Chapter 095: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
The various sects gradually returned to their domains. After inquiring with Wen Changhe, Liu Zhiqing also led the disciples of the Xuantian Sect back home. Sun Changfeng and Qiu Shuoran, still seething with resentment, immediately sought out the Disciplinary Hall upon their return, demanding an explanation.
However, the Disciplinary Hall’s response was lukewarm and unyielding. No matter how they protested, there was only one answer: they would have to wait until Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan returned, so that all parties could confront each other face to face and clarify the truth before any judgment could be passed.
Sun Changfeng, unable to contain his fury, blurted out, “If they never return, am I never to see justice? If everyone acts as unscrupulously as Xiao Jihan, how can the sect still protect its disciples?”
Bing Shien, the head of the Disciplinary Hall, cast him a cool glance. “If you disagree with the sect’s decision, or feel you have been treated unfairly, you are free to bring the matter before your master when he returns. Whether you choose to stay or leave, that is for you to decide.”
The words caught Sun Changfeng off guard, leaving him speechless. The Xuantian Sect did not treat its disciples poorly. He and Qiu Shuoran, while possessing some talent, were by no means exceptional. Moreover, they had always practiced the Xuantian Sect’s methods; if they left, they would be nothing more than wandering cultivators.
Sun Changfeng’s face flushed red with frustration, but he dared not say more.
Bing Shien looked at him and said, “All decisions are reached through the joint deliberation of the peak masters. In any sect, this would be considered a serious matter, hardly something to be decided at your word alone. Go back and focus on your cultivation. Wait, as you’ve been told.”
Sun Changfeng ground his teeth in anger and muttered, “Yes, I obey.”
No sooner had he left than Bing Shien contacted Shi Wanqing. Shi Wanqing, at the time, was diligently searching for rare treasures. He assumed the communication was a message of concern from his senior brother and answered cheerfully.
Instead, Bing Shien’s exasperated voice came through at once: “Just look at the disciple you’ve accepted! Not only has she tarnished our junior sister’s reputation, but she even questions my fairness in handling matters!”
Shi Wanqing: …
In the end, it seemed his trust had been misplaced.
After learning the details, Shi Wanqing, like Liu Zhiqing, focused on a different issue. “So you’re saying that Xiao Jihan managed to concoct Beast Lure Powder after just two months of alchemy practice?”
“I cannot say for certain,” Bing Shien replied coolly. “Beast Lure Powder was indeed found on your disciple, Sun Changfeng, but how it found its way to him, and who refined it—none of this is known. Yet Sun Changfeng wants to have Xiao Jihan expelled from the sect on his word alone.”
“He fails to consider that, if we were to do so, it would declare to the world that our junior sister is lax in teaching her disciples!”
Shi Wanqing nodded. “Let’s wait until our junior sister and Xiao Jihan return. Justice must be served, but if this is all true, Xiao Jihan may well be an extraordinary alchemist. A hundred years of seclusion as punishment, devoted to refining pills, would be fitting.”
Bing Shien nodded in agreement. “I was thinking much the same.”
With that, their discussion ended. Shi Wanqing felt a surge of satisfaction—he wondered what kind of fortune his junior sister had come upon. So many in the cultivation world had gone to the Brahma Heaven Secret Realm, yet only his junior sister and her disciple had found such good fortune. It certainly brought honor to their sect!
Yet, at that very moment, Yan Shu, the one bringing honor to the Xuantian Sect, was in dire straits. As Xiao Jihan had predicted, the Medicine King was indeed training her for the path of a medicinal farmer.
After handing her five books over five days, the Medicine King brought her to the herb garden and instructed her to begin cultivating spiritual plants.
“This garden is divided into sixteen plots, each with its own unique soil and environment. At first glance, it may seem like a small piece of land, but step into it and you’ll find another world entirely.”
“You guessed correctly. I do intend to pass the Breath Soil to you. This garden is a simulation of it. The day you manage to cultivate spiritual plants in all sixteen plots is the day I’ll pass the Breath Soil to you, along with my collection of rare seeds.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Shu became instantly energized, as if she could already see countless spirit stones beckoning to her.
She immediately pounded her chest and declared, “Master, rest assured! I will not disappoint your expectations!”
“Heh!” The Medicine King stroked his beard and gave her a cold laugh. “Who was it, on the first day in Medicine King Valley, who looked so reluctant? I haven’t even accepted you as a disciple, yet you’re already calling me ‘Master’ with such enthusiasm.”
“Is there really someone so ungrateful in this world?”
Yan Shu clenched her small fists, brimming with righteous indignation. “To be chosen by you as her master is a fortune eight lifetimes in the making!”
The Medicine King couldn’t help but chuckle in exasperation. “Ungrateful, maybe not, but shameless, certainly.”
Yan Shu nodded vigorously. “Yes, Master, you’re absolutely right!”
The Medicine King: …
He really shouldn’t have expected a person who cared nothing for saving face to possess the slightest sense of shame.
Yan Shu plunged herself into the herb garden, marking the beginning of her life as a medicinal farmer. Sixteen plots of land, each with different soil and environmental conditions—selecting the right seeds and nurturing them attentively in each was no simple task.
She dared not be overconfident and started with the simplest plot.
While Yan Shu busied herself with farming, Xiao Jihan threw himself into the study of alchemy and medicine. Unlike Yan Shu, whose progress relied more on practical experience, his path demanded a vast theoretical knowledge and the memorization of countless recipes and medicinal properties.
Though both resided in Medicine King Valley, their paths rarely crossed.
When Yan Shu succeeded in cultivating her first spiritual plant, she and Xiao Jihan formally performed the disciple ceremony before the Medicine King.
Yan Shu clicked her tongue inwardly—she had originally been Xiao Jihan’s master, but now, in the blink of an eye, she was his senior sister instead, losing a generation’s advantage for nothing. Indeed, it was never easy to profit from the male lead.
On the day of the ceremony, the Medicine King, for once, did not urge them to study, but instead produced several jars of wine from who knows where as a reward for their efforts.
“Don’t underestimate this wine! It’s my greatest work from before my ascension! Not only is it smooth and fragrant, but more importantly, it can greatly enhance your cultivation!”
“If you possess rare treasures, yet lack the strength to protect them, you’re only inviting disaster upon yourself and offering them up to others!”
Yan Shu nodded. Unlike in the original story, where Xiao Jihan spent ten years alone in the secret realm, this time, their fortune in the secret realm was well known. It was entirely possible that some fool would covet their gains and seek to kill them.
But…
She eyed the jars of wine with a hint of hesitation. “Master, you ascended ten thousand years ago, didn’t you? Is this wine… really still drinkable?”
The Medicine King: …
Why, indeed, had he chosen such a disciple as his successor?
In truth, Yan Shu couldn’t be blamed; her subconscious was still shaped by the worldview of her past life.
Only after the Medicine King, bristling with indignation, explained did she understand: wine brewed from heavenly treasures only grew more fragrant and potent with age. The older, the better.
The jars before them, each personally crafted by the Medicine King ten millennia ago, would fetch a fortune at any major auction—even a single cup would qualify for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion!