Chapter Sixty-Six: The Enormous Bounty

Inside the alchemy chamber, all was silent except for a series of rumbling sounds emanating from her stomach.

Gu Weiyu’s hand, which had been reaching for the spirit herb to refine another Replenishing Pill, paused. She had intended to continue for a while longer, but now her stomach was protesting loudly!

“Xiaoshu, what time is it now?” Gu Weiyu patted her belly. Life without foundation building was truly inconvenient—she couldn't even suppress hunger with spiritual energy.

“Uh—you’ve probably been in this alchemy room for nearly four hours,” Xiaoshu replied uncertainly.

Four hours? Wasn’t it nearly dusk by now?

Rising from the meditation cushion, Gu Weiyu realized she hadn’t eaten all day. Her stomach clamored even more insistently.

Next time, she had to prepare some snacks. This gnawing hunger was unbearable; she felt she could devour an entire elephant!

She pushed open the door to the alchemy room and walked out, her steps unsteady.

She hadn’t gone far before she encountered Sanshui, Chu Liuxing’s personal attendant.

“Master Hu, you’ve finally come out!” Sanshui approached, his face brimming with relief.

He had run between the alchemy hall and his young master six times, and not once had he caught sight of Master Hu. He’d thought this trip would also be in vain, but unexpectedly, he ran right into him halfway there.

“Sanshui, is Brother Chu looking for me?” Gu Weiyu immediately guessed the reason from his expression.

“Mm—yes, my young master is indeed looking for you,” Sanshui scratched his head. Truthfully, there wasn’t anything urgent; his young master was simply bored.

Gu Weiyu and Sanshui headed together to Chu Liuxing’s courtyard, where they found him sitting idly, amusing himself with a talking bird.

“Brother Chu—” Gu Weiyu approached, her gaze landing on the bird.

It was a small, flaming-red bird, no bigger than an adult’s palm. Though it was only a first-tier spirit beast and its abilities were rather unimpressive, its intelligence and responsiveness made it a favorite among cultivators—especially women—as a spirit pet.

Seeing Gu Weiyu, Chu Liuxing immediately tossed the bird aside. “Yu, you’ve finally come out!”

Gu Weiyu smiled and nodded, sitting down across from him.

Spotting the refreshments on the table, she unceremoniously picked up a piece and stuffed it in her mouth—she was famished.

Chu Liuxing, watching her, guessed at once that she hadn’t eaten all day. He turned to Sanshui, who stood by, and ordered, “It’s getting late—go and urge the kitchen; we’ll have dinner early tonight.”

Sanshui accepted the order and left. Only after he’d gone did Chu Liuxing lean in with an air of conspiracy. “Yu, I ran into something especially interesting today—want to hear about it?”

Gu Weiyu shot him a sidelong glance, inwardly thinking, as if she could refuse.

“What is it?” she asked, her mouth full of sweet, tender pastries.

“Look, doesn’t this person look quite a bit like you?” Chu Liuxing produced a strange stone, infused it with spiritual power, and a girl’s image was projected from it.

The girl appeared to be about nine years old, dressed in a pale yellow dress, her cheeks still round with baby fat, making her look as delicate and charming as carved jade—especially her clear, bright eyes, which were now gazing forward with a gentle smile.

A chill ran through Gu Weiyu—this wasn’t just a resemblance; it was her, unmistakably.

“Yu, what’s wrong?” Chu Liuxing’s puzzled voice sounded at her ear.

Gu Weiyu snapped out of it and feigned surprise as she looked at the stone in Chu Liuxing’s hand. “Brother Chu, what’s this stone? How marvelous!”

“It’s just a memory stone. If you like it, take it!” Chu Liuxing said, handing the stone to her.

Gu Weiyu blinked as the girl’s image faded. She took the memory stone and examined it. “How do you use it?”

“Just channel spiritual power into it and it’ll project whatever image is recorded inside. If you’re not happy with it, you can erase the memory and record something else,” Chu Liuxing explained.

Gu Weiyu sent a pulse of spiritual energy into the memory stone, and, as expected, the image reappeared.

She stared at it in a daze, until Chu Liuxing’s voice sounded again:

“If you weren’t a boy, and only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, I’d almost believe you were the very person they’re searching for with this memory stone…”

“Brother Chu, where did you get this memory stone?” Gu Weiyu’s ears buzzed but she forced herself to appear nonchalant.

“I saw it today while wandering around the task hall. I have a good friend who works there, and when he saw my interest, he gave me one,” Chu Liuxing replied, suddenly launching into one of his long-winded explanations. “That girl is named Gu Weiyu, apparently from a distinguished family in a place called Qin Prefecture…”

“Don’t be fooled by her age—she’s only nine, but already at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and she’s a rare dual-spirit root talent. Such a clever and gifted child, and she’s gone missing for no reason at all. If it were me, I’d be anxious too…”

“What did you say? That girl is missing?” Gu Weiyu abruptly cut him off.

Was Chu Liuxing really talking about her? It sounded almost as if he were describing someone else.

“Yes, apparently her family is beside themselves with worry and has issued a massive reward for her return. My friend said providing any useful clues gets you a thousand spirit stones, but actually finding her will earn you a reward of ten thousand spirit stones!”

Chu Liuxing’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he spoke. Even someone as lavish as him couldn’t help but be tempted by such a sum. Ten thousand spirit stones was far more than his usual allowance!

“Yu, if only you were that Gu Weiyu—the reward would be mine!” He chuckled at his own joke.

Gu Weiyu’s face alternated between pale and flushed, her expression shifting rapidly. No one knew the truth better than she did.

That despicable Chu Xingyun—his scheming was truly vicious and cruel!

“If I were that Gu Weiyu, would I have ended up in this situation?” she said with a bitter laugh.

Chu Liuxing laughed it off as well. He’d only brought it up on a whim and didn’t really care about the missing person notice. Seeing her lack of interest, he dropped the subject and turned his head to look behind her. “Sanshui, what’s taking the food so long?”

Gu Weiyu paused, only now noticing from the corner of her eye that someone was standing stock-still behind her. Who else could it be but Sanshui, who had just gone to call for dinner?

At that moment, his eyes were fixed intently on her. Who knew how long he’d been staring?

Gu Weiyu’s heart gave a jolt under his gaze, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Sanshui, what’s the matter with you?”