Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Azure Ray Manta

Qi Xiao was somewhat amazed. Although he’d long heard from Feng that his younger brother, had he not contracted the Blood Plague, would surely have become a star at the Academy of Drama—he’d once thought this was just the bias of a doting brother. Now, seeing it with his own eyes, he realized it was no exaggeration.

“This is your brother Qi Xiao, the one I’ve told you about so many times. And this is my younger brother, Lin Cai.”

Feng was already considered attractive, his whole person exuding a unique, rakish charm. But compared to his brother, he paled in comparison. Lin’s features were like those of a true angel; the frailness brought on by illness did nothing to diminish his allure—instead, it only made him more endearing.

Even though Qi Xiao had seen countless handsome men and beautiful women over two lifetimes, he couldn’t help but silently marvel.

“Brother Qi Xiao, thank you for the medicine you gave me. I feel much better now.”

Lin’s lips curved into a smile, his large, luminous eyes full of joy as he looked at Qi Xiao.

“That’s good. Little Lin, I’m going to do a check-up. If you feel any discomfort, remember to say so.”

Qi Xiao walked to Lin’s side, mimicking a gesture from his previous life by pressing the back of his hand to Lin’s forehead, feeling a wave of coolness beneath his palm.

Lin nodded meekly, replying with a soft “mm.”

Qi Xiao slowly channeled his magic into Lin’s body, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Feng, watching, grew tense as Qi Xiao’s expression darkened; Lin, too, looked increasingly pained, biting the corner of the blanket without making a sound.

At last, Qi Xiao withdrew his magic. Lin instantly relaxed, covered in sweat and breathing in shallow gasps.

Qi Xiao handed Lin a bottle of restorative potion, motioning for him to drink it, then turned to Feng and said quietly, “The situation isn’t great. It’s a lot more severe than the cases Granny Yue has recorded. Perhaps it’s because he’s been ill since childhood and his immunity is low.”

Feng was visibly anxious. “So what do we do now?”

Qi Xiao glanced at Lin, who was sipping the potion and sneaking glances their way. After a moment’s hesitation, he chose not to shield Lin from the truth and spoke solemnly:

“With his current condition, he probably won’t last more than three years… But don’t worry. With my potions for support, he should have at least five years. Five years is enough—I’ll have a solution by then, you have my word.”

If it had been before, Qi Xiao wouldn’t have dared give such a guarantee, but ever since he’d begun studying that potion, he’d gained new insights into healing the soul with alchemy. He even thought five years might be more than enough, but he chose to be cautious in his promise.

Feng, noticeably relieved, clapped Qi Xiao on the shoulder. He said nothing more, but Qi Xiao understood and smiled reassuringly.

He took out a box of his improved blood-fusion potion, handed it to Feng, and instructed, “One bottle every ten days. If you run out, come to me. If Lin responds well and has no side effects, you can gradually shorten the interval, but never less than one bottle every seven days. Any shorter and his body might react badly, which would be counterproductive. Don’t rush it.”

Feng nodded vigorously, jotting down Qi Xiao’s instructions. Qi Xiao ruffled Lin’s hair, said his farewells under the pretense of other business, and left the brothers.

He wasn’t simply making excuses—he truly had things to do. He went to the mission hall to post two notices: one to recruit wizards to help with the relocation, and another to hire more staff. By now, the Tiangong Alchemy Shop was well-known among apprentices. As soon as word got out, plenty would apply, and he could pick the best candidates.

He’d also raised the compensation. He no longer hired junior wizard apprentices; the pay for intermediate and senior apprentices had been increased by twenty magic crystals, and even non-magical staff now earned thirty silver coins a month, with a magic crystal included in the annual bonus.

The new location for the shop had long been selected—not too far from the commercial district, close to the staff dormitories, and Qi Xiao had arranged for a magic-gathering array to be carved there.

Since he intended to slow down his own cultivation, he could now take on some custom alchemy commissions for acquaintances. He wrote several letters inquiring about their needs—a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Qi Xiao knew plenty of people by now. As he wrote, he even sent letters to Carl and Maorian. As for Arthur and his two companions, they were too far away, and he didn’t know their exact addresses, so that would have to wait.

After sending the letters at the pigeon post, Qi Xiao returned to Heartlake Isle. Lately, he’d grown more adept at spatial teleportation—and more reliant on it. The feeling of getting home from the pigeon post in just two minutes was addictive.

Eve wasn’t fishing for once. She and Raymond lived nearby, so Qi Xiao had planned to ask them in person, but they were nowhere to be found. It wasn’t urgent, though. He glanced at Eve’s fishing rod, always left across the great stone, and was suddenly seized by a whim. He sat on the boulder, replaced the bait with a scarlet flower bearing a trace of mysterious aura, and cast it into the water.

—

As dusk fell, the sun setting, Eve appeared suddenly at Qi Xiao’s side, wearing a delicate white dress. She clapped him on the shoulder with a loud smack.

“Ha! Scared you, didn’t I? Serves you right for being cheeky and messing with my fishing rod, you—you—!”

Eve had intended to startle her mischievous junior, but her words froze as she caught sight of the creature struggling fiercely in the bucket by Qi Xiao’s left leg.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the creature—a Sunset Ray. Its wings shimmered with a subtle golden-red light in the dying sun; its scales seemed kissed by the evening glow, gleaming with a dreamlike iridescence.

Sunset Rays were extremely rare beings—winged, yet covered in scales. At sunrise, they danced with the dawn in the sky; at sunset, they frolicked in the lake with the evening clouds, hence their name.

But as rare as they were, Eve had only ever heard of them—never seen one herself. And if such a creature truly inhabited these waters, she’d been fishing here for months without ever catching so much as a glimpse, yet her junior had managed it in just two hours…

Eve bit her lip, her expression a mix of frustration and renewed determination, now that the lake’s abundant life had been proven.

She stepped closer, peering intently at the Sunset Ray. Its scales, aglow in the sunset, melded perfectly with the evening light, as if it were a living part of the natural world.

Under Eve’s astonished gaze, Qi Xiao gently lifted the Sunset Ray from the bucket and released it back into the water, watching as it swam off like a flying arrow, vanishing into the radiance of the setting sun.

“Junior, why did you…?” Eve was bewildered. This was a Sunset Ray—its rarity needed no explanation, and it was so beautiful that just keeping it would be a delight.