Chapter 657: Mistaken Cultivation
Hui laid there, waiting for the other cultivators to wake up. I dont have to wait the longest. Even though I was gassed last, I can simply explain that I received less of the gas, and use it to escape early. So all I have to do is wait for someone else to wake up.
Time passed slowly. Hui began actually dozing off. He jolted himself awake, peering around. Everyones still asleep? How long do I have to lie here? Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience
A shadow fell over him. Hui quickly played asleep again.
Xi Sanji, have you brewed the antidote yet? Wan Lu asked.
Im trying! I dont know exactly what went wrong with the formula, so Im not sure how to negate it. Im working on it right now, Xi Sanji assured him.
Wan Lu knelt and checked the pulse of one of the other cultivators. He pressed his lips together. Theyre deep asleep. At this rate, they might easily sleep for years.
Hui stiffened. Years? Ill have to play asleep for years? Im devoted to the bit, Im willing to play dead or asleep or whatever I need to get by, but Im not going to stick it out for literal years! Thats far, far too long to pretend to sleep! I havent even settled down to cultivate for that long. If thats my option, Ill just escape while no ones watching! Surely no ones going to miss this small cultivator. Yes, yes. Ill just wait, wait until they all look away, and then
There! I did it. Probably. Er Who to test it on? Xi Sanji rose up in Huis vision. He watched her through his lashes as she cast bubblegum-pink eyes across the gathered cultivators. Her eyes settled on him, and she smiled and walked over, lifting a vial of pitch-black fluid. Good, he should do
Hui jerked awake. He sat up abruptly, looking around. Ah! I must have gotten a light dose of the gas. Im awake!
Wan Lu frowned. He gave Hui a suspicious look. Indeed
Hui ignored the look, pretending he saw nothing at all. You can be suspicious all you want, but Im not drinking that thing. Who knows what itll do to us? Trying to make an aphrodisiac and landing on sleeping gas is bad enough. A wake-up antidote who knows? Maybe well never be able to sleep again! Not that cultivators need to sleep, but still! Its the principle of the thing.
Across the way, Xi Sanji gave him a disappointed look. I thought you got plenty of the gas! You should still be asleep.
Hui raised his brows. Is that a problem for Elder Sister?
She shook her head and pivoted to a nearby female cultivator. Casually, she tipped the maidens head back and poured the black fluid into her mouth. The cultivator choked, then swallowed on reflex.
Despite everything, all three of them stared intently at the female cultivator. For a few long beats, she laid there silently.
Xi Sanji bowed to his back. The second he passed out of sight, she straightened and stuck her tongue out at him. Stinky old man. Smells like burned pills. What do you care?
Hui raised his brows at her. He just saved that womans life after two of your mistakes. Can you really afford to say that?
Xi Sanji caught him looking and grinned. Teehee! Hey, youll help me heal them, right? I need someone to feed herbs into the furnace while I make the elixir.
Isnt Wan Lu going to bring disciples to fix it? Hui asked.
Shaking her head, Xi Sanji put her hands on her hips. Thats no good. I cant rely on others all the time. Im not a child anymore.
Its good that Elder Sister is aware, Hui said quietly.
Mhm! Xi Sanji agreed, missing his point. She gestured him over. Come on. No one wants to believe me, but I know its true. The same ingredients added in different time intervals will surely lead to more powerful results!
Eh? Hui asked, tilting his head. Isnt that a fundamental part of pill cultivation? That shouldnt be a revelation. From what I understood from watching Xixing, it already seemed to be a part of pill cultivation. So why
Xi Sanji shook her head. There are the standard timings, of course, but those are merely standard. Listen to the materials, and let them tell you when to best add them! This is certainly the right course of action!
Huis eyebrows shot up. Oh, I see. Youre the kind of person whos never followed a recipe nor learned the fundamentals of cooking, yet is convinced that youre a master chef anyways, never mind the pasta burning on the stove.
Haaaaa. I think Ill pass on the pill cultivation tier. Hui turned to go. Elder Sister, Ive never cultivated pills before. I cant
No time like the present! She shoved a handful of small black seeds into his hand and pointed him toward a fresh pill furnace. On my mark, add them in one at a time, with evenly spaced intervals between, understood?
Hui pressed his lips together unwillingly. Elder Sister, cant you at least give me the right to refuse?
Sighing, he approached the furnace. Whatever. Lets get this over with, and then Ill make my escape. After all, she still has to give the elixir to a disciple to test it. While shes testing it, thats when Ill make a break for it!
Ready? Here we go! Xi Sanji said, holding up a two-colored leaf in red and blue.
Hui held up his beans. Here we go, he replied, though far less enthusiastically.