"I can tell you, but I need valuable information in exchange." Ye Lanshan stated her terms.
"Ask away—there's nothing in this school I don't know about." Mu Yang was quite confident about that.
"I want to know if there's someone named Sikong Kuang in the Alchemy Branch."
Mu Yang asked, "Who? You don't mean Sikong Kuang from the Medicine Valley, do you?"
Ye Lanshan said excitedly, "Yes, that's him."
"How could he possibly be here?" Mu Yang couldn't help but double over with laughter.
Ye Lanshan's eyes dimmed, but before she could dwell on it, Mu Yang turned serious and added, "But there is a madman named Sikong in the Alchemy Branch."
"A madman?" She hadn't expected a madman to be here. "My benefactor is not a madman!" A sudden roar made them both turn to look at a pale, somewhat sickly-looking boy.
Mu Yang defended himself, "He mumbles nonsense all day and acts crazy—if that's not a madman, what is it?"
The boy's face flushed red, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word. After all, his benefactor's usual behavior was indeed different from ordinary people, but his benefactor really wasn't a madman.
"Who are you? Why do you call Sikong your benefactor?" Ye Lanshan immediately caught the key point in his words.
"My name is An Ren. If my benefactor hadn't refined the seventh-grade Soul-Calming Pill back then, I'd probably be dead by now." As if suddenly remembering how to refute Mu Yang, he slapped his thigh and said, "Right! If my benefactor were a madman, how could he have refined a seventh-grade Soul-Calming Pill?"
Hearing this, Ye Lanshan was certain in her heart that this Sikong must be Sikong Kuang. Sigh, it seemed she'd have to find a way to get into the Alchemy Branch after all.
"An Ren, I didn't expect you'd dare to come out alone. But it's perfect—I've been itching for a fight lately, so I'll take it out on you today." At that moment, an extremely arrogant voice rang out.
An Ren's face was already pale, and at the sound of that voice, it turned even whiter. Fear filled his eyes. He tried to run back, but before he could take a few steps, he fell flat on his face with a thud.
The group drew closer, and Ye Lanshan finally got a clear look at them.
Leading them was a very greasy-looking man, with the others behind him acting like his lackeys, their eyes full of sycophancy. As he approached, his gaze was immediately drawn to Ye Lanshan.
"My name is Ye Hu. May I ask what the beauty's name is?" Ye Hu's eyes flashed with admiration, then he rubbed his hands together lecherously.
Ye Lanshan frowned in displeasure. "Hey, keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. She's not someone you can mess with." Mu Yang stepped in front of Ye Lanshan and warned him.
Ye Hu laughed, "Brother Mu Yang, that's not fair. I just think this beauty looks familiar and wanted to get to know her."
"Of course I look familiar." Ye Lanshan seemed to think of something and suddenly sneered, "Do you still remember the girl you poisoned back in Chaoyang City?"
"You're Ye Lanshan? How is that possible?" Ye Hu exclaimed in shock. How could she have possibly broken that poison?
Taking advantage of his surprise, Ye Lanshan quickly grabbed An Ren and pulled him up.
Ye Hu's shock gradually turned into disdain, but just as he was about to say something, Mu Yang interrupted, "Don't call me brother. If you dare to set your sights on her, you're making an enemy of me, understand?"
Ye Hu saw no reason to offend Mu Yang over Ye Lanshan. He waved his sleeve and said, "Let's go."
"Thank you," An Ren's voice came out as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"It's nothing. You said Sikong refined a seventh-grade Soul-Calming Pill to save your life—why did he save you?"
An Ren recalled, "I got into the school because I had both water and fire elements. At first, I was fine, but later, when I went on a mission to the Netherworld, a blue thing flew at me. I couldn't dodge in time, and it hit me, knocking me unconscious. After that, my spiritual power was greatly weakened, and I kept fainting."
"Later, I fainted at my benefactor's doorstep, and he saved me. He said I had Netherworld Yin Fire in my body, which made my soul unstable, so he refined the Soul-Calming Pill to stabilize it."
"At the time, he wanted to take me as his disciple, but because my soul was unstable, he had to give up."
"I see." Ye Lanshan nodded thoughtfully. She tugged at An Ren's clothes and asked, "Can you take me to your benefactor?"
"You actually believe him?" Mu Yang hadn't expected Ye Lanshan to believe that Sikong wasn't a madman.
"How can I know if he's truly mad or faking it without seeing for myself?"
"Sigh, wait for me. I'll go with you." Mu Yang knew it was useless to argue further, so he might as well go along. After all, Ye Lanshan didn't seem to have told him that secret yet—he had to stick with her.
"We're here. This is my benefactor's place." Ye Lanshan's eye twitched as she looked at the dilapidated door. It was even more run-down than the courtyard she'd lived in back in Chaoyang City. Just as she began to doubt her guess, Sikong came out.
"Xiao Ren, who are they?" Sikong Kuang had just stepped out when he saw two unfamiliar faces.
An Ren said, "Benefactor, this young lady wants to see you."
Seeing Sikong Kuang's expression shift, Ye Lanshan quickly said, "I heard from An Ren that you refined a seventh-grade Soul-Calming Pill, so I wanted to come and see for myself."
"Hmph, what's there to see about an old geezer like me?" He was about to close the door.
"Sigh, looks like you're not fated for it. You probably won't get to see this kind of flame." Ye Lanshan sighed and turned to leave.
"What flame?" Sikong Kuang immediately opened the door and asked, "Are you an alchemist too?"
Ye Lanshan turned back calmly and said, "Didn't you say you weren't interested? Why should I tell you?"
"Who said I'm not interested? Hurry up and show me your flame."
"Hmm..." Ye Lanshan hesitated. Sikong Kuang didn't care about that. Seeing her hesitation, he immediately pulled her into the house. "It's just me here—you can safely show it now."
Without another word, Ye Lanshan released her Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
"What's this flame called?" Sikong Kuang had never seen a flame like this in his entire life.
"Red Lotus Karmic Fire," came her cool, clear voice.
"What did you say? This is the Red Lotus Karmic Fire?" Clearly, Sikong Kuang didn't believe it.
"Believe it or not, I don't care." Ye Lanshan withdrew the Red Lotus Karmic Fire and started to leave.
"Hey, hey," Sikong Kuang immediately called out to her. "How about becoming my disciple?"
"Sorry, not interested." With that, Ye Lanshan prepared to leave.
But before she could go, Sikong Kuang blocked her way.