"The two families have already had it out in the Savage Wastes?"
That day, Lin Changheng emerged from the pill room and heard a piece of explosive news.
Apparently, during one clash, the Xu Family and the Chen Family had failed to restrain themselves and broken into a fight. Cultivators on both sides had gone at it in earnest, magic artifacts flying everywhere as they unleashed every means at their disposal.
With old grudges and conflicting interests fueling the flames, the two sides had nearly beaten each other's brains out.
The result was... casualties on both sides.
According to the subsequent tally of losses, the Xu Family had gained little from the fighting, but it had still come out slightly ahead.
At least, that was what the Xu Family proclaimed internally.
A middle-aged Pill Master was animatedly airing his views. Seeing Lin Changheng pause, he immediately beckoned him over to join the discussion.
"Next time, next time!"
Lin Changheng had no desire to discuss it openly. Pleading other business, he said they could talk next time and hurried away.
The middle-aged Pill Master stared after his swiftly retreating figure in astonishment, then shook his head. It was a pity to have one fewer listener for his lofty discourse.
He turned back and continued his endless torrent of words, spittle flying.
That evening, Bai Fengxian came to visit.
"Come in, come in. What brings you here so late, Feng Xian? Is it something important?"
His expression solemn, Bai Fengxian stopped Lin Changheng from making tea. "Brother Lin, don't trouble yourself. I'll leave after saying a few words."
Lin Changheng keenly sensed something amiss. "What happened?"
"The Xu Family has reassigned me..."
"To the Savage Wastes?"
Lin Changheng frowned.
"Not the Savage Wastes. To the Black Dragon Pond Fishery, forty li from our cultivation grounds, to help guard it."
Bai Fengxian also found it strange.
Lin Changheng's eyes shifted as he considered it. Reinforcements for a garrison were usually needed for only two reasons:
First, the existing defenders had been depleted and needed replenishing;
Second, mounting external pressure had forced them to strengthen their defenses, or they had already suffered an attack.
As the Xu Family's open enemy-or its hostile neighbor-the Chen Family fit both descriptions and belonged at the top of the list of suspects.
It was the likeliest possibility.
"Even if it isn't the Savage Wastes, you must stay alert and take care of yourself. You may face attacks and battles while on guard duty. Since you're at the third level of Qi Refining, put your own survival first, before thinking about killing enemies."
Without knowing the full picture, Lin Changheng could not risk misleading him and could only offer a warning.
"I understand. Thank you for the reminder."
Bai Fengxian then took out ten spirit stones, intending to buy two pills.
Seeing Lin Changheng's puzzled look, Bai Fengxian scratched his head and chuckled. "There are also the three pills you lent me last time, Brother Lin. I happen to have some money to spare, so I'll pay you back for those too."
Something stirred in Lin Changheng's heart. He truly had not misjudged this man. Without saying much, he simply took out two extra pills and handed over four in total.
Instead, he said, "I sell to the family at seventy percent of the price too. Since we're friends, I certainly can't charge you more."
Although he had not intended to take payment for the earlier three pills, he accepted it after some thought.
As the saying went, even blood brothers should keep clear accounts. It was also a way to preserve the purity of their friendship, rather than letting it sour into a relationship where one gave charity and the other begged.
That would only spoil things.
Bai Fengxian left full of gratitude, and Lin Changheng saw him all the way to the door before returning inside.
He began pondering the matter. Some unforeseen development at the Black Dragon Pond Fishery must have prompted this change.
Could the urgent business Xu Xuzhong had dealt with that day have been connected to the trouble at the Black Dragon Pond Fishery?
With so little information, he could not work it out.
Lin Changheng shook his head, an indescribable feeling stirring within him. Perhaps one of these farewells would prove to be their last.
Then he raised his eyes and gazed into the distance, straining his sight to its utmost as though trying to see this world of cultivation clearly. All he saw was a night as black as ink, so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve...
Two months later.
The situation outside that valley in the Savage Wastes had deteriorated further and further.
Neither the Xu Family nor the Chen Family would yield. They had clashed repeatedly, engaging in large-scale battles of spells and slaughter.
It would be no exaggeration to say their eyes had turned red with bloodlust.
The strain of the battlefield had already spread beyond it.
It could now be said that this was no longer merely a struggle between two groups of cultivators, but a contest in which both families had marshaled their full strength.
Lin Changheng noticed wounded members of the Xu Family continually withdrawing from the front to recuperate, while fresh faces took their places as reinforcements.
During this time, Lin Changheng had seen off two more friends among the Immortal Seedlings.
Their luck was both good and bad.
They were among the last to be sent to the battlefield, which was fortunate.
But unlike Bai Fengxian, they had not happened to receive nearby guard postings. Both had been sent into the fighting in the Savage Wastes, where the risk of casualties was greater.
Of the Immortal Seedlings he knew well, only Tantai Feiyue, who had likewise attained a ranked proficiency in one of the hundred arts, had not gone to the battlefield.
When they had nothing else to do, the two would get together for a drink and a chat.
"Brother Lin, with your mastery of the Pill Dao, allowing you to 'pick up' Premium Pills so often, you must already have touched the threshold of the Mid-Grade Pill Dao, haven't you?"
A delicate blush colored Tantai Feiyue's cheeks. After offering him a toast, she suddenly posed the question.
"Aren't you the same, Fairy Tantai? I suspect the Xu Family will soon have another Middle-Grade Talisman Master."
Under the moonlight, Lin Changheng was slightly tipsy too. He clinked cups with the lovely commandery princess and smiled calmly.
"Stop teasing me, Brother Lin. Your attainments and skill are beyond what a mere girl like me can match."
Tantai Feiyue brushed aside a fallen strand of hair with her slender, jade-like fingers. Then she half rose, tilted her head, and leaned closer, asking softly, "Have you found a source for the Mid-Grade Pill Dao, Brother Lin?"
As the commandery princess drew near, she brought a waft of delicate fragrance. Her orchid-scented breath brushed Lin Changheng's face, carrying a trace of sweet, mellow wine, and left him momentarily dazed.
"Not yet. I asked the Xu Family before, but their Mid-Grade Pill Dao inheritance is a closely guarded secret. It's excluded from what they make available to us Immortal Seedlings. I imagine the middle-grade Talisman Way is the same."
"We may have to find another way..."
With Tantai Feiyue so close, Lin Changheng neither avoided her nor drew back. Nor did he act like an innocent boy from his previous life, blushing and averting his gaze to play the upright gentleman who would look upon nothing improper.
Instead, he looked straight at her, openly and unabashedly admiring her beauty.
He could not help marveling inwardly. She was naturally beautiful to begin with, and with her cultivation enhancing her looks, descriptions such as skin of ice and bones of jade, a complexion like snow and a face like flowers, were no empty words. There was not a single flaw.
"That might have been impossible before, but not necessarily now."
Tantai Feiyue smiled thoughtfully, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
Then she glanced back and discovered Lin Changheng's bright, unflinching gaze fixed upon her. Her lovely face flushed, and a rosy hue crept along her neck.
She also realized she had "crossed the line." Instinctively, she started to pull back, her body giving a little tremor, but she immediately forced herself back into place. Her beautiful eyes stared boldly at Lin Changheng as she thought, I've done nothing wrong. I can't retreat, or he'll surely look down on me!
She had the pride of a commandery princess. Emboldened by the wine, she became all the more daring and haughty, facing Lin Changheng with their eyes locked, mere inches apart, refusing to yield an inch.
They were so close that their breaths brushed each other's faces!
"You mean that with danger now looming over the Xu Family, they may change their strategy and, like a desperate patient seeking any doctor, give us an opportunity to obtain a middle-grade inheritance?"