"Xingyu, I want to ask you to help me get the cure for Wu Yi," said Song Yehai solemnly. "Like you said, getting the fives poisons is going to extremely dangerous and can potentially cost our lives. And so is making the Five Coloured Poison. But I still hope you're willing to help me save my disciple's life in spite of the risks."
Meng Qi fell on his knees next to Song Yehai. "Grandmaster Wu, please save my martial sister."
"Of course I'm going to help you save her!" assured Wu Xingyu. "Yehai, Meng Qi, please, there's no need for you to be so courteous with me. Even if you didn't ask, I still intend to save her no matter how dangerous it could be. So there is no need for you two master and disciple to kneel before me like this."
A heavy weight in the pit of Song Yehai's stomach lifted. Just as he rose back onto his feet, a feeling of deep guilt for involving Wu Xingyu into this perilous mission clashed with his gratitude towards Wu Xingyu. Exhaling a small breath, he repressed these conflicting thoughts and shifted his focus on saving Wu Yi.
"Until we can gather all the poisons we'll let Wu Yi have some Half Sun Pills to take," said Wu Xingyu.
"Grandmaster Wu, do you happen to have the pills?" asked Meng Qi.
"No, but they're not difficult to make. I can write down the recipe. May I borrow a brush and paper?"
From the shelves Meng Qi pulled out a pile of blank papers. Song Yehai took the top paper out and passed it along with a brush to Wu Xingyu. At the table that was covered with books, Meng Qi placed the papers down and cleared a space for Wu Xingyu to write. He dabbed the tip on the wet ink stone and jotted down the ingredients and the methodology.
"Here you go," placing the brush down Wu Xingyu passed the paper to Meng Qi.
"Wow, this is easy to make," commented Meng Qi from a cursory skim. "But why are all the ingredients in halves?"
"The Half Sun Pill used to just be known as the Sun Pill," explained Wu Xingyu. "It was used for certain ailments caused by excessive yin energy, and as an effective spiritual energy booster. However, one pill will always eventually cause the taker to overheat. To solve this problem, its ingredients simply got halved, but so did its effectiveness. Over time, it became unpopular, and so most of the newer generations of cultivators wouldn't have heard of it. Oh, which reminds me. Wu Yi absolutely cannot take more than two Half Sun Pills a day," he quickly added the restriction at the bottom corner of the recipe.
"Meng Qi, make sure to also give this to Doctor Zhen when she gets back," instructed Song Yehai.
"Yes master," Meng Qi folded the paper and safe-pocketed it.
"The Fire Viper is owned by the Snake Bride," said Wu Xingyu. "And the Green Spiders are kept by the Green Spider Lady. These two ghosts of the Three Ghosts Sect are both famous for being extremely murderous, especially of men. And the Iron-Clawed Scorpion is from in the most dangerous deserts of the west. I'll need to head out to retrieve them."
"Grandmaster Wu," intervened Meng Qi.
"Yes?"
"Wouldn't it be too dangerous to go by yourself?"
"I will go with you," said Song Yehai.
Wu Xingyu and Meng Qi both turned to Song Yehai at nearly the same time.
"With the two of us, we'll have a higher chance of getting the poisons."
Wu Xingyu nodded. "Looks like this is the best arrangement. Then let's head to the Caves of Passion first. The Snake Bride has a better temper than the Green Spider Lady. I think we should be able to get her poison pretty quickly if we convince her first."
"What about the Snow Toad?" asked Meng Qi.
"Sect Leader will bring one to us," answered Song Yehai.
"We have Snow Toads at the Sea Dragon Sect?"
"Tomorrow morning, go find the Sect Leader and ask him to bring a Snow Toad here."
"Yes master," said Meng Qi, pushing aside his shock that his sect kept such a deadly creature.
Wu Yi let out a few coughs in her sleep and then rolled almost over the edge. Song Yehai rushed to stop her, placing her back in the middle of the bed and pulled up the displaced blankets to her chin. With a gentle hand, he brushed aside the strands of hair that dangled over her face and latched on the corners of her eyes and lids, and then felt her forehead.
"Master, should you take Han Lu with you?" suggested Meng Qi. "Maybe he can help you and Grandmaster Wu on your journey."
Song Yehai shook his head. "Han Lu is afraid of spiders."
"Oh," Meng Qi, nonplussed, said.
"It's not a good idea to leave at this time," said Wu Xingyu, seeing that nightfall had cloaked the skies. "To reach the Caves of Passion from here will take almost an entire day. We should leave tomorrow morning."
"If Han Lu takes us, it'll be much shorter, and then he can make his way back once we get to the caves."
"I'll have to trouble you to let me stay in one of the guest rooms for tonight," Wu Xingyu fiddled through his sleeves. "I don't know if I enough much money left on me to rent a night."
Meng Qi chuckled, "Grandmaster Wu, you don't have to worry about that. The Sea Dragon Sect never charges guests invited to stay over."
"If you don't mind, you can stay at the Cold Night Hall tonight," Song Yehai offered.
Meng Qi widened his eyes at Song Yehai, his expression blatantly surprised by Song Yehai's hospitality. The Moon Dragon's reclusive reputation meant that the Cold Night Hall rarely permitted outsiders to visit.
"That would be great," Wu Xingyu accepted gleefully. "Thank you."
"Meng Qi, go make the rice," ordered Song Yehai. "And some porridge for Wu Yi."
"Yes Master."
"Need me to help with anything?" asked Wu Xingyu.
"No need, but thank you," declined Meng Qi politely.
"I can help you with the cooking."
"Oh, but you're a guest here. You don't need..."
"You and your master are already letting me stay for free. I can't possibly just sit by and do nothing now?"
"I understand, but..."
Wu Xingyu smiled cordially. "No need to be so courteous with me. I'll cook some delicious dishes for all of us."
Facing Wu Xingyu's earnest insistence, Meng Qi could only relent. "Alright then. Come with me, right this way."
Wu Xingyu followed him to the kitchen where he scoured for where the utensils were kept and the food was stored. After bringing out the ingredients he expertly chopped up a ginger, onion and cabbages into thin, even slices before boiling a pot of rice grains. When thick, foamy bubbles simmered on the surface he added the sliced roots and leaves and sprinkled a pinch of salt before closing the lid and, with the purple fan he had used to fight Mo Xuecheng's puppet, fanning the flames under the stove.
"Ginger and onions in porridge?" cried Meng Qi, aghast.
"Don't panic, it's not for you," assured Wu Xingyu.
Meng Qi returned to washing the vegetables. His exclamation of what Wu Xingyu was cooking was meant to hide his actual shock of what Wu Xingyu was doing with his holy weapon, using it like an everyday tool.
The flames intensified from the erratic airflow. Wu Xingyu closed his fan and stored it back in his sleeves. Rolling them up past his shoulders he went to skin the fish of its scales. Adding a thin layer of oil in the pan he fried it lightly until the smell of ginger drew him away and to the porridge. Lifting the pot, he gave the thick, watery substance a quick taste and then scooped a bowl upon determining that it was satisfactory.
"Meng Qi, keep an eye on the stove," instructed Wu Xingyu before bringing the bowl of porridge to Wu Yi, who had awakened in a daze with a pale face and dry lips. Her pulse was being measured by Song Yehai.
"Wu Yi, how are you feeling?"
"Master?" she weakly tried to smile but was overcome with delirium that nearly caused her to faint back to sleep until a white figure caught her attention.
"Wu Yi, eat something before you sleep, alright?" Wu Xingyu brought the porridge over just as Song Yehai helped Wu Yi sit up.
"Sir, you are..."
"I am Wu Xingyu from the White Phoenix Sect."
"Wu Xing... oh!"
As though triggered by social etiquette engraved in her bones Wu Yi immediately tried to get on her feet to respectfully greet the grandmaster when a lurch in her stomach kept her from moving. Her face grimaced a slight as she repressed the urge to retch. Song Yehai gently held her down and pushed his thumb into her palm with enough force to break through her metacarpals. Kneading that spot in circles he mitigated the nausea.
"No need to get up to greet me," said Wu Xingyu. "Here, have some porridge while its hot."
Song Yehai stood aside, giving room for Wu Xingyu to sit down on the bed and spoon-feed Wu Yi. "It's going to taste bad, so please bear with it for now."
At the first taste Wu Yi wanted so badly to spit out what was in her mouth. By the fourth spoon, she got used to the intense spiciness.
"The Colourless Poison will make you find every food you eat unnaturally repulsive," explained Wu Xingyu. "Hopefully the ginger in this porridge will help mitigate the nausea, and the onions will relieve you from any stomachaches you might have. I think having a bowl of this kind of porridge just once a day will be enough to keep you from feeling constantly nauseous."
"Grandmaster Wu, I think your foods are done!" Meng Qi alerted from the kitchens.
"Oh, alright! Yehai, here," Wu Xingyu passed the bowl to Song Yehai and headed back to the kitchen.
"Master, I've let you down," mumbled Wu Yi regrettably. "I couldn't save the town from that demon Mo Xuecheng."
Song Yehai finished feeding Wu Yi the last remains of the porridge before popping straight into her mouth something hard yet incredibly sweet and sugary that softened the longer it was in her mouth. He promptly scrunched up the candy wrapper in his hands before laying Wu Yi down on her back and gently stroked her head.
"Wu Yi, you and Meng Qi have both done very well. It was I who arrived too late to keep you from being poisoned. I'm sorry."
"Master."
"Don't worry. Xingyu and I will definitely get the cure for your poison. Get some sleep."
Consoled, Wu Yi smiled softly before closing her eyes.
Song Yehai blew out the candles that lit up the room and closed the door. He rolled up the scrolls and closed the books that littered the table, storing them all back to their places in the shelves by the time Wu Xingyu and Meng Qi came out with three plates to go with their bowls of rice, one with tofu topped with caviar all drenched in soya sauce, one with crispy salmon cooked to the bones, and one with cabbage slices flavoured with chilli, oyster sauce and sesame seeds.
"Grandmaster Wu, your cooking looks delicious!" praised Meng Qi as he stared hungrily at the scrumptious dishes placed together on the table. "Normally Wu Yi and I never have more than a bowl of rice soup for dinner."
"These are just some basic dishes I learnt from an inn," said Wu Xingyu modestly.
They sat down around the table and began to dine. Song Yehai had a bowl of the ginger porridge instead of rice. Meng Qi tended to grab only the cabbage slices. Both master and student ate very quietly. Only the occasional taps of the chopsticks against the bowls and plates filled the silence.
"Meng Qi, you haven't eaten any fish yet," noted Wu Xingyu. "Do you not like fish?"
"Oh no, it's not that," replied Meng Qi quickly. He was holding himself back until both Wu Xingyu and Song Yehai had grabbed a piece themselves first.
Song Yehai stabbed his chopsticks into the untouched fish and picked out a large, tender piece to place in Meng Qi's bowl. "No need to wait for us. You have the first piece."
"Thank you master," said Meng Qi after a moment of surprise at this gesture. Judging from his reaction, Wu Xingyu surmised that it was not often for Song Yehai to openly show his care to his disciples. Yet it seemed as though he didn't need to for Meng Qi and Wu Yi to realise just how much their stoic master discretely cared for them.
Once dinner was over Meng Qi took the initiative to wash all the dishes himself.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you, Yehai," said Wu Xingyu.
"Go ahead."
"Why does the Sea Dragon Sect have Snow Toads?"
Song Yehai's gaze fell. "It's a long story of the sect."
Wu Xingyu waited patiently for him to continue speaking.
"Before my senior martial brother became the sect leader, we had a lot of elders under the former sect leader who secretly engaged in unsavoury practices. One of them was breeding Snow Toads by forcing normal toads to eat Crystal Bees, and then they prepared the toads to eat themselves to increase their spiritual energy. But due to the toad's toxicity most of them ended up suffering incurable qi deviations, becoming violent, murderous and insane. Some have even died from it."
"How did your elders come to know about the practice of feeding Crystal Bees to toads and preserving their lives to turn them into Snow Toads?"
Song Yehai shook his head. "That I don't know. I discovered that only the flesh of the Snow Toad when consumed is toxic. The mucus on their skin has anti-inflammatory properties. I convinced my senior martial brother to keep a few alive for further research. We've kept them completely sealed off in the most restricted areas of the sect."
Wu Xingyu and Song Yehai talked on until they realised the late hour. The lamplight in the adjacent room was still flickering. Meng Qi was asleep with his head on the books and scrolls scattered open all over the table. Wu Xingyu bookmarked the pages before closing the books and piling them into one neat stack. Song Yehai carried Meng Qi to the bed and covered the blankets over him.
"You've really taught your students well," commended Wu Xingyu.
"I didn't do much," returned Song Yehai modestly. "They are both very sensible."
"How old are they?"
"Wu Yi is fourteen. Meng Qi is fifteen."
"Fourteen?" whispered Wu Xingyu.
With a wave of his sleeves Song Yehai extinguished the lamplight. The grandmasters walked out of Meng Qi's room and into Song Yehai's personal room. Wu Xingyu scanned around and found a bookshelf mostly stuffed with medical books, a clothes rack and a single-sized bed that had four poles holding up a canopy.
"If you don't mind, you'll have to share a room with me for tonight," said Song Yehai.
"Alright."
"We'll also have to share a bed."