Chapter 1013: It’s impossible for him to enter
Gu Qishao walked in front while Han Yunxi and Long Feiye followed behind him. She remembered her first trip in this cave was nothing but walking forward as well. Then everyone had suddenly fallen sick. What would be awaiting them this time?
Abruptly, Gu Qishao stopped. He glanced back with a grin, then darted into the darkness on the right. Han Yunxi and Long Feiye didn’t have a chance to chase him before he hauled a female medical apprentice from the shadows.
“Let me go! Just who are you?!”
“How did you find me? Let go! Who are you? Just who are you?!”
The apprentice struggled and threw accusations until Gu Qishao muffled her mouth and gripped her collar with a ferocious look. “Take out the medicine or else this old man will rip your clothes to shreds right here.”
Han Yunxi was surprised, but Long Feiye had already averted his gaze. From what he knew of Gu Qishao, he’d definitely strip a woman’s clothes. The apprentice kept struggling, so Gu Qishao simply moved his hand and tore her clothes right off, leaving nothing but a single dudou covering her chest. Stunned, the woman began to tremble.
“Where’s the medicine?” Gu Qishao asked as he released her. He wasn’t fierce anymore, but simply smiled patiently.
“It’s…it’s…” the woman’s lips were shaking. “It’s–it’s in the inner wall of the stone door leading to the secret room.”
Long Feiye immediately towards the darkness in the right until he found a secret door hidden in the stone and brought out a few bottles of medicine. Gu Qishao tossed the apprentice to one side and smiled. “Eat the pills and walk forward with no worries.”
The apprentice shouted from the darkness, “You guys are too much! You’ve defied the rules of Medicine Requesting Cave, so you’ll never get your medicine!”
But they weren’t here to ask for medicine in the first place! Naturally, they had no need to follow the rules. Long Feiye would have let Xu Donglin and the guards kill their way in long ago if he knew the inside better.
The couple took their pills before following Gu Qishao ahead. If they were 90 percent certain before, they were 100 percent sure now: Gu Qishao had to be the missing disciple of the Pill Furnace Master, “Little Loony!” Otherwise, how would he know all of the Medicine Requesting Cave’s secrets so thoroughly? After being chased out of Medicine City, Gu Qishao had come here and taken the Pill Furnace Master as his teacher. Just what had happened between them to make Gu Qishao leave without a word? Han Yunxi and Long Feiye were both curious, but they tacitly agreed not to ask.
The three of them kept going while Pill Furnace Master received news that Gu Qishao had uncovered the medical apprentice and stolen her medicine. After falling off his pill furnace, he reacted in time to do a flip in mid-air and land on his feet before breaking any bones.
“How did he know? How?” Pill Furnace Master asked incredulously.
His subordinates were curious too. Gu Qishao had no relation whatsoever with the pill furnace, so why would he know the secret of the second trial? Abruptly, a subordinate rose to his feet. “Master, could it be…could it be that the Junior Master’s returned?”
Pill Furnace Master’s former disciple had been respected by everyone else as the young Junior Master. Everyone assumed that he would inherit the master’s legacy, but who knew he’d go missing instead? None of them knew what had happened between the pair in the past, either.
Pill Furnace Master gave a start before shaking his head. “No, he doesn’t know about such things.”
Over the past decade, the design of the Medicine Requesting Cave’s three trials had been changed multiple times by Pill Furnace Master. Little Loony had been gone for so long that it was impossible for him to know its secrets now. Although Pill Furnace Master acted like a lunatic, his memory was extremely clear on certain things. There were details that he would never forget or mistake. Furthermore, Pill Furnace Master understood his young disciple all too well. No matter what, that Little Loony would never enter his Medicine Requesting Cave again in this lifetime.
“It’s not him…it couldn’t be him…” Pill Furnace Master muttered to himself.
“Master, then what’s going on?” his subordinates asked.
“Have the master of the third trial hid well. If there’s another leak, this old man will throw her into the pill furnace to roast!” Pill Furnace Master said sinisterly.
Who knew that his subordinates didn’t even have a chance to pass on the instructions before multiple guards flew into the cave entrance and crashed against the giant pill furnace inside? All of them spat out blood as they fell to the ground.
Han Yunxi and Long Feiye had successfully passed through the third trial under Gu Qishao’s protection and then killed their way in.
“Protect the master!” a few subordinates immediately drew their swords, but Pill Furnace Master motioned for them to back down.
“Aiya, it’s so festive here today!” Han Yunxi smiled guilelessly.[1] She could see that the giant pill furnace before them now had no fire but was full of smoke. Most likely, the smoke from their fire had been sucked up by this strange furnace just then.
Pill Furnace Master glanced at Han Yunxi before asking in a slow voice, “Who’s Gu Qishao? Step out and let me see!”
Only then did Gu Qishao slowly walk out from behind Long Feiye, his eyes narrowed as he chuckled. His seductive looks and harmless smile formed a beautiful contrast on his face, the expression devastating enough to topple nations and enchant the world. Seeing it, Pill Furnace Master froze.
After a while, he finally managed to ask, “You…you, you’re Gu Qishao?”
Little Loony had left when he was still young, so he had no idea what he’d looked like now. But seeing Gu Qishao’s narrow, slender eyes made him inexplicably certain that Little Loony’s eyes would definitely look like these! Without a doubt!
“Exactly!” Gu Qishao stood at the cave entrance while looking scornfully at Pill Furnace Master. Like before, he was smiling even more guilelessly than Han Yunxi. “Old man, you got any time? We personally found you to make Returning Dragon Pill and even brought along the snow wine.”
Pill Furnace Master finally recovered his senses somewhat after Gu Qishao smile and spoke. He lightly shook his head. Although this man’s eyes were very similar to Little Loony’s, their temperaments were completely different. He knew his disciple’s personality very well, including the fact that Little Loony disliked smiling or talking. Self-mocking flashed through his eyes. What was wrong with him? It was impossible for Little Loony to come here. Why keep fooling himself?
“Lad, how did you know the secrets of the second and third trial?” Pill Furnace Master asked.
Every test in the Medicine Requesting Cave had its own gatekeeper. If one could deal with the gatekeeper ahead of time, then it counted as a pass.
Gu Qishao laughed and said, “Old man, little tricks like that are outdated. It’s time to change things up!”
Pill Furnace Master had no idea that Gu Qishao had once snuck a look at his secret notes. Not only did they record the methods for making medicine, but also a list of the Medicine Requesting Cave’s secret switches and layout. Although each dealt with different obstacles, the locations of the switches didn’t change. With that logic, the hiding places of the gatekeepers wouldn’t differ, either.
Pill Furnace Master didn’t fuss. After all, the hiding places of the gatekeepers weren’t perfect to begin with. He looked at Gu Qishao, then at Han Yunxi, and smiled coldly. “If you want medicine, you need the proper attitude. Stinkin’ lass, have you prepared yourself to remain here?”
Han Yunxi simply tossed him a stack of letters. Too surprised to react, the Pill Furnace Master allowed them to smack him in the face.
In a furious voice, Han Yunxi said, “It’s black ink on white paper. You clearly wrote that you wanted me to provide all the ingredients for Returning Dragon Pill and even took four of my poisons! If you forgot that, I’ll give you time to read it over again!”
They were already giving him face by not exposing him entirely, but the Pill Furnace Master simply grabbed the letters and tossed them into the furnace. Despite the lack of flames, it was still radiating heat. The letters inside were abruptly reduced to ashes and vanished from sight! Pill Furnace Master was very satisfied with the results, and languidly stroked his beard with a chuckle. “Verbal statements are no guarantee. If you want the Returning Dragon Pill, stay here. There’s nothing else to discuss.”
Long Feiye prepared to draw his sword. Although this furnace wasn’t ordinary, he refused to believe that he couldn’t destroy it with his Lustbite energy! But Han Yunxi stopped him. Although she was even angrier, she held back and muttered, “Gu Qishao’s even come, so leave it to him.”
It was likely that Gu Qishao had a way to deal with Pill Furnace Master if they came along. As expected, the man took to the air and flew for the pill furnace. Seeing this, Pill Furnace Master immediately rushed forward to stop him. The pill furnace was his treasure. He wouldn’t let anyone touch it!
“I’ll ask you one more time: are you making the Returning Dragon Pill?”
“Keep that lass here. Three months later, I’ll naturally deliver Returning Dragon Pill to Three-Way Black Market!” Pill Furnace Master refused to budge an inch.
Gu Qishao didn’t lose his temper, but only chuckled and said, “Old man, do you know it’s really disgusting to go back on your words?”
Pill Furnace Master didn’t answer but kicked out with his foot. Yet Gu Qishao only avoided him before tossing the pebbles he’d hidden behind his back at the pill furnace, causing its surface to break out into clatters. Pill Furnace Master turned back hastily, giving Gu Qishao the chance to fly past him and onto the top of the furnace, where he stood. Pill Furnace Master’s eyes widened, his panic causing his beard to stick straight up.
“Youyouyou, get off from there! Right now! Otherwise I’ll roast you!”
Seeing him prepare to fly up, Gu Qishao unsheathed the Moye sword spirit and lightly dragged it against the furnace, leaving a faint, thin mark. Pill Furnace Master froze in place, his expression looking as it he’d shatter into pieces at any second..
Gu Qishao’s harmless smile intensified. “Old man, if you take another step forward, do you believe that I’ll make a mess of your furnace’s face?”
Pill Furnace Master was so scared that he nearly collapsed. Shaking, he asked, “You…you, just what do you want?”
“Aiya, old man, you still don’t know what I want? Looks like I haven’t made myself clear enough!” Gu Qishao was all innocence as he drew another long scar on the furnace with his sword.
“Don’t!” Pill Furnace Master howled like a man possessed. “I’ll make it! I’ll make the Returning Dragon Pill right now! This instant!”
But Gu Qishao wasn’t satisfied. He said…
1. Might be just me but HYX’s giving off that two-bit villain vibe again.
