Early the next morning.
Word of Han Yu's injury reached Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong turned the home of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's three big shots upside down. She even cried until her eyes were red, and refused to let Ning Fengzhi take her to visit Han Yu. She insisted on taking out her anger on the man in black from the night before.
Fortunately, only Ning Fengzhi and the other two knew the man in black's identity.
In the end, Ning Fengzhi brought out a pile of precious healing medicines and, after much coaxing, finally managed to soothe Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong, are you still mad at Grandpa? That old fossil came up with the idea. Poor Grandpa Bone—at my age, I'm still being falsely accused." Gu Rong poked half his body out of a black hole and followed behind Ning Rongrong, sounding deeply aggrieved.
"Hmph, I'm not a little kid anymore. Grandpa Bone is a big liar." Ning Rongrong turned her head away, lifted her chin, planted her hands on her hips, and quickened her pace.
"Hey, Rongrong, don't run off. Grandpa Bone's here to help you. Don't you want to make Han Yu feel touched? Just giving him medicine won't do." Gu Rong flashed into existence beside Ning Rongrong again, his voice tinged with a mischievous grin.
Sure enough, Ning Rongrong stopped. She stole a glance at Gu Rong.
"Hmph, you're a big liar. I don't believe you. Not unless you tell me first." Ning Rongrong slowed down, pretending to keep walking as she cast hopeful glances at Gu Rong from time to time.
Gu Rong's old face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. He stepped out of the black hole and walked beside Ning Rongrong, explaining his idea.
Anyone could give healing medicine, so how could she make her gift stand out? Gu Rong's answer was to have Ning Rongrong brew it herself. That would show her concern for Han Yu while also displaying how much she'd learned—a win-win, killing two birds with one stone.
At last, delight appeared on Ning Rongrong's little face. Her eyes brightened, and her steps grew light.
"Thank you, Grandpa Bone. You're the one who loves me most. Hehe." Ning Rongrong raised her hands and gave Gu Rong a small hug, then took off toward the medicine hall.
"Hey! I haven't even told you the recipe yet!" Gu Rong was still basking in Rongrong's praise. By the time he came to his senses, she had already run far away. "Forget it. Rongrong has at least read those old books. Surely she won't make poison."
The medicine hall.
The warehouse steward bowed and scraped as he let Ning Rongrong into the storeroom where the medicinal herbs were kept.
He followed behind her, respectfully carrying a jade tray.
Ning Rongrong approached the shelves, beaming, and excitedly began choosing herbs. The dazzling array of medicinal plants soon made her head spin. She pouted and tried hard to recall what she'd read in the old books.
Hmm...
Her mind was a blank. Ning Rongrong gave up and simply asked the steward where the herbs for promoting recovery were kept.
Her big eyes swept back and forth as she picked whatever struck her fancy, like a general choosing troops, and put some into her Soul Tool. Satisfied, she raised her arms slightly from her sides, bounced along happily, tilted her head from side to side, and left.
When the warehouse steward saw the young miss go, he let out a sigh of relief. Following the sect master's instructions, he returned to the shelves to record the missing herbs.
"Hiss... What's this? Oh no!" The steward turned deathly pale. His legs went weak, and he bolted from the warehouse like a madman.
But Ning Rongrong was already nowhere to be seen outside. She had long since hurried home and was holding a book, tossing herb after herb into a pot with practiced confidence. She added a tiny bit of water and set it to boil over high heat.
Han Yu sat up in bed and stretched hard. His injuries from the night before had eased somewhat.
He was about to pick up an old book on Martial Soul knowledge when his left and right eyelids suddenly started twitching.
The next second—
"Han Yu, are you home? Open the door! I've got something to give you." Ning Rongrong's lively voice rang out as she knocked hurriedly on Han Yu's door.
Han Yu took a deep breath, straightened himself up, and opened the door.
"Here, this is the healing medicine I brewed myself! Try it!" Ning Rongrong held up a medicine box wrapped in a handkerchief, its warmth still lingering.
Han Yu was touched. He gave her a grateful look, took the box, and opened it. The moment he saw what was inside, his vision went black.
A bizarre, pitch-black pill sat quietly in the box—the real-life Leg-Stretching Eye-Popping Pill.
He was about to speak, but Ning Rongrong had already bent forward, tilted her head, and gazed at him with her big, expectant eyes.
I should survive this... Han Yu swallowed, pinched his nose, closed his eyes, and tossed it into his mouth. It hit the target and went straight down.
A scorching heat rose from his abdomen. It felt as though his meridians had been doused in hot oil, burning from within. Han Yu grunted and staggered into a cross-legged sitting position on the floor. His brows knitted, his face flushed red, and sweat began pouring from his body.
The pill transformed into an incredibly dense mass of Soul Power that rapidly spread throughout Han Yu's body. At an astonishing pace, it strengthened his physique, purged impurities, and transformed him from the inside out.
Seeing this, Ning Rongrong was so worried that tears nearly spilled from her eyes. Afraid something might happen to Han Yu, she stayed by his side, not daring to leave, but she didn't dare touch him either. Clutching her handkerchief tightly, she whimpered through quiet sobs, "Han Yu, I'm sorry. Please, please don't let anything happen to you."
"Old Bone, they're still young. If the Whale Rubber really causes a disaster, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!" Chen Xin's angry shout came from outside.
The next moment, three figures appeared beside Ning Rongrong.
Ning Fengzhi hurried forward and grabbed Ning Rongrong by the shoulders, looking her over from head to toe. Seeing nothing amiss, he let out a deep breath.
Chen Xin relaxed as well, then glared fiercely at Gu Rong.
Gu Rong, however, looked utterly bewildered as he stared at Han Yu's flushed face. "How could Whale Rubber increase Soul Power?"
After the three questioned her, they learned that the pill was the result of Ning Rongrong's haphazard concoction.
Drawing on his experience, Gu Rong ruled out the other herbs that could affect Soul Power. In the end, he concluded that the high-quality Whale Rubber had been altered by the intense heat, bringing out some hidden medicinal property.
Half an hour later, Han Yu woke up feeling refreshed, only to nearly pass out from the stench filling the room.
After he washed up, Gu Rong eagerly asked how he felt and recorded the details. When he heard that the Whale Rubber had also strengthened Han Yu's physique, he was thrilled. Wouldn't a stronger body mean he could absorb a higher-year Soul Ring? He'd never imagined that something so cheap could have such an incredible effect.
Han Yu responded to Gu Rong with a simple smile, his heart full of emotion. He'd originally planned to wait until he reached Soul Power Level 20, then pretend he'd stumbled across it by chance. He hadn't expected Ning Rongrong to feed it to him early, raising his Soul Power to Level 14 in one fell swoop.
In the days that followed, Ning Fengzhi found another piece of high-quality, thousand-year Whale Rubber and followed the same method to give it to Ning Rongrong. She reached Soul Power Level 10 in one fell swoop, and, thanks to her improved physique, absorbed a five-hundred-and-fifty-year Soul Ring beyond her level.
After this incident, Ning Rongrong understood the consequences of neglecting her studies. She changed her ways and began seriously studying all kinds of old books alongside Han Yu. Together, they trained in the Mimicry Cultivation Environment, supported by the Spirit Gathering Array, embarking on a year-long training plan.
Their Soul Power Levels rose rapidly.