The next morning, before sunrise.

Yan Wei took the previous day off to calm his mind and practice cultivation. No more strange memories occurred, and the one that did slowly felt more and more like his own, so much so that he didn’t even find it strange anymore.

He also tried reading the second portion of the cultivation manual, but the words squirmed around on the page so fast that his eyes couldn’t keep up. There was clearly a need for better innate talent to do so, further confirming that he would never be able to break through from the Source Realm, much less the first level.

Having refined three more strands of spiritual energy over the past day, Yan Wei was growing accustomed to the refining process. However, he could still tell that there was a well inside his Source, one so deep that he couldn't see the bottom.

Two more strands of spiritual energy that he accumulated through the night became one with the air current that flowed through his nose and into his body, moving down into his dantian where they were instantly devoured.

After taking a deep breath, he sat there on his bed, deep in thought. "At this rate, merely breaking through into the first level of Source Realm seems out of grasp, like trying to reach the clouds in a single jump.

"Be that as it may, no one asks for poor talent, nor does anyone complain about having great talent. Since I have poor talent, I'll just have to work ten times harder."

For hours, Yan Wei sat there with his books, caught in his own soliloquies as sunlight broke the horizon. The occasional loud noise outside would jostle his concentration, only for him to shake his head and sink right back into his studies soon thereafter.

Fortunately for Yan Wei, cultivating didn’t seem to expend any of his stamina; therefore, he didn’t feel tired, even after cultivating all night.

Yan Wei had already given up on the idea of reading more of the cultivation manual, so he started with the first book on medicine, which was written by Pill Master Qiu himself, and contained his recorded thoughts and analyses from his first years of working with medicine.

Although it only consisted of his earlier work, learning from his beginning mistakes would give Yan Wei stable footing for concocting his first medicine later on.

Yan Wei's eyes slowly opened upon hearing an abrupt knock on the door. He ignored it and closed his eyes again, but then an even louder knock sounded.

Prepared to face the Pill Master's scolding, Yan Wei got up and opened the door.

To his surprise, however, there was a young man standing there.

He was only a head shorter than Yan Wei, with hazel eyes, freckles on his cheeks, and a head full of somewhat curly hair.

Despite all of this, Yan Wei could immediately tell who he was by his tattered tunic and familiar expression.

"Chen Yifeng!?" Yan Wei shouted.

"Yeah. I got lots of rest," Chen Yifeng grinned. "The old guy upstairs let me in."

"I didn't expect it to have this much of an effect," Yan Wei said. "How do you feel?"

“I had to convince my father that I was the real me. He thought I was an intruder and nearly killed me.” Chen Yifeng scratched his head with an embarrassed look on his face. "Two cups and a door."

"What?" Yan Wei was caught off-guard.

"My body is so strong now, those are the things I've accidentally broken already..."

They both burst into laughter.

Yan Wei cleared his throat. "Alright, why are you here?"

"I came by to ask if you wanted to tag along and play in the snow with me and my friends," Chen Yifeng said.

"What did you say?" Yan Wei asked.

“I’m not that much younger than you,” Chen Yifeng scoffed.

Yan Wei shook his head with frustration. “No, before that. Did you say snow?”

“Yeah. It started snowing yesterday morning, and it’s been coming and going ever since,” Chen Yifeng replied.

“It has never snowed here,” Yan Wei said.

Chen Yifeng went and opened the front door so Yan Wei could see for himself. “Are you coming or not?”

It was only now that Yan Wei realized that he wasn’t just cold because of the Yin in his blood, the temperature in the room was actually cold.

A surprised look on his face beneath the mask, Yan Wei said, “I just took yesterday off, I can’t miss today as well. You go ahead.”

“Suit yourself.” Chen Yifeng shrugged and left.

As he looked around at the fully stocked shelves, Yan Wei couldn’t help but admire Pill Master Qiu’s skill and dedication in the art.

“I’ll work ten times harder...” Yan Wei thought.

Propping himself up on the counter with both arms and the book in his hand, he managed to guide customers to what they were looking for with his only voice as he read on.

Eventually, he heard a cluster of feet enter the shop with synchronized footsteps.

After a calm silence, a pleasant female voice warmed his ears. “Would you happen to know where any Blood Congealing Pills are, sir?”

“Left side, right shelf, second row from the top, third bottle from the right.” He flipped a page with his thumb and continued with his endeavors in medicine, not even looking up once in the process.

A snap was heard, then a set of eloquent footsteps followed Yan Wei’s previous directions to find exactly what they were looking for. “Impressive,” a young male scoffed.

“Too busy right now?” he asked derisively. “We can come back later, if it’s too inconvenient.”

A small clamor broke out between the male and female pair, then Yan Wei cleared his throat.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Yan Wei said in a carefree manner. “I’m just making the most of my time. If you need anything else, just ask.”

“Don’t act condescending with me!” he barked.

“I’m not being condescending, I’m just being practical,” Yan Wei replied. “I can talk to you without looking at you, but I need to see what I’m reading.”

“You...” His voice cracked time and time again as he tried to find a comeback. “Let’s go, there are other pill shops in the city.”

“But none of them are as nice as this one!” the female groaned. “You can go if you want, I’m staying.”

"I never would have thought the trash in this city would have such gall." With a harrumph, the young man stormed out, only leaving the girl, Yan Wei, and his book, which he still had yet to look up from.

Yan Wei flipped a page indifferently. “Is everyone from Fallen Heaven City as proud as him?”

“How did you know we were from Fallen Heaven City?” she asked in amazement.

“You just told me,” he teased. “Though, you don’t quite fit in here.”

“Neither do you,” she said. “Why do you wear a mask?”

“The same reason anyone wears a mask, there’s something that I don’t want people to see.” Yan Wei closed the book and looked up for the first time.

The girl—garbed in a long, flowing black dress hemmed with silver—radiated innocence and mischief, and could be considered above average in terms of appearance, enough to cause men with insufficient willpower to do everything they could to curry her favor.

“Now,” Yan Wei walked over to a shelf on the left side of the shop, “did you want those Blood Congealing Pills?”

However, before she could answer, an imposing pressure weighed down on the shop as a young man close to Yan Wei’s age swaggered in with guile.

“The place is looking good,” the young man snickered as the shelves rattled. “A little too good… You haven’t been reneging on our terms, have you?”