Speaking Openly

Xie Huide was not surprised by your question.

A hint of pride appeared on his face.

Only then did Xie Huide slowly say, "Because the key main ingredient of the Returning Yang Paste is earth source, but only Apex Grandmasters can see earth source. Senior Brother Sect Master is merely in the Grandmaster Realm and cannot directly fuse earth source into the Returning Yang Paste. I have to complete this crucial step!"

You looked Xie Huide up and down twice.

You remembered that Xie Huide was only at the Essence Refining Peak. If a real fight broke out, he could not even beat you.

You did not understand how Xie Huide had started taking on work meant for an Apex Grandmaster.

Even bragging had to have limits, didn't it?

Xie Huide saw your confusion.

He did not beat around the bush and said directly, "Tiezhu, there is no need for you to wonder. The reason I can see earth source is that I was born with the talent of Insightful Observation."

"Insightful Observation? What is that? Can you eat it?"

Xie Huide raised his chin slightly, looking even prouder.

Deng Rusong deliberately gave a disdainful snort beside him, acting as though he did not care.

Yet there was a trace of barely perceptible jealousy in Deng Rusong's eyes.

Xie Huide deliberately glanced at Deng Rusong's jealous expression, then smiled lightly in satisfaction.

Only then did he tell you, "Insightful Observation is a mysterious state. Once one enters it, alchemy becomes like having divine aid, and the success rate rises tremendously!"

"A mysterious state?"

You recalled that when you had successfully refined Inner Divinity Paste for the first time at Yajiang Pass, you had entered a mysterious state as well.

Could that have been this so-called Insightful Observation? you silently wondered.

Keeping your expression unchanged, you continued asking, "What does that have to do with earth source?"

Xie Huide continued, "Insightful Observation has two even more important effects. One is the ability to perceive earth source, which is why the refinement of Returning Yang Paste requires my participation!"

You were secretly startled. If that state of yours really was this so-called Insightful Observation—

Then could you not try to comprehend earth source?

Excitement welled up in your heart.

You tried your best to suppress your excitement and kept asking tirelessly, "Wouldn't it work to simply find an Apex Grandmaster to complete that step?"

Xie Huide was equally patient. "Great Qian has no Apex Grandmaster alchemists. An Apex Grandmaster who only cultivates martial arts cannot complete the auxiliary refinement of Returning Yang Paste."

You nodded. This chain of logic was truly watertight.

"Master, you said Insightful Observation has two important effects. What is the other one?"

Xie Huide gave a wickedly charming smile, as though he had been waiting for you to ask that very question.

He stopped pretending altogether, confidence filling his entire person. His puffed-out chest was so high it could have been set straight onto the table.

Undisguised jealousy showed in Deng Rusong's eyes beside him.

Xie Huide declared proudly, "Only alchemists with the talent of Insightful Observation can become Ninth-Rank Alchemists!"

Xie Huide instantly became confident and domineering, an aura of "who else but me?" sweeping forth.

Deng Rusong curled his lips, yet he could not say anything in rebuttal.

You scratched your head and asked sincerely, "Then why are you only seventh-rank?"

"Ah, well..."

Like a balloon pierced by a needle, Xie Huide deflated at once.

His lips opened and closed, as though he wanted to speak but hesitated. He looked somewhat embarrassed.

For once, Deng Rusong did not kick him while he was down.

Instead, he stepped forward to speak for Xie Huide. "Tiezhu, your master has the talent to possibly become a Ninth-Rank Alchemist, but..."

Halfway through, Deng Rusong turned to look at Deng Wanshu lying on the Jade Ice Bed.

Deng Rusong let out a deep sigh, guilt showing on his face.

He walked over and patted Xie Huide's shoulder, his voice low. "Sigh! Wanshu held you back..."

But Xie Huide shook his head. "I was the one who held her back. After all these years, I still have not cured Wanshu."

Your eyes widened. It had been a long time since you had heard such pure, authentic simp talk.

All you could do was sigh at how devastating a white moonlight could be.

Especially one forever frozen at eighteen and not fond of speaking.

No one could withstand that.

Deng Wanshu had already become an obsession for Xie Huide and Hu Zhongxuan.

Deng Rusong slowly said, "For the past several decades, your Martial Uncle has been searching for a way to cure Wanshu. It consumed too much of his energy and time. Otherwise, this position of sect master would never have fallen to me."

You did not know what to say.

You had been born in the spring breeze and raised beneath the red flag. Everything in your heart told you that simps deserved no good end.

But did someone like Xie Huide truly deserve no good end?

You did not know.

Xie Huide said calmly, "Tiezhu, the Returning Yang Pill is only an attempt. We cannot guarantee that Wanshu will awaken."

"And if it really fails?" you asked.

Xie Huide's gaze flickered. After a long while, he said, "Then I will not be able to accompany her for much longer."

You remembered that Xie Huide was seventy-eight this year. By all rights, he should still have another ten or twenty years.

"Why?"

Xie Huide said leisurely, "Over these years, I have exhausted my heart and mind, spending a great deal of extra vitality. I only have a few years left."

You fell silent.

"Most importantly..." Deep sorrow filled Xie Huide's eyes. "Wanshu can still live for a very long time. Her bodily functions have only aged to around fifty."

Counting on your fingers, you said, "Then if Shimu dies a natural death at ninety, she can still live for about another eighty years?"

That would make her around one hundred and fifty years old in total.

Xie Huide nodded.

You were stunned. She could live way too damn long.

In the end, you might not even outlive Deng Wanshu.

"Wait, if Shimu can still live that long, then who will take care of her for the remaining years?"

By then, Xie Huide, Hu Zhongxuan, and Deng Rusong would surely all be buried in the dirt already.

Were they going to pass Deng Wanshu down like a family heirloom?

But none of the three had descendants.

"If the Returning Yang Pill cannot awaken Wanshu either, then someone especially long-lived will have to care for her." Xie Huide looked mournful.

"Who is especially long-lived?" you asked.

Xie Huide said, "Apex Grandmasters are especially long-lived."

You said, "Which Apex Grandmaster would be willing to take care of Shimu?"

Xie Huide said, "No Apex Grandmaster would be willing to care for Wanshu."

You said, "Then why did you say..."

"However, I know that Hu Zhongxuan obtained a strand of earth source this time and is attempting to break through to become an Apex Grandmaster. If he succeeds... sigh..."

Xie Huide could not continue.

Handing the white moonlight he had painstakingly guarded for decades to his romantic rival after his death was a bitter thing indeed.

You did not want to ruin the mood, but you still asked curiously, "What if Martial Uncle cannot break through to become an Apex Grandmaster either?"

Xie Huide and Deng Rusong abruptly raised their heads and looked at you together.

"Uh... did I say something wrong?"

The gentleness in their eyes turned into calm resolve.

Xie Huide's tone did not fluctuate in the slightest. "If both the Returning Yang Pill and Hu Zhongxuan fail, there is only one final method left."

Xie Huide looked at you calmly. "Tiezhu, would you be willing to care for your Shimu?"

You froze.

You felt that one sentence from Xie Huide could write an entire family ethics romance novel.

Of course, you did not want to take such an enormous burden onto yourself.

Xie Huide saw your hesitation and said, "The terms can be negotiated."

You still did not respond.

After pondering for a while, Xie Huide said, "Let us speak openly and honestly. You will see our sincerity, Tiezhu—or perhaps I should call you... He Yu!"