10. Strange Pills & Potent Medicines

Lu Chen chuckled, "Not that surprising considering I only had my father to support me. When I was a kid, my father was obsessed with refining pills, so I had to cook for myself. After ten plus years of practice, I've gotten pretty good at it. If I can't find a job after graduation, I could easily work as a chef."

He Suyan smiled, her gaze settling on Lu Chen. "You said you were out of money. So how did you manage to buy me clothes and all these other things? Don't tell me you spent just a few hundred yuan. I can tell, the outfit I'm wearing now is worth at least ten thousand yuan."

Lu Chen served a bowl of rice and placed it in front of He Suyan, grinning. "You're so smart. Why don't you try and guess?"

He Suyan pretended to think, her clear eyes blinking charmingly. "Oh, I know! You must have robbed someone to get that much money in such a short time," she said, but couldn't help laughing before she finished.

Lu Chen didn't expect her to joke with him. He was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a feigned look of frustration. "You underestimate me. It's just a few thousand yuan. Do you really think that's hard for me? If I want to make that much money, it's just a matter of saying the word."

He Suyan, now intrigued, leaned in closer. "Really? Then why don't you tell me how you got the money?"

Without thinking, Lu Chenn started to answer, "It wasn't hard. I just sold a few—" But suddenly, he stopped, his expression becoming somewhat odd as he glanced at He Suyan. He had almost revealed that he had sold aphrodisiacs to Xu Wei for the money. If she found out, who knows what she'd think of him? Luckily, he caught himself in time; otherwise, his image would have been completely ruined!

He Suyan was all set to hear how Lu Chen made several thousand yuan in such a short time, but he abruptly stopped talking at the most crucial moment. Now, her curiosity piqued, she looked at him and asked, "What exactly did you sell? Why aren't you telling me?"

Lu Chen let out an awkward laugh, picking up his chopsticks and shoveling rice into his mouth. "Oh, it's nothing, just some pills. You should eat before the food gets cold!"

Seeing him deliberately change the subject, He Suyan could tell that selling "a few pills" wasn't the whole truth. She stared at him intensely, as if trying to read his mind.

Lu Chen felt her scrutinizing gaze even though he was focused on his food. But what could he do? Stand up and tell her he sold aphrodisiacs to make some money? First, there was the mysterious box of condoms; now, the story about selling aphrodisiacs... He didn't want to imagine how her impression of him might be twisted.

Realizing he was determined not to elaborate, He Suyan decided to drop it, but her thoughts wandered as she ate, wondering what exactly he had sold.

If Lu Chen knew that He Suyan was considering all sorts of possibilities—like selling blood—he might have spit out his rice in shock.

Even though Lu Chen had been telling the truth, He Suyan would never have guessed that the money came from selling aphrodisiacs.

The two continued their meal in silence for a while before Lu Chen finally spoke. "Sister Suyan, I might have a way to heal the burns on your body completely, without leaving any scars."

He Suyan paused, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes before she smiled softly. "Chen, thank you, but you don't need to comfort me. I've come to terms with it. As long as you're not afraid of how I look, that's enough. At least I don't have to wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat to hide myself anymore."

Lu Chen didn't expect her to dismiss his words, assuming he was merely trying to comfort her.

Although he hadn't yet figured out how to heal her burns completely, he was confident that the ancient "Pill Sutral" passed down in his family—which supposedly could refine pills that allowed one to ascend to the heavens—would have something that could remove He Suyan's scars.

But he decided to keep this to himself until he found a solution, so as not to give her false hope.

Looking deeply into He Suyan's eyes, Lu Chen said, "To me, you are still Sister Suyan, whether or not you have scars. And I promise I'll help you regain your former beauty."

He Suyan glanced at him, noticing for the first time how determined he could be. For some reason, his words made her eyes sting, and she quickly stood up. "I'm full. I'll go rest now!"

With that, she hurried into her room.

Lu Chen watched her retreating figure, a faint smile playing on his lips. He looked at the remaining food on the table and sighed. "Can't let this go to waste."

After stuffing himself, Lu Chen cleaned up the dishes, put them away in the kitchen, and wiped his hands. As the sky outside gradually darkened, he considered watching the news in the living room. But when his eyes drifted to He Suyan's room, he quickly changed his mind.

He remembered the newspaper he had seen at the train station earlier that day, with its lengthy report on He Suyan. If the newspapers were covering it so extensively, there was no doubt the TV news would be even more sensational. After all, the mysterious disappearance of an Asian Superstar after a devastating fire was a newsworthy event. The media were likely having a field day with speculation.

Given how much He Suyan had already suffered, the last thing she needed was to see or hear the media's wild guesses about her disappearance. It might just push her over the edge.

With no TV to watch, Lu Chen decided to close the door, lock the security gate, turn off the living room lights, and retreat to his room.

———

Lying in bed, Lu Chen pulled out a golden book.

The book wasn't just gilded; it was made entirely of gold, with pages thin and flexible like paper. The text on the pages resembled tadpole script—if any scholars were to see it, they would be astonished. Those crooked characters were actually Ancient Oracle Bone Script.

Lu Chen gently stroked the soft, gold leaf pages. The two ancient characters on the cover read "Pill Sutra."

This was the "Pill Sutra" that had been passed down through the Lu family for generations. Lu Chen opened it to the first page and began to read, skimming through the myriad strange and wondrous pill recipes listed within.

There were recipes for Nine Yang Pills, Nine-Turn Spirit Pills, Vigorous Pills, Beauty Pills, Water Rhythm Pills… each with different effects.

Lu Chen's primary goal was to find a pill that could heal He Suyan's burns, so he only skimmed through the manual. But even so, he couldn't help but be amazed and awestruck by what he saw.

"Invisibility Pills—makes the user invisible for a short period of time. Longevity Pills—extend lifespan by about five years. Youth Retaining Pills—preserve youth eternally..."

"Wow! Who would've thought the ancestors left behind so many amazing things that haven't been refined yet? If I could make all these pills, I'd… Ha, just thinking about it seems so terrifying."