Chapter 219 – Legend of the Sage Alchemist (I)

Chapter 219

Legend of the Sage Alchemist (I)

What exactly did I need from the Sect Master?

… honestly, nothing? I mean, not nothing–he’s far more versed in the alchemy than I am, and probably even Long Tao is, so maybe he does actually have a pill that could fix the girl, but that is supposing I know precisely what is wrong with her… and I really just don’t.

I mean, I have guesses, two of which really stand out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them turned out to be a culprit.

One: it might be the Sages again. There was already that vine all the way at the summit of a freakin’ mountain, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one here, too, and it was sucking away at her vitality, making it seem as though she were ill.

Two: it might be a curse. Just your average, standard-fare curse done by someone who resented her, or maybe purely by accident, I don’t know. If that’s the case, I still have the needle from way back when that will likely clean that up nicely, but if it turns out to be the vine?

Hell, I don’t know how to find it. Though, he actually might.

“What did you two chat about?” Ugh. Though I know I have to talk to him, I really don’t want to. He’d fallen behind the rest of the kids and joined me, and they, as though there was a universal understanding between them all, pretended not to have noticed it.

“He offered to help,” I said.

“Oh. That’s nice of him. Help with what? Master surely hasn’t divulged something rather secretive to a man he’s known for less than three days?” Ugh. Shut up. Seeing my expression, he merely smiled. “It was nice food.”

“Wasn’t it?!”

“Still not good enough to divulge something like that. How did you know, exactly, that it’s not a disease?” Haah. Of course this asshole listened to us. Of course he did. It’d have been a miracle if he hadn’t.

“My sister taught me how to have a discerning eye. Before she ran away with a local horseshoe maker, never to be seen again.”

“…”

“How did you know?” I asked back, ignoring the face of someone who looked ready to never speak to me again.

“I went to see her,” he shrugged and sighed. Hm? What did he just say? “That art your father left behind is certainly wonderful, to be able to hide me even here.”

… yeah.

I know you’re lying, buddy. Sure, that art was great at the time, but one of two things happened: either you upgraded it so that it can hide you from far stronger cultivators than my original one could have, or you used something else entirely to sneak in.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“What is it?”

“She looked a lot like those people in the village with the vine.”

Figures.

Haah. Seriously. Those Sages are really starting to piss me off. Is there not a place they haven’t infected with their corruption?

“It was odd, though.”

“… what do you mean?”

“I didn’t see anyone else infected.”

“No one?”

“No one,” huh. Alright. So, it might not have been the Sages after all and just someone mimicking their methods? Or maybe using those methods for personal gain? No, wait, listen to the bastard’s words. He said that the only odd thing was that nobody else was infected–he didn’t allude to anything else.

So, what would be the reason if not a personal grudge?

“Master.”

“Hm?”