Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (20????)

Story 10 - The Spy Who Rocked Too Hard (20????)

By the time I finished talking to Winter Fox, Little Spring had been pulled into a poison concocting competition. Classic Xianxia. A main character couldnt go five chapters without getting into something.

A borrowed cauldron steamed in front of him as he mixed various ingredients. He kept glancing at Water Viper and the girl from earlier, as if he was trying to figure out what order to put each toxic herb in.

Wait, was he copying these alchemists because Id told him to keep a low profile? Very good!

Off to the side, Little Teasing Mouse quietly cheered them on while jumping up and down on the balls of her brocade slippers.

It didnt take too much longer before large billows of purple vapor wafted from each cauldron. With a hand seal, the two regular disciples sent the misty poison to collect into a pill in the air.

Now that was an unusual pill-forming method!

Little Spring had been using the hand seals I first taught him while hiding it behind the old ones. Once he reached this point, he created a seal on the cauldron with his spiritual energy and then twisted his fingers into our pill forming seal. Beads of sweat covered his forehead.

Once they finished, Water Viper collected his pill into a jade bowl and brought it to a disciple who must have been nominated as the judge.

The judge rolled the pill around the bowl while he used a technique on his eyes Id never seen before. Oh, my! Look at the color and clarity! This is a high-quality Three Lines Decapitation Toxin. Its poison efficacy is 76%! Absolutely deadly.

Now that was an interesting technique! It was hard to get exact numbers in this time period, so something used to examine a pill accurately was valuable. Id have to learn it while I was here.

The girl sniffed disdainfully. The last time I concocted this recipe, I had an efficacy of 80%.

Water Viper snorted. Dont lie. That one was only at 70% at most.

She handed her bowl to the judge.

His eyes glowed as he looked down at her submission, then shook his head. Your pill has an efficacy of 72%.

Water Viper sneered. See, I told you Id be the better poison arts teacher for Little Teasing Mouse.

Little Spring gave the judge his own blow. Im undeserving of being Little Teasing Mouses poison arts teacher. But I will take the contribution points you promised me, seniors.

The two looked at him like they couldnt believe he thought he had a chance.

But I dont think Ill be too much better than you, since this is my first time concocting this pill.

The judge narrowed his eyes on the purple pill. Wait. That cant be right. It looked glossier and clearer than the other two. Hold on.

Oh, no. Did this brat forget to keep a low profile after all?

::You didnt create a pinnacle pill right?::

::Of course not! Even you have trouble creating one your first time.::

Sure, but logic didnt always work when it came to this kids protagonist halo.

This pill has 81% efficacy!

Everyone in the room stared at Little Spring with wide eyes.

Whoa!

Impossible!

::That low? You must have worked hard.::

::Thank you, Sister Lin! I tried my best to add a few minor imperfections that match the ones my fellow disciples were adding. Sadly, our superior hand seals increased the quality too much.::

They did that. ::Regardless, I think you did an excellent job of keeping a low profile while not looking weak.::

::Thank you, Sister Lin!;;

::Return to your space once youre done here. Im going to teach you to craft a new instrument!::

::A new one?::

::youll like it. Its called aMajestic Kick-Ass Aluminum Keyboard of Many Sounds - Lesser Version.::

He paused for a second. ::Thats an interesting name.::

::As you can see, Im very good at naming things.::

::...:: He sent me a brief disbelieving glance. From that, I was sure it meant he couldnt believe how awesome my naming style was.

Little Teasing Mouse ran over and hopped excitedly. I told you that hes a genius!

This has to be some kind of mistake! Both Water Viper and the girl said in unison.

The judge huffed and crossed his arms. If you dont trust me, then dont ask me to judge.

Little Spring held up both hands. Please dont complain. Its obvious that I was just lucky. Its Senior Water Viper who deserves to be Little Teasing Mouses poison teacher.

Water Viper crossed his arms. Well, youre right about that.

The brat held his palm out. While I cant teach her, I will take those contribution points, seniors.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Little Teasing Mouse grabbed Little Springs sleeve. I knew you could do it! Then she turned to her friends while wearing an adorable smile. See! I said he was a genius! Now I get to be taught by a genius! This is so lucky!

When I finished painting the last key, I set my brush down and crossed my arms.

I did not like this. But the kid hadnt done anything stupid in a while... aside from almost fucking up my instrument. Not that Id ever admit it to him, but in some ways hed been more responsible than me. Especially while my brain hadnt been quite right back when I first time traveled. Of course, thanks to my cultivation, I was now perfectly sane. Muahahaha!

In the end, while I didnt trust that mouse girl, I respected Little Springs ability to make a logical choice.

Alright. Lets finish this keyboard. Tomorrow well have to record all the sounds.

You need my help for that?

No, but you should know how to forge one of these by yourself. By the time we complete it, youll be the second smith in the universe who can create a Majestic Kick-Ass Aluminum Keyboard of Many Sounds - Lesser Version.

The kids eyes filled with determination. Ill do my best, Martial Sister Lin!

With Little Springs help, it took only half a day to get the various notes and sounds I needed. Mostly because I had him stretch out a wire so I could hit it with a hammer while recording. It made things go much faster than doing everything by myself.

He also convinced Xiao Bai to bork at different pitches for some alternative sounds. Once I played his voice back to him, he tilted his head adorably, then howled along.

We next visited my students, who had continued to learn new songs. I recorded Three Drops Silent Toxin as he demonstrated each individual drum sound and had Shadow Panther play every bass note.

The two grinned when I played back the sounds theyd help with.

Recording like this was something I liked to call a Sound Wave Scavenger Hunt.

It wasnt perfect, but it was fast.

Once wed finished collecting the last notes we returned to the space. I finished the final adjustments to the instrument causing an illusory silver dragon to appear above the keyboard before vanishing.

Finally! Wed finished. Muahahaha!

It looked so good and performed perfectly. This was going to make Melodic River look so cool.

Little Spring hesitated. Sister Lin, are you sure some of those sounds were even necessary?

I paused. No. But I need this instrument to sound more complex to snag another bandmate.

He looked exasperated, as if questioning why we had to go through all that.

It will help us heal, Ghosty. Anyway, be grateful that this is a lesser version. I spent a whole month collecting sounds for the full Immortal rank keyboard once. I stroked the smooth silvery surface of the instrument. This one has merely reached sky rank. But its good for our current cultivation.

He seemed to struggle for a bit. Spending that long gathering sounds would be very frustrating.

It wasnt terrible. I had all my Dao of Rock students help me with it. Theyd kept coming up to me, wanting to add more sounds to it. They were all very proud of their contribution towards it. When you work together on a project like this, its fun.

He grinned. I agree.

Now that its complete, want to hear it?

He nodded.

I grinned. Then meet me outside my immortal cave as soon as you can.

I exited my temporary home to find Melodic River drinking a small bowl of medical wine under a nearby tree. Her languid posture made her appear damn cool. She really would make a fantastic member of my rock band.

There you are! She smiled. Ive been waiting for you. Did you finish what you needed to?

I pulled out the silvery keyboard and inserted my spiritual energy into it until it hovered at the perfect height for playing. Since I was a master weaponsmith, it had been simple to add a flying tool enchantment to the instrument. Especially since this was a tool for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Melodic Rivers eyes widened. You didnt mention that it could fly!

I grinned. Thats part of the fun. If you get good enough, you can even play it while its above your head.

I think you might have been underselling it. Could you play for me?

In a moment. An Older Martial Brother of mine is coming to listen in.

Oh, she seemed slightly disappointed. But then grabbed a gourd filled with wine and shook it. How about we drink until they get here?

Im underage.

Her eyebrows furrowed as a skeptical expression crossed her face.

I shrugged. Im a little younger than I look. While also being much older than I was physically. Time travel was weird. And it made things like drinking age and when to treat myself as an adult fucking awkward.

I had been an adult in a childs body for the first 9 years of my past life. Technically, this was my second time going through this kind of age awkwardness. Frankly, it was one of the reasons I avoided romance at the beginning of my first life here. By the time Id become an adult, comfortable in my own body, Id seen too much of this fucked up Xianxia world I lived in and decided to swear off romantic relationships altogether. They werent worth it. Not when someone could betray me for a heavenly treasure, sell me for their own benefit, or try to use me as a cultivation cauldron. Fuck that shit.

She sighed. It would have been nice to know that earlier.

Well, its more good wine for you.

So it is! She grinned.

I heard Little Spring call my name. I turned to see him running over, followed by Xiao Bai and Little Teasing Mouse.

God damn it. I had to deal with her again? Ghosty better appreciate the amount of frustration I was dealing with to heal his ass.

I raised an eyebrow at the brat.

::Sorry, Sister Lin. She followed me.::