Chapter 495: Chapter 495: Peeping

An Caiwei had been very busy lately.

Her Junior Brother’s Alchemy had mobilized her as well, and he wasn’t being the least bit polite about it.

Her frequent purchases of rare items from the valley caught the attention of a familiar Senior Sister, who took note.

Two months after she delivered the Floating Life Spring that Bai Mo wanted, a message came from Ah Er again, requesting to purchase a batch of winter honey.

The Senior Sister who raised the winter bees was familiar with her and narrowed her eyes.

"Your Junior Brother might be skilled in pill-related matters, but his recent purchases have been a bit too frequent."

"Is he just loaded?"

Senior Sister An shook her head.

As she inspected a row of porcelain vials of winter honey, she found herself not quite satisfied.

"He recently started refining a great Pill. He’s been preparing for it for a long time and probably won’t get a break for almost a year."

"Senior Sister, this is last year’s honey, isn’t it? Why is it still out?"

Hearing this, the woman in white’s eyes lit up.

"A great Pill that takes over a year to refine?"

"Doesn’t that mean your Junior Brother’s skill in the Alchemy Dao far surpasses my own? I wouldn’t even dare to dream of such a thing."

She said excitedly, "That’s a scene only a Grandmaster could preside over! On Pill Peak, only the elders and a handful of disciples are capable of that!"

An Caiwei recalled the Pills he occasionally traded with others and said tactfully:

"Your skill in the Alchemy Dao is excellent as well, Senior Sister. That’s why everyone comes to you when they need to buy Pills..."

"Senior Sister, do you have any higher-quality winter honey? I’m not short on Spirit Stones."

The white-clothed woman’s face lit up with excitement.

"Caiwei, don’t try to comfort me. I remember you’ve never once bought a Pill from me!"

An Caiwei gave an awkward laugh as the other woman continued:

"I happen to have some top-grade winter honey on hand. It’s a rare treasure, with very little produced each year."

The woman in white said with a sly smile.

"You take me there for a look from afar, and I’ll sell you that vial of winter honey for cheap. How about it?"

A colorful, finger-sized bee flew past, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.

The honey they collect is left in the hive through a whole winter, becoming what is known as winter honey.

This honey had a warm nature. It was what Bai Mo had instructed An Caiwei to find, saying it was extremely important.

But upon hearing the white-clothed woman’s request, An Caiwei’s expression changed drastically.

"How could you suggest such a thing!?"

"My Junior Brother is in the middle of Alchemy! If you go and disturb him, Senior Sister, what will we do if something goes wrong?"

The woman in white snorted softly.

"Even if you don’t take me, I know that when you have the swan goose deliver things, it’s to Mi Mountain."

"Your Junior Brother is probably somewhere near Mi Mountain, isn’t he?"

"The day after tomorrow, a Junior Sister is passing through there on her way to the North River to gather Scale Crystals. If you don’t take me, I can just tag along with her for a peek!"

An Caiwei’s expression froze.

The woman in white, reading her expression, quickly dropped her triumphant look.

"Come on, good Junior Sister, just take me to have a look. It wouldn’t be right to secretly spy on someone’s Alchemy, would it?"

"Stealing techniques... that’s how you make enemies..."

Through a combination of pleading and pestering, An Caiwei finally agreed.

The woman in white was overjoyed.

But An Caiwei said:

"We have a deal, then. You have to give me that vial of winter honey first!"

...

Some time passed, but the swan goose bringing the supplies still hadn’t arrived for Ah Er.

It was on the altar, helping Bai Mo prepare medicinal ingredients.

The sound of wind swirled around the altar, circulating endlessly.

To Ah Er’s surprise, there were actually two types of wind by the altar’s edge.

One was full of vibrant life, while the other was surging and extremely warm—two completely different sensations.

The essence erupting from the cauldron was trapped on the altar by the two winds.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a foul stench; otherwise, life would have been unbearable.

’I’m completely infused with a pleasant fragrance,’ Ah Er thought, watching Bai Mo stir the Pill Liquid.

Suddenly, a short oink sounded from outside before silence returned.

Ah Er glanced back. The giant wild boar was its mount, so it knew it well.

There was no panic in that oink, so it wasn’t worried.

Meanwhile, in the distant woods.

The woman in white stood on the back of the tall boar, her expression complicated.

"This is the ’viewing spot’ you mentioned?"

An Caiwei, beside her, nodded emphatically.

"This fellow roams the woods to drive away any stray beasts for my Junior Brother."

"It knows where to go without disturbing him. We just have to let it lead the way."

The giant wild boar paid no mind to the two women whispering on its back.

It had met An Caiwei with Ah Er before and knew she was a friend, so it didn’t reject her.

’Otherwise, did they really think it had no temper?’

Before long, the giant wild boar led the two women to a small hill, from where they could see Bai Mo’s altar.

The altar was shrouded in a five-colored mist, with ribbons of light dancing about. It was a magnificent sight.

An Caiwei was astonished.

"Wow! Junior Brother is so amazing!"

The white-clothed woman beside her narrowed her eyes, staring at the altar’s arrangement and muttering to herself.

’I’ve never heard of this setup. Is it some kind of unorthodox path? Or a rare, secret technique?’

The giant wild boar glanced at the two women before lowering its head and continuing to root through the earth, digging up and chewing on some mushrooms.

This was its lookout spot.

From this spot, no miscreant who dared to approach could escape its porcine eyes!

Bai Mo’s perception was unusually sharp now. The gaze of two pairs of eyes was enough for him to sense them.

After a glance in the women’s direction, Bai Mo turned and instructed Ah Er, who was focused on cutting herbs.

"Go check on the mushroom forest. We might have guests."

Ah Er looked up blankly, nodded, and went on its way.

The mushrooms in that forest were inedible. It usually only went there to pick them as feed for the boar.

’Could it be some reckless foodie trying to pick mushrooms?’

Ah Er ran over and saw An Caiwei and the other woman.

"Ah-erh!"

Ah Er was greatly surprised.

An Caiwei handed it the winter honey and said softly:

"This is the winter honey Junior Brother Bai wanted. I found some of the highest quality for him."

"This is the Senior Sister who sells the honey. She wanted to come have a look. Is that alright?"

Ah Er took the vial of winter honey. Just as it shook its head and was about to say it was fine, the white-clothed woman beside it struggled to pick it up.

"Ssss!"

"What fragrant Pill Qi! Is this the aroma a Pill that costs over ten thousand should have?"

Ah Er was bewildered, only to be rescued by An Caiwei.

"It’s fine now. Quickly, take that back to your Junior Brother. Don’t cause any delays!"

Ah Er actually wanted to explain. After all, the number of Spirit Stones its master had spent on this Pill was far more than just "over ten thousand."

But hearing An Caiwei’s words, it decided that its task was more important and hurried away.

A short while later, Bai Mo received the winter honey. With just one sniff, his eyes lit up.

"This is undoubtedly top quality. Quite rare."

He turned his head and asked Ah Er, "Did Senior Sister bring someone who seems to be a fellow practitioner of the Alchemy Dao?"

Ah Er nodded.

Bai Mo then offered a reminder: "My methods are unorthodox, different from the mainstream Alchemy Dao. Watching might not benefit her; it could even be harmful."

"For the sake of this vial of winter honey, go and give her a warning."

Ah Er acknowledged and left.

Bai Mo, meanwhile, poured the honey from the vial into the cauldron.

’With this honey to harmonize everything, this stage is more or less complete. It’s time to add the ores and congeal the Pill...’

A moment later, on the hill, Ah Er—who was gesturing to explain things to An Caiwei and the other woman—was startled by a sudden clap of thunder.

RUMBLE...

The rolling thunder sounded and then faded. The sky above the altar was finally no longer clear and blue.

Ah Er’s expression turned serious. It rubbed its paws together and bid farewell to An Caiwei.

’According to what Bai Mo taught me, this is the most critical moment.’

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