Vermilion Phoenix Pill

The commotion downstairs finally attracted the attention of Ai Zhongtang, the head of the Ai family, who was upstairs. He descended the stairs with steady steps, and upon seeing Ye Feng, a fleeting trace of surprise flashed across his eyes. It was so brief that Ye Feng would not have noticed it, but Huaihuai, with his keen observation, caught it immediately and relayed Ai Zhongtang’s odd reaction to Ye Feng.

Ye Feng promptly asked Huaihuai whether he could read Ai Zhongtang’s memory directly, but Huaihuai informed him that he could only do so when the person’s willpower was particularly weak.

Given that, Ye Feng decided to take the initiative. “Uncle, I’m so sorry for disturbing you.”

Ai Zhongtang’s expression shifted again. He hadn’t expected that after a few years apart, this Ye family orphan would have become so mature. Adopting a kindly demeanor, Ai Zhongtang smiled and said, “So it’s little Feng. What a surprise to see you here. It’s been years—how have you been?”

“Thanks to the Luo family’s care, I’ve been doing quite well these past years,” Ye Feng replied with a sincere smile, or at least it appeared so.

“Are you here to buy medicine? Are you feeling unwell?” Ai Zhongtang shrewdly avoided mentioning anything about the past few years.

“Perhaps I’ve overworked my brain at school; I’ve had a bit of a headache lately. I thought I’d get some herbal medicine to calm my nerves.” Ye Feng repeated his rehearsed answer.

“Oh, you should take better care of yourself. If you need anything, just tell me—after all, I am your uncle.” Ai Zhongtang wore a look of benevolence, doing his utmost to appear the caring elder.

Ye Feng was about to decline; he certainly couldn’t reveal that what he wanted were the Vermilion Bird Pill and White Tiger Claw. If Ai Zhongtang were connected to the GOD organization, he would be exposing himself.

Just then, Huaihuai spoke up. “Ask him for the Vermilion Bird Pill.”

“If I ask, wouldn’t that risk revealing myself?” Ye Feng asked in confusion.

“Don’t worry. That ingredient was added by my master later, specifically to better protect the user. Tianwang doesn’t know about it. You can say your health is poor and you heard this thing can strengthen the body. Just ask if he has it. I just scanned the shopkeeper’s memory—he has it in the shop.”

“In fact, it’s nothing else—I just heard that the Vermilion Bird Pill can replenish energy and improve health. I’ve always been rather weak, so I wanted to get some to strengthen myself. I heard Huichuntang has it, but I looked around and didn’t see any. Uncle, do you know about it?”

“Vermilion Bird Pill? No problem—I’ll have someone fetch it for you.” Although Huichuntang was managed by the Ai family, Ai Zhongtang wasn’t all that familiar with the specifics. On hearing the name, he assumed it wasn’t anything too rare, and after speaking, he cast a glance at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper suffered inwardly. The Vermilion Bird Pill wasn’t some legendary elixir, but it was still quite rare, and Huichuntang only had one. He’d been treasuring it, planning to make a tidy profit in the future, but now this young man wanted it, and the head of the Ai family himself had spoken.

Reluctantly, he fetched the Vermilion Bird Pill, wrapped it up with the other herbs, and handed the sizable package to Ye Feng.

Ye Feng chuckled inwardly, noticing how the shopkeeper’s hands trembled with obvious reluctance as he handed over the parcel.

Ye Feng accepted the herbs with a smile. “How much do I owe you?”

“Please, sir, what are you saying? Your presence honors our humble shop; how could we possibly accept payment?” The shopkeeper made himself as humble as possible.

“How could I possibly accept that?” Ye Feng protested, though he made no move to take out any money. He didn’t mind their laughter, but years of habit taught him to save where he could.

“Well then, Uncle, I’ll head back now. I’ll visit you another day.” Ye Feng gave Ai Zhongtang a slight smile. In truth, he was in a particularly good mood—not only had he gathered all the herbs for the Soul-Calming Powder, but he’d also managed to get the Vermilion Bird Pill so easily, and for free at that. If not for Ai Zhongtang’s presence, Ye Feng might have burst out laughing.

“All right, go home and rest well,” Ai Zhongtang replied kindly. Were it not for those fleeting moments, Ye Feng might have believed he really was the kindly Uncle Ai he remembered from childhood.

Ye Feng didn’t stand on ceremony. He glanced at Luo Ming, signaling him with his eyes, and walked out. Once outside, he slowed his pace.

Seeing Ye Feng leave, Luo Ming bade Ai Zhongtang farewell and then hurried after Ye Feng.

Ai Mi, too, wanted to chase after them, but Ai Zhongtang stopped her, leaving her pouting in frustration.

...

Luo Ming drove Ye Feng back to the ancestral home.

As soon as they entered, Luo Ming exclaimed, “Wow, you really cleaned up the place! Did you do it yourself?”

“Of course. I’m all alone—who else would do it?” Ye Feng replied with a self-deprecating smile.

Luo Ming gave his shoulder a slap. “Come on, you think I don’t know? Everyone in the computer science department knows you have three gorgeous girlfriends, and even Ouyang Lanlan, the campus goddess, has taken a liking to you! Didn’t that Murong family bastard beat you up the other day? So? Did she move by your devotion and offer herself to you?”

“Don’t joke. We’re from different worlds. Maybe, back when I was the young master of the Ye family, I could dream, but now—forget it,” Ye Feng said, a trace of sadness in his voice.

Luo Ming patted Ye Feng’s shoulder gently, this time in comfort.

“Let’s not talk about that. What brings you out today? Isn’t your family busy right before the New Year? Shouldn’t you, the young master, be at home helping your father entertain the guests?”

“It’s precisely because it’s so busy that I ran away. Dealing with all those fake smiles is nauseating. It wasn’t so bad when you were with me, but now you’ve left me alone there—do you know how lonely I am?” He made a dramatic gesture as he spoke.

“Get out of here. People would kill for your status as the Luo family’s young master, and you call it disgusting?”

Since Ye Feng’s parents died, Luo Ming had lived with him for five years. They were close as brothers and used to bantering like this.

Ye Feng glanced at the clock. Without realizing it, they’d spent over three hours at Huichuntang; it was already past four in the afternoon.

“Are you going home for dinner, or eating out?” Ye Feng asked. There wasn’t much food at home—he preferred cooking fresh meals, and what he’d bought yesterday would only last him a day. He guessed Luo Ming wouldn’t be going home tonight.

“Since I’m here, of course I’m not going home. Not only am I staying for dinner, I’m sleeping over. I’ve never spent the night here before.” Luo Ming looked around at the antique-laden room. If all these antiques were sold, it’d fetch at least tens of millions, but that was obviously out of the question.

“Oh? So where are we eating? There aren’t any good restaurants nearby.”

“We’ll cook at home, of course! We can eat out any time, but your cooking—I haven’t had it in years. Tonight, you’re the chef.”

Ye Feng shot him a knowing look. “All right, Young Master Luo, you can eat my cooking—but come shopping with me.”

“Shopping? We just got back and it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Luo Ming protested.

“How was I to know you’d turn up? There’s hardly anything in the kitchen.” Ye Feng rolled his eyes at him.

“You should have said so earlier! Well, let’s go quickly—just thinking about your cooking makes my mouth water.” Luo Ming pushed Ye Feng toward the door.

“Honestly, who knew you’d come mooching off me?” Ye Feng grumbled as he locked the door and let Luo Ming push him along.

Luo Ming half-dragged Ye Feng into the car, and they sped off to the nearest supermarket.

The supermarket was bustling; with the New Year coming early, everyone was stocking up on food. Luo Ming filled a cart with groceries, clearly planning a feast.

“Do we really need this much? There’s only two of us—how much can we eat? You don’t even cook. Are you trying to wear me out?” Ye Feng complained, realizing Luo Ming really did see him as his private chef.

“It’s fine, buy more. Some things keep for a while—you can just stash them in the fridge. Who knows, I might turn up again, and we won’t have to shop again. Too much trouble.” As he spoke, Luo Ming tossed two big crabs into the cart.

Ye Feng could only shake his head and sigh at his poor choice of friends. Still, he didn’t let it bother him. Luo Ming was paying and driving, after all—it saved him money and effort. He even thought it was about time he bought a car; he did have tens of millions at his disposal now.

They lugged the bags out to Luo Ming’s SUV—one of the two types of cars favored by rich kids: sports cars or off-roaders. Luo Ming’s was the latter, and he drove it with gusto, racing back to the ancestral house.

Back home, after putting everything away, Luo Ming told Ye Feng, “I’ll leave this all to you. I’m off for a shower—the bathroom’s on the second floor, right?” Before Ye Feng could rope him into helping, Luo Ming vanished upstairs. Despite being a martial arts prodigy, lightning-fast with a blade, he was hopeless at chopping vegetables: he’d tried once or twice, cut his own hand, and never set foot in a kitchen again. He’d always been curious how Ye Feng learned to cook—was it self-taught from childhood? Luo Ming never did figure it out.

Ye Feng was both amused and exasperated. Luo Ming was still as lazy as ever, but he never expected help from him. He’d only make more of a mess.

Ye Feng moved quickly, and by the time Luo Ming finished his shower, all the ingredients for dinner were prepped. It was nearly six o’clock, time to start cooking.

Luo Ming emerged, dressed awkwardly in Ye Feng’s clothes—he was stockier than Ye Feng. He made himself a cup of tea, lit a cigarette, and sprawled comfortably on the sofa, so relaxed he didn’t want to move. Blowing a smoke ring, he felt utterly content.

He’d barely had time to enjoy himself when the doorbell rang. Annoyed, Luo Ming got up, called out, “Who is it?” as he opened the door, and then exclaimed in surprise, “It’s you!”