The old Pill King stood alone in midair for a long time, until Du Heng finally emerged, bracing himself against the doorframe.
Yu Qingtang turned to look at him. Not daring to speak too loudly, he asked in a whisper, “Should we...?”
He secretly pointed upward.
“Should we call him?”
“No need.” Du Heng glanced up, his expression calm. “He’s secretly crying. With all of you here, he’s too embarrassed to raise his hand and wipe his tears.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
“Is it really okay for you to expose him like that?”
Du Heng laughed. “Now that I’ve exposed him, he can finally wipe them.”
Yu Qingtang snuck another glance upward.
Sure enough, the old Pill King raised his sleeve.
Du Heng rolled his eyes and deliberately raised his voice, sounding none too polite.
“Does he even deserve your tears?”
“You don’t understand.” The old Pill King wiped his face. “He was my only Junior Brother. He stayed by my side for thousands of years.”
“Even if it were nothing but a block of wood sitting beside you for a thousand years, you’d still be sad when lightning finally struck it.”
“But the longer he lived, the less human he became.” Du Heng leaned against the doorframe, showing no mercy with his words. “He spent too long as an ‘immortal’ in the eyes of the world. He stopped valuing human lives, and he stopped valuing bonds between people.”
“Quit crying.” He clicked his tongue. “I finally bring two friends back with me, and you embarrass yourself like this in front of them?”
Yu Qingtang hurried to smooth things over. “It’s fine, it’s fine! Senior is adorable! A true man of feeling!”
Having a great expert cry right in front of him made Yu Qingtang so nervous that nonsense started pouring out of his mouth.
“You know what they say—boys who cry never have too bad luck.”
Du Heng raised an eyebrow. “Boys?”
Yu Qingtang choked.
Then he cautiously amended, “Old boys?”
Ye Chenyan muffled a laugh, then cupped a fist toward the old Pill King with his spear in his arms.
“Senior, you don’t have to mind us. We...”
The old Pill King finally turned around.
His brows and eyes drooped, leaving him looking rather listless.
“Forget it. I’ll think about all that later. There’s still proper business to attend to.”
“I know why you came. That Harmonizing Pill—I’ll refine it for you myself, and I’ll make sure it’s the best one possible.”
“Disciple, as for the sect...”
“I know.” Du Heng looked up. “I wasn’t expecting you to deal with it anyway.”
“I’ll release the people they captured first, and then there are all the other odds and ends to clean up...”
He straightened and cupped his fists toward the others.
“You’ve already helped more than enough. What’s left should be mine to handle.”
“No need.” Qingzhu stood with his hands clasped behind his back and gave them a slight nod. “I came because of the disappearances in Jinzhou. The culprit has been dealt with, and there will be no more such cases in the future. That is enough.”
“Farewell.”
He had only taken a few steps before suddenly walking backward again.
“Let me see your qin.”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang froze, then obediently handed over the Dragon-Crane Zither without thinking.
Qingzhu’s physical body was still dressed in white, having shared the same cross-dressing ordeal as Yu Qingtang. The Dragon-Crane Zither showed no resistance whatsoever, meekly drawing in its edge and allowing him to touch it.
“So it really is the Dragon-Crane Zither.” Qingzhu looked thoughtful. He raised his eyes. “The seals on this qin were placed because your cultivation was too low back then. Without them, it might have drained all your spiritual power in a single stroke.”
“But you’ve already reached Nascent Soul now. Some of these seals should be released.”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang didn’t even have time to stop him before Qingzhu acted.
A clear, resonant crane cry immediately rang out from within the qin, leaving everyone who heard it feeling refreshed.
Yu Qingtang stared down blankly.
“You unsealed it?”
“Not completely.” Qingzhu nodded. “If you play your old melodies now, they’ll be much more powerful than before.”
Yu Qingtang’s gaze trembled.
“Does that mean the spiritual-power cost also...”
“Naturally,” Qingzhu answered with absolute certainty.
Yu Qingtang looked ready to cry.
“Senior—! I only just got to the point where I don’t have to pop Spirit Recovery Pills while playing!”
Qingzhu looked genuinely puzzled.
“What does that matter?”
“Just cultivate harder.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
There’s no talking to you grindset freaks!
“Ahem!” Laughter flashed through Ye Chenyan’s eyes as he caught hold of Yu Qingtang to console him. “Maybe it won’t consume that much more. We can test it later.”
“For now, let’s... let’s move Brother Xiao somewhere more appropriate.”
He pointed at Scholar Xiao, who was still using the threshold as a pillow.
“At least find him a bed.”
“Oh, right!” Yu Qingtang’s attention was successfully diverted, and he turned to help.
Senior Qingzhu took his leave.
Meanwhile, the old Pill King, terrified Tianji Zi might come knocking, hurriedly went into seclusion to refine Ye Chenyan’s Harmonizing Pills.
With nothing else to do for the moment, the two of them lent a hand all around Fire Cauldron Sect—which included, but was not limited to, beating up disciples who had helped the tyrant do his dirty work, carrying away injured junior disciples, and clearing debris from the battlefield.
Yu Qingtang struggled to press one of the plaza’s upturned paving stones back into place and couldn’t help sighing.
“You don’t really notice while it’s happening, but now that I think about it, just how many buildings did you destroy fighting your way through here?”
“Huh?” Ye Chenyan looked up innocently. “How is that my fault?”
“Not you,” Yu Qingtang replied smoothly. “I meant Hua Shimiao.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead when a handkerchief suddenly appeared from the side.
“Thanks!”
Yu Qingtang smiled automatically as he took it, then turned his head and realized Snowwarm was standing behind him.
“Oh, it’s you! Did you find the companion who was locked up?”
“We did.” Snowwarm nodded repeatedly. “While they were confronting each other, we took advantage of the chaos to rescue him. We also released all the mortals they’d imprisoned in the dungeon.”
“That’s good.” Yu Qingtang breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you done over there? If you are, get some rest first. Now that the old Pill King is back, you should actually be able to learn pill refining for real. He seems pretty easy to get along with.”
Yu Qingtang was about to keep chatting when Ye Chenyan tugged him back and pointed Snowwarm in another direction.
“Scholar Xiao is resting over there.”
Snowwarm froze for a moment before bowing her head.
“Thank you!”
“I’ll take everyone over to thank him.”
She gestured behind herself.
Only then did Yu Qingtang notice that several other members of the Lunar Jade Rabbit clan were following her.
“Scholar Xiao has helped us a great deal.” Snowwarm smiled. “Not just with what happened today. With many things.”
Her voice dropped.
“If only Four Books Academy were willing to accept demonfolk disciples too.”
“They probably would, right?” Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin. “Judging from Brother Xiao, Four Books Academy seems like it has a pretty decent atmosphere.”
“...Though I doubt they’re especially fond of peacock demons.”
“Hm?” Snowwarm tilted her head in confusion.
“Nothing.”
Yu Qingtang was just about to laugh it off when Du Heng approached from a distance and called out to them.
“You two.”
He glanced at Ye Chenyan.
“Your pills are ready.”
“Finally.” Ye Chenyan laughed. “At least this trip wasn’t for nothing.”
Du Heng laughed as well. “Good thing my master woke up and could refine them himself. Otherwise, I’d still be worried about what would happen if the pills I made couldn’t suppress the two powers inside you.”
He led the way until they reached the old Pill King’s pill-refining chamber.
Only then did he speak again.
“In the future, if there’s ever anything you need help with...”
He turned and looked deeply at the two of them.
“I won’t refuse, even if it costs me my life.”
Then, before either of them could respond, he shoved the door open, apparently determined to escape any awkward pleasantries.
The old Pill King sat cross-legged before a golden pill furnace.
When he saw them enter, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled kindly.
“There you are, my young friends.”
His gaze landed on Yu Qingtang and paused.
“And this one is...”
Yu Qingtang looked down at his clothes and tugged at his robe.
“Male. I’m male.”
“That was a special situation! I only changed into a dress because I had to. Senior Brother Du wore one too!”
“Ahem.”
Du Heng cleared his throat expressionlessly.
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow and clarified, “I didn’t.”
“Oh?” The old Pill King looked at Du Heng with great interest.
Fortunately, he still remembered the matter at hand and opened the pill furnace first.
Nine pills lay inside, each covered in mysterious pill markings. Even the faint medicinal fragrance drifting from them was intoxicating. Yu Qingtang couldn’t help narrowing his eyes and taking a blissful sniff.
Du Heng glanced at him.
“They’re bitter.”
Yu Qingtang instantly stopped looking blissful.
The old Pill King placed the pills into a jade bottle.
Yu Qingtang immediately pushed it toward Ye Chenyan.
“Yours. They’re all yours. Eat plenty.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
“No one knows what kind of conflict will occur between the two kinds of spiritual power inside you when you break through to Out-of-Body.” The old Pill King regarded him seriously. “When the time comes, take one pill first. If you can’t withstand it, take another.”
“If you consume all nine Harmonizing Pills and the two powers still cannot merge...”
He fixed Ye Chenyan with a steady gaze.
“When the time comes to cut one away, do it.”
Ye Chenyan’s expression sharpened as he looked up at him.
Then he lowered his gaze again and cupped his fists.
“I understand. Thank you, Senior.”
The old Pill King gently shook his head.
“There’s no need.”
“I promised you long ago. Now that you’ve finally come, I can consider one concern settled.”
He looked deeply at Ye Chenyan.
“Those old fellows and I can only pave your road this far. How you walk it from here on out will be entirely up to you.”
The old Pill King turned toward Yu Qingtang.
“As for this young friend... is there any pill you want?”
“Don’t give him any,” Du Heng interrupted. “Your medicine is bitter. He can’t eat it.”
The old Pill King bristled, his mustache practically standing on end.
“Good medicine tastes bitter! It has been so since ancient times!”
Du Heng tossed Yu Qingtang a storage ring.
“These are all sweet. I rummaged around Fire Cauldron Sect and found what stock we had. There are all kinds of pills in there. If there are any you can’t use, sell them for money.”
Yu Qingtang looked deeply moved.
“Senior Brother Du!”
The old Pill King withdrew his gaze regretfully.
“Well, if that’s what you like, so be it.”
“There was one more young friend...”
“Right here, right here.”
Scholar Xiao entered from outside, smiling as he leisurely waved his folding fan.
After getting some rest, he not only looked completely recovered, but somehow even more energetic than before.
He bowed toward the old Pill King.
“This junior won’t ask for anything else. The pill you gave me earlier has already benefited me enormously.”
Yu Qingtang leaned toward Ye Chenyan’s ear and lowered his voice.
“I bet there’s a ‘but’ coming.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow.
Sure enough, Scholar Xiao coughed lightly.
“But I’m terribly curious about what you said earlier—the failure to refine the Heaven-Mending Pill.”
The light of pure intellectual curiosity gleamed in his eyes.
“How did it fail? What exactly happened? And why was none of this ever told to the world?”
The old Pill King sighed helplessly.
“Originally, it was not something that should be spoken of.”
“But since the few of you already know part of the story... forget it. I might as well tell you.”
“I never witnessed it myself. Even my master only heard about it from her own master.”
The old Pill King raised his head and looked toward the sky, unchanged since time immemorial.
“She said—
“‘Bu Yetian opened the furnace to retrieve the pill, only to see the Heaven-Mending Furnace shatter. Heavenly fire fell from the sky, the people were plunged into misery, and the Blazing Cloud Province of old was reduced to scorched earth...’”
Scholar Xiao froze.
Then realization dawned.
“So that’s what happened—”
“Now it all connects!”
“No wonder Venerable Burning Gold had nothing but contempt for the Heaven-Mending Art.” Ye Chenyan understood as well. “The attempt to mend heaven failed back then and instead brought disaster upon Blazing Cloud Province. Of course he would have a grudge against it.”
“But if it failed, why is the Esoteric Sect still so obsessed with it?”
The old Pill King fell silent for a moment.
“Because later...”
“It succeeded.”
He looked deeply at Ye Chenyan.
“Your mother—the peerlessly gifted Tianxuan Nü—was the most outstanding disciple of the Esoteric Sect at that time.”
Author’s Note:
Ye Chenyan: “Then doesn’t that mean my seniority in the Esoteric Sect is pretty high?”
Yu Qingtang: “Oh-ho. In that case, Hua Shimiao is one hell of a cradle robber!”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
P.S. I want to fix the typo in the previous chapter too, but it’s stuck in higher-level review and I can’t edit it! AAAAAAA, LET ME OUT! I’M INNOCENT! I DIDN’T WRITE ANYTHING!
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