The next morning.
At the Thousand Beauties Pavilion.
Gu Chenfeng arrived earlier than usual.
Inside a hidden chamber connecting the top floor to the west wing.
Gu Chenfeng examined the Brass Pill Furnace, which stood half a person tall.
Then he looked at the crimson crystal beneath it, radiating astonishing heat, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Miss Su, you certainly get things done efficiently!"
Today, Su Wanyue had traded her usual plain white dress for a long gown the pale shade of sunset clouds.
The fabric was not a gaudy scarlet, but a deep crimson, as though dyed with the crushed remnants of the setting sun, with a gauzy outer layer.
When she walked, she resembled a dark flame kindled within the mist, elegant yet faintly aggressive.
A gold-woven sash cinched her narrow waist, while the skirt fell naturally, outlining her perfectly rounded curves and astonishingly long legs.
Although a light veil still covered her face, it did nothing to diminish her beauty.
Her crystalline pale-blue eyes, in particular, resembled amber caught in sunlight and carried a distinctly exotic charm.
She had clearly dressed with care, and her beauty was almost dazzling.
Su Wanyue remained composed in the face of Gu Chenfeng's praise.
"I heard that the Chancellor's old ailment has flared up and that he is in seclusion. The Gu Lineage's situation does not look promising.
"You have endured humiliation and shouldered heavy burdens, Third Young Master, even staining your own reputation as a wastrel. Clearly, you carry mountains and valleys within your breast.
"You must have some important purpose in asking me to help with these matters.
"Afraid of delaying you, I risked discovery by my enemies overnight and endured countless hardships to find these things."
Gu Chenfeng inwardly rolled his eyes.
When he fed the gu insects that morning, he had already learned the truth.
This woman owned a pill furnace herself, which she used to process feed for her gu insects.
At most, she had moved it from one room to another, yet in her telling, she had risked her life.
Feigning gratitude, Gu Chenfeng said, "Miss Su, thank you for all your hard work.
"I will certainly repay you someday."
At the gratitude in Gu Chenfeng's eyes, Su Wanyue's lips curved almost imperceptibly.
She sighed softly. "Now I am alone here in Great Li's Imperial Capital, without a single relative to turn to. You are my only friend, Third Young Master.
"Naturally, we should help each other and weather the storms in the same boat.
"If you ever encounter any difficulties, or even have something weighing on your heart, you can confide in me."
Su Wanyue knew that although she and Gu Chenfeng were partners, they harbored considerable suspicion toward each other.
Winning control of his heart would take more than simple seduction and flirtation.
The key was to draw them closer and gain a greater sense of connection.
Men like Gu Chenfeng, who had disguised themselves as wastrels since childhood and carried far too many burdens.
Their hearts were usually lonely, in need of understanding and someone to lean on.
Sure enough.
As soon as she said this, a flicker of emotion passed through Gu Chenfeng's eyes.
The way he looked at her seemed to change.
Just as I thought, Su Wanyue chuckled inwardly.
Is something wrong with this woman's head? Does she want to be my sympathetic big sister?
Gu Chenfeng's gaze turned strange. Naturally, he understood her routine.
He simply decided to turn her scheme to his own advantage.
Turning aside, he tilted his head upward at a forty-five-degree angle, striking a man's most melancholy pose.
After drawing a deep breath.
Gu Chenfeng sighed softly. "Miss Su, you know the Gu Lineage holds immense power. A towering tree catches the wind.
"As the only male in the Gu Lineage's third generation, I have had countless eyes watching me since birth.
"Some want me to prosper, while others want me dead. I do not live only for myself. I carry far too many responsibilities."
A self-mocking smile rose to Gu Chenfeng's lips.
"I once thought that by playing the fool and becoming a wastrel heir, I could drift freely through this life.
"Now it seems that was nothing more than a vain hope. In the end, I cannot escape this cage.
"Heh... perhaps I was born abandoned by fate."
When she heard Gu Chenfeng's final sentence.
Su Wanyue, already engrossed in his words, could not help trembling.
It was as though someone had struck the vessel of her tranquil heart, stirring hidden waves.
Someone abandoned by fate!
She seemed to recall something. Her face briefly paled before returning to normal.
By then, Gu Chenfeng had also regained his usual composure and gave an awkward smile.
"Miss Su, I'm sorry. I should not have told you these things.
"It's just... what you said gave me the warmth of family, and I couldn't help confiding in you."
His hastily concealed sorrow and forced smile tugged at the heart.
Su Wanyue suddenly felt a little sympathy for this man.
After a moment's hesitation, she actually reached out and caught his arm.
"Young Master Gu, it's all right. You can think of me as your family."
Gu Chenfeng's eyes reddened, and he seemed to choke up.
The next instant, he pulled Su Wanyue into an embrace, tightly gathering her soft, fragrant body against him.
Su Wanyue instinctively wanted to struggle.
But Gu Chenfeng's sincere, resonant voice sounded beside her ear.
"Thank you, Su Wanyue!"
Lady Su trembled and froze where she stood, letting Gu Chenfeng embrace her.
A little while later, Su Wanyue turned and left.
The instant she closed the door, she could not help letting out a long breath.
Her mind was still a little dizzy.
She wondered whether Gu Chenfeng had held her too tightly just now, leaving her short of air.
Damn him, how dare he... ah, perhaps he truly sees me as family.
Besides, he really is rather pitiful.
Pity surfaced in Su Wanyue's eyes, but then she sensed something was wrong.
Wait, wasn't I trying to move him? Why did I start sympathizing with him first?
Still, he already thinks of me as family. That proves he has begun relying on me.
The plan is still going smoothly. Soon, I'll have him completely ensnared!
"Pfft!"
Inside the room, Gu Chenfeng covered his mouth, struggling to hold back his laughter.
A man only had to act a little drunk to bring you to tears.
Since Su Wanyue wanted to put on an act, he had chosen to play along.
If he let her believe her scheme had succeeded, she would obediently cooperate with him in other matters.
Still, that woman really is so fragrant, so soft, and so springy!
Before long.
Gu Chenfeng sat on the meditation cushion before the pill furnace, ready to begin refining pills.
This was his first attempt at pill refining.
He had already prepared the ingredients and the Pill Formula. All he lacked was practical experience.
With a thought.
His other self entered the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins.
His entire being entered a mysterious "Threshold State."
He could freely choose to act in either world.
Now, he had his self within the Phantom Martial Divine Ruins sit cross-legged on the Enlightenment Platform.
Activating the comprehension enhancement, he began carefully studying the Pill Formula and deepening his understanding.
His physical body sat cross-legged before the furnace, eyes closed and perfectly still.
During this process.
Inside the quiet chamber.
A tiny, mosquito-like insect rested silently in a corner, watching Gu Chenfeng without looking away for an instant.
Gu Chenfeng's keen spiritual senses had already detected the insect.
He had also guessed that Su Wanyue was spying on him.
However, he did not stop her.
Equality was the prerequisite for cooperation.
Although he did not know Su Wanyue's true identity, his instincts told him something.
This woman's background and strength were both extraordinary.
Besides threatening her with the Lifebound Gu, he could show her a little of his ability.
That would help dispel certain unwise ideas she might harbor.
Soon, through his powerful comprehension, Gu Chenfeng thoroughly grasped the theoretical knowledge behind the Essence Pill Formula.
While in the Threshold State of insight, he immediately began putting it into practice.
He began purifying the medicinal ingredients.
First, he took out one of the Essence Pill's supplementary ingredients. This spiritual material had already been divided into several portions.
Gu Chenfeng took one portion and, once the fire crystal beneath the furnace reached the proper heat, tossed it straight in.
Pfft...!
A moment later.
A plume of black smoke rose from the furnace, carrying a scorched smell.
"Cough, cough..."
Gu Chenfeng awkwardly scooped out the black ash.
The art of pill refining really is no ordinary skill, he thought.
Even with the Enlightenment Platform's enhancement, success was not guaranteed.
Gu Chenfeng then added several more medicinal ingredients in succession.
They ended up either insufficiently purified or overdone, making the process rather embarrassing.
"Pfft...!"
In the west wing's inner chamber, Su Wanyue sat cross-legged on her elegant couch.
By commanding a gu insect, she monitored Gu Chenfeng's entire pill-refining process inside the quiet chamber.
Watching his efforts, she could not help laughing.
I thought this fellow really knew how to refine pills. It turns out he truly is just an amateur enthusiast.
Still, that is hardly surprising.
For someone so young to possess such cunning and extraordinary literary talent is already remarkable.
If he could refine pills as well, wouldn't he be far too monstrous?
With these thoughts, Su Wanyue watched through the gu insect a little longer.
But her expression began to change.
Inside the quiet chamber, Gu Chenfeng continued purifying medicinal ingredients.
Black smoke still rose from the furnace from time to time.
Occasionally, however, Gu Chenfeng managed a few successes.
As time passed, his failures began to decrease, and his purification success rate soared.
Moreover, his initially clumsy technique began to grow practiced.
His purification became faster and smoother.
Eventually, Gu Chenfeng hardly failed at all.
The purification process flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water.
On her elegant couch, Su Wanyue's little mouth formed an "o."
Could this fellow really know how to refine pills?
Soon, all the Essence Pill's ingredients had been purified.
Gu Chenfeng began the more important step.
"Pill formation!"
Fortunately, he had enough ingredients to refine more than ten Essence Pills, leaving him plenty of chances for trial and error.
Sure enough, during pill formation, Gu Chenfeng began failing repeatedly again.
Boom, boom...!
Rumbles sounded from the quiet chamber from time to time, accompanied by that familiar scorched smell.
But with every rumble.
A faint glow radiated from the walls around the meditation chamber.
Outside the chamber, not a ripple of energy or a sound escaped.
This was the formation Su Wanyue had set up here beforehand.
Forming a pill was difficult, and Gu Chenfeng failed ten times in succession.
Su Wanyue, in her room, breathed another sigh of relief.
"It seems this fellow only has some basic skills. He isn't a true alchemist yet."
But before long, her eyes widened.
Soon, a waft of pill fragrance drifted from the pill furnace inside the meditation chamber.
"It worked!"
Inside the chamber, Gu Chenfeng held a scorching yellow pill in his palm, delight spreading across his face.
He carefully examined the first pill he had ever refined.
Pills were divided by quality into low, middle, and high grades, with supreme-grade pills above them all.
This Essence Pill was only low-grade.
But Gu Chenfeng did not care.
Since he could successfully form a pill, that proved he had mastered the methods and essence of pill refinement.
A pill's quality depended on the alchemist's comprehension.
And he himself was "comprehension incarnate."
Gu Chenfeng pretended to stretch and muttered to himself.
"I could identify medicinal herbs at five, refine pills at seven, and had already joined the ranks of first-grade alchemists by ten.
After so many years without a chance to refine pills, I really am rusty. It took me this long just to refine a low-quality first-grade pill.
Fortunately, I haven't lost my craft. With a few more rounds of practice, I should be able to return to my former level."
And so Gu Chenfeng resumed forming pills.
Then the quality of the Essence Pills taking shape in his furnace began to soar like a rocket.
"Low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade!"
When Gu Chenfeng finished refining his final batch of pills,
a faint gleam of rosy light actually flashed across the furnace's surface.
A rich, pure pill fragrance swept through the pill-refining room like a tidal wave.
Holding a supreme-grade Essence Pill, Gu Chenfeng smiled in satisfaction.
"This old blade hasn't lost its edge!"
At the same time, in the inner room of the west wing.
Thud!
The maids' startled cries followed.
"Oh no, Sister Su, how did you fall onto the floor? Hurry, help her up!"
Before you continue