Feeling Unworthy

Night fell.

Clop, clop...

Hoofbeats occasionally raced past along the street, drawing curious looks from passersby who did not know what was happening.

Commandery Princess Changning sat inside a luxurious carriage in an opulent palace gown. Seeing the large numbers of soldiers and constables dispatched outside the city several days earlier now returning in unison, she asked:

"Has something happened at the Prince's Manor?"

Steward Hou, one of Commandery Princess Changning's trusted lieutenants, walked beside the carriage. Stroking the mustache above his mouth, he answered:

"They seem to have found the source of the demonic aura on Purple Emblem Mountain. We'd have to ask Old Zhu about that."

Commandery Princess Changning nodded slightly. "Having a lead is good news. Invite Miss Wang and the others over. We'll hold a banquet tonight to celebrate."

?

Duoduo, sitting beside her, felt that the princess could invent absolutely any excuse for a drinking binge.

As her trusted lackey, Steward Hou would ordinarily have turned around to deliver invitations as soon as he received the order. Today, however, he remained where he was for once, even looking puzzled:

"Your Highness has already seen Xie Jinhuan, yet you're still inviting young ladies over to drink? How could those girls compare to a wildflower in the Back Alley?"

Commandery Princess Changning leaned beside the carriage window, gently waving a round landscape-painted fan as she admired the osmanthus trees along the street:

"Such a lovely flower was growing in my backyard, yet you kept it from me. Now that the prized flower already belongs to someone, you expect me to steal it from their garden?"

"Already belongs to someone? Does Your Highness mean Doctor Lin?"

Steward Hou's eyebrows bunched together. "Doctor Lin does have some beauty, but compared with Your Highness, she's like Xie Jinhuan compared with your humble servant. Though we each have our merits and it's hard to say who's better, your humble servant does possess a little more mellow charm..."

"Pfft-hahaha..."

Duoduo could not hold back her laughter. Then she hurriedly covered her mouth, reducing it to:

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

Even Commandery Princess Changning, who had weathered many storms, felt her face-with its air of national peace and prosperity-darken.

Still, as he was a trusted lieutenant, Commandery Princess Changning did not blame him. She merely explained:

"Qingmo met him first, and now they're together investigating cases all day long. Wouldn't stealing her man damage our sisterly bond?"

Steward Hou waved his fan, his shifty eyes darting:

"Your Highness and Miss Linghu are as close as sisters, and Your Highness cherishes old ties. If, after finding a fine husband, you could continue calling each other sisters and spend every day together, that too would make a lovely tale..."

Duoduo interjected, "You mean marrying the same man? Wouldn't that be letting him off far too cheaply?"

Commandery Princess Changning was about to respond when she noticed three figures in red qilin uniforms standing at the entrance to Clear Spring Lane, discussing something.

The Scarlet Qilin Guard were the emperor's personal guards, empowered to investigate every official and execute first before reporting. Although they nominally did not dare offend princes, the princes were clearly also under their scrutiny.

Seeing those three red-robed harbingers of disaster lurking near her home, Commandery Princess Changning inwardly frowned:

"Summon those three."

Receiving the order, Steward Hou did not run over to summon them. Instead, he widened his eyes:

"You three up ahead! Get your asses over here!"

On the side street, the three Scarlet Qilin Guards who had been talking all pressed their hands to their saber hilts and looked back angrily.

But upon recognizing Commandery Princess Changning's procession, their expressions turned startled. They hurried over, lifted their robes, and dropped to one knee:

"Scarlet Qilin Guard Hundred-Household Commander Zhou He pays his respects to Your Highness!"

Commandery Princess Changning did not tell the three to rise. Leaning beside the carriage window, she asked:

"Has Lord Zhou taken time out of his busy schedule to come all the way from Capital City to Clear Spring Lane because there are criminals causing trouble here?"

Zhou He looked down at the street, his tone even:

"You misunderstand, Your Highness. Your subordinate came today to handle the Three Harmony Tower case. Having heard that the Chongming River offers charming night scenery, I came to broaden my horizons after work."

With the princess backing him, Steward Hou spoke without the slightest courtesy:

"If you want entertainment at night, you should go to Flower Tower Street in Peach Immortal Ward. The properties in Clear Spring Lane all belong to the princess, and none are illicit brothels. Don't come to the wrong place, Lord Zhou."

"Yes. We were just discussing where to go sightseeing and failed to notice Your Highness's procession. Please forgive us, Your Highness."

Commandery Princess Changning fell silent for a moment. Finding their answers watertight, she questioned them no further:

"Withdraw."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The three Scarlet Qilin Guards immediately rose and disappeared down the street.

Commandery Princess Changning knitted her brows tightly, looking deep into the lane:

"Has someone in the lane committed a crime and drawn the Scarlet Qilin Guard here?"

Most residents of Clear Spring Lane were minor officials and clerks. If the Scarlet Qilin Guard came knocking, they were generally not far from death. Steward Hou considered it:

"Probably not. Perhaps they really were just discussing where to find girls."

"Heh. Those harbingers of disaster never come knocking without a reason. Keep a closer watch over the next few days."

"Yes..."

-

Lin Family Clinic, Alchemy Chamber.

A brass alchemy furnace taller than a person stood in the middle of the room, thin white vapor rising from its top and bright yellow flames visible beneath it.

A many-drawered medicine cabinet stood beside the Pill Room, labeled with the names of various medicinal ingredients. A small table in the corner held an alchemy schedule and a booklet recording furnace temperatures, ingredient additions, and other details.

Dressed in a white gown, Lin Zisu pasted the alchemy progress chart onto the wall. Her long, ink-black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and her fitted dress bulged at the chest. Her fair face was quiet and demure, her whole figure graceful and slender, like a pampered noble daughter untouched by worldly dust.

But a demure appearance did not mean an obedient nature. As Lin Zisu worked, she entertained herself by humming a little tune she had picked up somewhere:

"Long and sweeping, those two artful dark brows~ trembling, that slender willow waist, a mere handful..."

Her clear voice curled sweetly through the melody, enough to make a man's bones half melt.

Yet Xie Jinhuan, standing beside the furnace, only felt his scalp prickle!

After returning from outside the city, Xie Jinhuan had come straight to the Medical Clinic to meet Lin Wanyi.

He had not expected to hear the very same bawdy song here.

Did every girl in Danyang sing this?

Apart from Momo, the least troublesome one was actually the Witch Cult enchantress...

Lin Wanyi was already accustomed to it. She was respectfully bowing before the furnace, then circling three times left and three times right while muttering like someone possessed.

As an uninvolved party, Coal Ball had been shooed outside and could only poke a head through the window to watch.

Watching Lin Wanyi circle around, Xie Jinhuan asked in confusion:

"Does walking in circles like this help with alchemy?"

Lin Wanyi wore gold-rimmed glasses, her breathtakingly beautiful face quite serious. Only after completing her circles did she answer:

"All things have spirits. In alchemy, even if your master kowtows to the furnace three times while making pills, you'd best follow suit.

"What I do is fairly normal. You haven't seen Zisu making pills. First she has to coax the furnace, saying things like 'good little furnace, what a wonderful furnace,' as though she's possessed."

Xie Jinhuan asked doubtfully, "Does that work?"

Recalling her painful childhood experiences learning alchemy, Lin Wanyi answered with absolute conviction:

"Yes. Otherwise, the furnace explodes!"

Xie Jinhuan felt this was utterly unscientific.

But if his furnace exploded a dozen times in a row, then he happened to slap himself and successfully produced pills afterward, he would probably have to slap himself before every attempt for the rest of his life, just in case.

Once the ritual was complete, Lin Wanyi crouched beside the furnace and tilted her head to inspect its interior.

Because her figure was so voluptuous, and she wore a fitted skirt convenient for working, crouching outlined the heavy, lush curves of her lovely backside behind her waist. The fabric over it was white, its texture striking.

Lin Zisu pasted the paper onto the most conspicuous board. Turning and noticing Lin Wanyi's posture, she could not resist complimenting her:

"Wow, Aunt, your bottom is so round!"

?

Lin Wanyi stumbled, then stood up red-faced and snatched up a ruler:

"You wretched girl! Can't you see we have a guest?"

"Hee~ I was only joking~"

Faced with the older and younger women, Xie Jinhuan felt it inappropriate to look at either, and he knew nothing of alchemy. He took his leave:

"It's getting late. I'll head back."

"Oh? Wait, I prepared a few things for you."

Lin Wanyi put down the ruler and hurried into the Medical Clinic at the front.

Seeing that only Miss Zisu remained in the room, Xie Jinhuan remembered something and turned back:

"Miss Zisu, that Dao Progress Surge Pill of yours..."

Lin Zisu craned her neck to look outside. Once she was certain her aunt was gone, she crept over and took a little bottle from inside her clothes:

"Here."

Xie Jinhuan swiftly slipped it into his sleeve, then took out the banknote Fu Dongping had contributed and offered it to Lin Zisu:

"I don't have much travel money. If this isn't enough, I'll owe you the rest and make it up in a few days."

Lin Zisu took it, saw it was for a hundred taels, and hurriedly handed it back:

"This is far too much. One tael will do."

"One tael?"

Xie Jinhuan had thought it would cost a thousand taels and found this hard to believe:

"Such a powerful pill costs only one tael?"

"Well, cheap goods aren't good goods. This medicine muddles your mind, and the increase in power is temporary. Even given away for free, few people would actually dare take it."

Lin Zisu tucked the loose silver into her sleeve and returned to work at the table, quietly reminding him:

"Don't take it carelessly, Young Master Xie. And whatever you do, don't tell my aunt."

Xie Jinhuan had intended to stake his life on the pill if he fell into desperate straits. Discovering it cost only one tael, he could not help recalling the dilapidated house he had rented for one tael and seven mace...

Although it fell somewhat short of his expectations, Xie Jinhuan still tucked it inside his clothes and cupped his hands in thanks.

After a short wait, Lin Wanyi returned from the front, carrying a small box and a bottle of wine:

"Zisu collected some leftover Dragon Blood Pills from the Academy. Take one every day when you get home. If you feel any discomfort, tell me promptly so I can adjust the formula.

"This wine greatly replenishes blood, qi, and vital essence. Drink it, and you'll be lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger tomorrow. I also prepared some medicinal bath prescriptions for you. Have a soak tonight and relax..."

Xie Jinhuan had lost a great deal of blood today and did indeed feel somewhat weak.

But he had lost that blood by "sacrificing himself to frame a fellow practitioner," and had even borrowed Lin Wanyi's body. Taking her things for free on top of that really would be shameless. He inspected the wine bottle:

"Wine with such outstanding effects must cost quite a bit, surely?"

"It's not expensive. Only a few dozen taels."

"?"

Xie Jinhuan had been about to take out money to pay. Her words genuinely startled him:

"That expensive? What is it?"

Lin Wanyi said generously, "Medicinal wine steeped in Hero's Tears. You probably haven't had it before, but don't overindulge."

"Hero's Tears?"

That name rang like thunder in Xie Jinhuan's ears. It was the second signature creation of Fan Tusu, the previous dynasty's Wine Sage. The first was Number One Under Heaven, which could not be found on the market at all.

The meaning behind the two names was obvious-behind the glory of being number one under heaven lay endless heroes' tears.

This wine was highly sought after. Without status and wealth, one could not buy it at all. His old man had drunk a few cups when the county magistrate received a promotion, then spent years boasting about it to his colleagues.

Xie Jinhuan did not know whether he had drunk any over the past few years, but in his memories, he had never even smelled it. He truly began craving a taste. After some thought, he painfully took out the banknote he had obtained from Fu Dongping:

"We joined forces to slay demons at noon. Losing some blood and qi only means resting for a couple of days. How could I make Miss Lin spend so much? I'll buy this wine. I'll take my leave."

"Huh?"

Having been rescued by Xie Jinhuan today, Lin Wanyi could hardly accept his money. She was about to refuse when his figure flashed, and he flew outside with Coal Ball in his arms.

She chased him to the door, only to find no trace of Xie Jinhuan in the moonlit courtyard. All she could do was murmur:

"So young, yet more upright than even the Academy's teachers. He hates evil like a mortal enemy, remains unmoved with a beauty in his lap, and would pay even for the water his horse drinks. How can such an upright man exist...?"

Thinking of her own identity as a Witch Cult enchantress, Lin Wanyi even felt a little unworthy...

-

A few shout-outs:

I recommend "Keeping a Low Profile as Talent in the Primordial Sage Demonic Sect." Take a look if you're interested~

Many thanks to [Sea-Spanning Purple-Gold Beam], [Daily Renewal], [Heaven-Supporting White Jade Pig], [Neither Caring Nor Heeding], [Let the Wind Keep BlowingDian], [Light Clouds Gentle Breezec], [kb_0911], and [BlueBlueBlue] for their alliance-leader-level donations!

Many thanks to [Xiao Ruoli's Lan Friend], [BeanBeanBean], [Book Friend 1603311021205534729595], [Let the Wind Keep BlowingDian], [Book Friend 20230304170044723], [PrayPie], [Yuanluo], and [Don't Want to Work Every Day] for their ten-thousand-point donations!

Thank you all for your donations, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes or2!

Keeping up with the latest chapters really matters, so I'm asking again-please keep reading as they come out, though anyone who doesn't won't see this sentence anyway or2!

Take a look if you're interested~