Wang Yan left, cradling his treasured iron wok and carrying a few Scallion-Scented Qi-Restoring Pills, looking back three times with every step as he departed the courtyard.
His heart felt both hollow and heavy.
Hollow because his master was leaving.
Heavy because the kindness he had received weighed so much.
Black Mountain watched the direction the boy had disappeared in. For once, he made no snide remarks. Instead, he smacked his lips and said to Si Chen in his rough voice, "That boy might be a little thickheaded, but this old bear rather likes his tenacity."
Red Wind nodded too.
Over their encounters, these two Demon Race heavyweights had grown somewhat fond of Wang Yan.
They did not know whether Si Chen acknowledged him as a disciple, but in their hearts, they did approve of him somewhat.
"Come to think of it, ever since we left the Mountain of Ten Thousand Silences, we've kept running into all these bizarre things."
Black Mountain scratched his head. "First some Immortal Emperor prospect, and now a pill-stir-frying grandmaster... but you know what? It's been pretty interesting."
They all thought of the young man who had shouted slogans on the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's Cloud-Ascent Stairway.
Li Tiezhu, that boy who had declared he would dominate the Myriad Heavens and Worlds-who knew where he was training hard now?
Listening, Si Chen's lips curved unconsciously. Indeed, this journey had been much more interesting than life in his Lineage.
He rose from the reclining chair and stretched.
His days in Alchemy Cauldron City had truly been comfortable. Every day, he either sampled the various delicacies Black Mountain gathered or watched Wang Yan tinker with his wok.
But now, it was time to move on.
The Strange Core stirred restlessly in his dantian, as if urging him