Chapter 55: Forbidden Technique

Pure Nine-Lotus Lamp: 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9, 9.

Outside Immortal Gate First High School.

Chen Mobai looked up at the sky, puzzled. He found it very strange that there was thunder despite the clear sky. Was a heavy rain coming that night?

He checked the weather forecast, then found a bubble tea shop. He ordered a fresh lychee juice and slowly sipped it, playing on his phone while watching the school entrance.

Just moments ago, Qing Nü finally texted him back.

As he had guessed, she had been in a cultivation chamber, with her phone in an auxiliary cultivation mode, muting all notifications.

Now that her time in the cultivation chamber was over, she replied immediately after seeing his message.

"Don't look for me again!"

Chen Mobai's expression wavered as he read the text. He then typed out a reply.

"I'm right outside your school."

"What do you want?"

Qing Nü replied instantly. Chen Mobai found her reaction odd; he just wanted to apologize for her expulsion from her master's tutelage, but it felt like she was imagining something bad.

"What would you like to drink? I'll order it for you; it'll be perfect for you to come out and have it."

After a long pause, perhaps two or three minutes, Qing Nü finally replied.

"Wait!"

Inside the school.

Qing Nü picked up her small backpack, ready to leave. A boy in a school uniform, with a sunny smile, walked over to her.

"Let me walk you home."

"No need, I've already made plans with a friend."

Qing Nü shook her head and turned to leave.

The sunny boy didn't mind; he had been rejected more than once or twice anyway.

As Qing Nü walked out of the school gates, she was wearing a mask and a small round hat. If Chen Mobai hadn't been familiar with her appearance in a mask, and if she hadn't come so close, he might not have recognized her.

"I'm very sorry about your expulsion from your master's tutelage."

Chen Mobai handed the juice to the approaching Qing Nü, offering a sincere apology first. After all, not everyone was qualified to become a disciple of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If Qing Nü were expelled from her master's tutelage, it would leave a permanent blemish on her entire life's record.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

After taking the juice, Qing Nü glanced left and right, then waved Chen Mobai over. They left together and boarded a public bus.

"What's wrong?"

It was rush hour for school dismissal, so the bus was packed. Chen Mobai and Qing Nü could only stand. He found it strange, but she merely shook her head, seemingly in low spirits, and said nothing.

Finally, they arrived at Qing Nü's favorite grilled fish restaurant.

It was only then that Qing Nü finally spoke, uttering words that Chen Mobai found very strange. "Too many people at school know me. If my classmates saw me with someone from outside the school, there would definitely be gossip."

"Are you famous at school?"

"Roughly, yes. I suppose I'm one of the most well-known students?"

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai looked at Qing Nü's stunning face, now revealed after she removed her hat and mask, and nodded slightly.

He figured Qing Nü must be the campus belle at Immortal Gate First High School, and given her status as a disciple of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, her Qi Condensation realm might also be high, which would explain her fame.

"I went to Changqing Pharmacy to look for you today. Senior Gu said that because you privately used his medicinal pool, you violated an alchemist's taboo, and so he has expelled you from his tutelage. Is that true?"

By this point, Chen Mobai had calmed down from his initial emotional turmoil. He first verified the information he knew with Qing Nü.

He wondered if Gu Changfeng was joking, especially since their last conversation, which he had overheard, suggested a rather good master-disciple relationship.

"That's right," Qing Nü confirmed. "There is indeed such a taboo among alchemists; they generally don't use other people's cauldrons and medicinal pools. However, there's one exception: between master and disciple."

"Generally, a master gives their used cauldron and medicinal pool to their disciple upon their successful graduation, symbolizing that the disciple's skill has reached a high level. My teacher had already told me he would give me this entire set of alchemy equipment from the pharmacy when I graduated."

"The day before yesterday, he knew I was using his medicinal pool to prepare medicinal liquids and didn't say anything. But today, he suddenly became furious and expelled me without any explanation..."

At this point, Qing Nü's eyes reddened slightly, and her lips trembled.

"I'm sorry, it might be because of me."

After listening, Chen Mobai could only apologize again.

"It's not your fault," Qing Nü shook her head, instead blaming herself. "It's probably because I haven't been diligent enough in my studies, and my teacher's accumulated dissatisfaction finally erupted, leading to today's events. After we eat, I'll go back to the pharmacy and apologize to him properly. I hope he can forgive me."

"Um..."

After hesitating, Chen Mobai ultimately decided not to tell her that Gu Changfeng had already revoked her master-disciple status at the Ministry of Education's Inheritance Hall.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's eat first."

The owner clearly recognized them, but as a proprietor, he could only offer a polite smile to his customers.

After they finished eating, they took a bus again to the stop near Changqing Pharmacy.

But as soon as they got off, they noticed the atmosphere around them was off.

"Crime scene. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter."

They walked down the street towards Changqing Pharmacy, only to find it sealed off. Law enforcement cultivators in black and blue uniforms moved in and out, and as Chen Mobai and Qing Nü approached, one immediately stepped forward to stop them.

"This is my master's pharmacy. What happened?"

Qing Nü's face was filled with anxiety as she looked at the pharmacy, cordoned off by caution tape. She desperately wanted to rush past, but a sliver of rationality prevented her from doing so.

"Oh, in that case, come with me. We have a few questions for you."

The law enforcement cultivator nodded after hearing Qing Nü, then lowered the caution tape.

Chen Mobai immediately followed them in. The law enforcement cultivator, assuming he was also Gu Changfeng's disciple, did not stop him.

Inside the pharmacy, Qing Nü was led to a headless body covered with a white sheet. When the sheet was lifted, her face turned ashen, and her body trembled.

"The deceased has been identified as Gu Changfeng, the owner of this pharmacy."

"The detailed cause of death will be determined after the forensic examination and the issuance of an official report."

"As a family member, if you do not consent to the autopsy, we will respect your decision."

The law enforcement cultivator who was speaking to them was a solemn-faced middle-aged man. Mid-sentence, a female law enforcement cultivator with short, ear-length hair approached and handed him some documents.

"According to the response from the Ministry of Education's Inheritance Hall, Gu Changfeng revoked your master-disciple status this morning."

The middle-aged man's brows furrowed after reading the documents. He looked up at Qing Nü, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.

Chen Mobai calmly knelt beside the headless corpse to examine the wound around the neck, which looked as if it had been burned by high heat, and asked, "The deceased is a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If this is a murder case, it must be the biggest one in Danxia City in nearly twenty years."

"Murder case?!" a serious voice replied beside him. "No, our preliminary assessment is that he died from qi deviation; it was a suicide."