Seeing Li Kaixiang’s skepticism, Liu Zongyuan quickly stepped in to mediate. “Immortal Yuan, I’ve tried your pills and naturally have complete faith in you. But this is my brother’s first time hearing about this. I know the pills are precious, but considering our long acquaintance, could you let my brother try one first? If it works, he’ll surely reward you generously for your help.”
Hearing Liu Zongyuan’s words, Li Kaixiang’s expression brightened.
He didn’t disbelieve Yuan Bayuan, but their mysterious talk made him doubtful. They spoke with such certainty about something he hadn’t personally experienced, making it hard for him to accept.
Yuan Bayuan lowered his eyes in thought for a moment:
“Very well. I’ve known Zongyuan for a long time and trust his character. Since we’re all brothers here, I’ll give Brother Li one pill for free out of respect for you. As for its potency, Brother Li can take it with warm water before intimacy tonight and see for himself.”
With that, Yuan Bayuan took out a small bottle, poured one pill into his hand, and presented it to Li Kaixiang.
The issue of impotence had made Li Kaixiang extremely insecure, especially as it had plagued him for so long, leaving him unable to face his wives and concubines.
Since Yuan Bayuan was letting him try it first, he wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
As night fell, Li Kaixiang eagerly took his favorite concubine to their chamber. He took the pill as Yuan Bayuan had instructed. That night, he indeed regained his former virility.
Even his concubine remarked on the change, treating him more tenderly.
Li Kaixiang was completely won over by the pill and believed in it wholeheartedly.
Afterward, Li Kaixiang became utterly dependent on these pills, taking one almost daily.
Though expensive, the pills were extremely effective.
By now, Li Kaixiang was intoxicated by this newfound pleasure. Not only did he fully believe in the pills, but he also became sworn brothers with Liu Zongyuan and treated Yuan Bayuan as an honored guest, calling him “Immortal Yuan” just like Liu Zongyuan did.
The three often drank and made merry together, discussing the art of immortality, and living quite happily.
But friendships built on money and dependency ultimately can’t last long. After a short while, Li Kaixiang’s savings were depleted.
The harvest from his farms hadn’t come in yet, and Li Kaixiang urgently needed money. He thought of his younger brother, Li Kairui.
Having relied on each other for so many years, and with their family now quite wealthy, he was sure his brother wouldn’t refuse a loan.
Sure enough, Li Kairui lent him the money without even asking why.
With the borrowed money, Li Kaixiang continued his carefree lifestyle with Liu Zongyuan and Yuan Bayuan for a while. But the pills were so expensive that before long, his purse was empty again.
After borrowing from his brother twice, Li Kaixiang felt embarrassed to ask again. Moreover, he had been enjoying bedroom pleasures tirelessly for so long.
He naively thought perhaps his body had recovered, so he tried stopping the pills. But just two or three days after stopping, he felt powerless again.
Yuan Bayuan also told him the pills needed to be taken long-term, for at least several courses of treatment.
He had only been taking them for a little over a month. If he stopped now, all his progress would be lost.
This deeply disturbed Li Kaixiang. He didn’t want to return to his former weak, impotent state.
Since he couldn’t bring himself to ask his brother again, he turned to other relatives, approaching his brother-in-law Ji Dafu.
Though Ji Dafu had a good relationship with Li Kaixiang, he was puzzled by his sudden request to borrow money.
Li Kaixiang was from a wealthy family, and there had been no recent news of any major incidents involving money. Why would he suddenly come asking for a loan?
Politely, Ji Dafu invited Li Kaixiang to the guest room. After three rounds of tea, Ji Dafu began to inquire, “Brother, have you encountered some difficulty lately?”
Hearing this, Li Kaixiang hurriedly shook his head. “No, no. I just need some funds for cash flow and wanted to borrow from you.”
The production of such pills was already frowned upon, let alone for bedroom pleasures. Li Kaixiang simply couldn’t bring himself to say it.
As he answered, his eyes shifted nervously. Ji Dafu noticed this and sensed something was amiss. “Is there a problem with the farms affecting the harvest?”
“It has nothing to do with the farms. It’s just some personal matters. Don’t ask too much, just lend your brother some money if you can.”
Li Kaixiang mumbled evasively. Ji Dafu wasn’t so easily fooled and saw through his act.
Seeing Li Kaixiang unwilling to elaborate, Ji Dafu knew further questioning would be fruitless. He lent Li Kaixiang the money but then secretly followed him.
Passing by Li Kairui’s house, Ji Dafu suddenly stopped, puzzled.
The two were brothers with substantial wealth. Why didn’t he borrow from his brother instead of his brother-in-law?
Confused, Ji Dafu went to see Li Kairui first. Learning that Li Kaixiang had already borrowed twice without showing any intention of repaying, Ji Dafu felt the situation was even more troubling.
“Did your brother show any unusual behavior when he came to borrow money?”
Prompted by Ji Dafu’s question, Li Kairui also grew suspicious. “He just said he was short on cash and wanted to borrow some for cash flow. We’ve been close since childhood, so I lent it to him without a second thought. Now that you mention it, it does seem strange.”
“How so?”
“When my brother came to borrow money, he seemed flustered, as if he couldn’t look me in the eye. I thought he might have lost money gambling and was ashamed to face me, but now I think there might be more to it.”
Ji Dafu pondered. If it was just gambling debt, that wouldn’t be too bad. But when he saw him today, Li Kaixiang looked gaunt, as if in poor health, which didn’t fit with gambling.
To get to the bottom of this, the two decided to go to Li Kaixiang’s house together to investigate.
When they arrived, the front door was tightly shut, as if no one was home. Puzzled, they climbed over the back wall.
As soon as they landed, they saw a small, extremely secluded building that hadn’t been there before. Wisps of smoke were rising from inside.
The smell wasn’t like cooking. What could be going on?
The two moved closer to investigate and were shocked to discover it was an alchemist’s workshop. Inside was something like an eight-trigram furnace, apparently in the process of refining some kind of pill.
This was serious!