Tongtian stood up, stepped closer, and slowly leaned down. Tilting his head to look at her, he casually handed her a handkerchief.
His eyes were filled with mirth. “Junior Sister, how did you... turn into a little smudge-faced cat?”
Yuan Heng put down the cauldron in her hands and took Tongtian's handkerchief. “Thank you, Senior Brother Tongtian.”
She raised her hand and wiped her face, but then it occurred to her that she could just use magic.
Yuan Heng looked at Tongtian and put the handkerchief away first. “Senior Brother Tongtian, I've learned techniques! Watch my Dust-Cleansing Technique.”
She raised her hand and lightly cast it. Soon, the dirty little soot-ball turned back into an immaculate snowy sweet.
With her appearance tidied up, she finally raised her hands to formally salute the Three Pure Ones. “Yuan Heng greets the three Senior Brothers.”
Taiqing and Yuanshi nodded slightly to her. She looked at Tongtian and finally explained the reason. “Senior Brother Tongtian, I was refining pills at home—just the most basic ones Master taught me.”
“But for some reason, the cauldron exploded every single time. And the sound of the explosion was different each time, too.”
“So I went to ask Master, and in the blink of an eye, I ended up here at Mount Kunlun.”
Yuan Heng's face flushed with embarrassment. She glanced at the cauldron floating beside her and blinked. “Senior Brother Taiqing, you are the best at refining pills. Do you think it might be because the Qiankun Cauldron isn't very suitable for pill refining?”
Qiankun Cauldron: “...”
Taiqing: “...”
Junior Sister, please don't ask him such a difficult question.
Taiqing massaged his forehead in resignation and waved her closer. “Come here and show me how you refine it.”
“Oh, okay, Senior Brother.”
Clutching the cauldron, Yuan Heng stepped closer to the stone stool where Taiqing sat. Ignoring Tongtian's expression of trying desperately to suppress his laughter, she set the cauldron down and began to demonstrate the process step by step.
“Simmer the Qingwu Ganoderma over a gentle heat, then add the Vein-Condensing Grass, then add the Shattered-Jade Vine...”
“Junior Sister, wait, don't—”
But in the next split second—Thud!
The medicinal power inside the cauldron instantly fell out of balance. The lid popped off, and a cloud of medicinal mist dispersed—the Qiankun Cauldron had exploded again.
The Three Pure Ones: “...”
Taiqing raised his hand to contain the dispersing medicinal mist.
“Do not add the Shattered-Jade Vine so hastily. You must wait for the medicinal properties in the cauldron to harmonize before adding the next herb.”
Yuan Heng's eyes widened slightly, and she blinked in complete disbelief. “Ah... so that's how it is.”
She looked at the speaker with eyes full of admiration, her gaze shining brightly. “Senior Brother Taiqing saw the root of the problem with a single glance! You truly deserve to be called the number one alchemist of the Primordial World. You're amazing~”
Taiqing: ᗜ֊ᗜ
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he waved the Eight Trigrams Fan in his hand in a very good mood. “Very well. Try again. If there is anything you do not understand, you may ask me.”
Yuanshi & Tongtian: “...”
Big Brother is suddenly talking a lot today.
Yuan Heng hurriedly bowed with clasped hands, her small face covered in a grateful smile. “Thank you, Senior Brother Taiqing~”
Taiqing nodded slightly. Tongtian stood beside Yuan Heng with his arms crossed, watching, while Yuanshi lightly tapped his fingers on the rim of his cup, looking perfectly leisurely and at ease...
After a while, a faint light surged inside the cauldron. Under the guidance of a master teacher, Yuan Heng finally succeeded in refining several lustrous, pale-pink pills—Rebirth Pills.
Taiqing looked at the quality of the pills and nodded. “Very well.”
“Though there are only five of them, their quality reaches the upper-middle grade. This is already very good.”
As the saying goes, their Junior Sister was still young; she shouldn't be judged too harshly.
Tongtian: “...”
Big Brother, I've never heard you coddle someone like this before.
What about those years when I wasn't allowed to go outside if I failed to refine top-grade items?~
Yuanshi: “...”
Well, a word of encouragement or two does no harm.
Yuan Heng: (/≧▽≦)/~┴┴
“Thank you, Senior Brother Taiqing~”
Yuan Heng was full of excitement. She knew it—how could she not be a clever egg?~
Taiqing continued to instruct her. “The path of pill refining lies in harmonization. Every spiritual herb has its own nature, which must be respected.”
“The creation of heaven and earth is originally a quiet, nurturing process. One should follow their nature, guiding and blending them together so that all spiritual opportunities can harmonize on their own. Do you understand?”
Yuan Heng nodded solemnly, her eyes full of obedience. “Mhm, mhm! Okay, Senior Brother, I've written it down.”
“Very well.”
Excellent. The task assigned by Master was complete. Completely satisfied, his mind was at peace.
“You may try refining something else. If you have any questions, I can clear them up for you.”
“Okay~”
Yuan Heng sat on her futon, looking at the large cauldron before her as she pondered what kind of pill she should refine next.
Seeing this, Tongtian slid over. He squatted beside her, a hint of playfulness showing in his eyes.
“Junior Sister, why don't I teach you how to refine something interesting?”
Yuan Heng: (。’▽’。)
“What kind of interesting thing?”
The two huddled together, whispering and muttering in discussion.
Taiqing watched with amusement, while Yuanshi helplessly raised a hand to press his forehead. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?
And yet, not long after—Boom!
A black mushroom cloud rose above Three Friends Courtyard.
Once the smoke cleared, Yuan Heng's face was pitch black. Wearing a dead-eyed expression, she stared at Tongtian, who looked exactly the same as her.
“Senior Brother Tongtian, is this... the interesting thing you talked about?”
So you were basically teaching me how to hand-craft bombs?!
Tongtian scratched his head. “I remember that's how it's done...”
A pill that could turn someone into a small animal—how did it fail?
Yuan Heng: “...”
Fine, Senior Brother Tongtian. You are hereby kicked out of my circle of pill-refining friends. Forever and ever~
By the stone table, Taiqing had long anticipated this. Looking at his lively younger brother and obedient Junior Sister, his eyes were full of ease and contentment.
How wonderful to be young.
Looking at the complete mess all over the courtyard, the veins on Yuanshi's forehead throbbed violently, his lips pressed into a tight line.
No, this won't do. Taking a step back only made him more furious the more he thought about it!
“Tong! Tian!”
Feeling the air pressure around Yuanshi dropping lower and lower, Tongtian subconsciously shrank his neck. Yuan Heng, on the other hand, meekly tucked her hands in, looking completely obedient and innocent.
Senior Brother Yuanshi, I was misled by Senior Brother Tongtian, so you can't scold me.
Tongtian subconsciously took a step back, his tone slightly pleading. “Second Brother, Second Brother, calm down! I'll clean it up, I promise!”
“Hey, hey—Second Brother, don't—ah!!!”
With a blood-curdling scream from Tongtian, birds and beasts in the forests of Mount Kunlun took flight in a panic.
Watching Tongtian's fleeing figure running for his life, Yuan Heng couldn't help but shudder.
Senior Brother Yuanshi... has quite the skills.
Also, Senior Brother's obsession with cleanliness seems a bit severe. It's a miracle he didn't throw her out when he saw her in that state earlier.
In a great mood, Taiqing waved Yuan Heng over. “Junior Sister, come sit.”
“Okay.”
Yuan Heng trotted over. Taiqing looked her over, and with a wave of his hand, she was restored to her clean appearance.
She sat on Taiqing's left, her small body sitting perfectly upright, while Tongtian's suffering was far from over.
“Leading your Junior Sister astray—you should be punished!”
“Behaving frivolously—you should be punished...”
Seeming entirely unbothered, Taiqing raised his hand to pour her a cup of green tea. “Drink.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother Taiqing.”
Yuan Heng held the teacup in her hands and took a small sip. She then let out a long sigh. The bloodline suppression from an older brother was truly terrifying.
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