The Elixir of Life doesn't exist...
This news was a huge blow to all the prisoners.
But no one questioned Takatsuki about it.
After all, this was something Mu Dan had personally admitted before. The possibility of her lying was...
Very low...
Although there was a desire to discuss future actions, it was already late. Ordinary people should be resting, and many people...
Probably had a lot of wild thoughts tonight.
"It's so late, aren't you resting yet?"
Standing in an open space, Takatsuki suddenly spoke while practicing his boxing in the night.
The boxing he practiced was precisely the style he had learned from Fu Hua.
It wasn't Tai Chi, but it shared the same core principles as Tai Chi.
Combining movement and stillness, cultivating body and mind.
The so-called Tao emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang, but Takatsuki was too strong, making it difficult for him to maintain this balance.
Of course, being strong isn't bad; it's just difficult to control the Tao in such a way.
Even with the balance provided by the Tiger Talisman, it was still difficult.
So he wanted to try the boxing style taught by Fu Hua.
However, after he practiced for a while longer, no one responded to his question.
"Sigh... No need to hide, I've already found you."
Sighing, Takatsuki stopped his movements and turned in one direction: "Miss Mei."
As Takatsuki's words fell, a small young girl in a Hanfu walked out from behind a large tree.
Her body was so small that a withered tree could completely obscure her.
"Is there something?"
Takatsuki looked at Mei, but she merely opened her mouth without making any sound.
"What?"
Clearly, Mei wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound.
In Mu Dan's memory, Mei used to be normal. Why was she like this now?
Were the side effects of a damaged tanden so severe?
From Mu Dan's memory, Takatsuki knew that Mei, because she disapproved of Rien using living people for experiments, had her tanden destroyed by Rien and was thrown to the apprentices below to practice bedroom arts.
Afterward, she escaped from Hōrai, and the other Tensen didn't pursue her because she no longer posed a threat.
"Stop..."
"Rien..."
Mei only managed to utter a few broken syllables.
"Stop Rien?"
Based on Mei's past experiences, Takatsuki judged that what Mei wanted to say was likely this meaning.
Seeing Mei nod, Takatsuki sighed. With a flash of golden light, a bean appeared in Takatsuki's hand.
"Here, eat this."
Takatsuki handed the senzu bean in his hand to Mei.
Mei stared blankly at the senzu bean in Takatsuki's hand, not moving, unsure if it was because Takatsuki's display had scared her or for other reasons.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but with her stammering pronunciation, Takatsuki didn't understand a single word this time.
"Alright, just eat it and you'll know."
Takatsuki guessed she was asking a question, but he was too lazy to explain anything and simply forced the senzu bean into Mei's mouth.
At this moment, Mei was just a young girl. Although she possessed a faint Tao, this small amount of Tao couldn't obstruct Takatsuki at all. She was directly forced to swallow the senzu bean.
Mei...
The names of Tensen are based on the names of their original flower bodies, so Mei's original body is a plum blossom.
But in Japanese, this name, when transliterated, has another pronunciation.
That is... Mei.
The connection between Dr. MEI and Mei in the Original World also lies here.
Although it was merely a shared name, this coincidence alone made Takatsuki feel a touch of pity for this little girl.
Not long after swallowing the senzu bean, Mei felt a surge of energy within her. Originally, the bodies of Tensen could be repaired through the Tao.
However, Rien had used a special method that prevented her from autonomously repairing her tanden.
And this special method merely prevented autonomous repair. Under the unreasonable restorative effects of the senzu bean, Mei's tanden was quickly repaired, leaving her somewhat dazed.
As her tanden was repaired, a vast amount of Tao surged from her body.
Although Takatsuki couldn't see the appearance of the Tao, he could see Mei growing at a visible rate, maturing step by step.
From the appearance of a young girl of merely five or six years old, she grew into a curvaceous, well-proportioned young woman.
Of course, while her body grew, her clothes didn't.
Although Mei's clothes were loose and her body was slender, not tearing them, the formerly loose clothes became tight, clinging to her body, and even exposing areas of her fair skin.
Although she was a Tensen, outwardly she was no different from a human.
Mei's face flushed. Although, like other Tensen, she didn't possess human ethical views, she instinctively felt shy and covered the exposed parts of her body.
"What was that just now?"
Because her tanden was repaired and the Tao was regenerated, her somewhat regressed linguistic functions also recovered.
"That was an senzu bean, something I obtained during my travels around the world. Just one can restore a person on the verge of death."
Mei was stunned upon hearing this: "Is it such a precious thing? Why did you use it on me?"
"Why?"
Takatsuki stroked his chin: "On one hand, it's probably to facilitate communication, and a part of the reason is probably because of my wife."
"Wife?"
"Yes, her name is... Raiden Mei."
Mei seemed to understand Takatsuki's motivation upon hearing his words. She still expressed her gratitude to Takatsuki.
"No need for thanks. There's nothing I want to gain from you. Rather, you, is there something you need from me?"
Takatsuki waved his hand.
"Mr. Takatsuki, I originally wanted to ask you to stop Rien, and now that I have regained my strength, I want to..."
"You want to go and die?"
Mei was choked by Takatsuki's words, her originally gentle voice suddenly caught in her throat.
"I'm not going to die... I just want to ask him why he's doing these things."
"But haven't you already asked that question? The result is already obvious, isn't it?"
Takatsuki pointed to Mei's tanden.
"How... how did you know?"
Takatsuki did not answer Mei's surprise, merely shaking his head: "Rien's strength is very great, even greater than you imagine. The current Rien alone can kill all the other Tensen. If I say that, do you still maintain your original idea?"
"This..."
Mei had always known Rien was strong, but she had never imagined the gap would be so immense.
"Mr. Takatsuki, you are very powerful. Your goal is also the Elixir of Life in Hōrai, right? Can I ask you for a favor?"
"Elixir of Life? That doesn't exist, didn't you know that from the beginning?"
Mei shook her head: "The Elixir of Life they seek, without any side effects, that grants eternal youth and immortality, indeed doesn't exist."
"But Mr. Takatsuki, what you wanted before, the Elixir of Life, I might know what that is."