Chapter 182
Chapter 182: Rong Shu’s Disguise Almost Exposed
At the entrance to the Teleportation Array within Wanderer’s City, four figures stepped out of the light. The only woman among them clung sweetly to one man’s arm and said: “Third Senior Brother, it is so lively here, why don’t we stroll around first?” Turning her head to the other two, she asked: “Second Senior Brother, Senior Brother Jin Yu, what do you think?”
This group was Yu Ruan Ruan, Huo Yi Han, Qin Yuan, and Yun Wu Ya.
With a gentle smile at the corner of his lips, Yun Wu Ya said: “Naturally we will heed Junior Sister Ruan Ruan.” His gaze upon Yu Ruan Ruan brimmed with tender affection.
Qin Yuan, beaten to the punch, let a trace of displeasure flash through his eyes as he said: “Ruan Ruan, before we came I already asked around. There are several places in Wanderer’s City that visiting cultivators simply must see.”
Eyes bright, Yu Ruan Ruan exclaimed: “Wow, really? Then I should hurry over and take a look!” She added with a sigh: “It is a pity Big Senior Brother has a mission and could not come here…”
Walking in the rear, Yun Wu Ya let a cold light flicker in his eyes when he heard her last sentence. [That Feng Lin really does deserve to be on the major sects’ bounty lists. Day after day he dogs sect disciples and sect spies like a hound. When I moved into Limitless Peak back then, I suffered no small amount of trouble from him. Good thing I never showed a flaw.] Since Feng Lin had not come this time, Yun Wu Ya felt relieved, yet in the same breath he pondered darkly: [Should I lure all three of Jun Xiu Ran’s disciples to their deaths here in Wanderer’s City?]
Smiling, he said to Yu Ruan Ruan: “Ruan Ruan, I hear there is an ice lake here in Wanderer’s City where the ice aura is exceptionally dense. Since your Heavenly Spiritual Root is of ice, it might advance your cultivation.”
Clapping lightly, Yu Ruan Ruan said: “Great, then let us follow Third Senior Brother’s plan.”
…
At an inn somewhere in Wanderer’s City, inside a guest room, Wu Hua pondered for a long time before deciding to use the Destiny Plate once again. The moment he activated it, however, the Destiny Plate suddenly shot out the window. Startled, he hastily summoned it back with a surge of spiritual energy.
[Is Little Junior Sister in the next room? The Destiny Plate flew outside… could it be…]
His expression tightened. [This…]
[Could Yu Ruan Ruan have come to Wanderer’s City as well?] Other than that, Wu Hua could think of no explanation. [Little Junior Sister likes to keep a card hidden, and in front of Yu Ruan Ruan she always plays at being perfectly ordinary. If she were to dazzle everyone at the Pill Refining Conference with her true face, Yu Ruan Ruan would certainly notice. Since Little Junior Sister wants to play the pig to eat the tiger, I must not spoil her fun.]
He slipped the Destiny Plate back into his Storage Pouch and turned to go look for Rong Shu, but Rong Shu was already at his door, knocking.
“Senior Brother,” she called softly.
Wu Hua opened the door and let her in. Stroking the Little Hamster perched on her shoulder, Rong Shu said: “I already obtained the qualifications to participate in the Pill Refining Conference. All that remains is to wait for it to begin. Senior Brother, shall we go have a look around the city?”
“Gu gu!” The Little Hamster voiced its agreement.
“Strolling is fine,” Wu Hua said with an easy nod. “I came to accompany you. You decide.” Then he cautioned her: “Only, the city is crowded and the eyes are many. Since you are here to investigate the matter of spiritual roots being dug out, it is not suitable to show your true face.”
Rong Shu nodded: “I was thinking the same.”
She had already prepared for this. “So, when I signed up for the competition, I did not use the identity of Rong Shu of Heaven’s Evolution Sect. I just put together a random rogue cultivator identity.”
Hearing this, Wu Hua’s features eased and he smiled: “Good.” For a moment it seemed he had worried too much. With Little Junior Sister’s cautious disposition, of course she had planned ahead.
Rong Shu eyed him up and down and blinked: “But Senior Brother, shouldn’t you also change your appearance?”
“Very well,” he said.
An array pattern rose beneath his feet. He lifted a hand and smoothed away the disguise on his face, revealing his true features.
Rong Shu’s eyes widened in astonishment. She had imagined many times what Wu Hua might really look like, yet the reality surpassed all expectations. The man before her was exquisitely handsome, cool and refined, innately noble, like a peerless young lord untainted by the dust of the mortal world. Of all the people Rong Shu had ever seen, none could match the bearing of Senior Brother Wu Hua. And such an almost otherworldly figure would be her future senior brother at the academy; the thought made her look forward to the Central Continent’s academy all the more.
“Senior Brother,” she asked in a small voice, “is this a disguise, or your real face?”
Picking up the Little Hamster from her shoulder, Wu Hua replied: “This is my original appearance. You will be my Little Junior Sister sooner or later. Consider this our formal meeting.” He glanced at the creature in his hand.
The Little Hamster tucked in its limbs obediently. Seeing Wu Hua look over, it peeped twice, very softly: “Gu gu.”
Rong Shu scratched her head in embarrassment: “Senior Brother has such confidence in me? You think I will definitely get into the academy?”
“Of course,” he said.
Guiding Rong Shu out of the room, he asked: “There is still one month. How do you plan to spend it?”
“Refining pills, and getting familiar with Wanderer’s City,” Rong Shu answered without much hesitation. “I only just became a fourth-grade alchemist. Compared with those who have been fourth grade for a long time, I am far inferior in experience. With a month, I hope to become as familiar as possible with fourth-grade pill-refining.”
The greatest difference between fourth grade and third was the need for an Exotic Flame as an aid. Before, an alchemist only had to control the Pill Furnace, the spiritual herbs, and the furnace fire. At fourth grade, one more factor entered the mix: the Exotic Flame. As an external fire, if the alchemist could not fully control it, it would become a hindrance rather than a help.
“It is good that you have a plan,” Wu Hua said. [Although Little Junior Sister is full of drive, to be safe I should prepare a Qingjue Six Spirit Flower in advance. If she fails to obtain one at the conference, there will at least be a fallback.]
As they walked downstairs, Wu Hua added: “By the way, Yu Ruan Ruan may have come to Wanderer’s City.”
At those three words, Rong Shu froze for a beat. Ever since she had suspected that Yu Ruan Ruan dug out “Rong Shu’s” spiritual root, her impression of the latter had plummeted to the bottom. Thinking back on her past interactions with Yu Ruan Ruan, Rong Shu could clearly feel that Yu Ruan Ruan’s apparent fondness was not genuine. Yet she had been all smiles and eager closeness regardless, which was very telling.
After a brief consideration, Rong Shu said: “Huo Yi Han is an alchemist. Perhaps he also came to participate in the Pill Refining Conference, and Yu Ruan Ruan just came along.”
“Huo Yi Han?” Wu Hua asked. “Jun Xiu Ran’s second disciple?”
“Mm.”
Wu Hua smiled faintly: “He is also a fourth-grade alchemist, yes? If he participates, he will be your opponent.”
Rong Shu lifted a shoulder in an easy shrug: “That is fine. I chose to compete, and my opponents will not be limited to Huo Yi Han alone.” She had long known that getting the Qingjue Six Spirit Flower would not be easy, but no matter what, she had to try before she would know whether it was possible.
“Huo Yi Han…” Her dealings with him were shallow. If, in the days to come, she stood opposed to Yu Ruan Ruan, Huo Yi Han would surely stand on Yu Ruan Ruan’s side. Since he would be an enemy, the first step to defeating him was to understand him. This Pill Refining Conference might be a chance to probe Huo Yi Han’s strength.
…
After leaving the inn, Rong Shu and Wu Hua moved with the flow of pedestrians along the street. Watching the constant tide of people, Rong Shu said with interest: “Senior Brother, the intelligence from the black market mentioned a millennium ice lake in Wanderer’s City, and the ice aura there is denser than in ordinary places. Why don’t we go take a look?”
Her own Ice Spiritual Root had always advanced slowly. She had often wondered whether she could find a treasure ground with dense ice aura, or obtain some heaven-and-earth treasure of the ice attribute, to improve the aptitude of that root, much like how her Water root had once been improved by Ambrosial Jade Dew, sending her cultivation speed soaring, chasing right up to her Wind root.
“Then let us go there,” Wu Hua said. Having never been to Wanderer’s City, he let Rong Shu take the lead.
As they walked toward the ice lake, they kept chatting. Wu Hua asked: “Junior Sister, the Exotic Flame you obtained out in the world, how is its grade? If it is merely average, it will not benefit your pill-refining much.”
“I have already fused and refined that Exotic Flame,” Rong Shu replied. “It feels very compatible with me, otherwise I would not have become a fourth-grade alchemist.” [It absolutely has that lie-low-and-endure temperament, how could it not suit me? Besides, under the Fire Spirit’s ‘training,’ even the most unruly Exotic Flame becomes docile.]
When they passed the Alchemists’ Guild sub-branch, Wu Hua suddenly thought of something and asked: “Right, you have not yet taken the alchemist certification exam, have you?”
Rong Shu blinked: “Ah… it seems not. Too many things happened, and I forgot.”
Glancing at the Little Hamster on his shoulder, which was peering about in wide-eyed wonder at the city’s sights, Wu Hua said: “Once you earn the fourth-grade alchemist certification, the Alchemists’ Guild will open certain privileges to you. You can consult some fourth-grade pill recipes and various pill-refining texts for free.”
Rong Shu nodded: “Mm. I still lack my third- and fourth-grade certifications. It is almost the end of the month anyway. I will first take the third-grade certification, then next month I will take the fourth-grade.”
Smiling in relief, she added: “Good thing the Pill Refining Conference has a separate assessment, rather than recognizing grade solely by certification. Otherwise I might not even be able to participate.”
“Rest easy,” Wu Hua said with a light chuckle. “You will certainly be able to participate.”
“Ah? Senior Brother, is it because you have acquaintances in the Guild? Could you slip me in?” Rong Shu asked, curiosity piqued.
Wu Hua only smiled and did not answer.
Seeing him act mysterious, Rong Shu grew all the more curious: “Senior Brother? Do not be so secretive. Tell me, tell me.”
“Gu gu!” Half eavesdropping, the Little Hamster was curious too.
Wu Hua relented just enough to say: “You will understand once you reach the Central Continent.” [The Alchemists’ Guild is that rich brat Zi An’s family enterprise. The moment Little Junior Sister enters the sect, that brat will have to put on some sort of display. It is only a back-door shortcut anyway, and it is not as if Little Junior Sister lacks the strength.]
Then the smile faded from his eyes a few degrees. “By the way, when you control the Exotic Flame, have you felt anything uncomfortable?”
Rong Shu shook her head: “No. Why, Senior Brother?”
“Although an auxiliary profession like alchemist emphasizes spiritual cultivation,” Wu Hua said, “your realm cultivation still needs to keep pace.”
“Mm, I will,” Rong Shu said.
She began turning things over in her mind. A fourth-grade alchemist at only the fourth layer of Qi Refining did sound startling. Better to find a suitable moment to “break through” to the fifth layer of Qi Refining. [Sigh. Ice is difficult to break through. If only the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth lines that have already reached Foundation Establishment could masquerade as the fifth layer of Qi Refining, that would be perfect.]
As that thought formed, the various spiritual energies in her body—aside from ice—seemed to respond. The cultivation she had concealed at the Foundation Establishment Stage promptly “dropped” to the fifth layer of Qi Refining, and it even overshadowed the ice line’s display at the fourth layer.
Wu Hua was the first to sense the change in Rong Shu. Eyes flickering with surprise, he said: “Junior Sister, you…”
Rong Shu herself blanked for a heartbeat. She had no time to rejoice that her spiritual roots had become even more “intelligent.” The priority now was how to fool Senior Brother. Blinking innocently, she said: “Mm… just as Senior Brother sees. Under your urging, I seem to have smoothly broken through to the fifth layer of Qi Refining.”
Wu Hua was a little speechless. This… sounded a bit far-fetched. He had merely said a few words and Little Junior Sister broke through? He had urged Zi An for so long, yet that lazy money-grubber obsessed with silver had never advanced half a step in cultivation.
In the end, Wu Hua asked nothing. “A breakthrough is a good thing. Congratulations, Junior Sister.”
Seeing that she had apparently muddled through, Rong Shu let out a silent sigh of relief, then proceeded, in the privacy of her heart, to scold the Wind Spirit and the Fire Spirit. Those two spiritual roots had turned into little imps, able to sense her thoughts. This, too, was their doing. Though they had helped her greatly and saved her the trouble of figuring out how to conceal her cultivation, they had nearly exposed her in front of Senior Brother Wu Hua.
“We are almost there,” Wu Hua said at that moment. “There are many people ahead. Be careful not to get separated.” He placed the Little Hamster back onto Rong Shu’s shoulder, then formed a hand seal with one hand. A transparent aura shield condensed soundlessly around them, parting the press of people on all sides. Those who were “parted” felt nothing, merely yielding way as if by subconscious instinct.
Cradling the Little Hamster, Rong Shu followed obediently at Wu Hua’s side, yet hesitation tugged at her heart: [Should I find a chance to tell Senior Brother my true cultivation? He treats me very well, and in the future we may become true fellow disciples. Keeping this hidden forever does not seem quite right.]