Chapter 736: The Merged Substance

"Red qi belongs to fire, the sun to yang, the moon to yin?"

Liang Qu gazed at the moon in the sky.

In the Changchun Medical Hall, he had studied much medical theory, knowing yin and yang were opposing yet unified, mutually transforming; yang was by no means merely equivalent to fire—even fire could be classified as yin, with distinctions between bing and ding fire.

Compared to the sun, red qi was clearly pure fire, while the sun was far more complex.

The blazing sun could simultaneously manifest yang and fire; it was no surprise it could generate two kinds of long qi.

But he didn't know whether the 【Taiyin】 and 【Taiyang】 he had acquired today had any connection to the three suns in the sky three years ago, or the other two small suns.

If no connection, it meant one could obtain one every three to four years.

If connected, the calculation must be reset—extremely precious.

Moreover…

"What exactly is the imperial court's rìhuī and yuèhuá?"

Liang Qu frowned; question after question filled his mind.

He had assumed the red qi he received was the so-called rìhuī, but now it didn't seem to match.

The sun could possess pure fire attributes, but the moon had no corresponding water attribute.

Was rìhuī the sun, and yuèhuá the taiyin?

Or perhaps a complex reaction involving partial "fluff" of taiyang, taiyin, and red qi, combined with the multiple properties of the Yin-Yang Creation Divine Tree?

Which was superior?

Snap!

The thin rope snapped back, striking his palm.

Liang Qu looked down, grasped the small brown pouch in his palm, and crumpled it into a tiny cloth ball.

The hundred mermaid tears were gone.

Inside the Ze Ding.

The blue sea shimmered with a faint glow, waves murmuring softly.

【Water Marsh Essence: 358,600】

"Huh…"

Liang Qu took a deep, slow breath, restraining his surging emotions.

A surge of nearly 270,000!

Rustle-rustle.

He poured the mermaid tears back in, then grabbed them again, repeatedly checking for any missing or overlooked ones.

"My lord! Three ships total, standard crew of two hundred sixty-four, all flying Canglang flags, fully prepared! Who should lead tomorrow? I need to inform them." Registrar Huang Huang Pingchang stepped forward to inquire.

"Zhu Zhu Zongwang and Long Pingjiang." Liang Qu looked down and instructed, "They're enough. For the expedition allowance, thirty minor merits each. It's too late tonight; tomorrow, when you report to the office, remind them. Any reasonable extra needs, charge them to the public account."

"My lord, rest assured!" Huang Huang Pingchang recorded diligently.

Zhu Zhu Zongwang, though one of the Langyan Twenty-Eight Mansions, had not yet been promoted in rank—a mere rank 6-from—and though he'd had only a few encounters, his strength was solid and he appeared sharp.

Long Pingjiang was his own man; he could instantly communicate and support via the spiritual link if problems arose.

Two Hunting Tiger Grand Martial Masters were sufficient to lead.

This was the advantage of power.

Even if unfamiliar, the mere existence of a rank allowed one to freely command another within their scope; many troublesome matters became a single sentence through power.

After minor arrangements, he mounted his horse and returned home.

He pulled the reins, stepped into the central courtyard, where leaves cast silver silk upon the ground.

"E Ying? Still awake? Why aren't you lighting a candle to read?"

"The moonlight is bright tonight, no need for a lamp. Besides, didn't my lord tell me to 'wait a little'?" Long Long Eying set down her book beneath the jujube tree, emphasizing the word "little."

Sss~

I forgot!

"County Magistrate Brother Quan arrived too suddenly and gave another hundred mermaid tears—I got too excited."

He let Chishan return to its pen, patted his forehead, and sat across from her; delicate threads of fragrance drifted into his nose.

Mm.

Osmanthus scent.

Liang Qu noticed E Ying's hair tips were damp, instantly understanding the source.

She had bathed during her absence.

August was the osmanthus month; osmanthus blossomed, and the streets filled with new osmanthus products. Little Xiao Shenlong begged him daily for money to buy osmanthus cakes. Two days ago, Long Yao and Long Li had also gone out, buying over a dozen new osmanthus soaps, even placing a few in their little wooden house.

Perhaps due to their affinity with water, the three women especially loved bathing.

Whether cold or hot, every night the courtyard filled with floral fragrance.

She waved her hand, drying the moisture; her long hair cascaded like a waterfall.

"I didn't mean to blame you, but seeing the Elder troubled…" Long Eying poured Liang Qu a cup of floral tea. "Earlier, you spoke half your thought. Now you have time—finish it."

Liang Qu stretched, propped his chin, and looked at E Ying: "You had worries? Now you don't."

"Long qi?"

Liang Qu was startled: "How did you know?"

"County Magistrate Brother Quan sent the mermaid tears; when you returned, you said you had no worries. Previously, you said you'd give me or Long Binglin long qi within two months. Though delayed, I thought it must be the same thing."

"Hmm, barely connected."

Liang Qu remembered his own words—he had explained the mermaid tears contained "fluff" of long qi.

Long Eying pondered.

Recalling carefully, Liang Qu's expression had relaxed even before he heard of the mermaid tears.

But she didn't press further; she bent down and pulled out a small bamboo basket filled with emerald lotus seeds.

"The clan's lotus harvest came in July; I went back in the evening, picked the best ones, and peeled off their husks."

Huh.

Was today triple fortune?

Liang Qu weighed them in his hand, eyes skeptical.

"More than a thousand?"

Each giant lotus seed contained over twenty units of essence; they ripened in July and August. As Fourth Elder, his monthly quota was a thousand, totaling two thousand per two months—over 46,000 essence combined. But the basket's seeds felt noticeably heavier.

"One thousand eight hundred. The Chief Elder allocated them."

Liang Qu stroked his chin, then asked suddenly: "Did you give me your share too? Tell me honestly."

"The Elder needs it more than I do."

Moonlight glowed, skin glowed.

"Ha~"

Wu Long trotted over, tongue lolling, nuzzled Liang Qu, licked his palm, then rubbed against Long Eying's foot, breaking the quiet.

Liang Qu didn't refuse; he grabbed Wu Long's scruff. The big dog opened its mouth backward, panting from the squeeze.

"Get some rest."

"Alright."

Thud!

Wu Long scratched at the door, circled a few times, then lay panting at the threshold.

Inside the room.

Liang Qu took the jade bamboo tube in one hand, and lotus seeds into his mouth with the other.

He opened the lid; a faint warmth rose.

Sharp crack.

Golden light pierced the sky.

Liang Qu seized the Time Worm, then pulled out Shengsheng ZaoHua and the other three strands of long qi.

The Time Worm's eyes glowed crimson, fixed on Shengsheng ZaoHua, gulped it down like noodles, its belly swollen, frantically scrambling into the bamboo tube.

He pressed down with his palm.

"Can this one be woven?"

Liang Qu pressed the worm with one hand, and the 【Taiyin】 with the other.

【Taiyin】 had the best chance of success—it could at least loosely connect to water attributes.

The Time Worm turned its head away.

He communicated with the Ze Ding.

The swollen belly instantly deflated.

Crack again.

He tapped the table with his index finger.

"This one! Can it be woven?"

…

Dawn glowed purple; the Foolish Chicken Courtyard echoed with cries.

"This one… can it be woven?"

Liang Qu wiped sweat from his forehead.

【Water Essence: 380,000】

One night, the lotus seed ate half, yet still hadn't subdued this thing?

"Can't you cooperate? There'll be rewards for you later."

Liang Qu gestured wildly, trying to teach this little thing deeper concepts, offering incentives.

But the Time Worm remained unmoved.

"That shouldn't be…"

After cocooning, the Time Worm's power surged dramatically, reaching the level of a typical great spirit beast. Its intelligence wasn't low; though untaught and unable to understand human speech, it had spent an entire night observing his gestures—understanding the meaning shouldn't have been difficult.

Daylight flooded in, piercing the paper windows, as if aware Liang Qu wouldn't give up.

The Time Worm, reluctantly, shuffled over to the 【Taiyin】 and took a tiny sip.

Zeng!

Pa!

The moment it touched the liquid, the Time Worm stiffened straight, toppled onto the table, and rolled away.

Dang lang dang lang.

Liang Qu reached out and caught it, pinched it—hard as a little wooden stick—and gasped in shock.

No way, is it dead?

He hurriedly had Bai Awei bring warm water, soaked it in, pressed gently, then used Shengsheng ZaoHua to heal it.

Long moments passed.

Finally, the Time Worm recovered.

Is 【Taiyin】 really that powerful?

Liang Qu hadn't expected the Time Worm to collapse after one sip. He pressed down on the golden 【Taiyang】 and moved it before the Time Worm.

After much hesitation, the Time Worm reluctantly took a tiny sip.

Pi li ba la.

The Time Worm, as if injected with stimulants, went wild, darting wildly through the room in golden flashes.

The sun rose high.

The golden worm, drained, collapsed weakly, utterly spent.

One alone wouldn't work. Liang Qu thought, then pressed both 【Taiyang】 and 【Taiyin】 simultaneously.

"Try them together?"

The Time Worm let out a roar and charged at Liang Qu again.

"Alright, alright!"

Liang Qu reluctantly gave up.

The Time Worm wasn't a universal solution for merging energies—it had limits when encountering harsh, unyielding qi.

What should he do now?

Half a day passed.

The Time Worm rose, stared at the Shengsheng ZaoHua just before it, hesitated long, then leapt onto the bamboo tube, curled into a "Z" shape, its head pointing in a certain direction.

Liang Qu followed the direction—it was northwest of Pingyang Prefecture.

What was there?

He thought for a long while.

Tianbo Merchant Association?

There were no major buildings in the northwest of Pingyang Prefecture—only one three-story Tianbo Tower stood out.

Tianbo Merchant Association…

Liang Qu suddenly realized something—he pressed Shengsheng ZaoHua and Yang Qi, and the Time Worm nodded vigorously.

(End of Chapter)