An Ancestral Secret Formula

Bai Qingqing hurried back to his cottage, glanced around, slipped inside, and bolted the door tight. After washing up and drying himself with a soft cloth, he went behind the desk and sat down.

He took out the bottle of Brilliance-Collecting Pills, removed the stopper, and carefully poured out one pill. The instant he saw it, an indescribable light appeared in his eyes.

"Could it really be the same?"

He sprang to his feet and paced back and forth through the room, his expression constantly shifting.

After a long while, he put away the pill bottle and tucked it into his sleeve. He went to the bed and lay flat on his back, forcing himself to sleep, but his heart simply wouldn't settle. In the end, he sat up again to meditate.

He sat there the entire night, yet never truly entered meditation, enduring until dawn.

After all, he was a cultivator and not yet twenty. His vigor was abundant, his vitality boundless. Though he hadn't slept all night, he was still full of energy, without the slightest trace of weariness.

After stretching his limbs a little, he took off his Profound Residence robes and changed into a scholar's robe from before he had entered the Academy. Then he gathered his things and left.

After leaving the Profound Residence, he didn't stop walking. He went straight out of Taiyang Academy, hired a carriage at the crossroads, descended the inner city's plateau by Whirling Mountain Slope, and traveled along Middle Route Avenue. He went directly to the cluster of shops near Dawn Harbor's docks and stopped before a medicinal materials merchant called Futong.

He got down from the carriage, paid the fare, and stepped through the doors. Someone spotted him and immediately cried out in delight, "The young master has returned?"

The clerks and shopkeepers all set down what they were doing and bowed to him.

Bai Qingqing waved a hand. "Go about your work. Don't mind me." He headed straight for the inner courtyard behind the main hall. An old man of around fifty, rosy-faced and radiant, heard the commotion and emerged from an inner room. Smiling broadly when he saw Bai Qingqing, he said, "Young master, you've been gone for over half a month. Have you been well at the Academy?"

Bai Qingqing's attitude immediately improved considerably toward this old man. He straightened his expression and cupped his hands. "Second Uncle, your nephew has been well. Has business improved quite a bit lately?"

The old man laughed. "Isn't it all thanks to you, young master?"

After asking around, Bai Qingqing learned that because he had entered Taiyang Academy, the merchant house had borrowed his name to sell medicinal supplies into the Academy. Even people from the government offices rarely came to cause trouble anymore.

But he knew a student's reputation alone wouldn't have achieved that. Perhaps it was also because he had entered the Profound Residence.

After chatting with the old man for a few more sentences and getting a general grasp of the merchant house's recent affairs, he said, "I came back to handle some matters and will have to return shortly. While I'm away, I'll have to trouble Second Uncle to look after things."

The old man chuckled. "This is our White clan's own business. Even if you hadn't said anything, young master, I'd keep watch over it. Just focus on your studies without worry."

After parting from the old man, Bai Qingqing entered the inner courtyard. Just as he was about to turn toward his study, he saw a beautiful, dignified woman approaching. Her figure invited limitless fantasy, and even without a trace of powder or cosmetics on her face, she couldn't conceal her radiant beauty. Only her lightly yellowish pupils revealed that she was of mixed An people blood.

She lowered her head and gave Bai Qingqing a deep curtsy, calling timidly, "Husband."

Bai Qingqing gave a noncommittal sound and barely acknowledged her before walking straight into the room, leaving the woman standing there with a desolate expression.

Bai Qingqing's study was enormous. More than a dozen rows of bookcases stood packed with books, each reaching all the way to the ceiling, nearly level with the second floor. After entering, he went straight upstairs, brought over a bamboo ladder, and felt around atop one of the bookcases until he found a box.

He returned to the desk below and opened it, taking out a bottle. He also took out the Brilliance-Collecting Pill bottle from earlier and placed it on the desk. It was then clear that the two pill bottles were exactly identical, except the one he had just taken out looked somewhat older.

Suppressing his excitement, he poured out one pill from each bottle. Even the pills were exactly the same.

He said excitedly, "It really is this kind!" Sitting down, he muttered to himself, "In that case, Grandfather's formula may truly work."

His grandfather had once entered the Profound Residence as well. In his early years, his cultivation had progressed quickly enough for him to be considered a talent, but unfortunately, he later died in the battle at Flood River Pass.

Perhaps because New Method cultivators relied on contemplating the Seal of the Great Dao to cultivate, his grandfather hadn't left his descendants any techniques or cultivation methods. He had only left behind this pill bottle and a secret formula.

Bai Qingqing remembered Fan Lan saying that Brilliance-Collecting Pills could only be taken sparingly, as they scorched the internal organs and depleted one's blood marrow. But his family dealt in medicinal materials and understood some medical principles. The reason for this was simply that the body wasn't tough or robust enough. If one's foundation was sufficiently solid and one didn't take too much at a time, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

And merely judging from the ingredients, this secret formula was clearly meant to protect the internal organs and regulate vital energy. There had to be a reason these two items had been left together.

His eyes shone brightly. If his guess was correct, then this formula and the Brilliance-Collecting Pills were meant to be used in tandem!

If that was the case, then under the formula's harmonizing effect, he could take more Brilliance-Collecting Pills and thereby gather more Divine Essence. When contemplating the Seal of the Great Dao, his progress could far surpass that of others.

He thought to himself, Perhaps Grandfather used this secret method back then, which was why he displayed such talent later on. He truly was worthy of being a master of medicine, to think he could devise a formula like this.

But when his gaze fell upon the formula again, he couldn't help frowning. Although it didn't involve a great many medicinal ingredients, quite a few of them were rare and expensive.

Mixing it once or twice would be manageable, but if he had to do so many times, even he couldn't afford the expense.

What should he do, then?

Just as he was thinking, a voice came from outside. "Is the young master here?"

Bai Qingqing's train of thought was interrupted, and he was quite displeased. But from the voice, he knew it was the merchant house steward in charge of external affairs. He still needed the man to look after the business here while he cultivated at the Profound Residence, so he said, "Cousin, come in and speak."

The door was pushed open, and a young man in his twenties entered. His features were proper, his clothes clean and respectable, and he looked very amiable. He cupped his hands toward Bai Qingqing and said with a smile, "The young master is reading?"

Bai Qingqing asked, "What is it?"

The young steward walked downstairs and looked up. "Yesterday, someone from Taiyang Academy came to our shop to purchase medicinal materials. They wanted a considerable amount of one particular kind. Young master, you said to report to you if anything unusual came up, so I came to ask about it."

Bai Qingqing became attentive. "What medicinal material?"

"Fragments of a Strange Monster's bones, from those pits back in our hometown. This kind." The young steward put on gloves, took out an oiled-paper packet, opened it, and removed a tiny bone fragment, which he waved slightly.

Bai Qingqing was standing on the second floor, some distance away from him. Yet when his gaze settled upon it, a change suddenly occurred in his eyes, as though the distant object had been pulled close. Every detail on it became perfectly clear.

But after examining it, he found it no different from ordinary Strange Monster bone fragments, except perhaps that it was older. There was no shortage of such things across the continent; one could have as much as one wanted. The only difference was the cost of excavation.

He asked, "Did the buyer say what it was for?"

The young steward shook his head. "He didn't say, and I didn't dare ask too much. But the person who came to buy it said that as long as the goods were roughly the same, he was willing to pay a higher price and continue purchasing them indefinitely. I thought perhaps we could take the initiative to lower our price a little, so the stream could flow long and thin."

Bai Qingqing considered it. "Do we have much of this stuff?"

The young steward smiled. "Plenty. Even if our hometown runs short, there are plenty on several nearby islands. The soil and water conditions there aren't much different. If the Academy buys it all, Futong could make a fortune from this business alone."

Once Bai Qingqing heard that, he stopped thinking further about it. "Then handle it as you see fit. You don't need to ask me about this again. By the way, is there still money in the accounts? Withdraw a sum for me."

The young steward froze, looking troubled. "Business has been good lately, so there is a sum in the accounts. I had planned to first settle the debt we owe the Ning family..."

Bai Qingqing frowned. "The Ning family can wait a while. Withdraw this money first. I need it."

The young steward asked carefully, "But Madam..."

Bai Qingqing said impatiently, "I'll speak to Madam myself."

After hesitating for a moment, the young steward said, "All right. I'll arrange it for the young master shortly."

"Make it quick. I'm waiting to use it." Bai Qingqing waved his hand. The young steward bowed and withdrew. Before leaving, he seemed to want to say something, but stopped himself, shook his head, and carefully closed the door.

After he left, Bai Qingqing paced back and forth along the upper corridor. His heart was filled with excitement. Once he gathered the medicinal ingredients for this secret formula, he would surely become like his grandfather had been. When that time came, the Profound Residence would know which of him and Zhang Yu was the one truly worth cultivating!