The Unruly Immortals

"Esteemed official, would you like this garment? This is a fine new arrival," the eunuch with two copper coins on his face said with a beaming smile, looking at Li Huowang with a voice that was neither fully male nor female, asking him.

"Yes, I'll take it. How many Yangshou Pills in exchange?"

Hearing Li Huowang's words, the smile on the eunuch's face widened, "Oh~ the official sure knows quality. You can have it for a thirty-year exchange of Yangshou Pills."

"That expensive?" Li Huowang was taken aback. He knew the value of Yangshou Pills.

"Oh my, but isn't that why you're renowned for recognizing good things? After all, items from Siqi are rare around here. Let me first tell you about the uses of this garment, as soon as you put it on--"

"Alright, no need for an explanation; I'll take it," Li Huowang interrupted as he took a gourd from his waist and poured out thirty Yangshou Pills.

"The official is indeed generous~! This copper coin garment is now yours." The other party respectfully accepted the Yangshou Pills, eyes glinting with greed for them.

Li Huowang picked up the copper coin mask and fitted it onto his face, the weighty familiarity giving him a sense of relief. He then turned his gaze back to the eunuch. "Looking at your fortune beckoning setup, are you worshipping the God of Wealth for literature and culture? You openly worship this, and the palace tolerates it?"

"Hehehe~ the official must be joking. Who doesn't worship the God of Wealth in this world, and who would complain about having too much money? Right? Hehehe~"

Seeing that the other party did not directly answer his question, Li Huowang did not press further and simply stated the purpose of his visit.

"Oh~, you wish to restore sight to the blind~. I'm not entirely sure about that, but follow me, sir. I shall have someone check on it."

Li Huowang then followed him through rows of wooden cabinets, and as they were surrounded by cabinets filled with tiny compartments, he felt as if he were in a forest.

The deeper they went, the more ancient the cabinets became, and in the corners, there was a hint of green mildew.

Not sure if it was an illusion, but as he passed the moldy areas, Li Huowang had the fleeting sensation of being watched.

Following the eunuch's lead, Li Huowang arrived at a part of the left wall, where the moldy wall was pocked with holes of various sizes.

Before Li Huowang could make sense of it, the eunuch picked up a cinnabar brush from a nearby table, wrote some words on a piece of white paper, rolled it up, stuffed it into a bamboo segment, and then threw it into one of the holes in the wall.

"Just wait a moment, sir. There will be news soon. Rest assured, I reckon we should be able to make your eyes see again. The things in this treasury have been accumulated by the Astrological Bureau for several centuries. There are many treasures to be found."

"I'm not in a hurry," Li Huowang replied and quietly began to wait by the wall.

After a while, with the atmosphere growing somewhat silent, Li Huowang spoke up, addressing the eunuch beside him, "By the way, Eunuch, do you know about the natural disaster that happened recently? Is there any other news from the bureau?"

At these words, the eunuch bowed to Li Huowang. "Sir, I can help you with matters concerning the Inner Treasury, but I'm afraid I can't be of assistance with outside matters. From the day I was born to this moment, I have never left the Inner Treasury."

Li Huowang felt a chill upon hearing this; Da Liang's use of people as tools was merciless to the extreme.

A eunuch who had never ventured into the outside world would naturally eliminate the possibility of theft, but more frightening was the thought that there were probably more than one such eunuch.

"Thunk~!" A piece of bamboo was thrown out from one of the wall's holes.

The coin-eyed eunuch took it and opened it to look, seeming to be delighted for Li Huowang, he joyfully said, "My lord, what did I tell you? There really is a way! And not just one method either!"

"Oh?! Speak quickly!" He had indeed guessed right; mere blindness was surely something the Astrological Bureau could solve.

"This one here is called the Flowing Beads Dharma Eye. As long as the fist-sized Dharma Eye is buried into the Yintang acupoint, not only will you see more clearly, but you can also exorcise evil spirits and suppress specters."

"Only one? Fist-sized? And it has to be buried into the Yintang acupoint?" The thought of the blind Bai Lingmiao staring at him with an eye on her forehead made Li Huowang feel rather creeped out.

"My lord, isn't one enough? Aren't you only lacking one?" The eunuch stared at Li Huowang's blind eye as he spoke.

"This won't do; I need the Yintang acupoint unobstructed for the Grand Circulation when I exercise my powers. Give me another option."

"Oh, then the second one is the Golden Bridge Mystical Scripture. It is said that upon comprehension, one can bring the dead to life and turn flesh to white bones. However, it requires a high level of enlightenment and needs to be chanted over many years for sincerity to turn metal and stone into gold."

"Next."

One by one, the eunuch listed the options, but Li Huowang rejected them all. If it wasn't that the item didn't meet his requirements, it had other undesirable side effects.

Picking and choosing, there weren't many options left. Just as Li Huowang hesitated whether or not to choose the previous Dharma Eye, the eunuch mentioned something that caught his attention.

"This eighth one, is a Shariputra from a high monk who attained enlightenment during the Da Qi Era. If you consume this Shariputra with Rootless Water, you will obtain the ability of Heart Vision, which means that even if one is blind, the heart isn't, and one can still perceive what's happening around."

"This... seems rather interesting."

He seemed to have been in a dead end before; Bai Lingmiao may not necessarily need eyes to see. Whatever method used, as long as she could move around freely was enough.

Moreover, this so-called Heart Vision seemed to counter invisibility and illusions, potentially taking Bai Lingmiao's strength to the next level.

"Eunuch, I'll take this one."

"My lord, please wait, I haven't finished yet. This Shariputra cannot be consumed by just anyone; only kind-hearted and fateful people can use it. It is said that the kinder the heart, the more powerful the Heart Vision becomes, whereas evil-hearted people may be directly ferried across by the Shariputra."

"Kind-hearted? No problem, this one it is." If one were to speak of who had the kindest heart along the way, it would undoubtedly be Bai Lingmiao.

The coin-eyed eunuch looked up in astonishment, his gaze alternating between Li Huowang's blood-stained Taoist robe and the rows of bloody torture instruments below it, asking doubtfully, "My lord, are you truly kind-hearted?"

Clearly, he had mistaken that Li Huowang wanted it for himself.

"My heart isn't kind? Quit your nonsense! I want this one! Hurry up and get it for me!" Li Huowang said with his brows tightly furrowed.

Hearing this, the eunuch said no more, turning around and leading Li Huowang towards the forest of wooden cabinets.

But having only taken a few steps, he turned back to Li Huowang, hesitantly saying, "My lord, truly sorry about this, but there's one last essential thing I forgot to ask. Um... please don't blame me for being direct, but this Shariputra costs four hundred Yangshou Pills... Can you... afford it?"