Over the next month, little changed in Lin Changheng's life, though he set aside some time to study the Secret Notes of the Great Harmony Pill Scroll.
But within the Xu Family, aside from the ever-present shadow of war, rumors slowly began to spread.
The apprentice who had tended the fires for twelve years had not only entered the ranks overnight, but had now defeated the renowned Pill Master Lü and won a Mid-Grade Pill Dao inheritance. He had a chance of becoming a First-Tier Mid-Grade Pill Master!
Before long, Pill Master Lü openly admitted that his skills fell short. Lin Changheng possessed extraordinary talent and was a late bloomer; he could not compare.
He was remarkably candid, showing none of the grudge-bearing, eye-bulging fury so common in the novels of Lin Changheng's previous life.
Yet no one knew that Lü Bailian had deliberately pushed all this along. Losing to a fool was humiliating, but if he elevated Lin Changheng to a "genius," defeat would do no harm to his reputation. Instead, he would earn a name for magnanimity, for graciously bowing his head.
Xu Fugui was the one who brought him the news.
Lin Changheng kept frowning. He did not want to find himself under everyone's scrutiny, becoming a topic of conversation.
For someone like him, who followed the path of lying low and acting cautiously, excessive exposure was where danger lay.
So he asked Xu Fugui to help him with something.
"What is it? Just say the word, Brother Lin. I won't so much as furrow my brow, and I'll carry it out to the letter."
By now, Xu Fugui's injuries had mostly healed. He could move about and walk normally, though it was still best for him to avoid fighting. He immediately thumped his chest in assurance.
"It's quite simple..."
Lin Changheng did not know where the news had leaked from, but knowing the source would have been useless anyway. So he simply asked Xu Fugui to spread a few stories.
To muddy the waters.
They would say that Lin Changheng had only won by a single point that day, and that he had defeated the long-renowned Pill Master Lü only through all manner of lucky coincidences!
As for those "lucky coincidences," the more fantastical, the better.
For example, when Pill Master Lü was refining his first batch, he might originally have produced two Premium Pills. They had already taken shape, but then a mysterious bird, drawn by their rich fragrance, cried out beyond the window. Its cry startled Pill Master Lü, throwing his Pill Formula Hand Seals out of sequence, and that was why he lost by a single point.
Or they could say that Pill Master Lü was a man of noble character. Lin Changheng had exhausted himself while refining pills and nearly suffered a backlash, so Pill Master Lü had decisively intervened to save him. In doing so, he had spoiled his own pills and thus lost.
Stories like these were fantastical enough to catch everyone's eye!
That very day, Xu Fugui enlisted his wife and children. His entire household, more than ten people strong, spread the stories by visiting friends, calling on relatives, and dropping in on neighbors. The tales grew more outlandish with every telling.
As the rumors fermented, the creativity of the lineage's members blossomed too. They even invented tales of love and hatred between the two men, culminating in a falling-out that became the spark for their contest over the Mid-Grade Pill Dao inheritance.
In the end, no one cared about the truth anymore. Different versions were invented and circulated, with Pill Master Lü receiving the most attention and once again becoming the central figure.
Lin Changheng, meanwhile, became a minor supporting character. With nothing sensational left about him, he was naturally forgotten.
One thing worth mentioning was that, midway through the month, Xu Xuheng, head of the Xu Family, summoned him and offered a few formal remarks centered on encouragement, expectations, and winning him over.
Lin Changheng acted overwhelmed by the favor, then put the whole encounter out of his mind once he left.
He understood that at meetings like these, people naturally picked only the pleasant things to say. Whoever took them seriously, whoever took them to heart, had already lost.
A few days later.
Lin Changheng and Xu Fugui were taking a leisurely stroll along the Blackwater River.
Suddenly, a rapid clatter of hooves came from the opposite bank.
Both men started and immediately peered into the distance. A party of more than a dozen riders approached amid billowing dust, then crossed the river.
Fortunately, they clearly recognized the leader as Xu Qianhuan, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Otherwise, they had already tacitly agreed to turn and run.
"Greetings, Senior."
The crossing took little time, and the two stood to one side and bowed.
"Mm."
Xu Qianhuan's stern expression eased. Whether that was because of the two men or because he had reached the lineage's grounds, neither could tell.
Then he ordered, "Everyone, go rest. Take the wounded home and have physicians visit them."
Medicine was also one of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation.
Though physicians were not as sought after as masters of pills, artifacts, formations, and talismans, they were still indispensable to any lineage.
"Yes."
The cultivators behind him immediately dispersed. Only then did Lin Changheng and Xu Fugui notice that some were carrying wounded men.
"Old Bai?"
Xu Fugui suddenly cried out.
The Old Bai he meant could only be Bai Fengxian. Lin Changheng was startled too and followed his gaze. A man was being carried on someone's back, half his face a bloody ruin, as though it had been seared into a mangled mass by flames. He looked vaguely familiar.
His build matched as well...
"Old Bai, are you all right?"
The two immediately hurried over, unable to bear the sight.
Hearing the two familiar voices, Bai Fengxian struggled to open his eyes. He squeezed a smile onto his distorted face and said, "I'm not dead yet. Luckily, I was quick on my feet. A Fireball Technique only grazed my face."
He made it sound trivial, but the danger and terror behind it were unimaginable.
"Come on, come on!"
Lin Changheng and Xu Fugui lent a hand, easing him off the unfamiliar cultivator's back and onto a plank, then carrying him away in a flash.
It was not until evening.
Only after seeing the physician off did Bai Fengxian's wife finally lay her anxious heart to rest. She wiped her tearful eyes and went to prepare a meal.
Though disfigured, Bai Fengxian was in fairly good spirits as he reclined on the couch. Looking at the two gloomy faces before him, he still smiled and said, "What's wrong? Still mourning this handsome face of mine?"
"Tsk, tsk. Looks like that Fireball Technique still couldn't tame your mouth!" Xu Fugui's expression eased a little, and he laughed too.
Lin Changheng also smiled, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "Did you go to retaliate against the Chen Family?"
"How did you know, Brother Lin?"
Bai Fengxian froze. His scabbed wounds shifted, making his expression even more hideous.
Lin Changheng merely smiled and said, "I guessed."
Xu Fugui immediately scratched his head, looking at Lin Changheng as though lost in clouds and mist. Clearly, he could make neither head nor tail of it.
Lin Changheng had no choice but to explain. "The state you're in makes it obvious you've been through a major battle. But with the Xu Family's situation so dire, they certainly wouldn't be reckless enough to fight on several fronts. That leaves only one answer..."
"The Chen Family!"
In fact, Lin Changheng had more evidence at hand: the death of the middle-grade Pill Master Xu Hanli, the attack on Black Dragon Pond, the opening of the Pill Masters' secret inheritance, and so on. All pointed to the same conclusion, but he could hardly speak of them openly.
Sometimes, knowing more was not necessarily a good thing.
"You truly are sharp, Brother Lin. You foresee events like a god."
Bai Fengxian sighed in admiration, then quietly divulged a few details.
Combined with what Lin Changheng already knew, those details allowed him to piece together the basic sequence of events.
This must have been retaliation for the Chen Family's attack on Black Dragon Pond and their ambush and killing of the middle-grade Pill Master. In response, the Xu Family had sent men to raid two resource sites, killing seven or eight cultivators and plundering a haul of resources.
Most importantly, they had beheaded a Middle-Grade Talisman Master as retaliation in kind.