Chapter 74

Inside the medicine pavilion.

Yue Changge looked around. Every spiritual herb and immortal plant was neatly categorized, arranged with clear order. The air inside was clean, carrying only the faint bitterness of herbs, soothing to the mind.

Liu Xunqin carried that same scent.

She gestured for Yue Changge to sit, then placed a single hand on her pulse. After all, she had been the one to strike the blow, so she had a rough idea of the severity of the injuries. She helped regulate her breathing, smoothing away the pain from the clash within her meridians, then withdrew her hand and said, "You may go."

"A rare moment of conscience from you," Yue Changge snorted lightly. "And rare gentleness toward me, too. Have you been up to something lately that weighs on your conscience?"

"You wanted me to demonstrate for the juniors?" Liu Xunqin lowered her eyes, sat down, and reopened her medical text. "If you'd just said so directly, you wouldn't have needed to resort to such tricks."

Yue Changge opened her mouth to speak, but all she heard was Liu the great healer's sharp tongue spit out two words: "You're sick."

The woman across from her rolled her eyes on the spot. Her hand, which had been propping up her face, gradually slid down along her cheek, turning into a chin rest.

"Boring."

She clicked her tongue softly and continued staring at her hair ribbon.

When Senior Uncle Yue emerged again, a strip of soft fabric was clutched in her hand, held behind her back.

Although she had lost the fight, she seemed to be in quite a good mood.

She swept her gaze over the juniors. "Don't just watch the commotion. In that exchange between her and me, did any of you pick up insights?"

Insights.

Bai Su had never seen Liu Xunqin fight before. This was her first time witnessing it, and she felt great admiration for her master.

The way she could control her power so finely, guiding her opponent along—Bai Su felt she herself was still leagues away.

For instance, she could at most reach a little over an inch below the skin; any deeper and she would be at her limit. Moreover, she could only mend flesh and skin, not control a person's movements.

She thought it over. "It requires finer control."

Compared with that, her own control over spiritual power was indeed crude, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of shame.

Lin Xunzhen, on the other hand, paid more attention to Yue Changge. In her fight with Liu Xunqin, Yue Changge had been at a disadvantage, yet a single note from her flute had been able to disturb the spiritual energy of the entire scene.

She was not a single-spirit-root cultivator; one of her affinities was water, which could merge with all things. "When water is extremely clear, there are no fish." Perhaps stirring the waters into mud was precisely what made things more convenient.

A smile was still on Yue Changge's lips when a transmission arrived. Her expression stiffened slightly, and her brows furrowed. She shot a resentful glare at Liu Xunqin's closed door.

"Senior Uncle Yue?"

Yue Changge sighed gloomily and rubbed her shoulder. Her gaze shifted to Qing Zhouxue, and she pondered for a moment before saying, "You, Junior Niece Qing—return to Heyi Peak."

The words "Heyi Peak" snapped Qing Zhouxue back to reality. She started. "What's wrong with Master?"

"What could be wrong with her?" Yue Changge clicked her tongue. "Still, she's annoyed that I've been leading you all into mischief."

On Heyi Peak.

When the sunlight outside the window was bright and warm, Yun Shuchen couldn't help but feel drowsy.

She had just dozed off lightly while fanning herself when her disciple's transmission jolted her awake. She barely managed to finish settling the matter, then lay back down. Only a short while passed before Liu Xunqin's long-distance message pulled her up from her dreams once more.

At this point, she was awake, but irritation churned in her heart. She lounged lazily on the bed, unwilling to get up, and closed her eyes again, hoping to recover a trace of that fleeting sleepiness.

Rustling sounds came from outside the door.

Yun Shuchen frowned.

She had begged Yue Changge with sweet words to give the juniors some guidance, but somehow they had ended up causing a ruckus all the way to Lingsu Peak.

No matter how severe the chaos, if Liu Xunqin killed that woman, it would be none of her business.

But these repeated disturbances had stolen her rest, and a nameless fire burned in Yun Shuchen's heart with no outlet.

When the sound finally came up to tap on her door, she, still drowsy, suddenly sat up and flicked her sleeve. A wave of pressure shot out, blasting the door wide open. She had meant to make Yue Changge suffer a bit—

When she abruptly caught sight of that white-clad figure, Yun Shuchen froze. She forcibly pulled the attack back with lightning speed, and immediately felt a bitter sweetness rise in her throat.

From Qing Zhouxue's perspective, her master, without any warning, had blood spilling from her lips. She coughed while leaning over the edge of the bed, her black hair hanging down—a scene alarming to behold.

"Master?"

At first stunned, Qing Zhouxue rushed to her side in a few quick steps and helped her up. "What's wrong?"

The backlash from that moment left Yun Shuchen unable to voice her pain. She was just about to say it was nothing, but perhaps because her breath was unstable, she coughed up another mouthful of blood.

When the arms holding her trembled slightly, Yun Shuchen inadvertently met her disciple's eyes, which held a hint of panic.

"Go to Lingsu Peak." Qing Zhouxue was flustered for a moment, then quickly calmed down—but she clearly wasn't calm enough, for she forgot to use a technique. She scooped her master into her arms in a bridal carry, her steps hurried, and started to head outside.

Yun Shuchen felt the world spin. She froze for an instant, then came to her senses and couldn't help but laugh, half annoyed. "It's nothing. Put me down."

"Coughing blood always means internal injury. We don't know the cause, so you must go, Master."

Her disciple's brows were cold and condensed, now like a drawn blade with no room for turning back. Seeing that Qing Zhouxue had nearly walked all the way to Yimeng Cliff and was about to fly off on her sword, Yun Shuchen pinched her at the waist. "Let go. I know my own body well."

Qing Zhouxue had been holding her with effort, and her waist was ticklish. The pinch made her strength give way, and she nearly dropped her. Seizing this opening, Yun Shuchen grabbed her and sighed. "You didn't even use a spell. No matter how light I am, I'm about the same size as you. Aren't you tired?"

Qing Zhouxue studied her complexion. Under the warm sunlight, there was even a little flush of color—truly not a pale or exhausted appearance. Only then did her heart settle a bit, but she didn't answer about being tired or not.

"Are you really alright?" She looked again at the bloodstains at the corner of her lips, frowning, clearly not fully convinced.

Yun Shuchen curved her lips and explained carefully to her disciple, only then making things clear.

Her disciple finally let out a sigh of relief. Only now did her arms truly ache, and she finally remembered to use a spell to make the person in her arms lighter.

A weight landed on her neck—arms hooked around it—and then warm breath brushed past. Qing Zhouxue heard a complaint by her ear: "I haven't put on shoes, so I can't walk."

"Carry me back."

"Alright." She didn't think much of it, probably feeling it was only right.

Yun Shuchen was held steadily, so she relaxed, lifting her eyes to gaze at her disciple's delicate and pretty chin. As she watched, a slight smile curved onto her lips, and she closed her eyes. The displeasure of being woken again and again had, over this not-too-long stretch of road, completely melted away.

With her eyes shut, a little light slipped down from above, flickering in orange and black across her eyelids. When she opened her eyes again, her back was against the bed. Qing Zhouxue withdrew her hands and tucked the blanket around her, making sure no part of her would catch a chill.

After doing all that, she brought a cup of clear tea. "Rinse your mouth, Master. The taste of blood is strong; it won't be pleasant."

Yun Shuchen propped herself up a little, leaning back against the headboard, and took the tea.

"I originally called Yue Changge," Yun Shuchen said with a cold snort. "Who knows what's wrong with her, actually urging you back to the peak."

Yue Changge was, after all, an elder of a peak, with cultivation on par with hers. If she had struck casually, it would simply be a friendly greeting between fellow sisters. But if that blow had landed solidly on Qing Zhouxue, the poor girl would probably be barely breathing in bed, laid up for half a month or more.

Luckily, she had stopped in time.

The heart was always partial. Even if Qing Zhouxue had disturbed her, or had stirred up such a fuss carrying her outside, when Yun Shuchen thought back on it now, her mood immediately turned brighter.

"Mm."

For some reason, her disciple gave a vague sound, then slowly moved closer and wrapped her arms around her.

Yun Shuchen's hand subconsciously went to the girl's waist, then felt it was wrong, so she raised it and smoothed her disciple's hair that hung down at her waist. From the side, she could see Qing Zhouxue's eyelashes, closed like butterfly wings folding shut, trembling a few times, restless.

"Nervous?"

Qing Zhouxue was not surprised at being seen through at a glance. She tightened her arms, hugging tightly, and only then gradually relaxed her hold.

After a long silence.

"Bleeding is very serious. I've heard that when my mother died, she bled a lot." She murmured. "If something happens to you, I'd have only you left."

"Even without your master, your senior uncles and aunties would take care of you. And you have many fellow sisters—what do you mean, only you would be left?"

Yun Shuchen wanted to comfort her, so she laughed. "Read fewer storybooks. That line sounds so pretentious."

But her disciple shook her head. "Other people have their own fates and bonds, and in the end, it has nothing to do with me. Right now, in this world, there's only you, Master... This is different."

Yun Shuchen was momentarily stunned. A moment later, she let out a soft sigh, and her heart softened into a puddle.

She couldn't scare her like that again in the future.

Enveloped in a faint, cold fragrance, she was completely relaxed and unknowingly tightened her embrace, vaguely thinking in her heart—after all, her disciple's courage was so small, small enough to make one feel pity.

Qing Zhouxue was slightly startled. She felt something soft brush against her cheek, like a lotus petal pressing down.

Yun Shuchen turned her head away, as if nothing had happened. She said quietly, "Don't move. Sleep a little more."

She closed her eyes, smoothed her brows, and the place she leaned against was soft and comfortable. For a while, she was reluctant to get up.

Qing Zhouxue looked up at the expanse of warm sunlight outside the window, finding the light dazzling. She watched for a long time, then slowly raised her hand with a gentle, careful force that wouldn't disturb Yun Shuchen.

She extended one finger and brushed it across her own cheek. When she brought her finger back before her eyes, in the dim warm light, she could see a faint trace of red on it.

The color of fine rouge.

Why did Master kiss her? She hadn't had any written tests recently, nor had she won any championships; it didn't seem she'd done anything great.

Qing Zhouxue was suddenly lost. She thought about it, her gaze falling on Yun Shuchen's sleeping face, and found the spot on her own cheek that corresponded to the same place. She lowered her head and carefully returned the kiss.

"Since my disciple has said so—"

Just as she drew back, she found her master was not asleep after all. Yun Shuchen suddenly spoke, tossing out an unhurried sentence.

"No taking it back."

She closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips. "From now on, I alone... but do you know what this means?"