Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 239: A Gift

Repay his help? Wu Mo, Fan Chunlin, and Li Baima looked at Jiang Lanting, then looked at Jiang Lanting again.

They had never expected that Brother Ding had actually helped Young Master Brightstream.

This was the heir of one of the Nine Great Orders under heaven, and he himself ranked among the top fifty on the Orchid Fresh List. What could he possibly need Brother Ding’s help with?

Ding Songyan, for his part, laughed in dismay.

"Fourth Jiang, I don’t like hearing that.

"As heroes, we help each other when we’re out in the world. That’s only right, and it’s our loyalty and affection at work. You are looking down on me if you insist on counting it as a favor to repay, not wanting me as a friend or planning to draw your sword for me when I’m in danger."

Affection and loyalty are priceless. How can a priceless thing be measured with vulgar profit?

Most friendships between young heroes were built up exactly like this, each helping the other.

Jiang Lanting paused, then said with a faint smile, "That’s reasonable.

"But you may refuse it, and I can’t fail to bring it up. Otherwise, if word got out, I, Jiang Lanting, would seem cold and ungrateful, unworthy to be called a man.

"Are you sure you don’t want it? It’s a good thing, you know."

Ding Songyan did not ask what it was, only smiled and shook his head.

"No.

"I drew my sword because I approve of you, Young Master Brightstream, not for a reward. If you truly feel you owe me, then when we meet by the roadside someday, I hope you’ll help me out if I’m down on my luck for the sake of this affection."

"Fine, you’re a friend of mine." Jiang Lanting beamed, making the whole courtyard seem a little brighter.

Fan Chunlin and the others watched, dumbstruck.

"Would you like to come in for a chat?" Ding Songyan asked politely.

When someone comes to visit, how could one send them off after only a few words?

Jiang Lanting nodded lightly and followed Ding Songyan into the room.

Easygoing and unconstrained, this Young Master Brightstream looked over the room’s furnishings on his own, his gaze landing on the stack of paper on the desk.

"What’s this?" Jiang Lanting asked curiously, eyes bright.

"Storybooks." Ding Songyan did not hide it.

"You write storybooks too?" Jiang Lanting sized up Ding Songyan, as if getting to know him anew.

"Before I joined the Brightnight Sect, I worked as a storyteller for a while. My senior sister loves the stories I write, so I make some up when I have time." Ding Songyan was telling the truth.

Jiang Lanting nodded in understanding and pointed at the stack of paper.

"May I take a look?"

"Go ahead." Ding Songyan sat down beside the square table.

Jiang Lanting carried the thick stacks of paper to the side of the table too. He did not rush to read the stories, but picked up a teacup and, turning it in his hands, asked with a smile,

"Do you want to hear what good thing I brought?"

"No." Ding Songyan lifted the teapot and poured tea for Young Master Jiang.

"You’re afraid you’ll regret it once you hear, aren’t you?" Jiang Lanting clicked his tongue and laughed. "Otherwise you wouldn’t be too afraid to even listen."

Ding Songyan poured a cup for himself and answered indifferently, "Then tell me."

Jiang Lanting smiled broadly and said in a teasing tone, "It’s a Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill."

His eyes sparkled with a touch of anticipation, as if eager to see Ding Songyan’s look of regret.

"What kind of pill is that?" Ding Songyan looked baffled.

Jiang Lanting sipped his light tea and said, smiling with his eyes, "Our Yin-Yang Order’s expertise ranges from the Way of the Two Principles to the arts of male and female, with over a thousand years of accumulation. The Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill is a wonder drug we groped our way to through research in that field. It makes you vigorous, fills you with yang energy, lets your manhood grow another inch or two, and makes it firmer.

"We make fewer than fifty of these new each year. For many people they’re worth a fortune. Among the male friends I know, none has ever refused this gift."

A second growth spurt? What a wonder drug... Ding Songyan nearly gaped.

The Yin-Yang Order has real skill!

Seeing his expression change slightly, Jiang Lanting grew even more smug.

"The Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill only works the first time it’s taken. Second Ding, you may answer again. Are you sure you don’t want it?"

Ding Songyan’s mind raced. He shook his head solemnly.

"No.

"I helped you for the sake of loyalty and affection, not for a pill."

Jiang Lanting froze.

His eyes flickered as he looked Ding Songyan over again.

Before Young Master Brightstream could say something like "Worthy of a Brightnight Sect disciple," Ding Songyan suddenly broke into a smile.

"Brother Jiang, is the pill for sale? Consider it a favor I owe you."

"..." Jiang Lanting was speechless for a moment, then began to laugh, shaking all over. "You, haha, you’re really amusing, haha. I almost fell for it and thought you weren’t interested."

Ding Songyan raised his gaze to the upper part of the rafters so as not to be captivated by the other’s looks.

With a peerless beauty of the jianghu, looking was fine, and a flutter of the heart was perfectly normal. But he would rather pass when it came to Young Master Brightstream.

When Jiang Lanting stopped laughing, Ding Songyan said in his usual tone,

"These are two separate matters and shouldn’t be lumped together.

"Fourth Jiang, if you’re unwilling to sell, that’s fine. I won’t use our friendship to pressure you."

Jiang Lanting understood Ding Songyan’s meaning. He took a white porcelain bottle from an inner pocket near his elbow and pushed it toward Ding Songyan.

"Not for sale. This is a gift from Brother Jiang."

"Peach Blossom Pond is a thousand feet deep, yet falls short of the kindness Brother Jiang gives me." Ding Songyan took it with a smile, once again tampering with famous poems.

He pulled out the stopper and saw inside a blood-red pill that was richly fragrant enough to stir the blood.

"Are there any taboos for taking the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill? Will there be any negative changes?" Ding Songyan asked cautiously.

He certainly couldn’t use Bringing All Things Into Unity to dissolve it, or it would have no medicinal effect.

Jiang Lanting acknowledged.

"At your realm, after taking it you must avoid sex for seven days and must not lose any essence, or the pill is useless and equals taking a harsh, potent drug."

Fine, I’m staying a virgin anyway... Ding Songyan joked to himself.

He only hoped his good sister wouldn’t tease him for a while. Though she clearly meant nothing by it, since it was mostly sibling banter and playful needling, what worried him was the old problem: she might have no such thoughts, but he couldn’t vouch for his own. A hot-blooded young man could keep himself in check while awake, but in his dreams, it was another matter.

"What do you mean, ’at my realm’?" Ding Songyan asked carefully.

"Someone at the perfected Great Proliferation Realm needs seven days to absorb the medicinal power and make it their own. Someone who has just entered the Dharma Realm needs three," Jiang Lanting explained simply.

Ding Songyan’s expression did not change, and he asked in a tone of casual discussion, "And the perfected Dharma Realm?"

"Two days will do." Jiang Lanting suspected nothing.

That’s fine... Ding Songyan put away the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill and asked curiously, "What other wonder drugs with peculiar effects does your Yin-Yang Order have?"

Jiang Lanting’s eyes turned slightly as he recalled, "There are pills that help people have children, pills that improve yang and strengthen qi, pills that nourish yin and beautify the complexion, pills that harmonize yin and yang..."

Harmonize yin and yang... Ding Songyan suddenly recalled Ji Hanyi’s earlier words about "yin and yang uniting, each supplying what the other lacks."

That was most likely the demoness bluffing, but if it was only harmonizing yin and yangqi, there might really be a similar need.

From Jiang Lanting’s answers, Ding Songyan also understood why the Yin-Yang Order had such a broad audience and so many believers.

An order that can boost virility, beautify the complexion, and cure infertility. Just try telling me you wouldn’t believe in it!

The metaphysical Way of Yin and Yang is lofty and profound, but how can it compare with the practical arts of male and female that reach deep into people’s hearts?

After chatting for quite a while, Jiang Lanting finally began to flip through the stacks of paper by the oil lamp.

Ding Songyan drank his tea and did not disturb him.

After a long time, Jiang Lanting lifted his head, eyes red and tear tracks on his face, and said with a slight sob,

"The three-lifetime love between the sentient jade and the scarlet grass of Jade Pool is so beautifully written..."

Miss Jiang, don’t do this. If anyone sees, they’ll think I did something to you... Ding Songyan didn’t know what to say. He watched Jiang Lanting take out a handkerchief embroidered with plum blossoms and wipe away the tears, truly a sight to arouse pity.

"Phew, ever since I stopped suppressing my feminine side, I sometimes grow too wistful and melancholy," Jiang Lanting composed himself and explained.

"A delicate heart knows no gender," Ding Songyan replied sincerely.

Jiang Lanting glanced at the sky outside the window.

"It’s getting late, and I have things to do. Let’s meet again later."

Young Master Brightstream had just stood up when he suddenly smiled charmingly and said teasingly, "I won’t bother you these seven days, so as not to interfere with your taking the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill."

"Brother Jiang is truly righteous!" Ding Songyan cooperatively cupped his hands in salute.

After seeing Jiang Lanting all the way out of the side courtyard, Ding Songyan turned back and saw Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin sitting at the stone table, neither saying a word.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, amused.

Wu Mo’s face was not very good. After a while he said, somewhat dazed,

"I thought I only liked women..."

Ding Songyan burst out laughing.

"If Young Master Jiang put on women’s clothes and stood next to Miss Zhang, could you tell which one is the man and which the woman?"

"No." Wu Mo imagined it and let out a long breath.

Fan Chunlin relaxed too.

So it’s not our problem. Young Master Jiang simply looks too much like a girl!

Back in his room, Ding Songyan took out the white porcelain bottle, poured the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill into his palm, and swallowed it.

Some things had to be done in one go.

...

Two days later, Twelfth Madam Luo after being done with dinner hours, sat beside the wine banner, eating a plate of winter jujubes with crisp bites while watching the people coming and going in the streets and alleys.

As a cold wind blew past, she frowned slightly and saw a familiar figure approach.

"Only two days of peace," Twelfth Madam Luo muttered with some regret.

Ding Songyan stopped before Twelfth Madam and said with a smile, "I have some martial arts questions I’d like to ask you about."

With Twelfth Madam Luo, he was always shameless, but never flirtatious.

These two days, he had deliberately avoided pretty women so as not to disturb the effect of the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill.

He had to admit that in this field the Yin-Yang Order was truly the best in the Mountains-and-Seas Realm, and the effect was quite good.

Having enjoyed two quiet days, Twelfth Madam Luo felt little resistance. Holding the plate of winter jujubes, she rose slowly and said, "Come to the back courtyard."

In the back courtyard, once they had taken their seats, Ding Songyan earnestly asked about the qi of heaven and earth.

"The qi of the void is the aperture of heaven and earth, flowing ceaselessly and ever changing," Twelfth Madam Luo said concisely.

Her words were thought-provoking and plunged Ding Songyan into long contemplation.

So the duo went back and forth with questions and answers, discussing at times, as the night gradually deepened.

Suddenly, Twelfth Madam Luo and Ding Songyan turned their gazes at the same time toward the alley behind the main room.

Someone there had abruptly collapsed, hiding serious wounds.