Yu Daohan was thinking when his phone suddenly beeped. He opened it to find a text message.
(How's it going over there?)
Yu Daohan looked at the message. Wasn't this guy in seclusion? Why was he texting so late, and how did they even have signal here?
Yu Daohan typed a few words back.
(Nothing major.)
(Mm)
Just a typical "Mm," Yu Daohan was used to it. This guy wouldn't send more than one word besides "Mm."
Yu Daohan put his phone down. The "Mm" from this guy meant the conversation was over.
The next morning, as soon as Yu Daohan opened his eyes, he saw Qiangzi was already up. He went to the main hall and found Qiangzi cooking noodles in the kitchen, probably woken up by hunger.
Soon, Qiangzi came out with two bowls of noodles: "Young Master Yu, you're up early."
Yu Daohan yawned: "You're up even earlier."
Qiangzi gave an awkward smile: "I was just woken up by hunger."
Yu Daohan was a bit speechless. He went to the table, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
After one bite, Yu Daohan froze for half a second: "Qiangzi, your noodles are quite good."
Qiangzi picked up his chopsticks and started eating, a proud look on his face: "Young Master Yu, I wouldn't dare claim to be good at cooking, but when it comes to noodles, no one can beat me."
Yu Daohan rolled his eyes at him: "Stop bragging. After we eat, we're going to Old Hua's."
After finishing their noodles and tidying up, Yu Daohan took Qiangzi to Old Hua's house.
Walking on the village road, Yu Daohan and Qiangzi looked at the houses on both sides. After three months of no one living there, cobwebs had formed on the doors.
"Young Master Yu, this village is exactly like the story you told," Qiangzi said, looking at the houses on both sides.
Yu Daohan nodded without speaking. They arrived at the entrance of an old-fashioned courtyard house. Qiangzi frowned slightly; the feng shui arrangement here was very strange.
Yu Daohan knocked on the door. An old voice came from inside: "One moment."
After a few footsteps, the door opened, and Old Hua looked at them with a smile: "Wang Pozi told me last night that you two arrived."
Yu Daohan looked at Old Hua. His complexion was similar to before, but his jet-black hair had all turned white, making him look much older.
"It was too late yesterday, and I was afraid of disturbing you, so I stayed at my master's place for the night," Yu Daohan said with a smile.
Old Hua waved his hand: "No trouble, no trouble." He then invited them in: "Come in first."
As soon as Qiangzi followed Yu Daohan inside, he saw the tripod stove placed in the center, and his face lit up with excitement.
Yu Daohan turned to look at the excited Qiangzi: "Qiangzi, what's wrong?"
Qiangzi pointed at the tripod stove in the center and said excitedly, "Young Master Yu, do you know what this is?"
Yu Daohan glanced at the tripod stove and nodded: "Yes, it's an alchemy furnace. What's so exciting about it?"
Qiangzi looked at the tripod stove and swallowed.
Seeing Qiangzi like this, Yu Daohan looked disgusted. It was just an alchemy furnace, why was he acting like he'd seen a beautiful woman?
Qiangzi shook his head: "This is no ordinary alchemy furnace."
Old Hua, who was in front, turned to look at Qiangzi and said with a smile, "Does the young Daoist know the origin of this alchemy furnace?"
Qiangzi nodded and began to explain: "It's entirely black, supported by three legs, and the body is carved with three qilin. This is the legendary Qilin Furnace."
Old Hua stroked his slightly white beard and nodded with satisfaction: "That's right, it is the Qilin Furnace."
"Qilin Furnace?"
After Qiangzi's explanation, Yu Daohan looked at the tripod stove again.
The furnace body was completely black, with three legs standing tall. Three qilin were coiled around the furnace body, enveloping it.
"Young Master Yu, do you know Hua Tuo?" Qiangzi asked.
Yu Daohan nodded, then suddenly realized, "Could this Qilin Furnace be the one used by Hua Tuo?"
"Could this Qilin Furnace be the one used by the divine physician Hua Tuo?" Yu Daohan found it hard to believe.
Qiangzi nodded: "That's right, it was indeed used by Hua Tuo."
To ordinary people, Hua Tuo was merely a divine physician skilled in medicine. However, in the spiritual world, Hua Tuo was not only a divine physician who healed people but also a true alchemy grandmaster. Legend had it that Hua Tuo's ghost medical skills could bring the dead back to life.
Many people had heard of bone scraping and detoxifying. It was rumored that during the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu's arm was hit by a poisoned arrow, and Hua Tuo was invited to treat him. Hua Tuo used only a small knife to remove the profound poison that had penetrated deep into Guan Yu's bones, and what he used was none other than his ghost medical skills.
Yu Daohan found it hard to believe. Hua Tuo's Qilin Furnace was here with Old Hua. Wait, Hua Tuo's surname was Hua, and Old Hua's surname was also Hua. Could it be that Old Hua was a descendant of the divine physician Hua Tuo?
Yu Daohan looked at Old Hua. Old Hua just smiled: "Let's go inside first."
Yu Daohan nodded and followed Old Hua into the main hall.
They sat down on the chairs in the main hall.
"I'll go make you some tea," Old Hua said, getting up to get the tea leaves.
"Then we'll trouble you, Old Hua," Yu Daohan said with a smile.
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Old Hua waved his hand and walked into the room.
Qiangzi leaned into Yu Daohan's ear and whispered, "Young Master Yu, do you know about the Seven Great Mystical Artifacts?"
Yu Daohan shook his head. He had heard that guy mention the Seven Great Mystical Artifacts, but only in passing. The Heaven-Subduing Mace was one of them.