Chapter 31: The Female Immortal in the Mist (Part 1): You Have to Take Responsibility for Me! Part 3

Now they’d deviated from the main line again. Who knew if one leaf would even be enough. Mu Qian Tan fumed, rubbed her temple, and turned her head away. “Forget it. Remember what I just said.”

Shang Shan lowered her head, then raised it, kneading the green stem in her hands. “But we happened to run into it, right? There are lots of sick people in the world, but right now I don’t…”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Shut up.”

Shang Shan: “But you didn’t tell me this was…”

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to shut up?” Mu Qian Tan kept her calm, said it in a low voice, gave her no time to react, flung open her skirt, and strode out.

Shang Shan stood at a loss, unsure what to do, afraid she’d go too far to catch up. She hurried inside to grab her clothes. “Wait for me!”

She hastily hung four strings of corn around her neck, snatched her money pouch, and ran out. “Master! Master!”

Tan Rong saw them leaving and came out to ask them to stay another two days and see the mountain scenery, but the immortal refused everything. In the end, she could only say, “You have done us a great favor. If there’s ever a way we can help in the future, the people of Corn Village will do our utmost.”

Mu Qian Tan didn’t think these villagers could do anything for her and brushed them off casually.

Jiang Yuanqi had to leave first. After politely bidding Tan Rong farewell, he turned to Shang Shan. “We’ll meet again later.”

Shang Shan said, “Okay.”

“Right.” She suddenly widened her eyes, took out her money pouch, poured out a few gold pellets, and handed them to him. “Here, back to you.”

He hadn’t expected her to actually return the money. Jiang Yuanqi pushed it back and smiled. “No need. Consider it a gift.”

Shang Shan asked, “Why give it to me?”

Jiang Yuanqi brushed back his long hair, his smile radiant as flowers. “Because I’m a jade tree in the wind, handsome and dashing stud. Remember, I’m your brother, not your sister.”

Mu Qian Tan frowned in disgust. Men really couldn’t be too confident—overconfident, and they turned phony, greasy, annoying, and self-important. Even with a face like a heavenly immortal, it was wasted.

Though the female protagonist was annoying too, compared to this guy, she was somehow cuter in her weird way.

Unhappy inside, she lashed out equally at everyone. “Take it if it’s given. Don’t put on false airs there.”

“…” Jiang Yuanqi dropped his act and took the money obediently. “Got it.”

He put the money away and said, “Everyone, until we meet again. Farewell.”

New Year’s Money tucked under the bamboo hat, meowing at the crowd as if saying goodbye, then rubbed against its master’s feet, swishing its tail.

They’d just taken two steps when Jiang Yuanqi suddenly turned back and waved. “Almost forgot. Goodbye to you too, Li Biyuan.”

Li Biyuan said, “What the fuck…”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I get annoyed just seeing your face. Get lost and don’t look back.”

Li Biyuan said, “What the fuck, what the fuck.”

Jiang Yuanqi had probably never heard talk like that. His expression froze, then froze again. His waving hand slowly dropped, and he slunk off with New Year’s Money.

Shang Shan clutched her corn and sneaked a glance at the woman. Caught, she quickly withdrew it. “Tan Que, I’m leaving now. I’ll come play with you again sometime!”

Tan Que said, “Sure! We can go naked mountain climbing together.”

Shang Shan said, “Great!”

Mu Qian Tan was speechless. What the hell was fun about that?

After bidding everyone farewell, she found an open spot and summoned White Pupil. Without saying where to go, she sat silently at the back of the crane’s neck to recuperate.

Shang Shan wanted to talk to her but didn’t know what to say. Instead, she plucked that remaining leaf, chewed it, and swallowed.

Her body showed no reaction, but after eating her fill, sleepiness surged. She curled up and dozed off.

Four days passed. Hibiscus Goose Mountain was nearly in sight.

Mu Qian Tan looked back at the girl who had slept for days straight and still hadn’t woken.

Even though the sleep quality was good, she had slept too deeply. She didn’t even wake up to the aroma of food during meals. If not for her breathing, one might have thought she was already dead.

If they hadn’t reached their destination, Mu Qian Tan still wouldn’t have wanted to deal with her much. But over the past few days, Li Biyuan had kept persuading her to let it go and not be angry. She even read her some lowbrow jokes, successfully shifting Mu Qian Tan’s hatred onto herself. At least Mu Qian Tan didn’t want to kill this Brain-Damaged Dragon so badly anymore.

White Pupil landed at the foot of Hibiscus Goose Mountain. Mu Qian Tan recalled it. Shang Shan, who showed no reaction, immediately plummeted to the ground, landing face-first, yet still didn’t wake up.

“She wouldn’t really be dead, would she?” Mu Qian Tan wondered as she walked over to the girl and flipped her over with her toe.

The girl’s body was soft, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her chest rose and fell obviously. She was still alive.

Then why wouldn’t she wake up?

Observing her condition closely, there was thin sweat on her forehead, pinkness from behind her ears to her neck, and her breathing was hot and moist. Mu Qian Tan realized something. She bent down and tested the girl’s forehead temperature with the back of her hand. Sure enough, it was scorching hot.

She had a fever.

There was no such scene in the original book. Was it because a leaf was missing?

Mu Qian Tan grabbed her wrist and injected spiritual power, circulating it along her two arms. She discovered that both dual arm qi acupoints were faintly loosening. In other words, she had still obtained the dual arms. That missing leaf was probably meant to treat the injuries on her body.

Realizing this, Mu Qian Tan’s mood eased somewhat. She no longer needed to find spiritual treasures to make up for it. The plot hadn’t changed much.

Though she was annoyed at this Brain-Damaged Dragon for acting on her own, letting her burn up like this definitely wouldn’t do. She was already dumb enough; if she got even dumber, it would be really troublesome.

Mu Qian Tan propped her up a bit and placed her palm against her back, injecting the purest spiritual power to suppress the fever.

Glancing down, she saw the girl’s small face amid her ink-black hair. When this guy wasn’t talking or making a fuss, she was like a finely carved BJD doll. How did she turn into an airheaded beast on two legs the moment she moved?

Spiritual power flowed out like water, surged in, and washed away the heat from between her bones. Shang Shan slowly woke up, her cheeks still flushed, her skin thin and delicate, as if it would break with a poke.

Mu Qian Tan released her. “Get up.”

“Oh.” Shang Shan stood up, looking like she hadn’t fully woken. “Are we heading back to the sect?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “We’ll go back after I deliver the item. Follow me.”

Spiritual power was useful, but it was often only effective when refined by oneself and used on oneself. So even though it could temporarily suppress her fever now, it wouldn’t last long. It would soon come roaring back.

Mu Qian Tan planned to deliver the letter and then return, tossing her into the medical hall to avoid the hassle.

Shang Shan reached out groggily. “Pull me along.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “No.”

“No, you have to pull me!”

That figure grew farther away. Shang Shan realized she really wasn’t going to pull her and had to follow on her own. Pouting, she said, “She actually won’t pull me.”

Mu Qian Tan was baffled. “I never pulled you before either. What are you aggrieved about? Are you sick?”

Shang Shan said, “You wouldn’t even lend me the immortal crane.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “That’s my demon pet. Whether I lend it is up to me.”

Shang Shan said, “You even knocked me out.”

Mu Qian Tan raised an eyebrow lightly. “Didn’t you pass out on your own?”

Shang Shan fumed. “I’m not stupid! How could I pass out on my own? My neck hurts! I just didn’t call you out on it!”

Mu Qian Tan glanced sideways at her and saw her dazed eyes, knowing she wasn’t clear-headed. She didn’t say anything more, only remarking, “I thought you couldn’t lie at all.”

Shang Shan said, “I learned from you.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “You don’t learn the good stuff.”

Shang Shan said, “There is no good stuff.”

“…” Mu Qian Tan slowed her steps. “You want to get beaten again, huh.”

Emboldened by her brain turned to mush, Shang Shan grew a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall, headbutting her waist. “Come on, come on! Let’s fight! Immortals speak with force! You’re definitely no match for me!”

Mu Qian Tan wasn’t on guard and stumbled forward two steps before steadying herself.

There happened to be a tree ahead. She braced against the trunk, caught the girl’s head with her palm, gently pushed her back, then turned and looked down. “What madness is this.”

Shang Shan rubbed her face, trying to knead out whatever was making her head dizzy and confused. In the end, she just messed up her hair. She let go, her face full of red marks, lips pouted as if harboring some great grievance.

“Master.” She mumbled.

Mu Qian Tan said, “What.”

Shang Shan took a step toward her. “Master.”

Mu Qian Tan leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed. “Speak.”

Shang Shan said, “What did I do wrong? I just wanted to help him.”

Her brain hadn’t caught up; she thought they were still on that day. Mu Qian Tan sneered. “Even if you wholeheartedly help others, they might not appreciate it.”

“I don’t need appreciation. I just do what I want to do. Why did you scold me like that?” Shang Shan wasn’t good at hiding her thoughts, good or bad. She had to say whatever was on her mind, and now she poured it all out endlessly.

She accused sentence by sentence. “I know I can’t save many people. You’ve called me overreaching and such—not just you, others have too. I know I’m a bit naive, but is that a flaw? You all say there are many bad people in the world and tell me to be more cautious, but why doesn’t anyone tell the bad people to reform instead of mocking me for being naive?”

“Besides, the villagers said his child was sick. Villagers wouldn’t lie, right? Why would they speak up for a bandit? Think about it… And he was right in front of me. The medicine to save his family was in my hand. Of course I had to save her. If I’d had that kind of leaf before, I could have…”

Her words were jumbled, a chaotic mess without logic. But at this point, she suddenly trembled, as if choking up.

Mu Qian Tan thought she’d misheard. She vaguely remembered the original book describing the Female Protagonist as someone who never shed tears, so she looked down.

The girl wore the white robe Tan Que had sent, making her skin look even fairer and more ethereal. Even the four strings of corn hanging around her neck couldn’t dull its luster, and her eyes held no tears—clear to the bottom.

Her body too hot, Shang Shan instinctively tugged open her collar, leaning toward the coolness. She wanted to hug the person in front of her. “Anyway, I still don’t think I did anything wrong. If he had two daughters, I would’ve given him both leaves.”

She was practically a ball of fire now, enough to ignite anyone she touched. Mu Qian Tan irritably rolled her eyes and poked her forehead to push her back a bit. “…Then get lost. I don’t have a disciple like you.”

Shang Shan couldn’t get close, so she stood still and grabbed the woman’s sleeve, pressing it to her cheek to cool down. “I won’t.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Or go find Jiang Zhouyao as your master. She’s very gentle and would definitely take you.”

Shang Shan said, “Don’t say that!”

Mu Qian Tan said, “What can you do to me if I say it?”

Shang Shan rubbed her eyes and said softly, “You’re the one who wanted to take me as your disciple. You have to take responsibility for me. Don’t say that kind of thing all the time.”