Chapter 37: The Initiate

As Madam Shen Zhuyun’s birthday drew closer, Chen Yuyi no longer dared to delay the matter of the birthday gift. Yet he truly had no idea what to prepare. Anything too expensive was out of the question, and according to Shen Zhuyun’s wishes, it should be around ten thousand yuan. But he really had no experience in such matters, which left him quite troubled.

“You’re hopeless. Among those leftover pills, there’s a Rejuvenation Pill that can turn white hair black again. Why not just give that to the old lady as a birthday gift?” Sometimes, when the Dragon King was in high spirits, he would tease Chen Yuyi.

“A medicine for a birthday gift? What’s that about? And besides, if she really became young again, wouldn’t that scare everyone?” Chen Yuyi immediately retorted.

“Pah! As if it could really make someone young again. At most, it might make her look twenty years younger. You think those are true elixirs? They’re just dregs!” The Dragon King scoffed at him.

“Can’t you refine a true Elixir of Eternal Youth?” Chen Yuyi was intrigued and teased the Dragon King in turn.

“What a joke! With my water-based alchemy, there’s no pill I can’t make. But do you have the ingredients? If you do, I’ll make you a real Elixir of Eternal Youth right away!”

“What ingredients do you need?” Chen Yuyi asked with some interest.

“Gui Shui Leaf, Zixiao Cloud Herb…”

“Stop!” Chen Yuyi hurriedly interrupted. What were these things? He’d never even heard of them, nor did he know where to find such items.

“Hmph. If you can find those ingredients, I’ll make you an Elixir of Eternal Youth immediately!” The Dragon King snorted coldly.

“Alright, you win!” Chen Yuyi threw up his hands. Sometimes, the Dragon King really did act like a child—he was just joking, and yet took it so seriously.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, Chen Yuyi suddenly thought of Zhang Tianyou. Ever since that day they parted, he hadn’t contacted him, nor had Zhang Tianyou called. They’d exchanged numbers, but perhaps he’d been frightened that day.

Still, Zhang Tianyou was skillful in social affairs, and surely better at such matters than himself. Besides, after so many days, it was about time he reached out.

“Mr. Chen!” On the other end, Zhang Tianyou was both surprised and at a loss when he received Chen Yuyi’s call.

“Tianyou, what’s wrong? It’s me, Yuyi. Why are you calling me Mr. Chen?” Chen Yuyi frowned slightly. Clearly, the events of that day had left a deep impression on his old friend.

Then he heard several female voices on the other end, the loudest belonging to Zhu Shaoqi.

As expected, the phone seemed to have been snatched by Zhu Shaoqi.

“Mr. Chen, do you remember me? I’m Zhu Shaoqi. Are you interested in millennium-old medicinal herbs? We just got word that a thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom was found at Crane’s Longevity Hall in Lower River City. We’re planning to take a look—are you interested?”

Chen Yuyi was stirred. If such a rare herb had appeared, how could he miss it? Besides, Lower River City wasn’t far from Jiangcheng, still within the Jiang Region, only about a two-hour drive—he could go and return the same day. And he’d wanted to ask Zhang Tianyou’s advice about the birthday gift.

“Isn’t Taiqing Pharmaceuticals always collecting high-aged herbs like this? Why invite me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll compete with you?” Chen Yuyi teased.

Zhu Shaoqi hesitated. “I just thought Mr. Chen might need it more than us. Besides, there’s no guarantee our Zhu family would get it even if we tried. So, Mr. Chen, would you like to come with us?”

Chen Yuyi chuckled. “I don’t have a car.”

On the other end, Zhu Shaoqi seemed to jump for joy. “I’ll have Tianyou pick you up—no, we’ll come ourselves!”

Not long after, a Cayenne pulled up in front of Chen Yuyi. To his surprise, only Zhu Shaoqi and Zhang Tianyou had come. None of their usual friends were present, not even Zhu Shaohui.

“Mr. Chen, we meet again!” Zhu Shaoqi greeted him with a dazzling smile.

Her attire was simple and elegant today, her manner more refined than before. Her delicate face was tinged with a faint blush, giving her the air of a gentle, refined maiden. Clearly, she had carefully “transformed” herself for this meeting.

Chen Yuyi merely smiled lightly and got into the car.

Zhang Tianyou greeted him with some nervousness.

“Tianyou, don’t you see me as a brother anymore?”

“Mr. Chen…”

“Don’t call me Mr. Chen. Call me Yuyi. Remember, you’ll always be my good brother!”

Zhang Tianyou stiffened, then finally broke into a smile. “Yes, Yuyi. We’ll always be good brothers!”

Zhu Shaoqi watched the two men with a look of amusement and appreciation, her gaze on Chen Yuyi growing brighter.

They arrived at Lower River City.

When they reached Crane’s Longevity Hall, Chen Yuyi noticed the place was bustling with people.

Among those waiting were not a few martial arts experts, and he even sensed several individuals with unusual auras.

“Chen Yuyi, those are practitioners of the Dao,” the Dragon King’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

“Practitioners of the Dao?” Chen Yuyi was puzzled by the term.

“Yes. Dao practitioners refine essence into qi, nurture qi to comprehend the Dao, and achieve spiritual communication. It’s harder to cultivate than martial arts, but if successful, they become far more formidable!”

“You mean they possess magical power?”

“That’s right. But their magic is nothing compared to what you’ll one day wield. Even at their peak, they can only communicate with spirits and summon a few five-element spells. When compared to the great powers you’ll eventually command, they’re nothing.”

Chen Yuyi pondered this. “But I haven’t developed any powers yet—doesn’t that put me at a disadvantage?”

“Not so. Even if they attack you, they can’t harm you at all. You must understand, you are no longer of mortal flesh—you naturally resist such inferior magic. If they cast their Daoist arts on you, they might even become nourishment for you, strengthening your spiritual sea.”

“Strengthen my spiritual sea?”

“Exactly. The powers you’ll someday possess all come from your spiritual sea, for power is spirit. The stronger your spirit, the more formidable the powers you can cultivate. But you won’t fully understand this until you break through the physical realm. In time, all will become clear.”

Chen Yuyi thought that made sense. Since he was still far from breaking through that stage, there was no rush to figure everything out. But at least he now knew: those so-called Dao practitioners were like a feast for him, a source of nourishment.

This realization made him chuckle inwardly.

It seemed everyone here was after that thousand-year-old lingzhi.

After a brief wait, a young girl in white appeared, her face sweet with a bright smile. “Those wishing to purchase the thousand-year-old lingzhi, please follow me.”

At her words, everyone stood up at once. Chen Yuyi rose along with Zhang Tianyou and Zhu Shaoqi.

“Where’s the thousand-year-old lingzhi? I’m not too late, am I?” As the group was about to follow the girl, a black Mercedes stopped at the entrance. Out stepped a portly young man, dabbing at his face with a floral handkerchief as he called out.

Immediately after, a Range Rover pulled up, and a man and woman climbed out, joining the portly youth as they entered the shop.

The girl in white paused, smiled at the trio, and said, “You’re not late. Please join us.”

“Qi Qi!” At that moment, the young man accompanying the portly youth cried out in surprise.

Zhu Shaoqi’s brows arched; she turned her head away, pretending not to see him.

The young man was unfazed, a subtle smile flickering in his eyes as he followed the portly youth inside.

At that moment, Zhang Tianyou whispered to Chen Yuyi, “That guy is Bao Hongxuan, son of a pharmaceutical company boss here. He’s had business dealings with the Zhu family and once pursued Shaoqi relentlessly, but backed off after Zhu Shaohui warned him. I never expected to run into him today.”

He continued, “The woman is his sister, Bao Yingtong. I hear she’s married to a wealthy man and owns a resort. As for the portly fellow, I don’t know him, but he seems rich. Who knows what he wants the lingzhi for?”

Zhang Tianyou clearly hoped Chen Yuyi would win the lingzhi. As for Zhu Shaoqi, she had used this event as a pretext to get close to Chen Yuyi—she hadn’t even told Zhu Shaohui and had no intention of buying the lingzhi herself.

Everyone followed the girl into the back hall, where she invited them to take a seat.

After a moment, a mature, alluring woman in a cheongsam entered, carrying a large brocade box.

Her figure was voluptuous and tempting, her bearing exuded a mysterious allure, but her expression was cold and distant.

Chen Yuyi felt something strange—this woman’s aura was unlike that of ordinary people.

But at that moment, the Dragon King was silent, likely asleep again, so he couldn’t ask. Besides, he was only here to buy herbs and couldn’t be bothered with other concerns.

The cheongsam-clad woman dispensed with formalities, opening the brocade box to reveal the thousand-year-old lingzhi. “Have a look at the quality, everyone.”

“What a fine lingzhi!” came the exclamation. Chen Yuyi turned to see it was the group of Dao practitioners, led by one whose magical power was clearly superior.

“Indeed, a fine herb nurtured over many years,” echoed some of the martial arts experts, including a rare grandmaster among them.

“Master Bu, you martial artists shouldn’t vie with us Daoists for this. The lingzhi won’t do much for you,” one Dao practitioner said amiably to a middle-aged man in training attire, his own robes billowing with a hint of immortal air.

The martial artist, who was the grandmaster, stood with a proud yet friendly smile. “Who says it’s useless to us? Master Yi, as a Daoist, you should cultivate quietly. Why come to the mundane world to compete with us?”

When Dao practitioners reach a certain level, they are referred to as “Master,” equivalent to the martial arts “Grandmaster.” Both groups seemed to belong to different sects, their attire unified, and a sense of rivalry hung in the air.

The others present were mostly middlemen, silent and observing.

“Enough! I want the lingzhi!” Suddenly, the portly youth declared.

All eyes turned to him.

Standing beside him, Bao Hongxuan cleared his throat. “Everyone, this is Young Master Yan of the Yan family from Shangdu. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Yan Consortium. Mr. Yan Shouzhong is his uncle. So, everyone, think carefully—since our Young Master Yan wants this lingzhi, he’s willing to pay any price. Can any of you outbid him?”

Young Master Yan Hongyi, face flushed with arrogance, dabbed at his sweat with his handkerchief, which never left his hand—his corpulence made him prone to perspiration.

There was an uproar. Everyone had heard of the Yan Consortium’s financial might, even the Dao practitioners and martial artists were clearly moved.

At this, the woman in the cheongsam spoke.

“May I say a word? Regardless of your background, everyone has a chance to acquire this lingzhi.”

She paused, then continued.

“You’ve all seen the item. This is not an auction, so there will be no competitive bidding. Instead, we will use a sealed offer system for fairness.”

She swept her gaze around the room. “Estimate the value of this thousand-year-old lingzhi and write it on the paper provided. Whoever’s offer is closest to our preset price will win the right to purchase it. The amount is up to your own judgment.”

As she finished, the girl in white began handing out sheets of paper, each marked with a number.

Everyone was a bit puzzled by this process—it all came down to guessing the price. Still, with only one item and so many contenders, they had no real objections and began writing down their ideal offers.

Young Master Yan Hongyi snorted at this—he had no intention to guess, simply writing down a figure he believed no small shop could refuse and tossing it to Bao Hongxuan, who looked at the number in shock.

Chen Yuyi took his slip, pondered briefly, and wrote down a few words.

Curious, Zhu Shaoqi glanced over. When she saw what he had written, her expression was as if she’d just bitten into a coconut…