Chapter Thirty Three.

Immediately Qin Lanhua finishes putting up the posters they get torn down by someone who has been lying low for a while. Madam Ruo finds her way to the kitchen where Duan Xinyue is.

"Xiao Duan,"she flutters her eyelashes at him while acting cute. The three men cringe at her actions and they are on the verge of running away.

"Madam Ruo,what are you doing here?"

"I'm here as your new chef."

"Do you even know how to cook?"

"Someone told me you enjoyed eating the jujube cakes I made last time so I thought I should try being a chef."

Duan Xinyue chuckles awkwardly before replying,"Yeah,right. The cakes were pretty good."

Madam Ruo pins Duan Xinyue against the wall and he sweats profusely afraid his heart might stop beating sooner than he thinks. Madam Ruo slips her hands to his back,unties the apron strings and tells Duan Xinyue to remove the apron. She wears the apron and starts preparing the ingredients. Duan Xinyue is still leaning against the wall taking deep breaths and sighing in relief.

"Gentlemen, good luck and be safe."

Duan Xinyue dashes out of the kitchen and runs upstairs to his room.

Miss Du went to visit her grandmother in Liushu County and she will be returning after a while so Duan Xinyue has no lectures to attend. Duan Xinyue is thinking of entering his underground alchemy room to pass time by refining a few pills. The cellar door leading to the underground room is under his bed. He's about to move the bed when a knock at the door makes him jump in shock. He opens the door and finds Lei Qiang standing there calmly.

"Lei-xiong why are you here?"

Lei Qiang feels Duan Xinyue has been avoiding him ever since they spent the night at the restaurant. Even after Lord Xu Kong's meeting,Duan Xinyue was the first to leave.

"Young Master Duan,you are quite busy nowadays. I heard you decided to be a chef and I was hoping to have a taste of your delicacies but then I heard you decided to quit. Is something amiss?"

"Nothing is amiss. I just felt cooking isn't meant for someone like me."

"Anyway I was just passing by and I felt I should see you and know how you're fairing."

"How caring of you Master Lei. I'm honored to experience Master Lei's care,"he bows.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Duan Xinyue grabs Lei Qiang's hand to hold him back.

"What?"

"I need your help with something."

Duan Xinyue locks the door and windows completely that no one from outside can access the room.

"What are you doing?"

Duan Xinyue grabs one side of the bed and asks Lei Qiang to grab the other side and together they move the bed aside revealing the cellar door. Duan Xinyue opens the cellar door and goes in with Lei Qiang behind him.

The room is dark as expected but Duan Xinyue lights a few candles while Lei Qiang looks around still surprised.

"Lei-xiong what do you think of my Alchemy Chamber?"

"As expected of you,you don't expose your works to the world."

"You're my world so it counts as showing my works to the world."

"Is it necessary to flirt at this moment?"

Lei Qiang runs his fingers across the several books on the shelf and picks a alchemy manual.

"Lei-xiong you have a good eye."

Lei Qiang peruses a few pages and skims the content.

"Mental Ghost Herb Bugs. What is this?"

"It's a pair of bugs that can be reproduced when the Mental Ghost Herb undergoes certain procedures."

"And what is the effect of the bugs?"

"Once someone comes into contact with them they enter their blood stream secretly and eventually reach the brain. The bugs feed on someone's brains and they might die within a day or two. When the bugs are fed some poisonous herbs they might suck someone's blood dry."

"Have you ever tried to reproduce some?"

"No. No one knows where to find the Mental Ghost Herb so some people think it's already become extinct or it never existed from the start."

Lei Qiang returns the manual to the shelf and goes on to explore the many ingredients in the room. Duan Xinyue sets up the cauldron and later starts the refining process.Lei Qiang sits somewhere and watches him in admiration.

"This is the only time you show the serious version of yourself."

"Is that so?"

"I have been wondering why you brought me here. Is it just a coincidence or you had planned it all along?"

"Didn't you said you don't believe in coincidences associated with me?"

"That's right."

"I feel this place won't be safe anymore. I'll be in a tough spot if I get exposed in the future. The world won't be at peace if the secret alchemy manuals end up in some people's hands so I brought you here to show you before I keep them somewhere safe."

"I see."

"Aren't you gonna ask where I got the manuals or where I will take them?"

"Of course you won't tell me even if I beg you. "

Duan Xinyue chuckles in embarrassment.

"Well, at least I've shown you how my Alchemy Chamber looks like. I will replace the secret manuals with fake ones so no one will suspect they are not there. I will also hide some of the ingredients."

"Seems like there's someone else who has access to this room and you're beginning to suspect them."

"Of course. I can smell traitors and enemies from far,"Duan Xinyue declares proudly.

"Can you smell a traitor in me?"

"You'll never betray me because you're expecting me to keep the Freezing Palm Technique secret forever,"Duan Xinyue says leaning closer to Lei Qiang with an evil smile plastered on his face.