I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 517: 380

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world!

When Zhou Yi heard about the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome, his first thought was his father’s words: “If someone lets you eat for free, it’s either poisoned or they want your life in exchange.”

“Ephemeral beauty!”

Upon further reflection, he found descriptions in Shuowen Jiezi: As beauty fades with age, as fireworks vanish in a flash, as petals wilt in a flick of the fingers…

Zhou Yi suddenly thought of something and raised his head to look at his tutor, who was speaking eloquently.

Since coming to the palace a year ago, there had been two people Zhou Yi felt close to: Little Xi, like a brother or friend, and his tutor, like a mentor or parent, bringing warmth to the cold imperial palace.

Now, as his tutor gently induced him, he omitted any mention of the flaws of the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome, speaking only of diligently cultivating for promotions and wealth, and an unlimited future.

“We’re not really tutor and student after all!”

Zhou Yi sighed helplessly. In the Inner Court of the imperial palace, where was there any kindness to be found?

The tutor had boasted of the benefits of the Cultivation Technique, and most of the eunuchs were brimming with excitement, dreaming of becoming the next Sea Prime Eunuch or Wei Prime Eunuch, reciting the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome even more diligently than when they were learning to read.

A minority had shifty eyes, but whether you believed or doubted, in the end, there was no way to resist.

The wells in the palace reeked; adding another corpse made no difference!

The entire Epiphyllum Treasure Tome had over three thousand words, with an additional two thousand words on the techniques of engaging True Qi, involving many meridians and points, as well as profound concepts of the Daoist tradition.

Zhou Yi chanted the tome for a day and could almost recite it from memory, carefully listening to his tutor explaining each word and sentence.

What is True Qi, where are the various points and meridians located, and how to gather True Qi into the Dantian—he explained in extreme detail, and from this aspect seemed like a true teacher.

As the evening approached.

Zhou Yi returned to his living quarters to find Little Xi lying on the bed.

Murmuring as if moaning in pain.

Drawing closer, Zhou Yi saw that Little Xi’s temples had whitened, his appearance had aged more than tenfold since last year, and his face was tinged with an alarming purplish red hue.

Zhou Yi hurried over, asking with concern, “Xi brother, what’s wrong with you?”

“Little Yi…”

Little Xi’s voice was weak and faint, his breath barely audible, straining a smile on his face: “A few days ago, I saw His Majesty, only ten feet away, His Majesty asked me a question.”

Zhou Yi gently smoothed Little Xi’s chest, helping him to breathe: “This is a good thing, did brother Xi answer correctly?”

Little Xi’s dream was to attend His Majesty’s side, to become a personage like the Sea Prime Eunuch, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts and commanding awe in both the pugilistic world and the imperial court.

“I’ve prepared for ten years, of course, I answered correctly!”

Little Xi coughed violently a few times, his face flushing with pride: “His Majesty asked a question that no other servant could understand, I responded based on the classics, His Majesty praised me as intelligent and solid, haha…”

The laughter was sharp like a night owl’s, and intermittently short of breath.

Zhou Yi asked doubtfully, “Then what happened today?”

“Today in the Qianyuan Hall, the Elixir of Life was concocted, and the Servants Division was ordered to test the elixir first.”

Little Xi said, “Xu, the Supervisor in charge, personally selected me, saying that after receiving His Majesty’s praise, it was fitting for me to test the medicine. Who knew that after taking the pill, I was struck by severe poison!”

“Poisoned?”

Zhou Yi exclaimed in horror, asking: “Then isn’t the one concocting the pill planning to harm His Majesty?”

Little Xi shook his head: “I heard that the Longevity Elixir Recipe was not complete from the start, and those concocting the elixir adapted the formula. As for us testers, we can only wait for death.” @@novelbin@@

Zhou Yi looked at Little Xi, whose breath was growing weaker, unsure how to save him.

He didn’t know what had happened tonight, Little Zheng and Little Yuan had yet to finish their shift, and with their profound abilities, they might be able to help Little Xi detoxify.

“I hate this!”

Little Xi’s pupils began to dilate: “I hate that I cannot fully serve His Majesty, I hate…”

He did not finish the latter part of his sentence as he completely stopped breathing, his eyes wide open in death.

Zhou Yi was so frightened that he was numb and restless, unsure how to deal with the corpse. According to the customs of his village, the body should lie in state for three days, allowing friends and relatives to mourn before burial in the ancestral grave.

As a eunuch, one is considered grossly unfilial, having severed the family line, and thus undeserving of burial in the ancestral grave.

As he sat frightened and at a loss, Zhou Yi heard the door open and turned to see Little Zheng and Little Yuan entering.

Little Zheng glanced at the corpse, a flash of sorrow in his eyes, and said, “Tomorrow we’ll report to the Supervisor in charge, someone from the Servants Division will be sent to bury Little Xi in the eunuchs’ cemetery.”

Little Yuan, with a gloomy face, stared at Zhou Yi for a long while before silently returning to his bed to rest.

Anger flashed in Zhou Yi’s eyes; he had come to understand that the two had waited outside intentionally, not coming in to help Little Xi with his injuries.

This cold indifference chilled Zhou Yi’s heart!

Little Xi had a lively and helpful nature, often assisting his fellow lodgers with their tasks, and now he had died right before their eyes!

“Father was right, people forget favors as soon as they’re done with you, destroying the bridge after crossing the river…”

Zhou Yi lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, having lost his teacher and friend in one day, and next to him lay the cold corpse, he felt as if Little Xi’s face was constantly before his eyes.

He tossed and turned with his eyes closed, wanting to question his two lodgers, yet unable to muster the courage.

The next morning dawned.

Zhou Yi, out of habit, suddenly opened his eyes and swiftly got out of bed to dress.

Little Zheng and Little Yuan walked ahead, with Zhou Yi following quietly behind; regretfully, without the chatty Little Xi, the journey was very quiet.

Passing through one palace gate after another, and meeting nobility along the way, the three of them kneeled for greetings from a distance.

They carefully waited for the nobles to pass by before getting up and continuing on their way—preferring to be late and miss their meal than to be lacking in proper etiquette.

The eunuchs in the palace were lowly servants, merely slaves to the Emperor; if the nobles took offense, they could be dragged out and beaten to death without needing a reason.