Celestial Foothill Gardens.
Tang Hao was sitting cross-legged on the floor in one of the rooms in the mansion. Heaps of medicinal herbs were placed around him.
He picked up a stalk of herbs and held it in his palm.
His palm was soon enveloped in a warm, pale glow like moonlight.
After holding the herb in his palm for one or two minutes, he placed the herb into a mortar with a few other herbs and smashed them with a pestle.
Soon, a small bowl of medicinal liquid was produced. He poured the liquid into a bottle and diluted it with tea. The result was an aphrodisiac potion.
He placed the bottle into its packaging and set it aside.
After a short rest, he started production on the next bottle.
Crack! Boom!
He heard a thunderclap from outside the window. Lightning flashed across the night sky, briefly illuminating the surroundings.
Tang Hao lifted his head to see that there was a thunderstorm outside.
He turned back and returned to potion production.
He heard quiet footsteps coming from outside the room. Then, the room door creaked open. Sis Xiangyi stepped in.
She was dressed in lacy lingerie that exposed most of her curves.
Her black hair was scattered over her shoulders.
Tang Hao went cross-eyed when he saw her.
“Sis Xiangyi, you…”
Tang Hao was a little flustered.
“Lil Tang, I’m scared! Can I sleep in your room tonight?” Her tone of voice sounded a little strange.
Tang Hao noticed that her face was paler than usual and she seemed unusually delicate.
“Oh!” He replied. In his heart, he was not expecting the usually strong, decisive Sis Xiangyi to have such a vulnerable side. He blushed even harder when he swept his eyes over her body.
Qin Xiangyi closed the door and walked beside Tang Hao. She sat on the bed and looked at the heaps of medicinal herbs all over the floor.
“Aren’t you sleeping yet, Lil Tang?”
“Soon. I’ll go to bed after concocting a few more bottles!” Tang Hao’s head was lowered.
Qin Xiangyi chuckled when she saw that Tang Hao was behaving weirdly. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid too, Lil Tang?”
“Afraid? What should I be afraid about?” Tang Hao asked hesitantly.
He turned to his side and saw her charming face. Tang Hao’s heart started thumping wildly and he quickly averted his eyes.
“You said you weren’t afraid!” Qin Xiangyi burst out laughing. She thought he looked cute when he was flustered.
“Go to bed, Lil Tang! You can continue tomorrow!” She whispered next to Tang Hao’s ear.
Tang Hao was thoroughly distracted. He did not have the heart to continue with the potions.
He tidied up the place a little, then said, “You can sleep on the bed, Sis Xiangyi. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“How can that be? I’ll sleep here and you sleep there,” Qin Xiangyi drew an imaginary line down the middle of the bed with her finger.
The bed was spacious. Half of it was already enough for each of them.
Tang Hao hesitated for a while then agreed.
Qin Xiangyi lifted the blanked and snuggled inside. Tang Hao hemmed and hawed for a while, then went under the blanket and switched off the light.
Crack! Boom!
The thunderclaps from outside grew in intensity.
Tang Hao turned his head and looked at her.
Her face was still pale. She was curled up and shivering.
“Don’t be afraid, Sis Xiangyi, I’m here!” Tang Hao whispered.
“Mmm!” She replied. Suddenly, she shifted her body toward Tang Hao. Under the blanket, Tang Hao could feel the coolness of Sis Xiangyi’s skin as her hand reached for his and grabbed it tightly.
In the darkness, their eyes met while their hands were grasped together. Something was brewing in their gazes.
Suddenly, she shifted her body again and leaned over. Her delicate arms reached around Tang Hao and hugged him tightly.
Tang Hao’s body went stiff. His eyes were opened round and wide and he did not know what to do.
“Don’t move. Just sleep like this!” She whispered as she closed her eyes. He could see that her petite face was also blushing madly and her entire body was taut.
Tang Hao looked at the charming face that was only inches away from his. His heart was thumping madly.
He was almost eighteen years old. The age of overactive hormones. He was not able to take it any longer.
A war of morality raged in his brains. After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to put out that wild thought.
He thought that this was not the time yet, and there will be more opportunities in the future.
He gradually calmed down and soon fell asleep in her arms.
There was a small commotion when both of them woke up the next morning. Sis Xiangyi’s body was almost on top of him. Her pose was extremely misleading.
Her face was red and hot. Her red phoenix eyes displayed a hint of charm as she glanced at Tang Hao.
Then, she hastily scooted out of the bed and ran away as if escaping from something.
After breakfast, she went to the factory.
Meanwhile, Tang Hao drank a bottle of Liquid of Spiritual Condensation. After absorbing it, he changed clothes and rode out on his little three-wheeled motorcycle.
His plan today was to survey different areas of the district to find a suitable place to set up a medicinal herb plantation.
A place with a strong flow of qi would be the ideal place. Those places could be found deep in the mountains.
Tang Village was too near to town and thus the qi flow was weak. It was not a good place.
He rode on his little three-wheeled motorcycle from Celestial Foothill Gardens and moved forward.
On one side of the road was a mountain range. Tang Hao occasionally stopped to survey the mountains in the distance. Sometimes, he turned into a fork in the road and surveyed the interior.
It was soon noon.
As he drove forward, he saw a fork on the road in front of him. There was a sign on which was written “Dragonrock Village”.
Tang Hao was surprised when he saw this sign.
He was familiar with Dragonrock Village. His mother was from there, and he would return to the village a few times every year to visit his maternal grandparents.
“Since I’m here, I should go and pay a visit to Grandpa and Grandma! I hope they’re still healthy.”
Bearing that thought, Tang Hao rode his motorcycle into the road and toward Dragonrock Village.
Dragonrock Village was situated in the middle of a big mountain. One needed to traverse a few mountains to get there.
The roads were bumpy and twisted. It was a great hassle to get there. Because of that, Dragonrock Village was a lot more backward and poor compared to Tang Village.
After a bumpy ride, Tang Hao finally rode past the mountainous dirt roads and reached a flat road.
Soon, a village appeared within sight.
That was Dragonrock Village!