Chapter 69: Plucking a Plum Blossom for Whom
Ning Ruoque felt that it was not worth it for her.
In the Medicine King’s opinion, this question should have been very easy to answer.
But Ning Ruoque actually lowered her eyes and began to think carefully. “I…”
She only hesitated for a few breaths before a clear zither sound rang out, like a clap of thunder.
Then a strong wind rushed to her face, and Ning Ruoque subconsciously looked up.
In the pavilion, a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes with a hairpin in her hair was leaning against the chaise lounge.
Her peach blossom eyes were slightly squinted, and there was obvious displeasure on her graceful and noble face.
Ning Ruoque had heard the zither music, but there was no zither on the table, only two wine cups and a plate of exquisite lotus pastries.
Her peripheral vision swept over the peony screen behind the Medicine King, and then she lowered her head without a word.
The Medicine King’s nails, painted with cochineal, tapped the tabletop, her tone lazy. “Why are you still hesitating?”
Ning Ruoque bowed again, her attitude neither humble nor arrogant. “I have long respected Senior Medicine King, but Senior’s request…”
“Forgive my rudeness, but I cannot leave Ranran.”
The Medicine King raised an eyebrow.
In her impression, Ning Ruoque was like a wandering knight-errant, a wind that could not be caught, or a very fierce lone wolf.
Every time she heard news about her, it was either that she had killed a great demon that was causing chaos in the human world with one sword strike, or that she had slit the throat of some scum in the cultivation world.
She did not belong to any sect, nor had she heard of any close relatives or friends. Just like a floating duckweed, she could not be found, and she could not be kept.
The Medicine King and Ning Ruoque had only met three times. The first two times were just a glance from afar.
At that time, she still felt that her presence was low, sitting in a corner in a daze, gnawing on a steamed bun, not looking like a Sword Venerable.
The last time was in a sect that had been attacked after the birth of the Demon God.
The black-clad sword cultivator stood with her sword, her body as a boundary.
In front of her were the remains of a demonic beast that had died with its eyes open, and a stream that had been stained red with blood. Behind her was a patch of pure white wild flowers.
She had called Ning Ruoque for treatment, but she didn’t expect that when this sword cultivator came back, she had even carefully bypassed the sea of flowers.
Ning Ruoque had left silently after her wound was healed, not even saying hello, very aloof.
So now that the Medicine King had heard from Ning Ruoque’s mouth, “I cannot leave Ranran,” her first reaction was to be surprised.
She walked down the steps, circled around Ning Ruoque, and sized her up without any reservation.
A pressure with a bone-chilling cold also descended, and soon, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Ning Ruoque’s temples.
But she still remained silent, not even touching the Sudden Rain sword.
The Medicine King spoke slowly, “Ning Ruoque, since you left, the position of Sword Venerable has been vacant for a long time. The Sword Pavilion is planning to restart the Sword Discussion Ceremony to select a new Sword Venerable.”
She raised her peach blossom eyes, full of contempt. “You are no longer the Sword Venerable. With your current cultivation, it is not a wise choice to go against Azurefall Creek.”
The next second, the pressure suddenly increased by dozens of times, and even the pine and cypress trees near the courtyard creaked, showing signs of breaking.
The Sudden Rain sword was finally unsheathed. Ning Ruoque inserted it into the ground and barely managed to support her body.
She had no choice but to half-kneel, her breathing a little rapid, but she still said unhurriedly, “I have never acted based on gains and losses, only on my own heart.”
A branch broke and fell to the ground.
And the Medicine King did not look at Ning Ruoque again, flicked her sleeve, and left. “Since you are so stubborn—”
The moment the Medicine King paused, Ning Ruoque had already thought of how to sneak back into Azurefall Creek.
She was even planning to take this opportunity to catch a chicken to make soup for Yin Buran.
But the pressure suddenly disappeared. Ning Ruoque’s whole body relaxed, and before she could react, the Medicine King had already leaned back on the chaise lounge.
She was still lazily propping up her head, her red lips parting slightly. “Then let’s talk about the Dao companion ceremony and the banquet for the guests.”
Ning Ruoque was stunned.
“Hmm?”
She looked up and, as expected, saw the Medicine King’s mischievous smile.
“You agree? Let me say this first. I don’t want to see Ranran being wronged with you.”
The Medicine King admired her own nails and said faintly, “So you first go to the Finance Department and get a hundred thousand spirit stones. Tidy up the place you live in and throw away all the shabby things.”
With a light sentence, she had given away a hundred thousand spirit stones and at the same time, devalued Ning Ruoque’s dog kennel to nothing.
Ning Ruoque was so flustered that her tongue was tied. “I’m not… I didn’t mean that!”
For a moment, she didn’t know which matter to explain first.
She stood up with a “swish,” and from the roots of her ears to her neck, she was red. Her clumsy tongue made the Medicine King want to laugh.
Only when Ning Ruoque pitifully hugged her own sword did the Medicine King finally let her go with great mercy.
“Alright, I don’t actually have the habit of teasing juniors.”
Hearing the word “junior,” Ning Ruoque was still a little unaccustomed and pinched her earlobe again.
Only after she had recovered did the Medicine King continue, “I didn’t want to see you. I also won’t interfere too much in your and Ranran’s affairs. But…”
She suddenly changed her tune. “The Immortal Alliance has been investigating various sects recently and has caught many monsters. Do you know about this?”
Ning Ruoque thought of the conversation between Qingtong and Yin Buran a while ago and nodded.
“Then do you know that the demonic aura on these monsters is extremely faint, and they are unusually intelligent? If it weren’t for the fact that the Immortal Alliance used a medicine that could make demonic beasts go mad, it would probably be very difficult to find them.”
The Medicine King’s tone sank, and her face was not very good. It was even a little more gloomy than when she had been pretending to scare Ning Ruoque.
“As for Xu Chuo, who was the first to be discovered using the Fei Zhi’s demon core to absorb cultivation, she had a relapse of the demon poison and died in the Immortal Alliance’s dungeon half a month ago.”
Ning Ruoque was only stunned for a moment, then asked with an extremely fast speed, “Where did Senior get this news?”
The Medicine King said frankly, “It was an internal meeting of the Immortal Alliance. Only a few of us old fellows were invited.”
Ning Ruoque was suddenly lost in thought.
So Xu Chuo had died long ago. In that case, the Immortal Alliance had hidden this news?
The Immortal Alliance’s dungeon had many restrictions, and it was difficult for outsiders to enter.
If Xu Chuo had been poisoned by a demon before she was imprisoned, the Immortal Alliance would not have had to hide it.
It was more likely that a demon or a person had infiltrated the Immortal Alliance.
This was not good news.
No matter which side had killed Xu Chuo, it represented that the Immortal Alliance, and even the cultivation world, had a loophole.
And when one discovers the first loophole, the back is often already riddled with thousands of holes.
Thinking of the fact that, just like that special Shirou, the monsters had a faint demonic aura, Ning Ruoque couldn’t help but frown.
Seeing the expression on her face, the Medicine King knew that she didn’t need to explain further.
She let out a long sigh. “A storm is coming. I need to consider more for Azurefall Creek.”
“So I have invited you here to make a deal.”
The Medicine King said with a straight face, “Before you recover your cultivation, Azurefall Creek will provide you with protection. I also ask you to help Azurefall Creek when necessary.”
“Of course, I will also contact the Forging Fire Sect and Heavenly Eon Palace. I know that you are on good terms with their sect masters.”
The implication was that she hoped Ning Ruoque could help her form an alliance of the three parties to face the unknown danger together.
Ning Ruoque agreed without any hesitation. “Senior is too serious. Even if you don’t mention it, I should also protect Ranran’s sect.”
A faint, messy zither sound came from behind the screen again, as if someone had slammed their hand on the strings.
Just as Ning Ruoque was puzzled, the Medicine King smiled first. “Go back. Don’t keep Ranran waiting.”
She waved her hand to dismiss her and then picked up a wine cup, making a gesture to leave.
Having finally met the Medicine King, of course, Ning Ruoque would not let this opportunity go.
She did not move half a step and instead called out to stop the other. “Senior, I have a question.”
The Medicine King clicked her tongue, a little impatient. “Go ahead, but I can’t guarantee an answer.”
So Ning Ruoque seized the time. “Ranran’s hair, how did it become like this?”
This was a question that had been puzzling her for a long time.
It was just a pity that Qingtong did not know the reason, and Qin Jiangli was unwilling to answer her. After much thought, she could only ask the Medicine King.
“Hmm…” The Medicine King rubbed her forehead, as if she were troubled about how to reply.
She tapped the wine cup and stood there for a long while before she finally took a sip of wine herself.
Only then did she say nonchalantly, “This is a complicated matter. You know that I created the technique of using poison as medicine, which gave medical cultivators the ability to protect themselves.”
“But everything has a price. This technique also has its flaws.”
“Poison and medicine are mutually exclusive. If one cultivates this technique, it will not affect one’s ascension, but it will be difficult to touch the pinnacle of the medical dao again.”
Ning Ruoque suddenly clenched her sword. It was also the first time she had heard of such a side effect.
But thinking about it carefully, it was also reasonable. The way of heaven is to take from what has a surplus and give to what is deficient. How can there be anything perfect?
It was just that for an ordinary medical cultivator, it was enough to be able to ascend. Who would care about the pinnacle of medical skills?
The Medicine King was afraid that she would not understand and deliberately explained.
“Let’s put it this way. If you think of a medical cultivator as a medicine box, then I am a box filled with poisonous herbs and poisonous snakes. Although poison can also be used as medicine, there are still a few medicinal herbs that cannot be replaced.”
“If we only talk about the medical skills of treating illnesses and saving lives, I am also not as good as Ranran.”
Ning Ruoque still wanted to ask, but when she opened her mouth, she could not make a sound. Only then did she realize that her throat was extremely hoarse.
She cleared her throat and eagerly pressed, “The pinnacle of the medical dao that Yin Buran is pursuing is—”
Regarding this, the Medicine King only mouthed the words, but Ning Ruoque could understand.
It was “bringing the dead back to life.”
In just a blink of an eye, Ning Ruoque had figured out the cause and effect.
“So Yin Buran can’t use poison anymore because she has… crippled her own cultivation technique?”
Compared to a question, her words were more like she was talking to herself.
Her eyes were full of bewilderment, and her state was very bad.
The Medicine King didn’t care what she thought and finished speaking on her own.
“The spiritual veins have been soaked in poison. If one wants to start from scratch, one needs to soak in a cold pool for three nine-day periods, to wash the meridians and marrow, and to scrape the bones to remove the poison.”
“Her white hair and her fear of the cold came from this.”
Finally, she concluded lightly, “But compared to the heavenly punishment, it’s nothing.”
Ning Ruoque wanted to say thank you.
She couldn’t speak, and her throat felt as if a thorn was stuck in it.
It was also as if she were drowned in a huge sadness. Every time she breathed, her heart and lungs would be choked with a throbbing pain.
It was really hard to imagine what kind of mood Yin Buran was in back then when she had crippled the only cultivation technique that could protect and attack.
She was clearly very afraid of pain. In the past, if she had a small cut on her hand, she would have to blow on it herself.
Ning Ruoque felt that it was not worth it for her.
She bowed, did not say a word, and after rushing out of the small courtyard, she directly rode her sword and flew away.
“Oh my.”
Seeing this, the Medicine King let out an ambiguous sigh. Then she picked up the wine cup and the lotus pastries and turned to walk behind the screen.
