The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#144 - Good Place

And so, Lu Jing was ushered into the city, surrounded by a throng of people.

Cheers and applause erupted everywhere he went.

Whether it was residential houses or market streets, doors and windows were thrown open as if welcoming his return.

Many people even showered Lu Jing with perfume, which was the highest honor Marasal Khan could bestow upon a guest.

In that short distance, Lu Jing was covered in so many different floral scents that he looked every bit like he had just returned from a night of debauchery.

Afterward, musicians joined the welcoming party, playing lively tunes.

The atmosphere became increasingly Disney-esque.

Fortunately, Lu Jing finally saw Nada with tears in her eyes, and then everyone's vision blurred for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, Lu Jing was on the ground from the camel.

The crowd burst into another cheer.

Lu Jing smiled wryly, refused a dried fruit offered by a young girl, and said to the female shopkeeper, "You've come at the right time. Quickly tell me what exactly is going on here. Why is everyone so happy?"

"Because they are genuinely happy to see that you, Great Hero Lu, are safe and sound," Nada said, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Huh?"

"Great Hero Lu, for the safety of the city's people, you didn't hesitate to use yourself as bait when the sandstorm came. You dragged your exhausted body out to attract the attention of those Ironclad Warriors. It is because of your heroic actions that there were almost no casualties in the city during this sandstorm."

Nada said affectionately, "My mother once told me that Eastern heroes like Great Hero Lu only do what is right and just, without seeking reward, and don't even care if anyone remembers what they have done. However, the people of this city should still know what you have done for them."

Lu Jing smiled wryly upon hearing this, "No, where did you get the idea that I dragged my exhausted body out there?"

"Great Hero Lu, you may be able to deceive others, but you can never deceive me. Ever since you came to Marasal Khan, we have been together. During this time, I haven't seen you rest or practice your breathing exercises."

"Earlier, you were waving that Zen staff in the courtyard for so long that you were covered in sweat. You were so tired that you fell asleep in the chair when the sandstorm arrived," the female shopkeeper said with concern.

"… … … …"

Lu Jing finally understood why the elementary school textbook included the story of "Starfruit."

Indeed, the shape of a starfruit looks different from different angles.

Moreover, he really couldn't blame Nada for this. Lu Jing put himself in her shoes and realized that if he were in Nada's position, he would probably come to the same conclusion, not to mention that he had specifically gone out to fight those Ironclad Warriors.

If any other normal person were here, after discovering that the chilling, corrosive energy would greatly deplete internal energy, they would definitely try to avoid those Ironclad Warriors as much as possible.

Therefore, if he were to tell the true reason he went out, everyone who heard it would probably find it absurd. On the contrary, the explanation that the female shopkeeper had come up with was easily accepted by everyone.

So Lu Jing realized that he had no choice but to continue being this Eastern hero.

He could only say to Nada, "It's getting late. Let everyone disperse. I want to go back and rest too."

"Okay, okay," the female shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, with an expression that said, "I knew it all along."

However, even so, everyone still insisted on escorting Lu Jing to the entrance of the tailor shop before slowly dispersing.

And Lu Jing gradually came to his senses at this time.

Tonight's events were certainly due to Nada's misunderstanding in the first place, but the way things had developed into what they were now was clearly not because of Nada, but because someone was deliberately fueling the flames behind the scenes.

However, even so, it was not impossible for Yazdan to deal with him. Firstly, he was afraid of the city lord behind Vulture, and secondly, he was more worried about how to clean up the mess after getting rid of Vulture.

Whether it was the city lord or the other people in the city, they were extremely fearful of this sandstorm and the things in it, and were at a loss. Therefore, Vulture, who claimed to be a black wizard, had become their only hope.

It was easy to kill Vulture, but if Yazdan still had no solution to this sandstorm after killing Vulture, the people's fear of the sandstorm would probably turn into dissatisfaction with him.

Therefore, for Yazdan at the moment, it had become very urgent and important to establish a heroic figure who could compete with Vulture and take on the responsibility of saving Marasal Khan.

On the other hand, he should also have the idea of showing goodwill to Lu Jing, so he would spare no effort to build momentum for Lu Jing.

Having figured this out, Lu Jing completely understood how tonight's events had become so outrageous.

But understanding was one thing. As with the previous few times, he found that he couldn't change anything now.

Fortunately, with the experience he had gained during the Wujiang City period, Lu Jing was now quite accustomed to being mistaken for a chivalrous and righteous person, like Guan Yu.

Moreover, compared to Wujiang City, Marasal was far away in the Western Regions, in the desert tens of thousands of miles to the west, and its influence was very small, as long as it didn't delay his business.

In addition, in this way, Lu Jing had a legitimate excuse to collect those black pebbles.

Otherwise, it would be a bit too unreasonable for him to run out every time a sandstorm came.

Lu Jing had already eaten a lot on the camel, so after returning to the tailor shop, he tidied up and went to bed.

When he woke up the next morning, he first went to the courtyard and found an oilcloth bag next to the dry well. When he opened it, it contained the fire lantern moss and white silk silkworm clothes he had asked for in the note, exactly ten days' worth.

"Impressive," Lu Jing praised.

The mysterious place was really fast. He had only thrown the brocade pouch into the well a few hours ago, and he had received the items as soon as he woke up in the morning. No wonder the old zombie boasted that there were no medicines they couldn't find.

And in this way, Lu Jing no longer needed to worry about time.

After all, considering the stock of Fallen Dust in his hand, these days were very precious to him, and he had been counting the days even while participating in the assessment.

But now that he was in Marasal Khan, he could collect black pebbles, and he could also receive free fire lantern moss and white silk silkworm clothes continuously, which made Lu Jing a little reluctant to leave.