Aoyang: The Reborn Alchemist Seeks Knowledge [Xianxia]

A rustle came from within the carriage as Baiyun shot up from from the seat cushions. His eyes were groggy for a moment, then bewildered as he looked around in a daze, only to remember he was blind.

Where was he? When was this?

He felt oddly confused. The blurred light of the late morning sun peered through the carriage windows and past his thin blindfold, basking him and the seats alike.

Baiyun sat in a daze. It was day.

Right...

He fell asleep last night after the court case. With how rarely he slept, it was easy to get confused after rousing. He wasn't used to his continuous train of thought being interrupted by slumber.

Baiyun shook his head. Even if it was by accident, falling asleep was quite reckless after such a big incident. In the worst case, the clans might have even sent assassins after him. But somehow, he felt like his burden had lessened.

"Hmph. Finally awake?"

The unfamiliar voice of a middle-aged man spoke. Baiyun looked around and realised the sound came from the lantern attached to the front of the carriage; more specifically, the spirit within.

A faint creak echoed as the carriage doors swung open.

The gears in Baiyun's mind began to click, and he suddenly realised the situation.

He suddenly felt mortified. It was certain the spirit carriage arrived at the destination last night, but because he fell asleep, it had to wait for him till morning!

"Thank you. And sorry about falling asleep." Baiyun said awkwardly.

The door swung open and he hopped out, feeling soft grass under his grungy shoes as he stepped onto ground. His walking stick prodded into mud as he sensed his surroundings.

Nothing but fields of grass and simple brick buildings, yet ever so familiar.

It seemed he was back at the residential area of the servant sector, and stood before the house he lived in for the past 8 years. The sleek black lantern carriage parked outside looked completely out of place beside such a humble abode.

Baiyun turned curiously at the carriage and wondered why it hadn't departed. Perhaps it remained to keep an eye on him, though he thought the sect spirits would do good enough of a job at that.

With divine touch, he sensed no one was inside, feeling a slight sense of relief. The brother of this body was not someone he wanted to confront.

No one of such young age should witness their brother mangled to such an extent; it was simply a recipe for trauma. Besides, there was little point to reuniting when he would be forcefully dispatched to the border for 5 years.

When those years had passed, would he still have reason to return? Surviving that would mean he had gained relative strength, certainly surpassing the status of a mere servant. Or perhaps he would have found a way to escape WanLing by then.

Attempting further connection would only hurt the kid more.

With a deep sigh, he pushed the door open and walked in. Not even a month had past since he left, but somehow, it felt as long as years. Ones as old as his soul were supposed to feel the years pass by like a sieve, but perhaps his new body returned his perception of time to that of a youth.

Dust stirred on the ground; the house was a mess. Without him around, the floor had not been swept even once, as if it had been abandoned. It was still lived in of course, evident by the dirty clothing strewn around, and a half-eaten grain ball left on a shelf for some reason.

Ants were hard at work dismantling the grain ball, much like his brother who was likely busy on the fields at this hour. Though the ants were likely more competent than his useless brother, who would often be forced to sleep in the fields as punishment for his shoddy work.

Baiyun laughed emptily.

Without his bamboo boxes full of delicacies from the chefs to steal from, his brother would be left to eat kitchen scraps often. Back when he was trying to scrape every last bit of qi from servant food to desperately reach the 1st level of qi gathering, that kid felt only like a pest munching on the garden he worked hard to build up.

But now, he felt a slight pang in his heart. What would that kid do without him?

Perhaps he had gotten more attached to this place than he realised. He always had a certain fondness for simple housing, much like the hut he resided in during his past life despite his status, but it seemed he got attached to the rat that lived in it as well.

Baiyun shook his head. Such sentimental things should not sway him.

He carefully toed through the path of least filth towards the storeroom. Thankfully, the well-shut room was still clean, though the air was unpleasantly stale.

A slight clatter filled the storeroom that had been silent for too long, as various tools were retrieved.

Dust and junk was swept and mopped, the ant ball tossed outside the window and the rest into the trash. The dirty clothing was tossed into a dry washbasin, though he had no intent of washing it. Cleaning up for someone else in this manner made him feel like an actual servant, and the thought made him feel irritated.

Finally. He looked around and admired his work.

Staring at the spotless room around him made him feel at ease. That cleanliness was not something he would be able to enjoy, but it was for old time's sake. That stinking kid ought to be grateful.

He picked up the trash box and left the house, looking for somewhere to discard it. It was annoying how he could not hold the walking stick at the same time, so he had to make do with his hearing. Even so, he noticed the carriage still remained outside and he could not help but turn his head towards it.

"Hmph. What's with that look?" the lantern spirit harrumphed. "The Enforcer told you border duty would come in a few days, so naturally someone's got to monitor you. The old missus put me up to the task, so I'll be overseeing you for the next two days. Unlike the Ying Clan, us spirits do take supervision seriously, haha!"

The lantern spirit chuckled to itself as if it had made a funny joke. Baiyun felt mildly annoyed for some reason.

"Are you referring to lady Ren Hai?" he asked.

"Mn? You know her name? Hoho, I'm surprised you were in the mood to pick up such minor details during such a stressful case! Ahem, perhaps not minor. I misspoke."

The spirit sounded nervous suddenly, as if worried she could hear it.

"Were you drawn to her because of her luscious blue hair and beauty? There's plenty of toads eyeing swans like you, so- No, wait. I forgot you're blind." it said. "Ah, but that light spirit glued itself to your eyes! I see, I see... What a strange fella, being so attached to a servant. Literally, hahaha!"

Tsk. Baiyun's face immediately darkened.

What was the problem with this pest? His impression of it immediately dropped to rock bottom. He had never met a spirit half as annoying in his life.

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"Anyway!" the spirit continued. "If you have anywhere you want to go, I'll take you there. It's not like I have much else to do anyway."

Hm? Baiyun's annoyance was paused by surprise.

The court was offering a surprising amount of freedom. He thought he would be shut away in the servant sector to restrict him from meeting the clans.

If he had the leeway to travel around, that meant he could make some preparations before his deployment to the border. Baiyun mused to himself for a moment, as he thought of what to do. There was no way he would remain idle and let chance determine his fate.

A few minutes passed, the lantern spirit watching as he walked in circles aimlessly.

"Make up your mind already..." it grumbled, but the words fell on deaf ears.

Finally, Baiyun raised his head again.

"Then, can you take me to Martial Elder Guan Qiang's mountain?" he asked.

"Hm? Did you forget you're not supposed to meet any of the clans for a day?" the lantern tilted quizzically. "I suppose I can't blame you, since you were so sleepy last night."

"No, I'm not planning to meet them. There's something I want to do at the mountain," Baiyun shook his head.

"Hm... I'm not fully buying what you said, kid. Though it's dull to wait without meaning, so I'll still take you there anyway." the lantern said. "But don't get any crazy ideas! If we do encounter anyone from the clans, I'll lock you in my carriage and shoo them away!"

Baiyun merely nodded. His impression of the spirit had somewhat improved, but he didn't reply with actual words, not wanting to engage its annoying blabber.

The carriage doors swung open for him and he hopped in. He moved the mole cauldron down from the seats, making himself comfortable on the seats as the carriage took off.

Outside the window, scenery he couldn't see passed by slowly. The carriage wasn't particularly fast compared to the vehicles of the Myriad Herb and Ying clan, but it was still at minimum the speed of a mortal horse.

"You need something to eat?" the lantern spirit ask. "I can make a stop by the city and buy something for you if you're hungry."

Baiyun shook his head gently before reaching into his bag, thinking there was no time for such frivolities. He pulled out several grain balls and a gourd of Vital Heart Brew.

The carriage ride turned into an opportunity for breakfast as he munched on the grain balls, taking swigs from the gourd to wash it down. He was careful enough that not a single crumb dropped.

It seemed he was once again neglecting his meals until reminded. Cultivation did reduce his need for food significantly, but until he reached Foundational, such mortal necessities were still needed. It would be embarrassing if he starved to death merely because he wasn't paying attention.

He finished the last of his meal, the carriage soon slowing to a stop at the base of the mountain.

"We have arrived!" the spirit said.

Baiyun nodded, surprised by how enthusiastic the spirit sounded.

He pushed the door open and stepped onto the grass of the mountain forest. Chirps flitting through the air rustled through leaves. The air was fresh, tinged with hints of essence from various spirit plants.

With divine touch from his walking stick, Baiyun immediately sensed an interesting spirit mushroom close by. He took a step towards it subconsciously, but quickly restrained himself.

Guan Qiang didn't seem particularly pleased the last time he "raided" the mountain. If he began harvesting now, the elder would think he was trying to abuse the court's decree that prevented clan members from contacting him.

Baiyun sighed reluctantly, his heart aching from all the herbs he couldn't pick. All elders should be kept in good graces in case anything like the court arose again. Besides, he didn't like the idea of someone seeing him as a petty thief.

Although... he sweated.

What he came here to do was possibly worse than picking a few meagre herbs. He didn't feel like he had much choice however.

The carriage rumbled behind him as he walked through the forest. With how it followed him so "obediently", Baiyun suddenly felt like he was walking an oversized dog. It was a good thing the spirit could not hear his thoughts.

Further up the mountain, the trees grew denser with foliage, the trunks growing closer and closer until the carriage was halted in its tracks. Baiyun turned around with a frown.

But the spirit merely detached its lantern from the carriage and floated into the air, the vehicle rapidly shrinking as a force from the lantern pulled hard and absorbed it.

It was as if the carriage was giant bowl of soup that had been slurped up in a single mouthful, the winds stirring slightly from such a large object vanishing.

The spirit began to chuckle.

"Hehehe. Were you hoping you could shake me off, kid? Naive, too naive!"

Baiyun shook his head as the lantern floated above him, finding the constant laughing of the spirit somewhat annoying. At the very least, it would make for a convenient light source if he continued to explore at night.

Divine Touch channelled through his walking stick did not have much range, but somehow, he felt the presence of his destination growing closer as he trudged through the forest. If the carriage didn't drop him all the way on the opposite side of the mountain, this trek would have been much easier.

He did think of using the "pebble" pill he refined back in the WanLing prison as a primitive qi-compass to help navigate, but he decided not to test his luck while a spirit was right beside him. He would have to find a way to use it less conspicuously at the border later.

The endless greenery parted as a familiar clearing revealed itself. Baiyun heard a rushing stream cascading into a massive lake and knew he had arrived at the right place.

Lily pads and duckweed bobbled on the water as deer and rabbits playful frolicked and drank, nibbling at the lush patches of clovers that grew close by. The grass had grown much taller since his last visit, now able to easily conceal snakes, though it was of little concern with divine touch.

The small herd of deer eyed Baiyun as he approached, before calmly walking away into the depths of the forest. The rabbits had no such reservation, hopping toward him and surrounding him.

He smiled. The rabbits were still here as he hoped and recognised him! It was likely they still thought of him as their plaything, after stealing so many of the herbs he eyed previously.

"You came here just to play with rabbits?" the lantern spirit mused. "Well, I suppose its not the worst pastime. You must be quite the 'frequent customer' if you can navigate here without eyes, haha!"

Baiyun wished the spirit would be more quiet.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a handful of stale qi grass he previously bought from the Forest Tortoise town. He used most of it to make pills, but he did still have some leftovers with too many impurities for his liking.

Even despite the poor state of the leaves that had begun to yellow, he was confident they would take interest. Spirit animals were quite sensitive to the qi content of food after all.

The rabbits sniffed the air and paced about, wiggling their ears. Seeing their hesitation, Baiyun began to worry if perhaps he had looked down a little too much on their palate. Stale yellowed grass on the verge of rotting was perhaps a little too repulsive.

But before he could retract his hand, he felt something slam into his chest!

"Ack!"

The very air was knocked out of his lungs like the bellows of a forge, rabbits lunging at him from every angle. Dense muscle concealed beneath soft white fur felt like rubber cannonballs as they slammed into him. He felt like he might have cracked a rib or two if not for his improved physique from the Black Earth Elixir!

In that moment of distraction, the biggest rabbit leapt into the air with a massive jump and landed perfectly on his lone arm. Its eyes were fixed on the clump of grass that Baiyun adamantly held even after the barrage.

The oversized rodent clung tightly onto his wrist with four paws and began to munch voraciously, seemingly forgetting about its surroundings. It was very heavy for such a small creature, as if five coconuts had glued themselves to his hand.

Baiyun stared speechlessly at the beast and wondered if he had accidentally attracted a leech instead of a rabbit in his blindness.

That feeling quickly turned to horror as the horde of rabbits rushed towards him, chomping into his robes and tugging angrily. The feeling of cloth stretching and the faint sound of tearing linen made him sweat. At this rate, they were going to tear the bottom half of his robes into shreds and leave him in his undergarments!

He took a step forward as he thought of running, but hearing the linen tearing harder, he resigned himself and stood still. He sighed and wondered what he was even doing. He felt ridiculous.

At the very least, the rabbits were no longer launching themselves at him. Perhaps the large rabbit was their leader somehow, and they could only take out their anger on his robes.

Baiyun used Intention Reading on the gluttonous creature attached to his arm, though his goal this time was only to sense cultivation.

Hm? He raised an eyebrow.

This creature was surprisingly quite the specimen! Its qi cultivation at the 3rd level was unremarkable, but its body cultivation had reached the 9th level, only a single step away from a Foundational Body.

It was no wonder the rabbits were so fearless. Even if their bodies weren't as durable as the big one he held, mortal swords would still bounce off their muscles and leave only small cuts.

Baiyun clenched his fist in excitement, accidentally squeezing out some grass juices.

He had only been looking for a pet to borrow senses from for his upcoming border duty, but he had gotten more than he bargained for!

Only light spirits and experienced soulsense users could transmit vivid imagery, but there was an alternative: sound. Soulsense communication was primarily in spoken languages to begin with, so if even that was a hurdle, it would make soulsense useless to most.

He was going to enter dangerous territory blind, and he did not fancy his odds of survival if he had to rely on his limited human ears. He wanted to borrow the sharp ears of a spirit beast!

As the rabbit scarfed down the remaining grass and licked up the grass juice, Baiyun closed his eyes and connected to it with divine thread. The rabbit who was just about to lazily jump off suddenly jolted, its ears sticking upright as it stared at him.

He opened his eyes and stared back, caught off guard by its unexpected reaction.

"What! The human can use soulsense! Not mortal?" a childish voice in human tongue was relayed back into his divine thread.

Baiyun's eyes shrank.