Chapter 92: Jiang Lin: If I Hadn't Been There, You Almost Made Me Cry!
Seeking medicine?
Yao Chen immediately understood. Things were returning to a rhythm he was familiar with.
"In a hurry?" he asked calmly. As long as Jiang Lin didn't mess around, Yao Chen was open to negotiations.
Jiang Lin thought for a moment about Old Master Yao back in Qingshan Town, whose Dou Qi had regressed from one-star Da Dou Shi to nine-star Dou Shi, and who stubbornly pretended he wasn't worried. Jiang Lin shook his head at the black-robed alchemist below. "It's not that urgent."
Anyway, Old Yao was used to it by now. A bit more or less Dou Qi wouldn't change much for him. It was all dust in the wind.
"But I have something more pressing." Jiang Lin took out a small jade bottle and tossed it to the black-robed alchemist.
Yao Chen caught it precisely. Sweeping it with his spiritual sense, he discovered a drop of slightly purplish blood. His expression froze. This blood felt eerily familiar. He examined it further with soul force and gave it a sniff—the familiar fragrance made his eyes narrow sharply.
Xiao Yan: Hey! That's my nose you're using!
"Does Master recognize this?" Jiang Lin had handed Yao Chen a drop of Xiao Yi Xian's blood. Ever since she obtained the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, she had secretly started learning to concoct poisons—and quietly consuming them. In his spiritual sense, Jiang Lin could see her physical condition growing more and more abnormal. Upon learning that a mysterious alchemist had appeared in Wutan City, possibly Xiao Yan's "ring grandpa," Jiang Lin knew he had to seek help.
Jiang Lin hadn't told her anything yet—he was following the "don't let the cancer patient know they have cancer" principle.
Sometimes, Jiang Lin couldn't help but mourn his own life. Why was it Xiao Yan, the guy with the perfect home, who got the cheat-ring grandpa? Look at Jiang Lin—missing mother, never-mentioned father, a sickly adoptive father, and a childhood friend secretly eating poison. If anyone had a protagonist backstory, it was him!
Ah… just thinking about his family made Jiang Lin clutch his head in helpless fury.
"This blood… we'll talk about it later. Don't let her consume any more poison. There won't be major problems within three to five years. There's a way to fix it—just not yet." Even with only one drop, Yao Chen barely managed to identify the blood as coming from the Afflicted Poison Body. A flicker of sympathy crossed his face.
Yao Chen: Kid, your tragic family situation has convinced me of your potential to become a true powerhouse.
Clearly, whoever this person was, she meant a lot to Jiang Lin. That meant she had to be someone close. Tsk tsk… Yao Chen could only help manage symptoms for now.
"…Got it." Jiang Lin nodded. That was all he needed to hear. He'd head back immediately to start detox treatment for Xiao Yi Xian.
"Captain Mu Yun, care to talk outside the city?" With the poison issue temporarily resolved, Jiang Lin glanced at the Blood Beast Mercenary Group, then unfolded his glowing wings and soared into the night.
Mu Yun and his team exchanged glances, then quickly followed him into the darkness.
Yao Chen, meanwhile, headed off in a different direction, taking a long detour before sneaking back. By the time he and Xiao Yan returned, dawn was already breaking.
"Teacher… won't someone notice I didn't sleep at home last night?" Under Yao Chen's control, Xiao Yan's body moved like a ghost, slipping through the city and back into the Xiao estate. The question popped into his mind as they arrived.
"Those who know, already know. Those who don't, never will." Yao Chen replied cryptically.
"You really are lucky. So many fateful encounters lined up just for you," he muttered. Seriously—what kind of teenager just happens to get both a blacksmithing and alchemy legacy dropped in their backyard, plus a terrifying childhood friend?
If your clan leader wasn't a weakling Da Dou Shi, I'd have suspected we were in Central Plains already, surrounded by two imperial clans, and this wasn't just some 'Xiao Clan'—but the actual Xiao Clan.
"Teacher, didn't you say Xiao Xun'er isn't simple? What if she finds out who I really am?"
"..." That question made Yao Chen fall silent.
"You're better off playing dumb," he finally said quietly.
Xiao Yan: "..."
"Brother Xiao Yan, time to get up~"
"Damn it, I haven't even slept yet!"
Elsewhere, on the outskirts of Wutan City in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Jiang Lin crouched atop a massive tree with Ying Jiang perched on another. Below them stood the five members of the Blood Beast Mercenary Group.
"Were you investigating me in Qingshan Town?" Jiang Lin asked bluntly after confirming they weren't being watched.
The group exchanged looks. Mu Yun raised his head and answered honestly, "To be frank, Master Jiang Lin, we were sent by the Blacksmith Guild in Jia Ma Holy City to investigate a Tier-Two blacksmith—Pei Su. He's been missing for a year, and the Guild was concerned."
"…Pei Su had connections in the Guild?" Jiang Lin frowned. If true, this could be troublesome. He might need to skip town.
"Uh… when Master Jiang Lin received Pei Su's dying gift, didn't he tell you?" Mu Yun looked confused, then said something that left Jiang Lin completely dumbfounded.
Seeing his stunned face, Mu Yun continued, "Didn't you say before that you had a teacher? You were only a Tier-One blacksmith at the time, with a 'Master Young Lin' as your mentor. Pei Su once took in a disciple. After our investigation, we're confident your mysterious Tier-Two teacher was Pei Su. He just didn't use his real name—to build your independence and reputation."
"Two years ago, there was a wildfire near Qingshan Town. A Tier-Four Gale Wind Dragon went berserk and started slaughtering everything in the forest. That's when your teacher Pei Su, clad in heavy armor, held off the dragon at the cost of his life to save you."
"Before dying, he passed all his knowledge to you. His armor was shattered in the battle, and his body was never found. Driven by grief, you wandered the Magic Beast Mountains for a year searching for him, and your blacksmith rank rose to Tier Two in the process."
Jiang Lin's jaw dropped slightly: "..."
What the actual—?! If I hadn't been there, I'd be bawling by now!
All the story elements were accurate, but the sequence was completely made up!
"Still…" Jiang Lin wiped away a fake tear.
"I prefer to call him Brother Pei Su. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"Oh, and I actually did find his remains under a cliff. At the time, he... sob sob sob…"
Mu Yun: "..."
Damn it, if I hadn't written that story myself, I'd be crying too!
"To honor Brother Pei Su, I even learned puppet techniques, so he could always remain by my side..."
"And his spirit will always live on… in my heart… sob sob sob…"
"So, Brother Pei Su isn't truly gone. He's just with me in another form."
(END CHAPTER)
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