At the rear court on the main peak, graceful zither tunes were resounding in the air. The tunes were incredibly pleasant, as though they were natural sounds made by nature when a spring flowed through a mountain. A refreshing aura accompanied the tunes, attracting several spiritual birds. Two people were in the courtyard, so beautiful that their very presence made their surroundings look prettier.
One of them was seated before a zither and gently playing it, her fingers dancing across the zither deftly with a graceful bearing about her. The other was currently dancing around nimbly, moving like the wind and water, her green muslin dress rippling about as she danced, further adding to her charm.
The two were none other than Gong Qinyin and Tuoba Wan’er. After resting for several days, they had recovered fully. They came to see Xiang Shaoyun but were told that he was in seclusion, so the two started entertaining themselves out of boredom.
As the music stopped, the dancing came to an end. The two competed with each other, but each had her own strong points that made it hard to decide who was superior.
“Sister Qinyin, your zither skills are truly unparalleled,” praised Tuoba Wan’er.
Gong Qinyin smiled. “I am merely a beginner. My master is much better.”
“I don’t know how good your master is, but I do know that your zither had actually made me dance to it voluntarily. In fact, I have never danced so carefreely before,” said Tuoba Wan’er sincerely.
“Then we need to practice more together. I guarantee the two of us will be able to charm Shaoyun out of his mind,” said Gong Qinyin cheerily.
“Hehe, can we really do that?” asked Tuoba Wan’er with a smile.
“Why not? He’s the one who will get to enjoy all the pleasure,” said Gong Qinyin. “But I wonder what’s going on with him? He was fine, so why is he suddenly in seclusion?”
“Maybe he comprehended something in the battle? He will probably be out in a few days,” said Tuoba Wan’er in a considerate manner.
Right after saying that, she sensed someone coming. The two looked toward the door and found Xiang Shaoyun coming over with Ye Chaomu. Their arms were wrapped together, looking like a loving couple.
Xiang Shaoyun felt somewhat guilty, so he didn’t even dare to look at the two women. Both of them were women he had acknowledged as his, but he hadn’t even touched them yet. An odd glint flashed through both their eyes as though they had found something from Xiang Shaoyun and Ye Chaomu.
On the other hand, Ye Chaomu faced them nonchalantly as she greeted, “Hello, sisters.”
“Chaomu, did you get something wrong? You should be calling us sisters-in-law,” Gong Qinyin emphasized.
“That’s right. You’re the holy son-in-law’s younger sister. You should be calling us sisters-in-law,” said Tuoba Wan’er.
Both of them were as beautiful as Ye Chaomu, but something about Ye Chaomu made her seem more attractive than them. But when the two were standing together, they could definitely compete with her in terms of attractiveness.
Ye Chaomu smiled and replied, “Yes, I would have called you that in the past, but I’m now big brother’s woman. In fact, I’m his first woman.”
She was behaving like a smug vixen, causing the two women to fume. They were aware that Ye Chaomu was not related biologically to Xiang Shaoyun. They also knew how much she liked him. Little had they expected that she would be the first to obtain him. They found this fact hard to accept. Their gazes when looking at Xiang Shaoyun turned aggressive, as though they had transformed into two tigresses.
“D-Don’t look at me like this. I-I have to tend to something else, bye. Feel free to chat among yourselves,” said Xiang Shaoyun after taking two steps back before he hurriedly fled.
He had been having too much fun with Ye Chaomu for the past few days. It was a blissful experience, but he seemed to have overdone it, as his legs felt somewhat weak now.
He had no idea how to face both Tuoba Wan’er and Gong Qinyin at the same time. Thus, he concluded that fleeing was his best course of action. He was happy to just let them settle it among themselves.
“Bastard! Come back!” shouted both Tuoba Wan’er and Gong Qinyin.
Xiang Shaoyun pretended he heard nothing and ran even faster. He wasn’t going to face them before they calmed down. He had Ye Chaomu’s guardian, Grandpa Chen, bring him straight to Yao Peak. Old Yao was probably done with his preparations, so it was now time to refine the saint soul fruit pills.
Sure enough, when he arrived, he saw a massive cauldron. Several pill disciples were busily working around the cauldron, preparing for pill refining. Old Yao stood aside as he gave them commands, and Yao Qian was seated under the shade of a tree. Her face was incomparably pale.
“Little Qian, why are you outside? You should be resting inside,” said Xiang Shaoyun gently.
“Young master, you’re here!” Yao Qian stood up and greeted cheerfully. “I can’t stand staying inside anymore. It’s too boring. I came out to take in some fresh air.”
“I see. Do you feel unwell?” Xiang Shaoyun asked.
“I’m good, just some dizziness here and there. But I heard from grandpa that you contributed saint medicine to help me with my illness. I-I don’t know how I can repay you for this,” said Yao Qian.
“Don’t worry about it. If you want to repay me, just live a good life. Sit here. I’ll go ask Grandpa Yao if he is ready to refine the pills,” said Xiang Shaoyun as he softly patted her arm before walking toward Old Yao.
“Young master, you’re just in time. We can start refining now,” said Old Yao before Xiang Shaoyun could open his mouth.
“Good. The faster we refine the pills, the faster we can cure Little Qian,” said Xiang Shaoyun joyfully.
“Um,” said Old Yao before sending away all the pill disciples. “Young master, the moment I start the fire, make a move alongside me. Make sure to control the fire well. When I reduce the intensity, do the same, and when I increase it, increase it. Be very careful to do exactly what I say during the refinement.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t mess this up,” said Xiang Shaoyun with a nod. He looked at Grandpa Chen standing not far away and said, “Grandpa Chen, I’ll have to trouble you for this.”
For this refining process, they needed a Saint to stand guard by their side. Otherwise, a single mistake would completely ruin the entire process.
“Don’t worry. I have no problem helping with something so simple,” said Grandpa Chen.
In truth, he was only willing to help because of Ye Chaomu’s repeated reminders. Otherwise, Xiang Shaoyun wouldn’t be qualified to make him do anything.
Old Yao had someone bring Yao Qian back to her room, and he started refining the saint soul fruit with Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun was not well-versed in pill refinement, but he had personally seen many pill refinements during his childhood. In fact, Old Yao had tried making him an alchemist at one point. Thus, he still had some knowledge.
After pouring some spring water into the cauldron, Old Yao started the fire. He wasn’t using a regular flame. Rather, he was using a high-tier flame, something every alchemist needed. Without a good flame, how could one hope to refine good pills?
