Chapter 3: The Elder Tests the Medicine—A Shocking Twist

Deep in the Hundred Medicines Repository, the scent of sandalwood wove with the pungent, raw smell of aged herbs, while fine dust motes hung suspended in the stagnant air. Lin Ye led a gaunt, black-honed hound across the threshold, his gaze sweeping over the mountainous piles of medicinal boxes. The darkness here wasn’t absolute; it was fractured into jagged pieces by the faint, ghostly glimmer refracted off countless bottles and jars.

His footsteps were light, his boots barely disturbing the cold stone tiles, yet he caught a strange anomaly in the air—a hairline crackle. It came from a jade vial on a shelf in the corner, a subtle sound of glass giving way. It was so faint it would be invisible to anyone else, like the stress fracture beneath a frozen lake, but to Lin Ye, it was crystal clear.

He furrowed his brow, tapped his fingertips lightly against his palm, and closed his eyes for three breaths. Ten Thousand Phenomena Listening stirred into action.

Within a hundred-meter radius, a torrent of microscopic life-whispers flooded his mind. He heard the creak of root systems drinking water, the tremor of insect eggs hatching, and from within that jade vial, a sharp, pained keen. It sounded like a highly toxic substance reacting violently, right on the edge of total collapse.

The keen wasn’t biological. It was the resonant clash of minerals and herbs colliding at a molecular level, carrying a frequency so high it made his teeth ache. Lin Ye opened his eyes, a shard of coldness flashing in his irises. He knew a storm was coming.

Su Wan stood in the shadows of the repository door, arms crossed, watching with cold detachment. Moonlight spilled through the high, latticed windows, catching the white of her robes and outlining her solitary, pristine silhouette. She didn’t move to join him, hiding her inner anxiety behind a mask of haughty indifference.

As the Saintess of the Heavenly Medical Pavilion, she knew Wang Ba’s temperament intimately, and she knew how the Young Pavilion Master had become increasingly volatile lately after his pills stopped working. That volatility was born of a deep-seated fear—the fear that she would be next on his list of sacrifices. If Wang Ba were still in the repository right now, that controversial black pill must have been the one he’d swallowed during a fit of rage.

She looked at Lin Ye’s back. That Expelled Disciple, treated like trash by everyone—how had he managed to make the Elders pay him such attention in just one night? Su Wan let out a light sneer, the corners of her mouth twisting in disdain, but when her gaze met Lin Ye’s calm, deep eyes, a sense of unexplainable chill crept up her spine, causing the silk handkerchief in her hand to tremble slightly.

She pulled her eyes away, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the delicate silver-thread embroidery on her sleeve cuffs. Her vigilance only deepened, terrified that those eyes would see right through her mask to the vulnerability underneath.

A roar of rage tore through the repository’s silence. Wang Ba’s body shook violently, his face as pale as paper, nails digging deep into his palms until blood beads welled up. He pointed a trembling finger at Lin Ye and screamed, “Lin Ye! I knew you were hiding dirty secrets! It must have been you, sneaking poison into my pills while I wasn’t looking!”

His voice cracked with fury, triggering a resonance in the surrounding herbs. Rows of dried botanicals seemed to shiver in the wind, rustling with dry, eerie sounds, like the hissing of a thousand angry whispers: “Treason! Poison! Danger!”

Lin Ye opened his eyes, his pupils clear and calm. Without rushing, he said, “Young Pavilion Master, if you accidentally ingested the Soul-Severing Powder, then the version of me you see in your hallucinations is actually your mortal enemy.”

Wang Ba froze. A flicker of confusion and fear crossed his face. The jade vial in his hand slipped, crashing to the floor with a sharp, piercing crack that startled a few gray sparrows perched on the beams above.

Heavy footsteps boomed from outside, each step feeling like it was trampling on everyone’s nerves. Elder Sun Dehai entered without a word, his tall, shadowy figure instantly filling the doorway. His gaze cut like a blade, sweeping over the broken glass on the floor before landing on Lin Ye.

The Elder spoke, his voice low but carrying the weight of absolute authority. “Lin Ye, dismantle that remaining pill fragment in front of everyone. I want the truth, not excuses.”

Lin Ye clasped his hands in salute, his tone flat and even. “Your disciple obeys.” He stepped forward and picked up a cracked, half-dried piece of the black pill from the shards. Black Charcoal, crouching at his feet, let out a whiny protest. The dog pressed its fur flat against the ground, seemingly warning its master of the killing intent radiating from the others.

Lin Ye ignored the warning. He took a deep breath, brought the pill fragment to his nose, and then snapped his eyes shut, pushing Ten Thousand Phenomena Listening to its limit.

The sonic signature of the pill exploded in his mind. It wasn’t human language; it was the desperate scream of a material structure collapsing. Lin Ye forced these chaotic sound waves into a comprehensible format, and sharp alerts echoed in his brain: “Toxicity overflow! Main meridian snapped! Host’s spirit compromised!”

He opened his eyes, his tongue lightly touching the pill fragment. An intense bitterness spread through his mouth, like swallowing a block of cold iron. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Elder, this pill is called the Nourishing Essence Pill, but it has been adulterated with five liang of Soul-Severing Powder. Wang Ba mistook the jade vial containing the Soul-Severing Powder for an antidote and swallowed it. The hallucinations weren’t caused by someone else poisoning him—he did it to himself.”

His logic was airtight. Every word hit like a hammer strike to Wang Ba’s chest, shattering the chaotic noise in the repository.

Wang Ba’s legs gave out. His knees hit the stone tiles with a dull thud. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, trickling down his temples. He pointed at Lin Ye, his voice trembling. “Y-You’re lying! It’s just your trickery!”

The Elder slammed his hand on the desk, the shockwave shaking dust from the shelves. It settled on Wang Ba’s shoulders like snow—white, but freezing cold to the bone. “Enough! The evidence is right there. The facts are in front of us. Wang Ba, you are confined to your quarters for reflection. You will copy the Pharmacopoeia a hundred times. No one may release you until I say so.”

Wang Ba’s face turned crimson, a mix of shame, anger, and terror. He stared dead at Lin Ye, his eyes brimming with jealousy and murderous intent. The Elder then turned to Lin Ye. “How did you identify the Soul-Severing Powder?”

Lin Ye answered respectfully. “The frequency of the fracture was abnormal. It contained the specific high-frequency vibration unique to Soul-Severing Powder, and the residual bitterness traced back to the same source as bitter-wood bark. My hearing is just a bit sharper than average; I got lucky.”

The Elder narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Lin Ye’s calm face. This old eunuch may have seemed demented to the public, but his mind was sharp as a mirror. He had long since figured out that Lin Ye wasn’t “getting lucky.” He was using a forbidden diagnostic technique that had gone extinct. It was an ancient, taboo ability that had appeared only a few times in the history of the Heavenly Medical Pavilion, each time heralding a massive upheaval.

The Elder remained silent for a moment, then said slowly, “Very good. Very good! What the Heavenly Medical Pavilion lacks are not mediocre doctors who can just prescribe medicine. What we lack is a divine craftsman who can hear poison. Effective immediately, you will stay in the Pavilion with the rank of Guest Elder. All resources you need will be allocated to you.”

Lin Ye felt a jolt internally. Guest Elder status meant freedom and protection, but it also meant plunging into deeper waters. He bowed his head to accept the order, a smile at the corner of his lips, while quickly weighing the pros and cons. The Elder’s generosity was a façade; he was testing Lin Ye’s hand and selecting a piece for the larger storm that was approaching.

Wang Ba was hauled away by two guards. As they passed Lin Ye, he broke free, glaring down at him with teeth gritted. “Lin Ye, I’ll remember this. You will regret your choice today.”

Lin Ye couldn’t hear the words in his heart, but Black Charcoal went rigid, lowering his head to the ground and growling in terror. The dog’s心声 burst in Lin Ye’s mind: “What vicious intent! Resentment is taking root inside him! Master, be careful!”

Lin Ye’s gaze cooled. He gently patted Black Charcoal’s head to soothe the dog. After Wang Ba left, the repository fell into a deathly silence. Only the Elder’s meaningful gaze remained, staring at Lin Ye like an abyss, as if to say: Young man, your part in the play has only just begun.

The night was ink-black. Pill Peak was silent, save for the wind moaning through the treetops. Lin Ye returned to his herb hut, a simple, shabby shed where a lone lamp flickered in the darkness. The oil flame swayed wildly. He was about to sleep when a faint set of footsteps woke him. They were deliberately light, but they sounded erratic with guilt.

He tilted his head. Ten Thousand Phenomena Listening caught the rapid, suppressed breathing outside the door, and the rhythmic tapping of fingertips against the wood grain—a subconscious act of extreme tension. It wasn’t a guard, nor a disciple. It was Su Wan.

She stood outside, holding a delicate wooden medicine box. The wood grain seemed to radiate chill. A flash of cold murderous intent passed through her eyes, quickly masked by feigned concern. Su Wan took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and set the box on the table with a soft click. Her voice was cold. “I heard you were punished. This is some calming incense for you. I hope you recover quickly.”

Lin Ye looked at her cold, emotionless eyes. The alarm bells in his head were ringing. This incense was wrong. He didn’t reach for it; he just stared at the box while dust motes danced in the lamplight, silent witnesses.

Su Wan didn’t wait for a response. She turned to leave. Just then, Lin Ye’s finger twitched. A thread of spiritual power, nearly imperceptible, slipped from his sleeve and probed the medicine box. Ten Thousand Phenomena Listening instantly caught the faint fluctuation from the incense inside. It wasn’t the standard agarwood and sandalwood found in calming incense. It had been mixed with trace amounts of “Bone-Eroding Lotus” powder.

The substance was colorless and odorless. If inhaled in excess, the initial symptoms were just drowsiness. But once it clashed with one’s internal yang energy, it would cause the meridians to reverse flow. In the best case, one’s cultivation would be completely destroyed; in the worst, the meridians would snap, and the person would die.

Su Wan’s step hesitated. She didn’t turn back, the corner of her mouth lifting into a faint, almost non-existent sneer. Her voice was so soft it seemed it had never existed. “Since the Elder values you, he surely doesn’t want you going to the Administration Hall with a lingering illness. Best not to use this incense. But don’t throw it away easily, either. After all, destroying evidence is a serious crime.” She stepped over the threshold, her figure melting into the night, leaving only the chill in the room.

Lin Ye stared at the medicine box sitting on the table, cold light flashing in his eyes. He didn’t touch the incense. Instead, he pulled an unassuming clay pot from under the bed, sealed the medicine box and the half-stick of incense inside it, and then stuck a talisman seal on the pot’s mouth. Spiritual power circulated, completely blocking the scent from spreading. He knew this wasn’t just a probe; it was a killing move.

Since Su Wan had dared to bring it in front of everyone, she was confident he wouldn’t dig deeper, or that even if he did, he couldn’t find solid evidence.

Suddenly, a dull thud came from outside the window, like a heavy object striking a stone wall. Lin Ye’s concentration sharpened. Ten Thousand Phenomena Listening quickly located the source—it was the forbidden area of the back mountain. Immediately after, a subtle wave of killing intent drifted in on the wind, mixed with a faint scent of blood. This wasn’t the aftermath of Su Wan’s visit; it was a deeper crisis.

The Elder had offered him the title of Guest Elder. It was protection, a shackle, and a public push toward the eye of the storm.

Lin Ye slowly stood up and pushed open the window. The night wind rushed in, making the oil lamp flame dance erratically. He looked out at the pitch-black mountain path. In the depths of his pupils, a glimmer of ghostly blue reflected. In the distance, a pair of cold eyes watched him through the layers of cloud and mist, gaze like a spitting snake, silent and deadly. The real game had only just begun.

And Lin Ye had to make his first move. No matter where that move led, there was no turning back.