The Confused Senior Sister

Lin Xiao awoke with a start from a nightmare. He saw his father, Lin Shan, hacked to pieces by a barrage of blades. He saw everyone in Spring Return Hall slaughtered by the Black Blade Bandits who had swarmed in. He saw Hua Wuniang and Lin Yao, covered in blood, standing before him, their long arms reaching out to grab his throat. He saw Hu Zhutie and Mr. Wei from the accounting office, their bodies mangled and broken, struggling and groaning on the ground.

Everyone he knew lay in pools of blood, their eyes wide open, staring fixedly at him. Their resentful, indignant gazes seemed to question Lin Xiao, asking why they were all dead and only he remained alive!

Then came the people from Shen Family Fortress. Thousands of Shen family members were cut to pieces by the Overlord's Soldiers. Thousands of shadowy figures stood before Lin Xiao, silently observing him. Why had he saved the Overlord's Soldiers who had breached Shen Family Fortress? Why had he saved their lives? Lin Xiao bore a share of the guilt for those thousands of lives.

Shen Xiaobai's face suddenly appeared. Her fair, delicate face was now smeared with blood. She stood before Lin Xiao, saying something to him continuously. But Lin Xiao couldn't hear a single word; he couldn't hear or sense anything. Just as he was about to ask Shen Xiaobai what she was saying, what she wanted to tell him, a great saber flashed, and Shen Xiaobai's head flew high into the air. Drops of blood splattered onto Lin Xiao's face. Lin Xiao turned back in fury, only to see Xue Wu grinning at him.

Sweating profusely, Lin Xiao suddenly woke up.

The sticky sweat clung to his body like glue, making his skin feel uncomfortably sticky. However, he felt incredibly refreshed within. Not only had his injuries completely healed, but his meridians also seemed to have expanded significantly. The true qi, which used to feel a bit sluggish when circulating and regulating his breathing, now flowed freely and easily throughout his body. Lin Xiao was even surprised to find that several vital acupoints, which he had spent years trying to unblock, had now become wide-open thoroughfares. Even the Ren and Du meridians, which determined the innate and acquired realms of a martial artist, were now as clear as the main trade routes in Guihua City.

Slowly sitting up, Lin Xiao saw he was wearing a blue coarse cloth inner garment. Beneath him was a rather simple wooden couch, with only a piece of blue coarse cloth spread on the bare wooden planks. He had been lying on this wooden couch. He turned his head and looked around. The room wasn't large, perhaps about two zhang square. Besides the wooden couch, there was only a small square table and two long benches beside it.

On the table sat a bronze oil lamp, a small teapot, and a teacup.

On a bench sat a young girl in a blue cloth skirt. She had her elbows resting on the table, her chin propped in her hands, and she was dozing.

She was sitting facing the wooden couch, so Lin Xiao could easily see her face. It was a clean, oval face, with a clear complexion that hadn't been modified in the slightest. She had a delicate upturned nose, slightly red lips, and a pair of very refined, long eyebrows. Overall, she appeared to be a very clean, beautiful, and approachable girl. Lin Xiao roughly estimated her age; she might be a year or two older than him, but definitely not much older.

This girl gave Lin Xiao a very strange feeling. However, for a moment, he couldn't pinpoint what felt off.

Her long black hair was very lustrous, but the girl had simply tied it up on her head with a long thorn. A few strands of hair had escaped the bun and were swaying playfully in front of her, bobbing back and forth with her breathing. Her clothes were washed very cleanly, but her cuffs were smeared with something black and dirty-looking. Moreover, the cuffs and chest seemed to have been burned, with large and small holes.

Lin Xiao finally understood what was wrong. The girl was dozing with her chin in her hands, her rosy lips slightly parted, and a line of clear drool was trickling down from the corner of her mouth, slowly dripping onto the tabletop, forming a puddle the size of a palm. Lin Xiao stared blankly at the line of drool. Suddenly, the girl smacked her lips and mumbled in her sleep, "Teacher's wife, save the chicken leg for Yao'er. I haven't had chicken legs in so long. Smack, smack, delicious!"

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched. He looked around the room again and softly called out, "This young lady~~~ Miss~~~ This, uh, young lady!"

Lin Xiao called out several times, slowly raising his voice, but the girl remained sound asleep, completely unresponsive. Helpless, Lin Xiao had to use a bit of his true qi and cough forcefully. With a 'hemph,' the oil lamp on the table flickered, and the teapot lid was jostled, falling onto the table with a 'clang.'

"Ah?" The young girl's eyes snapped open. She blinked a few times dazedly, looking at Lin Xiao for a moment.

She haphazardly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and mumbled, nodding at Lin Xiao, "Oh, you're awake!"

She stood up and turned to leave. Lin Xiao watched her expectantly, hesitating whether to ask her where he was and who she was, when the girl suddenly let out a earth-shattering scream, "Heavens! Who are you? Why are you in my room? Take this! Are you here to steal the pills I've been secretly refining?"

The girl spun around and pointed at Lin Xiao from a distance.

Lin Xiao quickly raised his arms to block in front of him, shouting, "Wait, I'm not—"

Before Lin Xiao could finish speaking, there was a deafening 'boom,' and a bolt of lightning shot from the girl's palm, smashing Lin Xiao and the wooden couch through the back wall, sending him flying out of the room in a sorry state. The wooden couch was instantly reduced to splinters, Lin Xiao's clothes turned to black ash, and his entire body was blackened by the lightning fire. Feeling his internal organs convulsing, Lin Xiao crashed heavily onto the ground. He opened his mouth to say something, but a puff of black smoke emerged, and he shook his head, passing out with a 'thud.'

After blasting Lin Xiao away with Palm Lightning, the girl looked blankly at the room with a large hole in the wall. She suddenly slapped her forehead and exclaimed in surprise, "Strange, this doesn't seem to be my bedroom!"

Blinking her eyes, the girl suddenly cried out, "Oh no, oh no, I remember! This dark, messy fellow is the junior disciple my master was planning to take in! Oh dear, junior disciple, why have you become like this? You were still all fair and tender when I was bathing you earlier!" The girl scrambled to Lin Xiao's side, tears welling up in her eyes, "Wuwuwu, why have you been injured? Teacher's wife will definitely blame me for not taking good care of you!"

Figures appeared from all directions, either flying through the air or using lightness skills to quickly leap forward. High-crowned Daoists and Daoist nuns arrived nearby, staring blankly at the girl holding Lin Xiao and crying loudly. They all shook their heads, patted their butts, and turned to leave. Only a middle-aged Daoist nun in an apricot-yellow robe took a few steps away, but then she heard the girl's crying and turned back with a hint of reluctance, "Yao'er, your Palm Lightning isn't powerful enough. This little fellow is fine; just give him a couple of pills casually."

"Oh? Just give him a couple of pills casually?" Yao'er blinked her eyes and indeed casually took out two black pills from her sleeve and popped them into Lin Xiao's mouth. As soon as the pills entered his stomach, they dissolved into two streams of bitter, pungent, and fishy heat that rushed into Lin Xiao's belly. For a moment, there was a rumbling sound from Lin Xiao's stomach, and his body began to convulse violently.

The Daoist nun in the apricot-yellow robe gave Yao'er an instruction and had only taken two steps when she suddenly slapped her forehead forcefully, turned around sharply, and shouted, "Yao'er, no! Don't give him any more medicine!"

Yao'er foolishly pointed at Lin Xiao, who was convulsing violently, and said to the Daoist nun with a smile, "Senior Sister Hua, he's already taken them."

Senior Sister Hua's hands began to twitch. She asked Yao'er nervously, "What medicine did you give him?"

Blinking her eyes, Yao'er blankly took out a large handful of colorful pills from her sleeve and inexplicably said to Senior Sister Hua, "Didn't you say to just give him a couple of pills casually? I... I forgot which ones I gave him." She counted the pills in her hand, "Look, there are over thirty kinds of pills here."

Senior Sister Hua let out a few dry chuckles, "Hehehe, hehe," then suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Master, come quickly and save us! Yao'er has given someone medicine randomly! Come quickly and save us!"

A streak of green light flashed through the void, and a middle-aged Daoist with a fair, beardless face rushed over urgently on his sword light. He shouted angrily, "Yao'er, last month I confiscated all the pills on you, where did you get these pills again?" While shouting, he sped forward on his sword light and reached out to grab Lin Xiao on the ground.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao, who was unconscious, let out an earth-shattering roar. He leaped up five to six zhang high from where he stood. The night wind blew, instantly blowing away his clothes, which had turned to powder, exposing a black, naked torso to the gaze of nearly a hundred Daoists and Daoist nuns. The Daoist on the sword light missed his grasp, raised his head in embarrassment, and saw Lin Xiao let out a strange cry, shielding his lower body with his hands, and rush towards a lush flower bed in the distance in a sorry state.

Soon, strange noises came from the flower bed, and a faint unusual smell drifted over.

The Daoist angrily retracted his sword light and stood fiercely before Yao'er, who was shrinking her shoulders, lowering her head, and crying with tears streaming down her face. Before the Daoist could scold her, Yao'er had already squatted on the ground and burst into tears, "Wuwuwu, Teacher's wife~~~ Master is going to scold me again~~~ Teacher's wife, come quickly~~~ Master is going to scold Yao'er again~~~ Wuwu, these pills, I refined them in the alchemy room for fun these past few days, wuwu!"

The Daoist's face twitched violently a few times. He asked in a low voice, "Yao'er, what pill did you give him? Do you remember the formula for that pill?"

Yao'er looked up, staring blankly at the Daoist, blinking a few times. She said very confusedly, "Formula? Uh, I don't know! I just grabbed some herbs and threw them into the alchemy furnace, and it refined into pills. I don't know what they are! Hmm, I do have some pills refined according to formulas here. Look, there's 'Bone Dissolving Pill,' 'Cold Marrow Pill,' 'Wood Man Pill,' and also—"

The Daoist's face twitched even more severely. He stared blankly at Yao'er for a long time before saying dryly, "You are forbidden from entering the alchemy room for three months. Hand over all the pills you have! Quickly, besides the ones in your hands, also the ones in your sleeves!"

Yao'er looked at the Daoist with great grievance and slowly handed the large handful of pills in her hands to the Daoist, then took out a large bundle of pills from her sleeves and handed them over.

The Daoist pointed at Yao'er's belt, "You have seven hidden pockets in your belt, hand over all the pills inside! Quickly!"

Rolling her eyes, Yao'er took out several pill bottles from her belt with a crooked mouth and handed them to the Daoist.

The Daoist's hand pointed to Yao'er's boots, "You always hide pills in your boot shafts, hand them over to me too."

He then pointed to Yao'er's hair bun, "And sometimes you hide a few wax pills in your hair bun, don't think I don't know your little tricks."

While forcing Yao'er to hand over the scattered pills on her body, the Daoist listened intently to the situation with Lin Xiao. Daoist Danling had entrusted him with a disciple with a pure fire constitution, and it was a good thing to take Lin Xiao as a disciple. He absolutely did not want his disciple, who was destined to achieve great things in 'fire tending,' to have any accidents. Soon, the Daoist was relieved. The strange noises from the flower bed continued, and although Lin Xiao's groans were painful, his voice was full of vigor. It seemed that the pills Yao'er had given him were not poisonous, at least.

After confiscating all the pills from Yao'er, the Daoist pointed at the Daoist nun in the apricot-yellow robe and shouted, "Hua Feng'er, you're also confused. You know Yao'er's temperament, yet you could suggest giving her just a couple of pills casually? You, you, you! Are you also confused?"

Hua Feng'er also looked at the Daoist with some grievance, spreading her hands helplessly, "Master, this~~~ Junior Sister's Palm Lightning is indeed not powerful enough. As long as she takes a couple of pills to protect her heart and nourish her body, it will naturally be fine. But Junior Sister she~~~"

Hua Feng'er glanced strangely towards the flower bed and grinned at the Daoist.

The Daoist's face flushed with embarrassment. He looked at the fellow disciples nearby and waved his hand loudly, "Alright, disperse, disperse! What are you all looking at my Dan Fusheng's predicament for?"

A group of Daoists and Daoist nuns cupped their hands towards Dan Fusheng with laughter and quickly departed using their movement techniques and spells.

The next morning, after a night of diarrhea that left him completely drained, making him feel as if he were floating in the air and moving like a zombie, Lin Xiao, led by Dan Fusheng, headed towards the 'Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall' beneath the main peak north of Spring Return Valley. After a night of severe diarrhea, by the end, Lin Xiao felt as if his internal organs were about to be expelled. If Dan Fusheng hadn't given him two pills to replenish his energy, he would probably be lying in bed groaning right now.

Even with Dan Fusheng's pills, the ingredients used in Yao'er's two 'laxatives' were unknown, and Lin Xiao still felt weak and limp all over. His legs trembled, and each step was soft, as if he might fall at any moment.

Dan Fusheng looked at Lin Xiao, whose face had gone pale, and couldn't help but squint and laugh. "Hehehe, it was a big purge, but it's for the best. There isn't a speck of impurity left in your body. Yao'er's two pills were a bit potent, but the effect is good. Hmm, hmm, this has saved us a round of 'Marrow Cleansing Soup' after you formally join."

Lin Xiao slowly turned his head, his voice weak as he slowly opened his mouth and softly said, "Oh~~~"

Dan Fusheng gently patted Lin Xiao's shoulder. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "Today, I am officially accepting you into the Great Luo Pill Dao. We already know about the matters in Guihua City and Spring Return Hall. Your two martial uncles rushed over there to gather information and returned overnight. Hmm, the Jimo Sect dared to enter the Great Yuan Kingdom and cause trouble, even wiping out the outer disciples of our Great Luo Pill Dao. This is something we will definitely settle with them. However, your cultivation is too low, so you shouldn't dwell on this matter."

Lin Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But he suddenly realized that he didn't even have the right to voice his opinion.

Last night, Yao'er's Palm Lightning and the sword light controlled by Dan Fusheng had made it clear to Lin Xiao: he, Lin Xiao, had encountered a legendary world.

In this world, Lin Xiao, who only had over ten years of true qi cultivation from the mortal realm, didn't even have the right to speak.

What kind of disputes would arise between the Great Luo Pill Dao and the Jimo Sect over Spring Return Hall, and how big would the conflict be, all of this had nothing to do with him, Lin Xiao.

Perhaps, many, many years from now, when Lin Xiao possessed the same strength as Dan Fusheng, he would finally have the right to personally seek out the Jimo Sect and seek justice for Lin Shan.

The main gate of the Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall was open, and golden bells and jade drums emitted pleasant chimes. After five years of closed-door cultivation and refining a massive amount of pills for the Origin Sect, the Great Luo Pill Dao once again opened its mountain gates. Dan Fusheng accepted Lin Xiao, and he became an ordinary white-robed Daoist boy of the Great Luo Pill Dao.

Lin Xiao knelt before the ancestral statue of the Great Luo Pill Dao and bowed piously.

Daoist Danling and other elders of the Great Luo Pill Dao nodded slightly. They could see the piety, the persistence, and the determination in Lin Xiao's heart.

However, they couldn't see what kind of person Lin Xiao would become in the future, or what events he would encounter!

Just as Lin Xiao heavily kowtowed, his forehead hitting the ground and drawing blood, and Dan Fusheng called for him to rise with a hint of heartache, a world-shattering explosion suddenly came from the direction of the alchemy room beneath the southern peak.

The Daoists in the main hall rushed out, using talismans to suspend themselves in the air and gaze towards the alchemy room.

They saw a small, black mushroom-shaped cloud of mist slowly rising from the alchemy room. The alchemy room had already been blown halfway into the air, and countless broken bricks and tiles were now falling.

Daoist Danling looked at his fellow disciples with confusion and asked blankly, "I seem to have said yesterday that the pills were completely refined and instructed everyone to rest well for a month. Who is in the alchemy room?"

Dan Fusheng's mouth twitched. He suddenly let out a sharp roar, "Yao'er~~~"

A sobbing cry was heard from afar: "Wuwuwu, Master, help~~~ Yao'er accidentally dropped a 'Blazing Sun Fruit', and the alchemy furnace exploded like this?"

With a 'gulp', Dan Fusheng's true qi became chaotic from anger, and he lost his footing, falling from the sky in a sorry state.

Lin Xiao's mouth twitched, and a hint of a happy smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Great Luo Pill Dao?

It seemed like this sect was not bad. (To be continued)