Each to Their Own Affairs

Chen Chong stood in his own courtyard, gazing at the moon in the sky.

A full moon hung in the very center of Dingshan County's night sky, round and full like a silver platter.

Moonlight spilled down, clear and cold, coating the date tree, the rim of the well, and the withered grass atop the walls with a thin layer of silver frost.

There were no clouds. The heavens were a deep blue bordering on black, with a few distant stars scattered across them, making that round moon seem especially lonely.

A full moon. A symbol of reunion.

Chen Chong raised his head, suddenly lost in thought.

The moon in his previous life must have looked like this too. He recalled his childhood, when his mother laid out mooncakes and fruit in the courtyard, his father drank tea in a bamboo chair, and he lay atop the wall counting stars.

Those scenes had already blurred, like an old painting soaked in water, its colors bleeding together.

But he remembered that feeling. Warm, round, complete.

Now, he stood beneath the moonlight of another world, with no one at his side.

Chen Chong's thoughts began to wander.

It seemed that only the moon and sun remained as they had been in his previous life, eternal and unchanging. The sun rose and the moon set; the moon waxed and waned. No matter how many dynasties changed in the human world, how many people died, or how many were born, they still hung overhead as always, shining as always.

Perhaps only by becoming as powerful as the sun and moon could one endure forever. Not perishing with the rise and fall of dynasties, not dimming with the shifting of mountains and rivers, not gaining or losing the slightest bit because of the world's joys and sorrows.

They simply hung there, cold and eternal, seeing everything.

Chen Chong withdrew his gaze, planted his feet in the courtyard, and threw a punch.

The wind from his fist whistled out, making the leaves of the date tree in the corner rustle and tremble. The majestic force within him surged, rushed, and exploded along with that punch. His sinews and membranes were taut as bowstrings, his flesh and blood like tides. As the Dragon Abyss Tiger-Subduing Art circulated, the rushing of his qi and blood through his meridians sounded like a hidden river roaring underground.

He felt that power. Steady, vast, unfathomable.

The improvements brought by the panel seemed to have awakened another personality within him.

Every day upon waking, the first thing he did was check the numbers on the panel. Every night before sleep, the last thing he did was confirm how much his proficiency had risen. Training, refining pills, fusing martial arts, deducing incomplete manuals—he operated like a machine, existing solely to grow stronger.

Sometimes, he could not even remember when he had last walked down the street without purpose. When he had last stared blankly at the moon. When he had last thought of those blurred, warm memories from his previous life.

A thought surfaced in his heart.

Perhaps only when he became as strong as the sun and moon would he stop walking.

When he was powerful enough—powerful enough that he no longer needed to watch anyone's expression, powerful enough that he no longer needed the numbers on the panel to confirm his own existence.

At that time, perhaps he would stop and look at the moon once more. Like when he had been a child in his previous life, thinking of nothing, simply watching.

The sun rose as usual.

Chen Chong arrived at World-Aiding Hall, entered his room, and prepared to refine pills.

Before he had even laid out the medicinal ingredients, there came a knock on the door. Thinking a servant had delivered the herbs, he said, "Come in."

A young man pushed open the door and entered.

He was in his early twenties, handsome and clear-featured, with open brows, a straight nose, and a sharply defined jawline.

He wore a moon-white robe made from fine fabric, though it bore no excessive embroidery. A green silk sash circled his waist, from which hung a plain jade ring.

His steps were neither hurried nor slow, and his gaze remained level. In the few steps from the door to the table, he moved with calm composure and perfect restraint. One glance was enough to tell that he came from a good family, had received an excellent upbringing, and carried confidence in his bones.

When he reached Chen Chong, he actually bowed in greeting, lowering his posture considerably.

"Master Chen. I am the new chief steward, Li Zhiyi. Having only just arrived, I hope Master Chen will look after me."

His voice was clear, and his tone respectful, yet neither servile nor overbearing. It was as if he had sheathed his edge, showing only his modest side.

Chen Chong could not help but pause. The Li Family moved quickly. Wang Zheng had barely been taken away before a new chief steward arrived. He gave Li Zhiyi a once-over, then nodded. "Steward Li is too polite. We will both be at World-Aiding Hall from now on, so we should look out for one another."

Li Zhiyi exchanged a few more pleasantries and asked about some matters concerning pills. His words were measured impeccably; he neither deliberately fawned nor put on airs. After sitting for a short while, he rose and took his leave.

Chen Chong saw him to the door and watched him walk away along the corridor.

Now that he was a pill-refining master, Chen Chong did have some standing.

At the very least, everyone had to keep up appearances. The entire Li Family only had three or four pill-refining masters, and every one of them was a scarce resource. Li Zhiyi was a clever man. He knew what attitude to take toward what sort of person.

Chen Chong closed the door and began refining pills. He could not help but think that it was a pity the panel could not simplify the process of consuming pills.

After taking them, one still had to refine them, gradually integrating their medicinal power into one's flesh, blood, sinews, and membranes. That was why he had gone to the Dark Market the previous night, to see whether he could buy the ingredients for the Jade Marrow Essence-Coalescing Pill.

Better pills would bring faster progress. Of course, only he could afford to think that way. In truth, refining pills was also related to one's martial art, much like eating a meal.

The better the martial art, the faster one could refine pills, and the more pills one could take each day. An ordinary martial artist who consumed one True Martial Pill would need an entire day to refine it, and would barely absorb thirty percent of the medicinal power. The rest would all dissipate.

But the Dragon Abyss Tiger-Subduing Art Chen Chong had fused now devoured pills like a whale drinking in water. Once a True Martial Pill entered his stomach, it would be refined completely in less than an hour, without the slightest trace of medicinal power leaking away. That was why his realm could advance so quickly.

On the panel—Tendon-Tremor Realm 6683/10000.

It rose steadily every day, neither fast nor slow, but it never regressed and never stagnated.

Yet aside from Chen Chong himself, no one knew his true realm. Li Zhaoning surely still believed he was lingering in the Flesh-Nourishing Realm.

Pass after pass was hard to cross. Among the four great barriers of skin, flesh, sinews, and bones, every one was a chasm beyond measure.

An eighteen-year-old in the Tendon-Tremor Realm—within the Li Family, only a few core disciples under focused cultivation could attain that. And which of them had not been piled up with pills since childhood? Which had not received the guidance of famed masters and the favor of Lineage resources?

At noon, Chen Chong had originally planned to go next door to the restaurant for something to eat. The stewards and pill masters of World-Aiding Hall basically all ate there, and he had grown accustomed to going as well.

Just as he was about to leave, another knock sounded at the door.

Chen Chong pulled it open. Su Hongyu stood outside, followed by several people carrying food boxes. The boxes were lacquered red, stacked one atop another, with steam rising from them.

"Pill Master Chen." Su Hongyu wore a smile, his waist slightly bent. "I took the liberty of bringing some food back for you. I don't know whether you like these dishes."

Chen Chong froze for a moment and looked down at the food boxes.

The lids had not been lifted, but their fragrance had already drifted out: the rich aroma of braised dishes, the fresh scent of steamed food, and the sweet-and-sour smell of another dish. They were all dishes he often ordered at the restaurant.

He looked at Su Hongyu and nodded. "Come in."

Su Hongyu directed the servants to bring the food boxes inside and arrange them on the table. Braised lion's head meatballs, steamed perch, sweet-and-sour pork ribs, a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a bowl of lotus seed soup.

The bowls and chopsticks were set out, and the wine had been warmed.

Only after the servants had all withdrawn did Su Hongyu take a small box from his sleeve and offer it with both hands.

"Thanks to Pill Master Chen's consideration, Su has been able to become an accounts steward." He bent at the waist again. "This is a token of my gratitude."

Chen Chong accepted the box and opened it. Inside lay a pill, round and plump, the color of congealed cream, with a faint jade luster flowing across its surface.

A delicate medicinal fragrance wafted out, light without being overpowering, refreshing the heart and clearing the mind.

"A Jade Marrow Essence-Coalescing Pill." Su Hongyu lowered his voice slightly. "After much thought, I felt that only this pill, passed down in my family until now, was worthy of a pill master."

Chen Chong raised his head and glanced at him. Su Hongyu wore a smile, but within that smile was a trace of heartache. It was well hidden, but not hidden well enough.

For a family like Su Hongyu's, this kind of pill meant one less each time one was used. His willingness to take it out showed that he had truly spent a fortune.

"Steward Su is thoughtful." Chen Chong put the box away.

Su Hongyu said a few more polite words, mentioned that he had other matters to attend to, and then left.

Chen Chong watched his back disappear beyond the doorway and could not help shaking his head. This Su Hongyu truly was a shrewd operator.

What he liked to eat, his preference for quiet solitude, his few words—Su Hongyu had figured all of it out perfectly.

Moreover, he had judged the timing, value, and method of the gift with flawless precision.

Su Hongyu's family background was actually not bad either. Speaking of it, the stewards at World-Aiding Hall all came from decent families; positions here were passed down from one generation to the next.

But although they were both stewards, Su Hongyu had originally handled tasks such as managing servants and dealing with miscellaneous affairs. There was little profit in such work, and its status was low. Now that he had become an accounts steward, however, it was like heaven and earth apart.

The accounts office managed all the silver coming in and out of the medical hall, with money flowing through its hands like water. Its status was second only to that of the chief steward.

Chen Chong had not expected Li Zhaoning to directly arrange an accounts steward position for Su Hongyu.

He returned to the table, looking at the dishes spread before him and smelling the wine. He fell silent for a moment. Then he picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib. It tasted good, pleasantly sweet and sour, exactly the same as at the restaurant.

Outside the window, the sun stood high. The assembly line in World-Aiding Hall's rear courtyard was still running. The sounds of slicing herbs, grinding herbs, and sifting herbs blended into a rhythmic tune, ringing from morning until night.