hu Li pointed at the shopkeeper, feeling furious, uncomfortable and unable to fully refute.
"Well... you are a thief after all! I told you that you are not a good person if you look like this!"
The shopkeeper's voice suddenly increased several times, and some waiters inside and outside the hall gathered around. Even passers-by outside were attracted by the sound and stopped to look in confusion.
"Why… "
Ji Yuan sighed and shook his head, then said to Hu Li.
"Pack the medicine up and don't sell it here. Find another store."
... ...
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