On the afternoon of the second day, Gu Xuan and Xue Qinghe met in the gardens. After several months apart, Xue Qinghe seemed to have matured a few shades further.
The current Xue Qinghe—or rather, Qian Renxue—should be twenty-two years old. Gu Xuan recalled that in the original story, she was twenty-nine when she first appeared, already a Soul Saint. With seven years to go before her identity was exposed, she likely hadn't reached the Soul Saint rank yet, but she was at least a Soul Emperor. A twenty-two-year-old Soul Emperor... such talent was worthy of a God-level Martial Soul with Rank 20 innate soul power.
The two sat opposite each other in a pavilion, watching the lotus flowers bloom in the pond. On the table were prepared lotus seed snacks. Gu Xuan sipped his fruit tea while observing Xue Qinghe.
Xue Qinghe was barely adjusting to Gu Xuan's new look. When she first saw him, she hadn't dared to recognize him, thinking he was a new student. How could someone change so much in a few months? 'Did he really go for plastic surgery?' she wondered.
Still, she had to admit Gu Xuan was far more charming than before and seemed significantly more mature. 'Damn it,' she thought. 'It's bad enough he's a lady-killer; now he's a man-killer too.'
"What's wrong? Have we grown distant after a few months apart?" Xue Qinghe suddenly asked, glancing at him.
Gu Xuan put down his cup and smacked his lips. "Big Brother, what kind of talk is that? You have no idea what I've been through these past few months. It was a life comparable to purgatory. I'm more than happy to see you."
Hearing this, Xue Qinghe silently analyzed the information for any grains of truth. She studied him carefully before asking, "Where did you go? My teacher wasn't at the Clan either."
Direct. She was using her identity as Ning Fengzhi's disciple to ask plainly.
Gu Xuan curled his lip. "Where else? The Star Dou Forest. Big Brother, I'm telling you, that place is not fit for humans. The first few days were fine—I treated it like a vacation—but after that, I almost couldn't stop myself from running away."
Xue Qinghe let out a soft scoff. "Really? With the teacher and the others protecting you, could you really have suffered?"
Gu Xuan instantly looked indignant. "Protection? Sure, as long as I didn't die! Have you ever seen 'protection' where they throw you directly into a pack of hundred-year-old Wind Baboons? Or the territory of hundred-year Gale Demonic Wolves and Man-Faced Demon Spiders!"
"They said they were taking me to see the world, but I never expected this method. I nearly died at the hands of those spiders!"
Watching Gu Xuan's incessant complaining, Xue Qinghe let out a rare smile, listening with interest to his fabrications. To her ears, this sounded highly credible; large clans often trained their core disciples exactly like this.
After Gu Xuan finished his "venting," he leaned back in the lounge chair as if reminiscing. Finally, he looked back at Xue Qinghe. "Big Brother, your little brother just escaped death. Aren't you going to comfort me?"
Gu Xuan rubbed his hands together, his intent as clear as day.
Xue Qinghe's face went dark. She rolled her eyes and snapped, "You've nearly plucked all the good things I have clean. What else do you want? You're the young master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan; is there anything you can't get? Do you have to keep shearing this one sheep?"
Watching her complain, Gu Xuan laughed internally. He wondered if she was acting or if she was genuinely annoyed. In truth, she was genuinely speechless. Gu Xuan had been taking "advantage" of her since they were children; if she could reveal her true identity, she'd have slapped him into next week by now.
"Fine, fine," Xue Qinghe said with a look of feigned reluctance, pulling a silk box from her spatial tool. "I acquired this a while ago. It might be of some use to your cultivation."
She handed the box to him, her tone slightly awkward. She didn't really want to give it, but Gu Xuan was too persistent.
Gu Xuan wasn't polite. He opened it to reveal a bone. It wasn't a soul bone, but a skull from a dragon-type soul beast. This was actually useful for him; mimicry cultivation grounds were built using materials that matched one's Martial Soul attributes. This skull was beautiful and clearly from a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast. Beyond its practical use, it had high collector value.
'Those greedy nobles love collecting stuff like this,' he thought.
"Whoa!" Gu Xuan let out a surprised sound. "This really is a good item. Must have cost a fortune, right?"
Xue Qinghe waved it off. "One thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"?" Gu Xuan was stunned. 'That expensive? How crooked was the guy who sold this to you?' While a ten-thousand-year-old skull looked good, it definitely wasn't worth that much.
Xue Qinghe sighed. "I liked it, so I didn't care about the price."
"Aww, Big Brother is truly sacrificing his favorites for me," Gu Xuan said, immediately stowing the skull away. It really would be excellent for setting up a mimicry field.
Xue Qinghe arched an eyebrow. 'You stowed it fast enough, but not even a "thank you"?'
After hiding the box, Gu Xuan pulled out a porcelain bottle and placed it casually in front of her. "Congratulations, you've passed my test. Since Big Brother is willing to part with his treasures, your little brother must return the favor."
Gu Xuan's face beamed with a warm smile.
"?" Xue Qinghe was startled, then laughed. "What, have you struck it rich? You're actually giving me a gift?" She picked up the bottle and toyed with it. "Well? What is it?"
"A pill. There are only a few of these in existence—very precious," Gu Xuan explained. "Since your cultivation isn't exactly... stellar, this will help you. I've already reached Rank 45."
"Help with cultivation..." Wait. What did he say?
"You're Rank 45?!" Xue Qinghe asked in disbelief.
Gu Xuan smiled. "Yeah. Hard to believe, right? I can hardly believe it myself, but it's the truth."
"You didn't use some evil secret method to force your soul power up, did you?" Xue Qinghe frowned. But she immediately shook her head. "No... even if you wanted to, Teacher would never allow it. How did you do it?"
She wasn't stupid, and she knew Gu Xuan had no reason to lie. She quickly connected the dots. "Because of this?" She held up the bottle.
Gu Xuan nodded. "Try it, and you'll see."
Xue Qinghe became genuinely interested. The fact that Gu Xuan had jumped twelve ranks in a single year was proof enough of the pill's quality. Previously, she wouldn't have cared about a pill meant for "Xue Qinghe's" mediocre talent—she was actually Rank 68—but hearing Gu Xuan's progress, she couldn't ignore it.
'Should I try it?' she thought. 'Lets try it.'
From her perspective, her cover was perfect. Gu Xuan treated her like a brother, so he wouldn't harm her. She opened the bottle and poured out a brown, longan-sized pill. The moment the Mixed Yuan Pill appeared, a medicinal fragrance filled the air, announcing its extraordinary nature.
(End of Chapter)
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