Rabbit Must Die-Chapter 313 - 310: Toad Palace Laurel [Second Update]_1
I also read it from ancient books, it is said that the Taiyin Star of that era was incomparably massive, on par with the present Taiyang Star. The scenery on the Taiyin Star was also unique, as it was the gathering place of Pure Yin Energy, thus many pure Yin spiritual herbs, flowers, plants, and trees thrived there. Fairies would shuttle back and forth, while fairy disciples danced and wielded swords on mountaintops, and discussed Taoism in the mountains, presenting a peaceful and tranquil sight that the world envied.
However, although the Taiyin Star possessed countless treasures, what truly caught the attention of the world were the Toad Palace and the Laurel!
"Within the walls of the Toad Palace, the Laurel fragrance pervades, and the laurel maiden dons her plain jade raiment." This speaks of the scenery of that time...
Many have seen the Taiyin Star Monarch, but no one has ever seen her true face, as she always wore a veil, her eyes cold and icy, akin to ancient profound ice.
It is said that only beside the Laurel would her gaze soften...
Every fifteenth of the first lunar month, the Taiyin Star Monarch would close the Toad Palace and chase all disciples out, leaving herself alone inside the palace...
No one knows what she did there, but there were rumors that on that day, sobs could be heard from within the Toad Palace.
Upon saying this, Wu Gang sighed deeply and said, "Afterwards, during the great calamity of Heaven and Earth, even that lady of magnificent and frosty beauty, as if the pinnacle of this world, perished. However, the Toad Palace, carrying a Laurel branch, hid within the Taiyin Star and escaped the disaster. Once representing the ultimate beauty of the gentle breeze and the bright moon, today’s Laurel branch now bears a scorching heat, seeming as if it could cleave all things under Heaven, a destructive thunder... Is this resentment, or rage?"
Hearing this, Qin Shou said, "He’s also a pitiable fellow."
Wu Gang said, "Pitiable, tragic, and lamentable. Throughout the world, how many glories are but an instant in the flames of war - peace is better... Rabbit, don’t cause trouble when it’s needless."
Qin Shou, upon hearing this, was immediately displeased, "Who’s causing trouble? It’s that toad who robbed my Iron Bamboo Forest, alright?"
Wu Gang said, "I’ll speak with him for you so that he’ll leave you alone from now on. In return, you should act as though you don’t know about his existence and not mention him to others, how about that?"
Shocked, Qin Shou asked, "Gang, are you very familiar with him?"
Wu Gang shook his head and said, "Just so-so. Before you moved into this cave, during the times when I was lonely and alone, I would come and chat with him a bit. Even though he never spoke, he did everything I requested, so no one discovered it all these years. So, you see, he doesn’t speak, but he listens." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Raising an eyebrow, Qin Shou turned to look at the toad, placed one hand on his hip, extended a finger, and said, "You listen here, you warty toad, whatever you want to eat, I’ll have it prepared just for you! But the decoration pieces that I’ve worked so hard to obtain, you better not play dirty tricks again!"
Not knowing if the toad heard him or not, Qin Shou called for Wu Gang and then left.
Wu Gang turned back to the frog and said, "Don’t worry about it, this rabbit may be unreliable, but he’s not a bad guy."
The toad remained motionless, inhaling Yuan Qi in large gulps, but now the intensity was a notch smaller than before, with wisps of Yuan Qi quietly spreading out.
Qin Shou, who was very sensitive to Yuan Qi, noticed it diffusing outward and immediately laughed, "Looks like this warty toad does have a conscience! Gang, where can we find a lot of insects?"
Wu Gang asked, "Why do you want to know?"
Qin Shou replied, "Don’t toads eat insects? I’ve got to find some for him to eat, right?"
Wu Gang: "..."
Boom!
A wave of Yuan Qi blasted them, and with a cry, the two were swept out, shooting directly into the sky via the Glazed Well!
Splat!
Qin Shou landed on the ground, rubbing his nearly non-existent waist, and remarked, "This warty toad sure has a temper."
Looking up again, Qin Shou realized that Wu Gang had disappeared.
After resolving the worry that had long weighed on his mind, Qin Shou felt refreshed and relieved. He no longer had to fear that in his absence, Chang’e might be threatened by that electric light...
But Qin Shou’s curiosity about Wu Gang only grew. In legends on Earth, he wasn’t portrayed as a particularly powerful immortal, yet here, he seemed to know so much!
Qin Shou was no longer the novice he used to be; he had encountered many immortals.
He found that the more powerful individuals became, the stranger, more wary, and even disdainful their gazes were when they looked at him.
And those people generally did not provoke him.
The lower their status, like the Four Seas Dragon King and the Four Heavenly Lords, the more daring they were to brandish blades and guns at him, calling out "Stew the rabbit"...
At the beginning, when he attended the Mid-Yuan Festival, only the Barefoot Immortal regarded him differently. This proved that those who truly understood him were not ordinary people!
Therefore, Wu Gang must not be an ordinary person either!
Moreover, he kept saying that his strength was sealed, but he always managed to arrive just in time!
This time, when Qin Shou ventured deep underground, walking for a shichen or two before reaching the destination, Wu Gang still managed to arrive with perfect timing.
Could this guy foresee the future? Even if he could, it wouldn’t work on Qin Shou now!
So, no matter how Qin Shou thought about it, Wu Gang was no simple character.
However, Qin Shou did not intend to dig to the root of the matter. As long as Wu Gang was kind to him, that was enough. Everyone has secrets, and friendship is not weakened by secrets. On the contrary, respecting each other’s secrets is the way to get along.
So, Qin Shou just pondered it.
Having nothing else to do, and with Chang’e not back yet, Qin Shou started contemplating his future path.
Now he had a Cultivation Method. Though it wasn’t top-notch and he was as slow as a snail, barely grasping the concept of Dao, it nonetheless provided him with a bit of a foundation...
Therefore, his next step was to reach even greater heights, to acquire a Great Perfection cultivation technique, to directly touch the Heavenly Dao, and give it a good bite!
Next was to solve the problem of Yuan Qi. Since Spirit Crystals could be consumed directly as spiritual medicine, the more, the better. Simply put, it was about making money!
The moon now housed a bunch of demon subordinates who also required loads of Spirit Crystals for their cultivation.
Although Qin Shou had swindled one hundred and eighty million Red Spirit Crystals from the old Dragon King, considering the current rate of consumption, it wouldn’t last for more than a few years.
A steady trickle is no substitute for a steady stream; thus, Qin Shou figured that he still needed to think of ways to make money!
Feeling troubled, Qin Shou decided to take a walk outside.
Passing by Fenghua City, Qin Shou discovered that there was an artificial river in the city, and, indeed, water was flowing out of it, meandering away, while the osmanthus trees around it bloomed as if in spring, swaying their branches seductively, osmanthus flowers raining down, with their fragrance pervading thousands of miles.
Qin Shou knew that the Sea Clan was naturally proficient in water magics, and having lived in the sea all their life, it was not surprising they would bring some water to land where they now felt out of place.
Standing under an osmanthus tree, Qin Shou looked at the reflection of a rabbit in the water and sighed, "Ah, this water is indeed good, but alas, a single shadow is lonely as snow."
Just then, a dark figure suddenly appeared next to Qin Shou — a dog’s head!
"What the hell!" Qin Shou was genuinely startled and leapt up, turned around, raised his paw, and with a swipe of his Eight Trigrams Furnace hat, smashed it down!
Bang!
A dog was smacked to the ground!
Qin Shou then shouted, "Shakun! Who allowed you to keep a dog... wait, Dog Xiaotian?!"
Qin Shou snapped back to reality, grinning.
Dog Xiaotian rolled his eyes and said, "Damn rabbit, you really don’t hold back! Despite me, your Mr. dog, coming a thousand miles just to deliver a message, this is how you treat me! My heart aches!"
Qin Shou blinked, "A message? What message are you delivering?"
Dog Xiaotian shook his head, sat up, and scratched his neck with his hind leg, saying, "Isn’t it to help you find a solution? Didn’t I tell you last time? If you want to cultivate the best Foundation Establishment technique, you need to look for the first strategy of the ’Nine Strategies of the Empyrean Heaven’."
Qin Shou’s eyes lit up, "You found out where it is?"
Dog Xiaotian chuckled with a clear implication, "I’ve got the scoop!"
Qin Shou laughed heartily and lifted his hand to pat the dog’s head, but halfway through, he remembered the Eight Trigrams Furnace was still on his hand. He replaced the Eight Trigrams Furnace on his head and the Pill Furnace spoke up, "Damn rabbit, please respect my pride as an alchemy furnace, frying pan, tank! Don’t treat me like a boxing glove!"
