Chapter 94: Act First, Report Later

Mei looked at her in surprise, then broke into a radiant smile. “Master, my own breakthrough was hard-won, but Yan the Scarlet Hero’s cost him nothing at all. He was just sitting with me on the mountaintop, drinking Daughter’s Red wine, when he suddenly cried out, and then he broke through the bottleneck and entered the Golden Core realm!”

“Really? Surely you’re not telling me a fairy tale?” Lady Nine Skies was nearly shaken to the core. Her voice trembled with excitement as she said, “Mei, do you know how many years of bitter cultivation it took your master to reach the Free Immortal realm? And now you and Yan the Scarlet Hero, both so young, have entered the Golden Core realm together? And your breakthroughs were one easier than the other? Especially that Yan—just sitting on a mountaintop drinking wine, and he could break through a bottleneck? This... this... is that really cultivation? Drinking wine and then... wait, that’s not right. Mei, did you and Yan drink on the mountaintop today? And was it Daughter’s Red?”

“Yes!” Mei blinked in confusion, then asked, “Master, was there anything wrong with Yan and me drinking together?”

“No,” Lady Nine Skies replied. “Mei, which mountaintop were you drinking on?”

“Master, is that important?” Mei asked, even more puzzled.

Lady Nine Skies shook her head. “It isn’t important... What matters is where that Daughter’s Red came from. As far as I know, there isn’t a single tavern on any of the mountain peaks along the road to Doom Gorge...”

“Oh!” At last Mei understood what she meant, and she smiled sweetly. “Master, that Daughter’s Red was conjured by Yan the Scarlet Hero using the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft.”

“That’s more like it.” Lady Nine Skies nodded. “Mei, when you saw Yan using the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft... how did you feel?”

“I was so envious!” Mei exclaimed, too excited to contain herself. “Master, you have no idea. Yan invited me to taste some food, and I watched him take a folded paper charm from his sleeve, unfold it swiftly, then pinch a corner and flick it with his hand. In a flash of golden light, a whole spread of dishes appeared, laid out on a large stone atop the mountain...”

“I cried out then, completely dazzled, and when I looked closely, I saw dishes of golden diced chicken, crispy fish fillets, salt-baked green shrimp, bamboo shoots with cashews, dry-fried okra, celery shreds with fish, honey-roasted ham, lotus root with white fungus, lettuce with almonds, carrot shreds with cashews, steamed bass, straw mushroom stew with mountain chicken, pine nut flatbread, and millet rice—every one of them fragrant, beautiful, and delicious, with both meat and vegetables, some even still steaming hot!

“One look was enough to make my mouth water. After that, Yan used the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft again to conjure a jar of Daughter’s Red, and the two of us sat there happily, eating the feast and drinking to our hearts’ content. Master, whenever I think back to the way he flicked that paper charm with his hand, I still feel it was the most marvelous thing I’ve ever seen!”

“Oh...” Hearing this, Lady Nine Skies could not help but sigh. “Mei, it’s a pity your master doesn’t know the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft... otherwise you would surely have mastered it by now.”

“Yes,” Mei said with regret, “but that’s all right, Master. Aside from not knowing the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft, you can do anything else...”

“Heh.” Lady Nine Skies gave a wry smile. “You little thing, you really do know how to talk. Mei, tell me—do you want to learn the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft?”

“I do, of course I do!” Mei said without hesitation. “But Master, I want to learn it... and no one is willing to teach me.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Lady Nine Skies said solemnly. “Mei, I’ve already made up my mind. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Pure Void Temple and have Master Pure Void teach you the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft.”

“Really?” Mei burst out joyfully. “Master, will Daoist Master Pure Void really teach me?”

“He will. Your master has her own way.” Lady Nine Skies spoke with complete confidence.

Mei’s face lit up at once. “Ah, wonderful! Master, once I learn the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft, we’ll never have to worry about not having Dew-Jade Nectar again! Hehe... But if that’s the case, Master, when will you teach me how to set up a barrier?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Master, aren’t I going to Pure Void Temple tomorrow to learn the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft? How will you have time to teach me how to set up a barrier?”

“What? You little madcap, you’re not planning to stay overnight at Pure Void Temple tomorrow, are you?”

“Hehe, Master, Mei was just thinking that very thing!”

“No!” Lady Nine Skies cut her off. “Mei, this is how I’ve arranged it for you: starting tomorrow, you’ll go to Pure Void Temple every morning to learn the Paper-Talisman Spellcraft, and in the afternoon you’ll return to the Purple Cloud Palace, where I’ll teach you how to set up a barrier.”

“Yes!” Mei replied at once, as obediently as a child. “Master, Mei will do everything according to your arrangement...”

As they spoke, Lady Nine Skies and Mei entered the Alchemy Chamber together.

“Mei, take out the Dew-Jade Nectar this time,” Lady Nine Skies instructed. “And bring out all the things you carried back from Doom Gorge as well.”

“All right!” Mei agreed, then silently recited the incantation. First she summoned out all ten thousand portions of Dew-Jade Nectar. Then, one by one, she summoned the Crimson Heart Fruit, the Life-Restoring Stone, the antlers of the Nine-Colored Deer, seven or eight kinds of rare medicinal herbs, and ten Five-Color Spirit Stones, arranging them neatly in place. When Mei saw the Five-Color Spirit Stones, she suddenly thought of the ones she had given Yan the Scarlet Hero, and she smiled sweetly. “Master, without asking your permission, I took Yan the Scarlet Hero to our mine pit in Doom Gorge... and I also gave him fifty Five-Color Spirit Stones. You won’t be angry about that, will you?”

“Hmph!” Lady Nine Skies gave a cold snort. “You asked after the fact. If I’m angry, does that mean you can take back what you’ve already given away?”

Hearing this, Mei immediately replied with a sweet, dutiful laugh. “Hehe... Master is so kind. No matter what Mei does, you never get angry! No wonder Master is always so young and beautiful, because your state of mind is so lovely. Master, how can you stay so young? If the two of us walked down the street together, anyone who knew us would know we were master and disciple, but anyone who didn’t would think we were sisters!”

“Heh heh heh...” Lady Nine Skies could not help smiling brightly. “Mei, you little minx, besides knowing how to make your master happy, what else can you do? All right, stop talking and get to the serious work. I’ll begin refining the Nectar now. Mei, you start immediately on the Scorchbane Golden Elixir. Your brother Cloudheaven’s Inch-Scorch illness is getting worse by the day, and he urgently needs the Scorchbane Golden Elixir!”