"Similar, yes," Wan Ling's voice buzzed thoughtfully within Gu Qingxi's mind. "But observe the variance in ingredient substitutions for certain—"
His analysis was abruptly cut short by a cool, unfamiliar voice slicing through the afternoon quiet.
"You. The newly acquired disciple?" The voice held no warmth, only detached assessment.
Gu Qingxi looked up.
A young man stood just beyond her courtyard's simple bamboo fence. He was lean to the point of appearing skeletal, his frame draped in unadorned black robes that absorbed the dappled sunlight. His skin was pale, almost translucent, contrasting sharply with the dark fabric and the near-black intensity of his eyes. Sharp cheekbones framed a face that could be termed handsome if it weren't for the deep shadows beneath his eyes and an aura of profound weariness mingled with simmering impatience. His gaze swept over her, indifferent and critical.
Gu Qingxi rose smoothly, offering the customary disciple's salute. "Disciple Gu Qingxi greets Martial Brother. May I know your designation?"
"Hundred Li Longwind," he replied tersely, the name delivered like an afterthought. His pale fingers dipped into a deep sleeve, retrieving two unmarked ceramic vials. He tossed them towards her with a dismissive flick of the wrist. "Gift." His tone suggested it was more an obligatory chore than a welcome.
Fourth Martial Brother. Lu Tianyu's brief description surfaced in Gu Qingxi's mind: The sole Artisan Path cultivator within Zi Lin Peak – a Master Apothecary. The others, Shifu included, were Sword Path adepts.
Gu Qingxi caught the vials. "My gratitude, Fourth Martial Brother. I have a reciprocal token—"
"Unnecessary." His voice remained flat, cold. His dark eyes, however, held not malice towards her, but a profound, restless agitation, like a caged bird scratching at the bars. "Occupied." The word was clipped. He turned sharply, beginning to stride away towards the shadowed paths leading deeper into the bamboo groves.
"Che! What an unpleasant wretch! Barely looks at you, radiates impatience. Feels like death wrapped in shadows. Could pass for one of my old Demon Path associates any day," Wan Ling grumbled internally, his distaste palpable.
Gu Qingxi remained silent. Her instincts argued against Wan Ling's assessment. The impatience wasn't directed at her; it stemmed from whatever consumed him internally. A frustrated scholar locked in a relentless mental struggle.
Fragments of Hundred Li Longwind's mutterings drifted back on the breeze as he walked, a low, troubled hum beneath the rustling bamboo:
"...incorrect... Crimson Ink Orchid... Shadowcliff Stonefruit... Giant Pearlberry... the proportions... imbalance... meridian conflict..."
Gu Qingxi froze. The sequence of ingredients resonated with startling familiarity.
"He's missing the White Earthdragon Fungus!" Wan Ling declared instantly, his voice suddenly sharp with recognition. "It's the Supreme Unity Cleansing Elixir he's attempting! Standard fare! I used to consume those like rock candy!"
"But the manual specifies White Earthdragon Bloom," Gu Qingxi countered, her brow furrowing. The characters were etched in her memory – Bai Di Long Hua, Flower, not Fungus. Which source held the truth? Her ancestral text or the fragmented recollections of a Demon Path ghost?
"My knowledge is unequivocal, child!" Wan Ling's mental projection dripped with supreme, almost aggressive confidence. "First among Demon Sovereigns! Patriarch of my era! My recollection is the canon!" There was no room for debate in his tone. If he possessed a chest, he'd be pounding it right now.
"Tell me, Esteemed Patriarch," Gu Qingxi inquired, her mental voice dangerously smooth, "Did you personally craft the 'Supreme Unity Cleithiids Elixirs' you consumed like candy? Or did underlings prepare them for your august palate?"
"Who am I?!" Wan Ling's projected outrage was magnificent. "Naturally, legions of supplicants offered tribute! Menial labor like cauldron-tending was beneath a being of my stature!"
Gu Qingxi: ...
Then your input holds the nutritional value of empty air, Spirit.
Hundred Li Longwind had reappeared at the edge of the courtyard, retracing his steps like a troubled specter. His eyes were unfocused, locked on some internal alchemical landscape only he could see, lips moving soundlessly as he listed and rejected possibilities.
"Fourth Martial Brother," Gu Qingxi called out, her voice deliberately calm but carrying.
Hundred Li Longwind stopped, turning slowly. Irritation flickered in his dark eyes, sharpening his gaze. "Report."
"I surmise you are refining the Supreme Unity Cleansing Elixir?" Gu Qingxi stated, meeting his gaze directly, unflinching. "Per ancient transcriptions, the ingredient completing the cycle harmonizing the conflicting Yang properties of Crimson Ink Orchid and Shadowcliff Stonefruit is the White Earthdragon Bloom. It possesses the required neutral Yin essence. Might it resolve the meridian discord?"
Hundred Li Longwind went utterly still. His irritation vanished, replaced by shock. He hadn't anticipated an answer – least of all an insightful answer – from the newcomer he'd barely acknowledged. His pale face underwent a startling transformation. The weariness lifted. His dark eyes ignited with an unholy fire, a fanatic's zeal chasing away the shadows.
"White Earthdragon Bloom?" he whispered, then louder, "White Earthdragon Bloom?! PHILOSOPHER'S GOLD! The clashing yang energies... they demand the bloom's neutralizing yin! Not the fungus! YES!" He took a step closer, his gaze burning into Gu Qingxi with newfound, almost frightening intensity. "Shimei! Little Martial Sister! Thank you! Profound gratitude! You are... excellent!" The fervent declaration seemed to burst from him. Then, without another word, he whirled and sprinted back towards his hidden sanctum, disappearing into the emerald shadows like a man possessed.
"Humph! Mistake! Monumental error!" Wan Ling instantly launched into a tirade, his voice screeching like an affronted raven. "He'll curse your name when his cauldron explodes! That one looks ruthless! When he comes for revenge, run, girl! Run fast! He'll skin you alive! I'm too fragile for another death!"
Gu Qingxi tuned out the spectral rant entirely. She had chosen the path laid out by the silent manual, trusting its faded characters over Wan Ling's bombastic but unverified recollection. Time would reveal the outcome.
Lu Tianyu materialized moments later, his oversized sword strapped securely to his back. He'd witnessed the tail end of Hundred Li Longwind's possessed sprint away from the courtyard. Alarm painted his face as he rushed to Gu Qingxi's side, his eyes scanning her urgently.
"Unharmed?!" he demanded, voice tight. "Brother Hundred Li didn't... make contact? No strange symptoms? No itching? Sudden... digestive urgency?" He inspected her hands and arms as if checking for invisible contaminants.
"None?" Gu Qingxi blinked, utterly bewildered. What exactly was he expecting?
"Brother Hundred Li..." Lu Tianyu began, his expression morphing into a complex blend of profound respect and weary exasperation. He sighed deeply, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "...is a force of nature. A genius, undoubtedly. A peerless Alchemist. But..." He grimaced, leaning closer. "...a far more potent Toxin Master when displeased. When his spirits lift, wondrous concoctions flow. When his mood sours? Best become incorporeal. The afflictions he devises... insidious. Utterly untraceable until they cripple you. Ah, Shimei, he embodies sublime agony." His voice held the weight of painful experience.
"Sublime agony?" Gu Qingxi echoed, the initial confusion deepening. The praise she grasped; the suffering remained enigmatic.
"You grasp the principle, Shimei," Lu Tianyu said, sinking onto the stone bench opposite her. "Artisan Path cultivators, particularly Apothecaries, are universally revered as vaults overflowing with spirit stones. Brother Hundred Li? He stands as the singular exception. Likely the most destitute Artisan in the entire cultivation realm."
He sighed again, the sound heavy with unfulfilled avarice. "His talent? Unquestionable. Shifu and the Sect Leader extol his prowess. But herein lies the torture! He possesses the Midas touch! Yet... oh, the tragedy! I recall several occasions… he'd casually hand us vials: 'Here, consume these mediocre pills. Practice fodder.' We, naive fools, complied... only to later discover we'd ingested treasures worth a mountain's weight in high-grade spirit stones!" Lu Tianyu clenched a fist over his heart, genuine pain twisting his features. "The heartbreak! If only he'd told me their true worth! I could have sold them! Funded entire decades of sword maintenance! Wealth! Lost in a moment of ignorant digestion!"
Gu Qingxi finally comprehended the exquisite pain in Lu Tianyu's voice. Sublime Agony. The agony of unknowingly consuming unimaginable wealth. A phantom ache for mountains of spirit stones melted away by uncultured gullet.
"The poverty?" Lu Tianyu continued, shaking his head mournfully. "Self-inflicted. He sells a miraculous elixir for a king's ransom? Excellent! Only to immediately reinvest every single spirit stone into procuring even rarer, more prohibitively expensive reagents... for another impossible experiment. Ancient formulae with gaps, elusive materials... He's perpetually chasing the horizon, Shimei. A river of wealth flows into his grasp only to hemorrhage out faster. Equilibrium? A myth." The sigh that followed was profound.
So he's a researcher. Driven. Passionate. Etcernally insolvent. Gu Qingxi silently classified her Fourth Martial Brother.
"If he dedicated his skills to simply crafting salable tonics and elixirs," Lu Tianyu lamented, spreading his hands in a gesture of utter despair, "he would have surpassed the Sect Leader in personal wealth epochs ago! Why such agonizing self-sabotage?!" His expression screamed the question to the indifferent bamboo groves: Why squander the golden goose?
Having poured out his sorrows, Lu Tianyu finally refocused. Genuine curiosity replaced the financial mourning. "But... his habits are monastic when obsessed. Typically, he vanishes into his alchemical sanctum for months. What drew him into the light today? What profound wisdom did he impart upon you before vanishing back into his fumes?"