Chapter 102: An Affront to Decency

"Brother, have some tea." Zhu Zan filled a cup and placed it before Su Ye.

"Is this tea clean?" Su Ye glanced at the liquid, his nose wrinkling in a display of utter disdain.

"It is the finest tea in the teahouse; how could it not be clean?"

"It is your hands that are not clean," Su Ye retorted, using the tea as a pretext to insult him.

Zhu Zan frowned. "Brother, I invited you for tea out of kindness. To be met with sarcasm instead of gratitude is truly beneath a man of culture."

"In the Great Qian, the cultivation of immortality is all the rage, and alchemists are inherently superior. As a mere pedantic scholar, you should listen to whatever I have to say."

Zhu Zan shot Su Ye a glare, forcing a stiff smile. "The Great Qian reveres the Confucian path. As royal orthodoxy, we are more noble than any alchemist."

"Oh, really?" A wicked curve tugged at the corner of Su Ye’s mouth. "How much silver do you earn in a year from reading those moldy, sour old books?"

"Vulgar!" Zhu Zan snorted. "I had thought you were a man of talent, but I see now you are truly beneath contempt."

"Do you not spend money just because you practice fasting?" Su Ye leaned back, smiling faintly. "Medicinal ingredients for alchemy, compasses for arrays, yellow paper and cinnabar for talismans, protective spiritual treasures—which of these does not cost cold, hard silver?"

Zhu Zan was left speechless. The veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Back to the original question: how much silver do you earn a year?"

"Brother, if you do not wish to drink the tea, you are free to leave. There is no need to use your superficial skills to mock those of us who are down-to-earth practitioners."

"I have no intention of mocking you; I only wish for you to acknowledge that alchemists are a cut above."

"You young man, you spoke quite reasonably just a moment ago, so why have you become so detestable?" Having heard Su Ye’s words, the other patrons’ impression of him soured from fragrant to foul.

"Who told you that alchemists are superior?" another customer chimed in.

"Silver told me," Su Ye said, picking up the teapot from the table and displaying it to the room. "You all lap up this top-grade tea as if it were nectar… but to be blunt, it is too coarse even for mouthwash."

"Get out!" the shopkeeper shouted, his face reddening as he drove the audacious Su Ye away. "My humble shop cannot accommodate a 'great Buddha' such as yourself. If you think the tea is better elsewhere, go there!"

Su Ye produced a silver ingot and tossed it to the frantic shopkeeper. Then, another.

"I spoke out of turn just now, please forgive me, sir," the shopkeeper said, slapping his own face with a fawning smile. "Whatever tea you desire, just name it. I will send my assistant to buy it immediately."

"Everyone, facts speak louder than words," Su Ye said, spreading his hands with a triumphant air. "Now that I say alchemists are superior, does anyone still think otherwise?"

The crowd fell silent. A patron in the corner cursed with resentment: "Damn it, having money is good."

The silence grew even more grating. The ridicule the customers had directed at Su Ye was thrown back in their faces by cold, hard reality. They claimed to be detached and indifferent to the world, but the weapons and treasures in their jade gourds all required silver to acquire. Unless one could truly live in seclusion deep in the mountains, it was impossible to escape the mortal world. Money is hard to earn, and life is hard. The wealthy alchemists were, in truth, superior. They knew it in their hearts; they simply did not want to admit the reality.

"Sir, do you still believe you can stand on equal footing with me?" Su Ye stared at the livid Zhu Zan with a face that invited a punch.

A flash of coldness crossed Zhu Zan’s eyes, and he smiled without warmth. "In the face of such ironclad facts, I shall not argue further. However, your arrogant attitude is likely to bring you disaster."

"I am all ears." Su Ye sat back down on the bench, propping one foot up in the manner of a dissolute playboy.

"The truth is harsh, and good advice is hard to hear. You must understand the way of the golden mean to avoid going astray." Zhu Zan sat with rigid posture, his tone refined and proper.

Su Ye sneered, "As long as I possess the art of alchemy, I will be an honored guest wherever I go."

The patrons’ brows, once furrowed, never relaxed. The young man who prattled on about alchemy was such an odious existence. They could only regret their blindness in listening to his high-flown nonsense.

Zhu Zan gazed at the smug, chatty Su Ye, his expression shifting imperceptibly several times before settling into a smile. "Brother, I have many friends in urgent need of pills… might I invite you to join me and earn the silver you so dearly love?"

"As long as it is silver, I never refuse," Su Ye stood up immediately. "If I earn enough, I will treat you to the finest Tieguanyin."

Zhu Zan produced a few copper coins and, ignoring the shopkeeper’s polite insistence that it was unnecessary, paid for the tea as usual. A scholar’s integrity: more valuable than silver.

Su Ye followed Zhu Zan out of the teahouse. Suddenly, a black wind rose, enveloping Su Ye and leaving him unable to move. Zhu Zan conjured a demonic pill in his hand and sneered, "This is a pill refined through alchemy… swallow it, and for the rest of your life, you shall be my pill-slave."

Su Ye feigned a look of terror. Zhu Zan gripped his cheeks, forcing his mouth open, and shoved the demonic pill down his throat. It melted upon contact, leaving a burning pain in his chest. The black mist dissipated.

Zhu Zan threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Alchemy is truly magnificent."

Su Ye secretly channeled his "Compassionate Soul-Guiding" technique, wrapping the vengeful power within the demonic pill and drawing it from his fingertips into the Bagua Heaven-Prison Box in his palm. The ancient seal on the Yin-Yang Mirror glowed, absorbing the residual poison of the pill. The days when mere demonic toxins could take his life were long gone.

Zhu Zan looked at the trembling Su Ye with ice in his eyes. "From now on, you are my pill-slave. As long as you obediently refine pills for me and serve me well, I might show some mercy and spare you the agony of the poison eroding your organs."

"Please… I beg you," Su Ye pinched his own thigh, sweating from the pain. "I am willing to go through fire and water for you…"

Zhu Zan looked down at Su Ye from his height. "Who is superior now?"

"My master… you are the one who is superior."

Zhu Zan laughed toward the heavens. After feeding Su Ye a useless antidote, he led him through the streets to a private residence in the west of the city. Black energy swirled around his hands, forming a dark circular demonic seal at his fingertips. With a pull of power, he opened a spatial gate.

Su Ye followed Zhu Zan through the door; the sensation of a waterfall washing over him momentarily overwhelmed his sense of direction. When his body warmed up, he found himself in a brightly lit cavern dwelling. Disciples dressed in the black robes of the Demon Sect sat in meditation around a central platform, silently practicing their arts. Su Ye stood beside Zhu Zan, clearly seeing the face of each person. They looked no different from ordinary people.

"Pill-slave, refine a batch of Foundation-Strengthening Pills and let me see your skills." Zhu Zan was completely uninterested in Su Ye’s name. He sat in a high-backed stone chair, dropping his scholarly facade, his cheeks turning a pale green.

Su Ye immediately summoned a common pill furnace he had prepared in his jade gourd. He began refining at once. The vengeful spirit energy from the Bagua Heaven-Prison Box, along with the demonic poison suppressed by the Yin-Yang Mirror, all returned to the furnace. Along with a dose of laxative.

The pills were formed; the furnace opened. Zhu Zan leaned in to inspect them. "Why is there a golden pill?"

"Firstly, I am here to admit my mistakes," Su Ye bowed. "Secondly, you are of noble status, so naturally, you should enjoy the finest Foundation-Strengthening Pill. I only hope you will distribute the antidote regularly in the future and spare me from suffering."

Zhu Zan summoned the golden pill, sniffed it, and found nothing amiss. He swallowed it immediately. It melted on his tongue. The laxative and the demonic poison struck in tandem. He soiled his pants instantly.

Zhu Zan endured the agony, summoned the antidote, and swallowed it hastily. His right hand gathered the black seal, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"You cannot kill me," Su Ye shouted, interrupting the casting.

"Why not?" Zhu Zan, believing he could take Su Ye’s life at any moment, wanted to hear his sophistry.

"I have only just swallowed the demonic pill and was already able to imitate it," Su Ye whispered. "If you keep me alive, how many more pills can I refine for you in the future? You should do the math."

Zhu Zan’s eyes flickered, and he retracted the black demonic seal. His immediate priority was to find a new pair of pants.