“What?”
Nongli blinked, confused by the meaning behind Qingmu’s words.
Demons were indeed demons; their ability to learn was incredibly strong. Over the past few days, Qingmu had already taught Nongli quite a bit.
Now Nongli could say some simple words and sentences, no longer just the fox spirit who could only listen and respond with meaningless sounds and exaggerated gestures.
In that book, How to Get Along with Fox Girls of Eastern Ethnicity, many habits of creatures like Nongli were recorded. Qingmu now considered himself somewhat of an expert on Nongli.
That random name he had thought of at first actually had some meaning.
Nongli—playful fox, teasing fox.
Of course, the main goal was still to help Nongli’s injuries heal.
But after all this time, stuffing those pills into Nongli’s stomach felt like throwing them into the sea, with no clue when she might recover.
Still, no matter how bad it got, there was no need for him to sacrifice his own life for her treatment… right?
Thinking of Lin Qiyou’s mess again, Qingmu fanned himself with his hand, trying to dispel the memories that unconsciously crawled out from the depths of his mind.
In front of the alchemy furnace, Qingmu, shirtless, controlled the fire’s intensity carefully, sweat constantly beading on his skin. He was very serious.
Not just for this simulation and Nongli, but also for matters in the real world.
Though Nongli sat beside him, just waiting to be fed, she still showed some awareness.
Seeing Qingmu shirtless, she fetched a towel and handed it to him with a simple “Sweat.”
Once Qingmu accepted it, she moved far away from the furnace—naturally because of the heat; she wasn’t stupid.
Watching Nongli so obedient, Qingmu really felt like she was his little sister. But when he subconsciously stroked his stubble, he thought she’d be more fitting as a daughter.
Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nongli had smugly flicked her fox ears out—only then did he realize that as a demon, Nongli was definitely older than him.
Later, around noon, Qingmu stuffed the leftover pills into Nongli’s mouth and prepared to leave the courtyard with the packed medicines.
As usual, he reminded Nongli not to wander off. Only after Nongli said “I’ll behave” did he leave.
He was going to deliver the pills. Unlike before when he went at night, recently he realized everyone came to deliver during the day, making things more chaotic.
That meant even if some batch was short and got checked, with so many people around, the inspection might be cursory.
After delivering the pills, Qingmu planned to go to the kitchen to get some food.
Thanks to the pills, Nongli was always half full, so he didn’t worry too much about meals.
Besides loving meat, Nongli also liked tofu products, such as fried tofu.
That was also recorded in that mysterious book.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed, as if Nongli had written it herself.
As for what to do in the afternoon, that was about the thing Qingmu was most concerned about lately.
That was—the recipe.
The alchemy furnace was almost ready, and he urgently needed a certain pill. This pill was a poison; those who took it needed to regularly consume the antidote or they would die.
Just like in many films where villains use such poisons to control others.
Yes, Qingmu didn’t see himself as any kind of hero.
The matter with Yue Lan wasn’t originally to save the world, just as when he first stepped onto the path to slay the Demon King, it was out of necessity.
This pill recipe naturally belonged to the secret archives of the Six Flavor Hall. After several days of effort, Qingmu finally got close enough to one of the elders to get permission to visit the study today as an exception.
But Qingmu wasn’t sure if the Six Flavor Hall’s study really stored such a thing for a pill alchemist apprentice like him to see.
Still, he had to try.
With that thought, Qingmu headed toward the kitchen.
Not long after, at the kitchen’s entrance, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure. Qin Feng, who had once helped him out of a tight spot, was sitting there with a somewhat forlorn expression, lost in thought.
At first, Qingmu intended to pretend not to see him, but Qin Feng waved from afar, forcing Qingmu to grin awkwardly and walk over.
“Qin Feng, little brother, here for a meal?”
“Yeah.”
Qin Feng motioned for Qingmu to sit down. Qingmu wanted to say he was hungry and wanted to eat something, but Qin Feng signaled for him to be quiet.
Soon, someone inside handed Qin Feng a basket filled with food. Without explanation, Qin Feng grabbed Qingmu and led him to a secluded spot, opening the basket and arranging the dishes.
These dishes were far better than the usual meals for Six Flavor Hall apprentices. In the real world, Qingmu ate wild mushrooms and greens from wood elves, and here in the simulation, the Six Flavor Hall’s fare was still plain. So seeing Qin Feng’s feast of meat and fish, Qingmu couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
Sensing Qingmu’s craving, Qin Feng readily handed him a pair of chopsticks.
Qingmu hesitated for a moment, thinking to put Nongli aside for now. How long had it been since he’d had such good food?
Taking the chopsticks, Qingmu didn’t hold back, picking a large piece off the pork knuckle. Qin Feng poured him a cup of wine and said, “Life in Six Flavor Hall’s pretty tough for you, huh?”
“If it’s about food cravings, then yeah.”
Qingmu took a sip of wine and looked at Qin Feng, asking in return, “Is a cultivator’s life any easier?”
Qin Feng smiled helplessly, “If you mean those cultivators who train seriously, then yes, it can be.”
“What, are you implying something? Who doesn’t train seriously? Qin Feng, little brother, you don’t seem like the lazy type. I can tell.”
Qin Feng laughed at the compliment.
“Ah, actually, finding that fox spirit isn’t that hard.
But the senior brother and other disciples seem half-hearted about it.”
“I see… enjoying themselves under the fox spirit’s guise?”
Qingmu understood Qin Feng’s meaning. He’d been puzzled too—this matter had escalated to the point where the Hallmaster was killed by a fox spirit, yet these disciples of Youjian Sect just stood by, not doing anything.
They were just being well-fed and cared for in the Six Flavor Hall.
“Ah, in the end, it’s still because of our sect leader, the Youjian Immortal?”
Qin Feng shook his head with a sigh, “My sect leader’s reputation has always been poor. My cultivation talent is actually mediocre, but because my mother had some connection with the sect leader, I was able to join Youjian Sect.”
“Poor reputation?”
Qingmu asked instinctively.
“Yeah, very poor… The Youjian Sect’s leader, the Youjian Immortal, is a kin-slayer. She killed her own father, and she admitted it herself. Some even say she massacred her entire family.”
Qin Feng stared into his cup of wine, frowned, and shook his head, “I think the latter is a bit exaggerated.
Because in fact, she has a younger sister. Their father wanted to take her spiritual vein and transplant it to the younger sister. She did it to survive and protect herself.”
“Ah, spiritual veins again?”
Qingmu drained his wine, grinning bitterly, “Spiritual veins are definitely not a joke!”