However, no matter how much he thought, Ye Tiancheng was very clear on one point: to resolve the current situation, he would definitely need the little fox's help. At the critical moment, he might truly have to ask Hou Mingzhu to take good care of herself and their daughter, Ye Qingcheng.
After Ye Tiancheng and the little fox returned, although Ye Tiancheng did not want to explain everything too clearly to Hou Mingzhu, he still remembered to give her a heads-up that he would be extremely busy these days.
The little fox would also have to be busy with him. There was no other way, as if they wanted to have a good New Year, this matter had to be resolved before the year ended.
Otherwise, it would have to be postponed until after the New Year, or even, to allow Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng to live more comfortably, Ye Tiancheng might even consider delaying it until after the Lantern Festival.
Even if the cave was sealed by a formation, the owner of the space would still open and close the space entrance according to the rules.
And during this period, Ye Tiancheng also had to take the little fox to run around frequently, going back and forth to inquire about the specific situation of that space in the cave.
For example, whether the owner of the space would have any new plans later, such as closing the space permanently, or personally coming out to take a look, and then potentially detecting the formation, or even the environment of the Nuwa Stone.
Hou Mingzhu was very understanding of Ye Tiancheng. For matters like this, where Ye Tiancheng had important business, Hou Mingzhu would not let Ye Tiancheng worry about her and their daughter. She would proactively express that she could take care of the household, allowing Ye Tiancheng to do whatever he wanted without any worries.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox returned several times. It was actually a bit strange. Although the owner of that space knew that the area outside the space entrance had been surrounded by a formation.
However, the owner of the space did not intend to change the rules for opening and closing the space entrance, nor did he personally come out to check the situation.
He remained in the space, as if nothing had happened. In this situation, no matter what the owner of the space was thinking, Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of relief.
Although this did not mean that the owner of the space was not troublesome, as long as Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng were less involved, Ye Tiancheng would not be so afraid.
The little fox had also helped think of many methods during this period and diligently consulted many books. Then, from an ancient text, she found some useful information, such as how to completely conceal the aura of a living person and disguise oneself as a different kind of being without being detected by them.
Fortunately, to help the little fox learn metaphysical knowledge, Ye Tiancheng had managed to obtain various strange materials, some of which were very precious. Therefore, the materials needed for that method were fortunately obtained by Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
The method involved a type of pill. After concocting it with various materials, upon consumption, the pill's effect would combine with the user's own aura to form a disguised aura.
This aura, on the surface, would be indistinguishable from those malevolent spirits. Even if they were face to face, those spirits would not be able to discern whether the person who took the pill was a living being.
Furthermore, this disguised aura also served as a barrier, completely concealing the aura of the person who took the pill as a living being, providing excellent protection.
One pill could last for three days, and the materials the little fox had on hand were enough to make over a hundred pills. They did not need so many.
Moreover, making this pill was not difficult, and there was not much loss during the production process. It was not like the pills in legends that could only be refined in a炼丹炉 (liàn dān lú - alchemical furnace), which were difficult to make and prone to failure.
In fact, making this pill was similar to making pills in traditional Chinese medicine. As long as one knew the steps and strictly followed them, there would be no mistakes. If there were any losses, it would only be the residual loss of medicinal materials.
Therefore, for the next few days, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox only went out for half a day each day, and spent the remaining half of the day in the old house rolling pills.
And a very unfortunate point was that the smell of these pills was truly unpleasant. Although the ancient text recorded very complete production steps and a list of required materials, the smell during production was no different from a biological weapon. In any case, few Chinese medicinal herbs smelled particularly pleasant, and this one was no exception.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox wore masks every day, and stuffed their noses inside the masks before they could sit down and roll pills in the house without being overwhelmed by the fumes.
However, Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng were truly driven away by the smell. They usually disliked staying in the old house and would go out during the day if they had nothing to do. The doors of the rooms were kept tightly closed, so the damage was not too severe.
But they basically only returned to sleep, or to quickly grab something while holding their noses. During meals, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox found it unbearable to stay in the house, so they would take their meals to the simple wooden shed they had built outside, or simply dine outdoors.
It was not that they insisted on making pills in the house. At the beginning, neither of them expected these pills to smell so bad, because before the materials were mixed together and before production began, it was not like this at all.
When they discovered this, there was nothing they could do but grit their teeth and continue. Because they had already started making them in the house, it would take several days for the smell to dissipate from the house.
Going out at this time was meaningless, so it was better to endure it and finish it in one go. It was all out of necessity.
To end this torment as soon as possible, Ye Tiancheng and the little fox spent a total of more than four days making these pills. Fortunately, these things could be made in batches. According to the rules recorded in the ancient text, they had to be completed within seventy-seven times forty-nine hours, neither more nor less, with very strict time control.
When the pills were completed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Since they were no longer making pills, after two or three days, the unpleasant smell lingering in the old house gradually faded.
Although there was still a strong smell, as the saying goes, "If you stay in a flower room for a long time, you won't smell the fragrance; if you stay in a fish market for a long time, you won't smell the stench." After smelling it for a long time, people's noses gradually got used to it, and they could no longer smell it. They had been so tormented by these smells that they had all slowly gotten used to it.
However, one day while cooking, Hou Mingzhu saw several small white porcelain bottles in the kitchen.
She knew that they contained the pills Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had rolled in the past few days. She felt a sense of lingering fear, as if she had suddenly recalled that unpleasant smell.
Hou Mingzhu pointed at the small white porcelain bottles and said to Ye Tiancheng, "These contain the pills you and the little fox made these past few days, right? These pills smelled so bad during production. I can't imagine you and the little fox still have to eat them."
"This is truly terrifying. Are these pills really reliable? Will you die if you eat them?"
As Hou Mingzhu said this, Ye Tiancheng, as he listened, actually began to hesitate. He was not entirely sure, but everything else recorded in that ancient text was very reliable and useful. The little fox had already practiced many of them, so logically, these pills should be fine.
However, recalling the smell from the previous few days, even Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but look pale. The memory was too profound, and he had an unavoidable psychological shadow.
But he had no choice. The sacrifices he had already made to collect the fragments of the Fuxi Qin were significant enough. Compared to eating a pill, it seemed like a minor matter that did not need to be taken seriously.
Ye Tiancheng stiffened for a moment, then said to Hou Mingzhu, "Unless Xiao Hu Li and I made a mistake, these pills are generally unlikely to have any problems. They should be useful and reliable. At most, the effect might not be good, but they won't kill anyone."
"However, considering that the raw materials for these pills did not have a particularly terrible smell before they were mixed together, and the smell of these pills seemed to be gradually fading as they were about to solidify, it's not my imagination. So I think, perhaps, they might not be as unpalatable as we imagine."
Ye Tiancheng himself lacked confidence, but he had no choice. He could only deceive himself, comfort himself, and constantly build his psychological resilience. Otherwise, when the time came to use these pills, what would he do?
Hou Mingzhu shook her head and frowned at the small white porcelain bottles, as if looking at something demonic.
She knew that Ye Tiancheng was just comforting himself. If the smell was already that terrible, how could the taste be any better?
As for saying that the smell seemed to fade as they were about to solidify, during the time when the pills were almost formed, they were already so overwhelmed by the fumes. Hou Mingzhu felt that it was no different from being so overwhelmed that they lost their senses. Who knew if it was an illusion?
It was entirely possible that their sense of smell had been damaged by the fumes, making them unable to distinguish changes in the smell, which was why they felt the smell was fading.
However, although Hou Mingzhu thought this, she did not say it directly.
Because Hou Mingzhu also knew that if there were other options, Ye Tiancheng and the others would not have resorted to making such things, and it was not as if they had no better way.
They had already pushed themselves to this point out of desperation. Hou Mingzhu felt it was inappropriate to add insult to injury. Ye Tiancheng and the others had truly had a difficult time, having to undertake such dangerous tasks and eat such terrible-smelling pills.
Finally, with all preparations almost complete, Ye Tiancheng gradually made his preparations and planned to enter that space for a venture. He also intended to bring the little fox with him.
Coincidentally, during this period, Hou Mingzhu was becoming increasingly adept at cooking. As long as the food problem could be solved, other problems would not be an issue with the Nuwa Stone. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng no longer needed to worry too much about Hou Mingzhu and Ye Qingcheng.