Old Man Yao had lived a long life, claiming to have seen many storms and waves, but he had never witnessed the art of turning boiling water into ice.
On the roof beam, a crow watched from afar for a long time before finally flying down to the counter to take a closer look.
The black cat, Wuyun, tried to pounce on it, but the crow casually waved it away with its wing.
Old Man Yao looked up at Chen Ji and asked, "What's the principle behind this?"
Chen Ji was at a loss.
To him, it was a simple matter of a saturated solution crystallizing as the temperature dropped.
But explaining this to someone from the Ning Dynasty would require starting from a very distant point.
Old Man Yao fiddled with the small crystal.
How could a pot of boiling water turn into ice? Yet, it didn't feel cold to the touch.
"Kid, what is this thing?" Old Man Yao asked, puzzled.
Chen Ji smiled.
"It's exactly what you just said—something strong and domineering."
Old Man Yao was even more confused.
"Where did you learn this alchemy? From Huangshan or Laojun Mountain? But those Taoist priests never share such secrets... Could it be from Wuji Mountain or Taiji Mountain?"
Chen Ji remained silent.
He couldn't explain where he had learned it.
Old Man Yao scoffed.
"Fine, don't tell me then... Just tell me, how powerful is this thing?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied cautiously, "It's not fully made yet, but if it were, it could probably destroy a building."
Old Man Yao stroked his beard, weighing his words as he advised, "Our sect, though called 'Dragon Devourer,' must proceed slowly and steadily. Don't rush. Once you learn medicine, many officials will invite you to their deathbeds for consultation. Don't be too eager for quick success. Remember, greed leads to loss."
Chen Ji understood.
His master was worried that he might go mad and use this thing to assassinate Ning Dynasty officials to gain the Ice Flow...
He quickly explained, "Master, I'm not trying to speed up my cultivation. I'm doing this for self-defense."
"Oh..."
Old Man Yao nodded and lay back in his bamboo chair.
"Good, then carry on."
The main hall was quiet, with the old man lounging in his chair, the young man rolling up his sleeves and working, and the crow and cat chasing each other playfully.
Chen Ji suddenly said, "Master, thank you."
"Thank me?" Old Man Yao raised an eyebrow.
"Did the six taels of silver I charged you make you go crazy? Don't start spouting nonsense in the middle of the night. Once the money's in my hands, it's not coming back. Don't try to play the emotional card."
Chen Ji smiled and asked, "Master, 'Heaven creates chaos, the strong and weak begin to interact, and life is born in danger. Water and thunder clash.' How do you interpret this hexagram?"
This was the hexagram Old Man Yao had divined before Chen Ji went to Wanxing Garden.
Old Man Yao lay in his bamboo chair, swaying with his eyes closed.
After a long while, he said, "New opportunities are born in dire situations. Those who get this hexagram must face death to find life."
Chen Ji nodded.
"So, that night when I went to Wanxing Garden, it wasn't because you were afraid of danger. You divined that I would gain the Ice Flow there."
Old Man Yao didn't respond.
Chen Ji continued, "You said to stay away from danger, but that night at Zhou Chengyi's residence, you still came to save me."
Moreover, this master of his, though cold on the outside, had a warm heart.
If he truly didn't care, why would he allow Liang Gou'er to stay at the clinic and teach Chen Ji swordsmanship?
The clinic was peaceful.
The crow watched Chen Ji quietly, its eyes seemingly filled with approval.
But Old Man Yao spoke up, "You're just making things up. Don't let your imagination run wild at such a young age."
Chen Ji said earnestly, "No matter what you say, I still want to thank you."
"Thank me for what? Just don't hate me in the future," Old Man Yao said with a sigh.
"Hate you?"
Old Man Yao chuckled.
"You think giving you the path to cultivation is a good thing? When we're young, we all think that once we have powers beyond the mortal world, we'll become great heroes in this world. But do you know what the path to cultivation really is? It's a curse and a cage that traps all officials."
Chen Ji remained silent.
Old Man Yao sighed.
"Once you have the path to cultivation, masters must guard against their disciples, fathers against their sons, and brothers against each other. A once harmonious family is torn apart. Do you think Liang Gou'er is happy? If he were, he wouldn't need to drink... And now, you should be worried about what to do if you encounter other officials who follow the 'Mountain Lord' path."
Chen Ji muttered, "You didn't finish them off before passing it on to me. You left some loose ends..."
Old Man Yao glared.
"So it's my fault? What do you want me to do? Give me a hundred thousand taels of silver, and I'll go kill him for you!"
Chen Ji changed the subject.
"How many Mountain Lords do you think are left out there?"
Old Man Yao pondered.
"How many furnace fires can you light with one ginseng root now?"
"Two."
Old Man Yao closed his eyes and said lightly, "It's easy to calculate. Before you became a Mountain Lord, I could light three furnace fires with one ginseng root... So, there should only be one Mountain Lord left out there. After I die, you'll be able to light three furnace fires with one ginseng root. If you kill the other Mountain Lord, you'll be able to light six furnace fires with one ginseng root. Tempting, isn't it?"
So, the number of people directly affected the progress of cultivation.
At this thought, Old Man Yao slowly sat up and looked at Chen Ji with suspicion.
"You're not making this strong and domineering thing to use against me, are you?!" Chen Ji laughed.
"What are you thinking? I would never betray you. Don't worry."
Old Man Yao didn't comment.
"The heart is hidden behind the belly. Only you know what you're thinking."
Chen Ji leaned against the counter, purifying the saltpeter while pondering.
His master was far from as cold as he appeared, but no matter who tried to get close, he would push them away.
"Master, did you personally..."
Chen Ji trailed off, unsure if he should ask.
Old Man Yao said calmly, "You want to ask if I personally killed my own son? Yes. You've been holding this question in for a long time, haven't you? Finally, you couldn't resist asking."
"Why did you kill him?"
Old Man Yao sneered coldly.
"Because he was holding back my cultivation progress. Although a royal physician doesn't rely on a salary, the consultation fees from high-ranking officials can amount to hundreds of taels a year. But how can that sustain the expenses of the Mountain Lord path? With one less cultivator, there's naturally less money spent. So, I personally killed him."
Chen Ji had just finished purifying all the saltpeter.
He picked up a rag, wiped his hands, and tossed it onto the counter.
"You don't need to scare me. If you were that kind of person, you wouldn't have passed on the inheritance to him so early."
...
Old Man Yao closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.
"I've lived my life without a wife, son, or daughter. In the fourteenth year of the Zhengde era, during the twelfth month, I was on my way home from the Imperial Hospital when it started snowing heavily. I saw a little beggar frozen under the eaves. At that time, I still had a kind heart, so I went home and brought him a bowl of hot ginger soup."
"The little beggar woke up and begged me to take him in. I asked him how he became a beggar. He said his parents died in forced labor, and his uncle and aunt kicked him out of the house."
"I wasn't married at the time, so taking in a beggar was a bit odd. I hesitated. Back then, I had just started learning divination. I cast the hexagram ten times, and each time it was the worst possible outcome. But I thought it was because I wasn't skilled enough, so I didn't believe it. In the end, I decided to take a chance and asked for his birth date."
"The fourth year of Zhengde, the twelfth month, the twelfth day, born in the third watch of the night," Old Man Yao said with a sigh.
"It just so happened that he was born at the time of the Mountain Lord inheritance. I thought it must be fate, so I raised him as my son."
By now, Chen Ji had stopped what he was doing and sat cross-legged on the floor next to the rocking chair, listening quietly.
Wuyun crouched on his shoulder.
Old Man Yao continued slowly, "I had no desire for the path to immortality, so I passed on the Mountain Lord inheritance to him when he was sixteen. I remember the first dragon aura he absorbed came from Yang, the supervisor of the Ministry of Works."
"The boy was smart. He understood everything quickly and learned medicine well from me. There were many high-ranking officials in the capital, and when I was too busy, I sent him to consult with them. But gradually, I noticed that none of the critically ill officials he treated survived. I began to suspect something and went to investigate one night... Liu, the censor of the Supervisory Court, had emphysema. It was treatable, but he prescribed a poisonous formula."
"He was too smart. He had mastered pharmacology so well that even when he prescribed conflicting poisonous formulas, other doctors couldn't detect it. People who are too smart tend to take shortcuts..."
"I scolded him and made him kneel in the snow for three days and nights. At the time, he knelt and cried, admitting his mistakes. I thought he had truly repented, so I didn't send him to the Ministry of Justice. But that moment of soft-heartedness led to a grave mistake."
"For the next year, he became even more secretive in his actions. He even secretly poisoned my food. My first crow was killed by his poison."
After saying this, Old Man Yao looked at the crow in the clinic.
"The first one stayed with me for twenty-one years. This is the second one, and it's been with me for fifty-three years."
The crow flapped its wings and landed on Old Man Yao's shoulder, gently preening his white hair with its beak.
Wuyun also jumped onto the armrest of the rocking chair and patted Old Man Yao's hand with its furry paw.
Chen Ji asked curiously, "What happened after you were poisoned?"
Old Man Yao shook his head.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm tired."
Old Man Yao didn't say what happened after he was poisoned or how he killed his adopted son.
It seemed there were still secrets hidden.
Chen Ji suddenly remembered the night he left Zhou's residence.
Old Man Yao had divined to avoid the little beggar.
It was the heavy snow in the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Zhengde that had chilled the old man's heart.
The warmth and kindness in this world always seem to turn into sighs.
Old Man Yao opened his eyes and looked at Chen Ji.
In his aged and calm eyes, it seemed as if he was looking through Chen Ji at someone else, or perhaps at his former self.
Old Man Yao slowly got up and returned to his room.
"Don't worry, I won't be in your way for long. There's no need for any master-disciple bond between us."
As Old Man Yao disappeared into the main room, Wuyun meowed, "He's afraid you'll become the next little beggar."
Chen Ji nodded.
"I won't."
Old Man Yao had brought him near the Jing Prince's residence, carefully arranged for him to collect the Ice Flow, and allowed Liang Gou'er to stay and teach him swordsmanship.
No matter how cold the old man acted, Chen Ji wouldn't forget what he had done for him.
Wait.
Yun Yang had said that Old Man Yao was highly respected in the Imperial Hospital in the capital but suddenly chose to come to Luocheng and live near the Jing Prince's residence...
The Jing Prince's residence?!
Chen Ji suddenly realized something: according to his speculation, Old Man Yao wanted to find a disciple before his death to pass on the Mountain Lord inheritance.
But how could he make his disciple grow quickly? By quickly obtaining the Ice Flow.
For others, it would be a matter of luck, waiting for high-ranking officials to die.
But Old Man Yao was skilled in divination.
Naturally, he could accurately predict where disasters would occur and where he could absorb the Ice Flow!
Old Man Yao's sudden resignation and move to Luocheng must have been because he divined that the Jing Prince's residence would face a great calamity!
...
End of Chapter.