Wife, Husband, Child, Parent

Ji Duchuan: “?”

So fast?

Even for him, refining a batch of Qi-Replenishing Pills would take half an hour.

This girl had refined them in the blink of an eye?

Wait.

Something wasn't right.

Something was very wrong.

Ahhhhhhh!

His cauldron!!!

His lips trembled as he looked at her shakily. “Do you know what a cauldron is to a pill cultivator?”

Song Yao was busy checking the success rate of this batch of pills. Wiping the soot on her face with her sleeve—making herself look even dirtier—she counted the pills and asked back, “What is it?”

Ji Duchuan wanted to cry. “It's like a wife, a husband, a child, and even a parent.”

Song Yao: “Wow, it has so many identities.”

Ji Duchuan: “...”

He was on the verge of breaking down. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, his eyelid only twitched as he held back his tears.

Song Yao finally noticed his distress. She quickly turned around and wiped the cauldron with her cuff, revealing a pristine corner beneath the black soot. “It's fine. Your wife, husband, child, and parent are completely fine. It just looks a bit black.”

Worried that he might back out and refuse to give her the Golden Scale Snake Pill, Song Yao defended herself. “I'm not the type of person who would lay a hand on someone else's wife, husband, child, or parent. Seriously.”

“I'll just give it a wash in a bit.”

Song Yao paused, then added, “That is, if you don't mind me bathing your wife, husband, child, and parent.”

Ji Duchuan: “...”

He originally wouldn't have minded.

But now that she had put it that way, saying he didn't mind felt incredibly weird.

A complex wave of emotions washed over him, and a thin layer of sweat broke out on his back. For some reason, he had the illusion that he had just been thoroughly tormented.

Yet, she looked so utterly innocent, staring at him with wide, eager eyes, that any words of reprimand died in his throat. In the end, he could only say, “No, it's fine. Just leave it. I'll wash it myself later.”

Song Yao hesitated. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

Refining pills required absolute focus and consumed a great deal of mental energy. If it dragged on, she easily grew drowsy and fell asleep. Thus, she had no choice but to compress the time and prioritize speed.

When the medicinal properties of the herbs were refined all at once, reacting violently with the spiritual energy inside the cauldron, it easily exploded upon opening.

She had already learned to apply an extra layer of spiritual energy to protect the cauldron before opening it, but getting it dirty was still unavoidable.

Since it was someone else's "relative," she had to clean it up after making a mess.

Ji Duchuan quickly made his stance clear. “It's perfectly fine, really.”

Only then did Song Yao give up on the idea. She carefully placed the pills into a porcelain bottle and took a few steps toward him. “Would Senior Ji like to try one?”

Having witnessed her wild refining technique from start to finish, Ji Duchuan regretted asking her for a Qi-Replenishing Pill even more.

But he couldn't help but feel a little curious. After a moment of thought, he said, “Once I finish refining this pill.”

He then subtly reminded her, “You know, pill refining requires peace and quiet. Otherwise, if even a minor error occurs, it can easily lead to failure.”

Song Yao put away the porcelain bottle and nodded. “Don't worry, Senior Ji. With me guarding you here, I absolutely won't let anyone disturb you.”

Ji Duchuan: “?”

Did this kid have absolutely no self-awareness?

Song Yao had clearly made up her mind to stay here until the Golden Scale Snake Pill was finished. She sat down cross-legged beside him.

After sitting for a short while, she grew bored. She wandered around the courtyard and ended up at the table, playing a game of Gomoku against herself.

Before she had even placed a few pieces, she squatted by the fish pond to scoop up fish, muttering to herself, “These fish are pretty, but it's a pity they don't grow big, have too many bones, and are too delicate. Unfit for raising, totally unfit.”

After muttering, she wandered off somewhere else and vanished from sight.

When she was in his line of sight, she was incredibly noisy, but now that she was gone, it made him feel extremely uneasy.

A moment later, a head poked out from the backyard. “Senior Ji, can I go into your side room to take a look? I saw many books inside.”

Ji Duchuan grasped at this lifesaving straw once more.

Reading was good.

If she was reading, she wouldn't be able to bother him.

None of the books he had brought to the Beiyao Sect were secrets that couldn't be shared. He nodded in agreement, only to see Song Yao enter the room and quickly walk out with a book. “Can I read this one?”

Ji Duchuan: “...”

He had stuffed that book deep into a corner where it was incredibly hard to find.

This girl had clearly climbed through the window and searched the side room already, hadn't she?

Yet here she was, solemnly asking for his permission.

What kind of logic did she operate on?

He really couldn't hold it in any longer and asked, “You're a disciple of the Nine Saints Hall, right? How is your relationship with Song Yao?”

“...”

Song Yao didn't understand.

In her past life, she had committed all kinds of evil and was the ultimate villain among villains.

In this life, she was a completely diligent, honest person. She never picked fights, never did bad things, respected her teachers, honored the elderly, and loved the young. She would even pick up trash if she saw it on the road. She had never met anyone more low-key than herself.

Why did people always try to connect her to her past life?

Was her reformation not thorough enough?

She was completely bewildered. Pausing for a moment, she answered honestly, “Song Yao is my Third Senior Sister. She was already dead when I joined the sect. I've never met her, and we're not close.”

After saying that, she probed, “Why do you ask?”

Ji Duchuan: “It's nothing. Seeing you just reminded me of her. Go ahead and read the book. Those are my notes; they should be helpful for a newly initiated pill cultivator like you.”

Song Yao was even more puzzled.

Seeing her reminded him of her?

She took the book and sat down by the stone table, unable to resist asking again, “Why does seeing me remind you of Third Senior Sister? Do Third Senior Sister and I look alike?”

Ji Duchuan withdrew a thread of spiritual energy, letting the furnace fire burn on its own. He stood up to stretch his muscles and bones, turning his head to look at her.

She sat obediently at the table, holding the book in her hands.

She had a rather cold and elegant look, yet she was currently covered in dirt, with soot all over her body and face, her hair messy, and only her eyes shining brightly.

He walked over to the well, drew a basin of water, soaked a clean cloth, and walked back to Song Yao, handing it to her. “They're similar but also different. Your Third Senior Sister would never sit as straight as you.”

That youth had a completely unbridled and wild air about her. No matter where she sat, she would slouch and prop up her legs, lacking even a shred of the demeanor expected of a righteous personal disciple.

Moreover, she did whatever she pleased, treating the entire cultivation world like her personal playground.

He had met her twice back then. The first meeting had left the deepest impression on him, when he attended the Thousand Lantern Festival of the Danxia Temple on behalf of his master.

The people of the Danxia Temple primarily focused on emotion cultivation. Once they reached a certain age, they had to marry someone to open their emotional apertures and cultivate their secret techniques. Furthermore, the higher their partner's cultivation and the better their talent, the faster they could cultivate those secret techniques.

It just so happened that the young mistress of the Danxia Temple was at the perfect age. To find a suitable husband for her, the temple master took advantage of the presence of young talents from various sects at the Thousand Lantern Festival to hold a martial arts marriage contest.

At first, everything went smoothly. The young men fought passionately, competing to win the beauty's smile.

Who would have thought that in the end, the eldest young master of the Xihuan Hall would suddenly appear? He ended the matches in just a few moves and immediately had betrothal gifts brought forward, demanding to marry the young mistress.

The temple master and the young mistress were both terrified.

This eldest young master was notoriously infamous. He had married several times, and every single wife had died suddenly within half a year.

People rumored that he was practicing dual cultivation to drain their yin to replenish his yang. However, because Xihuan Hall possessed immense power, no one dared to investigate. Even if they did, they could never find any concrete evidence.