Zhou Lihua had come back to the Zhou Clan estate several days ago, but she had yet to see Zhou Chaoxiang. She had expected him to at least talk about her performance. The fact that she hadn’t heard even a peep from him in several days bothered here immensely. It made her feel like she was expendable to them.

Zhou Wen had greeted her. The woman had been quite peppy after Zhou Lihua returned, though in and of itself put Zhou Lihua on guard. That woman was polite and respectful, but she wasn’t really the peppy sort. She never acted so enthusiastic about anything, so the fact that she was now made Zhou Lihua wary.

Since she had nothing to do, Zhou Lihua had cooped herself up in her room and practiced alchemy. Her skills had increased a lot thanks to the Heavenly Ghost Flame. She was now more than capable of refining tier 5 alchemy pills. She felt like she could even refine a tier 6 pill if she had the ingredients. Sadly, ingredients was one of the things she lacked right now. The Shang Kingdom did not have many higher tier ingredients, so the only pills she could refine were tier 4 and below.

She felt like her skills would stagnate if she couldn’t get her hands on some higher quality ingredients.

It was during one of the times where she was absentmindedly refining several tier 4 pills that Zhou Wen came to her and said Zhou Chaoxiang was ready to meet with her. She made her way to the meeting hall where members of the Zhou Clan could speak with their leader. It was called the Qilin Room. Just setting foot into that room felt like traveling to another world.

The walls were painted with depictions of the great Qilin, guardian deity of her clan. She glanced to her left and looked at the creature traveling across it. The legendary hoofed creature was painted to look like it was walking across the clouds. On the other side, another depiction of the Qilin stood over the world to witness the birth of a sage. Even the ceiling had been painted with depictions of their deity.

Zhou Chaoxiang sat on an elevated floor meant to symbolize his status. He was above all those who came before him. Not even the emperor of this nation could come here without paying his respect. Zhou Lihua walked over and knelt, bowing her head low in a sign of deference.

“You called for me, Lord Chaoxiang?”

“I did.” Zhou Chaoxiang paused, the silence stretching on long enough to make her shift uncomfortably. “I heard you did an excellent job during the Zhou Kingdom’s alchemy tournament. You took first place and acquired a heavenly flame. That is an admirable achievement.”

Was he praising her?

“Thank you, Lord Chaoxiang.”

“You did so good, in fact, that two Platinum Rank alchemists have asked you to become their apprentice. I’m sure you know them. Yun Chi and Ruo Chong have both asked for you. This is quite the unprecedented situation.”

Platinum alchemists were unrivaled, both in status and power. They had even more power than most sect masters and even a Perfection Realm expert had to give them face. This was because they were the only ones who could refine pills that affected those at the Perfection Realm. Every pill they refined was powerful beyond measure. She could understand why Zhou Chaoxiang said this. She was also quite shocked.

“Do you… wish for me to take apprenticeship with one of them?” asked Zhou Lihua cautiously.

“Yes. Either one would be a good fit for you. However, you should know they come with some caveats. This apprenticeship will last for at least five years. Also, Ruo Chong has said that she will only accept you as an apprentice if you marry her apprentice, Wei Xiao.”

Zhou Lihua wrinkled her nose in disgust. Marry Wei Xiao? Aside from the fact that she was from the Zhou Clan and this man had no achievements to his name, the idea of marrying someone other than Wu Jian repulsed her. She felt a literal physical revulsion to the idea, which made her shiver.

Zhou Chaoxiang observed her with cold eyes. “You do not like the idea of marrying Wei Xiao?”

Her mouth went dry. “With all due respect, Lord Chaoxiang. Wei Xiao has naught a single achievement to his name. He is only famous because his master is a Platinum rank alchemist. Our clan has strict policies regarding who can marry our members. It is normally impossible for an outsider to marry our clanswomen. To date, only one person has ever managed it, and he named his country after us.”

“This is true… but having a Platinum Rank alchemist owe us for letting her son marry one of our members could provide significant benefits to the clan.”

Zhou Lihua struggled to keep her face emotionless, but she was quickly thinking about what she should do? Had the Zhou Clan outlived their usefulness to her? No, they were still useful, but that use only extended for as long as they didn’t marry her off. She had no intention of marrying someone who’s name wasn’t Wu Jian. If push came to shove, she would fake her death and disappear to avoid this outcome.

“But you may relax. I have no intention of letting you marry that foolish child. The benefits we would gain do not outweigh the costs.”

Zhou Lihua let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She had been prepared to defend her case, but there were lines she could not cross. Arguing with the leader of the Zhou Clan’s Shang Kingdom branch was not something a lowly member of the clan like her did lightly.

Zhou Chaoxiang continued. “I want you to become Yun Chi’s apprentice. You will leave in one month. Be sure to get all of your affairs in order. You won’t come back for five whole years.”

Zhou Lihua bowed low. “Yes, Lord Chaoxiang.”

She stood up and made her way into the courtyard surrounding the Qilin Hall. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she didn’t know whether it was from excitement or loneliness.

***

It was early morning and Wu Jian was relaxing with Hou Jingshu. He sat on the veranda and watched as Yōuměi ran around with Yu Mao. Yu Chenguang’s daughter had come to visit because her parents were busy. Hou Jingshu would normally be busy as well, but everyone had forced her to take a break because of how much she had been working.

Hou Jingshu was lying with her head propped on his lap, and he gently ran his hands through her hair. She only wore a light hanfu called zhong yi, which meant middle clothes. They were the undergarments that people wore underneath their hanfu. Hers was a gentle pink color and translucent enough that if he looked down, he’d be able to see her chest peek through the fabric.

“Father has been getting better. He can actually stand up now, though walking is still beyond him,” Hou Jingshu said suddenly.

“I’m glad to hear he’s recovering,” Wu Jian said. “How long do you think it will take for him to make a full recovery?”

“Our new physician said it will take around a year for him to make a full recovery, and that’s with alchemy pills.” She paused to turn on her side. Wu Jian looked at where she was looking. Yōuměi had just disappeared into Yu Mao’s shadow. “We could have him recover quicker if we had the ingredients necessary to refine the Life Restoring Pill, but not only are the ingredients nearly impossible to find, it’s a 7 tier pill.”

“Meaning we’d need a Ruthenium rank alchemist to refine it,” Wu Jian mumbled. He tapped his mask several times.

“Yes.”

Yōuměi soon popped out of Yu Mao’s shadow and pounced on the girl, who squealed as they went down. It was nice to see Yōuměi getting along with someone. Yu Mao and Yōuměi were close in age. It was important for a child’s development to have a friend who was of a similar age.

“I’m sure Lili could refine a tier 7 pill given enough time. She’s already reached Osmium rank, and she might even be able to reach Iridium soon.”

Zhou Lihua had already refined the Nirvana Soothing Pill, which was one of the most difficult tier 5 pills to refine. It was proof that she could probably refine a tier 6 pill if she had the ingredients.

“I don’t doubt it, but even an alchemy genius like her will still need time to reach that level. Father might already be fully healed by then.”

Emperor Hou Gun might no longer have any poison in his system, but his body had greatly atrophied. The royal physician, a new one who had replaced the old one because they had been a traitor, had put him on a strict diet and eventually planned to have him begin a rehabilitation program was he was strong enough to walk. As a Human Limit Realm cultivator, it wouldn’t take him too long to recover, but a year was still a year. Sadly, the damage done to his body had been extensive. Even his internal organs had atrophied.

Yu Chenguang arrived some time around noon. Wu Jian thought it was to pick up his daughter, but the man merely shook his head.

“I’m actually here for you. Emperor Hou Jun says he wishes to speak with you,” the man said.

Wu Jian pointed at himself and blinked stupidly. “Me? But why?”

Yu Chenguang shrugged and gave him a sly look. “Who knows. Maybe it’s because you’re sleeping with his daughter.”

“Aaaah. Hmmm. Yeah. I guess that makes sense.”

Wu Jian had never felt awkward about the fact that he slept with Hou Jingshu. Heck, he had even bragged about it before. Now he felt awkward.

“So, follow me,” Yu Chenguang said with an amused smirk at Wu Jian’s silence.

“Right…”

It wasn’t long before they found themselves in front of the Dragon’s Gate. Yu Chenguang led the way through, and they walked down a long hallway with many rice paper doors. At the end of the hall was the room where Emperor Hou Jun was convalescing. A pair of peak Asura Realm cultivators stood guard. They saluted as he and Yu Chenguang went through.

“Your Majesty, I have brought Jian Wu,” said Yu Chenguang.

“Excellent. Please, give me some time alone with him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After giving the emperor a martial bow, Yu Chenguang left the room. Now alone with the emperor, Wu Jian felt his nerves overcoming him. The man sitting on the bed several chih away still looked emaciated, but he was no longer radiating an aura of weakness. He sat with his back straight and stared into Wu Jian’s mask as if he could see right through him.

“Your Majesty.” Wu Jian bowed. “I’m pleased to see your recovery is going well.”

Emperor Hou Jun smiled, but it was sly. “Are you going to stand over there the whole time? Come closer.”

“… Yes.”

Wu Jian felt his heart hammering in his chest as he walked forward. Every step he took caused his swiftly beating heart to pound against his ribcage. Had he ever felt this nervous before? Not that he could remember. Wu Jian couldn’t help but second guess his decisions until now. Maybe sleeping with Hou Jingshu really had been a bad idea?

No, no, no. I can’t think that. I love her, and I’m going to marry her eventually anyway. We haven’t done anything wrong. Oh… but, it is considered an insult to bed a woman before marriage. Ugh, maybe we should have waited?

He soon stopped before the bed, standing still as a statue under the emperor’s watchful eye. The man’s stare was so piercing Wu Jian thought he could see through the mask.

“Take off your mask,” Emperor Hou Jun commanded.

Wu Jian reached for his mask but hesitated. Should he do this? Hou Jingshu had delivered Wu Meiying’s necklace to him, so it should be fine… right? But what if it didn’t work? Just because he had this necklace didn’t mean he was safe, did it? What should he do?

“Come on, now,” the emperor chided. “I want to see the face of the man whom my beloved daughter has chosen to give herself to.”

I guess I really can’t deny him now…

“Very well.”

With a sigh, Wu Jian removed the mask. Emperor Hou Jun’s eyes widened, but then they softened. Water gathered in his eyes, though tears did not fall.

“I see. So you’re alive. I’m so glad. I heard about what happened to your clan. You have my condolences. Your father was a good man, and a good friend. I considered him a brother. I’m happy you and my daughter were able to reunite. Please, take good care of her from now on.”

“Of course. I will always cherish her,” Wu Jian said softly. He hesitated, then asked, “Your Majesty… can you tell me some stories about my father?”

“Gladly,” said the emperor with a kind smile.