The two of them walked down the steps as the sky gradually darkened. Meng Qiuran walked in front, glancing back from time to time, looking as if he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to speak up.

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Meng Qiuran finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Senior,” he slowed his pace to walk side by side with Lai Li’an, “Fellow Daoist Su… why didn’t she come to the competition?”

Lai Li’an’s footsteps paused for a moment. He had long expected Meng Qiuran to ask this.

This kid had been paying attention to Su Wan’er since the first day they met. After not seeing her at the venue all day today, the fact that he managed to hold it in until now to ask was already giving him a lot of face.

“She went out to gain experience.”

“Gain experience?” Meng Qiuran was taken aback for a moment before sudden realization dawned on him. “So that’s how it is! This junior was just thinking, with Senior’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao, Fellow Daoist Su’s strength must certainly not be weak. This convention might indeed not be challenging enough for her. Going out to gain some experience would actually be more beneficial.”

Lai Li’an didn’t reply, only nodding slightly.

Meng Qiuran fell silent for a while, then sighed with obvious regret, “To be honest, this junior was quite looking forward to exchanging pointers with Fellow Daoist Su. After seeing Senior perform Alchemy that day and hearing that Fellow Daoist Su would also compete, this junior went back and poured all his energy into preparing for a long time. I didn’t expect her not to come; it feels like… like something is missing.”

After he finished speaking, he scratched his head and smiled a little sheepishly.

Lai Li’an turned his head and glanced at him.

“You seem to care a lot about this Venerable’s disciple.”

Meng Qiuran choked on these words. The smile on his face stiffened for a moment before he hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no! Senior, please don’t misunderstand! This junior just… just feels that since fellow Daoist Su is Senior’s brilliant disciple, her attainments in the Alchemy Dao must be extraordinary. It truly is a pity to miss the chance to compete against her.”

Looking at his flustered appearance, Lai Li’an suddenly found it a bit amusing. However, he didn’t continue teasing him and merely shook his head slightly.

“Alright, this Venerable was just asking casually.” Lai Li’an didn’t press the matter further and instead asked, “You just said that you went back and prepared with all your might. Were you not like this before?”

“Before?” Meng Qiuran let out a bitter smile. “To tell Senior the truth, this junior used to just coast through the days here at the Alchemy Sect Branch.”

“Oh?”

“This junior was originally a disciple of the Alchemy Sect Main Branch, and my father holds the position of Elder there. He felt that I was too undisciplined and refused to be managed, so he tossed me into the Branch Sect to gain experience.” A complex emotion flashed through Meng Qiuran’s eyes as he said this. “The Branch Sect is a small place, and there really wasn’t anyone among my peers stronger than me. With no competition, this junior naturally slacked off in comfort. My father probably wanted me to suffer a bit and temper my character, but he likely never expected that changing locations would actually suit my preferences even more.”

He paused, his voice suddenly becoming serious: “Until that day in that cave, when I saw the heavenly lightning drawn by Senior’s Alchemy…”

Meng Qiuran’s footsteps stopped for a moment. He looked up at Lai Li’an, his eyes carrying a kind of solemnity: “This junior knew then that my previous meager skills couldn’t even be considered a frog at the bottom of a well.”

Lai Li’an looked at him without speaking; he hadn’t thought this matter would have such a great impact on him.

“So you are participating in the competition this time to prove yourself?”

“Not entirely.” Meng Qiuran scratched his head and resumed that slightly frivolous smile. “For one, I want to perform well in front of Senior. By any chance Senior gets happy and gives this junior a few pointers, then this junior will have made a huge profit. Secondly… this junior really wants to spar with fellow Daoist Su. With Senior’s attainments, fellow Daoist Su’s level in Alchemy Dao is definitely far above this junior’s. This junior knows he can’t win, but at least I want to see exactly how big the gap is.”

He smiled, his voice lowering a bit: “It’s a pity she didn’t come.”

Lai Li’an was silent for a while. This kid had been muttering about Su Wan’er all the way; he truly treated her as an imaginary enemy.

If he knew that Su Wan’er was actually a Sword Cultivator who hadn’t even touched an Alchemy Cauldron, who knows what kind of expression he would have.

Of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud.

“Su Wan’er’s return date from her current experiential journey is undecided,” Lai Li’an withdrew his gaze. “However, she is not your only opponent.”

“Senior means…” Meng Qiuran whipped his head around, his eyes wide. “Who else is there?”

“Ruan Se.”

“F-fellow Daoist Ruan Se, she is your…”

“Half a disciple,” Lai Li’an took over the conversation, his tone flat. “This Venerable taught her a few things, but did not officially take her in as a disciple. Her talent is not below Su Wan’er’s, and her foundation is solid. If you let your guard down in tomorrow’s finals, I’m afraid you won’t even make it past her.”

Meng Qiuran’s mouth opened and closed, then opened again.

In today’s third round of the competition, he had seen with his own eyes how Ruan Se, despite her Spiritual Power being completely depleted, had forcibly stabilized a batch of Cold Dew Pills that was on the verge of collapse.

“You don’t need to be so surprised.” Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Lai Li’an felt secretly amused. “You should know Ruan Se’s older sister, Ruan Qin.”

“Of course I know her!” Meng Qiuran’s reaction was even greater than before. “When Senior Ruan Qin was in the Alchemy Sect, she was a true favored daughter of heaven! She entered the Golden Core stage before she was thirty, and her attainments in the Alchemy Dao were praised endlessly even by the Supreme Elder. It’s just that her personality was too cold, and she barely interacted with anyone in the Sect. When this junior was still in the Main Branch, I saw her from afar a few times, but I never dared to go up and speak to her…”

Ruan Se didn’t usually show off any achievements, so she must have been hiding her strength. Since she was Ruan Qin’s younger sister, her natural talent definitely couldn’t be bad.

“Don’t lose tomorrow,” Lai Li’an said indifferently. “Otherwise, before Su Wan’er—whom you’ve been going on about for the whole journey—even returns, you’ll have already been outdone by this Venerable’s half-disciple.”

It was as if a fire had been lit under Meng Qiuran.

“This junior understands.” Meng Qiuran took a deep breath, a blaze of fighting spirit igniting in his eyes. “Tomorrow is the finals. Since this junior is here, I have no intention of losing.”

Lai Li’an nodded slightly, saying no more. Ahead, a secluded courtyard was already faintly visible.

“Senior, we are here.” Meng Qiuran quickly stepped forward, pushed open the courtyard gate, and stepped aside. “This is Elder Pei’s private residence. It is rarely occupied, but it is kept quite clean. Senior can rest here tonight, and tomorrow morning, this junior will send someone to take you to the venue.”

Lai Li’an stepped through the gate, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard. It was much more spacious than he had imagined.

Meng Qiuran led Lai Li’an across the courtyard and pushed open the door to the main room. The room’s furnishings were simple and elegant. Under the window sat a low couch with its bedding neatly folded.

“If Senior needs anything else, please just instruct this junior.”

Lai Li’an nodded. Just as he was about to say “there is no need,” Meng Qiuran seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly added, “Right, there are several rows of medicine cabinets in the study, which Elder Pei usually uses to store spiritual herbs for alchemy. Elder Pei said that if Senior needs anything, feel free to take it and do not stand on ceremony.”

Lai Li’an’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.

“Mm.”

Seeing that he had no other instructions, Meng Qiuran bowed respectfully and exited the room.

The sound of the courtyard gate closing came from outside, followed closely by Meng Qiuran’s footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Lai Li’an stood in the room, waiting until the sound of the footsteps completely faded away before slowly turning around.

His gaze fell upon the entire wall of medicine cabinets in the study opposite.

Neatly arranged drawers ran from top to bottom and left to right. There were at least a hundred of them, each with a label attached to the outside, displaying the name and grade of the Spiritual Herb written in cinnabar.

He stood at the door and took a deep breath.

Then, he smiled.

In the judges’ lounge, Pei Changjing suddenly sneezed.

“Achoo—!”

He rubbed his nose and pulled his brocade robe a little tighter around himself. Beside him, Yin Zheng turned his head and glanced at him. “Alchemist Pei, did you catch a cold?”

“Not likely.” Pei Changjing picked up his teacup and took a sip, frowning slightly. “I just suddenly felt a chill down my spine.”

He set down the teacup, suddenly seeming to remember something, and turned to look at Meng Qiuran nearby.

“Little Meng, you said earlier that you wanted to borrow my residence. Who were you entertaining again?”

Meng Qiuran bowed respectfully, a somewhat mysterious smile on his face. “Rest assured, Martial Uncle Pei. It is an esteemed guest of mine. They will only be staying for one night and won’t cause you any trouble.”

Pei Changjing stared at him for a moment, feeling that there was something off about the smile on this kid’s face. Although Meng Qiuran was a bit frivolous, he was generally reliable and wouldn’t go so far as to scam him.

He waved his hand. “Alright, alright. Just don’t let anyone mess up my medicine cabinets.”

Meng Qiuran then cupped his hands and took his leave.

Pei Changjing watched his back disappear out the door. He still felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip, suppressing that inexplicable sense of unease.

Forget it. It’s just one night. What could possibly go wrong?