Chapter Thirty-two: The Grand Gift

Between Deyang City and the Hua Lin Sect lay a stretch of wild forest. In the sky above, Shen the Apothecary rode upon a blue, leaf-shaped treasure, suddenly halting before descending directly to the ground. She turned her head slowly, calling softly into the woods, “Li Meng, Zhao Yue, you two may as well show yourselves.”

The two cultivators who had followed her from the entrance of the Jade Hall exchanged glances, realizing they had been discovered, and could only emerge from the thicket.

“Did Wang Qi send you here?” Shen the Apothecary raised an eyebrow, her expression calm.

“You misunderstand, Apothecary Shen. Brother Wang was simply concerned for your safety. There have been evil-doers sighted here recently, so he asked the two of us to ensure your protection,” Li Meng replied hastily, bowing as he spoke.

“Oh?” Shen’s face turned cold. “I do not require your protection. Tell Wang Qi, if he wants to be sect leader, he can go ahead. I am only an apothecary; I do not meddle in such matters.”

Zhao Yue shook his head. “That’s not what we mean, Apothecary Shen. Brother Wang is not acting for personal gain. With the sect leader gone these months, Hua Lin Sect needs someone to take charge. Brother Wang is young and capable—he’s on the verge of advancing his cultivation. If you would join forces with him, our sect would surely—”

“Silence!”

Shen the Apothecary’s face grew even colder, and a chilling pressure fell over the clearing like the onset of winter. The air dropped dozens of degrees in an instant, and every drifting leaf in the forest became coated in frost, shattering with a brittle sound as they hit the ground.

Though she was but an apothecary, Shen’s cultivation surpassed Li Meng and Zhao Yue by far, though it was still below that of the sect master. Now, her spiritual force radiated outward, and both men immediately began to tremble.

“Shen Bingxue, Senior Sister Shen, please do not take action against us. This is merely an internal sect dispute,” Li Meng pleaded.

“Go back and tell Wang Qi that I will not involve myself in his affairs—but he had best not provoke me.” With authority flashing in her eyes, Shen Bingxue mounted her treasure and soared into the sky, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Cold sweat broke out across Zhao Yue and Li Meng’s bodies. “Her cultivation is already nearing the post-Spirit Foundation stage, isn’t it?”

“It must be,” Li Meng replied. “That kind of pressure, we could never withstand. Terrifying.”

Zhao Yue glanced at the sky, disgruntled. “But Brother Wang’s cultivation is increasing quickly too—he’s close to breaking through. Let her be fierce for a few more days; when Brother Wang reaches the next level, she’ll see.”

“And what’s that got to do with you?” Li Meng retorted. “Besides, Apothecary Shen is our greatest asset. Even if Brother Wang were foolish, he wouldn’t challenge her. Without her, the sect’s income would plummet…”

“Enough. Let’s go.” With obvious irritation, Zhao Yue activated his treasure and headed back to Hua Lin Sect.

From the alchemy room came Li Mu, a bottle in hand containing a few pale blue pills that rattled gently inside.

He had expected the ‘Jie Xu’ pills to take five days to produce. They were third-grade, made from the finest essence of four main herbs of the same grade. The cost was considerable—each attempt consumed five medium-grade spirit crystals, and any failure meant the materials were wasted. He doubted even Shen the Apothecary could bear such losses.

With some auxiliary herbs supplied by Shen, and after many more trials, Li Mu finally succeeded—but the process had consumed nearly a hundred spirit crystals. It was, by any measure, a costly pill.

These pills were meant for use in the Spirit Tower; if an ordinary apothecary tried to refine them, even a thousand medium-grade crystals might not suffice. Furthermore, the pill was toxic and not in high demand, with little prospect of future use.

“A true loss,” Li Mu muttered, shaking his head. He set aside two pills for himself and stored the rest in the Spirit Tower.

At the Jade Hall, Li Mu climbed to the second floor, where Li Ying sat reading in quiet concentration.

She could not cultivate, had no spiritual force to activate jade slips, but whenever Li Mu had free time, he would transcribe the information from the slips into books for her to read. These were carefully selected by him—miscellaneous subjects, alchemy, artifact refinement, nothing with dangerous techniques. He had noticed her interest in alchemy, and so, for several months now, he had taken it upon himself to prepare these texts, ensuring that each slip was handpicked and contained no forbidden arts.

Li Ying read with such focus that she did not notice his arrival. Placing fresh food on the table, Li Mu called, “Ying’er, come and eat.”

She looked up with a sweet smile. “Just a moment, Brother. Let me finish this section.”

“So diligent,” Li Mu laughed, sitting beside her. “This is just an introduction to third-grade materials—no need to rush.”

Li Ying pouted. “I can remember it all. Listen: ‘Purple-stone spirit crystal, produced in purple-stone mines. Slightly cool, very brittle, compatible with earth and water, used widely in alchemy and talisman crafting. Add it to a sword during forging, and the blade will…’”

“You’re truly gifted,” Li Mu praised gently.

Li Ying giggled, moving to the table. “Brother, I want to read about cultivation techniques. I won’t practice them, just want to see. Is that all right?”

Li Mu turned serious at once. “No. When you’re able to cultivate, I’ll find you the best techniques, whatever you want. But for now, absolutely not. Don’t even think about it.”

“Okay,” Li Ying replied meekly, eating her food in silence.

Watching her eat, Li Mu sighed inwardly.

A few days passed swiftly, and Shen the Apothecary arrived as promised.

The pale blue ‘Jie Xu’ pills gleamed in her delicate hand, their spiritual energy radiant and alluring. By appearance alone, no one would suspect them to be poisonous.

With rare solemnity, Shen Bingxue caressed the pills before putting them away with care. “I never thought you would actually succeed. There truly are prodigies in this world; I am not your equal.”

She bowed in gratitude. “Thank you, Shopkeeper Li. Please convey my thanks to the apothecary.”

Li Mu smiled and waved a hand. “No need for thanks; it’s simply business. Now, about that generous gift you mentioned—what is it?”

Shen Bingxue grinned. “You are indeed a businessman, Shopkeeper Li.” She produced a small storage pouch and tossed it over. “I don’t have many spirit crystals. I hope these items will satisfy you. Also, I would truly like to meet the apothecary. If you could arrange it, I would be most grateful.”

“We’ll see. There will be an opportunity in the future,” Li Mu said noncommittally. He infused spiritual force into the pouch and opened it, finding inside two jars of pills and a jade slip—but not a single spirit crystal.

He had assumed that an apothecary like Shen would not be lacking in crystals. What he did not know was that Shen Bingxue had an unusual habit: she loved to hoard the rare pills she refined, never selling them for spirit crystals. Apart from what she earned selling pills to the sect, she had little other income.

“So this is the great gift?” Li Mu managed to restrain himself from saying the words aloud.