The Glazed Bottle's Change

While Hanyu was still hesitating outside the city, a sudden stabbing pain shot through his mind.

He stepped away from the city gate, found a place, and closed his eyes to inspect. The stabbing sensation only grew stronger.

In his mind, the Glazed Bottle kept rocking, as if urging him on.

The farther Hanyu moved from the city gate, the more violently the Glazed Bottle trembled. When he tried to get farther away, a sharp pain that nearly made him faint exploded in his mind.

The Glazed Bottle really was urging him to go inside, and its desire was intense.

This was the first time it had responded outside the hour of the Rat, and the first time it had reached out to him on its own.

"What's in there?"

Hanyu muttered to himself.

"If I don't go in, will you shake me to death?"

Hanyu tentatively asked, wanting to see how the Glazed Bottle would react.

As it turned out, the Glazed Bottle just kept rocking and trembling.

The Xiao Clan was a prominent family in Minzhou City. They had been merchants for generations, building up extensive connections, and they had also done many good deeds over the years. Their reputation in the area was therefore excellent.

But today, the head of the Xiao Clan wore a frighteningly dark expression. He sat slumped in the main hall, with an already-opened letter on the table beside him.

Besides him, a group of clan elders had also been summoned to the hall to discuss the matter.

"This is outrageous! That young girl really thinks she's somebody, trying to break off the engagement with nothing but a letter."

One of the clan elders couldn't help speaking up sharply.

"I objected when the Qiu family came crawling to arrange that childhood betrothal. The two families aren't a match. That little Qiu family only wanted to cling to the Xiao Clan's tree."

"The Qiu family's had no shortage of benefits from us these past few years."

"I heard that girl joined the Tianshui Sect. Her head's gotten big, and now she thinks our Xiao Clan isn't good enough for her."

The people below the dais murmured among themselves.

Thump!

A black dragon-headed cane struck the floor forcefully, and the noisy hall fell silent at once.

An elderly man, well into his eighties, shuffled in. The skin on his face had sagged down to the corners of his mouth, yet no one dared show him the slightest disrespect, even though he looked like he could breathe his last at any moment.

That was because he was the previous clan head.

"Does Shui know?"

The old man looked at the head of the Xiao Clan with cloudy eyes.

The head of the Xiao Clan smiled bitterly and nodded. "He found out right away. They grew up together, so he's a little..."

The old man cut him off and continued, "Will he break off the engagement or not?"

The head of the Xiao Clan nodded. "Shui said that everyone has their own ambitions."

The old man fell silent. After a long while, he finally said slowly, "All right, I understand. Then have an adult from the Qiu family come and speak to me in person to break off the engagement."

The many clan elders in the hall held their tongues. The calmer the old man seemed, the angrier he was at that moment.

This matter would likely not end peacefully.

"Senior Brother, they told me to have my family come and break it off themselves."

Qiu Susu wore a pretty green gauze dress today. Holding the reply, she looked aggrieved and pitiful, the sort of girl who would make anyone feel sorry for her.

Wang Xuanbei was naturally captivated by the sight. He gave a cold snort at her words. "Since we've tried courtesy before force and they refuse to see reason, I'll take you there now and break it off face-to-face."

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

Qiu Susu immediately brightened and gave him a sweet smile.

Hanyu sneaked into the city, afraid that people in red, young and old, might suddenly come rushing out from somewhere.

If some big shot with a red-clothes fetish showed up, Hanyu might have to turn tail and run.

Suddenly, the Glazed Bottle trembled again, and a needle-like pain stabbed through his mind.

"Could you use some other way to tell me what you want? Why do you keep messing with my head?"

Hanyu wore a pained expression and patted his head.

After several attempts, the Glazed Bottle finally settled down once he headed along a main street.

Hanyu followed the main road, searching as he went, and soon noticed a crowd gathered ahead, pointing at a large residence nearby.

"I heard that girl from the Qiu family came to our city to ask the Xiao Clan to break off her engagement."

"I know about it. My maternal uncle is a gatekeeper for the Xiao Clan. Apparently, that girl from the Qiu family became a cultivator and decided that Young Master Xiao wasn't good enough for her."

"Wasn't it the Qiu family who begged for the match in the first place?"

The noisy crowd chattered about what they knew, and Hanyu managed to piece together what was going on.

The Glazed Bottle was acting up in his mind again.

Does it want me to go inside?

It wasn't easy to get into a grand residence like this. Hanyu studied the courtyard wall and suddenly came up with an idea.

Inside the Xiao Clan's main hall.

The air was taut with tension. Qiu Susu stood behind Wang Xuanbei, with Zhang Kui beside them.

Besides the head of the Xiao Clan and the clan elders, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen stood in the hall. He wore fine silk robes and had a handsome face and a gentle air.

Xiao Shui watched the young woman below with a complicated expression, as if she were a stranger.

"Susu, you shouldn't have taken things this far."

"Young Master Xiao, I only want to break off the engagement." Qiu Susu hid behind Wang Xuanbei, speaking softly.

Xiao Shui's face turned pale. She used to call him Brother Shui, every other word. Now she called him Young Master Xiao.

The head of the Xiao Clan wore a dark expression. He spoke in a low, angry voice. "I've already said that if you want to break it off, you can. Have someone from your family come and do it. Are you really going to disregard the Xiao Clan's dignity like this?"

Qiu Susu shrank back a little. She still felt uneasy under the head of the Xiao Clan's imposing gaze, but she stiffened her neck and said, "I've grown up. I want to make my own decisions."

"You don't get to decide."

The head of the Xiao Clan shouted angrily.

"If she doesn't get to decide, then how about I decide for her?"

Wang Xuanbei stepped forward, gazing calmly at the Xiao Clan members.

"I am Wang Xuanbei, the Tianshui Sect's senior disciple."

The Xiao Clan members all looked unhappy. Bringing a cultivator here to force their hand was an outright slap in the face.

Seeing Qiu Susu look at another man with tender affection, Xiao Shui's heart turned completely cold.

In that moment, blood rushed to his head, and he couldn't help stepping forward. "So what if you're a cultivator? This is my family matter. What gives you the right to interfere?"

Wang Xuanbei gave him a cold smile and flicked his sleeve. A blast of True Essence sent Xiao Shui flying.

"Because I'm stronger than you."

Xiao Shui slammed into the wall and fell, blood spraying from his mouth and staining his fine robes. Yet he stubbornly climbed back to his feet.

He walked back, speaking one word at a time. "The east is red for thirty years, the west for thirty years. No one stays strong forever."

What a cliché scene!

I peeked over the wall and saw an engagement-breaking love triangle, complete with heartbreak.

Hanyu crouched on the wall and watched the whole show.

Just then, the Glazed Bottle suddenly rocked. Hanyu hurriedly checked it.

Hk—ptoo!

It spat out a pill.

Hanyu stared as if he'd seen a ghost in broad daylight. That wasn't far from the truth.

The Glazed Bottle had been far too active today, breaking all kinds of precedents.

It wasn't even the hour of the Rat, yet it had still spat out a pill.

Hexi Pill (exclusive to Xiao Shui): The east is red for thirty years, the west for thirty years. Don't bully a poor young man. Take this pill and cross to the Shore Realm. Side effect: consumes three years of fortune.

Hiss!

Hanyu sucked in a breath. This pill was ridiculously powerful. One swallow, and you reached the Shore Realm.

Wait, based on the ratio between the benefits and the side effects, three years of fortune meant this kid could reach the Shore Realm in less than three years from the start.

That cultivation speed was simply horrifying.

"You've got to be kidding me. The pills you give me are hard as rocks, but when you give them to someone else, you raise their cultivation level too?" Hanyu said sourly.

In his mind, the Glazed Bottle started urging him again, rocking without pause.

And it seemed impatient to give the pill away.

Hanyu helplessly shook his head and sighed, then flipped down from the wall and laughed aloud.

"Young Master Xiao, why wait thirty years for the west to turn red? If you're willing, you can go west right now."

Hanyu's sudden appearance left everyone looking stunned.

He strode over to Xiao Shui, then waved to the three people opposite. "We meet again."

"It's you!"

Wang Xuanbei recognized him too—the man who had ridden an ox off a cliff that morning.

"Who are you?"

The head of the Xiao Clan asked sternly.

Hanyu cupped his fists and grinned. "I'm the timely rain of the cultivator world, known as the Good Samaritan Who Delivers Medicine. I'm the Little Alchemist."

Unfortunately, news from Yujin and Quantai hadn't reached here yet. Nobody had ever heard of the grand title Hanyu had just rattled off. It was like talking to a cow about music.

"Noise."

Wang Xuanbei saw that Hanyu looked thoroughly ordinary and sent a blast of True Essence at him, intending to knock him down.

Hanyu didn't dodge. He smiled and let the True Essence strike his chest. After retreating only half a step, he casually patted his chest and said,

"That was soft as a feather. Did your mistress teach you that cultivation?"

Wang Xuanbei's expression changed. He flew into a rage. "How dare you insult me!"

He drew his sword and slashed at Hanyu, who still didn't dodge. Instead, Hanyu swung his fist at him.

After a few exchanges, Hanyu's shirt was torn in several places across the chest, and Wang Xuanbei was blasted ten meters away.

"How about it, Young Master Xiao? Do you want strength like this?"

Hanyu looked back at Xiao Shui with a smile.

"I do, but I'm just an ordinary mortal..."

After seeing Hanyu casually knock away a high-level cultivator, Xiao Shui naturally burned with envy.

Hanyu smiled and took out the Hexi Pill. "Take this pill. It'll cost you three years of fortune, but you'll become stronger than me."

"Impossible! How could a pill like that exist?"

No one believed such an absurd claim.

Wang Xuanbei walked back, clutching his chest. His face was slightly pale as he sneered, "So you came here to toy with him."

Hanyu only looked quietly at Xiao Shui and said calmly, "Young Master Xiao, you're a dragon among men. You should make up your own mind."

The whole thing was absurd. Xiao Shui's mind kept warning him over and over, but his hand took the pill despite himself.

"Shui, don't. That pill's origin is unknown..."

The head of the Xiao Clan was frantic and hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Father, I want to try."

Xiao Shui's expression was calm as he spoke softly.

Just as he opened his mouth to swallow it, Hanyu stopped him and said seriously, "Once you swallow it, there's no going back. Three years of fortune."

Xiao Shui's heart, which had still been somewhat uneasy, suddenly settled. Seeing Hanyu's solemn expression, he nodded decisively. "Three years, then."

The pill went down, and everyone watched Xiao Shui in silence.

He stood with his eyes closed under everyone's gaze, his body gradually growing warmer.

"Why is it getting so hot?"

One of the clan elders wiped the sweat that had appeared on his brow.

"Indeed! It's never been this hot in the residence."

Another clan elder agreed, repeatedly wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.

Boom!

Xiao Shui, who had been standing still in the middle of the hall, suddenly changed. A towering flame burst from his body, and the scorching heat drove everyone back.

As the flames flickered, they gradually gathered together, finally forming a red Fire Lotus around Xiao Shui.

"A natural Fire Element Supernatural Power!"

Wang Xuanbei looked horrified and staggered back several steps.

After Xiao Shui successfully formed the Fire Lotus, Hanyu sensed a mysterious aura being drawn from him, then continuously gathering around himself.

No, it was gathering inside the Glazed Bottle. He could feel it collecting those things.

Could that be the three years of fortune the pill consumed?

If so, didn't that mean the side effect was actually nourishing it?

Once it had collected enough of that aura, the Glazed Bottle rocked again, seemingly urging him on.

This time, Hanyu understood without needing it to tell him. Whenever he gave someone a pill, he always vanished without taking credit. While everyone was still stunned by Xiao Shui's transformation, he quietly slipped away...

That day, flames from the Xiao Clan residence burned the clouds overhead to ashes, and a piercing howl rang out...

At three in the morning, I checked the dashboard and saw that my follower count was still going up. Looks like plenty of night-owl brothers are burning the midnight oil. I'm rushing out another update before dawn.