A door opened without the slightest creak as they entered a small guest room.

Baiyun first noticed the lack of spirit surveillance, the walls made of spirit-proof and soundproof materials. It was clear this was a room for private and important talks, free from eavesdroppers.

Under the surveillance of the sect spirits, he was almost like a bird with its wings bound, finally able to unfurl his wings again. Now, he could finally gain a semblance of sight again.

Baiyun could not help but feel relieved as he unleashed numerous divine threads, sweeping the room and painting a vivid image in his mind.

It was a windowless room, vivid paintings of floating islands stuck onto the walls as a substitute. But these were no ordinary paintings; they had a strange depth to them as if worlds truly existed within, the greenery in the depicted scenery moving and swaying in the wind as if the room was truly atop one of those very islands. Formations behind the paintings generated gusts of wind that rushed though the guest room, as if air was flowing through the windows of paint.

At the centre of the room was a table at knee-height, a small mountain sculpture jutting from its midst. Fresh spring water flowed down the peak of the miniature mountain, following a winding river that forked at the mountain's base, into two separate streams.

The streams led to two lakes pressed against each other, separated merely by a thin S shape. In the upper section of the left lake was an ice pebble, and the lower section of the right lake held a pebble of magma. Together, the two lakes formed a Yin-Yang symbol, dividing hot and cold.

In the stone foundation that held the lake and the mountain, small spirit tea plants small enough to be mistaken for grass grew. The strong scent of fresh tea leaves tinged with a hint of mint filled the air, both refreshing and invigorating.

Wooden ladles, teapots and tiny teacups rested on the edges of the table, seeming almost like the tools of a giant beside the miniature mountain.

Quite the extravagant display...

He stared in slight puzzlement at the circular black cushions that surrounded the mountain-sculptured tea table however. Were those supposed to be seats? There weren't such traditions in his past world.

Qinghe took a seat on a cushion and he followed her act, surprised by how comfortable it was.

Just as the two of them were about to speak, the doors suddenly swung open. Laohe marched in with a communication jade held to his beard as he bellowed into it.

"Shanhe! Stop making excuses and get out immediately. There's a visitor I want you to meet!" he shouted. "Aren't you afraid of growing mouldy after holing in your room for months?"

A young man's tired voice answered from the jade.

"Grandpa... I'm in the midst of secluded cultivation..." he said.

"Secluded cultivation? What type of ridiculous excuse is that? Get out immediately or I'll drag you here myself!"

This old man... Baiyun wondered why he couldn't finish yelling at his grandson before barging into the soundproof room. It wasn't exactly dignified to show this side to guests.

Shaohe seemed somewhat pitiful, constantly berated by Laohe despite being respectful enough to call him "grandpa". Meanwhile, the disrespectful Qinghe was practically coddled by the old man's favouritism.

Laohe finally put down the jade after yelling a few more things, his frown flipping around into a smile with eerie speed.

"I apologise for being a little late. Relax and make yourself comfortable!" he gestured grandly around the room.

Laohe's eyes darted around the room for a moment, until he seemed to have an idea. He reached out with his prosthetic pinky until it extended 2 metres long, its tip morphing into a scalpel. With blinding speed, the blade flashed through the air like a whip and slashed at the tea plants with enough force to send them flying!

As the leaves fluttered down, Laohe approached the table at a leisurely and picked up a teapot. He flicked his hand and swung the teapot deftly through the air, catching every last leaf with elegant arcs.

Finally, he grabbed the ladle and scooped hot water from the Yin-Yang lake into the pot, seeming quite pleased with himself.

Qinghe rolled her eyes as her grandpa turned to Baiyun, only be to greeted by a blindfold. He coughed and put the lid on the teapot awkwardly.

"This is Nine Serenity Tea. It's flavour is better when prepared without boiling water, so you'll have to be patient while it brews." he said, as if nothing happened. "I'll check on Shanhe in the meanwhile, so enjoy your chat, you two."

"Bye, old man," Qinghe said.

Laohe let out a silent sigh as he left, shutting the door gently.

Baiyun and Qinghe were now alone.

...

...

There was awkward silence for over a minute; neither of them knew what to say for whatever reason. Perhaps they had something to say when they first entered the room, but Laohe's suddenly intrusion seemed to have taken the wind out of their sails. It was strange contrast to how they were excitedly discussing the workings of the mechanical bird on their way to the mansion.

Baiyun decided to ease the tension by asking something random.

"Do you not get along with your grandpa that well?"

Qinghe sighed.

"My grandpa? Hah... my relationship with him is complicated, so to speak."

As she spoke, she retrieved two large glasses from her bag. The cold water of the Yin lake stirred as Qinghe waved her hands, spheres of water leaping into the air and landing in the glasses with quick splashes.

Beside the small teacups, the oversized glasses were akin to towering titans.

"Here, have some water," she said.

Baiyun nodded as he took the glass from her. Qinghe greedily chugged down the cold water from her glass in a single gulp before getting another refill, nearly making his eyes twitch. Was she acting like this because she thought he couldn't "see" her?

He took a slow sip from his glass and enjoyed the cold sensation rushing down his gullet.

Ahh... Spring water filled to the brim with qi and revitalising water essences. Ever since he switched to drinking Vital Heart Brew, it had been a while since he had drunk actual water, making it particularly refreshing.

"My grandpa... it's hard for me to decide what I think of him. He has a lot of philosophies I don't particularly like, but he's so amiable that I can't truly hate him. Well... amiable to me at least." Qinghe sighed.

Baiyun raised an eyebrow.

Laohe might be a little overbearing and indulgent in somewhat questionable research, but was it truly enough to warrant this reaction? In his eyes, as long as the results were effective and without harmful human experimentation, making a fuss was small minded. The old man deciding to experiment on his own pinky for the prosthetic instead of a test subject seemed to imply he didn't stoop in that way.

But then again, he knew little of Laohe right now, and perhaps Qinghe had seen a side of him he had yet to. He decided to hold back his judgement for now.

Still, if there was a constant between worlds, it would be how the children of wealthy clans always seemed to have awkward familial relations... Baiyun wondered if he had carelessly overstepped while thinking of something to ask her and decided not to press any further. It was none of his business anyway.

Qinghe let out a loud sigh as she slammed her glass on the table with a light thunk. Despite looking satisfied, she seemed somewhat queasy from the sheer amount of water she had ingested. Baiyun had to hold back his urge to lecture her with all his might.

But her face suddenly turned serious.

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"Baiyun, there's something important I have to bring up." she raised her voice. "Be careful, my grandpa-"

The door swung open abruptly, Laohe marching as he laughed loudly. A tired sigh came from behind as he dragged a young man in.

So soon? And just as Qinghe was about to warn him about something.

Baiyun quickly sensed the features of the newcomer. The young man, presumably Shanhe, was dressed in plain grey robes and had a lean muscular build, but there was a certain strangeness to him.

His skin was fair, completely smooth and free from imperfections. Even if one looked closely with the perception of an eagle, there were no scale-like folds that natural human skin had, nor were there fine hairs.

His head was bald like a monk's and lacked even eyelashes, two thick lines drawn above his eyes in place of eyebrows. His eyes had an unnatural sheen to them as if they were gemstones, discs of onyx amidst spheres of diamond. With eyes refined to this degree, it was no wonder he retained his sight even after the horrors of a point-blank volcanic eruption.

Baiyun almost thought they were the prismatic replacement eyes Laohe alluded to previously. But after closer examination, he could tell they were still living flesh despite their inorganic appearance.

His focus turned towards Shanhe's arms and legs next, noting the seams between the prosthetics and skin was nearly indistinguishable. Much more care was put into it than Laohe's finger; if Shanhe walked past him while he wasn't paying close attention, he likely would not have noticed the prosthetics. This was despite how he could easily pick up details as minute as fingerprints. Though admittedly, the hairless appearance would have gotten him to raise an eyebrow anyway.

Shanhe stared at Baiyun with a perplexed expression.

"This is one you wanted me to meet? The kid who supposedly has Unparalleled Insight?" he asked.

"Bah! Who else?" Laohe scoffed.

The old man slapped Shanhe's back hard enough to propel him forwards, and he came to an awkward stop before Baiyun. Shanhe let out a short sigh before speaking once more.

"Greetings, young disciple. My name is Shanhe, it's a pleasure to meet you." Shanhe said. "My grandfather has spoken a lot about you on the way here."

Such stiff and insincere formalities...

"Nice to meet you too." Baiyun responded with a smile despite his thoughts.

But suddenly, he noticed Shanhe was about to raise his hand. A quick thought suddenly rushed through Baiyun's mind that slightly alarmed him, and he raised his hand as quickly as he could, extending it towards the young man!

Shaohe stared in stunned silence at the outreached hand for a moment. He was about to hold out a hand for a handshake, only for Baiyun to raise his own at twice the speed!

The two of them shook hands awkwardly.

Baiyun felt a strange relief. Phew. If he didn't take initiative to start the handshake, he would have to awkwardly pretend he couldn't sense Shanhe's hand. Somehow, he failed to realised he only made the situation more awkward.

"The Clan Master introduced Baiyun in such a short time?" Qinghe asked. "It's only been a few minutes since he left."

"Communication with soulsense is very efficient," Shanhe said.

Laohe's gaze suddenly bored into his back, and he began to cough.

"Ahem- Baiyun, since grandfather wanted me to demonstrate the prosthetic to you, I shall cut to the chase." he said hurriedly. "As you've heard already, I've used them for over two decades. First, we can do a touch test."

He reached out his arms to Baiyun's hand.

Baiyun was speechless. Why did everyone in Qinghe's family want him to touch their prosthetic? Even if he was blind, that felt wrong somehow.

He reluctantly poked Shanhe's arm with a finger, before lowering his hand and nodding. A vein bulged on Laohe's head as he watched the charade.

"Idiot!" Laohe scolded. "Who cares about that? You youths are hot-blooded and combat-loving, aren't you? Show him a few combat moves!"

...Why was Laohe yelling at Shanhe when he did a touch test as well?

"...Grandpa. I'm an alchemist. And he's blind." Shanhe said hesitantly.

"Stop making excuses!"

Shanhe let out a frustrated sign as he raised his right arm, its forearm twisting and morphing into an ornate sabre.

"See this?" he grumbled as he marched over. "Oh, right. You can't. Here, let me walk all the way over so you can touch it."

Baiyun stood there speechlessly.

"Ah, about that, the Clan Mast-" Qinghe began.

"Idiot! Undo your transformation and wait until I've lent him sight!" Laohe cursed. "What are you being so impatient for?"

"Eh?"

Shanhe watched in confusion as his grandfather grabbed Baiyun's face with his hand.

Baiyun was once again temporarily able to see from Laohe's eyes again.

"There. You can start your demonstration now." Laohe said.

"Huh? He can see now?" Shanhe was baffled. "That's something you can do?"

"Stop blabbering and begin!"

Unprepared, Shanhe seemed to panic a little as his eyes darted across the room. He quickly reverted his sabre limb into an ordinary hand, then reached into his bag and pulled out an entire honey melon.

"Okay, watch this!" Shanhe shouted as he tossed it into the air. "Hah!"

His prosthetic arm morphed back into an ornate sabre as he took a breath. The blade blurred from sudden speed, arching into gleams of flashing light that sliced the honey melon from various angles!

As the slices fell, the sabre split into 10 bony appendages as thin as chopstick, each with 12 joints that resembled that of insects. Each of appendage rushed into his bag and pulled out a plate, the 10 plates darting around to catch the hail of honey melon slices that rained from above.

Shanhe held the 10 plates with a slight grin, each with eight slices of finely sliced honey melon precariously balanced on the little skin they had left. 80 slices from a single honey melon! They gleamed with fresh juice, their thinness giving them translucence that almost made them seem to glow from ambient light, yet each of them was near identical in proportions.

Impressive! Baiyun nodded in approval.

Knifework might not be the most essential skill of alchemists, but with excellent knifework, an alchemist could slice ingredients into near-perfect portions, never fearing about exceeding the ideal dosage by even 0.01%. Even the smallest excess could mean the difference between a High to Pinnacle grade pill!

"Idiot!" Laohe's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

The old man smacked Shanhe's head from behind, wobbling it for a moment. Shanhe winced, but he managed to still hold the plates perfectly steady.

"I told you to display combat techniques! What is this, a cooking show? You need to do something flashier, like imbuing your blade with alchemic flame and slashing a few arcs into the air! What do you think you're doing, being so rude to our guest?"

Baiyun was rendered speechless again. He was already impressed! If Shanhe swung a flaming blade around pointlessly instead, he would only have rolled his eyes.

"Grandpa... if I accidentally damage the room, you're going to kill me." Shanhe said helplessly.

"I'll save you if that ever happens." Qinghe smirked, a rare smile from her usual solemn face.

"You..." Laohe glanced helplessly at his granddaughter, wondering why she liked her useless brother more than him.

His eyes became harsher as he turned back to Shanhe.

"A grown man like you lacking confidence to this extent? If you damage the room, it only means your training is lacking! Are you not ashamed?" Laohe scolded.

His scolding was about to continue, but he suddenly seemed to realise something as he glanced at Baiyun. Finally, he lowered his voice, realising a little far too late perhaps he shouldn't be yelling at family in front of guests.

"Hah... enough." he sighed. "The tea is ready. Let's sit down and enjoy it before continuing the discussion."

Baiyun would give Laohe a strange look if not for the hand covering his face. Didn't he say the tea was going to take a while? It had only been a few minutes. A man who had lived to old age should be a little more patient.

The four of them took seats at the table, Shanhe letting out a sigh of relief.

Laohe reached for the teapot and lifted it so tenderly, it was as if he were holding a delicate newborn. He poured the tea into four tiny teacups, the gentle aroma of tea and mint wafting from the warm tea.

He first took a cup for himself, then pushed a teacup to Qinghe, then Shaohe. The last cup was pushed towards Baiyun, a casual push that seemed no different.

Baiyun glanced at the cup with divine thread lazily as it slid over, until a sudden movement shook him. Laohe's finger flickered, moving towards his cup with such speed, a mortal eye could not perceive it! Of course, that detail was hidden from shared sight.

His eyes widened beneath the blindfold as he reached for the teacup. What did Laohe just do? If not for divine thread, he would have been none the wiser.

He quickly used divine touch on the teacup and scanned its contents, every minute detail of it rushing into his mind.

Potent qi, high quality calming focus and calming essences... and a sedative, potent enough to knock a mortal unconscious for over a week!

Baiyun's heart turned cold as he stared at the cup. The comforting steam that wafted from it now seemed almost oppressive, and he held back his breath slightly.

He was stunned for a moment by the sheer audacity. This side of Laohe... perhaps this was what Qinghe did not like about him. It was likely the behaviour she was about to warn him about.

Meanwhile, the siblings of the Myriad Herb clan began to drink. Shanhe drank slowly, savouring the flavour and scent slowly. With every sip, he picked up a slice of paper-thin honey melon and chewed slowly, shutting his eyes in faint bliss.

But Qinghe downed the tiny teacup in a single gulp, immediately reaching for the teapot. Laohe let out a cry of dismay as she pulled out her giant glass from before, turning the teapot upside down and dumping all the tea into it!

"Stop! This is not how tea is meant to be enjoyed!" Laohe choked.

Qinghe did not show mercy. Looking him straight in the eyes, she downed the giant glass of scalding hot tea in a single motion. Shanhe forced a strained smile, as if thinking to himself that his grandpa would murder him if he ever dared to be as bold as her.

She let out a ghastly burp of hot steam and a sigh of satisfaction. Laohe could only stare in stunned silence while Shanhe looked away.

This...

Watching family antics with drugged tea before him... to say Baiyun felt the dissonance surreal was an understatement. He felt a drop of cold sweat bead down the side of his cheek as he wondered what he ought to do.

But as strange as the situation was, he was glad Qinghe's ruckus had given him a moment to breathe. Was this her intent?

It was clear Laohe could tell he was hesitant about the surgery, and wanted to force it upon him. And it wasn't as if he could refuse to drink the tea, who knew what the old man would do then?

Seconds passed, seconds that felt like hours. The soft ticks from a clock on the wall now felt like ominous tolls of a bell.

...

...

As the charade came to a close, Laohe's attention finally turned to him. Baiyun was still holding the teacup in silence.

"What's wrong? Is that tea not to your liking?" Laohe asked.

Here it was... the dreaded question. He steadied himself and prepared his response.

"I-" Baiyun began.

BANG!

Before he could say more, a loud bang came from the door as if a battering ram struck it, hard enough for it to rattle on its hinges violently!

"Who is disrupting the tea party?" Laohe shouted. "The maids and butlers are not doing their jobs!"

Several blows struck the door again in quick succession as the wood creaked in agony, cracks spreading through it. Finally, it flew off the hinges at the speed of an arrow, flying through the air and slamming into a wall with a deafening blow!

As the door fell to the ground with a thud, an old man in grey robes marched in, arrogance seeping from his very bones. His face had a permanent scowl etched into hi s very wrinkles, draped by long grey hair that was dry and fraying. Despite his thin physique, a strange power seemed to radiate from his open palms.

On the back of his robes, the word "Enforcer" was boldly embroidered.

"The WanLing court summons Qian Laohe and Baiyun," his voice boomed. "Follow me immediately or face the consequences."

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