"Not interested." Ye Lanshan coolly dodged Liu Chunsheng's outstretched hand and pulled Cangzhu along, preparing to bypass her and leave.
But Liu Chunsheng, still in her excited state, didn't notice. Instead, wherever Ye Lanshan went, she blocked her path.
"Miss, don't you think you should go back and freshen up properly?" Ye Lanshan couldn't stand Liu Chunsheng's overwhelming enthusiasm any longer.
"Ah~" Liu Chunsheng pulled out a mirror, saw her current appearance, and let out an earth-shattering shriek. The next second, she bolted away as if a thief were chasing her.
"Liu Chunsheng, where are you? What's wrong?" Another panicked voice came running up from behind them.
Ye Lanshan turned around and was surprised to see it was actually an acquaintance. Lan Yexin rushed over anxiously. "Excuse me, sir, have you seen a young lady in a goose-yellow dress, very beautiful?"
The three of them shook their heads in unison and replied, "No."
"Thank you." Lan Yexin said and hurried off ahead of them.
"Wait, did he just say 'Liu Chunsheng'?" Ye Lanshan suddenly recalled after he had run far away.
"I think so." Yun Di nodded uncertainly.
"So, if that's the case, then the beautiful young lady in the goose-yellow dress he mentioned is that overly enthusiastic black-faced girl covered in black smoke?" Yun Di finally caught on.
"If the lady that gentleman was looking for is that sister, then isn't he chasing in the wrong direction?" Cangzhu blinked her big eyes and said slowly.
"Yeah." Yun Di nodded.
"Let's go too." Watching Lan Yexin disappear from sight, Ye Lanshan shrugged helplessly and turned to head back.
"Hmph." On their way back, they unfortunately ran into Luo Yongwu. He snorted coldly, his sinister gaze sweeping over them as if he wanted to tear their flesh off. If looks could kill, the three of them would probably have been dead by now.
But who was Ye Lanshan? The top genius of the cultivation world, how could she care about such a look? So she calmly led Yun Di and Cangzhu past him as if he didn't exist.
Luo Yongwu was so angry his heart ached, but he couldn't publicly punish them, leaving him feeling utterly frustrated.
"Master Luo." Just then, an alchemist happened to stumble into his line of fire. He roared in fury, "Shut up!"
By this time, Ye Lanshan and the others had already returned to the Medicine Madness Courtyard.
"You're finally back. Shanshan, do you know I've been waiting for you until my flowers are almost wilting?" Sikong Feihe seemed to have been waiting in the courtyard for a long time, and now he winked at the entering Ye Lanshan.
"What are you waiting for me for?" Ye Lanshan's mouth twitched, as if she really didn't want to see him.
"For your wine, of course. The taste of that wine, tsk tsk, absolutely divine, utterly irresistible." Sikong Feihe smacked his lips, as if still reminiscing about the flavor.
"None. If you want wine, buy it yourself." Ye Lanshan rudely kicked him out of the courtyard.
At the courtyard gate, he put on a pitiful face and said, "There are thousands of fine wines in this world, but none can match the aroma of that jar of yours."
"That wine I brewed myself over many years—every jar is precious. How could I possibly give it to you?" Ye Lanshan quickly shut the courtyard door.
"Sigh!" She let out a sigh. Lately, she had been getting emotionally stirred up too easily. Was her cultivation regressing, and with it, her state of mind?
"Just give me one jar, won't you? I helped you with a huge favor—don't you want to show some gratitude?" Sikong Feihe had somehow climbed back onto the wall, his shamelessness making others see him in a new light.
Was this still the same Sikong Feihe who could kill someone with a smile while chatting?
"I already gave you one jar." Ye Lanshan looked up, her gaze calm and steady. When she fixed that look on him, he felt a chill run down his spine, as if she was plotting something.
Sure enough, the next second, she curled her lips and said slowly, "If you help me with one more favor, I'll give you another jar of wine. How about that?"
"Oh? Let's hear it?" Sikong Feihe lounged on the wall, looking at her with utter ease.
"When I'm refining the divine pill, help me lure Sikong Cheng into this Medicine Valley."
"This... it's not that I don't want to help you, but even I can't fathom my father's thoughts. I'm truly powerless." Sikong Feihe frowned. Though he wanted to help Ye Lanshan, this was something he really couldn't do.
"Oh, aren't you going to ask why I want to lure him into the Medicine Valley?" Ye Lanshan asked softly. She didn't want to hurt Sikong Feihe, but Sikong Cheng was his father after all, and he had to make a choice about whose side he was on.
Sikong Feihe looked at Ye Lanshan's saintly face bathed in sunlight and laughed. "Of course I know. You want to kill Sikong Cheng to avenge your master. Coincidentally, I've long found that old bastard annoying. Killing him would be avenging me too."
"In that case, I'm relieved. But even if you say that, I'm not giving you the wine." Ye Lanshan, though unsure of the grudge between Sikong Feihe and his father, felt at ease. But no sooner had she spoken.
The next second, a cheerful female voice knocked on the door. "Shanshan, Shanshan."
At Ye Lanshan's signal, Cangzhu opened the door. A girl in a goose-yellow dress, lively, bold, and beautiful, squeezed in.
Her oval face revealed exquisite features, especially her bright, gem-like eyes that were as captivating as jewels set in their sockets, and her cherry-red lips were as cute as ripe fruit.
She was a rare beauty, different from the typical classical beauties—she carried the innocence of a young girl and the boldness of a chivalrous woman, with an unrestrained demeanor.
Ye Lanshan looked at this unfamiliar beauty, puzzled. "Miss, may I ask what business you have with me?"
"Don't you remember me? I'm Liu Chunsheng." Liu Chunsheng herself didn't know why, but seeing Ye Lanshan's unfamiliar gaze made her heart ache a little.
"You're the girl who failed at alchemy and had her furnace explode earlier?" Ye Lanshan studied her carefully and vaguely recognized her.
"Yes, yes, that's me!" She nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"Tsk, tsk, it's only been a short while, and you've already picked up a girl." Sikong Feihe felt a pang of jealousy for some reason and started to mock her.
"How can you talk like that? 'Picked up'? I admire Shanshan's talent and came to discuss things with him." Liu Chunsheng looked up at Sikong Feihe's face, a flash of admiration in her eyes, but it was fleeting. The next second, she turned her adoring gaze back to Ye Lanshan.