Chapter 52 — Holy Land Preparations (1)

At the landing of Lin Che’s old apartment, a very disgruntled Xu Fang was complaining to Guo Mingzhe about a parking situation he’d had earlier that week, when the door opened and both their noses twisted in grimace.

When Lin Che opened the door, a thick, brackish odour akin to the underside of a dock in summer wafted straight towards them. Xu Fang stopped talking in an attempt to prevent any of the smell from entering via his mouth.

“Come on in,” said Lin Che, stepping back to let them in. “Close the door.”

“What is that smell?” choked out Guo Mingzhe.

“Oh, right. You’ll get used to it soon.”

Xu Fang and Guo Mingzhe pulled their collars up over their noses and entered the building. Lin Che closed the door behind them.

“Sit anywhere,” he said, already heading towards the kitchen. “It’ll be a moment.”

Xu Fang spoke through his collar. “Lin Che, why the hell does your apartment stink so bad?”

“Potion brewing, remember? And besides, I used masking ingredients to stop it from being as bad.” A pause from the kitchen. “It really does go away. I promise — I can’t even smell it anymore.”

“And how long have you been in this stink for?”

“About four hours.”

By the time Lin Che returned from the kitchen carrying a wooden tray, the smell had already gone from putrid to rank, which was a minor improvement and suggested that the smell would indeed become ambient over time.

On the tray were eight small glass bottles each sealed with a cork, each containing the same coloured liquid.

“I’ve been at this since four this morning,” said Lin Che, setting the tray on the coffee table and taking the armchair across from them. “I’ve filled the fridge here with some more, but this should be enough for today.”

Xu Fang looked at the bottles. “You made these yourself?”

“It’d be far too expensive otherwise,” said Lin Che. “How’s progress going with the methods I gave you guys?”

“Good,” said Guo Mingzhe, keeping his sentences short to prevent the foul stench from entering his mouth. “I can feel something now,” he added eventually.

“Not much,” said Xu Fang. “It’s very distracting for me — I can’t concentrate long enough for it all.”

“Try noise-cancelling headphones or some instrumental music,” offered Lin Che. “I know it doesn’t fit the cultivator aesthetic, but I just brewed some potions in the same pot I use for pasta, so I’m pretty sure the vibe is long dead.”

Xu Fang nodded.

“So, guys,” began Lin Che. “I’m sure you two can figure out why I brought you guys in today. Mingzhe: as far as I’m aware, you plan on training and nothing else until the next martial tournament, am I correct?”

Guo Mingzhe grunted.

“Then I’d appreciate it if you stayed here and focused solely on your cultivation until the potions run out. Of course, if you have other commitments, I’m not preventing you from going to them. I just believe this would be a great opportunity for you to get stronger physically and trounce everyone at the competition.”

“Don’t worry — if I hadn’t met you I’d just be revising some martial forms all day until then. I’m on board,” replied Guo Mingzhe.

“Perfect!” said Lin Che, clapping his hands together. “As for Xu Fang—”

“Not staying in this stench the entire time.”

Lin Che coughed twice. “As for Xu Fang, come here whenever you can, but cultivation is not a priority of mine for you. You’re more than welcome to train, but I need you to search historical records for any mention of the Lin Clan. Since we’re cultivators, I’m sure there’ll be some unexplained things or great feats where you’ll have to read between the lines, but you know more than I do about these things.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“That works for me,” said Xu Fang.