Even a Cultivation Sect Played Tricks on Ghosts?

"I never thought upgrading the Body Tempering Pill this time would take a full ten hours."

Amid his excitement, Lin Shisan reached another conclusion.

Not everything could finish upgrading within four hours.

The higher an item's grade, like this Body Tempering Pill, the longer it would take to upgrade.

"This Body Tempering Pill is brimming with spiritual energy. I wonder if taking it will help me reach the body tempering third layer."

Lin Shisan could barely contain his excitement.

He wished he could take it right now and see what happened.

But there was less than fifteen minutes left before work began.

There simply wasn't enough time to absorb the Body Tempering Pill and raise his cultivation.

If Chen Yang discovered it, he would bring undeserved trouble down on himself again.

Besides, Lin Shisan wanted to see whether this two-mark Body Tempering Pill could advance again to three marks.

Or even become a four-mark Body Tempering Pill.

Only Body Tempering Pills with three or four marks counted as true first-grade Spirit Pills.

Only then would his chances of reaching the body tempering third layer be greater.

"I just wonder how many marks you'll have by the time I get back."

With that thought, Lin Shisan excitedly placed the two-mark Body Tempering Pill back inside the Little Black Cauldron.

Once work was over, he would return to reap the harvest.

"Little Black Cauldron, you mustn't let me down. Whether I can reach the third layer depends on you."

Lin Shisan reluctantly left.

It was as though he were parting from his beloved fairy, his eyes filled with longing.

The afternoon's work wasn't heavy either.

They had nearly finished everything that morning. In the afternoon, they only needed to clean up and sort out the rubbish behind the mountain.

"Time to go back and witness a miracle."

Filled with anticipation, Lin Shisan practically jogged back.

He wanted to see at once how many pill marks the newly evolved Body Tempering Pill had.

But just as he was about to open his door, he heard a commotion in the servants' courtyard.

Something major seemed to have happened.

Judging by the direction the crowd was heading, it had to be in the courtyard where Chen Yang and the other overseers lived.

"Shisan, what are you standing there for? Come on, let's take a look."

Lin Shisan had no interest in watching the excitement, but Ning Hao, who had just returned, grabbed him and dragged him along.

On the way, they met a Pill Room servant.

He spoke so freely and carelessly that people called him Bigmouth.

Even from a distance, they could see the overseers' courtyard packed with servant disciples of every sort.

Lin Shisan and his two companions had arrived late. They couldn't squeeze in at all and were stuck outside the crowd.

"Hey, Senior Brother Li, what's going on?"

Bigmouth stopped a Herb Hall disciple who had just emerged from the courtyard.

He had most likely just treated an injured overseer inside.

He was still carrying a medicine chest, and there were bloodstains on his hands that he hadn't wiped away.

Apparently, someone had shed blood.

"Oh, it's Old Feng..."

The Herb Hall servant disciple had been about to hurry away.

But when he saw Bigmouth's smiling face, he stepped back of his own accord.

"What happened, Senior Brother Li? With all this commotion, who exactly got hurt?"

"They even brought you Herb Hall people over."

"Don't ask so many questions. Knowing things you shouldn't know isn't good for you."

Senior Brother Li from the Herb Hall glanced around before speaking in a low voice.

"You bigmouth, don't tell anyone I told you. Your Pill Room overseer got beaten up. And what a beating it was-he was in a miserable state."

"Boss Chen?"

The Pill Room overseer?

Lin Shisan, Ning Hao, and Bigmouth Old Feng all immediately thought of Chen Yang.

"I don't know who he is either. He looked pretty lean, with little eyes and a big head. He seemed like the sort who'd speak harshly."

Chen Yang. That settled it.

This time, all three of them were certain that the man who had been beaten was Chen Yang.

Without a word passing between them, unmistakable glee surfaced in their eyes, especially those of Ning Hao and Bigmouth Old Feng.

Lean, little eyes, a big head, and a harsh manner of speaking-who else could it be but Chen Yang?

Beaten black and blue and left in a miserable state-the thought alone was delightful.

Heaven's justice shone bright, and retribution never missed its mark.

Chen Yang had always been the one bullying others. When had it ever been his turn to be bullied?

"Hold on. Is there anyone in our Servant Hall who dares beat up a Pill Room overseer?"

Even servants were divided into ranks.

Herb Hall disciples were respected for treating people's illnesses and injuries, so their standing was generally higher.

Next came the Pill Room disciples.

In this immortal Aristocratic Clan, Alchemists held an exalted position.

They were the sect's nobility in every sense.

As the water rose, so did the boat; even the overseers responsible for cleaning the Pill Rooms enjoyed a higher standing.

"You bigmouth! Shouting like that-do you have a death wish?"

The Herb Hall disciple clapped a hand over Old Feng's big mouth.

"You bigmouth, all your time in the Azure Cloud Lineage has taught you nothing."

"Just because servant disciples don't dare touch them doesn't mean nobody else does. Apparently, the one who beat him was an outer sect disciple."

"He must have gotten so used to throwing his weight around that he forgot to bow when he encountered an outer sect disciple, and got a sound beating for it."

"Remember, Bigmouth, you didn't hear this from me. Don't get me into trouble."

Before leaving, Senior Brother Li from the Herb Hall made a point of warning Bigmouth Old Feng.

After watching a little longer, Lin Shisan and the other two became even more certain that the servant overseer who had been beaten was Chen Yang.

Preoccupied with whether the Body Tempering Pill had gained more pill marks, Lin Shisan watched for another half a cup of tea's time before returning.

Still, an inexplicable flicker of delight swept through his heart.

Though he hadn't openly gloated like Ning Hao and Bigmouth Old Feng, he did feel a little satisfaction.

He followed the little path outside his door back to his room.

Only after making sure nobody was around did Lin Shisan approach the Little Black Cauldron.

His anxious heart was about to leap out of his chest.

"Father..."

To soothe his anxious heart, Lin Shisan kowtowed three more times to his father, Lin Qinghan.

At last, he reached toward the Little Black Cauldron, his hand trembling again and again.

But no matter how he felt around inside, he couldn't find the Body Tempering Pill. A bad feeling welled up in him.

"My Body Tempering Pill..."

Lin Shisan's chest suddenly tightened.

It was as though a pair of enormous pincers had clamped around it, making even breathing difficult.

Had a thief broken in?

The Body Tempering Pill-

Had it been stolen?

But however he looked around, the room was as clean and tidy as ever.

There wasn't even the slightest sign of anything having been disturbed.

Yet even after turning the Little Black Cauldron this way and that, looking above, below, left, and right, he still couldn't find the Body Tempering Pill.

Clatter...

Finally, a scroll fell out of the Little Black Cauldron.

It was the yellowed scroll Zhou Xiaotian had given Lin Shisan on Zhao Xun's behalf-the Tai Chi Body Tempering Manual.

"Could it be caught somewhere inside the scroll?"

At that thought, Lin Shisan hastily opened it.

He searched page by page, but even after reaching the last page, he still hadn't found the Body Tempering Pill.

"Did Chen Yang come in?"

Lin Shisan soon ruled Chen Yang out.

Chen Yang had taken a savage beating.

In the words of Senior Brother Li from the Herb Hall, he had been beaten into a miserable state.

But however hard he thought, he couldn't come up with anyone else.

Finally, Chen Yang also muttered the name of Zheng Qian, the man who had sold him the discarded pill.

Inspecting the room again, he looked at the strand of hair he had tied to the door latch before leaving. It was still intact, with no sign of a thief having entered.

The window was tightly shut too. It didn't look as though anyone had come in.

So how had the Body Tempering Pill he had put inside vanished without a trace?

Even a cultivation sect played tricks on ghosts?

That couldn't be.