Chapter 15: Zhengkun

"My home is at Bao Lu Fang, number 22, by the east gate of Xiashangliang City. Please tell my wife there are two small golden fish in the false bottom of the third pickle jar under the bed. Use them sparingly; they should last until Bao'er comes of age."

A middle-aged man with a face full of pimples suppressed his fear and whispered his last wishes to Li Huowang.

This man was today's ingredient for the Pill Chamber. Li Huowang could do nothing but commit these last words to memory.

Watching the trembling man enter the alchemy room, Li Huowang turned and walked away, his expression somewhat annoyed.

This was already the eighth person. As time passed, the number of people in the ingredient room dwindled. What pained him even more was that he seemed to be getting used to it; the guilt of sending people to their deaths was steadily diminishing.

He was being assimilated by a repulsive person like Dan Yangzi, and he didn't want that.

Li Huowang urgently wanted to escape his current, unusually tormenting situation. He was searching for a solution, but it wasn't easy to find. Confronting the enigmatic Dan Yangzi with just himself and a few disabled people from the ingredient room was almost impossible.

The only things he knew were that the "Patrol Master" controlled by Dan Yangzi was absent on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, meaning it couldn't watch them then. Also, Dan Yangzi was illiterate, and there was someone within the Pure Wind Temple helping him read the "Heavenly Book."

"Should I go to Dan Yangzi's residence, find that person, and kill them? Among all his disciples in the cave, I'm the only one who can read. He'll surely have to rely on me to translate the Heavenly Book! Wouldn't killing Dan Yangzi then be as easy as pie?"

No sooner had this thought popped into his head than Li Huowang dismissed it.

Although he knew the location of the karst cave where Dan Yangzi lived, he didn't know what traps might be inside, nor how powerful the entity who read the Heavenly Book for Dan Yangzi was. Rushing in blindly like that would likely lead to a death he wouldn't even understand.

"Poison his alchemy ingredients? No, he taught me all my alchemy skills. Trying to outsmart him that way would be asking for death."

Li Huowang walked back, his mind constantly searching for new ways to deal with Dan Yangzi.

Just then, a gloomy-faced young man wearing a Taoist robe and a scholar's headscarf approached from the opposite direction. Li Huowang recognized him as Zheng Kun, an inner disciple of Dan Yangzi.

Li Huowang didn't know much about him. Apart from occasional encounters during meals, Zheng Kun was usually nowhere to be seen.

Moreover, unlike Li Huowang and the other registered disciples, Zheng Kun didn't have to bother with the day-to-day affairs of the Pure Wind Temple. Li Huowang had no idea what he usually did.

As they passed each other, Zheng Kun's shoulder lightly brushed against Li Huowang, who collided directly with his body. The instant he touched Zheng Kun, Li Huowang felt as though he had hit a block of pig iron.

Zheng Kun suddenly stopped, turned sideways, and looked at him with a fake smile. "Xuan Yang, you've been quite unrestrained in the temple lately. Our Master is certainly pleased with how you've been charming him."

Li Huowang frowned slightly, glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to leave.

But before he had taken two steps, a sudden surge of force from behind shoved him forward.

Li Huowang stumbled several steps, taking a while to regain his balance, barely avoiding falling face-first.

"What, Junior Brother Xuan Yang, are my words no longer effective?" Zheng Kun asked, stepping closer to Li Huowang with his arms crossed.

"Senior Brother Zheng Kun, I still need to help Master organize the alchemy ingredients," Li Huowang said calmly.

"Don't you dare use Master to pressure me, you damn brat! When Master was being hunted, I was with him, and you didn't even know where you were! Let me tell you, Xuan Yang, just focus on doing your work diligently. It's best to keep your mouth shut about other matters and not be so clueless." Zheng Kun's tone grew harsher.

Li Huowang wasn't angry. Instead, he stared blankly at Zheng Kun, seemingly deep in thought. The man did indeed have a terrible temper, just as Xuan Yuan had said. But didn't that mean he was also more impulsive?

"What? Cat got your tongue? Speak up!"

Li Huowang, who had been expressionless moments before, now livened up, a hint of sarcasm entering his voice.

"Master valuing me is his own decision. Even if he tells me the method to become an immortal, that's his business. Senior Brother Zheng Kun probably can't control that, can he?"

Zheng Kun froze, momentarily unable to process that someone dared to speak to him like that.

When he recovered, his expression turned ferocious. He pressed two fingers together on one hand, forming a hand seal like a small chisel, and directly jabbed Li Huowang's left ribs through his Taoist robe.

"And you think you're worthy? Master hasn't even told *me* the immortal cultivation technique. Why would he tell *you*? What do you think you are? Medicine dregs!!"

The intense pain nearly made Li Huowang pass out, but he smiled. He had guessed correctly.

"Heh heh, Master didn't tell you? Perhaps your comprehension is low, Senior Brother Zheng Kun. Cultivating immortality depends on talent. Since your talent isn't good enough, don't let Master waste his time on you."

These words seemed to touch Zheng Kun's raw nerve. He withdrew his two fingers and then jabbed Li Huowang's body three more times. "You medicine dregs! You're asking for death!!"

Despite the immense pain, Li Huowang's laughter grew louder. "Hahaha, come on, kill me! Let's see how Master reacts when he learns that his disciples are fighting each other to the death within the temple."

Watching Li Huowang's laughter escalate from a hearty laugh to a frenzied cackle, Zheng Kun kicked him with his right foot, sending him slamming against the wall. "Hmph! A lunatic who doesn't know what's good for him."

Li Huowang lay on the ground, unable to recover for quite some time. After about the duration of brewing a cup of tea, a pair of broad hands reached out from beside him and helped him up.

"Oh, Junior Brother Xuan Yang, why don't you listen to advice? Didn't I tell you to be respectful towards Zheng Kun? Why did you provoke him?"

The speaker was the amiable Xuan Yuan, who, due to his easygoing nature, was the only person in the Pure Wind Temple Li Huowang could truly talk to.

Li Huowang clutched his armpit, enduring the pain, and said, "What? Is he going to kill me? Master's Patrol Master is watching nearby. If any more disciples die in the temple, it won't be sustainable."

"What Patrol Master?" Xuan Yuan's expression was surprised.

He didn't know? A thought suddenly flashed through Li Huowang's mind: Did the others not know about Master's method for monitoring the entire Pure Wind Temple?

Recalling that two inner disciples were among those who had died previously, Li Huowang realized that perhaps these people truly didn't know.

"Nothing. I just meant he wouldn't dare lay a hand on me."

"That's not how it works. He's an inner disciple, and you're just a registered one. While he might not dare to outright kill you, it would be effortless for him to make things difficult for you."

"Haha, my feet are small, so I'm naturally suited to 'wearing small shoes'!"

While talking to Xuan Yuan, a hint of a smile appeared in Li Huowang's eyes. Zheng Kun had just revealed a piece of information: even as an inner disciple, he still wasn't qualified to learn the immortal cultivation technique.

Dan Yangzi trusted no one.

That wasn't the main point. The main point was that he had seen the other man's eyes. During their recent confrontation, when he claimed to have learned the immortal cultivation technique, he distinctly felt the strong resentment in Zheng Kun's gaze.

Disciples trained by Dan Yangzi couldn't possibly be truly loyal.

This might be a point he could exploit. He wanted to try.