Return from Treating the Patient

But to keep the princess from getting jealous and throwing another fit, everyone snuck out quietly, keeping it a secret.

Of course, Darren Xuan was all for it. On the next rest day, he secretly took Lucia Lu and Adrian Drake along.

When they got back, everyone gathered at Sean Shaw's place to ask how it went and if they'd found anything useful.

Lucia Lu shook her head. "Not much, honestly. Turns out, Darren Xuan is Marcus Xuanchen's illegitimate son. He grew up with his birth mother in seclusion on the mountain and barely knows anything about the Xuanchen Clan.

We asked about Marcus Xuanchen, but he said apart from big holidays and birthdays, he hardly ever sees him. He’s basically clueless about Marcus’s affairs."

Adrian Drake shook his head, sounding a bit sympathetic: "He also told us his father and the family's biggest hope is for him to serve the princess well. Everything else? Not his problem. He said he's basically a living tribute from the Xuanchen Clan to the princess—sounded pretty tragic..."

"But he was born with a Divine Vein—doesn’t that give him any status in the Xuanchen Clan?" Ryan Lu asked, puzzled. "Sure, the Xuanchen Clan is one of the more prosperous lower-realm Divine clans, but having a Divine Vein isn’t exactly common, right?"

Adrian Drake replied, "Marcus Xuanchen's legal wife is Divine Lady Li Xiu, the Celestial Empress's half-sister. All their legitimate kids have Divine Veins, so honestly, they're not missing Darren Xuan at all."

"I see..." Ryan Lu said. "So Marcus Xuanchen married the daughter of the Azure Dragon Lord, but still dared to have illegitimate kids on the side?"

Adrian Drake grinned, full of gossip: "Marcus Xuanchen is famous for being a womanizer in the lower realms! Illegitimate kids everywhere! But out of all of them, Darren Xuan is the only one born with a Divine Vein!"

Lucia Lu glanced at him. "Wow, you sure know a lot!"

"Hey, I grew up at Drake Abyss! Whenever the Azure Dragon Lord threw a banquet, Marcus Xuanchen and Divine Lady Li Xiu would show up. Everyone would gossip that Li Xiu was always in closed-door cultivation, and Marcus could fool around as much as he wanted—she never cared!"

Lian-Lian shook her head and asked, "So, what illness does Darren Xuan's mother have?"

Lucia Lu said, "It's not an illness, it's Scalescourge Poison."

"Scalescourge Poison? What's that?" Ryan Lu asked.

Lucia Lu smacked his shoulder. "You seriously don’t know Scalescourge Poison? Don’t go around telling people you’re Father God’s son!"

Ryan Lu put on his best 'I'm sorry but I'm really humble' face.

"Scalescourge Poison is a toxin unique to some scale-armored Spirit Beasts," Lucia Lu explained. "Once infected, you grow scales all over your body. It's super hard to cure and comes back easily. Most Spiritual Alchemists can't handle it."

"So did you cure her, Master Lucia?" Ryan Lu asked.

Lucia Lu replied, "I could only remove the scales for now. For a real cure, we still need one last herb."

Ryan Lu: "What herb?"

"Starglow Immortal Grass," said Lucia Lu.

Lian-Lian frowned. "That's tough. The Apewing–Goldswallow–Starglow Set, the Tianxuan Nine-Yin Fiendbloom—those are some of the hardest herbs to find!"

Lucia Lu looked dreamy. "Exactly! You can only hope to run into them by pure luck."

"Apewing–Goldswallow–Starglow Set, Tianxuan Nine-Yin Fiendbloom—what are those exactly?" Sean Shaw, who rarely spoke, suddenly asked her.

"The Apewing–Goldswallow–Starglow Set means Apewing Beast Horn, Golden Immortal Swallow Nest, and Starglow Immortal Grass. The Apewing horn and the swallow nest are must-haves for making Divine Crimson Pill."

Lucia Lu told him, "You know about Divine Crimson Pill, right? It’s the thing Divine Generals want most—top-tier stuff for interrogations!"

Sean Shaw nodded.