The Unlucky Bear Had Been Found!

Alchemist Guga produced a lighter from who knew where and lit the fire beneath the pill cauldron again.

Holding a little fan, she gently regulated the flames.

Up to this point, everything was perfectly normal.

But then Alchemist Guga casually grabbed a handful of herbs and tossed them into the cauldron.

"!!!"

Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin's brains briefly froze.

"Is that how you refine pills?? Won't all the medicinal properties get mixed up?"

Although they couldn't refine pills themselves, they knew that medicinal properties could conflict. When herbs with opposing properties were combined, even potent restorative herbs could turn into poison.

Could toxins produced this way have been why everyone in the sect kept running to the toilet?

Alchemist Guga bristled on the spot.

You could insult Guga! You could even hit Guga! But you absolutely could not insult Guga's skills!

Sticking out her round belly, she pointed her fan at Ning Fengzhi's nose and demanded:

"Guga! Are you the alchemist, or am I? Do you understand pill refining, or do I?

Answer me! Guga!!"

"..."

Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched.

Good grief, this little squirt treated Little Lin completely differently from how she treated him!

Sigh...

Helplessly, he raised a hand in a gesture for her to continue.

Only then did Alchemist Guga resume fanning, satisfied.

Beside them, Ning Rongrong laughed and clapped her little hands at the sight of her father being put in his place.

The corners of Lin Xiao's mouth lifted slightly.

Know what it meant when someone said your subordinate's subordinate wasn't your subordinate?

Well, there you had it~

Strangely enough, though...

The herbs the Alchemist Gugas had casually tossed into their cauldrons actually began giving off a delicate fragrance.

One whiff left everyone feeling refreshed and clearheaded.

"Gurgle—"

The cauldron's lid began lifting repeatedly, spurts of mist shooting out from beneath it.

Lin Xiao swallowed.

Ever seen a pressure cooker vent steam?

It was pretty much like that.

Was this really a normal part of refining pills?

Why did it feel like it was about to explode?

He instinctively took a step back, grabbed Xiao Wu with his right hand and Ning Rongrong with his left, then dashed behind the garden's rockery.

Ning Rongrong stumbled as he pulled her along, while Xiao Wu followed him into hiding with a bewildered expression.

"Big Brother Lin Xiao, what's wrong? Why are we running so far away?"

Lin Xiao rubbed Ning Rongrong's little head.

"This is for your own good. Just watch."

Ning Rongrong didn't understand, but she knew she couldn't go wrong by following Big Brother Lin Xiao.

"Oh, okay. I'll listen to you, Big Brother Lin Xiao."

Standing not far from the cauldron, Ning Fengzhi shook his head with an amused smile.

"As expected, no matter how mature he is, he's still a child. It's only venting a little medicinal vapor, yet he's this frightened."

But beside him, Chen Xin frowned slightly. Watching the constantly trembling cauldron, he had already sensed danger and hurriedly warned him.

"Fengzhi, perhaps we should move back too."

The violent medicinal energy inside battered the lid with loud bangs. White mist poured ever more thickly through the gaps, accompanied by faint, muffled bursts.

Chen Xin keenly noticed fine, spiderweb-like cracks appearing across the cauldron, spreading steadily.

He hurriedly grabbed Ning Fengzhi and darted away.

The next second...

"Bang!!!"

"Guga!!!"

With a deafening boom, the cauldron exploded!

Hiding behind the rockery, Lin Xiao and the others felt a wave of heat rush toward their faces as shards of the cauldron whistled overhead.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Smoke and dust filled the air. Lin Xiao waved away the gray haze obscuring his vision, coughing several times before looking toward the center of the courtyard.

Although the Alchemist Gugas had been right at the center of the explosion...

They were strangely completely unharmed.

Their little faces merely looked especially comical, coated entirely in black soot with only their round eyes showing.

They looked at one another, staring at each other's blackened faces, all frozen in place.

"Guga?"

The moment one of them spoke, a puff of black smoke drifted out of her mouth.

"Damn it! If you're buying cauldrons, buy decent ones! How could it explode, Guga!!"

Alchemist Guga #1 bounced up and down in fury, her stubby legs repeatedly kicking the shattered cauldron pieces on the ground. The fragments rolled around with clinks and clatters as she continued cursing.

Alchemist Guga #2 timidly raised a little hand.

"Guga... I bought the cauldrons from the Gazi Livestream... Two for 9.9... Guga."

"!!!"

Alchemist Guga #1 instantly flew into a rage, raising her hand and smacking the other Guga hard on the head with a slap.

"Guga!! Are you trying to get yourself killed just to save a little money!!"

"Huh? Looks like it worked, Guga!"

Stars seemed to sparkle in Alchemist Guga's eyes as she hurriedly bent down.

After rummaging through the blackened medicinal residue and debris scattered across the ground, she carefully picked up a round pill between her fingers.

The pill was black all over, its surface pitted and uneven—a round little lump.

Lin Xiao sucked in a sharp breath, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

"Jeez... It's pitch-black and looks like a sheep dropping. Did you really succeed?"

He turned toward Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin beside him and ventured:

"Uncle Ning, how about finding someone to try it? See what it actually does?"

"All right."

Chen Xin vanished in a flash.

In just a few breaths, he returned.

He was carrying a bewildered Yellow-Haired disciple as though holding a chick.

"Huh?! You again!"

Seeing that familiar face, Lin Xiao's mouth twitched. He couldn't help marveling at the peculiar workings of fate.

This was the same person who had been scared half to death during the test drive.

Apparently, afterward, his brother had even made a special trip down the mountain to find a physician who treated people suffering from a fright. Only after a soul-calling ritual had he recovered.

And now this unlucky disciple was back again.

Someone tell the internet—the unlucky bear had been found, right here in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

The Yellow-Haired disciple's scalp prickled. An ominous feeling instantly welled up inside him, and every hair on his body stood on end.

"E-Elder Sword, Sect Master, what are you going to do?"

With a slight movement of his arm, Chen Xin gently set him on the ground, then looked at the black, sheep-dropping-like pill in Alchemist Guga's paw.

"Little Lin has refined a pill that can increase your cultivation speed. He'd like you to test it."

The Yellow-Haired disciple's eyes widened, his face instantly twisting into a miserable grimace.

The soot-faced Alchemist Gugas all stared at the unlucky disciple, brimming with anticipation.

Alchemist Guga #1 held out the pill in her hand.

The Yellow-Haired disciple shrank back, repeatedly waving his hands with a pained expression.

"Can I not eat it...? A fortune-teller told me today wasn't a good day for me to take pills..."

"Fortune-telling? You've walked straight into the line of fire, haven't you? Daoist Guga! Come out and tell this Yellow-Haired fellow whether today is a good day to take pills!"

Lin Xiao turned toward the house and shouted.

"Whoosh!"

A little figure in flowing Daoist robes darted out of the house, a crooked Daoist crown on her head and a peachwood sword in her hand.

"Guga! At the pinnacle of the Dao, I stand above the world—with Sister Guga here, the heavens endure! Fellow Daoist, have no fear. This Guga's fortune-telling is always accurate."

Daoist Guga stroked a completely nonexistent beard with her little hand, putting on an inscrutable air.

Her eyes swept up and down the pale-faced Yellow-Haired disciple.

Her little fingers continually formed divination gestures.

"One times one is one, one times two is two, March eighth is Women's Day, May first is Labor Day.

The signs reveal tremendous good fortune today. It is an excellent day to take a pill! This is a heaven-sent opportunity!"