Nie Shiyun had entertained many possibilities, such as Xu Yehua refusing to let matters rest and returning to cause trouble, or Duan Mingyu spreading rumors far and wide that Nie Shiyun had snatched his lover away. However, several months passed, and at the very least, neither of those scenarios had come to pass.
During this time, many disciples from the Reflecting Moon Sect who had heard the news came to the shop to visit Zhai Bairong. They were quite enthusiastic. In the past, Zhai Bairong might have looked upon their shared sect ties and treated them with hospitality in such a dangerous place as a mystic realm. However, ever since the incident with his inner demon, he had realized that to these juniors, he was merely a symbol within the sect. If he were not their high-and-mighty Senior Brother, he would be nothing to them. From then on, Zhai Bairong stopped wasting any effort on these people. When visitors came, he would come out to exchange a few perfunctory words, remaining indifferent from start to finish.
Gradually, as the number of people seeking him increased without any actual business to discuss, Zhai Bairong stopped appearing altogether. Whenever he heard that juniors from the Reflecting Moon Sect had arrived, he had Nie Shiyun inform them that he was in seclusion.
On this day, Nie Shiyun was sitting in the front of the shop as usual. Hearing someone enter, he looked up, intending to dismiss them if they were from the Reflecting Moon Sect.
When he raised his head, he froze for a moment. The newcomers were indeed from the Reflecting Moon Sect, but they were people he had not expected.
Nie Shiyun quickly scanned the pair. Only Rong Lü stood beside Duan Mingyu; Xu Yehua was nowhere to be seen. Although he didn't know their intent, it didn't look like they were there to pick a fight.
Having just been beaten in a fight and forced to flee in disgrace, these two were certainly thick-skinned to dare show their faces at the door so openly.
"Is there something you need?"
Rong Lü stood beside Duan Mingyu, watching Nie Shiyun warily without saying a word. It was Duan Mingyu who took the initiative to ask, "Where is my Senior Brother?"
"He’s in seclusion. If there’s something, you can just tell me," Nie Shiyun replied lazily.
Duan Mingyu choked on his words. He felt that amidst the chaos of their last encounter, there must have been things left unsaid. He hadn't expected that after finally gathering the courage to come—prepared to lose face just to speak clearly with his Senior Brother—he wouldn't even get to see him.
"What good would telling you do?" Duan Mingyu felt incredibly wronged. Looking at Nie Shiyun, he felt as though the man was flaunting his position. "I don't know why, but you loathe me so much. How could you possibly pass on my words truthfully? If you’re going to refuse me, there’s no need to be so hypocritical!"
Nie Shiyun nearly rolled his eyes. It was a bit cruel to say, but while it was true he loathed Xu Yehua, Duan Mingyu didn't even rank high enough in his heart to be loathed. From beginning to end, the boy was simply being sentimental and self-important. "I’m not as petty as you think. Otherwise, I would have kicked you both out by now. If you have business, speak up. If not, please see yourselves to the door."
As he spoke, he politely raised a hand to indicate that the exit was right over there.
Seeing Duan Mingyu’s stubborn insistence on seeing Zhai Bairong, Rong Lü realized the conversation was going nowhere. He took the initiative to ask, "We have high-grade Spirit-rank medicinal herbs. Can Zhai Bairong refine them?"
"I’ll have to ask about that," Nie Shiyun naturally knew Zhai Bairong could do it, but he had to keep up appearances. He glanced at Duan Mingyu and said pointedly, "However, he’s worked for you for free more than once or twice in the past. Whether he’s still willing to take on your work now, I can’t say for sure."
Hearing this, Duan Mingyu felt a mix of bitterness and anger, staring straight at Nie Shiyun. He couldn't understand why his Senior Brother would discard him for a fellow like this.
Nie Shiyun’s willingness to go and ask was actually beyond Rong Lü’s expectations. He also felt he couldn't hold his head high before an enemy they had fought with, but since it concerned the interests of their cultivation, he could only harden his heart and speak civilly. "...We will pay the market price in spirit stones."
"Wait a moment." Nie Shiyun’s tone was casual. Leaving them with those words, he stood up and went to the back.
Since it involved Duan Mingyu, he still needed to consult with Zhai Bairong.
Outside the shop, several cultivators were "repeatedly passing by," peering inside from time to time.
This time, Duan Mingyu had not used a disguise. Many cultivators had recognized him the moment he entered the trading area. Not to mention the fact that Zhai Bairong and Nie Shiyun were running a shop together and were rumored to live together; the curiosity of outsiders was already bloated to the point of exploding. Today was perfect—the "original partner" had arrived with one of his harem members to confront them. Even at the risk of being discovered and disciplined by Nie Shiyun, many couldn't resist their gossiping hearts and drew closer to observe the situation.
However, no argument broke out in the shop, nor was there the dramatic weeping and wailing they had imagined. Just as everyone was wondering what was happening, they saw Nie Shiyun emerge from the back room, followed by Zhai Bairong.
Immediately, the cultivators watching the scene on the street stopped in their tracks, every pair of eyes prying into the shop.
With a smile on his face, Nie Shiyun walked to the entrance and decisively shut the door.
The cultivators, cut off from the show and realizing they had been spotted, quickly scattered and pretended to be passing through, though they were all filled with regret.
"Senior Brother!" Duan Mingyu’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Zhai Bairong, and he called out excitedly. He hadn't expected Nie Shiyun to actually call Zhai Bairong out, nor that his Senior Brother would still be willing to see him.
"No need for pleasantries. We only just saw each other not long ago," Zhai Bairong said. As Duan Mingyu rushed toward him, he took a very obvious step back to maintain distance. "Don't waste my time. Bring out the items."
Rong Lü said in surprise, "You’re willing to help us refine pills?"
Zhai Bairong’s expression was flat. "Business is business."
Seeing his continued coldness, Duan Mingyu bit his lip and took the Ice Lotuses out of his storage ring.
Zhai Bairong had known what he was going to produce, but he had to act the part. He feigned a look of surprise. "Ice Lotuses... they are indeed good items."
Duan Mingyu said softly, "Right? I haven't found much else since entering the mystic realm, just these... When I found them, I even thought about saving two for you, Senior Brother! You can take them."
Rong Lü frowned slightly, feeling there was no need to tell Zhai Bairong this. These Ice Lotuses were the best possible items for Duan Mingyu’s spiritual root cultivation. Now that Zhai Bairong clearly wouldn't appreciate the gesture, why offer them up?
As expected, Zhai Bairong’s expression remained unmoved. He said coldly, "One should not accept rewards without merit. We no longer have any relationship. I take payment for my work; you don't need to save anything for me."
Rong Lü glanced at him and Nie Shiyun, feeling that this matter would certainly not be that simple.
Sure enough, Nie Shiyun said, "Then let’s calculate this according to market price," as he pulled out an abacus. He charged the spirit stones strictly according to the standard rate, but then his tone shifted. He mentioned that Zhai Bairong was currently busy to death, with his schedule already filled until next year. If they wanted these pills refined, they would need to pay an expedited fee.
Furthermore, Spirit-rank pills were not easy to refine, and there was always the risk of a cauldron explosion. Nie Shiyun warned the two in advance to be prepared for one-third of the Ice Lotuses to be wasted.
Duan Mingyu was so angry his chest ached. Clutching his heart, he said, "Aren't you just openly robbing us? How would I know if that one-third was actually wasted or if you pocketed it?"
Nie Shiyun shrugged. "Exactly."
Calculated this way, the loss was even greater than the two stalks Duan Mingyu had originally offered to give Zhai Bairong. Moreover, the so-called "expedited fee" was truly absurd. Duan Mingyu was stifled with frustration.
In truth, these were not considered unreasonable conditions within the alchemy industry. Alchemists taking freelance work were different from those recruited by sects; their prices were naturally higher. However, ever since Duan Mingyu had been with Zhai Bairong, he had never had to worry about such things, so he naturally didn't know.
"Senior Brother..." Duan Mingyu looked toward Zhai Bairong.
"If you find it too expensive, then I suggest you keep them until you return to the Reflecting Moon Sect and hand them over to the sect's alchemists," Zhai Bairong added.
Rong Lü did the math in his head. Ice Lotuses were rare treasures that couldn't be bought for any amount of gold. If they returned to the Reflecting Moon Sect, Duan Mingyu would have to hand over a portion to the sect anyway according to the rules. All things considered, perhaps a short-term pain was better than a long-term one.
"Fine," Rong Lü replied, reaching out to take out the spirit stones.
"Brother Rong Lü!" Duan Mingyu hadn't expected him to actually pay. He hesitantly grabbed Rong Lü’s arm.
"We don't usually have many places to spend spirit stones anyway. Now that Xu Yehua is acting alone, it’s just the two of us. If you consume these pills early and raise your cultivation to the mid-stage of the Golden Core, our future actions will be safer," Rong Lü explained.
"But..." Duan Mingyu looked at Zhai Bairong and Nie Shiyun. The two of them didn't rush him, sitting behind the counter like normal businessmen waiting for their answer.
After hesitating again and again, Duan Mingyu finally let go.
Nie Shiyun narrowed his eyes when he heard that Xu Yehua was acting alone. He had previously felt that the man’s attitude toward Duan Mingyu had shifted. Connecting this to various events, Nie Shiyun vaguely guessed that Xu Yehua might be desperately anxious to raise his cultivation. He immediately felt that he couldn't be too lax either; advancing his stage as soon as possible after leaving the mystic realm was the priority.
Zhai Bairong took the money professionally and said nothing more, merely telling Duan Mingyu to return in a few days to collect the pills.
When he returned to the jade pendant space, Meiqiu caught the scent and cried out sharply, "It’s those icy-cool lotuses!"
The two Ice Lotuses he had nimbly plucked earlier had long since been refined into pills by Zhai Bairong. Zhai Bairong had been a bit uncertain with the first batch, but the quality of the second batch was clearly excellent. Compared to consuming them directly, the two men—whose spiritual roots had nothing to do with ice or water—decisively chose to feed the pills to the space, converting them into ambient spiritual energy for cultivation with maximum efficiency. However, Meiqiu was quite greedy. Even though he knew direct consumption wasn't the most efficient use, he still wanted a taste.
Nie Shiyun was helpless. Thinking that their ability to snatch these in the first place was thanks to Meiqiu, he gave him one to "waste."
According to Meiqiu’s description, the Ice Lotus Pill was crunchy and cool, as if wind was being born inside his entire mouth—it was quite marvelous. Nie Shiyun and Zhai Bairong remarked that it probably felt similar to a mint tablet, which led Meiqiu to keep asking what kind of delicious food a "mint tablet" was.
Now that Nie Shiyun was demanding a third of the lotuses as "wastage," Meiqiu would be able to beg for two more pills to eat, putting him in a great mood.
"Did that sinister guy come too?" Meiqiu asked, a bit late to the realization.
"He wasn't there." Zhai Bairong shook his head. Although he hadn't discussed it much with Nie Shiyun, his guess was identical. He didn't know at which step it had started, but Xu Yehua had also broken away from the original Heavenly Dao, developing along a path they could not predict.
If he left and never returned, only Rong Lü would be left by Duan Mingyu’s side. Thinking back to how his own inner demon had been born from this matter, leaving him depressed and unhappy, and how now he and Xu Yehua had both left voluntarily—leaving Rong Lü to inexplicably obtain the result he wanted—Zhai Bairong couldn't help but feel that perhaps this was simply the fickleness of the world.
As for whether Duan Mingyu would take a fancy to someone else in the future, it no longer had anything to do with him, Zhai Bairong.
With no stray thoughts in his mind, Zhai Bairong felt his Dao heart was incredibly clear at this moment. He sat down quietly to start the fire for the alchemy furnace. Seeing that he was about to refine pills, Meiqiu didn't dare to be noisy, waiting off to the side for his snacks to come out of the furnace.
***
