The abdication ceremony was scheduled for three days later. The ritual itself was not complex, but it was exceedingly solemn.
Lu Qing Wan was brought to the main hall early in the morning.
Liu Xun Ran was still clad in his purple robes, though it was evident that both the attire and his hairstyle were prepared with extra care, making him look quite distinguished.
In addition to him, several elders from the Reincarnation Hall and the peak masters of other peaks had also specially come to attend.
Despite the crowd, Liu Xun Ran held an undisputed supreme position within the Reincarnation Hall, and few dared to engage him in casual conversation.
No one raised any objections to Lu Qing Wan inheriting the position of Saintess. Throughout the entire ceremony, only Lu Qing Wan and Liu Xun Ran were the participants; all others were mere observers.
Cheng Yi presented Lu Qing Wan with three sticks of incense. An unfamiliar disciple from the Reincarnation Hall, standing nearby, chanted, "Salute the ancestors!"
Lu Qing Wan bowed three times.
Liu Xun Ran handed a token to the disciple, who then presented it to Lu Qing Wan.
Lu Qing Wan accepted it. The glazes of the jade tablet were carved with a phoenix holding a bead in its mouth, so lifelike that it seemed capable of flying out of the tablet at any moment.
"From this day forth, you are the thirty-ninth Saintess of the Reincarnation Hall. You must diligently study the ancestral medical arts and ensure that the legacy of our ancestors does not end with you," Liu Xun Ran said. He then produced a book from his side. "This is the medical handbook of Empress Qing Huang. Take it back and study it carefully. After you finish this one, I will provide you with other texts."
Lu Qing Wan accepted it respectfully. Although she found the old man annoying, she genuinely cherished the ancient texts left by her predecessors.
The ceremony was brief. Afterward, Lu Qing Wan found Liu Xun Ran. "You promised, I inherit the Saintess position, and you bring Teng Snake back to life. Also, I want to descend the mountain now, you won't stop me, will you?"
Liu Xun Ran's eyes dimmed slightly, but he no longer argued with Lu Qing Wan. "Go back and drip a drop of blood from the tip of your left index finger onto the red bead on the Phoenix Token, and Teng Snake will awaken. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. However, as you know, the path down the mountain has its inconveniences. Tomorrow morning, have Cheng Yi escort you down."
His prompt agreement made Lu Qing Wan feel unsettled. "Is it that simple? No other requests?"
Liu Xun Ran was irked by her suspicious gaze and impatiently thrust a small jade bottle at her. "If you encounter danger, simply open this medicine bottle, and disciples of the hall currently in the mortal world will rush to your aid as quickly as possible."
The medicine bottle resembled a peanut. Lu Qing Wan accepted it unceremoniously. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke, "My mother is buried at Zhaolie Shrine outside Shangjing. If you wish to pay your respects, you may do so, but do not disturb my father. The matter of impersonating a princess of a harmonious marriage is not trivial; do not make things difficult for me."
With that simple sentence, Liu Xun Ran's eyes turned red with emotion, rendering him speechless. He merely nodded heavily. Seeing his reaction, Lu Qing Wan felt a pang of unease. Gritting her teeth, she turned and left.
The next morning, just as Lu Qing Wan and Feng Xi Wu were getting up, Cheng Yi arrived. "I have been sent by my master to escort the Saintess and the son-in-law down the mountain." Following her were four disciples from the hall, each carrying a moderately sized chest on their backs.
Lu Qing Wan pointed at the chests suspiciously. "What is all that?"
"Master's provisions for you," Cheng Yi replied with a sigh. "Knowing you were leaving today, he stayed up all night to refine some commonly used medicines for you. He 'plundered' all the rare medicinal herbs treasured by the various peak masters, enraging them to the point they threatened to fight him!" Cheng Yi then handed another small box to Lu Qing Wan. "This is a pill he specially refined for the son-in-law. Do not rush to cure him when you get back. The Purple Jade Heavenly Heart Pill nourishes the meridians and internal organs; take one every three days. After a month, take the Hundred Poisons Expelling Pill. Again, once every three days. After another month, the Azure Corpse Symbiotic Gu will enter a dormant state. At that point, take the Scarlet Flame Dragon Wisp Pill to prevent the ice silkworm poison from damaging his heart and lungs. Afterward, all you need to do is let Teng Snake absorb both the Azure Corpse Symbiotic Gu and the ice silkworm poison."
Three types of pills, accompanied by precious medicinal herbs and common medicines that required four burly men to carry, demonstrated a meticulous preparation. Even Lu Qing Wan, with her hardened heart, could imagine Liu Xun Ran meticulously preparing everything like a fretful old father. She pursed her lips and asked Cheng Yi, "How is his arm?" The bullet that had entered Liu Xun Ran's arm seemed to have been forgotten by everyone. Liu Xun Ran had never shown any discomfort from his injury, nor had Lu Qing Wan ever brought it up, until now.
Cheng Yi's eyes immediately welled up upon hearing this. "Not good. Not good at all. None of the internal and external medicines have worked. His arm has already started to fester. I wanted to ask you to detoxify him, but he refused..." It was evident that Cheng Yi had been waiting for Lu Qing Wan to initiate this conversation.
Lu Qing Wan turned to Feng Xi Wu. "Do you want to know what that firearm was?" He nodded. "If you are willing for this King to know, then I wish to know. If you are not, then I do not." Lu Qing Wan took a deep breath. "Follow me."
The group hurried to the outside of the main hall. Qing Yi saw Lu Qing Wan and immediately wanted to go back and report, but Lu Qing Wan raised a hand to stop her. Softening their steps, they walked in slowly and saw Liu Xun Ran sitting by the window, gazing vacantly in the direction of the outside, lost in thought. Though he was a peerless master of extraordinary bearing, Lu Qing Wan perceived a touch of loneliness, akin to that of a left-behind elder, in him. She could even imagine that on countless nights after Liu Han Yan's departure, Liu Xun Ran would sit by the window until dusk, or perhaps stare at the moon until dawn.
"To be the hall master of the Reincarnation Hall, must one be cold-spoken and push everyone away?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Liu Xun Ran spun around. His eyes brightened momentarily. As he opened his mouth, he uttered a rather obnoxious remark, "Weren't you leaving? Why are you back?"
Cheng Yi immediately covered her face. Even Lu Qing Wan, who was accustomed to retorts, was momentarily stunned by his offensive words. "I suddenly realized you're quite a useful formidable ally. I've come to secure my backup storage." Without another word, she rolled up his right sleeve. The gauze wrap, applied haphazardly, was already soaked with blood. She quickly removed it, revealing a festering wound. Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow. "Your arm is almost ruined, and you can endure it!"
Liu Xun Ran's gaze flickered. "What can I do if I can't endure it? Will you treat my wounds?"
"No." Lu Qing Wan took out a dagger. Cheng Yi gasped in alarm, "Saintess, don't be rash!" While her master was indeed foul-mouthed, he didn't deserve to die! "I won't let you die. I'm just curious how much you can endure?" As she spoke, she tilted her head and asked Cheng Yi, "Do you have any strong liquor?" Cheng Yi was about to plead with her, but Liu Xun Ran caught on. "The jar of strong liquor on the Many Treasures Pavilion can be used." Before Cheng Yi could react, Feng Xi Wu retrieved the jar. Lu Qing Wan didn't hesitate to accept it, finding a cup, pouring a little, and setting it ablaze.