Chapter Forty-One: The First Steps in Alchemy

Sweat poured down in embarrassment! Yu Youwei's face flushed, not out of shyness, but from a guilty conscience.

Master Ning laughed excitedly. "If Mo Fei's cold poison is truly eradicated, he'll surely soar to new heights, and the Ning family will once again produce a genius disciple. Niece-in-law, today your uncle declares his stance: whatever you wish to do, go ahead and do it boldly. You have my full support."

Ning Guodong, in high spirits, discussed with his third son, "Bai Xia, return to your sect and help Mo Fei select a cultivation technique. The Ning family doesn't have any techniques capable of suppressing his cold poison."

"Let your sister-in-law accompany your fourth brother." Ning Bai Xia responded to his father, but sought Yu Youwei's opinion, "I'll speak to my master and let my sister-in-law choose a technique for Mo Fei. In fact, our elders once considered this, but couldn't find a suitable technique. Perhaps, you might have a different perspective."

Isn't this trust a bit too heavy? Yu Youwei sighed inwardly, unable to refuse.

After everyone left, a little white bear, who had been hiding somewhere, jumped onto the bed. It shoved the still-unconscious Ning Mo Fei toward the inner side and sprawled on the embroidered mandarin duck pillow, turning its plump rear toward Mo Fei's head, grumbling with a sour tone, "Grandpa Bear has been busy for nothing! In the end, it's this blockhead who reaps the benefit. Grandpa Bear now has a major grudge against him!"

"Let him become your personal alchemist as compensation," Yu Youwei offered, not particularly sincerely.

"If this fool can actually refine pills, then pigs will fly," the little white bear snorted.

It wasn't just the little white bear who doubted it—no one in the Ning family believed Ning Mo Fei could ever refine pills. Yu Youwei didn't expect it either; she only wanted to use him as a convenient cover for her own private affairs.

The next day, scattered yellow leaves danced in the morning light. Yu Youwei rose early and stood silently beneath the eaves, her eyes flashing with brilliance as she watched the swirling leaves. Suddenly, dressed in violet, she sprang lightly into the courtyard. Before her feet touched the ground, the soft sword coiled around her wrist snapped straight, drawing a green arc through the air. The arc glided and flickered, agile as a dragon playing in the wind, casting shimmering light and shadow over the stone steps before the Hall of Everlasting Purity.

From the entrance of the secret chamber to the west, Old Madam Mu opened her clouded eyes, as though she could see through thick walls to the young woman practicing swordplay outside. A smile of appreciation appeared on her lips, and she murmured, "I hope she can go farther than her father did."

The voice of the Ning family patriarch came from within the passage. "Aunt Mu, do you think Youwei is stronger than her father?"

Had any of the Ning family juniors been present, their jaws would have dropped. Even the family patriarch addressed this unremarkable old woman as "Aunt." What was her true identity?

Old Madam Mu's smile faded, and she said coolly, "In her hands, the power of Azure Frost can reach thirty percent of its potential. When her father was her age, he wasn't nearly this skilled."

"I think Azure Frost was even more formidable in Tianming's hands," the elderly patriarch retorted, sounding like a child unwilling to concede. He flashed to Old Madam Mu's side, and, manipulating objects through the wall, he forcefully uprooted a centuries-old tree and hurled it at Yu Youwei.

Azure Frost sliced through the air in silence, its power appearing modest. Yet, as the great tree came crashing down, the graceful sweep of the sword's light shredded it to powder in mere seconds. Yu Youwei spun elegantly to the ground, her fluttering robes descending with the falling debris, which re-formed into a bracelet around her slender wrist.

She glanced at the house where Old Madam Mu and the patriarch were concealed, a fleeting trace of annoyance at the interruption flashing across her face. Her delicate figure transformed into a wisp of smoke as she slipped into the eastern chambers.

"Strange, did that girl sense we were spying on her?" the patriarch asked, half in wonder.

"And you, as a great-grandfather, openly admit to spying on your great-granddaughter-in-law?" Old Madam Mu asked with a half-smile.

"Slip of the tongue, haha." The patriarch laughed awkwardly, stroking his beard. "Aunt Mu, Youwei has such extraordinary talent; it's no wonder she refuses to consummate the marriage with Mo Fei. We really must think of a way."

"You've already thought of a way," Old Madam Mu replied, giving him a sidelong glance, her tone teasing before turning serious. "If you know Mo Fei isn't worthy of her, why not let Bai Xia marry her instead? They would be a true match—heaven made for each other."

"If we were to propose for Bai Xia, the one marrying in would certainly be Tianming's eldest daughter. Bringing that girl into the family would only be a burden to Bai Xia. Since they're both daughters of the Yu family, having Youwei marry in is better than her elder sister."

"Do the Yu family get to choose which daughter marries into the Ning family?"

Old Madam Mu made no attempt to hide her contempt—or perhaps hostility—toward the Yu family.

The patriarch sighed softly, his voice low and heavy. "What's past is past. Why hold on to old grievances?"

A deep hatred darkened Old Madam Mu's face. "If the master hadn't been entangled with that heartless cur from the Yu family, he wouldn't have lost his life."

Another long sigh escaped the patriarch, who tried to persuade her gently. "Love or sin, once death comes, all is finished. Even Tianming has been gone for over a decade. Why cling to these stale grudges?"

"If it weren't for the instructions left by Young Master Tianming, I would have wiped out the entire Yu family!"

"The Sword Sect's leader is Tianming's eldest daughter's maternal grandfather. If you destroyed the Yu family, do you think he'd spare the Ning family? Please, calm your anger. If you're truly bored, why not think of a way to get Youwei and Mo Fei to consummate their marriage?"

"For someone of your age, a great-grandfather no less, to be so concerned with your great-grandson's bedroom matters—it's disgraceful. If you're not embarrassed, I am on your behalf!"

"I'm just anxious! As long as these two haven't consummated their marriage, it means Youwei isn't truly committed to life with Mo Fei. Who knows when she might just run off?"

"If she really has that intention, I'd actually help her." A cold gleam flashed in Old Madam Mu's clouded eyes, her whole presence transforming into a sharp, violent sword. Without a word of threat, her meaning was clear and menacing. "Let her choose for herself. Don't interfere any longer. If Mo Fei truly has good fortune, he'll keep her by his side."

"Mo Fei's a simpleton—how could he possibly keep her?" The patriarch's face was full of worry. Receiving no reply, he could only retreat quietly into the passage.

Old Madam Mu closed her eyes, shrinking into the shadows, as silent and unobtrusive as a stone. Yu Youwei never imagined that this woman, whom she regarded with wariness and even hostility, had always cared for her in silence. During her time in the Ning family, she never thought to draw close to her. Only years later, when she was in peril and Old Madam Mu risked her life to save her, did she realize what she had missed.

Enlightened by watching the dancing autumn leaves, Yu Youwei practiced her sword, her spirit merging with the world around her. Sensing the powerful spiritual awareness spying on her, her realization was disrupted, and she was deeply annoyed. Returning to her bedroom, she muttered under her breath, "What an infuriating old woman!"

Ning Mo Fei, who had just awakened, lay on the bed and asked, "Youwei, are you upset?" After just one night, his eyes were sunken, his face deathly pale, blue veins crawling beneath the skin like earthworms. Even his voice was feeble, stirring in Yu Youwei a sense of pity so strong she wanted to gather him in her arms and care for him tenderly.