Pill Cauldron Sect’s Elder Fu had taken on a disciple.
His disciple was an obscure inner sect disciple. Her cultivation was average, and her alchemy talent was terribly poor. She could even blow up the furnace while refining simple pills.
Resentment, dissatisfaction… all sorts of emotions churned among some of the pill-cultivating disciples. Occasionally, they would even whisper pointed remarks right in front of her.
“She probably can’t even understand Elder Fu’s guidance… What a waste…”
“She can’t even refine basic pills properly. How many furnaces has she blown up? I don’t get what Elder Fu sees in her…”
Of course, these words never reached Elder Fu’s ears, and the girl herself didn’t care at all.
No matter what, she had become Elder Fu’s one and only personal disciple. She moved directly into his Medicine Hut, and naturally received more guidance.
The peony flowers she gifted to her master had also been planted in a whole patch, blooming softly and vibrantly on one side of the Medicine Hut.
In the daily life at the Medicine Hut, besides tending to the flowers and plants, Fu Songjin often refined pills with his little disciple—or rather, she took the initiative to stay by her master’s side.
High-grade pills took ten days or half a month to refine from start to finish. From the moment he began selecting spirit materials, his little disciple followed closely beside him, listening whenever he occasionally shared some techniques.
The girl blinked her eyes. She clearly didn’t understand much, but since her master was speaking, she listened obediently.
Her gaze fell on her master’s stunningly beautiful and gentle face, on the smile playing at his lips, and on his tender brows and eyes.
When she grew tired of listening, she would prop her cheek on her hand and gaze at him, her soft cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling brightly.
The beauty, adorned like fine gold and jade, lowered his eyes with a faint smile. His slender fingers toyed with the flowers and plants, and in the serene atmosphere, the fragrance emanating from his body—long since soaked in pill scents—filled the air.
Seeing that his little disciple was bored and drowsy, her master let out a soft chuckle.
He taught her how to pound the medicine. The little disciple knew she wasn’t clever, so she simply watched her master with her bright, watery eyes, holding the tools but not knowing where to start.
Her master felt helpless yet indulgent. He circled her from behind and guided her hand by hand.
As time passed, the pill fragrance surrounding him gradually transferred to his little disciple.
She was his little disciple, after all. It was only natural that she carried her master’s scent, which inexplicably put his heart at ease.
When her master went to refine pills, the little disciple wouldn’t wander off. She quietly waited outside the pill-refining room for him to emerge.
Refining a batch of pills consumed a great deal of mental energy, so pill masters needed to take some spirit-replenishing pills. Every time he stepped out of the pill-refining room, his little disciple would come right up and offer him the spirit-replenishing pills.
[Favorability…]
“Master.” She directly picked up a pill and brought it to his lips, gazing at him eagerly. She actually wanted to feed it to him by hand.
How could a gentle-tempered master like him refuse? His helplessness was all indulgence. He brushed back his hair, parted his lips, and took the pill from between her fingertips.
[Favorability…]
Though his little disciple had mediocre talent, her temperament was excellent. Fu Songjin had never once disliked her or spoken harshly to her.
However, precisely because her talent was mediocre and Elder Fu was always so gentle, he had obtained some spirit materials that were useless to him. It was better to give them to his sect disciples.
He had distributed them to other disciples a few times, rather than to his personal disciple.
Rationally speaking, the other disciples had better talent and needed them more than she did.
He was good to every disciple.
Who would have thought that his little disciple happened to need that spirit material too? She came to him suddenly, but he had already given them all away.
The girl gazed at him eagerly. “Master, are there no more?”
There were none left.
The little disciple read his expression, and a layer of moisture welled up in her eyes.
She didn’t blame her master. Instead, she comforted him. “It’s okay, Master. My alchemy skills still need more practice. I shouldn’t have been so impatient. It’s fine, Master…”
For the first time, a dull ache throbbed in Fu Songjin’s heart. It was probably guilt.
[Favorability…]
The warm, soft, and fragrant beauty bent down slightly and admitted his mistake in a gentle voice. “It was Master’s fault. Master apologizes to you.”
He wiped the corner of his little disciple’s eye and took her hand, leading her to the storeroom to fetch more materials.
Glancing down, Fu Songjin inadvertently noticed their clasped hands.
He had maintained his youthful appearance for years and took good care of himself. Though his lifespan far exceeded hers, just looking at their appearances, no one could tell the difference.
Feeling playful, the little disciple wiggled the fingers her master was holding and slipped them into the gaps between his.
A faint itch spread from his fingertip to his palm.
But Fu Songjin suddenly averted his gaze.
He kept holding her hand just like that.
It was only holding hands.
His mind stirred with an unusual feeling, and this disturbance was unmistakably rooted in his newly accepted little disciple.
It was his first time being a master. For now, he suppressed the odd sensation. Later, during meditation, he couldn’t figure out the reason and went to consult other elders.
There were plenty of elders in the sect who had taken disciples. He specifically asked what a master should do and how to do it.
The answers were more or less to pay more attention to the disciple, teach them techniques, supervise their cultivation, and so on.
Fu Songjin felt he half-understood.
Of course he paid attention to his disciple.
His little disciple was by his side every day.
Perhaps he needed to pay even more attention.
With that thought, Fu Songjin began carrying his little disciple with him almost everywhere.
Occasionally, when the sect assigned him to give lectures, Elder Fu naturally accepted and brought his little disciple along.
Sometimes, he lectured to her specifically, but his lessons were open to anyone.
Besides his personal disciple, other disciples came to learn, making it no different from the sect’s large classes.
Fu Songjin hadn’t noticed anything wrong yet when his little disciple came to him first, looking aggrieved.
“Master.” Her expression was pitiful and adorable as she tugged at his sleeve. “I don’t want to attend classes with the others…”
Fu Songjin didn’t understand, but then she continued. “Master, I’m not very smart and my knowledge is shallow. I… I don’t want others to mock me or make you lose face…”
Her little disciple’s eyes were wet and glistening, making Fu Songjin’s heart ache again.
[Favorability…]
“I didn’t know about this. Who said that to you?” He leaned down slightly, squatting to meet her eye level, hoping she would tell her master.
But the girl shook her head and hung her head dejectedly, refusing to look at him. “It’s because I’m too stupid. It’s my fault…”
[Favorability…]
No, it was Master’s fault.
Fu Songjin pressed his lips together.
He clearly paid attention to his little disciple’s every move every day, yet she had still suffered grievances right under his nose, and he hadn’t noticed.
He stroked the top of her head and comforted her softly. “It has nothing to do with your talent. It’s about those people’s character… They were in the wrong.”
The girl said nothing. Suddenly, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.
Fu Songjin froze. His hand lifted but ultimately didn’t push his little disciple away.
He accepted her embrace.
If this could comfort her… it wasn’t unacceptable.
The beautiful master’s raised hand finally came down, resting on his little disciple’s back, patting gently again and again.
His movements were gentle, and he even lightened his breathing. After all, she was buried in his chest, pressing in quite firmly.
He was overly considerate as a master, afraid that the rise and fall of his breathing might disturb her.
[Favorability…]
But between master and disciple…
They probably shouldn’t be this intimate.
Fu Songjin’s expression grew dazed, but in the end, he couldn’t refuse her.
A hug was just a hug. It would only be this once, anyway.
That was what he thought—until something happened to his little disciple.
Someone seeking medicine had fallen into demonic obsession and suddenly attacked, injuring her.
It was all his fault for not being at the Medicine Hut at the time. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been hurt and frightened.
He rushed back as soon as he heard the news. Fortunately, her injuries weren’t severe.
The Medicine Hut had its own defensive array, but the incident happened too suddenly. She had been cut and was too close to the patient, ending up with several wounds on her body.
His poor little disciple had suffered a disaster out of nowhere. She was truly terrified and flew straight into her master’s arms, burying her face in his chest the moment she saw him.
Fu Songjin steadily caught her. Putting aside his heartache, treating her wounds came first. “Let Master see your injuries first.”
His little disciple clutched his clothes and refused to let go, gazing at him with teary eyes.
[Favorability…]
Fu Songjin’s brows and eyes grew even gentler. While carefully healing her wounds, he let his disciple cling to him and hug him.
Taking a disciple and being a master truly wasn’t easy.
In the end, it was because he wasn’t competent enough as a master.
He wasn’t doing well enough.
When he came back to his senses, Fu Songjin realized he had responded to his little disciple’s embrace and wrapped his arms around her.
Realizing this, he suddenly let go, intentionally putting some distance between them.
But his little disciple wouldn’t have it. She grabbed his sleeve and looked at him with teary eyes. “Master?”
She looked about to cry and cried out in pain. The soft-hearted beauty couldn’t refuse and had to step forward again, hugging her.
Wasn’t it normal for a disciple to depend on her master?
It should be perfectly normal for a master’s body to serve as a warm haven to comfort his disciple.
For several days in a row, he and his little disciple slept fully clothed together, with him comforting her with his body.
Her hand rested at his waist, clutching his clothes. She liked burying her face in his chest and occasionally nuzzling against him.
Fu Songjin felt helpless but let her do as she pleased.
As his little disciple grew a bit older, her cultivation improved somewhat, and she gained more knowledge. While hugging her master, she chatted with him.
Suddenly, she mentioned a certain senior brother, speaking of him with fondness. It seemed she didn’t dislike him at all.
Fu Songjin remembered the disciple she mentioned. He did have good talent, a decent temperament, and even passable looks.
He suddenly zoned out. Without a sound, he quietly wrapped his arms around the little disciple in his embrace.
“You’re still young. It’s too early to think about dao companions. Besides… you can know a person’s face but not their heart. That disciple seems decent at first glance…” He heard his own gentle voice saying.
He was hundreds of years old, while his disciple’s bone age was not yet twenty.
In the eyes of a hundreds-year-old cultivator, a little cultivator under twenty was indeed like a child.
But he forgot that in the mortal world, women under twenty were already adults, even married.
The little disciple in his arms shifted slightly, her voice clear and bright. “I’ll listen to Master…”
Then, he heard her say, “If I were to find a dao companion, I’d want one like Master…”
Before she finished speaking, Fu Songjin responded warmly. “Good.”
He hugged his little disciple even tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head and rubbing against it ever so slightly.
The flowers outside must have bloomed by now. The floral scent mixed with the pill fragrance, blending together until it became the scent on his body—and hers too.
The embrace was filled with a warm, fused fragrance. His little disciple’s hair was also imbued with her master’s scent, and his restless mind suddenly settled.
[Favorability 99]
Until one day, watching the child he had watched grow little by little, she suddenly confessed to him—to her master.
His little disciple liked him.