Five Years

Five years later.

It was still the same apothecary.

The surroundings had scarcely changed.

The air remained thick with the scent of medicine, and the Medicinal Ingredients on the shelves were still neatly sorted by category.

Yet the people within had changed considerably.

An ordinary-sized table stood there.

An Ebony Go Board lay spread across it.

The youth and girl of those days had shed their childishness.

Chen Sheng was twenty years old.

Dressed in a green robe that accentuated his upright figure, he held a black stone in hand. His brows carried an air of gentle refinement and calm composure.

Across from him in the game.

Huang Wangyou wore flowing white robes, her beautiful hair bound by a golden ring. Her bright eyes and delicate features still retained the liveliness of her younger days.

"Tap!"

With a soft sound.

Huang Wangyou placed a white stone on the board.

Tilting her head, she looked at Chen Sheng with a light smile.

The dimples on her cheeks revealed a girl's endearing innocence, while the golden ring in her hair swayed gently with her movement.

"Brother Yun, your move may look loose, but you've actually hidden a follow-up."

"I saw through it."

Chen Sheng smiled softly and said gently,

"Then take a look at this move."

Before the nearby Bluestone Platform.

Li Huayao had matured considerably as well.

At that moment, she was slicing Poria with a bronze knife. As the blade rose and fell, her gaze kept secretly drifting toward the Go board.

When she saw Huang Wangyou lean over to watch Chen Sheng place his stone, the ends of her hair nearly brushed the back of his hand.

Li Huayao could not help curving her lips into a delighted auntie grin as she secretly swooned inside.

"Tsk, tsk, I really can't bear to watch this."

Though she said so inwardly.

Her gaze never left them.

The curve of her lips gradually became a crescent moon, and even her slicing of the Poria became a little lighter.

"Junior Sister is slacking off again!"

Huang Wangyou suddenly turned around, staring directly at her with scrutiny in her eyes.

Li Huayao hurriedly lowered her head and continued cutting the herbs, muttering under her breath,

"How am I...?"

Yet her fingertips accidentally cut a Poria slice crooked.

She quietly complained to herself,

"She only knows how to bully me. She's all sweet and gentle with her Brother Yun—what favoritism."

At the Go board.

Chen Sheng smiled as he placed another black stone, steering the topic back.

"You said new apprentices were coming?"

"Yes."

Huang Wangyou sat up straight again, rolling a stone between her fingers.

"Father said they'll arrive next month."

"If you ask me, you've been in the apothecary for so long. You should have gone to the Fire Room to learn fire control ages ago!"

She puffed out her cheeks like a dissatisfied squirrel.

Chen Sheng smiled mildly. "Master has his own arrangements. I've only studied medicinal knowledge for six years. It isn't time yet."

Huang Wangyou pouted.

"The rules were made by that old man anyway. He keeps saying, 'Without a solid grasp of medicines, one cannot master fire techniques!'"

"Wangyou."

Chen Sheng gently tapped the Go board, his gaze warm but carrying a hint of seriousness.

"Master is doing this for my sake. Identifying and preparing medicines are the foundations of alchemy. It cannot be rushed."

Huang Wangyou pursed her lips.

Then she suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice.

"Brother Yun, have you accumulated enough spiritual power for Qi Refining Third Layer?"

Chen Sheng rubbed the black stone between his fingertips and replied softly,

"Soon. At most, it will be full in another two months."

Huang Wangyou sighed as well.

"So long? Cultivation is too difficult."

Chen Sheng looked at her indulgently and lightly tapped the girl's forehead with a finger.

"You cultivate for three days, then rest for two. And you still complain that cultivation is difficult?"

The girl had the same aptitude as him. Both possessed Low-grade Spiritual Roots, and their cultivation levels were currently similar, though she was two years younger than he was.

It seemed rather good.

However.

Their circumstances growing up had been worlds apart.

Chen Sheng rarely received any extra Spirit Pills or Spirit Rice to support his cultivation. He relied solely on the most basic Spirit Vein Training Ground in the Market Town.

As for the girl, she had practically never lacked Spirit Rice or Spirit Pills, yet she had progressed only this far.

It was clear that she truly had not put in much effort!

Huang Wangyou giggled.

"Meditating and refining Qi is far too boring. I don't plan to reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime anyway, so why work so hard?"

Chen Sheng nodded lightly and said no more.

Ascending to Foundation Establishment was far too difficult!

For cultivators with Low-grade Spiritual Roots, cultivation was slow if they had only a basic Spirit Vein Training Ground.

For the first three layers.

Each layer took an average of four or five years.

For the middle three layers.

Each layer took an average of seven or eight years.

For the final three layers.

Each layer required eleven or twelve years.

And that was merely the time needed to accumulate Qi Refining power and increase the spiritual power within one's body.

Though this process was slow, even soil could pile into a mountain. Refining a single thread of spiritual power meant visible progress.

But if one encountered a bottleneck and saw not the slightest progress day after day, that was true torment!

Many people remained trapped in one realm for decades, completely losing the will to advance.

Chen Sheng silently recited in his heart,

"Cultivation is a race against time. If I fail to reach Foundation Establishment before my vital blood declines at sixty, there will be no hope for me in this life."

"Wealth, teachings, land, and companions—there truly is a reason wealth comes first."

"Especially for cultivators of average aptitude. Without relying on pills, they would not even have a chance to attempt Foundation Establishment."

Seeing that he had drifted off, Huang Wangyou waved a hand before his eyes and smiled brightly.

"What are you thinking about? Wait for me in the bamboo grove east of town later. I have something to tell you."

She blinked, a trace of mystery in her eyes. Now that her features had fully blossomed, she appeared even more charming.

Chen Sheng nodded gently.

Over the past few years, with their master's tacit approval, the two had more or less confirmed their relationship. It was perfectly normal for them to go on dates from time to time.

At dusk.

The apprentices of the Pill Workshop left one after another.

Chen Sheng also headed toward their agreed meeting place.

East of the bridge, by the bamboo grove.

The bamboo grove had been dyed a warm gold by the setting sun, while the river breeze, carrying moisture, brushed across his lapels.

Chen Sheng waited for a while.

Then he saw Huang Wangyou running over with her skirt gathered in hand. Her hem fluttered behind her, accompanied by a string of light footsteps.

"Have you been waiting long?"

She looked up at him with a smile.

Chen Sheng gazed at her tenderly.

"Not at all."

The two sat leaning against the riverbank, listening to the babbling water as they chatted for a while.

Huang Wangyou suddenly took a small jade-green bottle from her sleeve and stuffed it into his hand.

"Guess what it is?"

Chen Sheng removed the stopper.

A rich medicinal fragrance drifted out. Inside lay a purple pill the size of a longan, its surface flowing with a faint spiritual glow.

"A Purple Cloud Pill?"

Chen Sheng's heart jolted. He recognized it at once. It was a Breakthrough Pill used when encountering the bottleneck to Qi Condensation Mid-stage.

With their Low-grade Spiritual Roots.

There was no chance they could avoid this bottleneck!

"I can't take it."

Chen Sheng hurriedly pushed the bottle back.

Over the years, Wangyou had secretly tried to give him basic cultivation pills, but he had never accepted them even once.

He could not accept a pill this precious all the more.

Afraid that the little girl would keep pressing him.

He quickly added,

"Don't worry. I've made preparations."

He was not speaking falsely.

Over the years, he had continued working part-time as a Spirit Farmer.

Every year, he could save up a sum of Spirit Stones.

He had originally intended to return them to Uncle, but Uncle had become furious and nearly beaten him.

After that.

Chen Sheng began saving those Spirit Stones, planning to use them to purchase a Breakthrough Pill when he encountered a bottleneck.

Unexpectedly, Huang Wangyou pressed down on his hand, puffing out her cheeks as she emphasized,

"This wasn't given to me by my father!"

As she spoke, she pulled another small bottle from her bosom. Inside was, astonishingly, another Purple Cloud Pill.

"Two Purple Cloud Pills?"

Chen Sheng froze.

These Breakthrough Pills could not be taken consecutively.

The girl looked up at him, her eyes rolling as a touch of grievance appeared in them.

"This one is the one Father gave me."

"The one I gave you was bought with my own savings. I prepared it especially for you. If you won't accept it, I'll throw it into the river."

She suddenly raised the bottle as if to toss it away.

Upon hearing this, Chen Sheng could no longer bring himself to refuse. He gently drew her into his arms and said softly,

"Thank you, Wangyou."

"I don't want your thanks."

Huang Wangyou nuzzled against his chest, found a comfortable position, and buried her little head.

Under the evening glow.

The river breeze drifted by.

A pair of lovers leaned together by the riverbank.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long.

Deep within the distant bamboo grove.

A figure in green robes stood silently.

Huang Yueyang watched the two embracing on the riverbank. A gentle smile slowly curved his lips before he quietly vanished into the dusk.