It was indeed because of that little episode in the cafeteria that He Xiaoyao became a tiny bit famous.
One day, while eating in the cafeteria again, a tall, heavy man walked over and sat down right next to He Xiaoyao.
The big man spoke up. "Hello there, Brother Xiaoyao, my name is Li Dahai. I heard you know a thing or two about medicine. Is there any way you can help me lose weight?"
Li Dahai was a cultivator dressed in white. Sitting down in the southeast corner, he attracted quite a few gazes, yet he wore a completely carefree expression.
Naturally, no one would object to a cultivator sitting in the southeast corner. They only thought he was a bit eccentric.
He Xiaoyao smiled and said, "Why would you want to lose weight? I think your current build is quite cheerful and rather cute."
Li Dahai replied, "I think I'm cute too, but my master doesn't think so. Master says it hinders my movement, affects my cultivation practice, and makes me uncoordinated."
He Xiaoyao said, "Although I don't know much about your cultivation techniques, everything has its pros and cons. While your mobility might not be as agile, your strength should have increased."
Li Dahai nodded vigorously, looking delighted. "Mhm, exactly! That's what I said too, but Master still insists that I drop a few pounds. You really are my kindred spirit. If only you were my master!"
He Xiaoyao burst out laughing. "How could I ever act as your master?"
Li Dahai said, "At least you don't make me lose weight. Plus, you can see that my strength is my advantage—that makes you my true soulmate! Wouldn't it be wonderful if you were my master?"
He Xiaoyao glanced at Li Dahai's meal, which was piled as high as a small mountain, and said, "As long as you cut down a bit on the food you eat, your weight will drop."
Li Dahai screwed up his face in agony. "I know that, but if I only eat as much as everyone else, I get so starved I feel dizzy and have no strength in my legs. Humans are made of iron, and food is the steel; if you skip a single meal, you're frantic with hunger. If I don't eat my fill, how on earth am I supposed to have the energy to lose weight?"
A bead of sweat rolled down He Xiaoyao's forehead. "Well, there is some truth to that."
After a moment, He Xiaoyao said, "Alright, how about this: you still need to cut down your food intake, but don't drop straight down to a normal person's portions all at once. Reduce it a little bit at a time, gradually scaling it down. That'll take some willpower on your part. On top of that, I'll whip up some herbal medicine for you to take, which should help you shed a bit more weight, though it will take some time to gather and prepare the ingredients. It won't be easy to put together this kind of herbal formula here within the Immortal Sect, so I'll let you know once I've got it ready."
Li Dahai exclaimed, "Oh, thank you so much! Once you've got it ready for me, I'll pay you. Just come find me at the Public Academy when the time comes—that's where I'll be."
He Xiaoyao asked, "You're at the Public Academy? What star is your cultivation at right now?"
Li Dahai answered, "I've been training for almost three years, and I'm a Three-Star cultivator now."
He Xiaoyao said, "Alright, alright, not bad at all. Looks like your weight hasn't affected your cultivation after all."
Nearby, Yu Dongxi and Aunt Deng wanted to laugh but didn't dare let it out. At that moment, Li Dahai glanced at the two of them. "Big Sis, I'm telling you, if you two want to laugh, just let it out. Otherwise, you're going to burst something inside and have to go running to Brother He Xiaoyao for treatment."
Yu Dongxi couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst into a loud laugh and said, "Makes sense, makes sense. I might as well have a laugh—when you've got gas, you've got to let it rip."
Aunt Deng chided from the side, "How can you be so vulgar? Everyone is eating here, and you're shouting out about shit, piss, and farts."
Yu Dongxi retorted, "What's wrong with that? Besides, I only mentioned a fart. Shit and piss were words you came out with yourself—you mentioned two more things than I did!"
Everyone burst into hearty laughter together.
Li Dahai said, "My, who knew eating here could be so much fun? If I'd known, I should have come over to eat here much sooner. Looks like I'll have to come every single day from now on—you guys won't mind me taking up space, will you?"
Yu Dongxi said, "We welcome you coming over, but who knows if your fellow white-robed cultivator brothers will have any objections?"
Li Dahai replied, "I'm a free man! I like sitting here, and who dares say a word to me? Except for my master, and he doesn't have time to worry about such trivial matters as where I sit to eat."
In truth, Li Dahai's master *did* talk to him about it, telling him to avoid sitting in the handyman area as much as possible. But Li Dahai simply ignored it; he let it go in one ear and out the other, continuing to stubbornly sit in the southeast corner of the cafeteria just as he always had.
Brewing that medicine really was going to be difficult. The medicinal herbs He Xiaoyao had planted had not matured yet and couldn't be used just yet.
Some ordinary mortal herbs could be found on the Immortal Mountain, but it would take time to go out and harvest them.
Three days later, He Xiaoyao and Li Dahai strapped bamboo baskets to their backs and headed deep into the mountain to gather herbs.
Would they find any immortal herbs? He Xiaoyao was raring to go. He wondered if this Immortal Mountain held any treasures—precious medicines that glowed in the dark, like thousand-year-old ginseng, thousand-year-old ganoderma, thousand-year-old snow lotus, or thousand-year-old polygonum multiflorum. Just thinking about it was wonderful.
If he happened to stumble upon even a single stalk of such a plant, he could keep it for himself, or sell it for one or two thousand Immortal Coins.
The defining feature of the Immortal Mountain was its swirling clouds and mist, which made visibility rather blurry. The place was damp and humid.
Not long after entering the mountain, He Xiaoyao spotted a few medicinal herbs. Though they weren't the ones needed for Li Dahai's weight loss, he harvested them anyway, planning to dry them in the sun for later use.
The two of them walked deep into the mountains, wandering around for half the day before finding a few useful herbs.
Li Dahai complained, "Herbs gathering is truly exhausting—even more tiring than cultivation practice."
He Xiaoyao said, "I'm tired too, but you look a lot more exhausted than I do. You're a Three-Star cultivator, after all. How is it that you're already worn out after just half a day of walking in these deep mountains? Shouldn't you be able to walk a hundred miles without needing to rest?"
Li Dahai panted, "That's just a legend. Don't believe things in legends. Your big brother here is human too, and humans get tired. Besides, look at the effort I have to put into taking a single step—you could use that same amount of energy to take two or three. Cultivators are human; we aren't actual immortals."
"That's basically saying that by the time you've walked ten miles, I've already covered thirty."
There was that logic again—Li Dahai was hopeless. He always had a whole set of crooked theories ready.
He Xiaoyao smiled and said, "I asked you to come along to gather herbs for two reasons: first, to have you help out, and second, for you to move around a bit more. It'll help with your weight loss."
Li Dahai said, "I know, I know. I might be big-headed and big-bellied, but I'm not stupid."
Of course he wasn't stupid. Anyone who could reach the Three-Star level in nearly three years could be considered quite smart. If not for his gluttony and excessive weight, he might have already reached the fourth or fifth star.
Right at that moment, a rustling sound suddenly echoed from afar, as if an animal was moving through the brush. He Xiaoyao whispered, "Don't speak. Keep it quiet, let's go check it out."
He Xiaoyao unslung the bow and arrows from his back and crept forward on tiptoe. *Whoa!* He'd struck it rich—it was a sika deer.
Creeping a bit closer, He Xiaoyao picked up his bow, pulled the string taut with all his might, and let fly. The arrow struck true, hitting the deer squarely in the belly.
Overcome with a sharp pain, the sika deer bolted forward.
He Xiaoyao gave chase in a sprint. Li Dahai hurried after He Xiaoyao. With a single deer leading the charge, the two of them raced wildly ahead.
Li Dahai shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wait up! Wait for me! Oh gosh, it's a deer—there's no way we can outrun a deer!"
He Xiaoyao didn't answer. He was saving every ounce of breath to run forward.
It was in moments like this that the difference in cultivation levels truly showed.
Channeling his True Qi in a sudden burst, Li Dahai surged forward, outpacing He Xiaoyao in two or three bounds and vanishing from He Xiaoyao's field of vision alongside the sika deer in the blink of an eye.
It certainly paid to have a higher cultivation level. Since He Xiaoyao was only at the One-Star level, he had no choice but to follow behind, tracking them by sound.
After chasing them for the space of a full meal, he finally spotted Li Dahai standing amidst a cluster of bushes, with the deer lying motionless right in front of him.
Puzzled, Li Dahai said, "How did this deer just collapse? Its injuries don't look that severe, and it didn't bleed much."
He Xiaoyao smiled and said, "The arrowhead was coated with a paralyzing agent. It didn't go down from its wounds; it was drugged."
Li Dahai said in astonishment, "Drugged? Like it got roaring drunk? Wow, you are truly underhanded. Hanging out with a doctor is downright dangerous."
He Xiaoyao retorted, "What's dangerous about it? I'm not shooting arrows at you."
Li Dahai muttered, "Hard to say. You never know when you might take it into your head to shoot me with one of those poisoned arrows."
He Xiaoyao replied, "Then just make sure you don't do anything to cross me. If you're a good person, why would anyone want to shoot you with an arrow?"
Li Dahai argued, "But how am I supposed to know if I'm a good person? Or maybe I'm already plenty good, but you still think I'm dark-hearted!"
He Xiaoyao was speechless.
He had run ten miles into the deep mountains for the sake of the man's weight-loss grand enterprise, only to be called dangerous for his trouble.
Taking turns carrying the sika deer on their backs, the two of them headed back. Once they returned to the Deer Enclosure, He Xiaoyao slaughtered the sika deer and harvested its antlers and velvet.
He Xiaoyao asked, "Shall we split it fifty-fifty?"
Li Dahai swallowed hard and said, "Just give me three or four pounds. The rest is yours."
He Xiaoyao kept three pounds of meat for himself and gave the remaining venison to Yu Dongxi to sell.
Although this trip into the mountain hadn't yielded any magical herbs or treasures, the harvest was still substantial. A deer worth a hundred Immortal Coins was nothing to scoff at.
Perhaps fat people had fat fortunes; following along with him had brought some good luck after all.
Besides, they had gathered almost all the necessary medicinal herbs, with only two ingredients still missing. They could fetch those next time.
Li Dahai suddenly asked, "Aren't you going to save some venison for Zhang Susu?"
He Xiaoyao looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why on earth would I give her venison? If she wants some, she can pay for it. I can give her a discount, but I have no reason to hand it over for free."
Li Dahai said, "I'm telling you, you really don't understand a girl's mind. You should take the time to send her a little something."
He Xiaoyao explained, "I don't have any thoughts like that. I have no feelings for her whatsoever."
Li Dahai insisted, "It's useless to deny it now. The entire Zhudi Mountain Sect already knows."
*Good heavens*, had things really gotten that serious? Was there any saving him?
He Xiaoyao was utterly speechless.
He had only met her twice! Ever since that day in the cafeteria, they hadn't even run into each other for months—what feelings were they talking about?
Even if he admitted that she was indeed beautiful, did that mean he had to have feelings for every pretty face he saw?
Besides, *she* was the one who had patted his shoulder, not the other way around. There was a huge difference between the two!
Why didn't people say that *she* had feelings for him instead of claiming *he* had feelings for her? People really were muddle-headed and incapable of telling things apart.
Since it was impossible to reason with this big fat guy, He Xiaoyao countered, "Big Brother Li, you've been in the mountain sect for four or five years now, and you're no spring chicken. Have you found an immortal partner yet?"
Li Dahai replied, "For me, the difficulty lies in having too many choices. Sometimes having too many options isn't a good thing—you don't know which one to pick. You don't understand the torment of it; I've suffered deeply from it..."
He Xiaoyao felt a sudden urge to throw up.
This guy's words were simply too punchable.
*May he get fat enough to burst.*
He Xiaoyao couldn't even be bothered to talk to him anymore. After agreeing on the date for their next herb-gathering trip into the mountains, the two of them parted ways.
Following two trips into the mountains to collect herbs, they finally found the ingredients they needed. Moreover, after the mountain-climbing over those two days, Li Dahai actually seemed to have gotten a tiny bit slimmer.
He Xiaoyao decided to share this observation with him.
Li Dahai, however, wore an impatient expression. "I only lost three pounds in three days! The task Master gave me is to lose at least thirty pounds."
He Xiaoyao said, "Thirty pounds shouldn't be a problem. You started out at two hundred pounds—losing thirty is a piece of cake, isn't it?"
Li Dahai let out a sigh. "Easy to say, hard to do! Every time, I manage to drop ten pounds, only for it to bounce right back, putting on a few extra pounds. Sometimes I gain back even more than I lost!"
He Xiaoyao said, "That takes resolve and perseverance—most people trying to lose weight go through that. As for the herbal medicine I'm preparing for you, I'll let you know once it's ready."
Three days later, at the Public Academy.
He Xiaoyao told Li Dahai, "Let me check your pulse again." It showed the pulse condition of spleen deficiency in the middle burner, with weak guan pulses in both wrists.
He Xiaoyao told Li Dahai, "Let's go see your master together and talk things over."
Li Dahai nodded and took the lead.
Li Dahai's master was Valley Master Meng Daoran. Most disciples of the Public Academy called him Teacher. Although Li Dahai hadn't formally kowtowed to become a formal disciple, he was practically no different from a direct personal disciple in practice.
Aside from lecturing at the Public Academy, Meng Daoran also provided individual guidance and pointers on cultivation techniques.
Li Dahai called out, "Teacher, He Xiaoyao says he has a few things he wants to discuss with you."
He Xiaoyao stepped forward and executed a respectful bow. "Greetings, Valley Master Meng."
Meng Daoran gave a slight smile and said, "Greetings. I hear that you, little brother, are also skilled in medicine. Not bad at all—young and promising. As for this child Dahai, he's good in every respect except that he's a bit too heavy. Some cultivation techniques require agility and speed, and he just can't keep up. Could you lend a hand and think of a way to help him slim down? My thought is that he needs to lose at least thirty pounds, and fifty pounds would be best."
He Xiaoyao said, "Fifty pounds is hard to promise, but I'm confident about thirty pounds. However, I have a few conditions."
Thinking that He Xiaoyao was asking for compensation, Meng Daoran said, "If there's any reward you want, just name it."
He Xiaoyao replied, "I don't need any reward. I only require these few things. First, Li Dahai's daily food intake must be cut by another third. Second, Li Dahai must follow me every day to do handyman chores. Third, Li Dahai must take the medicine I prescribe for him every day."
Meng Daoran said, "Oh, that's easy enough. I promise it on his behalf."
Li Dahai wore a helpless expression.
He Xiaoyao said, "Under these conditions, three months from now, he will drop thirty pounds. Three months later, I will hand him back to you, and after that, whether he gets fat or thin is none of my business!"
Meng Daoran chuckled heartily. "Naturally, naturally! If he drops the weight and then goes right back to stuffing his face and ballooning up again, I'll show him a beating. Well then, thank you for your hard work, little brother."
He Xiaoyao waved a hand. "It's no trouble. We'll take our leave now."
Walking out of Valley Master Meng's room, He Xiaoyao let out a soft sigh of relief. Although Valley Master Meng was an amiable person without any stuffy bureaucratic airs, his position was truly lofty, naturally exuding an oppressive aura of dignity.
Li Dahai, of course, was much more at ease because he was used to it; his affection and closeness with Meng Daoran as master and disciple ran much deeper.
He Xiaoyao turned to Li Dahai and said, "Alright, let's kick off our grand weight-loss plan today—come along with me to sweep the lakeside!"