Chapter 130: The Red Pill

Chen Jianchen had a dream in which he faintly heard two tiny figures, no larger than thumbs, whispering to each other. Their voices were so low that he could barely catch any words, only fragments like “fear the healer, must quickly find a place to hide” and so on... Then, he plunged into boundless darkness.

That night, Chen Jianchen was seized by a high fever, his face flushed crimson, parched lips cracked, and his complexion pale as paper. Huangfu Yuanwai was beside himself with worry. Though he was a fox spirit with profound cultivation, he was not well-versed in the art of medicine—the craft of healers was not something a cultivator automatically mastered. Cultivators were cultivators, not immortals or Buddhas.

Huangfu Yuanwai had some medicine on hand, but it was utterly ineffective against Chen Jianchen’s raging fever. The only solution was to summon a doctor from the city mansion in Suzhou. However, it was still the early hours before dawn; the city gates remained closed. Even if he used a teleportation spell to enter, it would be nearly impossible to bring a doctor out.

In a flash, several thoughts swirled through his mind but were quickly dismissed. Despite being an old fox spirit, he felt powerless—and even more so because he had sensed a formidable aura within three miles of the daughter’s tribulation.

That aura seemed familiar—it had to be Erqing.

On that very night, when Erqing was undergoing her tribulation, Huangfu Yuanwai had interrupted it prematurely. At dawn, Erqing revealed her True Form of the Eighth Transition, striking Huangfu Yuanwai down and nearly ending his life. What happened afterward, he knew nothing. Later, rumors spread that Li Yifeng had requested Master Zhang to slay the serpent demon with a flying sword. Huangfu Yuanwai sneered at the tale, dismissing it entirely.

So now, with Erqing appearing near Huzhuang, what were her intentions? Benevolent or malevolent? Huangfu Yuanwai had no way of knowing.

Once, he had been Erqing’s master, raising her for many years as they performed on the streets together. Erqing was obedient and well-behaved then. But recently, having seized a rare opportunity, she opened her spiritual orifices, gained independent intelligence, and began devouring humans. Their relationship soured. Huangfu Yuanwai wanted to drive Erqing back to the deep mountains and marshes, but she refused. That night, their fierce conflict left a deep grudge.

Now, with Erqing lingering near Huzhuang and her aura even stronger than before, Huangfu Yuanwai knew without doubt she was not there to make peace.

Erqing’s presence meant he dared not leave Huzhuang lightly. To make matters worse, Chen Jianchen suddenly fell ill, unconscious, and the pressure both inside and outside weighed heavily on him.

“Father, what’s wrong with sir?” Jiaona rushed into the room in disarray, clearly just awakened.

Huangfu Yuanwai frowned. “Na’er, you just completed your tribulation. You need to rest more.”

Jiaona hurried to Chen Jianchen’s bedside, seeing his face flushed from fever, and grasped his hand tightly. “Father, what’s wrong with sir?”

Huangfu Yuanwai shook his head with a sigh. “I suspect he was overexerted fighting his inner demons, causing his spirit to falter. The evil cold energy invaded his heart and lungs; the disease has deeply rooted itself.”

“What?” Jiaona gasped, startled. “Doesn’t sir have righteous energy protecting him, making him immune to all evil?”

Huangfu Yuanwai smiled bitterly. “His cultivation of immortal energy is still shallow; he has not yet reached such a supreme realm.”

Upon hearing this, Jiaona burst into tears. “If sir dies for me, then what life do I have?”

Behind her, Songniang landed on Yuanwai’s shoulder, her cries mournful and piercing.

Suddenly Jiaona sat up, cupping Chen Jianchen’s head, prying open his mouth with her fingers. Her brow lowered as Huangfu Yuanwai shouted, “Na’er, what do you intend to do?”

Jiaona hesitated, tears falling. “Father, is there any other way? Besides this?”

Huangfu Yuanwai’s eyes glistened with tears too. “But this will cost you a hundred years of your cultivation. Are you sure?”

Jiaona’s expression was resolute. “Sir taught me that when one receives a drop of kindness, one must repay with a spring. Now sir is ill because of me. If it costs a hundred years of my power, or even my life, I will exchange it for his.”

“Very well!” Huangfu Yuanwai clapped his hands. “Na’er, to speak so shows your understanding through your studies.”

Then Jiaona exhaled gently, releasing a crimson pill from her mouth—round and radiant with a faint halo, strikingly beautiful. The pill hovered on her tongue as if alive. She bent down, blew onto Chen Jianchen, and used her fragrant tongue to push the pill into his mouth, swallowing with a soft sound.

“Shh! Don’t look, it’s embarrassing!” Songniang suddenly spoke human words, raising her wings before her eyes, though secretly peeking through the feathers.

Huangfu Yuanwai scolded her gruffly. “Always so talkative.” He took the bird away from the room, determined to meet Erqing again. No matter what, he had to understand her intentions.

Stepping outside the estate, seeing no one around, he formed a hand seal. “Wind, waft!” He felt weightless as he swiftly flew to the mountain ridge behind the estate. In mere breaths, he arrived.

“Erqing, I know you’re here!” Huangfu Yuanwai scanned the area.

Soon, rustling arose; from the forest emerged a giant serpent with a red mark on its forehead—it was Erqing.

Huangfu Yuanwai shouted, “Erqing, will you not change your wicked nature and continue devouring humans?”

Erqing remained silent, gazing at Huangfu Yuanwai. Suddenly, her enormous head gently touched the ground in a kowtow. Then, turning, she parted the bushes and swiftly vanished.

Huangfu Yuanwai was stunned. What did that mean? A farewell?

He hesitated, murmuring to himself, “Very well, if she chooses to retreat, she likely will not cause harm again. I need not interfere too much.”

“Master, is this serpent one you raised as well?” Songniang finally recovered from her shock.

Huangfu Yuanwai laughed. “Indeed… but when I first raised her, she was barely a foot long. Only by letting her roam free did she grow this large. Otherwise, I might as well have let you roam free too.”

“Ha! I like to keep my figure!” The bird proudly lifted her neck and flapped her wings, flying back to the estate to see if the “show” between Jiaona and Chen Jianchen was still ongoing.

Unexpectedly, upon entering through the window, she saw Jiaona and Chen Jianchen had already parted. Jiaona was carefully pressing a damp towel to Chen Jianchen’s forehead.

“Na’na, finished kissing already? Ah, sir’s really in trouble this time!” Songniang flitted about, glancing at Chen Jianchen and then at Jiaona, her eyes darting mischievously.

“Ask for a beating!” Jiaona raised her hand to strike but suddenly felt dizzy, unable to summon any strength.

Songniang hurriedly said, “Na’na, I’m joking. Don’t get upset!”

Jiaona glared but her gaze softened, watching the steady breathing and cooling fever of the sir. Actually, sir was quite handsome—his brows sharp as swords, nose straight and prominent, lips tightly pressed into a line of determination. Wait, what am I thinking?

Suddenly, her heart raced, cheeks flushed. She quickly stood and took a deep breath. “Songniang, stay here with sir. If anything happens, tell me or father immediately.”

With that, she staggered back to her room to rest.

By feeding the crimson inner alchemical pill with her tongue into Chen Jianchen’s mouth, Jiaona was using a life-critical method to purge the deeply embedded disease. It would drain a century’s worth of her cultivation. Without sheer willpower, she might have collapsed on the spot.

By dusk, Chen Jianchen slowly awakened, with no memory of what had transpired. He felt weak all over but mentally clear, with no other discomfort.

Upon hearing the news, Huangfu Yuanwai personally brought a cup of fine ginseng broth for Chen Jianchen to drink. Jiaona, meanwhile, had slept for three full days before waking, her stomach growling with hunger.

She ate five roasted chickens in succession, barely satisfying her appetite.

These sudden events disrupted their plans; they could not leave promptly but thankfully, no other incidents occurred during that time.

Five days later, Huangfu Yuanwai unexpectedly gathered all the estate’s servants, announcing that he and his daughter would move far away to the capital. He issued a dismissal order, giving each servant ten silver ingots and sending them home.

The servants were shocked but accepted the generous payment without protest. Jiaona’s maid, Little Chrysanthemum, was reluctant to leave, begging to stay by her mistress’s side. But Jiaona was bound for deep mountain seclusion to cultivate and could not keep her. After a stern reprimand, she was given an extra ten silver ingots.

Huangfu Yuanwai had managed the Suzhou estate for many years, known for generosity but had not amassed great wealth. Along with the proceeds from selling the estate, the total sum amounted to five hundred silver ingots.

All this fortune was deposited in the official royal bank, the Grand Prosperity Bank, under the account name: Chen Jianchen.

After the servants departed, only Huangfu Yuanwai, his daughter, Songniang, and Chen Jianchen remained. Since Huangfu Yuanwai and Jiaona insisted on personally escorting Chen Jianchen back to Jiangzhou, they set off together without magical means, traveling by a hired horse-drawn carriage.

During these final days together, Chen Jianchen drank with Huangfu Yuanwai and hurriedly tutored Jiaona in her studies.

Yet, there is no feast that never ends. No matter how reluctant Jiaona was, they finally reached Jiangzhou city.

Outside the east gate, the three disembarked. They bade farewell. Jiaona clung tightly to Chen Jianchen’s sleeve for a long while before letting go, then grasped a calligraphy scroll he had left behind.

Chen Jianchen waved his hand. “Yuanwai, Miss Huangfu, farewell. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”

“Indeed. Take care, Immortal-in-training.”

Chen Jianchen smiled brightly at Jiaona, then turned and strode boldly into Jiangzhou alongside other returning townsfolk.

“Father, sir has left...” Jiaona collapsed into her father’s arms, weeping uncontrollably.

Huangfu Yuanwai was silent. Opening the scroll Chen Jianchen had left, he saw a line of elegant poetry:

“Though I tread the green mountains, I am not old; The green mountains are my home wherever I go.”