After rushing out of the courtyard, Fang Chen looked toward the foot of the mountain. Thick smoke was rising from Elder Yun's home, forming a black mushroom cloud in the sky.
Li Yanshan charged straight down the mountainside.
Fang Chen had no idea what had happened. He immediately followed Li Yanshan, leaping down the mountainside and racing toward Elder Yun's home as fast as he could.
Li Yanshan was fast. Even with all his strength, Fang Chen could not keep up.
By the time Fang Chen reached the foot of the mountain, Elder Yun's house had been blasted beyond recognition. Even Li Yanshan's house had been affected, with several stone slabs sliding off its roof.
Li Yanshan was digging through the Ruins of Elder Yun's house.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Elder Yun's coughing came from beneath the rubble.
Before long, Li Yanshan dug Elder Yun out of the Ruins.
Elder Yun's hair was disheveled, his clothes were scorched, and his face was black with soot.
"Elder Yun, are you all right?"
Li Yanshan asked with concern. As he spoke, he gripped Elder Yun's wrist and sent a wisp of Spiritual Sense into his body to check his condition.
"Cough, cough... I'm fine... I won't die!"
Elder Yun pushed Li Yanshan away, sat on the ground, and gulped down air. Disappointment filled his face. "Damn it, another failure!"
"Woof, woof..."
Xiao Liu rushed into the Ruins and began pawing stones aside, though no one knew what the dog was looking for.
Li Yanshan looked at Elder Yun helplessly. "Elder Yun, how many times have I told you? Stop wasting all these herbs and all this effort. As long as you're alive and well, I'm happy!"
"Hmph. What do you know?"
Elder Yun glared at Li Yanshan, plainly annoyed.
"Woof, woof..."
Xiao Liu suddenly barked excitedly. The dog had dug a hole in the Ruins and now thrust its head inside. Seeming to have caught something in its teeth, it braced all four paws and pulled.
Pop!
Something long came free. The sudden release sent Xiao Liu tumbling onto the ground.
Fang Chen looked closely and saw that Xiao Liu had pulled out Elder Yun's walking stick.
Xiao Liu carried the stick over to Elder Yun, wagging its head and tail.
What a thoughtful dog!
Fang Chen could not help praising Xiao Liu in his heart.
Dragon Tiger Mountain had two dogs too, both black and fat. All they did was eat all day; they were no use at all.
Elder Yun took the walking stick and gently stroked Xiao Liu's head a few times. Then he used the stick to get to his feet and said to Li Yanshan, "Help me tidy up the house. Xiao Liu and I are going to visit Old Ghost Qu and see if we can find anything good!"
"You... Ah... Go on, then! Go!"
Li Yanshan looked at Elder Yun, about to say something, but in the end he could not be bothered.
Elder Yun walked over to Little Donkey with his stick and climbed onto its back.
"Hee... haw..."
Little Donkey brayed with its mouth wide open, shook its head, and carried Elder Yun away.
"Woof, woof..."
Xiao Liu eagerly trotted after Little Donkey.
Little Donkey suddenly stopped. Xiao Liu skidded to a halt behind it as its tail slowly rose and its hindquarters dipped. With a loud splatter, it dropped a huge pile of dung.
When it was done, Little Donkey threw back its head and brayed, seemingly much relieved, then continued on its way.
Xiao Liu did not go over to eat it. The dog gave the steaming pile a look of disgust, went around it, and kept following Little Donkey.
Li Yanshan looked at the stone house reduced to the Ruins and shook his head helplessly.
Fang Chen was still baffled. He did not know what Elder Yun had done to cause an explosion powerful enough to destroy the house.
He looked at Li Yanshan and asked, "Uncle Li, what happened?"
Li Yanshan shook his head slightly. "Elder Yun failed while refining a pill. That's what caused such a commotion!"
"Refining a pill?"
Fang Chen's eyes widened. He had not expected Elder Yun to know how to refine pills.
Li Yanshan nodded. "Before Elder Yun was injured, he was a First-grade Alchemist with exceptional talent. But a furnace exploded while he was refining a pill, and he ended up like this!"
As he spoke of Elder Yun's past, Li Yanshan could not help shaking his head and sighing.
Good heavens, Elder Yun was an alchemist?
Fang Chen glanced at the Ruins, then pictured Elder Yun in his mind: missing an arm and a leg, and already so old. He was nothing like the alchemists Fang Chen had imagined.
Li Yanshan shook his head. "That was all in the past. The old fellow still thinks about refining pills every day. Never mind wasting materials—it's dangerous. I'm afraid one day something will go wrong and cost him his life!"
With that, Li Yanshan stepped onto the Ruins to clear them away and rebuild Elder Yun's house.
Fang Chen went over to help. As they worked, he looked up at the dilapidated house to the left of Li Yanshan's home and said, "Uncle Li, Elder Yun's house is badly damaged. Why don't we fix up that one instead? It would save us a lot of time!"
Li Yanshan shook his head. "That won't work. Ten years ago, Elder Yun had a stroke of dog-shit luck and successfully refined a pill in this house. Ever since, he's been convinced its feng shui is good and insists on living here. The fellow's stubborn as a mule!"
"I see."
Fang Chen frowned slightly. He had not expected Elder Yun to be such a stubborn old man.
Although the house had collapsed, its construction was simple and most of the materials could be reused, saving Li Yanshan and Fang Chen a great deal of work.
Fang Chen noticed how practiced Li Yanshan was at building. It seemed this was not the first time he had repaired Elder Yun's house.
In a little over two hours, they had rebuilt it.
Once the house was finished, Li Yanshan personally cooked a pot of Chinese sausage rice. There were hardly any seasonings; he simply tossed two large Chinese sausages into the pot.
"That smells amazing!"
The rich aroma of the rice made Fang Chen swallow.
Li Yanshan carried the pot to the Stone Table beneath the large locust tree in front of the house. He fetched two large porcelain bowls, then lifted the lid.
White steam immediately rose. Fang Chen saw that every grain of rice was plump and translucent, seeming to glimmer.
Li Yanshan served Fang Chen a heaping bowl of rice, with a large Chinese sausage laid across the top. Wisps of steam rose from it, and fat sizzled and glistened in the sausage. Fang Chen could not help swallowing again.
Li Yanshan put all the remaining rice into his own bowl.
He said to Fang Chen, "Thanks for all your hard work today. Dig in!"
Fang Chen was about to eat when something occurred to him. "Uncle Li, what about Elder Yun? Shouldn't we save him some?"
Li Yanshan shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about him. He went to Old Ghost Qu's place, so he'll be well fed before he comes back. Xiao Liu followed because the dog knows there's good food there!"
With that, Li Yanshan picked up his bowl and started shoveling rice into his mouth.
So that's how it is!
Fang Chen picked up his bowl and took a mouthful. After chewing a few times, he found the rice was not sticky at all; every grain remained distinct. A delicate sweetness kept teasing his taste buds. Both its texture and flavor were excellent.
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