Chapter 184
Chapter 184: Rong Shu Wanted to Club Someone from Behind
The next day, Rong Shu went out to buy spirit herbs.
Huo Ling still liked the taste of those “fake pills,” and Rong Shu was missing the materials to replicate them. She needed to restock.
Wu Hua had nothing pressing, so he went with her.
After they bought what they needed at the Alchemist Guild branch, they stepped out—and saw Yun Wu Ya again.
This time, he was alone.
Rong Shu and Wu Hua exchanged a glance and quietly followed.
Rong Shu lowered her voice, excitement barely contained. “Senior Brother… is he about to do something bad?”
Wu Hua looked at her expression—like a child who’d found a new game—and smiled helplessly. “Probably.”
Rong Shu immediately straightened, putting on a solemn face. “Then as righteous cultivators, shouldn’t we scout the enemy and prevent harm to innocent people?”
Wu Hua’s amusement deepened. “Fine. Let’s see what he’s doing.”
With Wu Hua’s spiritual barrier in place, Yun Wu Ya never noticed them.
He stayed alert, scanning for tailing eyes—but he found nothing.
They watched him enter a winery.
Guards stood everywhere.
It didn’t matter. Rong Shu and Wu Hua slipped inside like shadows.
Within, Yun Wu Ya met one person after another. Each one bowed deeply, respectful to the point of fear, calling him “Young Valley Master.”
Rong Shu leaned close. “This is an evil cultivator stronghold?”
“Most likely,” Wu Hua said.
Rong Shu quietly checked the auras around them. “The strongest here is Foundation Establishment Stage. Most are Qi Refining Stage.”
Wu Hua’s assessment was blunt. “Weak.”
Rong Shu nodded, equally blunt. “Easy to rob.”
Wu Hua paused, just to be sure he’d heard her right.
Rong Shu’s eyes shone as she surveyed the place, as if she were counting spirit stones instead of enemies.
“Senior Brother,” she whispered, “after the Alchemy Tournament ends, let’s loot this place.”
“Most are Qi Refining Stage evil cultivators. I can handle them.”
In Rong Shu’s eyes, the people walking through the winery weren’t people anymore.
They were moving storage bags. Walking spirit herbs. Mobile spirit stones.
Money didn’t weigh you down. Not taking it would be wasteful.
Besides, they were evil cultivators. Striking down evil and confiscating ill-gotten gains was practically righteous duty.
Wu Hua finally exhaled a laugh. “Little miser.”
Rong Shu rubbed her nose. “Hehehe…”
“After the tournament ends,” Wu Hua said, “take whatever you can carry. I’ll cover you.”
He wouldn’t personally loot the place, but he’d keep her safe.
Rong Shu’s grin widened. “Thank you, Senior Brother!”
…
Yun Wu Ya didn’t stay long before leaving the winery.
Rong Shu and Wu Hua memorized the location, then followed him out.
Rong Shu stared at Yun Wu Ya’s very round back-of-head and murmured, “Senior Brother… I really want to club him from behind.”
That head was so round it looked made for it.
More importantly, she still held a grudge over Dragon Ridge Palace—over him hunting her and nearly killing her.
Then she shook her head quickly. “No. After the tournament.”
“We can’t alert him. I’m counting on him to lead us to more strongholds.”
Wu Hua’s tone was mild, but his eyes held amusement. “He’s getting away. Keep up.”
Rong Shu hurried after him, hugging the Little Hamster. Her gaze on Yun Wu Ya looked oddly fond, as if he were a walking egg.
One strike—
Egg cracked.
But fine.
Wait.
Loot first.
Then club.
Perfect.
…
Yun Wu Ya went to two more evil cultivator strongholds.
Rong Shu and Wu Hua followed each time, quietly marking locations and watching the flow of people.
When Yun Wu Ya finally returned to rejoin Yu Ruan Ruan’s group, Rong Shu and Wu Hua stopped following.
Back at the inn, Wu Hua said, “Three strongholds. That should be all of Evil Heart Valley’s arrangements in Xiao Yao City.”
“No need to tail him anymore. Focus on refining.”
Rong Shu nodded. “I know.”
Strongholds were unexpected extra wealth.
The priority was still the Alchemy Tournament.
“Senior Brother,” she said, “I have all the herbs now. Aside from testing for certification, I’ll stay in seclusion refining.”
“Good.”
Rong Shu returned to her room.
Doors and windows sealed. Formations laid. Pill furnace placed. Herbs sorted.
Then she began refining.
“Add this… then this…”
“What should I refine…”
She flipped through formulas and notes until her eyes blurred.
“Huh? Height-Increasing Pill?”
She frowned at another. “Toad-Croak Pill… after taking it, you can’t stop croaking like a toad. Why isn’t there a dog-bark version?”
The Little Hamster finished a fruit, rolled onto the bed, and rubbed his round belly.
His eyes drifted.
Half-asleep, scattered fragments flashed through his mind.
Blackness.
A bottomless abyss where you couldn’t see your own hand.
Fog layered thick and heavy.
And within that fog, something felt like it was moving—closing in—about to break free.
“…Trash!”
“So stupid!”
Two cold voices thundered from somewhere deep inside him.
The Little Hamster jolted awake, paws clapped over his head.
His heart hammered.
It felt like he’d forgotten something important.
And—who had dared to curse him?
A sudden, violent thought rose: stab them to death.
The Little Hamster froze, shocked by his own mind.
Why would he think that?
He sat up and looked toward Rong Shu, who was focused on her furnace.
After a moment, he copied her posture—tiny body sitting cross-legged like a serious cultivator.
When he shut his eyes, the flame mark between his brows flickered faintly.
…
Elsewhere, Yun Wu Ya returned to the inn and ran into Yu Ruan Ruan.
“Jin Yu Senior Brother,” she asked softly, “where did you go?”
A flash of impatience passed through Yun Wu Ya’s eyes. His smile remained gentle. “Out to buy a few things.”
Then he added smoothly, “Weren’t you going to the Ice Lake today, Ruanruan Junior Sister?”
Yu Ruan Ruan tucked hair behind her ear, cheeks faintly red. “Mm.”
“Your realms are all higher than mine. I can’t slack off.”
Yun Wu Ya offered a casual compliment. “Ruanruan Junior Sister is diligent, and your talent is high. In ten years at most, you’ll reach Golden Core.”
“Ruanruan.”
Huo Yi Han and Qin Yuan approached.
“Ruanruan, you went out without telling me and Second Senior Brother,” Qin Yuan said, sighing as if indulgently troubled.
Yu Ruan Ruan immediately hooked his arm. “I didn’t go far, Third Senior Brother. I just came out for air. I was about to go back and find you and Second Senior Brother.”
Qin Yuan’s gaze slid toward Yun Wu Ya with faint warning.
Ever since Jin Yu arrived in Tian Yan Sect, Ruanruan’s attention had shifted.
Qin Yuan hated it.
And First Senior Brother had already gone to investigate Jin Yu’s identity in secret.
If Jin Yu was truly clean, fine.
If not…
“Daoist Friend Jin Yu,” Qin Yuan said, polite on the surface, “come along.”
Yun Wu Ya smiled back. “Alright.”
Huo Yi Han watched them, expression unreadable—cold, calm, and complicated.
“Let’s go,” Huo Yi Han said at last.
It cut off the quiet tension between Qin Yuan and Yun Wu Ya.
Yu Ruan Ruan smiled sweetly. “Let’s go, my three Senior Brothers.”
Inside, she enjoyed the feeling—men circling, competing, fussing over her.
The three Senior Brothers of Wu Ji Peak had been hers for years, in her own mind.
As for Jin Yu… she liked him well enough.
She just didn’t understand why the system claimed the conquest value wouldn’t rise.
Still, compared to power and fame, a little fondness didn’t matter.
Yu Ruan Ruan glanced at Yun Wu Ya’s profile and thought regretfully, Don’t blame me.
Master and my three Senior Brothers are the people I rely on most in Tian Yan Sect. Their fortune can’t be stolen casually.
So I’ll have to wrong you instead.
…
Half a month passed.
Xiao Yao City grew more crowded by the day. Especially with alchemists—walk a street, and you’d bump into one.
The Alchemy Tournament was always like this.
Alchemists were one of the hottest support professions.
You could be missing weapons, talismans, formations.
But you couldn’t go without pills.
From breakthrough pills to daily Spirit-Gathering Pills.
And no one could guarantee they’d never fall ill, never get injured. A good alchemist was a lifeline.
Being able to befriend one—get one’s contact—was a treasure.
…
One day, a window creaked open in Rong Shu’s inn room.
The Little Hamster stuck his head outside, staring at the bustling world.
A pale hand grabbed him from behind.
Snap.
The window shut.
Rong Shu held the Little Hamster down and began rubbing his belly with ruthless affection—one hand pinning his paws, the other kneading his soft middle like dough.
“Gugu…!”
“Gugu!!!”
The Little Hamster squirmed helplessly.
“You opened the window when I wasn’t watching?” Rong Shu scolded, trying—and failing—to keep a stern face. “What if you fell? You’d turn into a meat patty.”
Her hands didn’t stop.
In her heart, she sighed: He’s so satisfying to pet.
The Little Hamster’s eyes went watery. “Gugu… I… I wouldn’t fall…”
“I don’t care. I’m punishing you.”
After a long bout of “punishment,” Rong Shu looked refreshed. The Little Hamster lay limp on the table like a defeated fluffball, fur puffed in every direction.
“Gugu… Shu Shu… bad…” he accused weakly.
Rong Shu smiled brightly, shameless. “I’m doing this for you. More rubbing is healthier. You’ll grow taller, too.”
She even smoothed his fur afterward—an act of mercy.
Then she handed him jerky from her storage bag. “Here.”
The Little Hamster sat up and nibbled, sulking between bites.
Rong Shu turned back to her scattered manuals and notes, gathering them into piles. “I really need to organize these…”
Ever since she stopped being short on spirit stones, her little treasury had only grown.
She flipped through a set of formulas meant to nourish ice cultivation. “Ice talent is poor. Later I’ll refine these and nourish it little by little…”
She was still suppressing her early Foundation Establishment Stage realm for two reasons.
First: she wanted her ice cultivation to catch up, then form her core together—maybe her spirit roots would change in unexpected ways.
Second: Golden Core fixed your body.
Your face. Your height. Your shape.
If you reached Golden Core young, you’d stay that way for centuries unless your lifespan neared its end.
Rong Shu stared at her reflection in a polished metal plate and grimaced.
She was fifteen.
Still growing.
And—most importantly—still not over 1.6 meters.
If she formed her core now, she’d be stuck.
The thought alone made her grit her teeth.
She wanted to grow taller.
To 1.7 meters.
She found the rank-four Height-Increasing Pill formula again and muttered, “This better work.”
Then she pulled out a bottle of Height-Increasing Pills, poured one into her palm, and swallowed it.
“Daily height-growth pill goal—completed.”
She tucked the bottle away, scooped the Little Hamster up, and left her room.
She stopped at the next door and knocked.
“Senior Brother.”