Chapter 23: That’s Not a Little, That’s a Billion Little

“How much do the Light Elixir and Holy Elixir cost?”

Old Tang was just as excited, asking eagerly, as if a healthy body and a long life were waving at him.

Yun Qimu quickly did the math in her head, then decided without hesitation to double the price of the potions in the village chief’s exchange shop.

With a hand over her heart, she said sincerely, “The Light Elixir is 200,000 spirit coins. As for the Holy Elixir, just one bottle will instantly purge all the dark matter from your body and restore you to your peak condition. That one’s just a little more expensive—2 million spirit coins.”

She added, “The exchange rate is one energy coin to one hundred spirit coins, by the way.”

Old Tang’s face fell, nearly giving himself a heart attack.

A little more expensive? That’s not a little, that’s a billion littles!

“I—I don’t have any energy coins.” He clutched his chest, his scruffy beard trembling, looking like a fish out of water, eyes glazed over, so heartbroken he could barely breathe.

Why on earth did he blow all his energy coins? Wouldn’t it have been better to save up for a gold-inlaid, diamond-studded luxury coffin for himself?

Maybe he could even sell the coffin now to get some energy coins back.

Yun Qimu felt a little sorry for the old man, so she encouraged him, “It’s okay if you don’t have any energy coins. You can earn them slowly. If you can’t afford the Holy Elixir, just buy the Light Elixir for now and hang in there. Keep at it, and you’ll save up enough to buy the Holy Elixir. Once you get your hands on it, just one gulp and you’ll be bursting with life again—guaranteed to let you live it up for a few more thousand years. You could even marry a beautiful young wife! Doesn’t that sound tempting?”

Old Tang: …

Why does this sales pitch sound so strangely familiar?

In the end, Old Tang still thanked her, but awkwardly changed the subject. “Is there some reason you’re not killing Zach and those interstellar pirates, Chief? My brat might not be the most respectful, but he’s got some strength and skills. If you need help, just order him around.”

“Dad!” Tang En’s handsome face twisted in embarrassment. Not respectful? Now the chief would misunderstand him! He was a polite, well-mannered, positive young man!

Who needs a biological father anyway?

But when Yun Qimu looked over, he quickly straightened up and put on his most polite smile, flashing a row of eight neat, white, sparkling teeth.

“Chief, do you have any instructions?”

Yun Qimu smiled lightly and moved her gaze away from his sweaty, nervous forehead. “Actually, yes, I do need your help. Tie up these star pirates for me—I want to ask them if they have any accomplices.”

She glanced at the group of pirates, some of whom were bleeding quite enthusiastically. She really didn’t want to bother healing them.

But if she didn’t, they might just die, and then she’d fail her twenty-resident quest. She needed to find some replacements.

Tang En, unaware of her thoughts, kept praising her attention to detail. Then he ran off and somehow dug up a long, thick rope, efficiently tying up eighteen people into a string.

When Skinny opened his eyes in a daze from the pain, a small, golden, gleaming axe was waving in front of his face, as if hesitating where to start chopping.

Having witnessed the power of that axe, he shuddered, every hair standing on end, eyes wide with terror. All his previous malice toward Zhu Zhu vanished in an instant, replaced by pure cowardice.

“Miss, spare me! Spare me! It was him—it was him who said there was a delicate noble lady here, so the boss brought us along!”

He dropped to his knees, angrily turning to glare at the big guy tied up next to him, who was shrinking back, trembling like a leaf, his tone full of resentment.

“Oh?” Yun Qimu followed his gaze, eyes narrowing. Now that she looked, the big guy did seem familiar.

“A grown man cowering there like a bashful bride, aren’t you ashamed? Lift your head and let me see you.”

“I—I…” Haru, built like a fitness coach, was shaking all over.

But Yun Qimu wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Lift your head.”

Her calm voice was laced with threat, and a strong sense of danger forced Haru to look up, revealing a rough face with wide, terrified eyes.

Yun Qimu looked down at him, eyes narrowing. “Oh, it’s you—the one sitting by the window, third row on the right, on the spaceship. My… fellow passenger.”

“Didn’t you leave early? How did you know I stayed here?”

Haru shrank his neck. Despite his size, he looked like a terrified chick trying to hide behind the others. But Skinny and the other pirate on his other side wouldn’t let him. With fierce looks, they squeezed him forward.

They threatened viciously, “The lady’s asking you a question. Speak, or I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah, we’ll kill you! Hurry up and talk…”

The other pirates chimed in, eager to shift the blame.

Poor, helpless Haru shook his head, snot and tears streaming down his face. “No, it wasn’t me! It was Fei Jie! Fei Jie told me to tell Zach you were here!”

“Fei Jie, huh.” Yun Qimu quickly matched the name to a certain sly, villainous face.

All smiles on the surface, but a backstabber underneath—that was just like him.

Haru kept trying to explain, desperate to clear his name. “After we got off the ship yesterday, I was going to head to Molan City with the others, but it got dark so fast, and then we ran into a magnetic storm. We got scattered. I was unlucky and ran into a berserk beast—almost became its dinner. Fei Jie and his buddies saved me. I thought he was a good guy, but—pah! Just now, when he saw Zach and the others looking for a kid, he told me to repay him by telling Zach your location. Otherwise, he said he’d throw me back to the beast just like he saved me. I had no choice…”

He rambled on, cursing Fei Jie as a treacherous scoundrel and painting himself as innocent, but everyone present—including little Yun Xiaoyu, who wasn’t even as tall as his thigh—looked at him with disdain.

Yun Qimu frowned impatiently. “So where’s Fei Jie now?”

Haru froze, then muttered, “He’s probably already gone.”

“Then why did you stay and come with them?”

Yun Qimu sneered, “Did you think I was easy prey and wanted a share of the loot?”

Haru, who’d left early yesterday and hadn’t seen Yun Qimu kill anyone, really had thought that. But now, he was so scared he nearly wet himself.

He’d mistaken an eagle for a rabbit—what a mistake! No wonder Fei Jie hadn’t done it himself.

But now, it was all too late.

Haru cursed in his heart, his face ashen."