Chapter 220: 284. Rejection

“That was quite the display back there. I must say I’ve never seen the way yin practitioners pass on their arts—it was fascinating.”

Li Meili gave Luo Mingyu a sidelong glance as they walked down the nicely paved pathway back towards Pan Jiaying’s village. When Meili had suggested taking their conversation somewhere more private, Pan Jiaying had eagerly volunteered to host, before running off ahead to prepare. Meili suspected that she just didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of an inner disciple.

“There’s nothing special about it. Anyone can learn a technique by word of mouth, and there’s nothing preventing yin arts from being imbued into jade slips.”

“True enough, I suppose, but why would they?”

Li Meili grimaced. How was this the son of the surly, but otherwise kind apothecary she’d met back in Qinghe? She’d been expecting a young man in over his head—perhaps someone in need of rescuing from the oppressive clutches of the sect. Yet here he was, as free and arrogant as any cultivator she’d met. She was beginning to think he really was an ungrateful shit who’d forgotten where he came from.

“I would think that’s self-evident. Half of the world are women, and most women have yin-aligned souls. It’s in a sect’s best interests to invest in all of its disciples, so that they might one day contribute in return—much like a father passing the household on to his son, with the understanding that the son will take care of him in turn when he is old and infirm.”

Luo Mingyu’s eyes narrowed.

“An interesting analogy, Miss Li, but a flawed one. Unlike an old patriarch, the sects do not grow weaker with age or wither on the vine. The elders of the sect are immortal, and the sect will grow stronger with or without its disciples. That affords them the opportunity to be selective. Not every fruit is worth the effort of cultivating the seed into a tree.”

“Oh, certainly not. Naturally, any good sect would want to focus their efforts on the greatest talents and the highest potentials. For example—a disciple who was able to master a technique in the span of an afternoon.”

He scoffed.

“I’d hardly call what my junior sister accomplished today ‘mastery,’ but I concede the point. It seems she is indeed a hidden talent, but I would venture to suggest that she is an exception, rather than a rule.”

“Or perhaps, in your biases, you never truly considered what the rule actually is.”

“Perhaps. But I’m afraid it’s going to take more than a couple of uniquely talented girls to overturn centuries of tradition.”

Li Meili pursed her lips. She had a hard time getting a read on Luo Mingyu. Her first impression still left a sour taste, and she didn’t appreciate his arguments against properly teaching spiritual arts to women, but he didn’t strike her as particularly stubborn or inflexible on the point, nor was he talking down to her.

Well, not much, anyway. Her experiences at the academy may have skewed her standards for condescension.

Soon, they arrived back at Pan Jiaying’s humble cottage, where she busied herself serving them tea and trying to keep out of sight. It bothered Li Meili how intimidated she was by the presence of an inner disciple. In theory, he was supposed to be a fellow member of the same sect—a brother-in-craft. He was on her side—so why was she afraid of him?

Luo Mingyu took a single sip of tea, nodding in approval as he set it down.

“Mm, not bad at all! Well then, Miss Li, as fascinating as this conversation has been, I don’t think you came all the way here to debate philosophy with me. How can I help you?”

Li Meili took a moment to gather her thoughts, taking a sip of tea to buy herself another moment. She wasn’t comfortable telling him the truth—not when he seemed to be such a hardline loyalist—but she needed to test him, to probe for any possibility that he might be amenable to helping Jung and keeping their secret.

“I have an interest in alchemy. As a woman, I need every possible advantage to survive in the world of cultivation. As we’ve already discussed, the sects are very much boys’ clubs, and no rogue lasts forever. Alchemy is a rare and desirable talent—alchemists empower not only themselves, but those around them. If I were to become an alchemist, then it would dramatically improve my standing.”

Luo Mingyu nodded along, smiling.

“Very reasonable. However, why would I, as one such ‘rare and desirable’ individual, share my secrets with a stranger who would no doubt go on to become my competitor and rival? What do you have to give in return?”

Pan Jiaying poked her head around a corner.

“She could join the sect! Uh, i-if she wanted to...”

Luo Mingyu inclined his head in acknowledgement as Pan Jiaying slinked back out of sight, blushing.

“Well, that would be one way, certainly. You could become my direct apprentice, and join the sect as an outer disciple—assuming the elders agreed, of course. But is that what you want, Miss Li?”

Li Meili sighed. She wasn’t even sure, anymore. Things had gotten complicated, fast.

“I’ll settle for a discussion, for now. Do you mind if I show you an example of my work?”

Luo Mingyu raised an eyebrow, but gestured for her to continue. Li Meili took a deep breath as she reached into her sleeves for the qi suppression pills from Luo Huang. She was taking another big risk—this was certain to reveal that she wasn’t who she said she was, but in the worst case she could simply say that she had been sent by his estranged father. It was a tolerable risk.

“Here—they’re a simple enough recipe, but I’m fairly confident in their potency.”

The alchemist took one of the pills in hand and examined it closely, his eyes narrowing as he rolled it between his fingers.

“Do you mind if I crush one down into powder?”

“Not at all.”

He crushed the pill between his fingers in a surprising display of strength from a spiritual artist, and rubbed the residue between them, sniffing and tasting the powder before his eyes lit up with recognition.

“I see... It’s good you didn’t suggest that I try taking one of these. Offering qi suppression pills to a cultivator is tantamount to poisoning them.”

Li Meili smiled.

“I trusted you would know what you were looking at.”

“Of course. Well, I think this tells me everything I need to know. I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Miss Li—I have nothing to share with you. I’ll see you out.”

“Wait, but—”

Luo Mingyu ignored her protests and turned to the corner that Pan Jiaying was hiding behind.

“Junior sister, I’ll see to it that you’re compensated fairly for your time today. I trust that you will keep the details of today’s events to yourself.”

Pan Jiaying peeked around the corner, pouting.

“I guess so...are you sure she can’t stay awhile?”

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“Unfortunately not. Master Qiao Quan doesn’t want some stranger wandering around the sect spreading strange ideas.”

“Oh...can I escort her out with you, then?”

“No. Say your goodbyes now. Miss Li, I’ll wait for you outside.”

She hung her head as Luo Mingyu swept past her without so much as a second glance. Li Meili watched him leave with a scowl.

“Tsk. Asshole. I can’t believe I wasted my time on him.”

Pan Jiaying was on the edge of tears.

“S-sorry about that. I don’t know what’s going on, but I didn’t mean to waste your time.”

Meili sighed and stepped forward to give her a hug.

“It’s not your fault, Pan Jiaying. You made the trip worth it, and I’m very glad to have met you. Maybe we’ll meet again some time.”

“I hope so. Thank you for everything, Li Meili. I’m glad I met you too!”

She returned the hug with a tight embrace, and Meili enjoyed the soft feeling one last time, surreptitiously depositing a beast core into one of Pan Jiaying’s pockets before they separated. That would be enough to pay for their time in the meditation pavilion and then some—it was all she could do without more time or resources.

“Goodbye, Pan Jiaying. And thank you for being such a lovely host.”

The two bowed in farewell before Li Meili took her leave, finding Luo Mingyu waiting impatiently outside the door.

“Tsk, women. You’ve only known each other for a day, but you’re acting as if you’ve known her your entire life.”

Meili snorted. She had technically known Pan Jiaying for most of her life.

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. Let’s go already—I don’t want to spend another second in this stupid place.”

Luo Mingyu frowned at her, but began walking off without another word. In short order, he’d led her back to the outer gate, but to her surprise he kept walking. She followed him in silence through the town, out the gate, and all the way down the mountain before finally speaking up.

“This is a bit much, don’t you think? What did I do to warrant being ejected from the entire—?”

“Keep walking.”

His harsh tone left no room for argument, so Li Meili shrugged and continued on. It’s not like she’d been planning on staying anyway—good riddance. Luo Mingyu surprised her again by following after her. She glanced back and raised an eyebrow curiously.

“How long are you going to keep following me? We’re not even on your dumb mountain anymore.”

“Silence. I’ll follow you until I’m satisfied.”

Li Meili frowned—something wasn’t right. Despite her best efforts, she still couldn’t get a feel for what Luo Mingyu was thinking, but he was acting very strangely. There was nothing she could do but keep following the road. There was no danger of her allies being discovered unless she went to their meeting place, and she’d sooner die than introduce them to Mingyu.

A shiver went down her spine as the presence that she’d grown accustomed to since arriving in Lushan vanished. Apparently they’d either left the range of the sect master’s technique or lost his interest.

No sooner had they left the elder’s sight than Luo Mingyu lunged forward and grabbed Li Meili by the throat. Lifting her into the air and snarling at her before she could even react.

“Where are they?!”

Meili struggled against his grip, shocked and confused.

“Wh-what?”

She winced as he squeezed harder, scrabbling at his hand and kicking his chest in vain. How was he so strong?!

“Don’t play coy with me! I get enough of that shit in the sect. You think I’m stupid? What did you do to my parents?!”

What? Li Meili’s mind raced even as she struggled to breathe. He’d moved faster than she could react and she hadn’t sensed his intent at all. Even at the late first stage, she shouldn’t have been surprised like that. There was more to Luo Mingyu than met the eye, but she didn’t have time to unpack it.

“Nothing...they’re fine!”

She wanted to give a more nuanced answer, but she could barely choke out two words at a time. She grunted in pain as Luo Mingyu shook her violently.

“Bullshit! You think I don’t know how you yin practitioners work? Going around spreading your lies, exploiting the weak and stealing from your betters with demonic techniques! Well, you’ve made a mistake—I’m not some sheltered rich boy you can blackmail. Now tell me where my family is before I kill you!”

Li Meili grimaced—she’d had enough of this. She’d put up with insult and injury alike out of respect for the good doctor that had helped them, but his son had gone too far. If he wasn’t going to listen to reason, then perhaps a more physical lesson would do the trick.

“Fuck you!”

Lightning arced across her body before concentrating itself into a ball in her foot. She launched a kick straight at the pressure point in the middle of his chest, sending him to the ground convulsing.

As Li Meili straightened herself out and rubbed at her throat, a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she shouldn’t be using martial arts in front of cultivators. A much louder part of her retorted that he should be grateful that she hadn’t put a hole in his chest with Eui’s Six Arms of Asura.

Through the convulsions, Luo Mingyu managed to produce a pill from within his robes and bite down on it, slowly rising to his feet as the convulsions faded into mere ticks and twitches before vanishing entirely.

“Wh-what was that? Some sort of spiritual assault? I’ve never seen a technique like—”

Li Meili punched him in the face. No technique beyond her basic movements, no lightning or destruction, just pure ki-infused strength. He reeled back, clutching his bleeding nose as she continued to advance on him. She shook her head.

“Nuh uh—you had your chance. I’m fucking mad now. You want a fight? Fine! Just remember you asked for this, asshole.”