Chapter Two: Li Hao and Lu Yao
Chapter Two: Li Hao and Lu Yao
Li Hao and Lu Yao entered the grand courtyard of the Hall of Sacred Medicine.
Lu Yao returned to the Palace of Sacred Medicine. Li Hao headed to the alchemy chamber of the Hall, sorted the spiritual herbs he had gathered, and then returned to his private little courtyard.
Li Hao’s courtyard was tranquil and elegant.
At that moment, a young girl of about ten, dressed simply and holding a few pieces of clothing, stood in the courtyard. When she saw Li Hao return, she greeted him with a smile, “Young master, you’re back?”
Li Hao nodded with a gentle smile and walked toward the room beside his bedchamber. Entering, he looked around—the room was empty. He called out to the girl preparing to wash clothes outside, “Xiao Lan, where is the little beast with twin horns I brought back yesterday?”
Xiao Lan replied, “Young master, I just applied medicine to its wound as you instructed. It seems to have healed, so I let it go.”
Li Hao often brought injured animals home, tended to their wounds with great care, and released them once they recovered. Xiao Lan had seen this many times and learned to do the same, letting the healed creatures return to freedom.
“Is that so? Well done, Xiao Lan!”
Li Hao praised her as he walked over. Xiao Lan gave a shy smile, “I just learned from you, young master.”
Standing before her, Li Hao reached out and gently smoothed the stray hairs on her cheek as she prepared to leave for the laundry.
Such a casual gesture from Li Hao brought a flush to Xiao Lan’s delicate face; her heart raced and she dared not meet his eyes. She hurried away, lost in her thoughts, to wash the clothes.
Just then, a small beast ran up to Li Hao—its head like a dragon’s, body like a horse, feet like a qilin, with a lion’s form and brilliant vermilion fur.
Its features, upon closer look, were somewhat fierce. The little beast stood as tall as Li Hao’s waist, and it affectionately rubbed its head against him.
“My friend, didn’t Xiao Lan just let you go? Why are you back?” Li Hao asked in curiosity.
The little beast shook its head and rubbed against Li Hao again. Li Hao understood its meaning.
“So, you’re saying you don’t want to leave? You went out today to look for me, didn’t you?”
The beast nodded its head, affirming Li Hao’s guess.
“Since you wish to stay, then remain here. I’m going to find Yaoyao and learn from Grandpa Hundred Herbs. You can keep Xiao Lan company while I’m gone.”
Having said this, Li Hao left the courtyard and made his way toward the Palace of Sacred Medicine.
The little beast nodded, and Xiao Lan’s heart was touched.
In a room exquisitely decorated, a beautiful lady in a yellow gown sat before a dressing table. Just finished with her toilette, she was about to rise when the door was pushed open by a stunning little girl. The lady sat back down, giving up the idea of standing. The girl entering was none other than Lu Yao, who had just gone out to look for Li Hao. This dignified lady was Lu Yao’s mother, Qin Ya.
Seeing her daughter return, Qin Ya asked, “Yaoyao, has your brother Li Hao come back?”
Lu Yao answered obediently, “He has, Mother, but…”
Qin Ya noticed her daughter’s strange expression and asked gently, “What is it?”
It took Lu Yao a great deal of courage to utter a single sentence:
“Today, brother Li Hao spoke ill of me, so I bit him. Will he not want to play with me anymore?”
Qin Ya smiled—a mother’s loving smile, the most beautiful in the world. She asked with curiosity, “What did your brother Li Hao say about you?”
Qin Ya knew Li Hao’s character well; he had grown up under their care. She could recall every mark on him. Though he often seemed carefree and unrestrained, when he was serious, he always excelled. Intelligent and likable, he would never bully her precious daughter for no reason. Qin Ya knew this was merely childish mischief.
Lu Yao wished to confide her grievance but felt embarrassed, her heart conflicted. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to tell her mother.
“He said I was fierce, rough, and ugly, that no one would want me in the future. I was so angry I bit him.”
Qin Ya found it deeply amusing. Such things belonged to childhood; everyone had a time of innocence, and looking back, those carefree years were truly happy. Qin Ya’s thoughts slipped into memories of her own girlhood.
Lu Yao, seeing her mother silent, could not guess her thoughts.
After a while, Qin Ya returned from her reverie and gently told her daughter, “My Yaoyao is gentle, considerate, delicate, and very beautiful. Your brother Li Hao was joking—he meant the opposite. Besides, Li Hao isn’t the sort to hold a grudge.”
Li Hao had grown up with them, and in Qin Ya’s heart, he was generous and open-minded.
Hearing her mother’s words, Lu Yao was visibly delighted, her spirits lifted. “Is that true, Mother?”
As they spoke, a strikingly handsome young boy entered the room—destined to become a fine young man. It was Li Hao.
After storing the herbs he’d gathered in the outer alchemy chamber, he had come to find Lu Yao to visit the Doctor of Hundred Herbs together, and found mother and daughter chatting.
Li Hao greeted Qin Ya politely, “Good morning, Aunt Qin. You look especially beautiful today.”
Hearing the compliment, Qin Ya was pleased, her tone half-indulgent, half-amused. “Who taught you to be so glib at your age?”
Without a thought, Li Hao replied, “Grandpa Hundred Herbs taught me.”
Qin Ya was left speechless by his earnest answer, thinking perhaps Li Hao had been led astray somewhere. She hurriedly sent the little rascal off, “Go study well with your grandpa.”
Li Hao and Lu Yao, hearing this, went straight to the inner alchemy chamber to find the Doctor of Hundred Herbs. Li Hao had just visited the outer chamber, which was over a thousand square meters and stored countless spiritual herbs of all attributes. The inner chamber, also vast, held all manner of alchemical vessels.
In truth, what Li Hao had said just now was not exactly what the Doctor of Hundred Herbs had taught. The doctor’s advice was: when speaking with others, offer kind words and praise. As the saying goes, a kind word warms the harshest winter; cruel words chill the height of summer. Li Hao felt that complimenting Aunt Qin was in line with this, so he claimed, “Grandpa Hundred Herbs taught me.”
On the way, Lu Yao said to Li Hao, “Brother Li Hao, I’m sorry. I won’t bite you anymore.”
Li Hao had soaked in precious medicinal baths since childhood, giving him an extraordinary capacity to heal. Coupled with a unique power within his body that strengthened his flesh and soul, he was far stronger than ordinary people, even though he had not yet studied the arts of refining body and soul. Though Lu Yao, in her anger, had bitten him quite hard, she hadn’t truly injured him; he’d only felt a momentary numbness. From birth, Li Hao had survived tribulations and, as the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Li Hao was astute and recognized his own fault; though he had spoken carelessly, the listener took it to heart, and for a girl, the blow was even greater. Like an older brother comforting his sister, he gently patted Lu Yao’s head and said,
“It’s all right, Yaoyao. It was brother Li Hao’s fault just now. I won’t tease you again. From now on, I’ll always protect you.”
Though Li Hao was only twelve, and Lu Yao ten, they had grown up in a privileged environment, learning things most could only dream of, and receiving an education far beyond the ordinary. Both were gifted, able to memorize everything at a glance, and quick learners. If they didn’t understand something, they pondered it patiently or humbly sought guidance from their elders, which made them far more mature than most children their age.
Lu Yao replied, “Brother Li Hao, you’re wonderful.”
She skipped ahead as they walked, chatting, “Brother Li Hao, you said I was ugly and not pretty. Does that mean you don’t like me?”
Li Hao answered seriously, “No, I was just teasing you; Yaoyao is the prettiest.”
Lu Yao pressed on, “Brother Li Hao, you haven’t answered all my questions!”
Li Hao didn’t mind, “Brother Li Hao likes Yaoyao best.”
Their affection was pure and innocent, not the love of man and woman, but the simple fondness of childhood.
Lu Yao asked, “Brother Li Hao, will I ever be as beautiful as Mother?”
“Of course,” Li Hao replied without hesitation.
He thought a moment, then added, “When you grow up, you’ll be even more beautiful than Aunt Qin.”
As they walked, servants bowed them along the way, and the two children chattered about all sorts of curious topics.
Inside the inner alchemy chamber, the Doctor of Hundred Herbs had already arrived. Today was Lu Yao and Li Hao’s first day learning alchemy from him in the inner chamber; he had instructed them to arrive at the hour of Chen the day before.
The alchemy chamber was a vital place in the Hall of Sacred Medicine. Apart from the Doctor of Hundred Herbs himself, no one else could enter without his approval. The entrance was guarded by powerful, inscrutable wardens, some human, many of various races. Within were myriad formidable formations, each requiring a special seal to activate.
Most of these guards had come from other lands. Ninety-five percent of the people in the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain relied on alchemy for their livelihood—they could be called medicine cultivators or pill cultivators, whose strength increased with medicinal elixirs. Only a rare few practiced the arts of refining body and soul. Those who came from outside to seek healing had to pay an equivalent price in exchange for treatment.
Thus, these guards were once outsiders who had come seeking cures and, by the domain’s rules, had to serve as guardians for three hundred to nine hundred years, depending on the severity of their ailment. Minor cases served three hundred years, moderate six hundred, severe nine hundred.
Ordinary people lived four to five hundred years, but for cultivators, longevity grew with their power—a thousand years for a minor advancement, ten thousand for a major breakthrough, and so on. For these powerful beings, such service was but a fleeting moment. Thanks to these rules, though the locals were rarely skilled in refining body and soul, the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain never lacked for strong defenders. These laws allowed the domain to stand firm in the vast cosmos.
Refining body and soul was the general term for such cultivation among humans. Most people here practiced the way of medicine; in the Thunder Domain, the beings cultivated the laws of lightning; in the Fire Domain, the laws of flame. Each region’s laws were different, so too were their paths and powers, though the cultivation realms were the same. Humans, as the spirit of all things, could choose any law to follow.
The alchemy chamber was the heart of the Lu Jia Mountain Star Domain. Few could enter the outer chamber; the inner chamber was even more exclusive, reserved only for the Doctor’s direct descendants of extraordinary talent.
Li Hao and Lu Yao walked for about a quarter of an hour to reach the entrance of the inner alchemy chamber. The protective formation slowly faded, then vanished before their eyes. The Doctor of Hundred Herbs called from within,
“Hao’er, Yaoyao, come in.”
Li Hao and Lu Yao answered and stepped inside.