The black-clothed youth’s head was still somewhat dizzy. “Medicine.” Xue Xianzi’s scalp bristled as an ominous premonition shot up his spine. His eyes rolled twice. “What’s your name?” The black-clothed youth said, “Ren Qingchou.” Xue Xianzi choked. “Your master named you?” Ren Qingchou nodded. Xue Xianzi coughed again. “I really can’t tell your master was so full of poetic sentiment – melancholy, sentimental, tender, passionate, grieving for spring and lamenting autumn… cough cough, what medicine are you guarding?” Ren Qingchou was concentrating on listening to his criticism of Qu Zhiliang – “poetic sentiment, melancholy, sentimental, tender, passionate, grieving for spring and lamenting autumn” – and was about to seriously refute when he suddenly heard the question. “Crim…” He hastily stopped speaking.
But Xue Xianzi had already heard. “Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills?” Ren Qingchou fell silent – his silence was acknowledgment, though unlike Xue Xianzi’s earlier false acknowledgment, he was an honest person. Xue Xianzi paced with hands behind his back, circling him twice more. “This is the Wind and Moon Store’s main lair?” Ren Qingchou nodded. Xue Xianzi asked again, “You’re guarding the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills here – Yu Konghou must trust you greatly?” Ren Qingchou nodded, then shook his head.
“For what reason?” Xue Xianzi stopped pacing. “For a woman?” Ren Qingchou’s face flushed red, but he nodded without hesitation. Xue Xianzi frowned. “You and your master are both good people.” Ren Qingchou’s face grew even redder, this time not just from embarrassment but also shame. Xue Xianzi turned around. “But you two… sigh… you two fools, treating women and treating swords are different. You can be focused and selfless for a sword, but you can’t be focused and selfless for a woman to the point of abandoning the most basic human qualities and morals. Women are flowers – you can like them, appreciate them, observe them, nurture them, but you don’t necessarily need to possess them. Possessing them doesn’t necessarily make you happy.” A trace of confusion appeared in Ren Qingchou’s clear eyes. “I miss her.”
“Silly boy, if you want a woman to love you, first you must make yourself valuable. It’s not that women will be moved if you’re willing to do anything for them. Women are strange creatures – they see very little of men’s virtues, but they know men’s faults like the back of their hand. You’re very obedient. For her sake, you’re willing to guard poison here. You think you’re enduring and sacrificing, and you find it sweet, but she’ll think you’re a man without principles or integrity who hasn’t struggled for the righteousness in your heart. Would a woman love a man without integrity or principles, without righteousness in his heart, who would easily harm others?” Xue Xianzi sighed and muttered to himself, “Having me say such things really doesn’t suit my status, doesn’t suit my status…”
Ren Qingchou’s eyes suddenly became alert. “I understand.” Xue Xianzi paced around him. “What do you understand?” Ren Qingchou said, “I was wrong.” Xue Xianzi sighed. “Do you truly understand your mistake?” Ren Qingchou nodded. “I understand, old senior. You came here looking for medicine, didn’t you? All of the Wind and Moon Store’s medicine supplies are here.” He pushed open the small bronze door behind him. Inside was an enormous cabinet with thousands upon thousands of drawers. If every drawer was filled with Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills, pouring them all out could drown a person.
Xue Xianzi went in and looked around. “Silly boy, Yu Konghou lets you guard all these thousands of medicines alone? He really trusts you.” Ren Qingchou’s face reddened again. “I…” Needless to say, having Ren Qingchou guard the medicine storehouse showed Yu Konghou’s great trust in him. With Ren Qingchou’s stubborn personality, guarding the medicine storehouse was most suitable.
“If I stole all the medicine here and sold it, I’d probably become rich enough to rival nations, even more ostentatious than Tang Lici.” Xue Xianzi muttered. “Too bad I hate poisons…” He pulled open a drawer, but inside wasn’t the medicine bottles he’d imagined, but rather a bundle of dried, neatly arranged flowers and herbs. “Eh?”
Ren Qingchou explained, “These are materials for refining Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills. Refining the pills requires twenty-two types of medicinal ingredients, all stored here. The finished pills are stored elsewhere, not with me.” Xue Xianzi suddenly understood. “Speaking of which, they still don’t trust you enough. Having you guard the raw materials means even if you can’t guard them well, others wouldn’t know how to refine them or even what these flowers and herbs are.” He picked up the bundle of dried grass. “But this is clearly ephedra grass – I’d recognize it even if it turned to ash.” Ren Qingchou didn’t know this was the famous Xue Xianzi, who loved only flowers and beauties in his life. He seemed very surprised that Xue Xianzi could recognize that wrinkled bundle of dried grass, and opened another drawer. “These flowers and herbs are all different.”
“Eh, this is Heaven’s Gate flower, these are Blood Fang Vine fruits, this is Bitter Winter seed.” Xue Xianzi examined each herb in the drawer. “These flowers and herbs are all quite common. I don’t think eating them all would be particularly toxic. Why are the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills so poisonous? There must be several main medicinal ingredients.” Ren Qingchou walked to the cabinet opposite and opened a middle drawer. “These strange flowers might be the main medicine.”
That drawer contained flowers that, though dried, still showed their snow-white color. The flowers were extraordinarily beautiful in form, still palm-sized even after drying. Among the pure white petals, a tuft of purple-red stamens was exceptionally striking. Even as dried flowers, they displayed a strangely vivid color.
Like dried blood.
Xue Xianzi stared fixedly at these flowers. In an instant, the frivolous expression vanished from his face. In that same instant, Ren Qingchou saw a deep weariness on his dashingly handsome face – not related to appearance, but a spiritual quality. That weary sorrow made Xue Xianzi look as if he had suddenly aged decades.
“Old senior?” Ren Qingchou asked with concern.
Xue Xianzi picked up a snow-white dried flower. “This is Solitary Branch Like Snow, a rare bloom.” His tone was very calm, revealing little emotion. “I gave my wife one when we married. This flower is very beautiful, rarely seen in the world. I didn’t tell her this flower only blooms on graves. Later my wife left home, running alone to the deep mountains and old forests of the south. When I found her, only white bones remained, and these rare flowers bloomed all over her remains.” He gently caressed the dried flower, his fingertips full of emotion. “She died in a mountain valley filled with snow-white sand and stones, everywhere blooming with Solitary Branch Like Snow. That was a burial ground with many tombstones. Those snow-white sand and stones were carved into graves, extremely hard, preserving the tomb chambers for a hundred years without decay. Many predecessors, even predecessors of predecessors, were buried there, so it bloomed full of Solitary Branch Like Snow. She found that place and died there, so I buried her there too.” He sighed softly. “I didn’t know… this flower was poisonous.”
Ren Qingchou listened to his description of that valley with surprise and couldn’t help saying, “Old senior, outside here is indeed a valley with many graves, the ground covered with snow-white sand and stones, blooming year-round with this kind of flower…” Xue Xianzi suddenly raised his head. “This place – is Bodhi Valley?” Ren Qingchou nodded. “This is Drifting Brow Garden, and outside is Bodhi Valley.”
So the Wind and Moon Store had circled around and returned to their original location. After Tang Lici swept through this place, Yu Konghou led everyone back. Though the mechanisms and secret passages were mostly destroyed, it was a place no one would imagine.
He had to send some information out, let Tang Lici know Yu Konghou had returned to Drifting Brow Garden, and also—
Xue Xianzi exhaled deeply. “Silly boy, I need to go to Bodhi Valley. Help me get out.”
But Ren Qingchou clearly understood what he wanted to do and pressed down his hand. “Old senior, getting out from here requires passing three barriers. It will definitely alert others. When the Wind and Moon Store surrounds you, with just yourself alone, there’s no chance of escape.”
“Will you accompany me?” Xue Xianzi smiled.
“Yes.” Ren Qingchou said quietly. “At the second watch of night is when this place is quietest, when all three barriers are at their most fatigued. We’ll destroy the dried flowers here first, then leave at the second watch.”
“You’re helping me – aren’t you afraid your beloved woman will be harmed?” Xue Xianzi patted his head and pinched his face. Ren Qingchou let him pinch without resistance, only saying, “I want Sister Hui to understand that I also have things I want to do.” Xue Xianzi rummaged through the medicine storehouse, checking if there were other poisonous flowers. “If your master had been half as obedient as you, he wouldn’t have died.”
“Master died because he wanted to die himself.” Ren Qingchou’s eyes remained clear and serious. “He wasn’t killed by others, just didn’t want to live anymore. When people lose their reason for living, living becomes meaningless.” Xue Xianzi stared wide-eyed at the various flowers and herbs in his hands. Regarding this distinguished disciple behind him who had profoundly understood the mortal world, he really didn’t know what else to say, and suddenly missed Tang Lici and Shui Duopo immensely.