Night of the Broken Gliph

A ball of flame in his eyes? Chui Yim didn’t understand what was going on, but before he could even try to understand, the flame solidified and entered his deep consciousness. Right before it reached his consciousness, the Heaven’s Flame inside Chui Yim moved, like it was turning in its sleep, and absorbed the solidified ball of flame.

“Eh?” Ping San Yat smiled curiously, but he said no more and turned towards Mo-Yung Sai. “Did you ask if this is a challenge to the Mo-Yung Clan by our clan?”

Mo-Yung Sai turned green and remained silent. 

However, Ping San Yat didn’t want to let the matter go. He looked at Mo-Yung Sai expressionlessly. “Impressive. Mo-Yung Sai, can you represent your entire clan to challenge us? I can represent the Ping Clan. Now it’s my turn to ask you, are you challenging the Ping Clan’s status in Southern Ping?” Ping San Yat spoke softly, but the way he was cornering Mo-Yung Sai made everyone feel pressured, and the entire restaurant was suddenly quiet.

Mo-Yung Sai had an ugly expression. Despite his age, his skin was thicker than expected. Laughing as he gave an excuse, he said, “Clan Leader Ping, that’s an exaggeration. It was just a fight between kids, and we just want that arrogant kid to learn his mistake.”

Ping San Yat didn’t buy his words and continued staring at him. “Like what little Ching said, this little brother is the Ping Clan’s guest starting today. Going against him will be taken as you challenging my Ping Clan.”

If Mo-Yung Sai were to try anything against Chui Yim, he’d be directly challenging the Ping Clan. This wasn’t something Mo-Yung Sai could afford to be responsible for. No matter how thick Mo-Yung Sai’s skin was, he could no longer stand it and waved his sleeves, disappearing with a cold sneer. 

“Misters, are you free to visit my Ping Clan?” Ping San Yat turned towards Chui Yim and Chor Shing Chit, smiling. 

Southern Ping had a weird structure. There was a mountain behind the gigantic city walls, and the entire city was built around the mountain. Despite being late autumn, the mountain was still bright green. All the plants still looked green and healthy. 

The night wolf brought them through numerous checkpoints before they finally arrived at the foot of Southern Ping. Ping Ching had never left their side since the restaurant. 

“This is the Southern Mountain of Southern Ping. Many gliphic beasts live on the mountain, so please stay on the designated trail. You could get attacked by a gliphic beast if you stray from it.” 

At the foot of the mountain, a few Ping Clan disciples came and took over the night wolf. After reaching the Southern Mountain, Clan Leader Ping San Yat left as he had other matters to attend to, leaving Ping Ching to help Chui Yim settle down. Chor Shing Chit, Chui Yim, and Ping Ching walked up the mountain trail. Bak Wun had rejoined them, yet nobody had realised when. They came across many other clan members on their way, and all of them either bowed or smiled at Ping Ching. 

“This Southern Mountain is the foundation of Southern Ping,” Ping Ching continued. “There are five big clans in Southern Ping, the Ping Clan, the Mo-Yung Clan, the Cheung Clan, the Suen Clan and finally, the Wong Clan. They established their residences on the mountain together with their gliphic plant farms.”

Chui Yim nodded as he looked over. The mountain was crowded with people, some taking care of various plants while others used a plethora of gliphilites to help them grow. Chui Yim could already see thousands of workers. This was an eye-opener for him. 

After some time, they only arrived at a massive door in the middle of the mountain. A round elixir-like shape was drawn on the door, the crest of the Ping Clan. 

“Welcome to the Ping Clan.” Ping Ching smiled. 

Nobody knew where Chor Shing Chit and Bak Wun went while Chui Yim toured the clan, guided by Ping Ching. Chui Yim was extremely comfortable, possibly because the clan was built on a mountain, but it was much more comfortable than the strict Tse Clan. The architecture resonated with the nature around them as well, and the Ping Clan felt more like an academy than a clan residence.

On his tour, Chui Yim came across many youths and elders murmuring to themselves with a book in hand, or having heated debates with their friends, saliva flying everywhere. He even saw two elders quarrelling so much that their faces were red, and they nearly beat each other up. 

“Brother Chui, please excuse us,” Ping Ching said awkwardly. “Our clan members can’t help but express their burning interest in medicine and alchemy.” 

Ping Ching brought Chui Yim to a side courtyard. Having a courtyard to themself in such a huge clan? The owner must be someone special. 

“Master, your humble disciple is back.” Ping Ching knocked on the door. Immediately, the door opened, and an old hand pulled Ping Ching in, leaving Chui Yim standing outside. He dashed after Ping Ching, only to hear a mumble. “Siu Ching, you’re just in time! I need an assistant now as I had an idea to use the Golden Needles to lock a chamber’s energliph for some time before mending the damaged gliph.” 

Chui Yim didn’t know what to say and just followed Ping Ching into the room, only to be greeted with an extremely messy room. Seeing Ping Ching speaking to an elder next to a wooden puppet, Chui Yim looked around out of boredom. He was thrown off his feet almost immediately as he moved towards the bookshelf.

“The original version of Compendium of Weeds! Oh my god! The book written by Godly Farmer…”

The next minute, his gasps were heard from the midst of a pile of trash. “Oh my… the Focus Pearl! It can be used to replace anaesthesia for mentally unstable patients!” More gasps followed as Chui Yim searched the room. 

“Stop screaming, noisy kid! Are you just a country bumpkin?” Chui Yim’s constant surprise angered the elder next to Ping Ching. 

“What country bumpkin!” Chui Yim replied angrily. “Only a few people in this world have the chance to see such treasures!” 

The elder remained silent. He had wanted to scold Chui Yim, but he was happy that Chui Yim praised his collection. Thus, he only replied with a sneer. “Little Ching, who is this kid? Why is he in my courtyard?” 

Ping Ching was speechless at how things had progressed. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. A sneaky look was seen in his eyes as he spoke. “Master, this is brother Chui, Chui Yim. After discussing medicine with him earlier, I learned a lot from him, and I felt that he might be even more knowledgeable than some elders! If Master has his assistance, you will surely be able to make more progress!” 

“Better than some elders?” the old man laughed. “Little Ching, I didn’t know you’re such a funny kid. Do you know how old this midget is?” 

“Who are you calling a midget, you old hag!” Chui Yim jumped up in anger. Despite being twelve, he was always unhappy that he was shorter than Lam Ming. The comment about his height angered him. “What locking of energliph! There’s nothing to research! Just use the Detailed Book On Acupuncture and follow what it says! What’s so difficult!” 

“Detailed Book On Acupuncture? I’m talking about the energliph within chambers! And chambers that have gliphs tattooed on them! What if the chamber was seriously damaged and the energliph went out of control? This makes it impossible to save the patient. This is a tough question that has been around for centuries! Not something a little kid like you would understand!” 

“What if I can do it!“ Chui Yim pointed at himself in anger.