The Rabbit Explosion

The rabbit before him continued to grow, swelling ever larger.

A flicker of wrongness passed through Han Li’s mind. Something abruptly clicked. He threw the bowl—now regarded as a viper—into a nearby herb bed, turned, and ran. He did not stop until he was over thirty yards away.

Just as he was about to look back, two explosions rang out almost simultaneously. Han Li shuddered and turned his head. Both rabbits had burst apart, their bodies torn into several pieces, flesh and blood strewn wildly across the ground. Where the rabbits had been tied, two shallow pits now appeared, surrounded by scattered remains. Blood and meat splattered everywhere—a gruesome sight.

Han Li let out a long breath and sat down heavily. If he had not reacted in time, the explosion would have caught him. Even if it would not have seriously injured him, being drenched in rabbit blood and gore was hardly a pleasant thought.

Once his heart had settled, he stood and walked closer to the pits.

He looked at the bloody scene, then glanced at the shattered bowl lying in the herb field. He had no words.

He had hoped the Green Liquid might yield some miraculous medicine. Instead, it had produced something this terrifying. Poison was bad enough, but to make the rabbits die so horribly… He would not touch this stuff again, no matter what. It was too frightening. Han Li was no stranger to deadly poisons. Under Doctor Mo’s tutelage over these past years, he had seen many lethal substances that killed at a touch, but never one that killed so gruesomely.

Still, Han Li’s psychological endurance was strong. Under these circumstances, he managed to steady himself and remain for a while before deciding to leave.

Noon was approaching. He needed to deliver the prepared medicine to Senior Brother Li. The mess here could wait until after he had finished that errand.

With this thought, he did not spare the explosion site another glance. He left all the trouble for later, returned to his quarters, rested briefly, and then took the medicine to the entrance of Divine Hand Valley.

Han Li was punctual. When he reached the valley entrance, it was exactly noon. Li Feiyu, however, had clearly been waiting anxiously for some time.

He stood alone at the valley exit, dressed in a new white brocade robe, still carrying the long blade that had left such a deep impression on Han Li. When Han Li arrived, Li Feiyu was peering into the valley with a trace of impatience written on his face.

The moment he spotted Han Li, his anxious expression vanished. The corners of his mouth lifted, and a smile spread across his face.

"Junior Brother Han, you really keep your word! Noon on the dot, you said—and here you are exactly at noon. I’ve been waiting nearly an hour," Li Feiyu said, half joking, half complaining.

"My apologies. I spent too much time preparing the medicine last night and slept late. I woke a little later than usual, and by the time I finished my other tasks, it was already noon," Han Li replied, blending truth with excuse.

"Junior Brother Han, the medicine… was it… was it prepared successfully?" Senior Brother Li’s voice stammered from urgency.

Han Li did not answer directly. He smiled calmly, slowly pulled a palm-sized medicine packet from his bosom, and tossed it to Li Feiyu.

"Before each dose of the Marrow-Extracting Pill, take a spoonful of this powder with cold boiled water. It should ease the pain you feel."

"Thank you, Junior Brother Han! Thank you!" Li Feiyu was ecstatic. Even a slight reduction in suffering would be a tremendous relief. The agony of taking the Marrow-Extracting Pill haunted him. He had tried many painkillers before, none of which worked. This Junior Brother Han, knowing all the properties of the pill and having taken it himself, might have produced something that actually helped.

"Don’t thank me yet. Wait until it actually works. Also, this is only a year’s supply. I’ve used up all the herbs I had on hand. Once I gather more, I’ll prepare extra batches," Han Li said bluntly.

"That’s fine. A year’s worth is more than enough for now. Whether it works or not, I truly appreciate your kindness, Junior Brother Han." With the medicine in hand, Li Feiyu’s composure returned. He did not pretend otherwise and bluntly acknowledged another great debt.

Han Li smiled faintly, said nothing more, and took his leave.

Clutching the secret medicine, Li Feiyu was equally eager to return and test its effects. He did not detain Han Li, and the two parted ways.

Back in the valley, Han Li first cleaned up the herb garden. He swept the rabbit remains, bloodstained dirt, and shattered bowl into the pits, then filled the two craters with fresh soil. The area looked as it had before the experiment.

Han Li brushed the dust from his hands with satisfaction and surveyed the ground for any missed spots.

His gaze landed where the bowl had shattered. He fell into thought.

He clearly remembered that when he had thrown the bowl, the diluted water had splashed onto a small patch of medicinal herbs, wetting several plants. This left him uneasy. Would those herbs, having absorbed the water, now be poisonous as well? And if someone later consumed those herbs, would they suffer the same fate as the rabbits? Should he remove the contaminated plants immediately? These questions surfaced abruptly in his mind.

After thinking it over, he decided to wait and observe them for a while longer, treating it as another small experiment. If the herbs truly became toxic within a few days, he could clear them out then.

Having made up his mind and finding nothing else to do, he returned to his stone chamber to cultivate. He hoped to break through yet another barrier on the foundation of his recent progress.

He no longer questioned the purpose of this cultivation method. Practicing it had become instinct. If he did not cultivate, he would not know what else to do on this mountain. The pursuit of the next layer had become the sole purpose of his life.

After an afternoon of focused cultivation, Han Li discovered with frustration that he was no genius. He felt he was only a hair’s breadth away from the fourth layer, but he could not push through it. The afternoon’s hard work had yielded nothing.

Without external aid, he would never advance further. He might remain stuck at the third layer forever.

He began to hope that Doctor Mo would return soon and, luckily, find enough herbs to help him break through this deadlock.