"Is there still no news of Wu Qi?"
Deep within the Endless Great Marsh, in the underground Yin Corpse Hall, Mo Shang slowly rose from his chair and spoke to the guard bowing before him.
The guard kept his head respectfully lowered and said, "Reporting to the Grand Elder, there is still no news. Should... this lowly one send men out to search?"
"There is no need," Mo Shang said, raising his hand. "Without my order, no one is allowed to leave this place without permission. Go and summon Ge Qiu. This old man has a matter to entrust to him."
"Yes, Grand Elder."
The guard received the order and sped away. After landing in the plaza, he swiftly flew along the first main path on the left. This path was extremely long, its end impossible to see at a glance, with massive stone chambers lining both sides.
It did not take long for the guard to stop before a stone chamber named the Thousand Machinery Hall.
At this moment.
Inside the stone chamber, a thin-faced, middle-aged man in black robes sat in the seat of honor. He was discussing a matter with a dozen or so men and women seated below. Upon noticing the guard at the entrance, he immediately raised a hand to interrupt the others and calmly asked, "Guard Liu, what is the matter?"
Everyone turned their gazes toward the guard at the door.
Although this man's rank was lower than theirs, as a hall guard of the Yin Corpse Hall, he could not be slighted.
Guard Liu slightly cupped his fists and said, "Hall Master Ge, the Grand Elder requests your presence."
The Grand Elder.
Hearing this, Ge Qiu hastily stood up from his seat and told the crowd, "Everyone, let us end today's gathering here. I must first pay my respects to the Grand Elder."
Without waiting for a response, he hurried out of the Thousand Machinery Hall. After following Guard Liu for a short distance, he probed tentatively, "Brother Liu, might you know why the Grand Elder seeks me?"
Although he was a Hall Master, Grand Elder Mo's thoughts were notoriously difficult to fathom. If things went wrong, he might not be sitting in this Hall Master position in the next instant. He wanted to catch some wind of the situation so he could prepare.
Guard Liu shook his head. "This... I truly do not know. However, before asking for you, Hall Master, the Grand Elder inquired about Wu Qi. I wonder if it might be related to that."
Wu Qi.
At that name, Ge Qiu's heart trembled.
As the Hall Master of the Thousand Machinery Hall, he was in charge of all external affairs and information gathering. He naturally knew what Wu Qi had gone out to do. Moreover, their Thousand Machinery Hall had a hand in the matter, dispatching specific men to help Wu Qi track down the whereabouts of those two individuals.
But alas, over a month had passed without the slightest clue regarding those two.
Was the Grand Elder displeased?
This was truly troublesome!
Ge Qiu's mind raced, desperate to find a suitable excuse to extract himself from blame, but try as he might, no good solution came to mind.
In the blink of an eye, the two arrived at the hall entrance.
From afar, Ge Qiu caught sight of Mo Shang's expressionless, terrifyingly grim old face. Steeling his heart, he rushed into the hall in three quick steps, dropping to his knees and wailing as if his parents had died. "Grand Elder... I am guilty... Grand Elder... I have failed you..."
His cries were incredibly miserable, leaving Guard Liu outside and the person across the room utterly dumbfounded.
Seeing this, Mo Shang's brows furiously knitted together. His gaze cut like a blade as he glared at Ge Qiu and coldly shouted, "Bastard! What offense have you committed this time?!"
Me?
What offense?
Ge Qiu froze in momentary shock. Could it be he hadn't been called here about Wu Qi? Damn it all, hadn't he just invited trouble upon himself for no reason?
If his crying had been an act earlier, he was genuinely weeping now-weeping at his own stupidity. Yanking his sleeves back, he ruthlessly slapped himself twice in the face and cried out, "Grand Elder, this subordinate was incompetent! Over a month has passed, and I still haven't helped Wu Qi track down those two. This subordinate... is guilty..."
"So that is what you were talking about."
Mo Shang stared deeply at Ge Qiu. He mused that this fellow was at least somewhat honest. He hadn't even planned to pursue the matter yet, but Ge Qiu had come forward to beg for punishment of his own accord. Thus, he said, "Very well. Seeing as you have actively admitted your fault, you are sentenced to receive one hundred lashes in the Punishment Hall!"
"O-one hundred lashes!" Ge Qiu felt utterly stifled. He had been perfectly fine, yet he had brought a severe beating upon himself.
"What?" Seeing Ge Qiu's reluctance, Mo Shang's expression darkened once more.
"Ah, nothing! I... I just feel that one hundred lashes is truly too few."
"Oh? Is that so? You have quite a high level of awareness, boy. Then go and receive two hundred lashes!"
"Ah!!!"
"Hmm?"
"No, no, I will go right now. Right now." Ge Qiu didn't dare utter half a word more. He was terrified that in a moment of agitation he would say 'it's still not enough' and dig an even deeper grave.
Two hundred lashes. Even at the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, he would be beaten half to death. Any more than that, and he would truly be beaten to a pulp.
Saying this, he made to rise and leave.
"Wait!" Just then, Mo Shang called him back.
Ge Qiu's heart pounded wildly. He turned around, his face looking uglier than a grieving widower's. "G-Grand Elder... what are your orders?"
"How goes the task of finding alchemists to refine the Corpse Nourishing Pill?" Mo Shang asked, looking at Ge Qiu indifferently.
So that was it. Ge Qiu finally understood why he had been summoned. He hurriedly bowed with deep respect and said, "This subordinate has already dispatched people to handle it. Within two months, we should be able to gather five alchemists."
"You sent others to handle it?" Mo Shang pondered for a moment before saying, "Corpse Nourishing Pills are already in exceedingly short supply. We cannot afford to be careless. To ensure nothing goes wrong, you will handle this matter personally. If there is even the slightest mishap, bring me your head!"
Ge Qiu's heart chilled, and he frantically accepted the order. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Outside the door, Guard Liu watched Ge Qiu scurry out of the hall looking entirely dejected. Unable to hold it in, he let out a stifled 'pfft' of laughter. It was only when Ge Qiu shot him a furious glare that he forced it back down.
Ge Qiu did not linger outside the main hall. He obediently headed for the Punishment Hall. Although this was the result of his own loose tongue, the old man had given the word. If he didn't go, he might just find himself sleeping in the Ten Thousand Corpse Pit tomorrow.
......
Jinyang Workshop Master's Mansion.
"That kid is truly going all out. It has been three days since he went in, and he still hasn't come out."
Beside the stone table at the edge of the plaza, Wan Hong'an, Li Xiuyun, and Jia Tong were sitting together and chatting. Jia Tong suddenly turned to look at the Pill Tower, sighing with emotion.
"Ah, the youth certainly have drive." Wan Hong'an rubbed his plump belly with a hint of envy. "Unlike me. Aside from eating, I don't want to do a single thing."
Hearing this, Li Xiuyun frowned. "Hmph, I say that kid is just making a frantic last-minute effort. Didn't Brother Jia Tong mention that he needed five attempts to successfully refine that pill? Perhaps he's afraid of making a fool of himself when it's time to actually perform."
"Brother, you shouldn't say that. As I told you, the quality of the pill Fellow Daoist Qin refined was far superior to mine. If Fellow Daoist Qin hears you say such things, he'll surely fall out with me."
"Fall out?" Li Xiuyun scoffed. "Is a dignified cultivator at the sixth layer of Qi Refining like you afraid of falling out with a mere fifth-layer brat?"
"That is not right to say, Brother. It's not that I fear him. I simply feel that since we are all alchemists, it is inevitable we will exchange insights with one another. It's best not to make relations too rigid."
"Hmph!" Li Xiuyun stood up abruptly, sneering in disdain. "This old man cannot lower his face to exchange insights with a wet-behind-the-ears brat. Those on different paths cannot scheme together. I will return to rest first. Let the Workshop Master summon me again when he has gathered enough people."
Watching Li Xiuyun leave in a huff, Wan Hong'an and Jia Tong were both left with bitter smiles.