“Carolyn has already spoken—if you’re carrying any sharp weapons, hand them over immediately.”

There was no need for the swordswoman Carolyn King to act herself; the girl in the red dress had already turned around and shouted at Quentin Harper.

“No need.”

The woman in white looked at Quentin Harper. “If I’m not mistaken, this young man has no true qi in him—he is not a cultivator.”

“Hehe, Lynn has sharp eyes as always. Still, we have to search you. Hey, didn’t you hear what Carolyn said? If you have any sharp weapons on you, hand them all over.”

The woman in white shook her head, then spread a golden-silk scroll flat on the stone table and gestured for Quentin Harper to come closer.

“Nine Palaces Arithmetic?”

Quentin Harper glanced at the golden-silk scroll. He hadn’t expected that in this world, the Nine Palaces Arithmetic would also exist.

“Do you know how to solve this diagram?”

Quentin Harper nodded.

“Two and four are the shoulders, six and eight the feet, three and seven the waist, five in the center is the belly, nine above and one below.”

Quentin Harper’s words made the woman in white pause, and she quickly filled in the numbers.

“The Nine Palaces can be three rows and three columns, five rows and five columns, and other odd numbers, or even numbers. This Nine Palaces Arithmetic, three rows and three columns, is one of the basic algorithms.”

“It really works.”

The woman in white smiled slightly.

“Very good, Quentin Harper, you’re done here. Go to the steward for your reward and leave.”

Quentin Harper said nothing more and retreated from the courtyard.

“Quentin Harper?”

The woman in white seemed to recall something from that name and mused, “I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”

“Quentin Harper, formerly the top swordsman of Qingyuan Academy. When competing for a spot at Beiyue Royal Academy, he poisoned his rival, was discovered, and had his meridians shattered—lost all his cultivation! Miss, we heard people talking about him when we entered the city.”

“Poisoned his rival? If he was Qingyuan Academy’s top swordsman, the spot should have been his for the taking. Why stoop to such a despicable act?”

“Because his rival, Bei Huan Zhen, had also reached the peak of the third level of True Refinement. Their skills were evenly matched, and he wasn’t confident of a sure victory.”

The girl in the red dress curled her lip, looking at Quentin Harper with clear disdain.

“Quentin Harper… This man’s eyes are clear—he must have a steadfast character. Besides, he was originally Qingyuan Academy’s top swordsman… I don’t believe he would resort to poison.”

The woman in white looked at Quentin Harper, who had already retreated to the courtyard gate, and said to her maid, “Give him a Duanxu Elixir on my behalf.”

“Duanxu Elixir?”

Carolyn King was startled. “Miss, the Duanxu Elixir is a priceless treasure—even the sect…”

“Go.”

Seeing her mistress’s resolute attitude, Carolyn King could only agree. “Yes.”

She then caught up with Quentin Harper, who was about to leave the courtyard, and took out a delicate jade bottle. “This is a Duanxu Elixir. It works wonders for meridian injuries. It is a gift from my lady.”

“Duanxu Elixir.”

Quentin Harper, gravely injured, had racked his brains and scraped together money to find out which spiritual medicines could heal his meridians. Among them, the Duanxu Elixir was the best of the best.

“Aren’t you going to thank her?”

Quentin Harper paused for a moment, and finally, under the red-dressed girl’s somewhat jealous scolding, accepted the bottle of Duanxu Elixir.

The moment he took the elixir, his body trembled slightly.

“Thank you!”

Quentin Harper took a deep breath, his expression solemn, and gave a respectful bow toward the woman in white, whose ethereal presence stood in the pavilion. “For your kindness today, Quentin Harper will surely repay you in the future.”

“Pfft.”

Quentin Harper’s words made the red-dressed girl burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking. “Repay her? You?”

Even the woman in white in the pavilion smiled. “That won’t be necessary.”

The two of them lived in different worlds. Perhaps from this moment on, their paths would never cross again.

Quentin Harper did not repeat his promise. Instead, he took a careful look at the woman in white. Though she wore a veil and her face was hidden, her star-like eyes were already imprinted in his heart.

“Go now. With the Duanxu Elixir, cultivate well, uphold the justice in your heart, and do not let down my lady’s good intentions.”

The female guard Carolyn King clearly didn’t take Quentin Harper’s words to heart.

“I will.”

Quentin Harper bowed once more.

Then, straightening his back, his not-so-broad shoulders seemed in that moment capable of supporting the sun, moon, and mountains. Head held high, he strode out of the courtyard.

A man’s backbone should hold up the sky and the earth!

This scene, falling into the eyes of the guard Carolyn King, made Carolyn King pause for a moment.

“Quentin Harper…”

She murmured the name, but in the end, shook her head and quickly put it out of her mind.

…

“Duanxu Elixir.”

He did not collect the ten gold coins reward.

Leaving the courtyard, Quentin Harper took a deep breath.

Duanxu Elixir!

He had finally obtained the miraculous medicine that could heal his damaged meridians.

And it was the most effective Duanxu Elixir of all.