“That’s what I thought because the symptoms are very similar to what happens to everyone who takes Lao Min Na’s pills, at the beginning the pills help cleanse the body from all impurities, the pills cleanse the blood vessels to make it easier to circulated the Qi flow, the pill even enlarge the size of the dantian so one can absorb double if not triple the amount of Qi into their body, it’s no exaggeration that the pill is a miracle”

Jin Hua listens to the story with a slight frown, “But I never heard that Chi Zu’s cultivation increased significantly” Jin Hua express her confusion cause she was sure this type of news usually spread like wildfire inside their clan.

“Because I told Chi Zu to hide it so that she doesn’t become the object of people’s jealousy and envy therefore until her cultivation stabilizes and she reaches the Emperor level, I told her to hide her progress, you know how competitive the people in here” the Third Elder explained before he continued in a mournful tone ” I was so happy for her, I even insisted on meeting this mysterious friend of Jin Kai to show my gratitude for her help, but Chi Zu said that person is very humble and because she can only produce a few pills like this every six months she didn’t want anyone else to know about this she afraid people will going to force her to make this pills, I understood, miraculous pills like definitely will create an uproar in the cultivation world, therefore, I didn’t insist on meeting that person again after all Chi Zu’s happiness was the most important to me so I let this matter go….but then”

“Something happens to Chi Zu….” Jin Hua’s voice is heavy with emotion because she could guess what happened later.

“Yeah… it started with small things like nightmares, anxiety, paranoia then a few months later it got worse, she started hurting herself, she became delusional saying something after her, she was so scared she didn’t dare sleep without a light, every day she makes sure the room is very bright, she lit up every candle she ould find I can even smell the candles before I enter her courtyard, and later on, people start talking….”

“That’s why there are rumors that Chi Zu is learning a forbidden art, they think she becomes crazy because she learned something he shouldn’t have learned” Jin Hua finally understood where the rumors came from, it’s true there were indeed some arts that were dangerous if someone learned it without guidance so it’s natural for people to assume something like that.

“Then the problem became big when Chi Zu killed several maids in her room, at that time my grandson who saw what happened tried to stop her sadly he was seriously injured, I also had no choice but to chain her like an animal and isolate her from others then I made my whole family keep quiet while I was trying to cure Chi Zu, I dare not use the people from Misty Lake to check on Chi Zu’s condition because it is certain that news of Chi Zu’s illness will spread in a short time and when that happens Chi Zu’s safety cannot be guaranteed any more.

Later I and the whole family scattered all over the place to seek help but unfortunately, none of the physicians and alchemists we invited didn’t know what had happened to Chi Zu until one day Chi Zu  committed suicide right in front of me…”

Jin Hua was dumbfounded, never in million years she will think that’s how Chi Zu died although she expected there might be some conspiracy but she never thought that Lao Min Na and Jin Kai will be involved, three years ago how old Chi Zu was, twenty – nineteen?  She was so young she was almost the same age as her but she died miserably like that.

“Did Chi Zu say anything before she died?” Jin Hua asked. Jin Hua didn’t want to dig into old wounds but if it involved Lao Min Na then she needed to know every detail.

His old face was contorted as if he was struggling not to cry, “She said…she said I’m sorry and she said he just wanted to make me proud” He averted his eyes then abruptly stood up from his seat, and walked a bit away from Jin Hua.

Jin Hua couldn’t see Third Elder’s expression because he turned his back on her but Jin Hua could feel sadness radiate from the old man somehow he look very frail, it must be hard for Third Elder to tell this story to her, maybe this is the first time he had ever told anyone.

Jin Hua can’t stop thinking since when did Jin Kai become so cruel, even though since childhood Jin Kai has shown signs of violence but she will never think he will become like this hence she should not be surprised since his mother is Zhuang Wei Wei, Jin Hua remembers that woman as someone who is as beautiful as a carnation flower but she got a heart as darker as ebony, it was hard to believe that she had the same blood as Zhuang Yao Xi, Jin Hao’s mother.

Shortly after he calmed down, the third elder sat across from Jin Hua, although he looked calm from the outside but Jin Hua could still feel an indescribable sorrow fleeting in his eyes.

Slowly he poured wine for himself and Jin Hua then he lifted the wine cup and took a sip, the old man took a deep breath then lowered his hands on the table.

He stared for a long time then said: “Actually I never thought what happened to Chi Zu had anything to do with Jin Kai or the pills he took, no… who would think of such a thing?” he shook his head then deep wrinkles formed on his gray brows “What angered me was Jin Kai’s reaction when he found out about Chi Zu’s death, I think they are friends or at least more than acquaintances so he should at least show some concern or a bit sadness….but no, even though he doesn’t look indifferent but he doesn’t look dejected either, however, he looks annoyed and disappointed….very disappointed actually, back than I didn’t notice it because I was already angry of how Jin kai didn’t seem to care about Chi Zu’s death that’s why I chose to put some distance between me and Jin Kai, But then all the Misty Lake members fell ill, I realized that they all had the same symptoms as Chi Zu, they were so similar that I couldn’t ignore them …” The Third Elder’s voice was strained with emotion.

  The corner of Jin Hua’s eyes wrinkled in sympathy at Third Elder, Jin Hua now understood why he easily believed him without further explanation as he already knew beforehand and all he needed was the confirmation he gave her.

“I started to remember everything Chi Zu said, about that mysterious friend, the magic pill, his rapid progress, and the sudden mental illness that appeared out of nowhere, very similar to what happened to the person who took the Lao Min Na pill and like I didn’t before. some are suspicious of Lao Min Na’s medicine because of the long interval for side effects to occur after taking the pill but I know, I almost certain it has something to do with Lao Min Na’s medicine… unfortunately I don’t have solid evidence and it looks like Jin Kai started to sense my suspicions he started to pay attention to my movements,” The shade of disappointment clearly shown in his face.

Then he shift his gaze towards Jin Hua “But then you came….” His eyes were shining with excitement.

“You have no idea how relieved I am to know that someone confirmed or suspected me, knowing that people out there know more than I do, ‘finally’ I thought…. finally someone will help me make amends to my poor disciple, I promise the girl a safe place, I promise her happiness but I can’t fulfill my promise instead I give her so many painful experiences, I have failed her!” he hit his chest with his fist, a mixture of relief, anger and sadness plastered on his wrinkled face, Jin Hua’s eyes filled with tears, he could only imagine how he had been feeling this whole time. 

Turned out that she wasn’t the only one on the misty lake who lived with sadness and hatred inside, she wondered how many more people in this clan lived like her and the third elder.

Jin Hua blinked his eyes to hold back his tears, Jin Hua took a long exhales then she look away trying to calm her emotion before she speak calmly.

“Brother Jin Hao said Lao Min Na served dark entity… a Demon”

“Demon…what kinda Demon, a real Demon?” Her voice had a surprise in it and a bit of an edge

Jin Hua swept her gaze around her as if she was afraid someone will listen to her then she lean his body forward and whisper “A real Demon…A Demon from another world just like in the child storybook”

The third elder look stare at Jin Hua with incredulity looks, although people in this world had sorry about Demon, however, the demon they knew is a cultivator who turns evil because of the influence of evil arts that make them choose the path demon hood so it got nothing to do with an actual Demon and normally she will not believe it either but after everything happened he must remind himself to be open-minded.

“Are you sure, how could Jin Hao know about it?” even though he is sure Jin Hua was not lying to him but he still finds it hard for him to believe an actual Demon could exist.

Jin Hua hoped that Third Elder wouldn’t believe it so easily the truth was that if he didn’t tell what happened in the Whispering forest she wouldn’t believe it either, then Jin Hua took out a blue Sapphire gem the size of a dove’s egg from her spatial ring when she places the bluestone on the table inside the gemstone a purple light shone vividly like fireflies trapped inside the blue glass.

The Third Elder’s eyes widened in bewilderment, he had seen many things but he had never seen anything like this, he could feel strong energy coming from the Sapphire stone but the energy was calm and soothing it didn’t feel threatening at all, on the contrary, it gave him a sense of peace.

“Brother Jin hao told me to soak this gemstone in the well for a day after that give the water to everyone to drink, I heard from Brother Jin Hao what happened in our clan happened in the Yunmo Kingdom too but what happened there was not as bad as what happened here, therefore, it only took a week to heal them but it would take longer to lift the effect from Lao Min Na pills from everyone in the clan, oh and they can’t take Lao Min Na pills anymore”

The third elder carefully took the Sapphire in his hand like it was a fragile egg, suddenly a wave of warmth and purity hit him like a wave and suddenly the gloomy feeling that resided within him disappeared like smoke blown away by the wind, and replaced with a sense of calm and tranquility.

It’s like sleeping in a warm blanket in winter, that peaceful feeling reminded him of his mother’s embrace when he was a child, a feeling that he thought he has long forgotten.

“What’s this thing?” The old man asks with trembling lips.

“Big Brother said this is the power of light, Big Brother also said that Lao Min Na is afraid of the person who wields this power.” Jin Hua said.

“Who has this power…?” his eyes shone with hope and joy.

A wide smile spread across Jin Hua’s face then she said with a profound look, “Long Ming’s wife”