Su Shi'er

Cultivators seized the power of creation to attain immortality, stole Heaven and Earth Qi to endure forever, and refined the essence of the Five Elements to protect themselves.

In the north of Muyun Prefecture stood Heavenly Absolute Peak, a forbidden land in the eyes of countless cultivators.

At the mountain pass beneath Heavenly Absolute Peak, leading into the mountains, lay an ancient village that had existed for a thousand years: Little Stone Village.

Little Stone Village got its name because every building in it was made of stone.

Legend had it that a thousand years ago, Little Stone Village was founded by descendants of a group of Immortals who had secluded themselves here. But so much time had passed that the truth had long become impossible to uncover.

The Little Stone Village of today was inhabited by nothing more than ordinary mortals.

There were over forty households in the village. With fertile fields and rich soil, they occasionally went to Huilong Town beyond the mountains to trade for rare goods, and their lives were fairly peaceful.

Evening.

In the woods east of Little Stone Village, five children in coarse hemp clothes, their skin tanned dark by the sun, were crouching in the grass.

The child in the middle held a hemp rope in his hand. The other end was tied to a wooden stick, which propped up a sieve with scattered grains of rice beneath it.

Beside them, a pheasant was stretching its neck and peering around as it pecked at the rice. Before long, it finally could not resist slipping underneath.

The child decisively tugged the hemp rope. As the wooden stick fell, the greedy pheasant was trapped beneath the sieve.

At the sight, the children leaped about excitedly, clapping and cheering for the child in the middle.

"Wow, we caught it! We really caught it! Twelve, you're so smart!"

"Brother Twelve, you're amazing! Can I marry you when I grow up?"

"Twelve, my mother said that Immortals will be taking disciples in Huilong Town these next few days. You're so smart—maybe you can become an Immortal's disciple."

The little boy called Twelve rolled his eyes and laughed. "Forget it! You little fatty can't even count one, two, three. What could you possibly know? Do you really think becoming an Immortal's disciple is that easy? Besides, what's so great about cultivating immortality? Isn't it better to stay in the village with Grandpa?"

"Enough! You little flatterers, I've already taught you the method! Go play by yourselves!"

After saying that, the little boy walked over to the sieve.

Skillfully reaching beneath it, he grabbed the trapped pheasant and lifted it out, then turned and headed for the riverbank not far away.

Twelve's full name was Su Shi'er. He had depended on his grandfather since childhood and grown up on food from every household.

He had been clever since he was young and learned everything quickly. Among the village children, he was like their king.

Su Shi'er arrived by the river and deftly bled and plucked the pheasant. Then he pulled a fist-sized, battered little Pill Furnace from his clothes.

The Pill Furnace was filled with salt. Su Shi'er grabbed a pinch and sprinkled it over the cleaned pheasant.

Then he tore off a lotus leaf, wrapped the pheasant in it, and coated the outside with a layer of mud.

The Pill Furnace had three legs and a round belly, its body carved with intricate patterns of flowers, birds, insects, and fish. No one knew what material it was made of. It was neither metal nor wood, neither jade nor stone; water and fire could not harm it, nor could blades damage it.

He had secretly dug it out from atop a beam in his home. His grandfather regarded the Pill Furnace as a treasure and normally would not even let him touch it. Su Shi'er had not cared much before, since in his eyes it was merely a strange, broken furnace.

But once, when he had made beggar's chicken, he had casually used the Pill Furnace to hold salt.

He discovered that salt stored in the Pill Furnace became exceptionally crystalline. The beggar's chicken made with that salt was especially fragrant and crisp, and after eating it, his mind became clear and his thoughts unusually sharp.

From then on, no matter where his grandfather hid it, Su Shi'er could always dig it back out! Of course, he had taken no small number of beatings for it.

This time, he planned to make some for his grandfather to taste as well.

"Hehe, the old man definitely hasn't had roast chicken this delicious before. This time, I'll surely give him a fright. Once he's tasted it, he won't refuse to let me use this Pill Furnace anymore, right?"

Su Shi'er grinned as he prepared it.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him. "Old man? Which old man are you talking about?!"

An old man with white hair and beard was walking toward the riverbank from behind, his hands clasped behind his back and a wooden stick hidden there.

The newcomer was Su Shi'er's grandfather, Su Mingren. Su Mingren was the only person in the village who had studied, and he held great prestige there.

"Of course I mean my grandfa—Old man, why are you here?!" Su Shi'er answered without thinking. But when he turned and saw his grandfather approaching with a stick in hand, he shuddered in fright, and the cleaned pheasant in his hand slipped straight to the ground.

"Calling me 'old man' again and again—did all those books of sages I had you read end up in a dog's belly?"

"How many times have I told you? You must never take this furnace out! You little brat, you dug it out again! Today, I'll beat you to death!"

Su Mingren glared at the Pill Furnace in Su Shi'er's hand, blowing his beard and glaring with wide eyes. As he spoke, he brought out the wooden stick from behind his back and made as if to strike.

Su Shi'er had long been watching his grandfather's every move. Before his grandfather could act, he stuffed the Pill Furnace into his clothes, sprang away, and darted toward the village.

As he ran, Su Shi'er looked back and shouted, "Old man, I kindly made roast chicken for you, and you... you actually want to beat me! You... you're no friend at all!"

"I'm no friend at all? You little brat, don't you think about who raised you this big!"

Su Mingren chased after him angrily, wooden stick in hand.

"You climb onto roofs and tear off tiles all day, and I can let that slide! But wherever I hide this furnace, you dig it out. Are you determined to pick a fight with this thing?!"

Though Su Shi'er was young, he was not slow when he ran. As he fled, he even turned around to make a face at his grandfather. "Old man, this Pill Furnace is a family heirloom anyway. Sooner or later, it'll have to be given to me, won't it? What difference does it make whether you give it to me early or late?"

Su Mingren pursued him relentlessly from behind, his face turning livid with anger. "You little brat, if I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never understand the gravity of this matter."

The Pill Furnace had been passed down through an unknown number of generations. No one had known for a long time what it had originally been used for.

Su Mingren only knew that before his father died, he had instructed him to safeguard it well and never, ever let anyone learn of it. Otherwise, it would bring about a deadly disaster.

Unless the very end came, he had never intended to let Su Shi'er know about this.

Su Shi'er kept looking back. Seeing that his grandfather was truly furious, he began to feel afraid as well.

Relying on his youth and nimble body, he ran several circles around the village. When no one was watching, he found a haystack and crawled inside.

Su Mingren was getting on in years. After running several laps, his face was red and he was completely out of breath.

But Su Shi'er was the grandson he had raised with his own hands. No one knew the boy's temperament better than he did.

After making a circuit, Su Mingren's gaze locked onto the haystack in the distance.

Wooden stick in hand, Su Mingren crept quietly to the haystack and snatched up Su Shi'er, who was hiding inside and peeking about.

"Hmph! You little brat, you're quite good at hiding! Let's see where you can run to today—"

As Su Mingren scolded him, startled cries suddenly rang out by his ears.

"Hey, everyone, look! Why is there someone flying in the sky?"

"Heavens, can people really fly through the sky?"

"What person? That's an Immortal Master! That Immortal Master seems to be heading for our village?!"

Throughout the village, people raised their heads to look up. For a moment, cries of surprise rose one after another.

Su Mingren looked up as well.

In the air, a figure wrapped head to toe in black clothes flew toward Little Stone Village, trailing an arc of light behind him.

The moment Su Mingren saw the black figure, his pupils abruptly shrank and his expression changed at once. He immediately stuffed Su Shi'er back into the haystack and said sternly, "Twelve, listen to Grandpa. From now on, hide in here and do not come out no matter what!"

"Whatever happens later, you must not come out! Do you hear me?!"

Inside the haystack, Su Shi'er had been fretting that he could not avoid a severe beating today. But when he suddenly saw the unprecedented gravity on his grandfather's face, he froze and instinctively nodded.

Su Mingren quickly hid Su Shi'er away, then hurried toward the distance.