Master

Li Huowang raised the pestle in his hand and, bored out of his skull, struck the medicine mortar again and again, slowly grinding the Glowing Stone mixed with mud into powder.

Though the Karst Cave was damp and cold, he wore only a rough cloth garment. Yet his face showed not the slightest concern, as if none of this was worth a second glance.

He was not the only one in the cave. There were other men and women as well, all with their hair bound up, all dressed in the same coarse hemp cloth.

The only difference between them and Li Huowang was that every one of them had obvious physical defects. Some had albinism; others had polio.

All manner of congenital and acquired deformities could be found here. The small Material Room Karst Cave resembled a museum of malformed bodies.

Their work was the same as Li Huowang's: pounding things. Only the things they pounded differed—some crushed metals and stones, others medicine. But clearly, some people had no mind for work.

"Ah!" A woman's terrified shriek drew everyone's eyes over.

At one side of the Karst Cave, a fat, cleft-lipped youth wore a lewd grin as he tried to drag an albino girl into his arms.

"Lemme do it once. Just once, I swear. Heh heh heh~"

Li Huowang ignored the clamor, closed his eyes, and continued working away, one strike at a time.

As the woman's crying grew more and more miserable, the irritated Li Huowang cursed under his breath and rose to his feet, lifting the stone medicine mortar in one hand.

Thud. Stone collided with bone with a dull crack.

The cleft-lipped fatty, his head split open and bleeding, dropped onto the ground in a daze. Evidently stunned by the blow, he froze for two seconds before his face twisted in pain and he clutched his wound, howling dryly.

The white-haired, pale-skinned girl who had escaped being defiled clutched her clothes and cowered fearfully behind Li Huowang.

"I'm telling you! You're done for! Do you know what I am to Master? Once his old self finds out, he'll kill you!" The cleft-lipped fatty snarled furiously.

"What the hell is he? He isn't even worth a fart!!" The moment Li Huowang said this, the entire place fell silent as a grave.

None of the others present had ever imagined that the man before them would dare utter such words.

Looking at the expressions on these so-called senior and junior brothers, Li Huowang drew a deep breath and forced down the fury in his heart.

"What's wrong with me? Why am I getting angry at these things? My personality was never supposed to be this flamboyant. I can't let these things affect who I am. That just now wasn't the real me. Calm down. Calm down."

Just as Li Huowang was still soothing his emotions, someone called for him from the entrance.

"Junior Brother Li, Wang Shimei, Master summons you." The tall young man who called out was clearly of a different standing from Li Huowang. He wore an Azure Daoist Robe.

Though the Daoist Robe looked old and its cuffs had been washed pale, it was still incomparably better than the tattered hemp cloth on Li Huowang.

With a horsetail whisk tucked under one arm, he looked at the younger disciples before him with a trace of arrogance in his eyes.

The moment the young Daoist appeared, the bleeding fatty immediately showed a look of gloating delight. "Haha! You're done for!! Today it's your turn."

But Li Huowang ignored him completely. He turned and followed a woman with a crooked mouth and drool running down her chin toward the entrance. Her face was waxen pale, and she looked terribly unhealthy.

After taking only two steps, he realized someone was tugging at his sleeve, refusing to let him leave. Turning back, Li Huowang found that it was the albino girl he had saved.

With tears filling her eyes, she shook her head again and again, terror written all over her face.

Li Huowang remained unmoved. Coldly, he flung off her hand and strode forward.

Beyond the Material Room lay a larger Karst Cave. Its walls held many other caves like the Material Room, each serving a different purpose. Judging by their uneven, pitted appearance, the people who had built this place had clearly possessed no great craftsmanship.

The entire Karst Cave was enormous, its tunnels of every size stretching in all directions like an enlarged ant nest.

Rotting peachwood boards had been nailed above each small cave entrance, their names carved into them with force deep enough to bite through wood: Spirit Palace Hall, Old Discipline Hall, Ancestral Celebration Hall, Four Royals Hall.

A naturally formed Karst Cave had actually been dressed up to look exactly like a Daoist temple.

As the two continued onward through the cave, the crooked-mouthed woman took a black lump from her pocket and suddenly held it out before Li Huowang. In her foolish, vacant voice, she asked, "Want some syrup candy?"

Li Huowang frowned slightly. Seemingly aware of her simple-mindedness, he impatiently took it and stuffed it straight into his sleeve.

Seeing him accept it, she pulled another piece from her pocket and shoved it into her own mouth. Grinning foolishly, she went on, "Master good, Master gives candy."

Li Huowang had no intention of saying anything in response. They continued walking, and after roughly a quarter of an hour, an ancient-looking, pitch-black Alchemy Furnace appeared before him.

The furnace, billowing cyan smoke, rose straight into the cave ceiling. It was so enormous that it resembled a small mountain of metal.

As they drew nearer, the Alchemy Furnace grew larger and larger until its shadow swallowed him whole, filling Li Huowang with a crushing sense of oppression.

It was not only the immense five-tiered Alchemy Furnace that oppressed him, but also the figure standing before it.

From behind, the man wore a Cyan Daoist Robe, his hair pinned beneath a crown, white hair at both temples. He looked every inch an immortal sage beyond the dusty world.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he appeared to be doing the same thing Li Huowang had been doing: pounding with a pestle. But the pestle in his hand was far larger, more like a colossal pillar.

With every rise and fall, the sound of metal and stone colliding echoed endlessly through the Karst Cave.

"Mas... Master!" The crooked-mouthed woman clumsily pinched her left thumb with her right hand, laid the four fingers of her left hand over those of her right, and held both hands to her chest as she bowed toward the figure. Her eyes brimmed with reverence.

The instant she spoke, the grating crashing sounds ceased.

When the figure turned around, Li Huowang's pupils still contracted despite having prepared himself for it.

The Daoist's front and back were utterly different. From behind, he looked like an immortal sage; from the front, he was a disgusting, pockmarked old man. A few scattered yellow teeth protruded from his underbitten mouth, exposed to the air.

"You've come? Good disciples, you've kept me waiting."

With a sweep of his filthy Daoist Robe, the Old Daoist leaped into the air, seized the crooked-mouthed woman by the neck with one hand, and retreated.

Before the foolish woman could even finish another sentence, she was thrown into a Stone Urn half the height of a man. The next instant, Master's face twisted savagely as he gripped the stone pestle with both hands and smashed it down hard.

"Dingchou extends my life, Dinghai protects my soul, Jiazi guards my body, Jiaxu preserves my form, Jiashen secures my life, Jiawu watches over my soul, Jiachen makes my spirit true!"

He lifted the Stone Urn, weighing several hundred jin, with one hand and emptied its entire contents into the Alchemy Furnace before him. Then, his expression wildly exhilarated, he thrust both hands high into the air.

"Fire the furnace, refine the pill!"

Two Daoist Children with exaggerated rouge painted on their cheeks emerged from the shadows. While fanning the flames, they poured all manner of ingredients into the furnace, including powders of various metals and stones, as well as many living, wriggling things.

Before long, an eerie, rich fragrance spread through the air.

At this moment, Pockmarked Head Master closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Stroking the few hairs on his chin, a satisfied expression appeared on his filthy, ugly face.

When he slowly opened his eyes, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to look at Li Huowang, he said, "I heard you called this Daoist master a fart. Is that so?"

In an instant, the surrounding air seemed to freeze solid.

Facing this so-called Master who killed without blinking, Li Huowang remained unmoved. He slowly closed his eyes and calmed his somewhat hurried breathing, silently chanting in his heart, You can't fool me. This is all fake. All fake.

"Speak! Are you mute? Hm?!" As Master's footsteps drew closer and closer, the foul stench of blood mixed with rot hit Li Huowang's nose like a wall.

Trembling, Li Huowang suddenly clenched his teeth and forced his eyes open with every ounce of strength in his body.

The dim, suffocating cave temple vanished in an instant. In its place appeared a bright, clean hospital room filled with fresh air, while his lower body was tightly bound to the bed with cloth straps.