Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Ash Chamber was located in the deepest part of the Back Mountain Medicine Hut.

I had been there once when I was a child. My only memories were of a roaring furnace fire and the bitter scent of medicinal herbs.

Returning now, I realized that beneath that herbal fragrance lay the heavy, stifling smell of bone ash.

When Wen Zhi took out the key to open the door, his hands shook so violently that he couldn’t line it up with the keyhole.

Master couldn’t bear to watch any longer and reached out to take it from him.

“Immortal Venerable,” Wen Zhi whispered, “please be gentle. This lock is older than I am.”

Master gave him a look.

Wen Zhi shut his mouth immediately.

As the door swung open, a cloud of dust billowed out.

There were no medicinal cauldrons inside, only rows of narrow cabinets.

A name was pasted onto every cabinet door.

Xie Wuchen.

Gu Ruwei.

Zhou Zhi.

Jiang Heng.

I stared at that last name, the coldness spreading through my fingertips bit by bit.

My cabinet had already been prepared.

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision made today.

It had been waiting for me to enter for many years.

Shen Zhaowei stepped out from the shadows.

Behind her followed two Inner Sect Disciples, both of whom were people I had spoken with on a daily basis.

When she saw Master, her grip tightened on her sword.

“I didn’t think you would let her come here.”

Master said, “She wanted to come.”

Shen Zhaowei was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn’t expected him to actually say that.

I walked over to Xie Wuchen’s cabinet.

Inside was a cracked pill box, a charred section of a hair ribbon, and half of a jade slip.

I picked up the jade slip. As soon as my spiritual power probed inside, a young boy’s voice rang out in my ear.

“Senior Brother, it’s so hot inside the furnace.”

The voice was very young, carrying a hint of forced cheerfulness.

“I know you’re outside. Don’t come in, or they’ll refine you along with me.”

I subconsciously looked at Master.

His face was completely drained of color.

The voice in the jade slip continued.

“Senior Brother, I’m not afraid of dying. I’m just… a little unwilling.”

“The Sect Leader said I’m doing this for the sake of all living beings, but I haven’t even eaten the sugar figurines from the mountain’s base more than a few times.”

“If you take on disciples in the future, don’t pick someone like me.”

“I’m too easy to fool.”

The voice cut off there for a moment.

When it resumed, the boy sounded as if he were in agonizing pain; even his laugh was unsteady.

“Senior Brother, don’t cry.”

“You don’t look like an Immortal Venerable at all when you cry.”

The jade slip shattered in my palm.

No one spoke in the Ash Chamber.

I finally understood why Master never ate sweet porridge.

Perhaps that was something Xie Wuchen used to make.

With reddened eyes, Shen Zhaowei spat out a curse.

“Animals.”

Wen Zhi suddenly opened another cabinet.

There was no pill box inside, only a string of Bone Bells.

His expression changed instantly.

“This belongs to my mother.”

No one dared to respond.

Wen Zhi clutched the Bone Bells, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

“She didn’t die of an illness?”

Master looked at the name on the cabinet.

Lin Suniang.

Furnace Tender.

I suddenly understood that the Ash Chamber held more than just Spirit Bone medicinal primers.

It also held everyone who knew the truth and failed to leave alive.

The Sect Leader’s voice drifted in from outside the door.

“Xuanwei, did you bring her here because you wanted her to hate us a little more?”