Chapter 122: Beginning the Absorption

Lu Zhe walked into the parlor, where Doctor Lao and Oil Lao Liu were already waiting.

Doctor Lao turned his head to look at Lu Zhe as he entered and said indifferently, "You're here, Zhe'er."

Lu Zhe looked toward Doctor Lao, who appeared full of vigor, completely devoid of yesterday's weary expression. Seeing the spirited Doctor Lao, Lu Zhe smiled happily and walked in.

"Everyone is here, let's go," Doctor Lao said, standing up from his chair and glancing at Oil Lao Liu.

Oil Lao Liu nodded, stood up, and headed toward the back hall first. After he left, Doctor Lao patted Lu Zhe on the shoulder and followed him.

On the way, Oil Lao Liu led the path, with Doctor Lao and Lu Zhe following closely three feet behind. As they walked, Doctor Lao glanced sideways at Lu Zhe. He noticed that Lu Zhe’s gaze was bright and steady, his expression firm, and he carried an air of composure that was completely free of yesterday’s hesitation. Involuntarily feeling suspicious, Doctor Lao pondered for a moment before leaning toward Lu Zhe’s ear and whispering, "Kid, what did you do yesterday?"

Hearing this, Lu Zhe was startled. A crimson flush flashed across his face, and he replied with a lack of confidence, "N-nothing, I didn't do anything."

Doctor Lao had eaten more salt than Lu Zhe had walked miles; with such experience, how could he not tell that Lu Zhe was lying? After hearing Lu Zhe’s weak response, he pondered for a moment, suddenly recalled something, and teased with a half-smile, "You didn't go off to have a secret rendezvous with Oil Lao Liu’s eldest daughter last night, did you?"

As soon as these words were out, Lu Zhe blushed deeply. He coughed a few times and said somewhat complainingly, "Ma—Master, what are you saying? 'Secret rendezvous'? That sounds so ugly. Ling’er and I are just ordinary friends."

Doctor Lao scoffed, wearing an expression of utter disbelief. "Ordinary friends? You call each other so affectionately and call yourselves ordinary friends? Kid, if I actually believed that, I would have lived all these years in vain." He then put on a serious face and interrogated, "Tell me, did you two do anything shameful last night?"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough," Lu Zhe coughed again, swallowed hard, and said, "Master, stop talking nonsense. I didn't do anything shameful. I was just watching the moon on the back mountain with Ling’er."

"A lone man and a lone woman watching the moon on a deserted mountain? Is it really just that simple?" Doctor Lao asked skeptically.

"Yes," Lu Zhe nodded affirmatively.

Watching Lu Zhe’s determined expression, Doctor Lao glanced at him with disbelief, then pointed at the corner of his mouth. "Kid, if nothing happened, where did that red lipstick mark on your mouth come from? Don't tell me you have a habit of chewing on red lip paper."

"What?!" Lu Zhe was shocked, feeling a sense of impending doom. He hurriedly wiped his mouth with his hand and looked at his palm, but he found no red traces. This left him feeling quite confused.

Doctor Lao, looking as if he had caught him red-handed, said, "Ha! You really did do something shameful."

"No, I didn't," Lu Zhe hurriedly explained.

"If you didn't, then why were you in such a hurry to wipe your mouth?" Doctor Lao teased with a smug, mischievous grin.

"Uh..." Lu Zhe realized he had completely fallen into the old man's trap. Ginger really is spicier when it's older.

Patting Lu Zhe on the shoulder, Doctor Lao smiled and said with an air of seniority, "Kid, you are at that age where love first blossoms. I also had someone I liked when I was your age. It is normal to do something impulsive and reckless, but you must be a man who stands tall. You must learn to take responsibility. If you did it, you did it; don't make excuses for yourself. Think of the other person's feelings, because in these matters, we men always take the advantage while they suffer. If you accidentally get her pregnant, don't blame heaven or others; act like a man and take responsibility. Your master here took responsibility back in the day, so you must..." He hadn't finished his sentence when he noticed Lu Zhe rolling his eyes at him, with a hint of disdain mixed in his expression.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Doctor Lao asked, bewildered.

After staring at him for a long time, Lu Zhe sighed deeply, his face filled with regret. He shook his head and walked on, muttering, "How did I end up with such a master? Sigh, what a misfortune."

"What do you mean? Hey, don't walk away! I'm talking to you. Don't you know that ignoring the advice of an elder leads to suffering? Hey! Hey! Why are you two walking so fast? Wait for me!" Doctor Lao chased after them as he spoke.

On the back mountain of Oil Lao Liu’s house, by a cliff, a beautiful woman stood quietly looking into the distance.

After a long while, Xue Ling’er sighed softly and turned around, preparing to descend the mountain. Upon turning, she was startled to find a young girl in a pink ru-skirt standing before her.

"Xue Fei, what are you doing here?" Xue Ling’er asked, looking at the girl.

"Then what is sister doing here?" Xue Fei countered.

Xue Ling’er did not answer. She just sighed softly, seemingly full of worries, and turned to look at the towering mountains behind her. "I just wanted to come out for some air."

"Some air?" Xue Fei said skeptically. A moment later, she added, "You’re thinking about Lu Zhe, aren't you?"

Xue Ling’er remained silent. After a long while, she nodded.

"What is so good about him that he can make you so preoccupied?" Xue Fei asked, puzzled.

A bitter smile appeared on Xue Ling’er’s face. She looked at the blue sky for a long time before saying softly, "I don't know. From the first time I saw him, I felt my heart beat particularly fast." She touched her chest and continued, "Do you remember the first time we ate together? When he saw me in danger, he threw the stool without a second thought to help me escape. From that moment on, my feelings for him became very strange. As for how strange, I can't put it into words. Anyway, I think of him all the time. Whenever something happens to him, I feel very worried. I don't know why I am like this, perhaps..." Xue Ling’er looked up at the sky and whispered, "Perhaps I have fallen in love with him."

"Tch, he’s just a poor, shabby boy with nothing to his name. How could he be worthy of you, sister? If you were willing, let alone this remote little country, I’m afraid men from the entire continent would be yours to choose from," Xue Fei said with disdain.

Xue Ling’er smiled faintly. "It’s different. He is different from other men."

Suddenly, Xue Ling’er turned to look at Xue Fei, her eyes seemingly holding some hidden meaning. "Fei’er, even though you keep saying that, haven't you also fallen for Brother Zhe?"

"I... I have not!" Xue Fei’s face flushed red, and she said hurriedly and flusteredly. Then, she patted her chest with a confident air. "How could I fancy that poor boy? As long as I am willing, let alone a boy who has nothing, even all the men in the world would kneel at my feet."

Xue Ling’er smiled slightly. "Stop pretending. Do you think I can’t tell? Every time I am with Brother Zhe, a sense of loss always appears in your eyes, doesn't it?"

Hearing this, Xue Fei blushed. She wanted to find more reasons to defend herself, but the words wouldn't come. Finally, she nodded.

The wind blew gently.

Oil Lao Liu led Lu Zhe and Doctor Lao to the foot of a mountain. What appeared before Lu Zhe was a stone door, one zhang high and five chi wide.

Oil Lao Liu stepped forward, placed his hand on the door, and pushed with force. The massive stone door opened with a series of rumbling sounds.

"Let’s go," Doctor Lao said, patting Lu Zhe on the shoulder.

Lu Zhe nodded and walked into the stone door with Doctor Lao and Oil Lao Liu. As soon as all three were inside, the massive door behind them closed with a rumble.

The three walked quietly along a path lined with candles on both sides. The surroundings were extremely quiet; there was no sound other than their footsteps. Walking on such a silent path, one couldn't help but feel a shiver down their spine. No, it wasn't just psychological; it was a real sensation!

Lu Zhe was startled, feeling that as they went deeper, the surrounding temperature seemed to be getting lower and lower!

Just as Lu Zhe opened his mouth to ask why it was so cold, another stone door appeared in front of them. Oil Lao Liu stepped forward and pushed it open. What he saw inside left Lu Zhe stunned.

A massive ice cellar.

"Keep moving," Doctor Lao’s voice pulled Lu Zhe back to reality. Lu Zhe walked into the ice cellar and looked around. The cellar wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either—about thirty zhang wide and four or five zhang high. What was most astonishing were the massive ice pillars throughout the cellar, each as thick as several people could embrace. Huge icicles hung from the ceiling like stars in the sky, creating a spectacular sight. But all of this paled in comparison to the massive altar made of ice in the center of the cellar.

The altar was over a dozen zhang high, trapezoidal in shape, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. There was a staircase made of cold ice at the front, connecting the ground to the top of the altar. It looked magnificent.

"Let's go," Doctor Lao said indifferently.

Lu Zhe swallowed and walked up alongside Doctor Lao.

One step, two steps, three steps... As he climbed higher, Lu Zhe felt his heart beating faster and faster. By the last few steps, he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

Reaching the top, Lu Zhe was surprised to find that there was nothing there, except for a jar floating in mid-air in the center, containing a fiery-red plant.

"Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower?" Lu Zhe asked in surprise, looking at the floating jar.

"You will absorb the Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower here," Doctor Lao said quietly.

"Here?" Lu Zhe asked, puzzled.

Doctor Lao nodded, then waved his hand, and the floating jar flew toward him. Taking it, he patted the jar and flipped his hand, revealing a sky-blue pill.

"This is?" Lu Zhe asked, looking at the pill.

"This is a 'Cold Water Pill'," Doctor Lao explained.

"Cold Water Pill?" Lu Zhe was surprised.

Seeing Lu Zhe’s confusion, Doctor Lao explained, "The 'Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower' is a precious treasure of heaven and earth, formed by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Its potency goes without saying. Your current strength is insufficient to absorb this miraculous herb directly. It is fiery by nature, so I concocted the 'Cold Water Pill' to help neutralize some of its intense power. I have also prepared this medicinal pool to assist you, and finally, I am using the cold of this ice cellar to treat you both internally and externally. Even so, this only increases your chances of success by ten percent. Whether you can absorb it depends on your own fortune."

Lu Zhe turned to look where Doctor Lao was pointing and indeed found a square medicinal pool directly beneath where the jar had been floating.

Looking at the pool and then at the 'Cold Water Pill' in Doctor Lao’s hand, Lu Zhe closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cold air. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said, "There is no turning back now. Come on, what’s the worst that can happen? Death?"

Doctor Lao smiled with satisfaction and handed the pill to Lu Zhe.

Lu Zhe took it, swallowed it in one gulp, undressed, and stepped naked into the medicinal pool prepared by Doctor Lao.

Doctor Lao opened the jar. A heat so intense it could melt stone and flow gold rose from it, the temperature so high that it melted some of the icicles above the jar!

Holding the bottom of the jar with his right hand, Doctor Lao waved his left hand, and a green flame suddenly rose, wrapping around his entire left hand.

Doctor Lao reached his flame-wrapped hand into the jar, grabbed the stem of the 'Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower', and pulled it out. Setting the jar down with his right hand, he quickly extracted the nine seeds from the flower’s stamen while his hand was still encased in the green flame. He then brought the sunflower to Lu Zhe’s lips and said, "Eat it."

Looking at the steaming 'Extreme Mountain Fire Sunflower', Lu Zhe swallowed hard, opened his mouth wide, and gulped the sunflower down in a few bites...