Chapter 194 - The Suspicious Pills and the New Robe
Tang Sisi’s account was extremely useful.
That was Su Bai’s first conclusion.
The memories he had obtained from the dead soldiers showed him the battlefield as it had once been.
The Fallen-Star Sanctuary now was different.
Having someone who had gone deeper in the present was valuable.
Su Bai looked at Tang Sisi.
If one ignored the corpse-filled courtyard behind her, she really did look like a normal young lady.
Unfortunately, no one could ignore those things anymore.
Su Bai also confirmed another important point from her story.
The Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills he had refined were more effective than he had expected.
Its lotus barrier had actually endured a Soul-Bloom eruption at close range. The barrier had broken, but Tang Sisi herself had remained uncorrupted.
That was not a small matter.
The problem was that Tang Sisi had already used up all her pills.
Su Bai reached into his storage and took out several jade bottles.
His remaining Low-grade and Mid-grade Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills were enough for her.
Su Bai stretched out his hand.
"These are for you."
Tang Sisi looked at the jade bottles.
Her eyes narrowed.
A breath later, she hopped back half a step and raised both hands in front of her like two tiny blades.
She made a few sharp chopping gestures, as if warning Su Bai not to come any closer.
Her movements were quick, sharp, and completely unnecessary.
Everyone froze.
Tang Sisi stared at Su Bai with cautious eyes.
"Brother Su, I am not an easy girl like Ziyan. What are your intentions in giving these to me?"
The courtyard became silent.
Su Bai’s outstretched hand remained in the air.
The jade bottles rested on his palm.
For a moment, he forgot what he was supposed to say.
Tang Sisi’s expression remained guarded. In her mind, old memories had already surfaced.
Back in the mortal village, Su Bai had helped Tang Ziyan. That part was fine.
The problem was that he had also said very strange things. Flirty things!
Tang Sisi had remembered all of it.
She was an assassin. Remembering suspicious behavior was part of the job.
Su Bai opened his mouth. No words came out.
He had no other intention. He only wanted to give her pills so she could continue moving with the group.
His generosity had been misunderstood again.
The others stared in silence.
Zhuge Jing slowly hid the lower half of his face behind his fan.
Chen Feng looked away.
Yan Lie looked like he wanted to laugh but had remembered that his life was still important.
Liu Meng blinked, then looked at Su Bai, then looked at Tang Sisi, then looked at Tang Ziyan.
Tang Ziyan’s face had already turned red.
"Who is an easy girl?"
Tang Sisi froze. She slowly turned her head.
Tang Ziyan was smiling.
That smile made several people take half a step back.
Tang Sisi immediately realized her mistake.
"Cousin, I did not mean that."
Tang Ziyan continued smiling.
"You said it very clearly."
"I meant that Brother Su is suspicious."
"You used me as the example."
Tang Sisi lowered her head obediently.
"I apologize."
Tang Ziyan ignored her.
This seemed to hurt Tang Sisi more than the miasma outside.
Su Bai silently began to pull his hand back.
Since she did not want the pills, he would put them away first.
Before his hand fully returned, Tang Sisi appeared in front of him again.
Her movement was very fast.
She accepted the jade bottles with both hands.
"I will take them," Tang Sisi said sweetly. "I was only joking, Brother Su."
Su Bai looked at his empty hand, then he looked at Tang Sisi.
Then he questioned, not for the first time, what kind of people surrounded him.
Tang Sisi stored the jade bottles away with extremely practiced motion. Her smile remained innocent.
No one believed it anymore.
Tang Sisi noticed the strange atmosphere and seemed to understand that she had caused a small problem.
Her eyes moved to Su Bai’s corrosion-resistant cloth.
The cloth was still wrapped around his body in a practical but extremely improper way. It did its job, yes. But as clothing, it looked as if Su Bai had lost an argument with a roll of fabric.
Tang Sisi thought for a moment.
"As thanks," she said, "how about I sew a proper robe for Brother Su?"
Su Bai’s eyes visibly lit up.
"That would help me a lot."
The answer came too quickly.
Everyone heard it.
Several expressions became subtle.
Su Bai immediately took out several rolls of corrosion-resistant cloth.
Tang Sisi accepted them and checked the material with her fingers.
Her eyes brightened slightly.
"This cloth is good."
"It resists the miasma better than ordinary robes," Su Bai said.
"I can work with it." Tang Sisi nodded. "Please wait for a while."
She turned and walked toward one of the side chambers of the supply zone.
Tang Ziyan followed her without hesitation.
Tang Sisi glanced back. "Cousin, are you still angry?"
Tang Ziyan’s smile returned.
"What do you think?"
Tang Sisi immediately walked faster.
The two Tang Clan girls disappeared into the side chamber.
The courtyard remained quiet for a moment.
Yan Lie finally whispered, "Can assassins sew robes?"
Chen Feng glanced at him.
"Do you want to ask her that?"
Yan Lie thought about the threads at the gate, the needles in the corpses, and the bodies hanging from invisible lines.
"No."
"That is wisdom."
Liu Meng stood nearby, watching the direction Tang Sisi had gone.
Her expression gradually became serious.
’Sew robes. So it was possible to help Senior Brother Su in that way too.’
Liu Meng slowly clenched her fist.
She had grown up as royalty in a mortal kingdom. Sewing had never been something she needed to learn.
That had been a mistake.
When she returned outside, she would learn.
No, she would not merely learn. She would master it.
If Senior Brother Su needed robes, then she could sew robes. If one robe was not enough, she could sew ten. If ten were not enough, she could sew a hundred. If a hundred were not enough, then one day Radiant Sky Sect might have a mountain of robes prepared for Senior Brother Su.
Liu Meng’s eyes burned quietly with determination.
The others did not know what she was thinking.
That was fortunate.
If they had known, they might have become even more worried.
Su Bai also did not know.
He was checking the supply zone.
Zhuge Jing began recording the layout.
Lin Weiyang examined the broken formation lines with interest.
Bai Zhi checked whether any remaining miasma pollution had gathered in the corners.
Qin Baoshan guarded the entrance.
Chen Feng and Yan Lie cleared several corpses away from paths that might be used later.
Su Bai searched quietly.
The shelves, medicine racks, weapon stands, and even the cracked boxes had already been emptied.
It seemed Tang Sisi had taken everything useful long before they arrived.
A while later, Tang Sisi returned.
Su Bai looked up.
The robe in her hands was dark gray with faint black lining, simple in shape but neatly cut. It had been made from the corrosion-resistant cloth, but after being sewn properly, it no longer looked like a desperate wrapping.
It looked like real clothing.
More importantly, it did not look embarrassing.
Tang Sisi held it up with both hands.
"Brother Su, try this."
Su Bai accepted the robe.
The material was light but firm. The stitching was tight, and the inner folds were arranged so that the cloth would not restrict movement. She had even reinforced the sleeves and hem, probably to prevent corrosion from creeping inward during battle.
There was also a small embroidered flower near the edge of the collar.
It was not very obvious, but it was neat.
Su Bai stared at it for a moment, then he nodded in satisfaction.
"It is good."
He quickly changed into the robe in another chamber.
When he returned, the group’s expressions changed subtly.
The dark robe fit him well, and with the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask on his face, Su Bai no longer looked like someone who had wrapped himself in emergency materials after losing a fight against his own wardrobe.
He looked like himself again.
Su Bai moved his sleeves once. The robe did not hinder his arms.
Su Bai nodded again.
"Thanks. It is really comfortable."
Tang Sisi’s smile widened.
"Oh, you do not have to thank me. It was Zi—"
A hand covered her mouth.
Tang Ziyan had appeared beside her at some point.
Tang Sisi blinked.
Tang Ziyan dragged her backward.
Tang Sisi tried to speak through the hand covering her mouth, but only several muffled sounds came out.
The two disappeared into the side chamber again.
Everyone watched silently.
No one asked.
Su Bai looked at the doorway, then he looked down at the small embroidered flower.
He decided not to think about it.
...
After a short rest, the group gathered again in the courtyard.
Zhuge Jing opened the map he had roughly drawn from the supply zone layout and Tang Sisi’s account.
"We have two choices," he said. "We can follow Sister Tang Sisi’s trail deeper immediately, or we can search the nearby Layer One supply zones first."
Su Bai did not hesitate.
"We search Layer One first."
No one looked surprised.
After hearing about the solid Ashen-Blood Miasma barrier, rushing deeper would be foolish. Even if Su Bai could endure more than others, the group could not.
Tang Sisi had already proven that the deeper regions contained not only enemies, but dormant intents, unstable formations, and old battlefield remnants that could kill without warning.
More importantly, Su Bai needed memories.
The dead soldiers in the Outer Area had already given him fragments of the ancient battlefield. If he could find more remains, he might understand the route ahead more clearly before stepping toward Layer Two.
Su Bai looked toward the deeper storage halls of the supply zone.
"We will search the surrounding first," he said. "After that, we follow the nearby supply roads and gather whatever is still usable."
Tang Sisi raised her hand.
"I know some paths."
Everyone turned toward her.
Tang Sisi smiled.
"I also know some paths we should not use."
That was more reassuring and more worrying.
Zhuge Jing nodded. "Then Sister Tang Sisi can mark the dangerous areas. Brother Su will lead."
Su Bai turned toward the supply zone’s inner passage.
The new robe settled around him comfortably.
The lotus barriers around the group glowed faintly.
The group moved.
This time, there were fifteen of them.
Su Bai walked at the front.
They entered the deeper part of the Layer One supply zone.