Chapter 3152 — Confessing the Truth

"Not that, no—only their friend," Ancestor Xuanzhen shook his head. "His surname is Sun, and he too is a formidable figure; he can bind cultivation and science together. I hear he has devoted himself to researching something that can store the world's spiritual qi and carry it on one's person for cultivation at any time. Whether he succeeded, I cannot say. I met them only once, and we have not crossed paths since."

"I see... Then master and disciple are truly remarkable. But when the Golden Steel Twins learned you were of the Five Luminaries Sect, did they not come looking for trouble there?" Tian Chan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Heh heh, by then the Golden Steel Twins had already vanished, and I made their acquaintance under the name of a wandering rogue cultivator..." Here Ancestor Xuanzhen grew a little embarrassed. "Tian Chan, do you think your master is too cowardly?"

"Of course not. He who knows the times is a hero. Given how things stood then, no one could match the Golden Steel Twins, so doing as you did was also a way of protecting the Five Luminaries Sect," Tian Chan said with a shake of her head.

"Enough, let us not speak of it. That little girl from those days must surely be grown now—a little younger than you, I would guess. Who knows whether there will be a chance to meet again. But I truly wish to know: did Wei Zhao think up this medicinal cauldron himself, or did someone help him?" Ancestor Xuanzhen sighed. It was not that he had never thought of asking Chief Bai, but he could not. Ancestor Xuanchen wanted to reverse-engineer and copy this first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron; were Ancestor Xuanzhen to raise the question, Chief Bai might well take it as fishing for information. So Ancestor Xuanzhen could only hold his tongue.

As for informing Chief Bai that Ancestor Xuanchen meant to copy the cauldron—there was no point in that. Told or not, Xuanchen would do it all the same, and he did it under the grand banner of serving the Five Luminaries Sect's interests, which left Ancestor Xuanzhen no way to make that call either.

The two were speaking when suddenly they both fell silent at once, for someone was coming.

"It is Xiao Taohong," Tian Chan said, recognizing her footsteps.

Sure enough, a knock came at the door, along with Xiao Taohong's voice: "Young Sect Master, are you free? There is something I would like to discuss with you."

"Come in, Xiao Taohong," Tian Chan said at once. Ancestor Xuanzhen was no outsider, so she saw no need for discretion.

"Young Sect Master, I hope I am not disturbing you?" Xiao Taohong asked hastily as she entered and saw that Tian Chan and Ancestor Xuanzhen appeared to be in the midst of pill refining.

"Not at all, you are no disturbance," Tian Chan waved a hand. "Xiao Taohong, speak your mind."

"This..." Xiao Taohong glanced at Ancestor Xuanzhen. She had no wish to hide anything from him, but what she had come to say was too shameful to speak aloud in his presence.

"Heh heh, I shall step out for some air." Ancestor Xuanzhen rose and walked out of the room with a smile. It was not air he sought, but the chance to stand guard at Tian Chan's door, for it seemed Xiao Taohong had something important to say.

Only once Ancestor Xuanzhen had gone did Xiao Taohong breathe easy. She knew well that with his strength he could eavesdrop just as easily from outside, but so long as it was not to her face, she could bear it.

"Young Sect Master, Brother Kang came to see me today..." Xiao Taohong said, her cheeks faintly flushed.

At the name Kang Zhaoming, Tian Chan's brows knit at once, and she asked warily, "Kang Zhaoming? What did he want with you?"

"He... he said he actually still likes me..." And with that, Xiao Taohong recounted to Tian Chan, word for word, everything Kang Zhaoming had said to her. She held nothing back; she simply did not wish to deceive Tian Chan, and in her mind Tian Chan was worldly and far-sighted, and could help her decide what to do in such matters.

"Nonsense!" Having heard her out, Tian Chan scolded without the least mercy. "Xiao Taohong, he is lying to you! It was only after he broke with you that Ancestor Xuanchen proposed marrying his daughter to him—not before! Get the order of events straight, and do not let his honeyed words deceive you!"

"Ah?" At that moment Xiao Taohong's mind went blank. Hard as she found the truth to accept, she knew Tian Chan would never deceive her. Cold as Tian Chan's nature was, she would never lie about a thing like this.

But why had Kang Zhaoming lied to her? What was the reason? Right now Xiao Taohong wanted nothing more than to run to Kang Zhaoming and demand an answer—to ask him why he had deceived her.

Seeing the look on Xiao Taohong's face, how could Tian Chan fail to guess her thoughts? So she said coolly, "Xiao Taohong, Kang Zhaoming is not a man to be relied on. For his own gain there is nothing he will not do. If he can sell you out today, he can sell out his own... his betrothed tomorrow. Do not take it to heart. And as for confronting him—there is no need to go."

"Then... shall I refuse him?" Xiao Taohong asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Do not refuse. Accept him, and we shall see what he is really after." Tian Chan was suspicious of Kang Zhaoming's sudden approach to Xiao Taohong with such talk, and wanted to see what trick he was playing, so she meant for Xiao Taohong to turn his scheme against him.

"Very well, Young Sect Master. Then I shall accept him, and see what he is really after!" Xiao Taohong nodded.

"Take this pill, then come with me." Tian Chan suddenly drew a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, poured out a pill, and handed it to Xiao Taohong.

"This is... a Concealment Pill?" Xiao Taohong was briefly startled. She was no alchemist, but as Tian Chan's maid she had long watched and listened, and knew the names and uses of a good many pills. The Concealment Pill's purpose was to mask a person's aura; so long as she did not move, even a Heaven-rank expert would never detect her.

Still, this thing was good for gathering information, not for assassination or the like—after all, the slightest circulation of one's heart-method mnemonic would void the pill's effect, unless it was taken by an ordinary person or by a cultivator who did not circulate the mnemonic. Apart from listening for secrets, its uses were few.

And the pill was a third-grade one, exceedingly difficult to refine, so few alchemists bothered to make such things. What Tian Chan held were a few she had refined back when she was practicing third-grade pill refinement—little expecting they would prove useful now.

"I will take you to see what Kang Zhaoming says once he is back." With that, Tian Chan caught Xiao Taohong up with one hand, and the two flew out the window... (To be continued)

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