Chapter 416: Ying Yaoshi Comes to Demand a Person
Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Ying Yaoshi Comes to Demand a Person
The reason Ning Xuan was able to produce the Soul Cleansing Pill was because she had researched the old headmaster’s condition in advance. If one was to give a gift, it should naturally be something the recipient needed.
The Soul Cleansing Pill was one of the more difficult High-level Elixirs to create, serving as a true test of an Alchemist’s skill.
However, the raw materials for this Elixir Pill were relatively easy to obtain. Even the few precious ingredients required were quite common, and there were no strict requirements for their age. After gathering all the ingredients, Ning Xuan attempted a few batches and ultimately succeeded in creating two bottles of Soul Cleansing Pills.
Yu Mingche had once spent a fortune trying to acquire Soul Cleansing Pills for the old headmaster. Unfortunately, the Elixir Recipe for the Soul Cleansing Pill contained several conflicting ingredients, making it extremely difficult to create. The only Alchemists capable of producing it were at the Grandmaster Level. And there were far too few Grandmaster Level Alchemists. Most of them were too proud to expend their energy on an Elixir Pill with such a low rate of return.
Yu Mingche sealed the bottle, then threw himself into Ning Xuan’s arms, burying his head in the crook of her neck. He thanked her, his voice choked with emotion, "Xuanyuan, thank you."
"Why be so formal with me? All that matters is that you’re happy." Feeling the dampness on her neck, Ning Xuan patted Yu Mingche’s back and held him, comforting him.
Ning Xuan knew Yu Mingche’s emotions had been unstable recently. Whatever the reason, his current state was certainly not good for the baby’s development. Ning Xuan felt it was necessary to look after his physical and mental well-being.
’Thankfully, it seems Yu Mingche is satisfied with today’s gift for the old headmaster.’
Of course, the old headmaster’s situation also gave Ning Xuan an idea. ’If elderly people can suffer from such problems, he surely isn’t the only one. The difficulty of creating the Soul Cleansing Pill is also relative. As they say, it’s not difficult for those who know how, but difficult for those who don’t. Since I can successfully create this Elixir Pill, I could occasionally make a few batches to sell at an auction. After all, an ordinary person like the old headmaster might just have a powerful junior like Yu Mingche behind them, willing to pay any price for a cure.’
When the old headmaster received the Soul Cleansing Pill from Ning Xuan, his eyes filled with grateful tears. His health had been declining over the past few years, and he often suffered from unbearable headaches at night. This Elixir Pill was exactly what he needed most; the gift truly went straight to his heart.
Afterwards, the old headmaster enthusiastically showed Ning Xuan the dormitory where Yu Mingche had lived as a child, and the drawings he had carved on a pillar. Over an hour later, Ning Xuan and Yu Mingche took their leave under the headmaster’s reluctant gaze.
Yu Mingche had arranged for someone to take care of the old headmaster. Normally, whenever Yu Mingche was on the Central Star, he would visit every ten to fifteen days.
On the way back, inside the Flying Car, Ning Xuan lay comfortably with her head on Yu Mingche’s lap as he massaged her temples.
Just then, Ning Xuan’s Light Computer suddenly rang. She lifted her hand to look; it was a video call from Ying Yaoshi.
Ning Xuan’s brow furrowed. "Look at this. Ying Yaoshi is bugging me to send Lan Xin back again. He just sent a message yesterday. Hmph. He doesn’t have time to fulfill his duty of keeping him company, yet he insists on prying Lan Xin away from me."
Ning Xuan grumbled in dissatisfaction. Lan Xin’s beauty was comparable to Di Youlin’s and Yun Han’s, but he was far more docile and well-behaved than those two. He also had the ability to change his form. She had been having so much fun with him these past few days, she was practically addicted, so she was naturally reluctant to let him go now.
Ning Xuan didn’t answer Ying Yaoshi’s call. Just as she was considering whether to call him back, Yu Mingche’s Light Computer rang.
"Go ahead and answer it," Ning Xuan said with a wave of her hand.
Yu Mingche nodded and accepted the video call. A faint blue light flickered before them, and Ying Yaoshi’s holographic image gradually materialized.
He was dressed in a black military uniform with gold trim. The double-breasted golden buttons were fastened neatly up to just below his Adam’s apple. An intricate pattern of dark silver thorns coiled on his epaulets—the thorn badge, a symbol of the highest command in the military.
Ying Yaoshi’s face looked as if it had been carved from arctic ice. In the shadows cast by his brow, his eyes were as deep and bottomless as a winter lake. His lips were pressed into a tight line, his expression stern and tinged with a gloomy air.
"Greetings, Lord Contract Master." Seeing Ning Xuan’s image also in the frame, Ying Yaoshi stood, raised a hand, and bowed in salute.
A faint static hissed from the hologram. Amidst the noise, the Platinum Chain Buckles on the cuffs of Ying Yaoshi’s uniform could be heard clinking together as he moved, creating a crisp sound like the clash of weapons.
Ying Yaoshi greeted only Ning Xuan, completely ignoring Yu Mingche as if he weren’t even there.
Yu Mingche couldn’t help but silently roll his eyes. Ning Xuan sat up. "Didn’t you call Ming Che? You two talk, I won’t get in your way."
"Xuanyuan, I called him because I guessed you were with him," Ying Yaoshi said immediately. "I have nothing to say to him. You’re the one I need to talk to."
"Since you’re the one who called him, why didn’t you even greet him? Isn’t that a bit rude?" Ning Xuan was openly standing up for Yu Mingche.
Seeing Ning Xuan take his side, Yu Mingche’s eyes filled with a smiling, triumphant look as he glanced at Ying Yaoshi.
Ying Yaoshi’s already gloomy expression darkened a few more shades.
"Greetings, Lord Husband," Ying Yaoshi said perfunctorily, giving Yu Mingche a cursory bow with clasped hands.
Yu Mingche, however, replied earnestly, "Greetings, Marshal."
"What do you want from me?" Ning Xuan asked.
"Xuanyuan, it’s about time for Lan Xin to return, isn’t it? You promised me before that you would let Lan Xin stay with me in the future. He’s been resting for almost a month now. Have him come back in the next couple of days," Ying Yaoshi said to Ning Xuan.
"You have the nerve to bring this up?" Ning Xuan demanded. "For the entirety of last year, Lan Xin didn’t come back even once. It’s a good thing I gave him enough Elixir Pills, or his Spiritual Sea would have spiraled out of control long ago. Don’t you know he’s a Half-beastman? When he’s not by my side, it’s easy for his mutation to act up, or even for his spiritual power to collapse."
"We conduct monthly inspections on officers of every Level. If there are any issues, they are checked immediately—we check their safety levels. Lan Xin’s safety level has consistently been above average, which is why he wasn’t granted family leave," Ying Yaoshi explained.
"If your data were so accurate, there wouldn’t be so many people in the military dying from spiritual power collapse every year," Ning Xuan said dismissively.
Ning Xuan’s words actually left Ying Yaoshi speechless. It was true; those tests only reflected the situation at that specific moment. Sometimes, in an emergency or after being exposed to contamination, the Mutated Value could skyrocket instantly.
"Never mind last year. Starting this year, Lan Xin must return once every three months," Ning Xuan stated.