Xiao Xuefeng was in doubt. First of all, she wasn't even sure whether or not she would be able to forge the Life Boiling Cradle pill. Even with the help of all the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, a success wasn't certain. And the lower the quality of the pill would end up being, the more dangerous it would then be for Huang Cixi to consume. On the other hand, Cao Yun was adamant on saving his little servant. Little servant who, it turned out, was probably here to kill him in order to avenge her brothers. Brothers that Cao Yun had killed in self-defense right after losing his entire family in a carnage. That was a very complicated mess...
This conundrum was even more of an headache for Xiao Xuefeng. Because, now, she knew that this servant was a member of the Huang family. Not only that, after the investigations she had led in Yinmen City, she knew that Huang Cixi was heavily dotted on by the current family head, her own grandfather. The young girl had decided to stay in Yinmen City to support her father. But being a talented woman, her grandfather had wanted her back in the main family for a very long time.
In fact, the Huang family was different from most families in the Hongchen Kingdom. The legend stated that their first ancestor was a woman who had received the blood of a True Fiery Fenghuang. From this day onwards, she and all of her descendants had possessed a part of a True Fiery Fenghuang's bloodline, attested by their pure white hair. Even outsiders had to dye their hair white as a symbol of belonging, but the difference could be seen by an expert eye. Moreover, this bloodline was especially strong in the women.
As such, most of the power was held by women in the Huang family. In other families, the men stayed within the family and women married outside. There were always exceptions, but this was the common practice. In the Huang family, women stayed within the family to protect their bloodline and men were sent out to marry. This sometimes could cause some tensions but, with Emperor Nuwa - the ancestor of all of the Hongchen Kingdom - as an example, they had good grounds to make their case. In fact, the Huang family had a very good image and this practice was well supported by now.
Huang Cixi was the granddaughter of Huang Yi, the current family head. He was in charge of the affairs of the family. It was unusual to have a man leading the Huang family but the current matriarch was too old to manage the family and was currently in seclusion. Thus, the family was debating on who should succeed her and in the meantime, one of her juniors was taking charge. In cultivators' families, there tended to be a lot of generations. Most of the children were not able to reach the Spirit Warrior realm and could not live more than a few hundred years. They still lived very long and many generations just kept accumulating over time. Hence, the succession was rarely based on pure kinship.
This practice also dated back to Emperor Nuwa. Despite having children herself, she chose a young man unrelated to her to be the next emperor. The law of succession for the new emperor of the Hongchen Kingdom had always been competence before kinship. In the Huang family, succession was based on purity of the fenghuang's bloodline and talent foremost.
Moreover, Huang Cixi's bloodline had been tested, and she boasted the purest fenghuang blood in her generation. With the fact that the current family head was her own grandfather, it was very likely that she was one of the top candidates to take over the entire family in a few years. If the Huang family heard of her accident and saw that their Institute had decided not to try to refine the only pill that could help her, this could end badly.
Anyway, Xiao Xuefeng first had to talk with the girl herself. Thus, she went back to the physician pavilion. It was now the beginning of the morning. When she got there, she saw Cao Yun sitting besides the bed of Huang Cixi. He had stayed here for several days despite the many protests from his servant.
When he saw Xiao Xuefeng, he bowed down. "Grand Master Xiao. Have you considered my request?"
Xiao Xuefeng heaved a long sigh. "Chen Guo, this is why I'm here. I'll talk with Mei Yuzhi alone if you will."
"Of course." He was about to leave when he heard Xiao Xuefeng's voice directed at him.
"Worrying for the people around you is not a bad thing. However, stop feeling responsible for everything. I'm sure that your friends already told you so, but I'll add in my words. If you continue to live like that, one day your Dao Heart will be crushed by this pressure. Caring about others is fine, but do not live for them. Living just for yourself is already hard enough, don't pile on the burden of others onto yours. Even a saint cannot save everyone, and you don't want to be one, trust me. That's it, you may go now."
Her words touched him, but also Huang Cixi who was listening as well. With his new Hun character, Cao Yun was full of doubts, not knowing what he really wanted in life. Up till now, he had lived for his revenge, not unlike Huang Cixi in fact. And the guilt he felt for surviving his own family was the reason why he was so emotional about his close ones. He didn't want to be indifferent to their plights but he knew she was right. There was a fine line between caring for others and being crushed by their sufferings. However, Cao Yun would not stop protecting the people around him. He circulated his mind cultivation while he was walking, still looking for an answer.
What was the best thing to do for him? As he had no more clue on the murderers of his family, he was forced to think about other things, things he had never even considered. He was painfully aware that trying to bear the burden of others was too much. On the other hand, he sincerely believed in the first rule of the Wubei Sect, "Mankind is the treasure of the Hongchen Kingdom!". Some people took it as to mean that the population as a whole had to be protected. But for Cao Yun, it meant that every individual had to be protected.
These many thoughts would keep him busy for a while. If he let his emotions become chaotic each time he saw someone somewhat close to him in need, his Dao Heart could crumble. But if he stopped caring, his Dao Heart would dry up and he would not be that different from demonic cultivators in his mind. He had to forge his own conviction. Slowly, his Hun character was becoming stronger and stronger. It was not just fed by his cultivation but also by his interrogations. In fact, it was clearly influencing him to question himself, without ever giving him the answers. He had to forge them himself to move on.
-
As he was walking, he got assaulted. He was completely lost in his thoughts when a slap hit him in the back of his head. Feeling safe in the Wubei Sect, despite the incident with Luduo Bu, he didn't have his guard up. And when he turned toward the culprit, he saw a young woman, Long Huafang.
"You stood me up! I told you that we would spar together and you never came! I even had to put up with the old hag..."
Cao Yun had indeed completely forgotten about this sparring session. To be fair, Long Huafang had decided of it on her own, just before fleeing for her behind.
"I'm sorry. Our sparring was truly beneficial to me. However, something happened to my servant, and... I forgot. I'm sorry."
Seeing in Cao Yun's eyes that the situation was not as simple as he was saying, Long Huafang calmed down a bit.
"Fine. As long as you admit your mistake, I'm not petty to the point of blaming you forever. You don't seem so good now. But as soon as you're fine, just send me a message in the Purple Northern Cloud Faction and we'll fight, okay?"
"Of course. I look forward to fighting with you again."
Long Huafang let out a smile while walking away. "But if you forget again, I'll teach you a lesson!"
Cao Yun walked back to his room. It felt empty without Huang Cixi. In fact, she wasn't present most of the time, but now that she was gone, Cao Yun really felt her absence. Without realizing, he had gotten used to her presence, considering her as a member of his group. He couldn't use the word family, but deep down, that was a little bit what it was. Mei Hua, Mei Ying, Ren Chao, Sun Liao and Huang Cixi were just like his brothers and sisters. And the elders were a bit like his older generation in the Cao family.
-
At the same time, Xiao Xuefeng was talking with Huang Cixi.
"I talked with the Sect Leader. You are Huang Cixi, right?"
Obviously, this wasn't a secret for the upper echelon of the Wubei Sect so she wasn't surprised that Xiao Xuefeng knew. In fact, she was more surprised that she hadn't known earlier. Indeed, Xiao Xuefeng's mission to draw out the demonic cultivators had consumed a lot of her time. And what she had left, she had spent with Mei Hua. So she hadn't had time to care about those things.
"Indeed, I am, Guest Elder Xiao."
"Then, let me ask you. Why did you choose Chen Guo? And before you answer, know that I investigated what happened in Yinmen City."
Xiao Xuefeng controlled herself because Huang Cixi was still weak, but nonetheless she used her spiritual senses to put a bit of pressure on the girl. Huang Cixi was surprised to feel that the small mind cultivation she had cultivated was able to fend off a portion of this pressure. However, against Xiao Xuefeng's spiritual senses, it couldn't do much and she still felt as though an ancient beast was sizing her up for dinner.
"I won't lie. The original reason was to gather information on him to avenge my family. But, now... I don't think I want to walk that path anymore." The alchemist saw sincerity in the young girl's eyes.
"I believe you." Thoroughly convinced, she would not dwell on the matter. "Then, there is the matter of the Life Boiling Cradle pill. Chen Guo should have explained the situation to you. I'm not sure whether I can refine it. And even if I'm successful, you could simply die while consuming it. Are you fine with it?"
"Guest Elder Xiao. Is there another way to restore my cultivation?"
The woman shook her head no. Then, with absolute resolve in her eyes, Huang Cixi answered. "If so, I'm ready to risk my life. Whether I live or die will be up to me. I'm even ready to write a will to state that this was my decision and that my family must not blame anyone else."
Xiao Xuefeng examined her eyes for several breaths. "Fine. I acknowledge your resolve. My Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute has nothing to lose in attempting to refine this pill. It's quite the opposite in fact. However, we won't be able to make too many attempts. The ingredients for this pill are rather rare and expensive. We'll have your Huang family pay a part of the cost of course. Prepare yourself. If you have methods to train the mind, this would be perfect. You could even go to the alchemy pavilion to learn some. When you ingest the pill, you'll need to be sure to guide its medicinal essence in the right way. Learning a bit about the structure of the Lower Dantian in the physician pavilion is not a bad idea either."
"Thank you, Guest Elder Xiao. My I ask another favor from you?"
"I know. I won't tell Chen Guo. However, you cannot stay here forever. After this incident, I doubt your family will even accept. I'm pretty sure your grandfather will want you by his side."
She was quite right on this point. Xiao Xuefeng knew that she would need to go back to her family very soon, whether she was healed or not.
"Guest Elder Xiao, whether the refinement or the healing process are successful or not, my grandfather will remember this act of kindness from your Institute."
"My round trip will last at least three months, even with my fastest speed. Use this time to get yourself ready. I'll ask some teachers in the alchemy pavilion to take care of you if you have any question. Even though you're a servant, you'll be able to learn there as a full fledged outer disciple."
"Thank you again, Guest Elder Xiao."
Xiao Xuefeng then left the room. She went to find Chief Elder Suxian. They had both talked about this a bit earlier and he had agreed to come with her. He bid farewell to his disciple Sun Liao while Xiao Xuefeng did the same with Mei Hua. In her absence, she had decided to put Meng Jia in charge of the alchemy pavilion. To which he was not too thrilled. He probably couldn't sleep as much as before. And without too much ceremony, the two chief elders left for the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute standing on two flying swords.
Even though they could both fly, a travel of more than a month was too difficult to sustain. And these swords had been forged especially to be faster in the air.
-
In another room of the Wubei Sect, Mo Zi was kneeling in front of a screen hiding his master.
"Master, Sun Liao is asking questions to several array formation masters. Even though he tried to be secretive, he's obviously trying to compare their array formations to mine."
"Mo Zi, be patient. A golden opportunity is coming for us with Xieo Xuefeng and Suxian Zheng's departure. Both the woman with the best spiritual senses and the man in charge of your pavilion. Moreover, since Chief Elder Bian has been demoted, our agents within the disciplinary pavilion have full authority. No matter who is elected to replace this idiot, we'll still have enough influence in the coming years."
The voice of his master was very calm, but Mo Zi was panicking. He knew that he could be discarded easily. Thus, he absolutely did not want to be discovered as he knew for sure that his master would not hesitate to burn him alive in order to stay hidden.
"Do not worry, Mo Zi. I won't forsake you this time. You made mistakes, but you're lucky enough that I have a way to help you. Listen to me and do exactly as I say. If you fail to follow my instructions, do not blame me for being ruthless when the time comes."
Mo Zi got more attentive than ever as cold sweat was running down his spine.
"Thank you, Master. This disciple is listening to your every word."
"Good!"