Section 14: The pitiful person must have hateful aspects
2014-06-18 Author: Gu Zhenren
“Hundred Families Pill Convention…” Chen Yuqing emerged from the room with a heavy heart. Although she was a Master-level Alchemist at a young age, Danzhou was vast, with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. What kind of geniuses were not there?
The Hundred Families Pill Convention was the grandest Alchemical gathering in Danzhou. At that time, countless prodigies, heroes, and extraordinary individuals would flock from all directions to showcase their talents.
Although Chen Yuqing was an Alchemy Master, the Hundred Families Pill Convention was not an individual competition but a team event. In the Chen Family’s participating team, besides her, there were no other Alchemy Masters.
She knew very well that leading such a team to compete for a spot in the top one hundred would require immense luck.
However, seeking strong assistance was incredibly difficult.
All the major families were doing their utmost to invite external help and recruit Alchemists. The Chen Family, in decline, had no competitive strength. The external help they invited was mediocre, greatly disappointing Chen Yuqing, who personally conducted the assessments.
“Among the Alchemists the family recruited this time, there was only one person I couldn’t quite figure out. He could refine pills without expelling Dan Qi. Such a method is truly inconceivable. Perhaps I should approach him again.” Amidst her disappointment, Chen Yuqing suddenly thought of a young man.
She was fighting a solitary battle now and was eager for talented individuals. Although her expectations were not high, for the sake of the family, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate.
With this thought in mind, she approached the Hall of Virtuous Talent.
This was a complex of courtyards specially arranged by the Chen Family for the Alchemists they had recruited. The courtyards were elegant and tranquil, with white walls and gray tiles, adorned with green bamboo and twining vines, making for a most pleasant environment.
Passing through a round archway and walking along a tree-lined path, Chen Yuqing arrived at the entrance of a small courtyard.
She was the person in charge of recruiting external help for the Chen Family, so she was very familiar with the way.
“Greetings, Miss.” Upon seeing her arrival, a beautiful maid standing at the entrance immediately stepped forward to curtsy.
“Xiao Ju, why are you here?” Chen Yuqing frowned slightly. Seeing that the person was young, at the age of passionate youth, she had assigned the maid Xiao Ju to “personally” serve him.
The maid Xiao Ju knew why her mistress was asking and immediately felt aggrieved. With a troubled frown, she reported, “Miss, it’s not that your servant didn’t try. I used all my skills, but that person remained completely unmoved. In the end, he found me bothersome and sent me here to guard the door.”
“Oh?” Chen Yuqing was surprised.
She had arranged for Xiao Ju to serve the young man with a clear intention.
Xiao Ju, having been rigorously trained since childhood, was exceptionally accomplished. She was the best pawn to employ a honey trap to win over talent for the Chen Family when the day came.
Chen Yuqing herself had experienced Xiao Ju’s prowess before; even as a woman, she had been somewhat moved!
She had originally thought that with Xiao Ju taking action, capturing the young man would be as easy as flipping her hand. But she never expected such a result.
Chen Yuqing’s frown deepened. To be able to resist the allure of beauty, that young man had earned her respect.
She then recalled the scene during the assessment where the young man had directly expelled air. A woman’s intuition told her that this young man was extraordinary.
She trusted her intuition; it had always been sharp, getting straight to the heart of the matter. However, intuition was precisely what was hardest to convince others by.
Chen Yuqing needed evidence.
“So, after he arrived at the Hall of Virtuous Talent, what did he do? Who did he speak with, and about what? Tell me everything you know,” Chen Yuqing asked after some thought.
To her surprise, the maid Xiao Ju pouted and shook her head, saying somewhat sulkily, “Ever since that person arrived at the Hall of Virtuous Talent, he hasn’t left. Even when other Alchemists who came with him visited, they were turned away. This person is extremely eccentric. He’s quite handsome and charming, but I suspect if he is…”
At this point, Xiao Ju lowered her voice, her eyes full of meaning.
“If what?” Chen Yuqing was stunned.
“If he likes men! To be honest, I’ve never met a man like that. Miss, you didn’t see it with your own eyes, but your servant can feel it. He was genuinely unmoved, not even a little. This is too abnormal. Or perhaps, he’s actually a woman disguised as a man…” Xiao Ju guessed, her tone indignant.
Chen Yuqing couldn’t help but laugh.
She knew Xiao Ju’s feelings. The art of the honey trap had always been Xiao Ju’s area of pride. But this was the first time she had truly acted, and she had suffered a complete defeat. How could she accept this?
Chen Yuqing became even more interested in that person.
“Perhaps he’s a master in disguise,” the young lady of the Chen Family thought. Although she knew this possibility was very low, her current predicament made her feel a glimmer of hope.
However, just as she was about to step into the courtyard to see the young man again, a male voice called out.
“Yuqing, what are you doing here?” The voice was sudden, the tone sharp, revealing a surprised joy at the unexpected encounter.
Upon hearing the voice, Chen Yuqing couldn’t help but frown. But when she turned around to face the newcomer, her face had already put on a faint smile: “It’s Young Master Zhao Fei. Yuqing was just about to visit the Alchemists recruited today to exchange Alchemical skills.”
Young Master Zhao laughed and casually glanced at the courtyard before him, saying dismissively, “Yuqing, you are already an Alchemy Master. I was present during today’s recruitment. None of these Alchemists are as good as me, let alone comparable to you. Doing these pointless things is not as good as discussing and sparring with me. Come, come, I’ve already prepared a banquet at my courtyard, let’s drink and chat.”
As he spoke, he reached out and took Chen Yuqing’s hand.
Chen Yuqing gritted her teeth secretly, a sudden urge to pull her hand away and flick her sleeve rising in her heart, but she managed to suppress it.
Zhao Fei was second only to her, a figure very close to an Alchemy Master. He was also the third young master of the Zhao Family, and the Zhao Family was a first-class family that overshadowed the Chen Family.
For the Chen Family to go further in the Hundred Families Pill Convention, they needed this person’s ability.
Chen Yuqing knew she couldn’t afford to offend him. Although she was extremely disgusted, she had no choice but to yield. She let Zhao Fei hold her hand and be pulled away.
Feeling the tender smoothness of Chen Yuqing’s jade-like hand, Zhao Fei’s heart stirred with waves of excitement.
His true purpose in coming here was Xiao Ju.
Zhao Fei had long noticed Xiao Ju’s beauty and kept her in his heart, but he had no opportunity to act. This time, when Xiao Ju was assigned to serve someone else, Zhao Fei was secretly displeased. When he heard that Xiao Ju had been assigned to guard the door, his heart leaped with joy, knowing his chance had arrived.
Since the other party did not value Xiao Ju much, Zhao Fei figured that with his status, he could at least get Xiao Ju over to have his fun. He had full confidence in this endeavor, and thus had prepared a table of delicacies earlier. He just didn’t expect to encounter Chen Yuqing this time.
Compared to Xiao Ju, the young lady of the Chen Family was naturally more outstanding, making Zhao Fei yearn for her and unable to forget her. He immediately changed his target and pulled Chen Yuqing away.
“I’ll have you sooner or later!” Before turning the corner, Zhao Fei looked back and gave Xiao Ju a deep look. The greedy desire in his eyes was undisguised.
“Miss…” Watching her mistress being dragged away, Xiao Ju felt immense sadness. Zhao Fei was already thirty-seven years old, overweight, a bully who preyed on the weak and the good, and had a terrible reputation. She utterly disdained and even hated him.
But there was nothing she could do; Xiao Ju understood the Chen Family’s situation. Several times, Xiao Ju had personally witnessed Zhao Fei, emboldened by alcohol at banquets, making unwanted advances towards Chen Yuqing, touching her hands, rubbing her chest, and caressing her buttocks.
Chen Yuqing, to maintain the overall situation, had to sacrifice herself. Every time after a banquet, her soft sobs could be heard from her private chambers.
Xiao Ju had angrily reported this situation to the Chen Family Patriarch, but the Chen Family Patriarch had turned a blind eye. This outcome left Xiao Ju in utter despair and indignation.
Now, seeing her mistress being dragged away again, Xiao Ju stood at the door, watching. The anger of the past was gone, replaced by a chill in her heart.
Chu Yun was unaware of the events unfolding outside the courtyard. At this moment, he was inside the Immortal Pouch World, focusing intently on comprehending the Net of Law within it.
His conversation with the White Emperor had made him realize that to seek what he desired, he needed to participate in the Hundred Families Pill Convention. He was already recruited by Gongsun Wan’er to participate in the convention.
However, after assessing his surroundings, he discovered that in order to rescue the White Emperor, he had used the Xingzhou Token to teleport from the eastern part of Danzhou directly to the west. He was now separated from the Gongsun Family by thousands of mountains and rivers. To return would require traversing nearly a hundred Gem Secret Passages, wasting a great deal of time on the journey.
Coincidentally, the Chen Family in this area was also recruiting Alchemists. Chu Yun, therefore, decided to join the Chen Family again under the guise of a hidden Alchemist.
“Good, I have mastered twenty-six threads and lines of the Immortal Pouch World’s Dao. This is equivalent to learning twenty-six Divine Path Techniques. My control over this World is also deepening.”
With a faint sense of joy, Chu Yun concluded his cultivation session, exited the Immortal Pouch World, and returned to the outside.
The three Immortal Consorts who had been guarding the surroundings then reported the events that had transpired.
“Where there are people, there are disputes,” Chu Yun remarked with a sigh.
One of the Immortal Consorts asked curiously, “Young Master Chu Yun, aren’t you going to help Miss Chen? Miss Chen is truly pitiable.”
“The pitiful person must have hateful aspects,” Chu Yun shook his head. “This Miss Chen, by arranging for that maid to be by my side, had malicious intentions. All people are equal. If she can casually sacrifice the happiness of other women, why do you feel she is pitiable when she is in trouble? If she had defiantly resisted, I might have been interested in helping her. But she meekly endures it. Outwardly, it seems like she is considering the greater good, but in reality, it’s just inner weakness, sacrificing herself for a better living environment.”
Chu Yun said in a flat tone, “Everyone must rely on themselves. Do your best, and what if you fail? What does it matter? Will the Chen Family be annihilated if they don’t make it into the top hundred? No. Don’t pity her; she is merely sacrificing some of her interests to gain greater benefits. This is a transaction, and she has already made her choice.”
The Immortal Consorts fell silent upon hearing this.
(To be continued)
