Chen Qing passed through the familiar corridor, and the simple wooden gate to the backyard appeared before him.
The door was tightly shut, but the faint fragrance of medicine drifting from within settled his heart.
He stopped, straightened his clothes, and assumed the proper respectful manner.
"Master Li, this disciple has returned."
The courtyard fell silent for a moment.
Then, with a creak, the wooden door opened inward on its own, though no one had touched it.
Chen Qing stepped inside.
The small courtyard looked unchanged, as though time had come to a standstill here.
That enormous pill furnace still occupied the center of the courtyard. Earthfire burned steadily beneath it, its body a dark red that radiated an unsettling warmth.
From the gaps beneath the lid, an indescribable mist occasionally seeped out. It was neither fragrant nor foul, yet it invigorated the spirit.
Li Baichuan was not sitting on the cattail mat beside the pill furnace as usual, tending the fire.
He sat in a bamboo chair beneath the eaves, his back to the courtyard gate and his face toward the old tree within the courtyard, as if meditating in silence, or perhaps wandering beyond the heavens.
Only after Chen Qing entered and stopped several paces behind him did Li Baichuan slowly turn around.
He said nothing. He merely looked at him.
Chen Qing bowed and solemnly performed a salute. "Disciple Chen Qing pays respects to Master Li."
Li Baichuan nodded, his gaze lingering on Chen Qing for a moment. "It seems you obtained the Flood Dragon Core this old man asked you to find."
Chen Qing's heart tightened. Old Deng's eyesight was truly vicious. He had seen through even the lingering aura of Flood Dragon Essence Blood on him at a glance.
His expression remained unchanged as he