Chapter 67: He Must Never Let Go
Back in his room.
Ning Ke gulped down a large pot of cold tea before he finally felt somewhat calm.
How could Lou Yunxiao have recognized him?
Although his current appearance was handsome, he had deliberately changed his features so that they bore no resemblance to “A-Ke” or the “Nine-Tailed Fox.”
Not only was his face different, but his height and physique were also different. There was simply no reason for him to be recognized!
Furthermore, he hadn’t spoken much with Lou Yunxiao. How could he have been exposed the moment they met?
…
While Ning Ke was repeatedly reviewing his previous behavior, Lou Yunxiao remained seated on the eaves of the roof.
Looking closely, one could see that the direction he was facing corresponded exactly to Ning Ke’s room from start to finish.
In truth, he wasn’t certain that Ming Xin was A-Ke.
It was just that when he grabbed the other’s wrist, an extremely familiar feeling had surged into his heart.
Also, Ming Xin’s attitude toward him was very strange.
In front of the city gates, so many people were present—Zhuang Yusheng, Wu Gou, and Zeng Xi were all familiar with him, yet none of them had stepped forward to speak with him.
Only Ming Xin.
He had comforted his junior sister, pulled out the Hongyun Sword to hand it back to him, and looked at him with those eyes full of heartache.
What was even more inconceivable was that the Hongyun Sword was excessively quiet in Ming Xin’s hands.
A divine sword that had recognized its master would only be so well-behaved when meeting its master or someone entrusted by its master.
This made it impossible for him not to suspect Ming Xin’s true identity.
Thinking of this, the fingers that had touched Ming Xin’s forehead twitched.
He raised them, bringing them to his nose.
He took a light, almost morbid sniff.
The faint, cold fragrance he had smelled when approaching that person still lingered on them.
It was exactly like the scent on A-Ke’s body.
He had decided.
If this person truly was A-Ke…
Then he must never let go again.
…
In the early morning, Ning Ke was awakened by the sound of an explosion.
Pushing the door open to look, he came face-to-face with Wu Gou.
“It was Fellow Daoist Zhang. His furnace exploded during alchemy.”
“A furnace explosion?” Ning Ke walked out and saw Zeng Xi looking like she was at her wit’s end. She was clutching Zhang Chen, saying, “Do you have any idea how precious the materials for the Sanmo Dan are? I told you to be absolutely careful with the heat and timing, but you still ruined this batch!”
Zhang Chen felt aggrieved. “Senior Sister, if you’re so capable, you do it! You always dump these tasks on me and then scold me when I can’t do them well!”
“If I could refine them, would I still need to rely on you?!”
“Pfft.” Hearing her words, Zhang Chen suddenly couldn’t help but laugh.
He said, “You’re right. When others refine pills, it’s alchemy; when you refine pills, it’s making explosives.”
“If the Sanmo Dan materials were given to you, those living dead would all turn into charcoal.”
Zeng Xi’s talent for alchemy was extraordinary, but she was also the only alchemist in the history of the Dan Sect who couldn’t refine a normal pill.
Even if a perfectly good recipe was given to her, she would eventually refine it into an offensive pill.
Or the potency would be doubled to the point where the consumer simply couldn’t withstand it.
“You’re still laughing! Still laughing!” Zeng Xi poked her junior brother.
Turning around, she saw Ning Ke and the others gathering.
She then explained the matter of the Sanmo Dan to everyone.
“The Sect Master said that when the war starts in the future, we will inevitably need to stockpile this type of pill. Now that my junior brother has ruined one batch, if the next one fails as well, I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep up with the demand.”
Usually, for an alchemist, being able to succeed with one batch out of three sets of herbs was already considered a remarkable success rate.
Moreover, alchemy was a particular test of a cultivator’s state of mind.
If their state of mind was unstable and the furnace had just exploded, the probability of the next furnace exploding would also increase.
Seeing their troubled expressions, Ning Ke stepped forward and said, “How about letting me try?”
“Fellow Daoist Ming Xin, you know alchemy?” Zeng Xi looked surprised. “Doesn’t your Buddhist Sect usually practice array formations?”
“I know a bit.”
The reason Ning Ke offered to refine pills was also to dispel Lou Yunxiao’s suspicions.
After all, when he was playing the role of A-Ke, he had never shown that he knew alchemy.
If he showed off a bit now, it should be able to divert Lou Yunxiao’s attention.
Sure enough, after he finished speaking, Lou Yunxiao, who was not far from him, furrowed his brows as if lost in thought.
Receiving a look from Ning Ke, Wu Gou nodded and said, “Benefactor Zeng, Benefactor Zhang, Ming Xin does indeed know some alchemy. You can let him try.”
Seeing this, Zeng Xi had Zhang Chen bring out all the materials and asked Ning Ke to refine the pills.
Ning Ke rummaged through a dusty corner of his storage space and found an alchemy furnace.
He placed it in the center of the room.
Fearing they would disturb him, the others all retreated outside the room.
“There should still be demons disguised as humans remaining in Beiyou City.” Ning Xiaoxiao already knew about the night watchman from yesterday. At this moment, she turned around and said, “I will go and patrol the city.”
Zhuang Yusheng and the female disciple from the Music Sect followed her. “We will accompany you.”
Zeng Xi said, “Then I will go to the woods outside the city to see if there are any more materials for refining Sanmo Dan.”
Zhang Chen also spoke as he walked, “I’ll go see if the senior brothers of the Dan Sect have found anything new from studying those living dead.”
Their eight-person team’s mission was to investigate the events in Beiyou City. Such a division of labor was normal at this time.
Once everyone had left, only Lou Yunxiao and Wu Gou remained.
Standing outside Ning Ke’s door, one on the left and one on the right, they were like two door gods.
Lou Yunxiao asked, “Fellow Daoist Wu Gou, how much do you know about Fellow Daoist Ming Xin?”
Wu Gou lowered his eyes and gave an ambiguous answer, “Not much, but not a little either.”
“I heard my master say that he only joined your Buddhist Sect three months ago.”
Wu Gou remained in that unyielding state, succinctly replying with two words.
“Indeed.”
Lou Yunxiao asked again, “Has he ever told you where he lived before joining the Buddhist Sect?”
Wu Gou rotated the Buddhist beads in his hand and popped out four words.
“The Eastern Land of Tang.”
“…” Lou Yunxiao was choked.
“…Where is the Eastern Land of Tang?”
“I do not know.”
Lou Yunxiao’s face darkened. “Then have you ever considered that Ming Xin might be lying to you?”
“A monk does not speak falsehoods. Ming Xin is also a monk.”
“…”
Wu Gou’s manner made it impossible to find fault, yet he successfully managed to ensure Lou Yunxiao didn’t obtain a single piece of information he wanted to know.
The atmosphere between the two returned to a cold silence.
After a long silence, Lou Yunxiao suddenly let out a cold laugh.
His red eyes stared fixedly at Wu Gou as he asked, “You say a monk does not speak falsehoods, so you surely won’t tell a lie either. Then I want to ask you—is Ming Xin actually A-Ke?”
He knew that asking this was essentially acting unreasonably.
But he just had a vague intuition.
This Wu Gou knew something.
That was why he used Wu Gou’s own words to threaten him.
This time, Wu Gou finally turned his head to meet Lou Yunxiao’s gaze.
Instead, he asked back, “Do you wish for him to be?”
Translator’s Note:
Eastern Land of Tang (东土大唐 – Dōngtǔ Dàtáng): This is a classic reference to Journey to the West. Tang Sanzang always introduces himself as being from the “Eastern Land of Tang.”
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