"There's no wall in the world that doesn't let some wind through! I have my own channels for finding these things out."
Huang Shanyu smiled smugly at the sight.
From the very beginning, he had known quite a bit about Heavenly Medicine Mountain's current situation. He had roughly guessed why Su Hao wore such a troubled expression, and had deliberately waited until now to expose it.
"But he had been in seclusion all this time. How could he have suddenly offended... Oh, right! Someone suddenly died at Heavenly Medicine Mountain before, and those corpses were horribly emaciated. I heard they were drained through Essence Absorption. Someone wanted to perform Essence Absorption on my master, didn't they?"
Su Hao reacted with exaggerated shock.
"Heh heh, you've got it wrong.
"Only a handful of female disciples at Joy Peak are undisciplined enough to leave the peak and hunt slaves or cultivators.
"But they wouldn't target Alchemist Lin. After all, alchemists are exceedingly rare among the outer sect disciples. They might need Alchemist Lin's help in the future.
"So unless there's some deep-seated grudge, no one would attack Alchemist Lin.
"Someone at Heavenly Medicine Mountain was subjected to Essence Absorption. I imagine that was Liu Mei's handiwork. She's the number-one beauty of Joy Peak, known as the Crimson Moon Fairy.
"Her bewitching arts are so profound they've reached perfection. With every frown and smile, even her fellow disciples whose cultivation surpasses hers might not be able to resist her.
"Lin Zhi Shan cared about his reputation. If he had caught her in the act, he might have attacked Liu Mei out of wounded pride.
"Whether it was the medicine slave or that Lin Miao fellow, neither was worth the two of them truly going all out!
"Liu Mei's reputation for beauty had spread far and wide, and she had countless admirers. She was the object of worship among the younger female disciples of Joy Peak, and she was rather protective of her own.
"However, I heard that one of Liu Mei's junior sisters seemed to have died. If Lin Zhi Shan was the one who killed her, then everything would make sense."
Huang Shanyu took a sip of tea and began analyzing the matter slowly, a trace of smugness showing through as though he had seen through the entire situation.
Su Hao listened quietly, occasionally revealing a bewildered expression.
Inside, however, he breathed a sigh of relief. What Huang Shanyu knew was limited to the bits of information Su Hao had revealed to Huang Jiao and the others.
Most likely, he had an informant at Heavenly Medicine Mountain.
"So the person who injured my master was Liu Mei?" Su Hao asked, his brows tightly furrowed.
Huang Shanyu watched his expression the entire time.
There was anger, as well as fear.
Huang Shanyu's manner grew even more casual. "Definitely. In my opinion, your master must have grown more and more frightened these past few days. He was worried that Fairy Liu might find some backers or admirers to come trouble him, so he simply left to lie low."
"Huh? Is there really anywhere safer than the sect? If things came to it, my master could have called in favors and asked well-connected people to mediate. Wouldn't leaving the sect make him even more vulnerable?"
Su Hao asked in confusion.
"There's always a higher mountain beyond the mountain. If Liu Mei truly set her heart on using her influence to deal with Alchemist Lin, then even if Alchemist Lin's alchemical attainments were several times higher, it would still be difficult for him to protect himself!
"Of course, it's less likely that she would borrow someone's power or seek a backer. As far as I know, Liu Mei is proud and arrogant. Someone once joked that she had been promised to an Inner Sect Elder. That person was found dead that very night, hanging from a pillar in the square.
"She probably wouldn't go so far as to call on connections and influence in the inner sect just to deal with Lin Zhi Shan.
"But to Lin Zhi Shan, this concerned his life and safety. Even the slightest possibility would be enough to leave him unable to eat or sleep.
"If I were him, I'd definitely find a way to avoid her sharp edge and quietly leave the sect for the time being, concealing my whereabouts. That would be the wiser course."
Huang Shanyu pondered and analyzed the situation.
He had not expected things to be this serious. It might even affect Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's pill business.
"Would that really work? If my master never dared to come back, how would that be any different from betraying the sect? Would the sect let him off?" Su Hao continued acting.
"Whether his departure counts as betraying the sect isn't something you or I can judge. Besides, if you can think of that, do you think your master couldn't?
"He has his own connections. Once he hides for a while and Fairy Liu's anger subsides, he can find a respected mediator to smooth things over. At worst, he'll pay a hefty compensation and apologize. Wouldn't the matter be settled then?
"Cultivation is still about human relationships and worldly wisdom, about background and influence!"
Huang Shanyu offered his guidance.
"I see... Going by what you said, Fairy Liu has formidable backing and a profound background. She's a descendant of an Inner Sect Elder, isn't she? But what does 'promised to' mean?"
Everything Su Hao did made him look more and more like a fledgling who had just set foot into the world.
Seeing his performance, Huang Shanyu relaxed even further, though his expression became somewhat more solemn. "That isn't a topic you or I can discuss."
He suddenly changed the subject. "If I were you, I'd be thinking about how to protect myself!"
"What do you mean?" Su Hao pretended to be ignorant.
"Think about it. Your master left the sect to lie low, but as Lin Zhi Shan's disciple, you're still staying inside the sect.
"If Fairy Liu recovers from her injuries and comes out of seclusion, what do you think she'll do?" Huang Shanyu wore a schadenfreude-filled smile.
"..."
The corner of Su Hao's mouth twitched.
If I hadn't thought of this, why would I have come to find Huang Shanyu today?!
"Hahahaha, scared now, are you?" Huang Shanyu roared with laughter.
"Of course. I'm only a Qi Refining Level 3 minor cultivator, and I've only been cultivating for a few days. My cultivation was entirely piled up by taking pills. Never mind someone like Fairy Liu—even any formal disciple at Qi Refining Level 1 could kill me as easily as slaughtering a chicken."
Su Hao spoke helplessly.
Huang Shanyu shot him a sidelong glance and shook his head in displeasure. "There's nothing to be done. Who told your master to kill a female disciple from Joy Peak? Sigh... That man really has lost his wits!"
"Besides, back then, you used your master's name to come to my Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, taking pills and borrowing two hundred spirit stones interest-free. How could there be any business where you only enjoyed the benefits without taking on the risks? Just accept your bad luck now!
"Phew, luckily I was careful and kept an extra eye open. When you took pills for your master back then, I gave Alchemist Lin pills of equal value to the profit share from the previous period.
"Otherwise, I would have been dragged into this too."
At this point, he grew furious.
Lin Zhi Shan would not be coming back for the short term, yet he had left Su Hao at Heavenly Medicine Mountain. He was clearly prepared to let him fend for himself. There was no real affection between master and disciple.
In other words, Su Hao had no value whatsoever. He had already been treated as a discarded pawn!
He had wasted all that effort trying to curry favor! All those favors had been for nothing!
There was no need to be polite to Su Hao anymore!
"Elder Huang, please save me," Su Hao pleaded.
"How could I possibly have the ability to save you? I'm only a shopkeeper. I rely on Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's reputation and the protection of its owner.
"Once you leave this door,
"If Liu Mei kills me, there won't be any consequences. What qualifications do I have to protect you?"
Huang Shanyu waved his hand and prepared to see him out.
"What if I joined Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?"
Su Hao seemed not to notice the change in Huang Shanyu's attitude.
This was the solution he had thought over carefully these past few days.
Without Lin Zhi Shan at the front to draw the hatred,
he either had to take action himself and reveal his strength, or find a backer. The only person he could connect with was the shopkeeper of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
"You? Do you think you can join Heavenly Treasure Pavilion just because you want to?
"Never mind you—even disciples at Qi Refining Level 8 or 9 need connections and background to join Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. The line has already stretched all the way to the year after next."
Huang Shanyu glanced sidelong at Su Hao. This fledgling wasn't even considered an apprentice alchemist, and had not yet come into contact with the Dao of Alchemy. There was no need to waste time on him!
He picked up his tea again, took a sip, then slowly raised his chin. "Su Hao, you should leave. Take care."
"I... I know how to make pills!"
Su Hao pondered for two seconds before speaking with great seriousness.
"You know how to make pills?!" Huang Shanyu burst into laughter. "You were almost refined into a medicine slave by Lin Zhi Shan yourself. You just happened to get lucky.
"He discovered that you had some talent in the Dao of Alchemy—or some other quality he appreciated—and took you in as a formal disciple. But there are countless outer sect disciples, and how many people with talent in the Dao of Alchemy are there besides you? Your master spent twenty or thirty years, along with truly exceptional talent in alchemy, to reach his current attainments.
"How long has it been since you became his disciple? So what if you've mastered many pill formulas? You'll need at least three to five years before you can refine pills independently. As for refining a pill like the Pure Qi Pill with a success rate of thirty percent, that will be at least ten years from now.
"Besides, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion has several alchemists at that level. Did you think Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's pill business was supported entirely by your master?"
The more Huang Shanyu spoke, the more impatient he became. He waved his hand, ordering the page to throw Su Hao out.
"These are the pills I refined over the past two days. Take a look before you say anything else, Elder Huang!"
Su Hao didn't mind the other man's attitude in the slightest. Resting on his right palm was a pill gleaming with a pure white luster.