The next morning, when Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai woke up, Yi Huai had already left.
However, before the old monk left, he placed a piece of paper beside Huang Donglai's pillow with a palm-sized wooden box on it.
Huang Donglai picked up the paper first and glanced at it. There were only a few words—"Five years of power to Yixie, in gratitude for a meal; a treasure from the Western Regions for Donglai, a gift for the destined. The journey of Jianghu is long, see you in the future."
Although the words were few, the meaning was quite clear.
After reading it, Huang Donglai turned to Sun Yixie and said, "We've made a killing this time, five years of power, Brother Sun."
"Oh? He transferred his power to me while I was sleeping?" Sun Yixie asked, puzzled, "How come I didn't feel anything?"
Huang Donglai replied, "Of course, you slept like a dead pig. I reckon even if someone slapped you five times, you wouldn't have felt it."
"Get lost!" Sun Yixie retorted with a "get lost," but didn't actually rebuke the accusation about sleeping like a dead pig. Instead, he continued, "Let's just assume he really did transfer his power. But why only five years? Isn't it considered repaying a favor unless it's fifty years of power?"
"Dammit, Brother Sun, are you even human?" Huang Donglai immediately retorted, "You expect someone to give all their power for a meal? The villagers from Nanyuan Village who were saved by you would probably have to come and be your oxen and horses."
"Now that you mention it... it does seem a bit much..." Sun Yixie said, "But in the novels I read before, when the protagonist encounters an awesome old grandpa, the old man would just need to take a fancy to the protagonist and then give them everything he has."
"Brother Sun, you should learn a few more characters in your spare time, and stop reading that nonsense," Huang Donglai suggested.
"Cut it out..." Sun Yixie curled his lip and hurriedly changed the subject, "Alright, stop talking about me. Let's take a look at what's inside that box you've got."
Shrugging his shoulders, Huang Donglai proceeded to open the small wooden box in his hand.
The box contained only one item—an egg-shaped, brownish pellet with a gel-like texture.
"Century egg?" Sun Yixie drew close for a look and prematurely blurted out these two words.
"What the hell, a century egg!" Huang Donglai retorted, "They've already mentioned a 'treasure from the Western Regions'; how could it possibly be a century egg?"
"Dammit, it looks like one to me," Sun Yixie said. "Then you tell me, what is it? Some Shariputra that fell off a Lama he killed?"
"Do you think Shariputras are gallstones? Even if you chop someone into pieces, they won't drop out," Huang Donglai spoke, then frowned and examined the object thoughtfully, "Sss—But come to think of it, mentioning Shariputra does give me an idea. I suspect this could be an inner core formed by some animal."
"Damn!" Sun Yixie exclaimed, "You're the one who's been reading too many cultivation novels, right? Demons? Forming cores?"
"Ah, you don't know, it's indeed possible," Huang Donglai explained to him. "When I was a kid, I saw something similar in the Alchemy Room at home; it was taken from a giant boa. They call that a 'water dragon egg'. Materials like this, combined with some other ingredients and crafted with special techniques, can be refined into an 'External Pill' for human consumption."
"And what's the use of eating this 'External Pill'?" Sun Yixie further inquired.
"Some can make a person not fear the cold in winter, some can grant a person resistance to poisons, and others can directly increase power," Huang Donglai elaborated, "But the more powerful the 'External Pill,' the harder it is to acquire the necessary base materials. I've even heard of a legend—if you can use 'Dragon Liver Phoenix Marrow' as the base, then you can create an Immortality Pill."
"Forget about it," Sun Yixie replied with disdain, "Anyone who can dig up a dragon's liver and tap a phoenix's marrow is already practically a deity, right? Why would they need the damned Immortality Pill?"
"I told you, it's a 'legend'; it's mostly false," Huang Donglai said, "Where in the world could there be actual dragons and phoenixes? I think some guy just ate snake and rooster hot pot, drank a few too many, and started spouting nonsense."
Gurgle—
Before Huang Donglai could finish speaking, a rumbling noise suddenly came from Sun Yixie's stomach.
"Look at this," Sun Yixie spread his hands and said, "Out here in the wilds, all we have are steamed buns, and you just had to bring up snake and rooster hot pot?"
"Dammit, who's the one that landed us in this wilderness overnight?" Huang Donglai retorted, "If we had listened to me and taken the main road, wouldn't we be staying at a post station, drinking wine and eating meat?"
"Heh..." Sun Yixie chuckled coldly, "If I hadn't suggested taking the mountain path, would I have gained that five years of power? And would you have gotten your Western Regions century egg?"
That comment made Huang Donglai remember: "Hey, Brother Sun, now that you've gained five years of power, your martial arts must have significantly improved. Why don't you give it a try?"
"Ha! That's exactly my intention." Sun Yixie was also thrilled at the moment, "This place is cramped, I'll go outside to try it out." Saying so, he headed out of the shrine.
Thus, Huang Donglai followed him out to the small courtyard of the dilapidated temple, watching Sun Yixie perform high jumps, long jumps, shuttle runs, and punching stone pillars...
Normally, punching stone pillars wasn't something Sun Yixie would do, given his character. But he had felt such a surge in physical strength during the jumping and running that he, thinking himself "invincible" again, arrogantly gave it a whirl.
He nearly fractured his hand...
Fortunately, he was inherently afraid of pain and timid at heart, so he held back a bit with his punch. Otherwise, he would have had to go to Luoyang one-handed.
Of course, this experiment was not meaningless; it at least confirmed for them that Yi Huai's "power transfer" to Sun Yixie was successful.
It should be noted that not long ago, Sun Yixie had been an ordinary person with blocked meridians and unable to accept power transfer. But now, after just over a month of practice, his body could already withstand inner strength. This indicated... the "Reversing Heaven and Earth Heart Method" was indeed miraculous, definitely a superior martial art.
Additionally, this also indirectly proved that the item Huang Donglai had received was at least as valuable as "five years of power."
Indeed, just as Huang Donglai had previously guessed, the "century egg" Yi Huai gave him was a material for alchemy, called "Mythical Gallbladder"; Yi Huai had obtained it during his travels by chance. Although he was well aware of its value, it indeed served no purpose for him.
Last night, upon encountering Huang Donglai, a descendant of the Huang Sect, Yi Huai felt that perhaps this was also arranged by fate. So, he just went with the flow and handed over the item.
When comparing the "Mythical Gallbladder" and the five years of power, which was more valuable? The potential of the former was probably much greater; it all depended on how Huang Donglai would use it in the future.
..........
After testing Brother Sun's martial arts, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai grabbed a quick breakfast and then set off on their horses.
For two people accustomed to sleeping in beds, spending the night on the ground not only did not provide rest but also caused them aches. Therefore, their pace was much slower than when they entered the mountains the day before. Fortunately... most of the day's journey was downhill, relatively less exhausting.
Walking and stopping along the way, close to dusk, they finally reached a section of terrain suitable for horseback riding, which allowed them to quicken their pace.
The two spurred their horses forward, exiting the mountains along a narrow path until they reached a small village.
At the village entrance were some small shops and eateries, but no lodgings. They could only ask locals to put them up for the night; of course, it wasn't difficult with a bit of money.
But giving money was a delicate matter: not too little, or the host might begrudge you and tamper with your drink; not too much, as showing wealth might tempt them to harm you... The payment had to be just slightly above what they were hoping for to ensure a good meal and comfortable stay.
Huang Donglai wasn't quite versed in these intricacies, but Sun Yixie knew them well. After all, he had been dealing with tough characters in the fish market for years, understanding the mindset of ordinary people—human nature is complex, and the line between benevolence and maliciousness can be thin.
The night passed without incident, and they set off again the next day.
Following the directions given by the villagers, they quickly returned to the main road and sped along on their horses.
That day, they skirted the East Lake, crossed the sluice, and before darkness fell, arrived at a village at the foot of "Ant Hill" known as Chens Village.
As they approached the village, they saw a procession of villagers with torches, blowing horns and beating drums, making their grand exit from the village.
Upon closer inspection, they noticed that in the center of the procession, four big men were carrying a small, open-topped sedan chair. To their surprise, there sat a girl on the chair, clad in black with a piece of black cloth over her head; they had no idea to where she was being sent at this sunset time.
Had Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai arrived a bit later and missed this scene, it would have been another story. But now that they had seen it, they naturally inquired about it.
This led to the episode where Sun Yixie mocked Kang Haijiao three times, and Huang Donglai caused a huge commotion in Dragon King Cave.