Chapter 145: The Gray Elephant and the Wooden Bear

"Ah, we arrived just in time! Hurry up and set an extra place for us," Ning Qi said as soon as he laid eyes on the dishes spread across the table, his eyes turning practically glowing with hunger as he called out to Qingjin.

Qingjin immediately instructed the servants to bring out extra utensils, a chair, and a bowl of rice.

Everyone gathered around the table again and resumed eating. Ning Qi's chopsticks became a blur, moving with the sheer frenzy of a starved ghost reincarnated.

Within a short while, he had single-handedly polished off the greater part of several massive platters of fierce beast meat.

Xie Wu felt too embarrassed to even reach for the food with her chopsticks.

Qinghú quickly picked out several slices of meat and placed them into Xie Wu's bowl, then instructed the servants to bring out a few more platters of meat. If they didn't bring more, there wouldn't be anything left to eat.

"What on earth happened to you? How could you possibly starve yourself to this state?" Qingjin asked, looking puzzled.

"Getting starved in the underground palace goes without saying, and the leg of the journey we spent with you guys wasn't too bad—we still got to eat some hot meals. But once we parted ways with you, things got much worse. Our dry rations were all snatched away by people, and in the end, when we were practically starving to death, we simply came right back out through the Profound Heaven Pagoda," Ning Qi said with a miserably pathetic tone.

"What? People even robbed your dry rations?" Qinzhen stopped eating altogether—mostly because there was no meat left anyway, deciding to wait for the newly served dishes. "If you had no dry rations, why didn't you eat the dried meat? Before we parted, I could have given you plenty of dried meat."

"Don't even mention that dried meat! The few groups of alien beings we ran into all tracked us down by sniffing the aroma of that jerky. It was your dried meat that cursed us in the first place! The various kinds of jerky you make are so fragrant that people could smell them from miles away. In the end, the jerky was gone, and even our dry rations were plundered," Ning Qi complained.

"Brother Ning Qi, you're really not cut out for this. You couldn't even manage to hold onto a bit of food," Qinzhen clicked his tongue, his expression full of utter contempt.

"Look at you talking. Even I reached the Foundation Establishment stage and couldn't protect it; if it were you, you'd have been robbed even more miserably," Ning Qi retorted, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

At that moment, the servants brought out a few more large platters of fierce beast meat, along with a special braised meat platter.

"Good grief, the meat dishes at your place just keep getting more and more delicious," Ning Qi praised loudly while his chopsticks resumed their frantic dance.

"When you're generous with all kinds of seasonings, naturally it tastes better," Qingjin said, casting a helpless glance at the grand platters of meat.

Ever since Qinghú entered the Undefinable City, she had collected a variety of recipes and brought back a massive batch of seasonings. To ensure she could eat even better when she returned home, this young girl had simply coerced a trading caravan into bringing back over a dozen wagonloads of various spices and seasonings for her family.

She had even hoarded a batch of seasoning seeds—storing a portion directly inside her little seashell, and having the rest transported back home.

He could already vividly imagine the expressions on his parents' faces when the delivery arrived.

Oh my god, they would definitely assume the kids were being prodigal spendthrifts again.

"Oh, right, when are you guys leaving the Undefinable City?" Ning Qi asked.

"We'll finish our meal, stockpile some more supplies, and have the trading caravan transport them back for us. We'll be leaving tomorrow at dawn," Qingjin replied.

"Then I'll escort my Senior Sister back to the Ancient Sacred Sect first, and then I'll come look for you later," Ning Qi said.

"Alright."

"And Qinghú, I'll head back for a bit first. Once I report to my master, I'll come back out to look for treasures with you," Xie Wu added.

"No need to rush," Qinghú nodded in agreement.

"Oh right, Qinghú, can you sell us some more of those turtle essence pills?" Xie Wu asked.

In the past, she had eaten very few of them and hadn't felt much of a difference, but now that she had eaten the ones made by Qinghú and the others several times, she realized they were truly effective and delicious.

"I can sell you a hundred pills; just settle the account with spirit stones," Qinghú replied upon hearing this request.

"Alright, how does ten spirit stones per pill sound to you?" Xie Wu asked.

Could ten spirit stones buy a thirty-year-old mysterious turtle? Absolutely not. This batch of pills for external sale had to be made from ten-year-old ones.

"Deal," Qinghú nodded and agreed.

"Come and pick them up tomorrow morning."

Xie Wu immediately brightened up with joy.

Ning Qi was somewhat bewildered, but he didn't press the matter. He had no idea what the actual production cost of the turtle essence pills was.

After seeing Xie Wu and the others off, Qinzhen immediately asked, "Can those turtle essence pills of yours cover the production cost at ten spirit stones each?"

"With ten-year-old or five-year-old turtles, there's still a profit to be made," Qinghú answered.

Qinzhen laughed knowingly, "I knew it."

"Little Hu, let me tell you, your Fourth Brother has obtained a real treasure this time."

"What kind of treasure?" Qinghú asked.

"The eldest brother and I were respectively transported into separate stone chambers, where we were tasked with comprehending certain secret techniques. Mine was blade technique, and the eldest brother's was swordsmanship. What was yours?"

"Whip technique," Qinghú quickly lied. Actually, she was quite proficient in swordsmanship as well, but her whip technique was truly not bad either.

"Did you keep the secret techniques recorded in your minds? When we get back, we should transcribe them for Dad," Qinzhen reminded her.

"Don't worry, don't worry. How could anyone forget something like that so easily?"

"After I cleared the trial, I obtained a major treasure called the Wind Sovereign Bead. As long as I continuously refine it, I will inevitably be able to touch upon the laws in the future and become a great cultivator," Qinzhen boasted.

"That wind-attribute Flood Dragon pearl is also quite suitable for Fourth Brother. You should carve out some time to refine that one as well," Qinghú suggested.

"What are you thinking all day long? Is refinement really that easy? Eldest brother carries the Black Water Poison Dragon pearl you gave him every single day, and no matter what he tries, there isn't the slightest sign of it being refined," Qinzhen said.

"Uh, refinement... I actually modified the treasure-refinement manual from our family a bit. Since you're all here right now, why don't the siblings study it together and see if we can perfect a better version of the treasure-refinement manual?"

"Weren't you planning to go out and buy things?" Qingjin asked.

"Almost everything is already complete. Weren't the seasonings and other things already loaded onto the wagons? Tonight, let's have everyone make a few more batches of delicious braised dishes to pack for us. We can just leave bright and early tomorrow morning," Qinghú said.

Hearing this, Qingjin agreed it was a workable plan.

The three siblings simply put their heads together and studied the treasure-refinement manual for the entire night.

The original manual consisted of barely over five hundred characters, but the three savage siblings had modified it beyond all recognition.

After a total of six revisions, they finally hammered out a version that Qingjin considered fairly decent. Of course, this was only by Qingjin's standards; if Qinghú were to evaluate it, it was just so-so—at the very least, it suited the three siblings whose cultivation levels were still low.

As for Qinzhen, would he even bother analyzing it deeply?

As long as he could cultivate with it, that was enough.

Yawning, Qinzhen dragged the half-asleep Qinghú along with Qingjin—who still looked composed and energetic—to meet up with the alien trading caravan they had arranged to join.

The human trading caravans were all fully booked and were no longer accepting people.

Instead, they had contacted Bali and, through his connections, secured a spot with a large Grey-Mane Wild Elephant tribe trading caravan that was passing through East Radish Pass and cutting across a section of the interior of human territory. The goods of the Grey-Mane Wild Elephant aliens were all loaded onto elephant wagons.

The elephant wagons were strapped onto the backs of massive, grey, long-haired elephants that looked like miniature mountains.

Qinghú and the others had also reserved an elephant wagon, which featured a main hall and four guest rooms.

Qingjin and Qinzhen each occupied a room, while Qingquan and Jiuquan shared another. Qinghú and Xiaobai shared the last one.

Qinzhen's pet bird offspring had by now grown a coat of fluffy down. They spent all day pestering Qingjin's little white cat to play. Whenever Qingjin and the others were away, these little rascals would make mischief all day and turn the house upside down, forcing Xiaobai and the others to clean up after them daily.

However, as soon as Qinghú returned, the cat would behave itself, and the birds would quiet down immediately.

Ironically, Xiaobai and the others almost found themselves unaccustomed to the peace.

The elephant wagon was just like an upscale suite—tall, sturdy, and constructed from excellent giant timber materials. Its own weight was already considerable, and some wagons were loaded with a fair amount of cargo, but all of this weight was of no consequence to the giant long-haired grey elephants.

The elephant tribe trading caravan that Qinghú and the others were boarding was actually considered a relatively small caravan, yet even this small caravan boasted over a hundred heavy-duty load-bearing elephants.

The elephant people were naturally tall and robust, with simple and honest personalities.

Their faces still resembled those of humans, but they possessed large elephant ears. The elephant ears drooped down the sides of their broad faces—while not exactly unsightly, they certainly weren't breathtakingly beautiful either.

However, the elephant tribe valued physical strength above all else, so they didn't care what their ears looked like.

Ning Qi and the others came to see them off.

They spotted Qingjin and the three siblings waiting beneath an elephant wagon. The caravan was still loading cargo, so it wouldn't be departing for a while yet. Moreover, none of them were eager to climb into the stuffy elephant wagon early and crouch inside.

They preferred standing below to breathe in the fragrance of the wildflowers outside the city.

Although it was already late autumn, there were still a fair number of blooming wildflowers. Outside the large cargo loading area outside the Undefinable City, many beautiful and intensely fragrant wildflowers had been artificially cultivated. Large patches of wildflowers blooming simultaneously possessed a unique, rugged magnificence.

"We've never even been to this cargo loading area before," Ning Qi said as he and Xie Wu walked over, noticing the alien beings all around staring at them as if they were looking at exotic monkeys.

"Isn't this the only large cargo loading area outside the Undefinable City?" Qingjin asked, puzzled.

"It is, but the human trading caravans are all stationed at the periphery of this area; we never venture deep into this place. Didn't you guys feel like the attitude of the alien beings toward us was a bit off when you arrived?" Ning Qi asked.

Qingjin shook his head.

Bali had long since leaked the secret of the Shen siblings being divine descendants to the trading caravan. The elephant people were eager to curry favor with them; why would they look at them with displeasure?

Just at that moment, a young elephant tribesman walked over carrying four large baskets. Inside were nuts, fresh spirit fruits, braised snacks, and various delectable freshly made pastries.

"Young Master Shen, Miss Shen, my father purchased quite a few small snacks and asked me to bring them over for you to eat on the road."

"Thank you very much, Young Brother Ji," Qingjin hurried over, accepted the baskets, and handed them to Qingquan and Jiuquan standing beside him. The two servants were responsible for carrying the items up into the elephant wagon.

"This is your first time riding an elephant wagon. If you feel any discomfort at all, let me know immediately so I can go find my father and have him adjust the pace of the grey elephants," the young elephant man said with enthusiasm that bordered on overwhelming.

"I think the elephant wagon is quite nice. Thank you for your trouble, Young Brother Ji." Knowing that the young man was just worried they might get motion-sick, Qingjin figured the three siblings would be fine.

"If you need anything, just come find me. I'll be in the elephant wagon right behind yours," the young elephant man said and took his leave after delivering the goods.

"Were all of these free?" Ning Qi asked, looking with envy and jealousy as Jiuquan and Qingquan carried the goods onto the elephant wagon.

"Mm-hmm," Qingjin smiled.

If they had cost money, the guy would have mentioned it earlier.

"The way you guys live..." Ning Qi gnashed his teeth, finding it thoroughly infuriating.

"Why don't you guys travel with us? Just book an extra elephant wagon—what's the big deal?" Qingjin suggested with a smile.

"Forget it, we have a long-standing relationship with our caravan, so we'll travel with them straight to our Ancient Sacred Sect," Ning Qi said with a regretful tone. If he had followed Qingjin and the others, life would undoubtedly have been wonderfully comfortable.

"Right, when do you guys depart?" Xie Wu asked.

"Around noon," Qingjin replied.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning," Xie Wu said with a smile. "It's just right that we came to see you off today."

Just as she finished speaking, her sound-transmission jade talisman began to vibrate.

Xie Wu hurriedly took out the talisman and activated it.

"Xie Wu, you and Junior Brother Ning need to get back quickly. The trading caravan on our side is also departing at noon today," a middle-aged man's voice came from the talisman.

"Uncle Bai, why is our side departing early? Didn't we agree it would be tomorrow?" Xie Wu asked in surprise.

"The Wood Bear alien trading caravan suddenly changed its route, so we have to follow the Grey-Mane Wild Elephant trading caravan instead."

"Grey Elephant?"

"Yes, the Grey-Mane Wild Elephant tribe's trading caravan."

"Alright, I understand. We're heading back right now," Xie Wu said.

"Hurry up," Uncle Bai urged from the other end. "Don't miss the hour."

"Understood." Xie Wu replied.

After the sound-transmission talisman deactivated, Xie Wu turned to Shen Qinghú and asked, "Is the trading caravan you're taking composed of Grey-Mane Wild Elephants?"

"That's right. Look, aren't those all grey-haired elephants?" Qinghú pointed out.

"It looks like our human trading caravan will probably end up following right behind your caravan," Xie Wu remarked.

"Can't humans travel on their own? Why must they tag along behind another trading caravan?" Qinghú asked, confused.

"We can't not follow them. Humans are weak, and traveling overland is far too dangerous. If we don't follow an established, veteran trading caravan, we'd be lucky if even one out of ten human caravans made it back," Xie Wu explained. "Since our caravan will be following right behind yours, make sure to look out for us along the way, okay?"

"That's just a matter of a word or two; my eldest brother can easily handle it," Qinghú smiled.

"Then many thanks. Oh, and about those turtle essence pills?"

"I already got them ready for you—a hundred pills," Qinghú said, and the two quickly completed the transaction. Qinghú gained another batch of spirit stones, making a modest fortune.

Xie Wu called Ning Qi over to inform him that they would be leaving earlier as well, and she also reminded Qingjin to look out for them.

Qingjin readily agreed; after all, they were fellow humans, so looking out for one another was only natural.

The floral fragrance and clear breeze outside were pleasant enough, but the autumn sun was wonderfully warm and cozy. After bathing in it for a short while, Qinghú grew sleepy and climbed straight up into the elephant wagon to take a nap.

Meanwhile, Qingjin and Qinzhen continued chatting outside.

Just before the elephant wagon was about to set off, Young Brother Ji came over once more.

"We're about to depart. Do Eldest Young Master Shen and Fourth Young Master Shen need anything else?"

"Nothing else, everything you've provided is wonderful. We lack nothing right now. Oh right, a human trading caravan wants to follow closely behind our caravan later. Do you know if that's permissible?" Qingjin asked.

"Which human trading caravan? Every time we make a run, we have quite a few caravans following behind us. There are plenty of human caravans among them, too."

"Uh... I actually don't know which caravan it is. The friends who came to see us off earlier originally said they were going to leave tomorrow with the Wood Bear tribe's trading caravan, but after the Wood Bear caravan changed its route, they decided at the last minute to switch and follow ours instead."

"Oh, then I know. Don't worry, Eldest Young Master Shen, we'll definitely assign them a good spot." As soon as Shen Qingjin mentioned the Wood Bear tribe caravan, Young Brother Ji immediately recalled the human team that had rushed over that very morning, paying a hefty sum to tag along with their caravan.