It's a misunderstanding! A big misunderstanding!

Gathering Herb Peak (Pill Peak), Inner Sect Pill Gathering Pavilion.

"Grandmaster Uncle, here are four Qi Induction Pills. That'll be 32 contribution points deducted from your account."

He'd only walked a bit further, and it saved him 8 contribution points. Chen Xian felt a flicker of joy inside.

He'd asked around extensively before learning that inner sect disciples could get a twenty percent discount when buying things from their own peak.

He hadn't expected it to be true. Even though he wasn't an inner sect disciple, he could still enjoy the benefit.

Within reasonable rules, it'd be a fool not to take advantage of a bargain—who could blame him for his high seniority?

He reached out to take the wooden box, and his fingers happened to brush against the other person's.

Chen Xian looked at the gentle, refined yet slightly sickly-looking Pill Peak disciple before him, and suddenly a thought stirred.

[Name: Tang Yu] [Realm: Dao Master Eighth Layer (Third-Rank Pill Master)] [Traits: Natural Pill Heart (Yellow), Flame Affinity (Yellow), Extraordinary Memory (White), Radiant Charm (White), Congenital Myasthenia (Gray)]

"Hm? Your name is Tang Yu?"

Seeing the name, Chen Xian asked subconsciously. What a coincidence?

"Grandmaster Uncle actually knows me?"

Tang Yu froze, quickly rifling through his memories. As far as he recalled, this was only his second time seeing Grandmaster Uncle Chen; the first was a few days ago at the sect-wide assembly, where he'd caught a distant glimpse.

He knew the grandmaster uncle, but the other party shouldn't know him.

"This old man has heard of your name. Do you know Lin Xiaoyan and Zhou... Zhou what's-her-name?"

Chen Xian couldn't remember the name of Lin Xiaoyan's fiancée for a moment.

"Zhou Wanru." Tang Yu gave a gentle smile, the name slipping out.

"Ah, right! Lin Xiaoyan's betrothed."

Chen Xian slapped his thigh, saying it outright while covertly observing Tang Yu's expression.

Sure enough, the moment he said the word "betrothed," Tang Yu's expression instantly turned unnatural.

Chen Xian had read countless people in his life, and he could see the melancholy between his brows at a glance.

He had to admit, this fellow stood tall and straight as a green bamboo, with long hair and a blue robe, a face like polished jade—a first-rate handsome man.

Add to that this dejected, heartbroken look, and that aura of a second male lead in a romance novel practically oozed out.

Being handsome was one thing, but his talent was a double yellow egg; it was normal for women to like him.

But still, you can't mess with someone else's relationship!

"I wonder if Junior Brother Xiaoyan delivered the bouquet I tied to Junior Sister Wanru, and whether Junior Sister Wanru will like it."

As if unintentionally, Tang Yu murmured to himself.

"Don't worry! That fool even praised how nice your bouquet looked! He'll definitely deliver it for you."

Chen Xian couldn't stand this kind of tea-flavored talk, and his tone was a bit sharp.

Tang Yu didn't catch the grandmaster uncle's sarcasm and smiled instead: "That's good. Grandmaster Uncle, you don't know this, but Junior Brother Xiaoyan is really a stick-in-the-mud. Junior Sister Wanru said not to give flashy gifts, and he actually took her at her word. How could he not know that no girl can refuse romance?"

Chen Xian sneered inwardly: "This old man doesn't know Lin Xiaoyan is a stick-in-the-mud? He's practically helping you steal his fiancée! Pah, green-tea bastard!"

"Junior Brother Xiaoyan and Junior Sister Wanru have been having some friction lately. I hope the bouquet I tied on his behalf can help them patch things up."

Tang Yu said with a smile.

Chen Xian, who had been silently mocking Tang Yu's hypocrisy, jolted at these words: "No! Something feels off here!"

"What do you mean, you tied the bouquet for Lin Xiaoyan?" he pressed urgently.

"Huh? This morning, Junior Brother Xiaoyan came to buy a Realm-Breaking Pill from me. I told him giving only cultivation items wasn't romantic enough, so I tied a bouquet for him to give to Junior Sister Wanru in his own name."

Tang Yu was a bit confused, not understanding what the grandmaster uncle was so worked up about.

"Oh ho! It's over!"

Chen Xian slapped his forehead. This misunderstanding was huge! Tang Yu's flowers were a wingman move, not a main attack!

Lin Xiaoyan, you idiot, you completely misunderstood Tang Yu's intent!

It was never Tang Yu giving the flowers to Zhou Wanru.

So from start to finish, Tang Yu had been a good senior brother. No wonder Lin Xiaoyan couldn't figure out where the green came from.

It was entirely Lin Xiaoyan's own screw-up.

"What's wrong, Grandmaster Uncle?" Tang Yu frowned, not understanding what was over.

Chen Xian looked at his concerned expression and wished he could find a coffin to crawl into right then and there. He'd been silently slandering this upright, good young man the whole time.

"I really am a piece of trash!"

Forget Lin Xiaoyan—first, he'd snatch a trait. He grabbed Tang Yu's hand: "This old man actually knows fortune-telling. Let me calculate your recent luck."

[Natural Pill Heart (Yellow) trait copying: 59, 58...]

"Oh, okay."

Tang Yu took him at his word. Watching the grand-uncle master raise an eyebrow, then frown, he obediently held out his hand and waited.

Second by second, the silence grew awkward.

Tang Yu blinked innocently. "Grand-uncle master, haven't you figured it out yet? Is my fate really that bad?"

"Almost there! Don't move!"

Chen Xian glanced at the countdown: 3, 2, 1.

[Copy Points -10, trait copy successful!]

He released Tang Yu's soft palm, then closed his eyes in a show of solemnity, muttering under his breath: "Nine Heavens Saint above, Houtu Spirit below... Urgent as the decree... Mami bebe hong..."

"Is this the deduction technique?"

Tang Yu felt something was off, but since he wasn't versed in the art of deduction, he couldn't pinpoint what.

A few seconds later, Chen Xian opened his eyes and stared at Tang Yu with grave seriousness.

Tang Yu grew uneasy under that murky, pity-filled gaze and couldn't help swallowing.

"Grand-uncle master... what is it?"

"Ahem!" Chen Xian looked away. "This old man has deduced your near-future fate."

"Please enlighten me, Grand-uncle master!"

"You will soon face a calamity—a romantic calamity."

Tang Yu nodded.

"You will most likely be proposed to."

Tang Yu nodded again.

"The one proposing is most likely someone you know."

Tang Yu nodded once more, then murmured to himself: "Someone I know? Could it be Senior Sister Ruonan? Junior Sister Xiaodie? Or Senior Brother Boran?"

Chen Xian's pupils shook violently. You little brat, you swing both ways!

"None of them!"

"Then who could it be?"

Tang Yu frowned, having already run through everyone who harbored more than friendly feelings for him.

Chen Xian said, "Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed, but this old man can risk giving you a hint."

"Someone is about to lose their fiancée!"

Chen Xian was practically spelling it out, but he couldn't bring himself to say more. He could only let Tang Yu figure it out on his own.

Shoving the Qi Induction Pill into his pocket, he fled the Pill Gathering Pavilion before Tang Yu could speak.

Tang Yu sat alone in front of the pill cabinet for a long while before suddenly standing up, his expression complicated.

"Oh my god! No way? Junior Brother Xiaoyan has improper thoughts about me too?"

Chen Xian had no idea that Tang Yu had been completely petrified by a train of thought gone wildly astray.

He had already retreated to his own room.

"Young people's love affairs are far too terrifying. Forget them, this old man will cultivate first, then make some sugar-coated hawthorns!"

Sitting cross-legged on the meditation cushion, he opened the wooden box containing the Qi Induction Pill and carefully took one out, placing it in his mouth.

The Qi Induction Pill didn't dissolve immediately.

Instead, it was like a White Rabbit creamy candy, slowly melting bit by bit, sending threads of pure Dao energy through his throat and spreading throughout his body.

The Mystic Cloud Dao-Guiding Art began cycling through its meridians. Chen Xian's expression turned solemn.

Daoist Disciple, third tier—today is the day!