Lu Fei replied, "I'm sorry, Grandpa Duan, there was no elderberry in the Falling Dragon Cave."
"There wasn't?" Duan Tiankui was taken aback. "Then what about the celestial phenomena?"
"It's a long story." Lu Fei briefly recounted what had happened in the Falling Dragon Cave. "We went through great hardships, but we didn't find any elderberry. Elder He probably isn't too happy."
"I never imagined it would be so twisty and bizarre..." Duan Tiankui marveled, patting Lu Fei on the shoulder. "Helping a true dragon successfully transcend its tribulation is a rare opportunity that may not come even in several lifetimes. It can't be blamed on you; he's just being stubborn."
The rest of the matters were left to the bodyguards to handle.
Old Man Qin's body was sent back home, and Duan Tiankui compensated with some money.
The entire village was in a state of panic.
The madman who asked for water disappeared, leaving no trace in or outside the village, as if he had vanished into thin air.
The car drove out of Baling Village.
This time, Lu Fei and Jing Jian did not ride in the same car as He Yunsong.
"Sigh, I can understand the Dragon King Temple and the house being struck by lightning, but why would Uncle Qin deserve the death penalty..." Sitting in the car, Jing Jian was still shaking his head and sighing.
"Brother Jing, have you ever thought about a question?"
Lu Fei gazed at the increasingly distant Balong Village, lost in thought.
"What?" Jing Jian asked.
"The Falling Dragon Cave is so hard to find, yet there are so many human bones inside. How did those people get there?"
"Wasn't it Uncle Qin who led the way..." Jing Jian was taken aback for a moment. "Do you mean that he deliberately led people to their deaths? But why would he do such a thing?"
"There is a kind of ghost called a chāng guǐ."
"Do you think Uncle Qin is a chāng guǐ of the black dragon?"
Chāng guǐ does not only refer to ghosts, but also those who assist evil creatures in doing harm.
"I don't know." Lu Fei shook his head, "I just find it strange, who spread the story about Falling Dragon? Why do people outside believe there's treasure there? And who had the villagers build the Dragon King Temple?"
These many doubts were buried with the death of Old Man Qin.
However, Lu Fei didn't care anymore.
On this trip, he not only found what he was looking for, but also gained an unexpected bonus.
He touched his shoulder.
Thinking of the scene where the snakes fled in disarray, both he and Jing Jian were filled with joy.
With dragon scales on their bodies, wouldn't they be able to roam freely when encountering snakes and other malevolent creatures in the future?
In comparison, He Yunsong looked a bit desolate.
He hadn't said a word since returning from the Falling Dragon Cave, his face sullen. When they arrived at the antique street, he didn't even say goodbye to Lu Fei.
It was Duan Tiankui and Duan Lingyue who came out to see Lu Fei off.
"Xiao Lu, Old He is in a bad mood, be considerate."
"No worries! Returning empty-handed, I can understand Elder He's mood."
Lu Fei waved his hand generously.
"I wish I could have gone into the Drogon Cave with you all, then I would have seen a real dragon too," Duan Lingyue's round apricot eyes showed envy.
"Don't rush. You are still young, there will be plenty of opportunities to train," Lu Fei smiled.
"But the chance to see a real dragon may not come even in several lifetimes, even Grandpa said so," Duan Lingyue pouted.
"Ah, it's really not as impressive as you think!" Jing Jian waved his hand and said, "It was just a... almost toothless..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a loud thunderclap from the sky startled him into a shiver.
Lu Fei shook his head.
His mouth is so outrageous that even the heavens couldn't bear to watch.
"Xiao Lu, although we didn't find the elderberry, I still thank you for your help. I will arrange for someone to send the payment to Sinisterium Pawnshop later." Duan Tiankui smiled, "Lingyue, it's time for us to go back."
Duan Lingyue waved reluctantly at Lu Fei.
"Goodbye, Brother Lu Fei, Xiao Hei, goodbye."
After seeing them off,
Lu Fei and Jing Jian returned to Sinisterium Pawnshop.
He took out the dragon's meat and threw it into the little black dog's food bowl.
This little glutton indeed liked it.
With just one piece of meat, it shouldn't cause the same indigestion as last time.
Lu Fei emptied his backpack and divided the spoils with Jing Jian.
He decided to keep the black dragon's horn for making a magical object. Since the leech would be useless to Jing Jian, there was only the black dragon's inner core left.
"Brother Jing, here you go."
Lu Fei picked up the demon orb, which was about the size of a walnut, and handed it to Jing Jian.
"No need, you've already given me one demon orb." Jing Jian kept waving his hands, "Besides, I know my limits. I might not be able to absorb such a large one."
"I can't let you leave empty-handed." Lu Fei felt apologetic.
"Who said it was for nothing? We still got a dragon scale!" Jing Jian chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"That's not enough..." Lu Fei thought for a moment, "How about this: after we sell the leech, I'll give you ten percent of the money."
"Really, who would buy such a disgusting thing?" Jing Jian widened his eyes.
"There are plenty of people who want it. Do you dare to make a bet with me?" Lu Fei smiled confidently, "If you lose, you'll owe me another evil object."
"And if I win?" Jing Jian asked.
"If you win, you'll owe me one less evil object."
"Shyster!"
Jing Jian rolled his eyes.
After resting enough, the two of them had a big meal and then each went home.
Lu Fei closed the doors and windows and couldn't wait to take out the black flood dragon's horn.
The horn was shaped like a bamboo shoot, exuding a strong demonic aura.
The last magical object was the Fish Astonishment Stone, an evil object that grew on the fish demon. This horn also grew on the black flood dragon, so it's the same principle.
Lu Fei thought it should be believable.
"Let's begin!"
He took a deep breath, picked up the lightning-struck jujube wood stick, and gently tapped the bamboo-like horn.
The bamboo-like horn trembled slightly.
A strand of golden light emerged from it and was instantly absorbed by the jujube wood stick.
After five or six seconds, the bamboo shoot lost its luster and gradually turned into powder.
Meanwhile, faint electric arcs flickered on the jujube wood stick.
"It really works!"
Lu Fei suppressed his excitement and, once the jujube wood stick calmed down, he held it in his hand and carefully sensed it.
The power of the lightning it contained had increased by another ten percent, rising from twenty to thirty percent.
"Quickly, try if it can attack from a distance!"
Lu Fei hurriedly opened the door and walked into the courtyard.
Infusing it with his magical power, the jujube wood stick flickered with electricity and the power of lightning erupted.
Then.
He gave it a forceful swing.
Boom!
A streak of lightning flashed through the night, accompanied by the distant rumble of thunder.
It scared the sleeping black puppy so much that it jumped in fright.
"Great, it worked!"
Lu Fei was overjoyed, and continued to experiment with the lightning-struck wood in the courtyard.
Boom!
The sound of thunder resounded frequently in the courtyard.
The black puppy, thoroughly frightened, tucked its tail between its legs and hid under the bed.
After several trials, Lu Fei found that using the lightning-struck wood for long-range attacks was very draining on his magical power, and he could probably only succeed about three times a day.
"Three times is enough for now, as my magical power increases, the number of successful attempts will grow!"
Lu Fei felt delighted in his heart.
Returning to his room, he picked up the walnut-sized inner pill of the black flood dragon once again.
Sitting cross-legged, with the inner pill in hand, he activated the magical power in his dantian and absorbed it slowly.
By the end of the night, he had absorbed one-fifth of it.
"This demon pill is too large, no need to rush, take it slow."
Lu Fei enjoyed a good sleep afterward.
After waking up, he felt refreshed and opened the shop humming a little tune.
Sitting behind the counter, he took out the ledger to record the accounts.
Blood leeches, horns of the flood dragon.
Evil object +2, a total of 21 evil objects have been collected.
Then, he made a call to Liu Fugui.
He was going to sell this leech evil object.