Fairy, Please Forgive Me, I Never Meant to Impersonate Your Husband

Chapter 15: Cleansing Malice, Hidden Truths

The pill bottle left his hand.

Zhu Youqi suddenly felt a pang of resentment. “Lucky you, these are all mid-grade pills.”

He had originally prepared this bottle for himself, but business was business.

Low-tier Blood Crystals he could pass up, but mid-tier ones were rare finds. Three mid-tier Blood Crystals could refine at least twenty-four Three-Blood Pills, sometimes even thirty-six. With luck, there might even be two or three high-grade pills among them. How could he resist?

Wu Yuan, of course, knew that Three-Blood Pills required mid-tier Blood Crystals as their primary ingredient, while Blood Crystal Pills used low-tier ones. In fact, he could even refine both himself.

But alchemy wasn’t simple. Even with the main ingredient, one needed the right environment, supplementary herbs, and the alchemist’s own cultivation level.

Right now, he lacked all of these. So, selling the main ingredient for finished pills was his only option.

He continued flipping through the catalog.

When he reached the spirit herb seeds section, Wu Yuan’s eyes lit up.

“Three thousand tuber seeds of Mountain Celery Root, three hundred pit seeds of Qi-Circulating Fruit, and three hundred Jade Tiger Ginseng seeds.”

Before Zhu Youqi could tally the cost, Wu Yuan swiftly turned the page to the weapons and equipment section.

Ten high-tier Yuan Artifact longswords.

Ten high-tier Yuan Artifact Alligator-Tendon Divine Arm Bows, plus three hundred low-tier Yuan Artifact Alligator-Scale Arrows.

Twenty sets of mid-tier Yuan Artifact light armor (two-piece).

Twenty pairs of low-tier Yuan Artifact Featherflight Boots.

And three low-tier Spirit Artifact Silver Python Swords.

Just as Wu Yuan was about to keep browsing, Zhu Youqi hastily raised his hand, wearing a pained smile.

“Hold on! Kid, are you trying to clean me out?”

Wu Yuan glanced at the towering stacks of goods on the giant tortoise’s back and shook his head.

“You flatter me, Master Zhu. These are just minor purchases—hardly a drop in the ocean of your stock.”

Zhu Youqi’s mood instantly improved. He chuckled.

“More than a drop, but thankfully, I stocked up recently for the Cloudjade Rain Mountain market eight thousand miles west. Otherwise, you’d have left me scrambling.”

“Enough chatter.

Three Silver Python Swords: 30 gold.

Ten longswords: 3 gold.

Ten Divine Arm Bows: 4 gold.

Three hundred Alligator-Scale Arrows: 3 gold.

Twenty light armor sets: 5 gold.

Twenty Featherflight Boots: 3 gold.

Mountain Celery Roots: 3 gold.

Qi-Circulating Fruit seeds: 1.5 gold.

Jade Tiger Ginseng seeds: 2 gold.

Total: 54.5 gold.

Add the 16 gold for the pills, and it’s 70.5 gold.”

“What if we add these two?”

While Zhu Youqi calculated, Wu Yuan had flipped to the catalog’s last page—where he spotted two materials of immense value to him.

Zhu Youqi didn’t even need to look. He knew exactly what Wu Yuan meant.

“Illusory Wave Liquid and Shatterhowl Stone?”

He fell into deep thought, as if weighing a dilemma, but finally quoted:

“Thirty gold for a vial (100 drops) of Illusory Wave Liquid. Fifty gold for the Shatterhowl Stone (head-sized). Final offer.”

“Deal.”

Wu Yuan didn’t haggle. He knew Zhu Youqi’s prices were fair—possibly even better than what major merchants would offer. Some rarities simply weren’t sold to just anyone.

“150 gold total. I’ll waive the odd change.”

Wu Yuan’s shopping spree ended there—but he didn’t have 150 gold on hand. So when Zhu Youqi extended his palm, Wu Yuan grinned.

“Do you accept materials from humanoid fiends and vicious insects?”

The Aftermath

When Zhu Youqi left, he kept muttering, “I’m losing out!” as if afraid Wu Yuan would drag him back. He secured his goods, leaped onto his giant tortoise, and sped off without a backward glance.

In exchange for a cartload of fiend and insect materials, Wu Yuan now had weapons, armor, pills, and seeds.

Of course, even emptying the post’s entire stock wouldn’t cover 150 gold. Wu Yuan had only brought half the Yuan Artifact-grade materials—400 pieces, worth 30 gold.

The remaining 120 gold?

He reluctantly sold his long-hoarded Purple Vein Fish-Scale Gold.

The price shocked him: 1,200 gold.

Meaning Zhu Youqi actually owed him 1,080 gold in return.

Had Zhu Youqi really lost out? Wu Yuan doubted it.

The man’s barely concealed eagerness when the Fish-Scale Gold appeared betrayed its true value. Wu Yuan seized the moment, pushing the price to 1,200 gold—a sum Zhu Youqi accepted after only slight hesitation.

Proof he’d still profit. Maybe at the Cloudjade Rain Mountain market, he’d flip it for 1,500 gold or more.

The Return

The journey back was a cheerful one.

But Chen Yong and the post soldiers trailed behind in a daze. The sheer scale of transactions—dozens of gold coins at a time—had stunned them.

And that heavy money bag Zhu Youqi handed over? Over a thousand gold coins inside.

A literal fortune.

None had imagined their master was this wealthy.

Wu Yuan noted their reactions with amusement. This was intentional—he could’ve conducted the final trade privately but chose not to.

A display of power.

By cementing his image as a man of vast resources, he ensured that even if he occasionally vanished (returning to Blue Star), no rebellious thoughts would take root.

Back at the Post

Outside, the battle raged on—but with a newfound fervor.

Armed post soldiers fought upfront, while non-combatants delivered opportunistic strikes.

One side fought with ease; the other grew slicker, more experienced.

Only the Huang brothers—Huang You and Huang Tie—struggled, forced to shoulder the toughest fights to prevent casualties.

Their cultivation was still too low.

Wu Yuan frowned. He’d love to recruit Bone-Forging or Organ-Refining experts, but he dared not.

A ruler’s greatest fear? Subordinates surpassing them.

History was littered with lords who’d paid in blood for that mistake.

Distribution

Entering the post, Wu Yuan willed all his newly acquired goods into his private storage.

Not to hoard them—but because it was the fastest way to transport items within the post.

Store in private storage anywhere.

Retrieve at the temporary warehouse.

Sort into public storage or leave as needed.

The soldiers weren’t surprised. Since Wu Yuan took over, the post changed daily.

The Spatial Membrane alone had awed them. Rumors of the spatial warehouse only deepened their reverence.

As the ox cart was led away, Wu Yuan stopped Chen Yong.

He handed out Cleansing Malice Pills—two per soldier—with instructions:

“Take one now. You’ll be combat-ready in half a day. Save the second for your next breakthrough.”

The men accepted them gratefully.

Chen Yong, however, was held back.

“You think I made them hold back after breakthroughs for no reason?” Wu Yuan smirked, handing him an entire bottle.

Chen Yong’s hands trembled. “This—this is too generous!”

Wu Yuan waved it off. “Your growth benefits us all.

“From now on, every soldier using Blood Essence to cultivate must take these.

“You know malice lingers, hindering progress. But did you know?

“At the same level, those who don’t cleanse malice are 10-30% weaker than those who do.”

Chen Yong paled. “What?!”

This was never public knowledge. Most couldn’t afford the pills anyway—so why spread despair?

Wu Yuan’s smile turned icy.

“Even if it were known, what good would it do? The cost is prohibitive.”

Chen Yong sighed. “Maybe those in the know prefer keeping it quiet.”

Wu Yuan nodded silently, dismissing him.

Under the moonlight, his mood darkened.

Chen Yong was right.

Not just the native elites—even Wu Yuan wouldn’t reveal this.

In his second dream-memory, he’d tried playing the savior.

It brought only disaster.

This time?

No mercy.

Even if countless souls were doomed to stagnation or madness, he wouldn’t waver.

But his heart ached for his fellow transmigrators.

Those who loved this world most would suffer deepest.

Lost in thought, he wandered the post aimlessly.

When he encountered Caiyu, even her usual teasing failed to lift his spirits.

He simply handed her two more pill bottles for distribution and retreated to the Spirit-Suppressing Tower.