"You look distracted, kid," Elder San asked, forcing Aiden out of a stupor.

Aiden licked his lips, the acrid taste of unsaid curses coating his tongue. Cursing an elder wouldn't do him any good, and he didn't want to get kicked out or worst killed by an elder for such a random reason.

Forcing a smile on his lips, he shook his head.

"Nothing much, elder San. I was just shocked how easy the alchemy became after eating that pill. Do you have a few more of those?"

"Don't be complacent, kid. Those pills are not candies I can distribute to you. Thank your destiny for a once in a lifetime chance to find a pill like it." Elder San glared at him.

Aiden grinned awkwardly, rubbing his sweaty hands on the new rough robe the senior brother had given him. The robe hugged his toned physique snugly, and he pondered if the cleaning courtyard had provided enough of a workout for Li An to maintain his strength and definition.

"Please forgive me. I'm just feeling happy because of the miracle," Aiden said.

"When will you kid learn the importance of life? Pills are not grown on the trees, and concocting one takes blood and sweat."

"I'm willing to put my blood and sweat for you elder," Aiden said, snorting inside his mind.

Elder San nodded appreciatively, offering Aiden and Lan Yueya each a Red Eagle Fruit. The fruit's caramel-cookie aroma wafted through the air, a treat rather than an alchemical ingredient. Its skin felt cool and smooth against his palm, a stark contrast to the humid air of the side room. By sharing this delicacy with both disciples, Elder San subtly conveyed his approval.

"Go back. You have passed the initial exam, but to become an outer disciple you have to pass two more exams." he paused, staring at Aiden intently. "You can use your cultivation to get enrolled in the outer sect, but you will become a common disciple, but if you pass the alchemist exam, you can get more benefits than those common disciples would ever dream of. Like more pills, and herbs and you will be free of the general tasks those disciples have to perform."

"Thank you, elder, for your golden words." Aiden bowed deeply. He got it. The old man was enticing him with benefits to join Alchemy Hall. Which Aiden wanted to do from the start, and all the subtle foolishness he showed lead the conversation toward this outcome only.

"Of course, brother An will join Alchemy Hall," Lan Yueya said.

Aiden rolled his eyes. With his layer nine Refinement Realm cultivation base, he could easily become an outer sect disciple, but that would only give him some benefits. Joining Alchemy Hall would bring him multiple benefits, and the best one would be to have access to herbs and potions a common disciple wouldn't even dream.

With old man Li's memories, he had a perfect path laid in front of him to get stronger and stronger. There were many revenge he had to take, and joining Alchemy Hall would help him tremendously.

"Thank you for your suggestions, elder. This junior will follow your path and strive to join the Alchemy Hall. I will always listen to your words and bathe in the golden words falling from your mouth."

"Me too, uncle San. I will join the Alchemy Hall too," Lan Yueya said while puffing her chest forward.

"Lan girl, I won't let you pass the second exam so easily, so you better practice your Qi Fire skill to pass through it." Elder San rubbed her head before turning away. "Come back tomorrow for the next exam." He walked away with long strides and a soft smile on his old face.

"Aiden, how are you going to help me?" The voice inside his mind spoke once again.

"What do you need? A cat, a dog or some inanimate thing? I can find a dead animal, or kill one. How about a snake? I know a place where there are many snakes." Aiden chuckled inside his mind. "And if you want something shouldn't you tell your name first? I hate conversing with no-name characters."

"Mi Tha. That's my name," she said. "And I can't possess a dog or any animal. I need a human. A girl. The girl next to you is suitable. Why don't you take her to the forest, and kill her. I'm fine if you want to play with her before you kill her. It doesn't matter to me."

"Fuck off, Mi Tha. Never ever suggest that I rape a woman or a man or anyone else," Aiden blew off. "Forget it. I'm not helping you. I don't care about losing a single stat. I'll regain it back somehow, but I won't help a rapist."

"Fuck you, Aiden. I didn't rape you, so why are you calling me a rapist? You don't even know what a real wicked rapist is, nor have you seen a necromancer raping a human corpse. There are things much crazier in this world than you can even think of."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Aiden froze. That word rang a bell inside his mind and he suddenly felt good for not being a necromancer. If those guys had a reputation like this, then he was fine with being a Holy Alchemist.

"I just suggested because the girl is trying so hard to get in your bed. I don't want lingering feelings in her heart when I possess her."

Aiden snorted as he walked out of the exam hall. A senior brother gave him an exam pass token, and he put it in his pocket.

"I'm not killing her," he said inside his mind. "That's out of the question."

"Do you love her?"

"No way. I hate her for following me like a fan-girl."

"What's a fan-girl?"

"None of your business. Just know that I won't kill her. It's too dangerous," Aiden replied while changing his route, hoping Lan Yueya would take another road, but the damn girl followed him like a pet dog.

"I'd be possessing her, and I can access her memories and behave like her. It will be easy. Trust me. You won't feel a difference."

"I don't even know if you can do it or not, and killing her will attract too much attention toward me. Her father is an elder in the sect, and if things go wrong, I won't find a single place to stand in the entire sect and the surrounding city."

"Don't you trust me, Mi Tha, the great?"

"Fuck no. I don't even know who the fuck you are. Are you that girl which I possessed? The girl with no internal organs?" Even thinking about that experience gave him chills down the spine. That was the most horrible feeling after death, and he didn't want to live like that. Ever.

"Unfortunately, yes. Those bastards dug out my body and sacrificed my internal organs to a demon and called back my soul to do their bidding, but you burned the corpse and foiled their plan. Now they are searching for you everywhere."

"What the fuck. I didn't do anything to them. Why are they searching for me?" Aiden's heart raced like a racecar. That quest was a super hard quest, and those two old people weren't anything simple.

"What's done is done, my friend. Your only chance of survival is me, and helping me gain back my powers."

"How old are you, woman?"

"Ten thousand, give or take."

Aiden coughed hard.

Lan Yueya rubbed his back and offered him water intimately.

Aiden gulped down a mouthful while wondering if he should kill Lan Yueya or not. She was a big annoyance he couldn't get rid of, and killing her would solve many issues, but bring many new issues. Issues he didn't want right now.

"No, killing her is not an option. But I've a girl's body I buried last night. She is a little poisoned, but with your ten thousand year knowledge you should be fine. We can head there right now and get you sorted out," he said. Xu Ma was too pitiful, so he hadn't burned her with Corpse Bloom and instead buried her in the ground. But if he could use her to complete a quest, then why not?

"I need a fresh body."

"I won't kill any woman around me." He stepped aside and rested his back on a pillar in the exam hall perimeter. Walking back barefoot under the burning sun didn't sound enticing. "In fact, I know no woman other than this nuisance." If he could find Wang Renmai, he would kill her, but he didn't know where she was and she won't go down that easily.

"How about you help me possess Lan Yueya? I will live in her body for sometime and then find a suitable body for myself. That shouldn't raise any question about you, and I can let her control her own body so no one will find out about me."

"Like a ghost living in another body? Is that possible?"

"I have ten thousand years' knowledge, kid. What's not impossible for me?"

"That sounds like a plan, and I know a perfect herb to do this." He turned back to senior brother who had given him the red card for the exam.

"Senior brother, I want to practice my Qi Fire on the common herbs. Can you please give me a couple of the herbs including Raw Water Grass?" Raw Water Grass was a common herb used for Blood Rejuvenation Potion, but it had another use no one knew. It could put anyone to sleep if used in conjunction with a specific herb, and mortal people had been using it for ages, but no one had researched it any further. No one but old man Li had researched on it before joining the sect.

"I can't junior. You are not Alchemy Hall, disciple, so I can't give you any herb. You shouldn't be asking me this." The senior shook his head in disappointment.

"Sister Lan, can you help me with this please?" He made a puppy face, bringing a smile to her face.

"Senior brother, don't you know Uncle San invited Brother An to join the Alchemy Hall himself?" Lan Yueya scolded the older disciple. "If you're gonna make me go ask Uncle San about this, I will. But don't come crying to me when he gets mad at you later."

"This…" Senior brother hesitated for a moment before retrieving a couple of herbs and handing them to Aiden. "Please keep this a secret else I'll be scolded by the senior brothers."

"Thank you, senior brother. I won't forget your help." Smiling, he walked away, out of the exam hall perimeter. When no one was around, he slipped his hand around Lan Yueya. "Sister Lan, how about we spend the evening together? It's been a while we enjoyed a date together.

Lan Yueya smiled sheepishly, but little she knew a lion was pulling her into his cave and there was no good end for her.

----------------------------------------

Mi Tha

Ahh, it felt so good to be back in the Mortal Plane once more.

"Mi Tha, how much can I trust you?" Aiden asked.

Mi Tha chuckled inside his mind. "Trust is a funny word, Aiden. I told you everything about me, and if you help me, I'll help you against those two old motherfuckers who called my soul back from the Netherworld. They are coming for you and when they find you, there's no one in this sect who can save you."

Trust was a funny word, after all. Well, she had told him everything about her. She was Mi Tha, but she wasn't the same woman he possessed. She was just around when her soul was pulled out of the Netherworld and followed her. If it wasn't for the Aiden, her soul would have been pulled into the inferno of soul fire those old motherfuckers created around the woman's body.

"Do I have your word that you won't harm me if I set you free?" Aiden asked hesitantly.

"Of course. You actually helped me to set free, so I've no intention of harming you." She had none because this woman Lan Yueya was weak, but with Mi Tha's memories and powers, she will kill him and eat his heart for the dinner. Just a few more minutes until his heart would be hers.

It had been so long since she ate a human heart. Too long.