Eastern Mountain. Shumei Residence.

Several cranes strolled leisurely by the pond. Summer’s end and autumn’s beginning—the vegetation remained lush and flourishing, yet already carried subtle hints of autumn’s colors. Lin Bu had recovered from his injuries, his mood peaceful, walking alone by the pond’s edge.

“Wearing my cap, leaning against the gentle breeze, within the spring colors of the brushwood fence. Grass grows thick with pink butterflies dancing, the warm forest drops green insects. Carrying wine for whom might this be? Moving flowers, only this old man alone. The hermit affairs of Yu Ling, our pure pursuits are not the same.”

He casually composed this poem—a work from early in the year. He wasn’t particularly satisfied with it himself, but since he felt like reciting, he indulged his whim and recited one.

“Oh my, the great poet is reciting poetry! I’ll leave right away, my apologies—I’m just passing through. You take your time reciting. When you’ve recited enough, or when there’s not enough to recite, you can call me to help you recite, or call me to help you compose poems too.” Someone sauntered slowly from behind, dressed in yellow robes with a red fan, gently waving it. “Actually though, I’ve come to inform you that dinner is ready tonight. If you don’t want to eat, I can help you eat. If you can’t finish eating, I can help you throw it away…”

“Sigh…” Lin Bu let out a breath. Though he had no intention of being sarcastic, Fang Pingzhai really was full of nonsense, going on endlessly. “Did you make any progress with alchemy today?”

Fang Pingzhai hummed in acknowledgment. “You’re quite concerned about alchemy! Actually, alchemy has nothing to do with you whatsoever. Whether it succeeds or fails, you’re not the one who’ll die. Whether there’s progress or not is just meaningless talk to you, so—I won’t tell you. Come on, time to eat.”

Lin Bu sighed softly. “Miss Yu…” He hesitated, words unfinished.

Fang Pingzhai waved his fan with a smile. “What about her? Don’t tell me you harbor some ulterior motives toward that hideously ugly little miss?”

Lin Bu replied, “How could I? Miss Yu is of good character and kind nature—naturally I’m concerned about her.”

Fang Pingzhai walked ahead. “There are countless people of good character and kind nature in this world. Can you care about them all? People are bound to die—it’s just a matter of sooner or later. Will your worrying about her prevent her death? Will her dying first prevent your own death? Wait until you become an immortal demon who lives for ten thousand years before concerning yourself with others.”

Lin Bu smiled serenely. “Master Fang’s theories are indeed incisive and truly extraordinary.” That Fang Pingzhai could actually say something with two or three points of reason was quite beyond his expectations.

The two hadn’t walked far before returning to Lin Bu’s residence on Eastern Mountain, called Shumei Residence.

Liu Yan’s alchemy room emanated a strange odor. Each day, no one knew what he was concocting inside. Fang Pingzhai was extremely curious, but firstly, Liu Yan wouldn’t let him enter the room, and secondly, once when he had snuck in while Liu Yan was away and touched some colorless medicinal liquid in the various bottles and jars, after the liquid dried, his finger had split with a wound like a knife cut, yet it didn’t bleed. Since then, he never dared explore the alchemy room again. Liu Yan lived in the alchemy room, and except for eating meals and washing, he rarely set foot outside. Yet Yu Tuan’er was constantly coming and going, extremely busy.

“Are you making grass juice or vegetable paste?” At the dinner table, Liu Yan was looking coldly at Yu Tuan’er. Fang Pingzhai craned his neck to look and saw four dishes and one soup on the table. That one bowl of soup was emerald green in color, a mass like vegetable mud—no one knew what strange thing it was.

At one glance, Lin Bu called out, “Auntie Ru, this is…”

“This is what Miss Yu made herself, Young Master,” Auntie Ru, who was serving nearby, said respectfully.

Yu Tuan’er had already picked up her bowl and chopsticks, but upon hearing this, she set them down. “These are tea leaves! So many tea leaves—after you boiled them, you just threw them away. What a waste! Tea leaves aren’t poisonous, they smell fragrant. I mashed them into paste and added salt. It’s very delicious.”

Fang Pingzhai slapped his own head with one palm, shaking his head wordlessly. Lin Bu smiled bitterly. Liu Yan said coldly, “Throw it out.”

Yu Tuan’er frowned. “If you won’t eat it, others can! Why must something be thrown away just because you won’t eat it?”

Liu Yan said flatly, “No one is allowed to eat it.”

Yu Tuan’er said, “You’re a really bad person. I won’t listen to you.” She picked up her rice bowl and ate, accompanied by that bowl of strange tea leaf paste, eating with great relish.

“Uh… Little Bai, didn’t anyone tell you that when eating, you must wait for your elders to sit first, wait for your elders to eat first, and only then can you eat?” Fang Pingzhai pointed his red fan at Yu Tuan’er’s head. “Although you’re now my future master’s assistant, I’m older than you, more experienced than you, and especially have higher taste in delicious food than you, so—”

Yu Tuan’er frowned. “You clearly came in long ago and just stood there not eating. Why should I wait for you? You could sit down and eat yourself.”

Fang Pingzhai shook his head and sighed. “You really give me such a headache. To think that I, Fang Pingzhai, have roamed the martial world my entire life without meeting a worthy opponent, yet my current situation is truly pitiful and lamentably tragic!” Having said this, he sat down, picked up his rice and ate—naturally, he wouldn’t touch that bowl of tea leaf paste.

“If you’ve roamed the martial world without meeting a worthy opponent, why do you follow Brother Liu wanting to learn his sonic killing technique?” Yu Tuan’er ate no slower than him. “You’re talking nonsense again.”

Fang Pingzhai said, “Well… because I only encountered small fry, so naturally I never met a worthy opponent. Someone like me who has walked the martial world for several years—everything I’ve seen and encountered were all small characters I could kill with one move. I haven’t even witnessed many injustices. It’s truly the tragedy of a martial artist! To think I’ve traveled from east to west, from south to north—the Central Plains beneath my feet, sun and moon accompanying me for a thousand li. Naturally, this can be called roaming the martial world…”

Yu Tuan’er said impatiently, “Stop talking! I don’t want to hear it. You’re so long-winded!”

Liu Yan stared coldly at that bowl of strange tea leaf paste, slowly picked up his bowl, and ate a mouthful of plain rice. Yu Tuan’er suddenly said, “Weren’t you not going to eat?”

Liu Yan was struck speechless, holding his rice bowl—neither putting it down nor keeping it up. After a while, he snorted and set down his bowl and chopsticks. He pushed the wheelchair that Yu Tuan’er had made for him and returned to his alchemy room.

Lin Bu couldn’t help but find it amusing. He sat down in his chair and picked up his bowl to eat. Not one of these three people was capable of self-restraint and forbearance. When the three gathered together, they would inevitably quarrel from time to time. Having watched for a long time, he had grown accustomed to it.

Fang Pingzhai extended his chopsticks to snatch away the essence of all the dishes on the table, ate his fill, then crossed his legs. “Actually—you really offended him just now. Although he’s my future master and I shouldn’t speak ill of him behind his back, he really loves face. Your mind is like the neck of those cranes running around outside—straight and long—so the words you speak aren’t just ordinarily harsh, but extremely harsh. That he’s tolerated you until now without casually poisoning you to death, I consider it a miracle already. So you’d better not provoke him anymore. Be more careful with your words in the future—it can only help, not hurt.”

“Is he really angry?” Yu Tuan’er asked in a low voice.

Fang Pingzhai laughed with a “ha” sound. “He won’t really be angry with you. After all, you’re not the person he wants to be angry with.”

Yu Tuan’er wrinkled her brow. “Then who is the person he wants to be angry with?”

Fang Pingzhai gently waved his red fan. “Tsk—talking about such matters behind my future master’s back without his permission is very immoral. If you want to know, why don’t you go ask him yourself? It would be best to bring him food while you’re at it, and swear you’ll never make such strange things again. If his mood improves, he might tell you.”

Yu Tuan’er looked at him. “How do you know who the person he wants to be angry with is?”

Fang Pingzhai coughed. “Naturally it’s because I’m his dear future good disciple—our friendship is naturally extraordinary.”

Yu Tuan’er glared at him again, picked up her rice bowl, put some leftover dishes on top of plain rice, and carried it into the alchemy room.

“Master Fang truly is an extraordinary person,” Lin Bu said, eating slowly. “Actually, Brother Hei treats Miss Yu quite well.”

Fang Pingzhai laughed heartily. “I’m even more devoted to my future master, but who knows when I’ll be able to move his heart of stone and achieve my wish? Poor Fang Pingzhai indeed!” He covered his head with his red fan, shaking his head deeply. “But my patience has always been extraordinary—haha!”

Lin Bu smiled. Although he didn’t understand what Fang Pingzhai wanted to learn from Liu Yan, this person wasn’t really very annoying.

In the alchemy room.

Liu Yan sat in his wheelchair facing the person-tall medicine vat and the various strangely shaped bottles and jars throughout the room, eyes closed, saying nothing. Yu Tuan’er entered carrying rice. “Are you really angry?”

Liu Yan didn’t answer. Yu Tuan’er placed the rice on a nearby table. “You’re such a grown person—how can you still get angry over such things? You’re not a child.”

Liu Yan said flatly, “Get out!”

Yu Tuan’er deliberately didn’t leave. She sat down in front of his wheelchair, propping her chin in her hands as she looked at him. “Are you angry with me, or angry with someone else?”

Liu Yan said coldly, “Get out!”

“If you’re always angry with someone else, you shouldn’t make me feel like I’m the one making you unhappy! Although I was wrong—I cooked tea leaf paste without telling you…” Yu Tuan’er pounded her legs. “If you’re in a bad mood, telling someone your troubles will make you feel more relaxed.”

Liu Yan noticed her pounding her legs, his eyes moving slightly. “Are your legs sore?”

Yu Tuan’er sighed. “A little. I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

Liu Yan said, “Pull up your skirt and let me see.”

Yu Tuan’er hesitated for a moment, then pulled her hem up to her knees. What had once been snow-white, delicate calves were now somewhat withered and thin, the skin covered with fine lines, already showing signs of aging.

After Liu Yan looked, he had her lower her skirt. After a long silence: “You’re going to die soon.”

“I know.” Yu Tuan’er said calmly. “Perhaps before you finish refining the medicine, I’ll already be dead.”

Liu Yan paused, his voice rarely gentle. “Are you… afraid?”

Yu Tuan’er glanced at him. “I’m afraid. Who isn’t afraid of dying? But being afraid is one thing—when it’s time to die, I’ll still have to die.”

Liu Yan asked quietly, “Don’t you feel it’s unfair? Life comes only once, yet yours has been so miserable. You’re going to die at such a young age, without having tried anything.”

Yu Tuan’er sighed. “Yes! I’ve never married, never had children, yet I’m going to die. But I don’t feel it’s been too miserable, because before dying, you’re refining medicine for me, wanting to save my life.” Her eyes were always direct, and direct gazes were consistently hard for people to bear, so Liu Yan avoided her gaze. He only heard her continue, “I don’t know many people. Only you truly want to save me—not just in words, but in actions too. I think…” She said quietly, “I think it’s very precious. Even living briefly, being able to know one person who’s truly good to you is already worthwhile, even though you’re a great villain.”

“I’m only using you to test medicine—I’m not truly being good to you.” Liu Yan looked at her coldly. “Why say such touching things to yourself? Those are clearly fantasies.”

Yu Tuan’er shrugged. “You just like making yourself sound bad.”

Liu Yan closed his eyes again. “So young, yet thinking so much.”

Yu Tuan’er said, “I…”

Liu Yan suddenly moved his wheelchair, taking out a teacup of pale green liquid from beneath the giant ceramic jar. It contained not just tea, but many other unknown substances. He handed the teacup to Yu Tuan’er. “There wasn’t time to completely refine it. Whether you live or die depends on your luck. Do you dare drink it?”

Yu Tuan’er was startled and took the teacup. “This is the medicine?”