Chapter 13: Spirit Condensing Pill

The Emperor of Great Yan froze, leaning forward to stare at the soil on the table for several seconds without moving.

"Ah," the little one called out.

The Emperor snapped back to his senses and pushed the soil on the table aside. With a bit of dirt clinging to his hand, he rubbed it between his fingers; the soil was slightly moist, loose, and airy—perfect for planting.

"Rong Yang," the Emperor said, turning his head to look at the little one, "get some more soil."

The little one didn't understand. Holding the handle of the small tea cup, the child opened their mouth to gnaw on it. The Emperor hurriedly covered the cup with his hand, narrowly avoiding being bitten by the child. The little one gripped the handle with surprising strength.

The Emperor tried to negotiate kindly, "Rong Yang, how about letting Imperial Uncle take a look at this magical artifact?"

The little one clapped their hands, tiny fingers clutching the handle, and let out an "Ah, ah!"

The Emperor was quite skilled at coaxing children. He had several princes and princesses of his own; though he had never raised a child, he understood the temperaments of children to some extent. So, he coaxed, and even fed the child a spoonful of soup.

As he tentatively reached for the small tea cup, the little one let go.

The plump Emperor breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally managed to coax the child. Holding the child with one arm and the tea cup with the other, he studied it. The artifact was as clean as porcelain, with no traces of condensed energy drawn upon it.

He tapped the small tea cup lightly against the table, and upon looking again, there was no soil.

"Huh??!!!"

The Emperor picked up the cup to inspect it. It was empty, save for a tiny bit of fine, sandy soil inside. The child had just tapped the soil out, leaving it in the cup—how strange, why was there no soil now?

He tried once more, but the cup remained empty.

Perplexed, the Emperor watched as the little one went "Ah, ah," reaching out with tiny hands to grab the cup.

The Emperor let go accordingly. Rong Yang grabbed the cup and giggled. Having had their fun, the child flipped the cup upside down against the table. When the child lifted the cup, a handful of soil appeared on the table.

The Emperor, much like the child, looked on with wonder. "Again!"

The little one began flipping the cup one by one. The soil was wet; dry soil wouldn't take the shape of the cup. Being small, the child was merely mimicking the action, so the shapes produced didn't quite look like bowls.

The Emperor was excited; this was top-tier soil, and having more meant they could plant things.

Just as his excitement peaked, the little one could no longer produce any more soil.

Rong Yang grew anxious, letting out "Ah, ah," and then began to cry.

"Don't cry, don't cry. Why is there no more soil?" the Emperor said, growing worried.

Hearing the child's cries, Rong Jun approached quickly. The Emperor hurriedly handed the child to Rong Jun and pointed at the small tea cup, saying, "Rong Jun, your son's little artifact has stopped producing soil."

Rong Jun held the little one, soothing them while inspecting the cup. With a shake, a shimmer of water flashed through the cup, and in an instant, a small amount of water appeared inside. Both Rong Jun and the Emperor were stunned.

"I find this little artifact quite extraordinary," the Emperor remarked. "Who condensed it?"

Rong Jun had nothing to hide. "My wife, Qin Bi, condensed it by chance."

The Emperor was surprised. He sat down, his golden dragon black robes fluttering, a thoughtful expression appearing on his plump face.

"Since the test showed the presence of a spiritual root, the child should go to the Minor Space of the Monster Realm for training," the Emperor said after a moment. "That is a world centered around blessings and providence; there are many opportunities during training. To accidentally condense a child's artifact suggests the child's providence is quite good."

By now, the little one had stopped crying and had fallen asleep with eyes closed.

Rong Jun, holding the child, did not say no, but instead said, "The child is still small. Let's speak of it later."

The Emperor disagreed. "The Consort's lifespan has been damaged; going to train might help replenish it. Her talent is ordinary, so a trip to the Minor Space of the Monster Realm might allow her to test if she can enter the path of cultivation."

The Emperor was of a good temperament and a broad-minded man. He added, "There is no rush. Think it over carefully."

Rong Jun processed the memorials the Emperor had tossed his way. Once the little one had finished their nap and woken up refreshed, he carried the child home. He did not take the soil back; the Emperor had kept it.

Qin Bi took the child, and Rong Jun went to the study.

Qin Bi tried to pour soil out of the small tea cup while holding the child, but not a single grain came out. This was strange; she could pour out half a cup of water, but any more and it stopped.

After some thought, Qin Bi went to find Rong Jun and showed him the cup. "Who touched Rong Yang's little tea cup today? It produces a bit of soil every day, but today there is none."

Rong Jun leaned back in his chair. "The Emperor took the soil."

She couldn't afford to offend the Emperor, so Qin Bi didn't disturb the Heir Apparent further and left with the child.

Rong Jun remembered something and said, "Leave the child to me. When you have free time, prepare a lunch. The child and I will bring a food box to court tomorrow; the Emperor won't be providing meals tomorrow."

Qin Bi thought about it and went back to hand the child to Rong Jun. "I'll try."

Once she had practiced her cooking, she would let Rong Jun bring the food box tomorrow.

Since the Heir Apparent had spoken, she wouldn't be stopped. Previously, whenever Qin Bi wanted to tinker, Rong Jun would intervene, but this time, no one was stopping her. Qin Bi walked toward the kitchen, pondering what dishes to practice.

She certainly didn't know how to steam rice, and she only knew one way to stir-fry.

She would give it a try. Qin Bi knew how to steam mantou, but clearly, Rong Jun might not eat it, so she wouldn't worry about him. She planned to focus only on food for the child; complex dishes were beyond her reach and too much for a child to eat anyway.

Qin Bi went to the kitchen in the Heir Apparent's courtyard and attempted to make steamed egg custard.

She cracked an egg, added salt, and put it in the steamer.

The result wasn't smooth. It was fine for Qin Bi to eat, but not for a child.

Thus, even if Rong Jun hadn't stopped her before, she wouldn't have been suited for gourmet cooking.

Frustrated by the failed custard, Qin Bi decided to just stir-fry. She added oil, tossed in seasonings, and threw in the vegetables. From there, it was haphazard. Once the dish was finished, a first-class maid tasted it and declared it did not suit the Heir Apparent's palate.

Losing her patience, Qin Bi went back to her room and brought out a small medicinal refining furnace to see if she could refine some sugar beans for the child.

Spiritual plants were precious items. Tossing them into the small furnace, Qin Bi found she couldn't conjure fire, so she had to use a fire spirit stone. She didn't understand medicinal refining, but she did know how to roast beans.

She left the lid off the furnace and used chopsticks to stir the spiritual plants, even tossing in a piece of sweet citrus wood. Worried it might burn, she kept stirring. Slowly, the spiritual plants and the citrus wood melted together. After fifteen minutes, Qin Bi harvested three orange sugar beans.

Only three? Qin Bi thought it was too few, considering how many ingredients she had used.

The problem was, the sugar beans weren't even large!

Qin Bi didn't dare act recklessly. She took them to Rong Jun. "Look, can these sugar beans I refined be eaten?"

Rong Jun took them. "The child cannot eat them."

"Can I eat them?" If the child couldn't, Qin Bi figured she might as well.

Rong Jun was surprised but handed them back. "If you are willing to eat them, then go ahead. These are Spirit Condensing Pills. For those without a spiritual root, eating them can trigger one. Since you already have a spiritual root, you have no need for them."

Qin Bi felt Rong Jun was tricking her. Was this really how pills were refined? There was a massive difference between a sugar bean eaten for fun and a medicinal pill.

Rong Jun continued soothing the child without looking up. "Your father, however, could eat one Spirit Condensing Pill. Whoever you are close to could be gifted one; there are many in the Marquis's manor without spiritual roots."