CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 36: TRIVIAL MATTERS IN TIANNING

"Han Yu!"

Han Yu hadn’t heard anyone call him that in a long time, and he couldn’t help but be stunned. He turned his head to look, but apart from the bustling crowd, he seemed to find no familiar figure.

"Han Yu!"

Bai Jingliang shouted again, and this time Han Yu saw him. In the distance of about a hundred meters, there was a figure jumping and shouting, then quickly running over.

How could it be him?

Seeing Bai Jingliang, Han Yu was initially taken aback, then surprised.

He still remembered their first meeting outside Jiangning Prefecture by the river, where his small bamboo raft collided with the other’s boat, setting off a series of events...

But the key point was, why was he here?

"My home is right here!"

Bai Jingliang said happily, finding Han Yu here was indeed something worth celebrating for him.

"Come on, let’s find a place to chat."

Without further ado, Bai Jingliang enthusiastically pulled Han Yu forward...

The two entered a teahouse, where everyone knew him. Bai Jingliang waved for someone to prepare a private room.

Up on the second floor, there were a few rooms specially meant for discussions, elegantly furnished, and more importantly, quiet and free from disturbance.

After the waiter placed the best tea and left, closing the door behind him, Bai Jingliang still had an excited look on his face.

"You have no idea how thrilling it was after you left back then."

He spoke vividly about events from another perspective, and Han Yu listened attentively.

The Star Sect’s Lin Daozong even gave him fame?

Wasn’t that some kind of devious praise? No wonder as soon as I entered Yujin Prefecture, the Rat Taoist caught me—it’s all Lin Daozong’s doings! It’s like trying to drag someone down if they can!

Suddenly remembering something, Han Yu looked at him curiously and asked, "Those hundred people weren’t driven away, right?"

Han Yu was deeply impressed by those hundred people, willing to persist despite the known side effects, which exceeded many cultivators in terms of determination.

Bai Jingliang shook his head and said, "No, they weren’t driven away. Lilian wrote to say that all of them broke through to the Celestial Human Realm in just a month, and now they’re all Divine Spring Realm cultivators!"

Han Yu raised his eyebrows. In the past, he would have been surprised, but after seeing more, there wasn’t much feeling.

Moreover, the south is called a barren area for cultivators; if people like the Rat Taoist could be a sect leader in the Other Shore Realm, breaking into the Divine Spring within a month could indeed be considered genius there.

"Lilian said there’s something related to you."

Bai Jingliang said mysteriously.

Han Yu was somewhat curious.

"The place where you stood giving out Pill Water was privately called ’Dragon Gate’ by the disciples, meaning that leaping over it would turn a carp into a dragon."

After hearing this, Han Yu shook his head with a wry smile, not expecting that the group still remembered this, also implying that even after understanding the side effects, they still didn’t regret it.

Considering the effects of the Night-blooming Cereus Pill, it’s possible that in a decade, a hundred dragons might indeed emerge from the barren south.

"As for the pill I took, I’ve already come up with a solution."

Bai Jingliang said sporadically, his topics jumping a lot as he talked about his own affairs.

This piqued Han Yu’s interest; back then, he was also afraid of the pill’s side effects.

He thought it would be some clever solution, but Bai Jingliang pulled out two cotton balls and stuffed them into his ears...

"This... should be a good solution... right?"

Han Yu was slightly hesitant, yet Bai Jingliang, with his cotton still in his ears, nodded confidently, "It’s definitely a good solution. As long as I block my ears and learn to read lips, I’ve perfectly solved the problem of not being able to hear the rooster’s crow!"

This was truly a celestial solution; it’s amazing that such a method could even be thought of.

Bai Jingliang, looking smug, said with a snort, "Not being able to hear the rooster’s crow is just a small issue compared to reaching the Other Shore Realm."

Bai Jingliang in the Other Shore Realm?

Could the Hardworking Pill accelerate cultivation this absurdly?

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that before taking the pill, Bai Jingliang was already in the Divine Bridge Realm, meaning it took him a full month to break through.

For others, breaking into the Other Shore in a month might be exaggerated, but for Han Yu, it seemed reasonable enough.

After all, he had seen many more outrageous effects, and side effects that could be resolved so simply meant taking a month to break into the Other Shore was considered slow...

Reuniting with an old friend and coming to his own place, Bai Jingliang was more than happy and immediately helped arrange accommodations.

"How is your sister?"

Han Yu casually inquired. This matured woman had qualities that no man could easily forget.

Oh, gourd! Oh, gourd!

Bai Jingliang’s smile slightly faded. He said nothing, merely leading Han Yu to the finest inn.

After a brief chat, he left with a preoccupied look.

Could it be that something happened to Bai Junya?

It didn’t seem like it! If something had indeed happened, Bai Jingliang couldn’t possibly sit still.

Since he didn’t say anything, Han Yu naturally wouldn’t ask further.

He took out a thin booklet from his pocket, inside of which was nestled a mask as thin as a cicada wing. Better to think about where to play the fool.

Bai Jingliang walked down the street listlessly again. The good mood of meeting the miraculous little pharmacist was overshadowed by thoughts of Bai Junya.

"Brother Liang!"

A figure hurried towards him—it was Yin Shaoyang.

Bai Jingliang looked up, seeing the anxious look on his face.

"What’s the matter?"

Meanwhile, Han Yu, after putting on the mask at the inn, carefully checked himself in the mirror, found no flaws, then leisurely left.

Tianning Prefecture’s prosperity was comparable to Shuzhou, and the city seemed larger. On the street, apart from the bustling citizens, many cultivators could also be seen.

It wasn’t surprising. Previously, even Yujin Prefecture had sects residing there, so a large city like Northern Border was certainly not uncommon.

"If there’s nothing to do, just wander outside. Opportunities and surprises always come first."

Worth its weight in gold, some words interspersed in books were truly interesting. Upon reflection, they made sense.

Up ahead, a commotion arose, surrounded by many onlookers, including numerous cultivators.

Curious, Han Yu moved into the crowd and was surprised from a distance. Why was it him again?

Bai Jingliang and Yin Shaoyang stood confronting a group, opposite them, a chubby boy of seventeen or eighteen, with plump cheeks, wearing common cultivator robes yet exuding a wealthy landowner’s aura.

The chubby boy, accompanied by a group of cultivators, arrogantly insulted those beside Bai Jingliang.

"Brother Liang, the Bai and Yin families are relatives. Isn’t it unfair that you’re only supporting my big brother?"

The quarrel between the two turned out to be between brothers—how amusing.

Though the chubby boy dared not be disrespectful to Bai Jingliang, he spoke up.

Bai Jingliang frowned, glanced at the plump figure with some displeasure, and said, "If you go too far, I’ll give you a beating, and knowing your family, they won’t say much."

"Brother Liang, it’s not just that Yin Shaoyang could hire help; I also have assistance."

Pointing at the group of cultivators behind him, the chubby boy remarked.

Bai Jingliang scanned them, then scoffed, shaking his head with a look of disdain on his face.

"What a bunch of ragtag. I don’t understand what’s there to be proud of."

These were his heartfelt words. A group, at best, considered noble families, yet not even reckoned as small sects, and each one full of hubris.

But this simultaneously set off those cultivators in front of him...