Chapter 45 - 45: Herbal Boy
Splash!
Wei Wuyin played within a wooden bath, his eyes filled with wonder as he scrubbed his body with a beige loofah. The water had a tinge of green, filled with wood energy, and felt wonderful on the skin. It had already been half an hour since he entered the bath.
The room he was in had walls constructed from tree bark, its texture smoothed out by some form of sanding method. It had a single door and large enough to hold a dozen people.
Pa! Pa!
A woman walked into the bath with clear steps, drawing Wei Wuyin’s attention. It was Chu Lingxi, her thin body swayed over with what seemed like a sweet smile. When she saw the cleaned Wei Wuyin, she was deeply shocked, her heart fluttering.
Wei Wuyin’s silver eyes contained a hint of purity and brilliance unlike any she’d ever seen, his muscles were like sculptured marble, and his handsomeness couldn’t be more vibrant. She gulped without much thought, her heart filled with all sorts of fire.
Wei Wuyin softly smiled at this woman, this toothless smile revealed even more of his good looks. However, if he did open his mouth, she would shockingly find him with fractured teeth and missing one’s. As he hadn’t been able to heal or use pills, he lacked the ability to regrow them.
"Alright," Chu Lingxi collected herself. She held an outfit of brown and white. It was similar to hers in design outside of its color scheme. This was the designated uniform for all honorary disciples of the sect.
In frank terms, honorary disciples were mostly free labor and servants in any sect. If Wei Wuyin could remember his time in the Scarlet Solaris Sect, he would recall the utter lack of status and value these disciples had. They were numerous, nameless, and unimportant.
However, the Wei Wuyin today didn’t seem to care much. In fact, he got up and walked towards Chu Lingxi with his gaze fixated on the clothing. The fabric seemed soft. He liked soft things.
Chu Lingxi said, "I’ve handled your processing, you’re an honorary disciple of the Verdant Way Hall, a disciple of the Eden Earth Sect starting today." She handed him the set of robes and a parchment. On the surface of the parchment were the words: "Eden Earth’s 180 Rules."
Wei Wuyin grabbed the robes and quickly started to place them on himself. It wasn’t long before he was dressed, his movements seemed practiced as if done simply by muscle memory. The outfit suited him perfectly, being tight around the right areas, and loose in others.
"Good." Chu Lingxi commented as she watched Wei Wuyin dress without restraint. She already had some plans, but she had her heart burst with a trace of heat. Then, she looked at a ring on her pinky.
This ring was without embedded jewelry and was pure white. Etched in its four directions, it had a single red character: "Companion." When she looked towards this ring, her emotions became complex.
She looked towards Wei Wuyin, felt that he lacked any form of cultivation, and his body left her heart and body blazing hot. He was vulnerable and a mute. This left a very rare opportunity for her, and considering what she was going to give him to, she felt that it was a now-or-never moment.
A devious desire birthed was often like a seed of inevitability.
"These robes are a little loose, let Senior Sister Lingxi help you with that." She motioned and slowly removed Wei Wuyin’s clothes once more. Wei Wuyin was somewhat confused, but since she gave him the robes, he didn’t reject. Before long, he was once more naked.
Chu Lingxi’s eyes grew misty as she started to take off her robes, her thin body and pert ass revealed itself fully. Her tall form, flat chest, and womanly curves were all clearly shown for Wei Wuyin to see and appreciate. She bit her lower lip, seductively revealing her desires, and caressed Wei Wuyin’s face with her right hand while her left hand touched something far beyond the average standard of man.
"Let Senior Sister Lingxi make you feel good, don’t you want that?" Her words were actually without much need, as Wei Wuyin’s body had already responded and was at full attention. At this point, whether she would be able to get away from Wei Wuyin was another matter altogether.
Inspired, Wei Wuyin just took the cues and embraced her fully. His lips met hers and with a surprised yelp, the bath room was filled with sensual sounds. He followed his instincts completely. An aroma of yin and yang permeated within the bath.
About an hour later.
Wei Wuyin had refitted himself in his sect attire, feeling the fabric with full attention. He really loved this fabric’s texture. It wasn’t as soft as the crane’s feathers, but it was close.
While he appraised his attire, Chu Lingxi was fixing her hair in front of the mirror placed in the bath. Her face was flushed, her eyes bright, and her body thoroughly sated. She soundlessly smiled and chuckled recalling what had happened. She had never felt like that before, and she didn’t know what to make of it.
Then, her expression changed as she thought of her plans and became somewhat regretful. "I should’ve waited a few weeks." With a soft sigh tainted with regret, her mood noticeably dropped.
"Come, let’s go." She said, pulling Wei Wuyin out of the bath. This was her personal room, fashioned within the Tree of Eden, and given to her when she became an inner disciple. When they walked out of her room, Wei Wuyin saw the outside once more.
This was a place within the tree’s large body. There were light stones placed above that provided abundant light. This stone seemed to draw energy from the sun and moon, giving off solar light in the daytime and lunar light during the night.
Even though he couldn’t see the sky, based on the brightness of that stone above, he knew it was mid-day. It was a majestic feeling.
Chu Lingxi decided to explain the sect’s situation, "The Eden Earth Sect is divided into sixteen halls, each hall has their own speciality and disciples from Honorary, Outer, Inner, and Core. There are also the upper echelon members, the Elders, Vice-Hall Masters and Hall Masters. The sixteen halls were divided into two paths, generalized and specialized.
"You’re a part of the Verdant Way Hall, one of the eight Halls that is known for its generalized abilities. They train alchemy, combat, and herbal growth. Amongst these three, it focuses a little greater on herbal growth. These herbs are used by the entire sect and even sold, meaning it has some profit.
"You’ll be one of the Core Disciple’s herbal boys. You’ll handle the caring of and retrieval of various forms of herbs. Your life will be herbs, your breath will be herbs, and you’ll cultivate for herbs. However, you’ll be safe and live a fulfilling life of accomplishment."
As she explained this, Wei Wuyin didn’t fully understand, but he was filled with curiosity.
Herbs were plants filled with medicinal energies and could be used for alchemy in pills, elixirs, paste, and pellets. The term ’herb’ was quite broad as it incorporated any plant life that could be used for alchemic methods.
This meant even normal grass could be classified as an herb, or even moss. It was simply a matter of whether it was useful for alchemy or not. Even if a flower was grand and beautiful, if it had no alchemic value, it was not considered an herb. Therefore, while it was ’broad’ it was also very ’specific’.
In the mortal world, any plant that could be used was considered an herb.
They walked for a bit, traveling through the paved streets and made their way into a rather large palace. This palace had a huge sign: "Yanlin Palace."
Wei Wuyin gawked at the calligraphic beauty of the strokes. The elegance and pride that exuded from it was praiseworthy. It left him curious about who wrote it.
Chu Lingxi smiled bitterly seeing this sign, a flash of guilt entered her eyes as she saw Wei Wuyin’s reaction. However, her gaze turned firm and resolute. She had obtained Aria, and with this, she could obtain greater benefits.
At the doors of the palace were two men, they were thin, young, and handsome. They looked more like flower boys than guards. Even their expressions felt unnatural despite the seriousness within and the weapons they wielded.
"Inner Disciple Chu Lingxi has an offering for Princess Yanlin," Chu Lingxi humbly announced. The two guards had their expressions change as they looked towards Wei Wuyin. Nearly undetectable, a flash of pity and sadness emerged in their eyes.
They, however, quickly receded their emotions and nodded indifferently as if conditioned to do so. They opened the door and gestured for them to enter in unison. Wei Wuyin felt their movements were instinctual and natural, as if their purpose in life was to open the door.
Chu Lingxi pulled Wei Wuyin along, and he entered the palace. When he saw the inside, he couldn’t help but be bedazzled. The entry hall was wide and filled with a sense of symmetry. There were stone busts and pillars, paintings and sculptures of exquisite design. They looked rare and beautiful, filled with meaning and stories.
He had an urge to rush up and touch everything, but Chu Lingxi kept her hands firmly grasped on his forearm. Unless he pulled away forcefully, he couldn’t. He pouted his lips slightly and followed along.
As they walked further and further in, he realized there were many guards, and they were all handsome and youthful, and all male.
A large double-door was at the end of the hall, and Chu Lingxi walked forward, but before she could say a word, the doors opened and revealed the inside area. It was a beautiful botanical garden filled with dense wood and medicinal energies.
A rushing wave of pleasant aroma hit them. Chu Lingxi’s tense expression grew lax, and Wei Wuyin exclaimed in shock. He touched his abdomen. He had just felt a jolt, but it was brief and light.
A trace of confusion entered his eyes, but before he could think any further, a soft voice sounded, "Come in." The voice was light and made one’s guard subconsciously drop.
Chu Lingxi grabbed Wei Wuyin and pulled them inside.
The garden wasn’t empty. In fact, it was filled with people. They were male, all handsome and of various ages, tending to the garden. They would sometimes use their hands, and other times use their qi.
The qi they used seemed to be special as he saw a flower draw towards it as if it was an animal being fed. It absorbed the streams of qi and trembled as if in happiness. His eyes were keen and he noticed its growth had extended by at least a millimeter.
There were all sorts of herbs in this garden. He saw one filled with fiery energy, some even swayed continuously without wind, and there was a very large flower that emitted a dense earthen aura.
A path of stones went through the forest until it reached the central area. There, a throne was placed upon a stair-like platform. On this throne was a figure, an old man. His grey hair and eyes gave him a sense of dense wisdom. He was old, but he had no wrinkles, and gave off an unnatural feeling as if something within him wasn’t entirely proper.
Chu Lingxi clasped her hands and bowed in greeting, "Inner Disciple Chu Lingxi greets Elder Zhao." Her words were soft and filled with respect.
The old man looked towards Chu Longxi briefly, but turned those wise eyes towards Wei Wuyin. Looking at Wei Wuyin, those eyes lit up. His handsome visage, youthful aura, and strong body elicited a nod of approval from the old man.
This caused Chu Lingxi to sigh in relief. She had been worried if Wei Wuyin would be accepted. He had no cultivation and was nearly thirty, so she had her worries. Luckily, Wei Wuyin looked young for his age. She attributed it to good genetics.
The old man rose from his throne, retrieved a storage ring from a basket beside him that seemed filled with them and threw it towards Chu Lingxi. With a clap, Chu Lingxi caught it, her eyes filled with anticipation and excitement. As she swept her spiritual sense into the storage space, her breathing became heavy.
With this, reaching the Second Stage of Qi Condensation was a certainty! No wonder people continued to offer boys to this Yanlin Palace. She bowed in gratitude.
"You can go," Elder Zhao shooed her away with an indifferent gesture. Chu Lingxi smiled and was about to leave, but when she tried to leave, Wei Wuyin followed her, causing her to stop.
She looked at Wei Wuyin and felt all sorts of emotions, "You have to stay here. This is your new home, okay? You’ll be safe here." She quietly said.
Wei Wuyin cocked his head to the side and nodded. He turned towards this old man of his and smiled a toothless smile. Witnessing this, Chu Lingxi felt a pit form in her heart. Not only did she sell him off, but she used him in his vulnerable state. However, when she thought back to the benefits in the ring, all those feelings faded and that pit filled with satisfaction.
Without a look back, she left.