Xia Yunzhao thought the cultivator looked familiar. At last he remembered: this was the interpreter who had followed Si Kongzhuo before. They had never exchanged names, however, so Xia Yunzhao still did not know what he was called.
The cultivator recognized Xia Yunzhao too. Overjoyed, he half stumbled, half scrambled toward him. “Fellow Daoist Xia, if you’re here, is Senior Shang here too? Save… please ask Senior Shang to save us! That poison alchemist is right nearby!”
Xia Yunzhao understood. He had almost forgotten about the culprit behind all of this. If that poison alchemist had not colluded with Fang Wenyuan in the first place, Shang Shuangze would never have been forced to use the Fuli Annihilation Sword, would never have lost his hearing, and none of the mess that followed would have happened.
Fang Wenyuan had brought his fate upon himself and died beneath Shang Shuangze’s sword, but the poison alchemist had escaped. Si Kongzhuo had taken people after him. After all this time, they still had not caught him?
A ghost face chased the Si-family cultivator right up to them. Suddenly, a streak of sword qi flew from the carriage and scattered it.
Seeing that the cultivator’s complexion was wrong, Xia Yunzhao tossed him a Detoxification Clearheart Pill. “Where’s your young master?”
Elio’s Notes: The raw here reverses the established pill name 清心解毒丹 (Clearheart Detoxification Pill) to 解毒清心丹. I’ve preserved that word-order change as “Detoxification Clearheart Pill” rather than silently normalizing it.
The cultivator hurriedly caught the pill and swallowed it with heartfelt gratitude. His complexion improved at once. “My young master was pursuing the poison alchemist with us, but the family head suddenly sent word summoning him home, leaving only a few of us to continue the pursuit. The poison alchemist seems to have been watching us all along. As soon as he realized the young master had left, he surrounded us with ghost faces. We only escaped by splitting up and running.”
Xia Yunzhao shook his head. “That’s bad. I’m afraid he wanted you to split up so he could pick you off one by one.”
The Si-family cultivator panicked. “Then what do we do?!” He hurriedly saluted. “I am Si Huaiyi. I beg the two of you to help us take down the poison alchemist. He is vicious and ruthless. To evade our pursuit, he even spread a plague through a city! If a pill shop hadn’t helped, who knows how many people would have died. If he escapes again this time, even more people will fall victim to him. Please, I beg you both to help us! The Si family will certainly repay you generously!”
As soon as Si Huaiyi finished speaking, the carriage curtain lifted a little once more. A pale, powerful hand reached out, wrapped around Fellow Daoist Xia’s shoulder, and pulled him back inside.
Si Huaiyi: ?
Then came the rustle of clothes, followed by Xia Yunzhao calling, “Wait a moment. I’ll be right out.”
Si Huaiyi: “…N-no rush. Take your time. Take your time.”
As he spoke, he even backed away several steps. He did not dare listen. He absolutely did not dare listen.
Unexpectedly, when Xia Yunzhao said he would be right out, he really was right out. He emerged from the carriage wearing a fiery-red cloak, with Shang Shuangze following behind him.
He was also holding a small silver openwork sphere. He opened it and recited a few incantations. A golden-yellow bee flew out, its wings vibrating with a bzzzz.
This was the little sphere Fuyao had given him, and the living presence inside it was none other than a Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee.
Xia Yunzhao had previously drawn a copy of the Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee Rearing Essentials. Through it, he had learned that the cultivation world actually had a tradition of insect cultivators. He had always wanted to raise one and try it for himself, but he had never found a Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee. Who would have guessed he would find one in Yanhe Village on this trip?
The Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee was an expert tracker, and there were two ways to use it. One was to smear Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee honey on the target; once marked, no matter how far the person ran, they could not escape the tiny insect’s pursuit. The other was to let the bee smell an old possession belonging to the target, after which it could follow the lingering scent to find them. This second method had a limited range, however, roughly a hundred li.
Xia Yunzhao thought that since the poison alchemist had been keeping such a close watch on the Si family’s movements, he probably had not hidden very far away. He asked, “Do you have anything that belonged to the poison alchemist?”
Si Huaiyi thought for a moment, then took out a broken magical artifact. “Will this work?”
Xia Yunzhao nodded and recited the incantation again. The Thousand-Li Fragrant Bee flew onto the artifact and lingered there for a moment before taking off again, beating its wings hard as it flew toward the forest.
Si Huaiyi exclaimed excitedly, “Did it find the direction the poison alchemist went?”
No one answered him. He looked back and saw Senior Shang straightening Fellow Daoist Xia’s collar, pulling the thick lapels snugger around him before asking softly, “Would you like to wait in the carriage?”
Xia Yunzhao rubbed his cheek lightly against Shang Shuangze’s fingers and replied just as softly, “No. Go and come back quickly. Oh, right, don’t forget to take his storage pouch.”
Shang Shuangze nodded. By the time Si Huaiyi looked again, he had already disappeared.
Si Huaiyi: “…” For some reason, he suddenly felt extremely superfluous.
The next moment, a tremendous boom erupted from the forest. Turbulent spiritual power whipped up a gale that sent both men’s hair flying, while razor-sharp sword qi reverberated among the trees.
Si Huaiyi: “…” He gave an awkward laugh. “Senior Shang’s cultivation has improved again, huh.”
Xia Yunzhao thought, Your Senior Shang is already simmering with anger. That poison alchemist picked one hell of a time to walk straight into the blade.
The poison alchemist really was unlucky. Si Kongzhuo and his people had chased him for so long, and after finally waiting until Si Kongzhuo left, he had at last found a chance to strike back. He had been grinning wickedly, ready to kill the Si-family cultivators and vent his rage, when Shang Shuangze ran him clean through.
The countless ghost faces drifting around them vanished in an instant, as though they too had been pierced through.
Si-family Cultivator Number One, who had been chased on the other side: “…”
Si-family Cultivator Number Two, who had thought he was definitely about to die: “…”
Shang Shuangze gave the two men a brief nod and did not forget to remove the poison alchemist’s storage pouch before turning away.
The two cultivators who had escaped death looked at each other in silence. “Did the poison alchemist capture Fellow Daoist Xia too?”
“…It sure looks that way.”
Xia Yunzhao was delighted when he saw the new storage pouch. His spiritual power had been unstable lately, so he could neither refine pills nor cultivate. Counting storage pouches was about all he had left to do for entertainment.
The Si-family cultivators thanked them repeatedly as well, saying they would report back to their young master and have a proper gift of thanks prepared.
The whole affair was little more than an interlude on the road home. It did not even delay them for very long.
The Green Bamboo Carriage set off again, entering the Liancui Mountain Range.
As the surrounding scenery grew more and more familiar, Xia Yunzhao lifted the carriage curtain and spotted Bloodstanching Leaves, Resilient Vines, Ironbone Flowers… His mood relaxed with every sight. He cheered and turned around. “I didn’t feel it when we left, but now that we’re back, I realize home really is the best. A golden nest or a silver nest still can’t beat your own doghouse!”
For no apparent reason, Shang Shuangze remembered that rainy day when Xia Yunzhao had come through the rain, droplets clinging to his brows and lashes as he looked up at him like a drenched little puppy.
Looking back now, perhaps that was when this person had already become different in his heart. Xia Yunzhao clearly had not known any rain-repelling spell, yet he had still kept his promise and come.
After traveling a little farther, they finally reached the entrance to the valley. This time, they were truly home.
Xiao Xia gave a cheer and was about to jump down from the carriage when Shang Shuangze caught him around the waist and lifted him down.
He was still dissatisfied. “I’m not so weak that I can’t even jump down from a carriage, am I?”
Shang Shuangze sighed. “Does your foot not hurt anymore?”
Xia Yunzhao checked and immediately behaved himself. “It does hurt a little.”
After he entered mid-Foundation Establishment, the spiritual power from the secret-realm core continued tempering his organs and meridians. Whenever the reaction was stronger in a particular area, it caused pain. Lately, his left foot had been hurting. Compared with the agony of having his meridians tempered, however, this was so mild that he often forgot about it.
Shang Shuangze, on the other hand, always remembered for him.
Eager to be home, Xia Yunzhao immediately rushed into the valley. The defensive formation disk showed no sign of having been disturbed, and everything in the valley was just as usual.
Sensing their presence, Yun Yi quickly came over and bowed, its flat voice utterly without inflection. “Welcome home, Masters.”
Xia Yunzhao greeted it. “Thanks for all your hard work, Yun Yi! Has anything changed at home?”
Yun Yi replied calmly, “Reporting to Master, there have been three changes. First, most of the spirit plants in the spirit field have sprouted and are growing well. Second, the mother cat has not returned home for half a month. Third, thirteen days ago there was a torrential rain in the mountains, and a spring formed in the valley. There is now one additional spirit fish.”
Xia Yunzhao let out an “ah.” “The mother cat isn’t coming back? Then won’t Xianchan be unable to see its mother?”
His thick lapels shifted, and Xianchan and Xiao Qing wriggled out. The moment they realized they were home, the two little creatures leaped down and began tearing around the valley.
Xia Yunzhao ran over to inspect the cat nest. Sure enough, it looked as though no cat had lived there for quite some time. Xianchan did not seem nostalgic in the slightest. It charged over, headbutted the nest hard enough to flip it over, then started kicking it around like a ball.
Xia Yunzhao: .
He went to inspect the spirit plants next. Sure enough, they had grown a fair bit. Level-One spirit plants such as Bloodstanching Leaves and Dew-Condensing Grass had even put out leaves, while the Level-Two Scarlet Berries still had only two tender shoots.
And that was with the Spirit-Gathering Formation helping them along.
After thinking for a moment, he reached into his Hundred-Compartment Pouch and took out a dull gray formation disk.
A treasure hid its own brilliance. This formation disk was no ordinary object. It was the very formation disk that had powered the time formation inside the small secret realm.
With nothing better to do on the road, Xia Yunzhao had studied the disk and discovered that it was truly extraordinary. Not only could it deploy a time formation at any moment, it could even adjust the flow of time anywhere from one-to-ten to one-to-one-thousand.
The thought made him shudder in hindsight. Fortunately, the time ratio back then had not been one-to-one-thousand. Otherwise, by the time Shang Shuangze reached him, Xia Yunzhao might already have been nothing but a skeleton.
He raised a hand and activated the formation disk, setting the ratio to one-to-one-hundred. The formation rapidly took shape, and the thousand-plus spirit plants in the field immediately accelerated, visibly growing, sprouting leaves, flowering, and maturing…
Xia Yunzhao promptly stopped the formation. After watching for a while, he pondered aloud, “Mm, I still need to divide them into separate sections. Spirit plants of different levels need different amounts of time to grow.”
That sort of fine adjustment could be handled slowly later. They had only just gotten home.
Sounds came from the cave residence. Shang Shuangze was shaping balls of spiritual power and using them to gather the dust out of the cave.
Xia Yunzhao watched for a few moments and wanted to laugh. There was something adorable about Shang Shuangze expressionlessly making little balls of spiritual power.
His heart fluttered.
He dashed over in three quick strides, rose onto his toes, and pressed himself close.
Shang Shuangze casually tossed aside the ball of spiritual power, wrapped one arm around Xia Yunzhao’s waist and pressed the other hand against his back, drawing him firmly into his embrace as he lowered his head.
A moment later, Xia Yunzhao struggled free. His lips were bright red, his eyes glistening as he panted for breath. “Y-you… what… you weren’t like this before.”
Shang Shuangze’s fingertips rubbed along his back with a pressure that sent a tremor through him. In a low voice, he said, “We’re at home now. Naturally, it’s different.”
Feeling the change in Shang Shuangze’s body, Xia Yunzhao wriggled out of his arms like a fish. “Not even at home. I still haven’t recovered!”
Shang Shuangze watched him flee and sighed, then sighed again. After doing his best to calm himself, he went back to cleaning.
Xia Yunzhao ran all the way to the spring before stopping. He rubbed his burning cheeks. Hiss… Shang Shuangze just now was so handsome. It was as if an iceberg had suddenly turned into blazing fire.
He had to admit, being able to make someone like Shang Shuangze change this much was deeply satisfying.
In truth, when the feeling was right, Xia Yunzhao did not mind taking things further. He might never have eaten pork, but he had certainly seen pigs run.
But he really had not recovered yet, so he muttered under his breath, “Better wait a little longer…”
The new spring in the valley was not very large, and it had not formed from accumulated rainwater. The rain had washed open a crack in the mountainside, revealing a springhead within. Clear water bubbled steadily out and collected below into a small pool.
The pool measured only about five chi on each side, its water clear all the way to the bottom. A single red spirit fish swam inside.
“There really is a fish.” Xia Yunzhao laughed. “Where did it come from…?”
Wait. Something was not right…
His smile vanished. After carefully studying it for a moment and realizing he had not been mistaken, he sucked in a sharp breath. This spirit fish seemed to be an actual spirit fish!
Unlike slaughter beasts on land, fish-type slaughter beasts were named less consistently. Some fish slaughter beasts with high spiritual-power content but little offensive ability were also called spirit fish, such as White Spirit Fish.
But this fish looked like the real thing… a spirit-beast fish!
No matter how he examined it, he could detect none of a slaughter beast’s bloody aura, only the clear spiritual energy belonging to a spirit beast. Its aura was just like Xianchan’s!
Xia Yunzhao forgot everything else and called repeatedly, “Shang Shuangze, come look! Another spirit beast moved into our home!”
The spirit fish turned in the pool, its tail flicking up a little splash as it gave him a sidelong glare.
Xia Yunzhao: “…It rolled its eyes at me!”
Spirit fish: “…”
Shang Shuangze came over and looked down. He paused, then looked at Xia Yunzhao. Even he could not help marveling at his Dao companion’s luck. “This is a Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish.”
“Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish…” Xia Yunzhao repeated the name, thinking it sounded quite lovely. Looking at the fish again, its whole body truly did seem dyed in the colors of sunset clouds. The edges of its scales shimmered faintly gold, and its red tail spread through the water, thin as crimson gauze.
He asked, “It looks like a Level-Two spirit beast to me?”
“The Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish is a growth-type spirit beast. It is Level Two now. How far it can grow in the future will depend on its own fortune.” Shang Shuangze watched the fish. It had been following Xia Yunzhao’s every movement, but the instant it noticed Xia Yunzhao looking its way, it deliberately turned its head away with an air of disdain even as its fins quietly paddled it closer.
What a tsundere fish.
Shang Shuangze continued, “The Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish can gather spiritual energy and increase fortune. In waters where it lives, the concentration of water-attributed spiritual energy rises. If it acknowledges a master, it can slightly improve its master’s luck.”
“The way it acts, there’s no chance it has acknowledged me.” Xia Yunzhao pointed at the fish, which was glaring at him again. “But increasing water-attributed spiritual energy is already pretty good. If I practice Little Cloud Rain beside this pool from now on, won’t I get twice the result with half the effort?”
Shang Shuangze privately thought otherwise. The more he looked at the Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish, the more it seemed to have already acknowledged Xia Yunzhao. Had it perhaps fixed on Xia Yunzhao before they left home, then waited until they were gone to seize its chance and move in? Or had it wandered in by accident, sensed Xia Yunzhao’s lingering aura, and refused to leave?
It was difficult to say. But one thing was obvious: the fish cared very much about Xia Yunzhao.
Shang Shuangze did not say so aloud. He only added, “The Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish can also summon spirit rain. In the future, it can help water the spirit field.”
Xia Yunzhao shot him a look that clearly said, Don’t say that right in front of it! We need to get on its good side before asking it to work!
Then he asked, “What does it like to eat?”
Amused, Shang Shuangze thought for a moment. “Most spirit beasts eat meat, and the more spiritual energy the food contains, the more they like it.”
“Then it’s just like Xianchan!” Xia Yunzhao clapped his hands. “Got it. Next time I make food from the spirit-beast recipe, I’ll make a portion for it too.”
The eavesdropping Crimson-Cloud Brocadefish twitched its tail.
Xianchan, who had been racing around madly, suddenly heard its own name and came charging over after an abrupt turn. “Meow?”
Before either of its masters could speak, it spotted the fish in the pool. Without giving the matter a thought, or perhaps after giving it one to no effect whatsoever, it raised a paw and launched itself straight into the water.
Xia Yunzhao: …
He fished the cat out, dried it off, then put it in a bag and hung it beneath a tree to air-dry.
Accompanied by Xianchan’s pitiful mew, mew and the swish, swish, swish of Yun Yi sweeping the ground, their first day home passed peacefully.
That night, Shang Shuangze put everything away according to Xia Yunzhao’s habits, and Xia Yunzhao sprawled on the bed and slept in comfortably.
When he woke the next day, he was wondering whether to go tell his friends he was back safely or keep tidying up at home when a little ball of spiritual power drifted past him.
He looked up. Shang Shuangze had both hands spread open, countless balls of spiritual power flying from his palms and drifting throughout the cave residence and valley like bubbles, filling the valley with shifting light.
Xia Yunzhao caught one and squeezed it. “What are you doing?”
Seeing that he was awake, Shang Shuangze withdrew his hands and came over. “I intend to return to my sect for a few things. I don’t feel at ease leaving you home alone, so I’m leaving some spiritual power here to protect you.”
Xia Yunzhao wanted to ask whether this really counted as “some.” The things were nearly filling the entire valley. Instead he quickly asked, “Will you be gone long?”
Shang Shuangze frowned. “If I leave today, I won’t return until tomorrow.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
His heart, which had barely risen three inches off the ground, dropped with a thud. “It’s only one day…”
That said, he knew Shang Shuangze’s trauma response had not yet faded, which was why even a short separation made him so anxious. Then another thought occurred to him. If Shang Shuangze was this anxious and still had to go back, whatever he needed from the sect must be very important.
Xia Yunzhao thought for a moment. “How about I spend the day at Wanglai Pavilion? The Fang and Liu families are gone from Qingxi City now, so no one is targeting me. Fellow Daoist Du will be there, and I have all these protective treasures. You can relax then, right?”
Shang Shuangze considered it, gathered up the balls of spiritual power, and stuffed them into Xia Yunzhao’s storage pouch. “Release them against enemies.”
Xia Yunzhao did not know whether to laugh or cry. “What enemies do we even have left in Qingxi City?”
Shang Shuangze displayed a rare streak of stubbornness. He made another long string of spiritual-power balls and packed Xia Yunzhao’s Hundred-Compartment Pouch full of them. Then he checked Xia Yunzhao’s Golden-Silk Inner Armor and Snow-Crane Spirit-Guarding Crown before hesitantly looking toward Mingyun…
Xia Yunzhao cupped his face and made him look directly at him. “Don’t be so nervous, Senior Shang. Qingxi City is very safe! Besides, my spiritual power is unstable, not unusable. Even if more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators came at me, I still wouldn’t be afraid. And don’t you dare leave Mingyun with me. Mingyun and I would both be unhappy.”
Shang Shuangze sighed. “I always feel that something will happen the moment I leave you.”
Xia Yunzhao thought about it. It did seem as though something happened every time Shang Shuangze was not at his side… Suppressing a laugh, he said, “Then go quickly and come back quickly!”
Shang Shuangze sighed again. If circumstances at the sect were not unusual, he could have taken Xia Yunzhao with him.
Only after inspecting Xia Yunzhao from head to toe three times and confirming that nothing had been overlooked did Shang Shuangze escort him to the entrance of Wanglai Pavilion in Qingxi City.
Xia Yunzhao watched him walk away. Even Shang Shuangze’s back seemed saturated with reluctance, and the sight made Xia Yunzhao reluctant to part too…
“What are you standing around outside for? Get in here!” came a lazy voice from inside Wanglai Pavilion.
“Coming.” Xia Yunzhao snapped out of it and went inside. Du Yan was sprawled limply in the chair behind the counter just as he always was.
Seeing him enter, Du Yan yawned. “What, are you using my place as a relay station now? How many people did you tell to come looking for you at Wanglai Pavilion?” He pointed at several letters beside him. “You…”
He broke off mid-sentence. Du Yan’s brow furrowed, and in a flash he was in front of Xia Yunzhao. “Why is your aura so chaotic? Are you injured? Where’s that sword cultivator? How did he fail to protect you?”
Xia Yunzhao ignored the first question entirely and immediately objected to the second. “He protects me very well.”
Du Yan was speechless. After examining him for a moment, he became even more speechless, scolded Xia Yunzhao entirely with his expression, then went back to sit down.
Thick-skinned as ever, Xia Yunzhao trotted over to rummage through the letters.
He really had given Wanglai Pavilion’s address to quite a few people. He lived up in the mountains, where the location was hard to find and even harder to describe. Wanglai Pavilion was much more precise.
The letters really were all from friends. There were letters from Guang Xingyu and Bei Wan, and even one from Pill Master Lipan. All three wanted to discuss the Dao of pill cultivation with him. There was also a letter from Chang Haiping reporting that they had settled safely in Pinglan and that everything was well.
Xia Yunzhao read them one by one, then borrowed Du Yan’s paper and brush to write replies. While he was at it, he placed Du Yan’s gift on the counter.
He had taken quite a few materials and magical treasures from Cold Crow Stronghold. While he was recuperating, he had asked Lu Shi to find channels to sell most of them, but he had also picked out plenty of good things. Some he kept for himself, while the rest he set aside for his friends.
There were gifts not only for Du Yan, but also for Xu Ziyu, Qingmu, Wei Tu and Wei Ling, as well as Chang Haiping and Granny. Oh, right, Brother Xing too… He had not seen Xing Wenyu for such a long time. He wondered how Brother Xing was doing, and whether his friend’s illness had been cured.
Seeing Xia Yunzhao set a porcelain bottle on the counter, Du Yan picked it up and looked inside. To his surprise, it contained wine.
The porcelain bottle was only finger-length, but there was a world of its own inside. It held roughly three sheng of wine.
When he removed the stopper, the wine inside was clear and limpid, with tiny soft glimmers like snowflakes floating through it. Its fragrance was cold, pure, and lingering.
Du Yan glanced at Xia Yunzhao and tipped his head back for a sip.
It was not nearly as sharp on the tongue as it smelled. The initial chill turned soft and gently cool as soon as it reached his stomach, soothing the divine sense that had been restless for years. Even his spiritual power, which had not increased in ages, strengthened by a tiny trace.
Du Yan lowered his gaze for a moment before asking lazily, “What is this wine called? Where did you get it?”
Xia Yunzhao’s brush flew across the paper as he answered, “I don’t know. I robbed someone for it.”
Du Yan: “…”
“Oh, right.” Xia Yunzhao suddenly remembered. “Before I left, didn’t you ask me to leave some pills with you so you could sell them in that Fang-family shop? Did they sell?”
Du Yan was just about to answer when someone came in from outside.
The newcomer was a white-haired old man, obviously a mortal. Xia Yunzhao had been to Wanglai Pavilion so many times, yet he had never seen mortals coming and going here before, so he looked over curiously.
The old man did not dare look around carelessly. He only asked respectfully, “Lord Du, may I ask whether Lord Xia, Xia Yunzhao, has returned?”
Before Du Yan could speak, Lord Xia himself answered too quickly. “Huh? Elder, are you looking for me? I don’t think I know you.”
Du Yan slowly closed the mouth he had just opened, his expression turning into one of someone settling in to watch a good show.
The old man froze and looked Xia Yunzhao up and down. “You are… Lord Xia?”
Xia Yunzhao was bewildered. “I don’t think I’m famous enough for anyone to start impersonating me yet, am I?”
The old man became terribly excited. “L-Lord Xia is back!” he shouted toward the door. Then he rushed in front of Xia Yunzhao, dropped to his knees, and began kowtowing. “Th-thank you, Lord Xia! You saved my entire family! Thank you, Lord Xia!”
Xia Yunzhao was so startled he froze. He hurried to pull the man up. “Please, get up first… Are you sure you haven’t mistaken me for someone else? I don’t remember saving anyone.”
He had not even managed to help the old man to his feet when another crowd rushed in from outside. Judging by their appearance, they were all ordinary residents of Qingxi City. They dropped to their knees together and kowtowed. “Thank you, Lord Xia, for saving our lives!”
Xia Yunzhao had barely gotten one person back on their feet before another dropped to their knees. Flustered, he said, “Get up first and explain! What life-saving favor are you talking about? At least make sure you’ve got the right person!”
“Er…” The old man at the front said, “May I ask, Lord Xia, whether the Lingwei Pills were refined by you?”
Xia Yunzhao was baffled. “Yeah. What about them?”
“Then there’s no mistake.” The old man smiled kindly. “Some time ago, a plague broke out in Qingxi City. More than a hundred people died in just three days, and all of us were terrified. Fortunately, we had the Lingwei Pills you left behind. They were dissolved into spirit water and given to everyone in the city to drink. That was what saved our lives.”
Xia Yunzhao: !
So that was it! The plague spread by that poison alchemist had been waiting for him right here! And he himself had heard Si Huaiyi mention a plague without even asking which city it had happened in. It had been Qingxi City all along! Which meant that pill shop that had helped everyone was his own shop!
He hurriedly said, “There’s something you all don’t know. I wasn’t in Qingxi City during that time. I left the pills with the owner of Wanglai Pavilion, so if anyone saved you, it was Wanglai Pavilion…”
The townspeople turned toward Du Yan in unison, like a field of sunflowers following the sun.
Du Yan cut in at just the right moment. “I don’t know anything about it. He told me to do everything, and he supplied the pills.”
The townspeople turned back again and, like wheat flattened by a gust of wind, dropped neatly to their knees. “Thank you, Lord Xia!”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
He pointed at Du Yan and shouted furiously, “You just drank my wine!”