Morning, 9 a.m.
Shuhang and Soft Feather took the train headed towards Jiangnan District’s College Town. Their luck was good as they managed to arrive at J-City’s Heixiang Station at 8:45 a.m., which was just in time before the station opened at 9 a.m.
They had a pleasant journey throughout the entire trip.
It was already 12 p.m. upon reaching Jiangnan College Town.
"Do you want to head over to my place to play?" Song Shuhang asked out of habit. The moment he asked, he suddenly remembered that Soft Feather wasn’t one of those close friends of his, but a lady he only knew for a day. Therefore, those words were quite sudden.
"Thank you, Senior. When I have time in the future, I will definitely find Senior to play. However, I have to rush home right now and complete the contract with this ghost spirit first. Furthermore, any later and my father might come back, and that wouldn’t be good," Soft Feather sweetly smiled.
Song Shuhang smiled. "Then let’s say goodbye here. You can directly take a rental cab outside of the train station to Jiangnan District Airport. Will you be fine alone?"
"That’s not a problem. In addition, the return trip tickets have long been booked. I only need to reach the airport to smoothly return back. Oh right, Senior, what’s your address? I still need to send you two boxes of medicinal ingredients!" Soft Feather suddenly remembered her initial promise.
She was someone who meant what she said, so since she had promised, she would definitely keep her word.
"Regarding that, you can just forget about it. We’ll talk when you’re free." Holding onto this so-called ‘spirit-binding ice bead’, Song Shuhang faintly felt that perhaps those medicinal ingredients Soft Feather had mentioned were not as simple as what he had thought initially.
"Senior, please do not make me someone who breaks their promise. The words of people from Spiritual Butterfly Island are of enormous weight!" Soft Feather seriously replied.
"Oh… okay." Seeing that he could no longer reject, he fished out a notebook he carried on him and wrote down his own mailing address before tearing a piece of paper he just wrote on and passing it to Soft Feather.
Soft Feather gently and cautiously kept this piece of paper. Soon after, she waved and bade farewell to Shuhang.
Song Shuhang heaved a sigh of relief after ensuring she left.
‘It has finally ended. I doubt I will have any interactions with this lady later on?’ Song Shuhang scratched his head and laughed out loud. "It’s time to go back!"
The future Song Shuhang would definitely be grateful for Soft Feather’s persistence today.
If she did not insist on sending these two boxes of medicinal ingredients, Song Shuhang’s whole life would probably be the same as an ordinary person’s. Completing his studies, finding a simple job, marrying an ordinary wife, giving birth to a cute kid, and completing his mediocre life.
Because of Soft Feather’s help, Song Shuhang’s life was about to undergo an earth-shaking change.
❄️❄️❄️
In Nine Provinces Number One Group.
Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: "Soft Feather, have you found Ghost Lamp Temple?"
Spirit Butterfly Island’s Soft Feather (mobile): "I have found it and successfully completed my objective. I’m currently on my way back home.
Previously, I went to the wrong place, to Jiangnan District’s Luo Xin street area. Fortunately, I had met a very powerful Senior Song from the group there, and he assisted me in looking for J-City’s Luo Xin street area. After that, I had completed my mission with his help after finding Ghost Lamp Temple!"
"Senior Song from the group? What’s that Senior’s dao name?" Northern River’s Loose Cultivator asked. Song was a common surname and there were several seniors within the group surnamed Song.
"Ah!" Soft Feather sent a 😛. "I’ve asked his dao name but he didn’t tell me. Afterwards, I actually forgot to ask, but I know senior’s name in the modern society is Song Shuhang!"
"Song Shuhang, this name sounds familiar." Northern River’s Loose Cultivator tried to recall, but he couldn’t remember where he heard the name. "Haha, in any case, Soft Feather, congrats for successfully completing your mission."
After all, he had initially promised to help her, but did not offer much assistance in the end, and so felt guilty about it.
"Thank you, Senior Northern River, you’ve helped me a lot too!" Soft Feather smiled. "I’m boarding the plane now, see you later."
Having boarded the plane, Soft Feather switched off her phone and looked outside the window.
The seniors within the group were indeed nice people.
Especially Senior Song, he was really a super nice person.
Despite there being a distance of a thousand miles between them, a shining bright nice guy card was firmly etched upon Song Shuhang’s head.
❄️❄️❄️
The next day—June 4th, Tuesday. Jiangnan College Town. Torrid heat!
Although there were fourteen huge fans frantically turning within the huge classroom, they had only blown hot wind that caused one to be even more muddle-headed.
The lecturer speaking was already drenched in sweat, and even his voice had became soft.
Shuhang, who was sitting in the class and under the sizzling hot summer daytime, surprisingly felt clear-minded.
With the numerous classes he had taken since young, this was the first time he felt so relaxed. He could learn everything by heart after listening to the contents the lecturer had taught within the class once. Not only that, he could even deduce many things within his mind just based on listening to a small portion, swiftly grasping the important points.
He even had the surplus energy to divide his attention. On one hand, he was listening to the lesson, while on the other hand, his thoughts were running wild, dwelling on irrelevant matters.
There was a female classmate who originally sat three spaces away from him but involuntarily moved closer to him, and finally, she wished that she could cling onto Song Shuhang with her well-developed body.
This was not due to Song Shuhang’s charisma exploding overnight, but the fact that, in the sizzling hot weather, his body was actually emitting cold air. It was as if he was a human air-conditioner that made people wish that they could stick to him.
Song Shuhang secretly looked at the bead hanging on his neck. This was the spirit-sealing ice bead Soft Feather had gifted him yesterday. When this bead was hanging on his body, it automatically repelled all the torrid heat surrounding Song Shuhang while forming another layer of ice-cold protective layer.
Furthermore, while he was wearing this bead, his mind felt exceptionally clear and agile—so much that the English words he previously had to repeat 3-4 times to memorize before were something he could now remember after seeing and hearing once.
This… was a godly tool to become a scholar! With this, he could become the school’s top student with no difficulty.
This sort of item has somewhat exceeded the range which science could explain.
Then, the scene of Soft Feather ‘sealing the ghost spirit’ surfaced in his mind.
"Does it really... exist?" Song Shuhang muttered to himself. This magical ice bead made him once again slightly believe in the existence of cultivators.
Was there truly a ghost spirit sealed within this ice bead?
Was cultivation really not hearsay?
Did immortals soaring in the skies really exist?
Was it really possible to move mountains and drain seas?
One by one, questions surfaced in Shuhang’s mind and flooded his brain.
If these actually existed… then was everyone within Nine Provinces Number One Group Daoist immortals?
Never before had he felt such urgency to look at Nine Provinces Number One Group like today—he wanted to see if he could get more clues from within their conversations.
Why has the class yet to end? Hurry up and end. Song Shuhang thought.
❄️❄️❄️
"Ding Ring Ring~~"
The bell indicating resting period rang.
Students within the classroom excitedly cheered and one after another stood up to leave this room that was as if a steamer basket, then walked to the corridor to get some fresh air.
Only the female student seated beside Song Shuhang was slightly reluctant to leave—she felt that it was really cool beside Shuhang, and it was even more comfortable than sitting next to an air-conditioner. It was a pity that she wasn’t Song Shuhang’s girlfriend, because she couldn’t hang around him after lessons.
Should I try to ask Song Shuhang out? She secretly gazed at Shuhang. Although he wasn’t the type that liked to be in the limelight within the class, in actual fact, he was still quite manly? I’m really tempted, if I can get to hug such a cooling man to sleep during the scorching summer, he would definitely be the best bolster, wouldn’t he?
"Hello, is student Song Shuhang here?" Just then, a loud and clear voice resounded from the door.
This voice was so deafening that it had managed to hold all the students present all at once.
Shuhang raised his head and looked over to find a big person wearing suit. On his fiendish face was an awkward yet kind smile.
I don’t think I know him?
He stood up and waved his hands. "I am, may I know who are you and why are you looking for me?"
"Haha, I am from Fengshou Express Delivery, there are two big express deliveries for student Song Shuhang sent via urgent air shipping at full speed overnight. As this was sent by an extremely important customer, it requires you to personally sign and accept it." This huge man in western-styled suit laughed and respectfully handed his name card to Song Shuhang.
Shuhang took the name card and had a look.
Fengshou Express Delivery Corporation Ltd, Sima Jiang!
It was a simple name card without information with regards to his position, just purely the company and his name.
To think even delivery personnel had their own name cards these days!
Shuhang kept this name card while in doubt. What delivery did he have that required air shipping to directly mail it over?
While he was thinking, the bashful smiling face of Soft Feather suddenly appeared in his mind.
When one first met Soft Feather, what they would remember was probably her long legs. But after one got along with her for some time, what would come to their mind first when they thought of her was definitely her shy smile, which was very cute.
At this time, Tubo and two other boys stood up and quickly came to Shuanghang, asking, "What’s the matter, Shuhang?"
It was the three roommates of Shuhang who felt worried and curious when they saw that a big dark-skinned guy came to visit Shuhang.
"Nothing, he is a courier. I’ve got two express deliveries and I need to sign them." Shuhang smiled and turned back to Sima Jiang. "Hello, Little Jiang, where are the parcels?"
Little Jiang… The corners of the mouth of the man in suit twitched. It had been years since anyone dared to call him that. I didn't expect I’d still have a chance to hear a person—a young lad—call me that.
However, he still grinned in a friendly manner. "They’ve been put at the door of your dorm. Please check it."
"Ok, let’s go then? I have a 15-minute break between classes," said Song Shuhang.
Sima Jiang laughed and said, "That’s what I’ve come here for!"
❄️❄️❄️
On the second floor of the boy's dorm, at the door of their dorm.
Four men in black suits guarded two 80-by-80 cartons, each with a serious face.
Song Shuhang was surprised. "Is Fengshou Express Delivery’s service always so good?"
If it was, how could other express delivery companies manage to survive?
"Haha, our service has always been good. But this time, the customer is a little bit special, so the service is even better," Sima Jiang laughed.
"Sorry for troubling you," Song Shuhang nodded, came to the two large cartons, and checked the delivery note.
Sure enough, he saw the name "Soft Feather" in the column of ‘Sender’. But, the mailing address was blank.
The two cartons were probably full of the raw materials for refining 'simplified body tempering liquid' that Soft Feather had promised to give him.
"Do you need to open it?" Sima Jiang asked politely.
In fact, he didn’t need to open it. Sima Jiang would never dare to open the two big cartons by himself.
"Ha, no. If there is any problem, I can contact you directly." Song Shuhang waved the name card held in his hand.
"Sure. Student Shuhang, if you don’t have any problem, please sign here." Sima Jiang seemed pleased to hear that. He pointed to the delivery note with a smile.
"OK." Song Shuhang reached out with his hand and signed his name quickly.
"Ok, goodbye, student Shuhang. Have a nice day." Sima Jiang waved his hand and turned away with the four men in black.
Shuhang felt the five guys didn’t look like couriers. They were cool like hell. Song Shuhang opened the door, ‘Oh, I forgot to ask them to move the two cartons in. Are they heavy?’
He was very impressed with the big suitcase of Soft Feather, so he was worried that the two cartons would weigh in tonnage.
He picked up the two large cartons. Great, not too heavy.
He put them onto his bed one after another.
Closing the door, Song Shuhang couldn’t wait to open them. There were small delicate wooden boxes in the cartons. There were four layers in each carton, four small wooden boxes per layer. So, there was a total of thirty-two wooden boxes in the two cartons.
Carefully opening a small wooden box, he saw over forty kinds of medicinal herbs neatly placed in it.
There were some medicine herbs that Shuhang could recognize, such as ginseng, wolfberry, Rising Sun Stone, Maiden’s Fragrance, and so on.
There were also some that Shuhang had never seen but which smelled very good. Shuhang felt like his whole body was bathed in medicinal fragrance by merely sniffing at them. They were probably magical medicinal materials, such as Fresh Overlord Branch and sliced Nine-Yang Scarlet Flame Bamboo.
Staring at the two cartons of medicine, Song Shuhang was stunned...
Among the two cartons of medicinal materials, only ginseng slices would be worth a great fortune, let alone the other ones. And, some medicine herbs in the cartons, such as Morning Dew Mysterious Grass, Overlord Branch, and sliced Nine-Yang Scarlet Flame Bamboo, were probably a hundred times more valuable than ginseng.
But it was not their value that made Shuhang stunned.
He was just wondering, Are these things the ingredients necessary for ‘simplified body tempering liquid'?
With these medicine herbs, can I refine 'simplified body tempering liquid' with the method introduced by Medicine Master in Nine Provinces Number One Group, by concocting them in a big pot and at an appropriate temperature?
What effects will this body tempering liquid have?Can it really thoroughly remold a person’s body like what is described in Xianxia novels?
Perhaps I can tell whether cultivation really exists with these medicinal materials and the pill formula of ‘Medicine Master’!
Once this thought popped up, it was like setting a fire to Shuhang’s mind, which made him very eager to have a try.
Song Shuhang was not a stubborn person. If the body tempering liquid really had the legendary magical effect, he would believe in the existence of cultivation.
But, what should he do if he had confirmed the existence of cultivation?
I have no classes this afternoon. There are forty-five kinds of medicinal herbs. Each will take five minutes or so, so it will take me three to four hours in total. Maybe I can give it a try this afternoon!
Song Shuhang never hesitated to carry out his plans. As long as he had been determined, he would get down to it!
If I want to refine the pill liquid, first I should have a… pill furnace?
However, there certainly wasn’t any pill furnace for sale on the market; maybe he could get one from Taobao, but it definitely would only be a toy.
It was impossible for him to get a real pill furnace if he was going to refine the liquid this afternoon, so he had to find something to replace it.
Song Shuhang came to the small kitchen and started to search.
Soon, he saw something that could be used to concoct medicine… a hot pot.
However, he immediately denied his crazy idea, No, this thing is just too different from a pill furnace.
He hadn't seen any pill furnace, and neither did he know whether it was similar to those shown in movies. But, anyway, it should be a furnace, and a hot pot was just too different from it.
Putting down the hot pot, Shuhang started to search in the small kitchen once again.
After a long time, he got nothing to show for his efforts.
Electric rice cooker, hot kettle, pan, pressure cooker... none of them could replace a pill furnace.
Pressure cooker looked more solid, but it cooked with a high pressure, so it couldn’t be opened halfway. However, when refining body tempering liquid, one had to add the medicine materials every five minutes.
It means that, among the tools available, the final and only choice should be… Song Shuhang stared at the hot pot reluctantly.
Well, it's only for concocting. Maybe I can try?—he thought—Anyway, there are thirty-two portions of medicine herbs. Even if I fail once, it’s acceptable.
It's just too wasteful. After all, these medicine herbs seem to be worth a lot of money.
Alright, let me have a try once. I would never succeed if I don't have a try. Even if I fail, I can gain experience from it. Song Shuhang had made up his mind.
Then I’ll have a try this afternoon!
Hopefully, the roommates wouldn’t care when he was fiddling about in the kitchen. Or, maybe he should go out and find another place to try it secretly?
However, now he had to go back to finish his last class this morning.
Shuhang opened his own cupboard and placed the boxes containing medicine herbs into it one by one.
The cupboard’s size was just right. He could put all the medicine herbs into it after taking out all the stuff inside.
That's great, otherwise, I don't know where I would hide these things, Song Shuhang thought.
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