Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 77: Xuan Cheung
“…” The Pill Master geniuses all stood there with their head down trying to figure out the true meaning behind that question.
‘Such a simple, yet profound question… As expected from someone so powerful.’
‘Is the truth behind his words? But what meaning do these three words have???’
‘I have never had such a hard time answering a question!’
‘Damn, this is not some ancient riddle, yet why can’t I answer it?!?’
None of them were able to make up their mind!
‘Who’s going to answer first?’ They began looking around to see everybody there doing the same thing.
Guang Zhou the 18-Year-Old Genius was opening and closing his mouth seeming like he cannot make a decision, ‘Who am I? Does he mean what I want to be if he accepts me? Ah! That’s it! He wants to know what kind of person I want to be! But wait! What if I’m wrong?! I can’t risk it, it’s too risky— No! If one of them answers before me and it happened to be the same answer as mine, what will I do if he was right?! I’ll have to live my life regretting such a choice! Then I must go and— No! What if I was really wrong?! I’ll have to live my life regretting that choice too! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Answering and not answering are both as risky! I must wait—- Aaaahhhh! Fuck it!’
“I have my answer!” He suddenly shouted, scaring the hell out of the others who were too focused on thinking.
Tian Yi looked at him and said, “Oh? Then let me hear it.”
“With Sir as my Master, I will inevitably become the World’s next best Pill Master! So that is who I want to become! ” He said with confidence.
“…” The place turned silent again.
‘He said ittttt!!!!!’ The others cried out in their head. All of them had already thought of that, but their guts had told them not to say it!
They nervously waited for Tian Yi’s reply.
“…..” But a response did not come.
“…?” Guang Zhou was confused. Was that it? Did he answer correctly? Or did was he wrong?
“Sir, did I answer correctly?” He had to ask that question no matter what.
“Hm? Oh, I’ll let you all know once I hear everyone’s answer,” He said.
‘What?!?!?!?!?’ They all cried inside their heart.
‘Are you trying to kill us with stress?!?’ Invisible tears poured out of their eyes.
“…”
“…”
The place had turned dead silent once again.
‘Damn, that did not help out at all! How are we supposed to know who was right and wrong— Ah!’ One of them suddenly realized something.
“Sir, I have a question,” He said.
“What is it?”
“What if more than one person answered correctly?”
‘!!!’ The rest of them became enlightened.
“Then I will just choose one of you,” Tian Yi said calmly.
“!!!” An enlightened occurred once again.
‘This means that whoever gives the most profound answer will become his Disciple!’ They thought.
“…”
“…”
They began thinking again.
“Little Meng Xiang, can I ask you something?” Xuan Cheung suddenly walked over.
“What is it, Senior?” She looked at him.
“Where did you get that Cauldron? The one you used to subdue that Enraged Divine Flame,” He had to ask her this question no matter what or else he won’t be able to go to sleep from now on.
“Big Brother gave it to me as a gift,” She answered truthfully.
‘I knew it…’ He had somehow expected such an answer. He was aware that she was only a servant, yet how did a mere servant obtain something that every Pill Master in the World would kill for? The only answer was her Master; Tian Yi had given it to her!
“Tian Yi…” He looked at him with pleading eyes.
“That Cauldron? A servant of mine back at home used to use it for tea brewing, and I fancied it, so I asked him if I could have it,”
‘A servant…? Tea brewing…? One of the three Ancient Divine Cauldron?’ Xuan Cheung could feel his veins bulging, and blood was also trying to rush out of his throat.
What kind of household did he live in for a servant to have such a Treasure?! No, forget that! That servant used it for tea brewing?! That’s Blasphemy towards Cauldrons and a slap in the face to every Pill Masters around the World!
“Ah, just to be clear, I did not force him or anything! He gave it to me with a broad smile on his face, and he even rejected the Treasure I was going to give him saying how it was only suitable for tea brewing, and he had other substitutes.”
He thought Xuan Cheung was angry at him for taking something from his servant, and he did not want to be branded as someone who stole from his servants.
*Cough*
Xuan Cheung finally could not hold back the blood and coughed out a mouthful of blood. That last sentence from Tian Yi’s mouth had done the killing blow.
“Dear!” “Pill Grandmaster!”
The geniuses were forced to stop thinking after seeing him puke out blood.
“I-I’m fine…” He held up his palm, telling them to stay away.
“Tian Yi, I am not shameless enough to ask you to sell that to me, but can you fulfill my last wish? C-C-Can I t-touch it?” His mouth stuttered, and he looked at him with begging eyes. He had never shown such a face even to his own wife!
“Uhh… Meng Xiang,” He looked at her. That Cauldron belonged to her now, so he will leave her to decide.
“Un.” Meng Xiang nodded and took out the palm-sized Taintless Jade Cauldron to hold it in front of Xuan Cheung.
“Ahhh… Ahhh… Ahhhh…” Xuan Cheung had started crying in a quiet tone!
He slowly cupped his trembling hands around the Taintless Jade Cauldron and caressed it like it was his own baby.
“It’s so smooth… What beautiful textures… Ahhh, what a Heavenly feeling… Ahhhh…” He continued to cry.
“…”
“…”
The surrounding people stared at him with wide eyes. A Pill Grandmaster threw away his pride and was crying in front of Juniors while caressing a Cauldron?!?! What the hell was going on?! To be able to make a Pill Grandmaster cry, what kind of unique Cauldron was it?!
None of them knew that the Cauldron that was in Xuan Cheung’s hands was one of the three Ancient Divine Cauldrons! If they did, they would’ve already begun begging to touch it!
“…” Meng Xiang silently looked at the crying Xuan Cheung. She has seen someone crying just like that before. It was her mother. She had seen her mother cry many times before when her father would bring meat back for dinner.
She could tell that his feelings for the Cauldron were legit, and was not faked. Such strong feeling towards a Cauldron was rare even for a Pill Master.
‘He really likes it… Just like—’ She slowly turned her head to look at the dumbfounded Tian Yi. Her eyes started glittering like never before. She does not know why, but she felt the need to look at him.
‘Big Brother… Tian Yi…’ She suddenly said his name in her heart.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
Her heart began beating faster and faster. The feeling of warm water flooded her heart, and she could feel electricity running through her body. Unaware of what that feeling was, she became confused at what was happening to her body. Although she was a bit scared at first, she did not freak out. It was an unexpectedly euphoric feeling, and she began to like it more and more.
‘Tian Yi… Tian Yi…’ She continued to repeat his name inside her heart, and the more she said his name, the more the euphoric feeling increased.
*****
“Thank you, little Meng Xiang, for fulfilling my final wish. Now I can die with a smile on my face,” He reluctantly handed her back the Taintless Jade Cauldron.
“…”
“Hmm?” However, the small little hand he was expecting to take it back did not come.
He looked at her to see her staring at Tian Yi with a red face.
“Little Meng Xiang?” He called out to her again.
‘Ah?!?!’ Meng Xiang finally woke up, but it was at the cost of a skipping a few heart beats. She thought her heart had almost jumped out of her mouth!
“Yes?!?” She answered with a panic.
“Here you go, your Cauldron,” Xuan Cheung held the Cauldron in front of her again.
“Un,” She took it back and saw that he was going to cry again because he had to give it back.
“…”
She looked at the palm-sized Cauldron in her hands and then back to the nearly crying Xuan Cheung.
Finally, she looked at Tian Yi, “Ti— Big Brother,” her heart had almost jumped out again! She almost called out his name by accident!
“Hm?” Tian Yi looked at her with a calm face.
“…” Her face began turning red again, but she pushed it back and said, “Am I allowed give this thing to Senior?”
“Huh?!?!?” Xuan Cheung’s eyes popped out of his eye sockets. He did not dare to believe his ears! What did she just say?!
“That Cauldron became yours the moment I gave it to you. You can do whatever you want to it,” Tian Yi said with a gentle smile on his face. Even he did not expect her to say something like that, especially not with all the care she gave to it.
“Un. Thank you, Big Brother,” She said before turning back to the shocked Xuan Cheung.
“Here you go, Senior, this is for you,” She said in a childish voice before holding her palms up to offer him the Ancient Divine Cauldron that she was holding.
“………….” But he did not pick it up. Instead, he stared at her with eyes so big she thought it was going to pop.
“A-A-Are y-y-you s-s-sure?!” He stuttered nonstop.
“Un.” She nodded.
“B-But…. Isn’t this precious to you?” He asked.
“It is very precious to me. This Cauldron is the first gift that Big Brother had given me after all,” She said calmly.
“T-Then why? Why give it to me?” Xuan Cheung wanted to just snatch it away without asking all these questions, but his character and pride had told him otherwise.
“I don’t know, but I just feel that I should give it to you,” She told him the truth.
She honestly did not know why she was willing to give away such a precious treasure to her, but whenever she thought about it, it did not bother her one bit. Instead, it even made her feel happy.
“…” Xuan Cheung could not believe her reason for giving him such a precious Treasure.
‘All because she felt like she should….?’ Tears started flowing down his face again.
“Sniff… You’re such a good girl… Sniff… Thank you… Thank you very much…” He thanked her while reaching out for the Cauldron on her hand.
His hand was trembling nonstop. However, it not excitement that was making him shake, but fear. Afraid that this was all just a dream and he will wake up after picking up the Cauldron. Afraid that he had actually passed out from happiness during the time he was caressing the Cauldron.
*Touch*
The moment he felt the coldness on that Cauldron, an electric shock traveled through his entire body.
“Ahhh… It’s not a dream… Hahaha…” He laughed with a weak tone. He could feel the coolness from that Cauldron the moment he touched it, and it was that coolness that refreshed his mind, telling him that he’s not dreaming!
He carefully held the Cauldron like holding a baby, afraid that he might drop it.
“Thank you… Thank you…” He suddenly fell to his knees and kowtowed towards Meng Xiang.
“…”
“…”
Everybody there that was already shocked from him acting like a child was shocked even more! Their eyes were ten inches away from their face, and their jaw was nowhere to be found as they watched a Pill Grandmaster kowtow to a little girl!
“Senior, please get up,” Meng Xiang propped him back up to his feet.
*****
Many minutes later, Xuan Cheung had finally calmed down, but his eyes were still red from crying. He had also apologized for showing them such an embarrassing sight, which the people there said not to worry because they didn’t see anything.
“…” Tian Yi had been silently watching Meng Xiang from the side with a deep gaze. Nobody could tell what was on his mind, but one thing was for sure— that he was in a great mood.
“Meng Xiang!” He called out to her.
“Yes, Big Brother?” She ran to him.
“I’ll give you another gift later, and I’ll even let you choose, so don’t cry tonight, “He laughed.
“Really?! Yay!” She started jumping for joy.
“Okay, now… Hey, you guys got your answer to my question yet? I have somewhere to be, so I cannot wait too long,” He reminded the geniuses about what they were doing.
“Ah! Sorry, Sir, but what just happened had distracted me…”
“Me too, I didn’t have time to think…”
“5 Minutes. If you cannot answer my question within the next 5 minutes, then don’t blame me for not accepting a Disciple,” He held up five fingers.
‘5 Minutes?!?!?!?!’ They began to panic and stopped caring about anything else besides trying to figure out the meaning to his question.
5 Minutes— that was all the time they had to change their life forever.
A note from BaiSiwa
Release Dates –
Number One Under Heaven – M/W/F Tokyo Time Zone
Legacy: God’s Inheritance(litRPG + Xianxia MC) – Sunday Tokyo Time Zone
The dates will probably change as Legacy grows, but we will see how that goes.
Thank you very much to these of you who are subscribed to my Patreon. There is not much I can offer you other than Chapters before their Release Dates.