Strip

The Hall of Affairs stood right beside the Hall of Inspiring Thought. Built against the mountain, it was exceptionally secluded, serving as the venue where instructors handled their teaching affairs. Inside the Hall of Affairs were over a dozen partitioned, independent courtyards, each decorated in a different style. These courtyards were provided for instructors to prepare their lessons and manage all manner of student affairs. Wei Yuan followed Ji Liuli to the instructors' Hall of Affairs, watching as she walked up to one of the small courtyards, reached out to pluck down the nameplate reading "Xu Henshui" from the door, and pushed her way inside. This made Wei Yuan even more certain that Xu Henshui was originally supposed to teach him. He simply had no idea what background this Eldest Martial Sister Liuli possessed to make such a ruckus even over a major matter like centralized instruction. Still, mischief aside, this Eldest Martial Sister had real skill—the fact that she could toss Xu Henshui outside the mountain gate with a single grab spoke volumes. The courtyard was arranged with great elegance, and a clump of orchids grew in the corner. Wei Yuan had no idea what variety they were, only finding them both pleasing to the eye and delightfully fragrant. A delicate tea set sat atop a stone table in the courtyard, and the rooms were all tastefully furnished. Many of the utensils bore orchid insignias—clearly Xu Henshui's personal belongings at a glance. Ji Liuli made herself right at home, rummaging through everything without the slightest hint of courtesy. She opened a tea caddy bearing an orchid insignia, brewed the tea in a pot stamped with an orchid, and poured three cups into an orchid-marked cup, gulping them down in three drafts. Only then did she let out a breath, which instantly filled the room with fragrance. "Good tea!" Ji Liuli praised. Then she said to Wei Yuan, "Pity there isn't much left, and you wouldn't understand it anyway, so none for you." From who knows where, she hauled out a large tub, set it down in the center of the room, and pointed at it. The tub instantly filled more than halfway with clear water. Ji Liuli produced a small vial and poured a single drop of emerald-green sap into the tub. The entire tub of water instantly turned a greenish-blue orchid hue and began churning with billows of steam. "Strip off your clothes and get in," Ji Liuli said. Wei Yuan was taken aback, his little face instantly flushing scarlet. Fidgeting bashfully, he stammered, "This..." Though he was only six years old, he had been precocious since birth and was growing fast; at this moment, he looked like an older child of about ten. Having to strip naked in front of an unfamiliar woman truly left him bashful. Ji Liuli was in no mood to waste words with him. Grabbing him, she stripped him clean in two or three moves, gave his bottom a crisp smack, and tossed him into the wooden tub. "Hair hasn't even grown yet—what are you blushing for?" Having tossed Wei Yuan into the tub, she casually recited a few mnemonic verses, instructing him to circulate his arts on his own to absorb the medicinal broth. Then she dragged a chair over, sat down beside the tub, propped both legs up on its rim, and buried herself in a book. Wei Yuan only felt the water in the tub alternate between freezing and searing. When hot, it felt like boiling water; when cold, like the bitter depths of midwinter. He curled into a ball inside the tub, not because of the temperature, but because Eldest Martial Sister Liuli was sitting right beside him, looking down from above where everything was in plain sight. Her reading hardly seemed focused, her gaze sweeping over Wei Yuan every now and then. The world of ice and fire within the tub was truly difficult to endure, forcing Wei Yuan to put everything else aside for the moment and concentrate on circulating his cultivation method. As the technique operated, he felt wisps of cool energy seep into his body. The extremes of cold and heat grew less unbearable, and he gradually entered a state where all sense of self and the outside world faded away. In the blink of an eye, a shichen passed. Wei Yuan suddenly roused from his meditative trance to find the water in the tub had turned a purplish black. Setting down her book, Ji Liuli said, "Come out." Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment. Step out just like that, stark naked? But seeing him not move, Ji Liuli hoisted him right out of the water and set him before her. Wei Yuan stood in the buff. He was tempted to close his eyes or look up at the ceiling, but that would seem too deliberate, so he could only force a calm facade, stiffly staring straight ahead without moving a muscle. A faint golden light lit up in the Eldest Martial Sister's pupils. In an instant, Wei Yuan felt as though everything inside and outside his body had been laid bare, leaving no secret hidden. She circled Wei Yuan several times, examining him thoroughly from head to toe, occasionally reaching out to pinch and probe his muscles and bones. Then she returned to the desk and wrote down a medicinal prescription. After finishing the formula, she pondered for a moment, removed three herbs, and added another. Then, following the prescription, she gathered the required ingredients from a medicine cabinet standing against the wall. The medicine cabinet was also stamped with an orchid. With the medicinal ingredients assembled, a small cauldron appeared in Ji Liuli's hand. Tossing the ingredients inside, she unleashed a burst of blue flame from her palm, roasting and refining them for a short while until a batch of medicinal powder was produced. After replacing the water in the tub with fresh, clear water, she tossed the powder in. The entire tub instantly turned orange-yellow, radiating a bone-chilling cold. This time Wei Yuan knew better. As soon as the Eldest Martial Sister pointed, he obediently hopped inside. Once again, he circulated his technique to absorb the medicine in the water. After a shichen, the tub's water had turned clear once more. After two rounds of medicinal baths, Wei Yuan distinctly felt his body become lighter and clearer, as though he had unknowingly been carrying a burden of dozens of jin all along, and only now that the weight was lifted could he experience true ease. "That's enough. Come on out." Ji Liuli tossed Wei Yuan his clothes and said, "The records state that during the Daoist test, your root bone was seven chi nine. But when I inspected you just now, your root bone was actually close to nine chi, though somewhat unstable in quality. Have you taken any treasures to improve your foundation recently?" Wei Yuan said, "Grandmaster Perfected Fenhai bestowed three Chonglou Sea-Calming Pills. I've only taken one, and two remain." Ji Liuli nodded. "The Chonglou Sea-Calming Pill ranks among the top grade of foundation-expanding pills. It seems Perfected Fenhai truly dotes on you to be this generous." Wei Yuan added, "Master also gave me three Heart-Cleansing Pills, which I've already finished taking." "Heart-Cleansing Pills?!" Ji Liuli's gaze changed abruptly. She reached out, cupped Wei Yuan's chin, and studied him closely for a long while before saying, "You're lucky to have such a good master, but your master's luck isn't quite as good." Wei Yuan was thoroughly baffled, having no idea what she meant. Ji Liuli's thoughts were inscrutable. Only after a pause did she say, "Body Casting is, in essence, preparing a raw blank for your Dao Foundation. The larger the blank and the finer its quality, the better the Dao Foundation you achieve. If one wishes to achieve an immortal foundation of Heaven Grade or above, you can imagine how demanding the requirements for that blank will be. The effort required during the Body Casting period comes down to two things: accumulation and purification. What I am doing now is repairing and polishing your foundation—shearing away the superfluous and making up for what is lacking. That is the work of purification. For the next three months, after every class of mine, come to the Hall of Affairs to polish your foundation." *Fortunately, it's only three months...* Just as Wei Yuan was preparing to leave, Ji Liuli called him back. With a rather complicated expression, the Eldest Martial Sister told him, "That teacher of yours is obsessed with saving face, and he's clumsy with his tongue, never knowing how to speak properly. In the future, once your cultivation bears fruit... remember to treat your teacher well." Wei Yuan was even more puzzled. He wanted to ask for details, but Ji Liuli drove him right out the door.