Chapter 372: Seven Hundred Thousand Merit! Heaven-Mending Pill! Dual Cultivation Art! Strange Case in the City!

Li Yanchu did not linger long in Yingchuan Prefecture City. He set out early, preparing to return to Wei City.

Meanwhile, the innkeeper was still waiting anxiously at the inn, as Fang Qinglan’s fate was still unknown.

Once outside the city, upon reaching a secluded place with no one around, Li Yanchu suddenly wrapped an arm around Fang Qinglan’s slender waist.

“What are you doing?” A faint blush spread across Fang Qinglan’s face as she couldn’t help but spit out at him.

“Taking you back to Wei City,” Li Yanchu replied simply.

At that moment, auspicious clouds rose beneath his feet, and with her waist firmly held, he soared upward.

Fang Qinglan’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Li Yanchu.

“Cloud-Riding Immortal Art!?” Even with her cultivation in spells and arts, she couldn’t help but be surprised. This was the exclusive mark of a third-realm Yang Spirit expert, after all.

Li Yanchu blinked playfully. “Actually... there’s something I never told you. I broke the shackles long ago and condensed my Yang Spirit.”

Fang Qinglan’s beautiful eyes widened further, but then, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Braggart!”

With his Daoist cultivation now much deeper, Li Yanchu’s Cloud-Riding Immortal Art was far faster than before.

By the time they returned to Wei City, the innkeeper, still shaken, immediately grabbed Fang Qinglan’s hands, asking questions one after another. Unable to keep from scolding her younger sister, she also couldn’t help but feel heartache, crying so much that her delicate, beautiful face was streaked with tears like pear blossoms in the rain.

Li Yanchu did not intrude upon this touching scene of sisters reunited. Instead, he returned to Qingyun Temple to rest.

This descent into the Chu River had brought him seventy-three thousand merit points, a dragon pearl, a true dragon scale, and a Water-Dividing Pearl!

The Water-Dividing Pearl, in particular, was a gift the old beggar insisted on giving to Li Yanchu. His accumulated merit points now totaled seven hundred fifty-four thousand!

The old Celestial Master was not in the temple at this time. He had left behind a letter and returned to Mount Longhu. This increasingly immortal-like Daoist true man, it seemed, had gained insights during his stay in Wei City. His realm had loosened, and he now had hope of condensing a Yang Spirit once more. He had only urged Li Yanchu to cultivate diligently, saying little else.

With the departure of this old Daoist who embodied both the worldly warmth of humanity and the transcendence of Daoist immortality, Qingyun Temple once again became quiet and desolate.

***

When great matters arose, one should sleep well. Refreshed and clear-headed, Li Yanchu rose in the morning and went across to Taiping Inn, where he ate more than twenty big, white, soft meat buns.

The innkeeper’s cooking was improving steadily; the buns were juicy, and paired with perfectly simmered millet porridge, they were the warmest comfort to both stomach and spirit.

“Do you know why Qinglan went out this time?” Li Yanchu asked.

“She needs a Heaven-Mending Pill to stabilize her soul. She went to Fengdu to seek an important ingredient for refining it,” the innkeeper replied.

“To stabilize her soul?” Li Yanchu frowned.

The innkeeper sighed, “I only learned the full story last night when I spoke with her. Even with the Heaven-Mending Pill, in as few as three to five years, or at most eight to ten, she will still perish and her Dao will be extinguished.”

“So serious?” Li Yanchu’s brows knitted deeply. “Wouldn’t any medicine that nourishes the soul work?”

Although soul-nourishing spiritual medicines were rare, he had several on hand.

The innkeeper shook her head. “If ordinary medicines worked, she wouldn’t have risked going to a perilous place like Fengdu.”

The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat heavy.

“Actually,” the innkeeper lightly bit her full lips, “there is another way to save Qinglan.”

“What way?”

“Dual cultivation.”

The innkeeper took out a yellowed booklet from her bosom, its cover boldly inscribed with three large characters:

Dual Cultivation Art.

“Dual cultivation?” Li Yanchu’s face was full of shock.

“That’s right. Right now, only you can help her. Her problem... is very serious. She must cultivate together with someone who bears the radiance of merit, otherwise she will perish and her Dao will be extinguished. You meet this condition.”

Radiance of merit...

Li Yanchu glanced at the innkeeper.

“How about... I join in as well, tonight?” she teased, casting him a sultry look.

Li Yanchu fell silent.

This tormenting enchantress! Trying to corrupt my Dao heart!

Ahem!

Carrying the yellowed booklet, Li Yanchu returned to Qingyun Temple, his thoughts in turmoil. The more he pondered, the more curious he grew about the true background of the innkeeper and Fang Qinglan.

But for now, the most pressing matter was... apparently... to save a life?

***

At Taiping Inn...

Night fell, and the night wind stirred, carrying a trace of heat. In a quiet courtyard, Fang Qinglan and Li Yanchu sat facing each other. The air between them felt slightly awkward.

“What did she tell you?” Fang Qinglan tried her best to remain composed.

Li Yanchu recounted everything honestly.

“Just to save me?” Fang Qinglan shot him a glare.

In an instant, the icy, stoic heroine transformed into a woman brimming with allure.

Li Yanchu drew in a deep breath and said, “Isn’t that the case?”

Fang Qinglan’s expression remained calm and composed, yet her slightly hurried breathing betrayed that her heart was not as tranquil as it appeared.

The two of them fell into silence.

Suddenly, Fang Qinglan stood up briskly and said lightly, “I’ll go take a bath first.”

As a woman of the

jianghu

, she felt she should not show the timid airs of a sheltered maiden at this moment.

“Alright,” Li Yanchu nodded.

To say he wasn’t stirred would be a lie; after all, there was already a foundation of feelings between them.

Then, Fang Qinglan left without showing emotion. Li Yanchu sipped his tea softly, and after a while, he too rose and followed her inside.

The room was shrouded in mist, steam curling in the air. A lithe, graceful figure flickered in and out of sight.

Fang Qinglan’s long legs gave her a natural advantage in qinggong, and her body bore extraordinary flexibility. This was the fruit of years of martial training. She carried less of a delicate fragility than ordinary women, instead exuding a beauty of strength.

Aside from the initial trace of awkwardness, everything seemed to flow as naturally as water. After all, they had long known each other and shared mutual affection. So this matter... did not feel abrupt at all. One could only call it... half-resistance, half-acceptance.

***

The next day, the sky was clear and bright. Li Yanchu opened his eyes to find a woman as gentle as jade lying beside him, and he smiled faintly. The rift between them had been mended. As expected, such a thing truly was the best way to ease tension.

The issues within Fang Qinglan’s soul had stabilized after their dual cultivation. From now on, as long as they practiced it regularly, she would remain safe. She might even progress further.

That night, she had slept deeply with a smile at the corner of her lips, dark hair like peony petals draping across her smooth back. Li Yanchu had already gained a thorough appreciation for how tender her skin was, and how alluring her figure could be.

He had thought years of martial wandering would leave her complexion weathered by wind and frost, yet, to his surprise, her skin was soft beyond imagining.

Perhaps... this is one of the benefits that cultivation brings?

Li Yanchu thought to himself.

He put on his clothes and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up with ease.

From outside came the innkeeper’s voice. “Head Constable Wang from the

yamen

is looking for you; it seems urgent.”

Li Yanchu frowned slightly, glanced at Fang Qinglan, and after some thought, decided not to wake her. He gently covered her with the blanket.

Then he pushed open the door and stepped out.

Usually, when Old Wang came looking for him, it meant there was a vengeful spirit or malevolent presence that couldn’t be resolved by normal means.

“Where is he?” Li Yanchu asked.

“The front hall,” came the reply.

Li Yanchu nodded and strode out confidently.

Head Constable Wang, sword at his side, paced the inn hall with two armed attendants. Upon seeing Li Yanchu, his eyes lit up.

He cupped his fists and said, “Daoist Yanchu, long time no see.”

Li Yanchu asked, “Head Constable Wang, you seem to be in a hurry. Has some tricky case come up?”

Head Constable Wang nodded gravely. “Indeed. We’ve had peace in Wei City for a long time, yet last night a strange case occurred.”

Li Yanchu inclined his head. “Go on.”

Without wasting words, Head Constable Wang continued, “Mr. Xu, the owner of the rice shop, suffered a deadly incident at home. He and several of his servants were all killed, and the manner of their deaths was extremely gruesome.”

“But strangely, the women in the household were completely unharmed, including Mr. Xu’s new young wife. On the night Mr. Xu was killed, the two were sleeping in the same bed!”

“Huh?” Li Yanchu frowned, puzzled. Was this a killer targeting only men!?