Chu Liuyue had mixed emotions when she saw the man in white standing tall halfway up the mountain. Just a month ago, he was a high and mighty senior, and I was a freshman who had just joined the academy. But we’re going to stay together now, and he even wants to ‘guide me along?!’ What on earth happened in the past month?
Elder Wan Zheng didn’t notice her expression. With a laugh, he speedily flew over to Rong Xiu’s side and landed in front of him.
Chu Liuyue had no choice but to follow him.
“That’s early of you, Rong Xiu!” Elder Wan Zheng greeted Rong Xiu cheerfully.
Rong Xiu smiled and nodded. “I had nothing to do, so I came straight here to wait for you after hearing that you had gone to fetch Chu Yue. I can’t possibly make you wait for me, right?”
Elder Wan Zheng couldn’t be more pleased to hear that. Hear that?! He’s saying how much he respects my precious student and me! Nobody else in Ling Xiao Academy can receive such treatment from him. Chu Yue will surely learn a lot under his wings!
“Hey, Chu Yue. Why aren’t you saying anything?” Elder Wan Zheng urged his disciple to come forward. “Aren’t you guys acquainted?”
We’re more than just acquaintances. Chu Liuyue maintained a smile on her face. “Hello, Senior…”
Rong Xiu’s deep, warm gaze swept over her face. “It looks like you’ve spent a pretty good time at Fengmin Mountain.” Not only is she looking better than before, but her strength has also increased. She also probably… remembers a lot more things now.
Chu Liuyue raised her eyebrows. “Not as well as you, Senior, seeing how you managed to make so many arrangements in just the span of one month.”
Although Elder Wan Zheng could feel the slightly strange atmosphere between the two, he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he excitedly said, “Hurry up and refine the pill now, Chu Yue. Let me see how much you’ve improved!”
Actually, he had a feeling that Chu Yue could do it when he saw the latter coming out of Fengmin Mountain earlier, but he wanted to confirm it for himself so that he could have peace of mind.
Knowing that her master was hung up over this matter in the past month, Chu Liuyue nodded. “Okay.”
…
Chu Liuyue chose to refine the pill that she didn’t manage to finish refining the last time. One reason was that she could save herself a great deal of trouble since she could use the herbs she hadn’t used up the last time. Another reason was that Elder Wan Zheng thought she could only refine one type of ninth-grade pill, so it only made sense to refine that particular pill.
Once she was done preparing, she started refining the pill. The process was so much smoother than last time since her ability in all aspects had improved over the month. From gathering the herbs to refining them, everything was done in an orderly manner, much to Elder Wan Zheng’s satisfaction.
I knew it! This kid is obviously much calmer and more skilled when handling the herbs this time. His control over the flame is basically perfect too. To think I was a little worried that he’d forget everything after getting locked up at Fengmin Mountain for a month. I can finally put my mind to rest now! Elder Wan Zheng couldn’t resist showing off to Rong Xiu, who was right next to him. “Rong Xiu, what do you think about my new student?”
Rong Xiu raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled. “Very good. He’s… indeed better and much more outstanding than many other people.”
Elder Wan Zheng chuckled. “Oh right, both of you have known each other for a long time! Then, I guess you’ve long found out about his talent in this area!”
Rong Xiu didn’t say anything, but the smile on his face was a clear acknowledgment.
“I never heard you mention that you knew such a talented junior! You should’ve asked him to join the academy long ago!” said Elder Wan Zheng with a stroke of his beard. Of course, it’s not too late now. Chu Yue is only 16, so he still has a lot of potential!
Just then, a faint herbal fragrance permeated the air. It turned out that Chu Liuyue was already beginning to form the pill.
As Elder Wan Zheng stared at the fist-sized pill hovering quietly in the red flame, he couldn’t help but rub his palms together. It looks like he’s going to succeed this time!
At the thought of that, his smile widened as he said to Rong Xiu, “You don’t know this, but Chu Yue actually almost succeeded on his first attempt at refining this pill! It was a shame that blabbermouth Hua Feng suddenly came over and said that you had been besieged. In his moment of distraction, that pill was destroyed at the last step! Sigh… He could’ve broken through to become a ninth-grade heavenly doctor back then!”
Rong Xiu narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly while smiling in amusement. His usually cold expression became more alive in that instant.
“Oh, is that so?” His deep voice was pleasing to the ears. “It turns out that Chu Yue is so concerned about me…”
“Of course, he is! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed the last time!” Elder Wan Zheng didn’t notice anything wrong with Rong Xiu’s tone and nodded in agreement. “He lied to me back then, saying that he wanted to go back and work on the pill on his own, but he snuck out in the end. Now that I think about it, he was obviously worried about you!” If not, he wouldn’t have appeared at Rong Xiu’s side at the time. There’s no way he didn’t know how dangerous that melee was to him—a seventh-grade warrior—but he went into it all the same. That is already enough to explain everything!
Rong Xiu’s smile deepened slightly.
Bam!
Chu Liuyue slammed a palm against the cauldron.
