The next morning, Han Yu stood outside Li Mei’s workshop, arms crossed, dressed in his freshest clean-ish robes. Warlord Sniffles perched on his shoulder like a fuzzy war general.
The door opened, revealing Li Mei with soot in her hair and a rat wearing safety goggles on her head.
"You’re early," she said, peering at him.
"I have a proposition," Han Yu said solemnly.
Li Mei raised an eyebrow. "If it’s about selling those Panic Pellets, no."
"No, no." He waved her off. "I want you to give me something that helps my cultivation."
Li Mei blinked. "Seriously?"
"Think about it," he said, stepping inside. "If I get stronger, I can survive more of your weird pills. We both win."
Li Mei narrowed her eyes. "True... But you realize the cultivation-enhancing pills I make have, um, slightly higher chances of side effects?"
"Somewhere between ’mild internal bleeding’ and ’your body exploding into a bloody mist.’"
Han Yu took a deep breath. "I’m willing to bet on it." He had already thought about it for a long time last night and was ready for it.
He already knew that if he didn’t do this and took the normal route, there was no guarantee how long it would take for him to reach the Qi refining realm and become a cultivator. And even if he became one, there was always the threat of others who were wishing to get rid of him.
The bothersome chores and framing him was one thing, but last time, they had tried to kill him. Now that was something he had to take really seriously. He needed enough power to defend himself if things got really bad.
After all, Li Mei might not be there to save him next time.
Hearing Han Yu’s words, Li Mei gave a wicked grin. "I love bets."
Minutes later, Han Yu was seated cross-legged in the middle of her pill-testing room, staring down at a eerie looking green pill that shimmered ominously. It pulsed like it had a heartbeat. A loud, judgmental heartbeat.
"What’s in this one?" he asked warily.
"Essence of Giant Bone Orchid, compressed Tiger Blood Spirit Crystals, and a bit of powdered Lightning Mushroom. Oh, and like... half a drop of phoenix spit. Maybe. Probably just pigeon, honestly."
Han Yu nodded slowly. "Sounds potent."
"It’s technically illegal in five provinces," she said cheerfully. "The Bone Orchid can cause bone spurs to grow, Tiger Blood Crystals can send one into a frenzy, and Lightning Mushrooms can cause one to have rather explosive sneezes." She added, as if to scare Han Yu.
"Cool, cool." Han Yu was not going to back down from the little threat, though.
"It may also cause brief hallucinations, burning organs, or spontaneous chess proficiency." Li Mei added just to see his reaction, but the boy was determined.
Han Yu popped the pill in his mouth.
His eyes widened as the pill dissolved—and he felt it immediately.
Heat surged through his body, flooding every vein like molten spirit lava. It was like someone poured boiling tea into his bones and lit his soul on fire.
"AAAGH!" Han Yu clutched his stomach. "WHY DOES MY SPLEEN FEEL LIKE IT’S DOING PUSH-UPS THIS TIME?!"
He keeled over onto his side as glowing veins snaked up his neck. Sparks danced across his fingertips, and for a brief moment, he swore he could hear every bug within a ten-meter radius whispering "this idiot’s gonna die."
Li Mei leaned over with a notepad. "Ooooh. Good reaction time. Looks like the vein expansion phase kicked in early. Did you vomit blood yet?"
"WHY IS THAT A STEP?!"
"Relax," she said. "Only one test subject exploded. And he was, like, very unstable already. Wobbly Qi."
Han Yu rolled across the floor like a squeaky log.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours.
Eventually, the pain eased. Not entirely, but enough for him to stop screaming into the floorboards.
Li Mei helped him sit up, still scribbling notes.
"Well?" she asked. "How do you feel?"
Han Yu blinked. His body still ached, but... he could feel it. That vital energy inside him had grown stronger. Denser. It wasn’t a breakthrough yet, but his muscles pulsed with at least ten percent more raw power than before.
His senses were sharper. His limbs more responsive. His stomach... still wanted to fight him, but that was standard at this point.
"...I feel like I got punched by a cloud made of hot iron," he said, "but also, I feel... stronger."
Li Mei grinned. "Congratulations! You didn’t die!"
"That’s my bar now, huh?"
"Yup. It’s called progress, sweetie."
Han Yu pulled himself up using the edge of a rat cage.
"I’m doing that again," he said, still wheezing. "Just maybe not today."
Li Mei scribbled a star beside "Pill #43: Essence Overdrive Version 2." Then she turned to him. "Tomorrow, I’ll make a milder one. I think. If I remember the measurements this time."
Han Yu gave her a thumbs-up with trembling fingers. "Good. Let’s try not to cook my kidneys twice in a row."
"Oh, and by the way," Li Mei said casually, "your vital energy surge made the rat on your shoulder shed. That’s usually a good sign."
Han Yu looked at Warlord Sniffles, now sleek and glowing faintly with shiny black fluff. The rat was already at the Seventh Stage of the Body Tempering realm, the same as Han Yu’s previous cultivation base.
"Even he’s cultivating faster than me," Han Yu muttered. ’I didn’t know rats can grow just from residual effects of the pill.’ He thought.
"Teamwork," Li Mei said with a smirk. "Who knows, once you become a cultivator, you can officially tame a few rats and raise them as your army?" She stated.
"Maybe..." Han Yu nodded, staggering toward the door like a brave little wrecked dumpling of a man.
"One of these days," he muttered, "I’m either going to be a powerhouse... or a public safety hazard."
Behind him, Li Mei grinned. "Why not both?"