Chapter 1029: Tacit understanding, light clouds, soft breeze (1/2)

When Pill Furnace Master recalled all of Gu Qishao’s actions upon entering the Medicine Requesting Cave, he realized he’d been an idiot. Little Loony was right in front of his eyes, yet he hadn’t recognized him.

Little Loony knew everything about the Medicine Requesting Cave and its interiors and could even read his thoughts! But he hadn’t recognized him!

Pill Furnace Master broke into a bitter smile. When he recalled how Han Yunxi had pressed him for answers, he quickly asked the assistant, “When did Gu Qishao give you this copper coin?”

“Just then. I thought he’d already left, but Gu Qishao, he...he was hiding up top and secretly spying on you,” the assistant said timidly.

Pill Furnace Master’s smile grew even more helpless. “So that’s why! So that’s why, ah!”

Gu Qishao had never left, but stayed behind to hear everything he’d told Han Yunxi. Pill Furnace Master’s smile soon threatened to turn into tears before he realized a problem. Alarmed, he cried, “He...he was Medical City’s Little Qi!”

Although Pill Furnace Master didn’t concern himself with worldly matters, he had stayed in contact with Long Feiye and Han Yunxi ever since the former contacted him about Returning Dragon Pills. Thus, he had paid some attention to dealings in Medical and Medicine City, too. Gu Yuntian’s son out of wedlock had been big news in the medical community, so of course he learned of it too.

But how could he ever predict that the medical genius he picked up in the fields that year was none other than the escaped Little Qi! When he recalled their first meeting and Little Qi’s ragged state, when he remembered the gaze in Little Qi’s eyes as he said he didn’t want to grow up just yet, when he relived the moment Little Qi’s blood-streaked face took on an expression of despair…

Tears streamed down Pill Furnace Master’s face. He did his best to wipe them away, but they kept falling. In the end, he was drowning in them. At last, he knew he’d lost a most excellent disciple.

Would Little Qi come to pick up the Returning Dragon Pills once he was done refining them?

Pill Furnace Master hung the copper coin around his neck before he loudly proclaimed, “Issue orders to seal the cave! This old man is closing the doors to refine that pill!”

He would wait!

He’d wait until Little Loony came back. He would tell him that he was only taking one disciple in his lifetime. He would tell him that Little Loony would always be a child in his eyes and never grow up.

--

Pill Furnace Master had already ordered the Medicine Requesting Cave shut up while Gu Qishao was fleeing for his life on horseback, afraid of being chased down. His speed was shocking, forcing Long Feiye to personally take the reins of the carriage so they could catch up.

“Gu Qishao, you’ve been running all day. There’s a teashop up ahead, so go in and rest your feet! You can keep going tomorrow!” Long Feiye shouted.

Gu Qishao had no reaction besides galloping for his life.

Han Yunxi stuck her head out from the carriage. “He couldn’t have...done something to Pill Furnace Master, right?”

“Heaven knows!” Long Feiye replied, before shouting after him, “Gu Qishao, did you hear me?”

Gu Qishao still wouldn’t reply. In the end, Long Feiye took out his whip and lashed Gu Qishao’s horse on the leg. The horse lost balance and flipped, sending Gu Qishao flying. He finally looked back with a scowl and hollered, “Long Feiye, what are you doing?!”

“I told you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?” Long Feiye retorted frostily.

Heaven knows what Gu Qishao had done back at Medicine Requesting Cave, but his attitude showed that he was at least alright now. Gu Qishao was a master at playing dumb, so even though Han Yunxi and Long Feiye knew about his matter with Pill Furnace Master, he could still pretend that nothing had happened at all. By the time Long Feiye pulled up the carriage next to him, he said, “The wind was too loud, so I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Han Yunxi ducked back into the carriage before she laughed out loud. She knew then that Gu Qishao would be fine. Long Feiye then whipped the carriage back into moving along, forcing Gu Qishao to dart out of the way. Xu Donglin followed close behind while driving another carriage, leaving Gu Qishao to chase after him.

“Hey, wait for me! I don’t have a horse anymore!”

--

That night, the group settled down at a teashop. Long Feiye had Xu Donglin go rest while Gu Qishao took the night watch. Before Long Feiye went inside, Gu Qishao complained, “You’re avenging personal wrongs in the name of public interest.”

“It’s not like you’d be able to sleep tonight,” Long Feiye shot back. His words were enough to shut Gu Qishao up.

Indeed, Gu Qishao had a sleepless night. He ended up sitting in the courtyard of the compound that Long Feiye had rented for the group. The next morning, he was in no spirits to ride a horse, but docilely nestled up in Xu Donglin’s carriage and slept all day. Like thus, Han Yunxi’s group traveled north and made it back to Three-Way Black Market with no more mention of Pill Furnace Master.

On the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month, they finally reached the black market gates. There was about half a month left before Lunar New Year’s Eve, so everyone had rushed home to celebrate with their families. Three-Way Black Market was rather chilly and deserted. Han Yunxi’s group had just disembarked at East Origin Hall when they saw Gu Beiyue waiting to greet them by the gates.