Chapter 24: Core Formation (IV) Part 2

This slender, graceful girl, now crying with tear-dimmed eyes and reddened lids, melted Yun Jinxue’s heart entirely.

Stretching out a mischievous hand, she kneaded the girl’s small face, laughing. “You don’t need to write everything down. But why do you only record kindness, never grudges?”

Yan Guixing placed both hands on her knees, obediently letting her pinch, her tears wetting her long lashes before dripping onto the back of Yun Jinxue’s hand.

“I think, unless it’s a great hatred that must be avenged, there’s no need to dwell on it. A peaceful life is most important.”

“Besides, I believe that one person’s malice toward another might be unintentional, but kindness always comes from sincerity.”

Yun Jinxue looked into those earnest, clear eyes and wanted to scold her for being a fool. Neither thought was correct.

If you want to live peacefully, you must show your edge; otherwise, those with no sense will label you as easy to bully and come to stir up trouble.

Comparatively, malice often comes from genuine intent, and if you ignore small evils, you play right into their hands.

As for the kindness you receive, remembering it is good, but believing it all comes from sincerity is a grave mistake.

Just like herself—she was willing to take her out of the Yan Family and teach her wholeheartedly only because she was the female lead and she wanted to complete the mission and go home.

Her “kindness” toward the little female lead and her “malice” toward the little villain were both actions forced by the System, not her true feelings.

She had many things to say, but after much thought, Yun Jinxue still remained silent.

Even if she played the role of Elder Yan He, in the little female lead’s long life to come, she would only occupy a tiny part.

What Yan Guixing should learn and what kind of person she would become, she would gradually realize in the elaborate plot the original author had crafted for her.

“Alright.” Yun Jinxue straightened her collar. “I won’t interfere. You can act according to your own ideas. It’s late now; go back and rest.”

Yan Guixing waited until she had finished tidying her, then withdrew her own hands and began to get off the bed.

Before leaving, she helped extinguish the lamp, closed the door with deliberate softness, and uttered a barely audible, “Goodnight, Senior Sister.”

“Goodnight.”

As soon as she was gone, Yun Jinxue pressed on her shoulder and rubbed it.

Before helping the female lead form her core, her shoulder had only occasionally stung. But perhaps because she had expended too much spiritual power, by now the pain was intensifying.

Yun Jinxue furrowed her brows, lay down, and breathed deeply.

Dealing with that fish demon hadn’t been too strenuous, so an injury was impossible. Then why did it suddenly hurt here?

She lay on her side, clutching the sheets to her lips, letting out a soft groan and biting down.

She kept reassuring herself that she would feel much better tomorrow, praying for sleep to come quickly.

Fortunately, having accumulated fatigue from the journey and consumed a lot of spiritual power, she was truly tired, and after not struggling too long, she hugged her blanket and fell asleep.

She had originally thought that a night’s rest would make things much better.

But when she woke the next day, the pain hadn’t lessened.

Leaning against the headboard, Yun Jinxue lifted her collar and looked down with the sliver of light seeping through the window crack.

Her rounded shoulder was clean like mutton-fat jade, without any marks, smooth and flawless.

But the pain was real.

Her head against the bed board, she closed her eyes and endured.

A few days passed like this. Her body should have fully recovered, but instead of getting better as she’d hoped, the situation grew worse.

The little female lead was truly sharp. Afraid she’d notice her discomfort and worry, Yun Jinxue barely left her room these past two days except to eat.

She tried treating herself with medicine, to no effect. Enduring on the bed for several days, clutching the sheets, finally she couldn’t take it anymore and decided to go to the Yang Medical Office within the sect.

In modern terms, the Divine Zenith Sect’s medical office was outsourced to Central Prefecture’s most famous medical family, the Yang Family.

If the number one immortal sect had a weakness, it was likely its lack of medicine cultivation resources. So a separate area within the sect was designated for the Yang Family to treat disciples, teachers, and some servant workers.

Pushing open the door curtain, Yun Jinxue walked into the medical office. A wave of noisy chatter hit her, almost pushing her back two steps.

Steeling herself, her body taut from the pain, she tried to relax as much as possible and walked inside.

The ceiling was extremely high, with long red-and-white cloth strips hanging down, partitioning different areas.

The place was more spacious than she’d imagined, but also crowded with people.

White-robed assistants carrying trays hurried about, all wearing white caps embroidered with the character “Yang.” Patients queued, lay down, or sat wailing. At first glance, it was a chaotic swarm, yet somehow there seemed to be order within the chaos, moving slowly.

Yun Jinxue hadn’t expected so many people. She stood in a daze for a moment before thinking to move forward.

As the sect’s heir, cutting in line would have been easy. Just open her mouth and she could get the best medical care available.

But after hesitating, Yun Jinxue still found a quiet corner to sit and wait.

At the other end of the bench was someone—a youth wearing inner sect disciple attire. His hat was off to fan himself, his trouser legs rolled up, revealing a bloodied calf.

The wound looked quite frightening, but on closer inspection, the bleeding had already stopped.

Yun Jinxue looked at the back of his head, finding it somewhat familiar.

Just then, the youth turned his head and saw her. His eyes lit up. “Senior Sister!”

Yun Jinxue carefully studied his face. After recognizing him, she couldn’t help but laugh wryly. “Wang Kaiji?”

Meeting him so many times, this was far too coincidental.

Wang Kaiji nodded. “It’s me. Senior Sister, why are you here? Where do you feel unwell?”

Kids slowly growing up really made a difference. This same youth who had been somewhat shy in front of her not long ago was now speaking to her without hesitation.

Yun Jinxue said, “My shoulder feels a little uncomfortable.”

Wang Kaiji asked, “Oh? Is it an injury?”

Yun Jinxue shook her head. “No.”

Wang Kaiji said, “Then what kind of pain? Pressure pain, stabbing pain, twisting pain, dull pain, distending pain, or something else?”

Yun Jinxue looked him up and down, somewhat surprised. “So professional. Are you a medicine cultivator?”

The speed of Wang Kaiji’s hat fanning suddenly increased, his hair dancing wildly. “Ah, no, I’m a sword cultivator. I just picked up a bit when I followed my family to see doctors as a child.”

Yun Jinxue said, “Your family is medical, so why did you choose the path of sword cultivation?”

Wang Kaiji said, “My father asked the same thing. I was a bit stubborn, but after thinking about it for a long time, I feel I’m better suited for this.”

The pain made her frown unconsciously. Afraid the youth would misunderstand, Yun Jinxue tried to relax her expression, and also to distract herself, she smiled lightly. “Can you tell Senior Sister about your thoughts?”

The youth was stunned for a moment, then seemed to grow excited. “I think, medicine can heal injuries, but it can’t prevent injuries from happening. And even the cheapest medical fees are a huge burden for many families.”

“Becoming a medicine cultivator can save many people, but it’s not enough. If I am a sword cultivator, no matter whether the one causing harm is a demon, a ghost, or a person, as long as my power is strong enough, I can prevent more people from being hurt. Then they wouldn’t need to see a doctor.”

“The money saved could subsidize their families, making their lives less hard.”

People came and went in front of them, some crying out loudly, but none of it affected him.

His eyes were bright and spirited, his posture upright. When speaking about his future plans and ideals, he seemed to temporarily shed his youthful bashfulness, sprouting tender new shoots.

Yun Jinxue looked at him, her heart warming slightly.

So in the corners not touched by the original book’s ink, there were also rich and full characters.

Even if they weren’t protagonists, so what?

So-called cannon fodder, so-called nameless, could not erase their existence. Without being the stars surrounded by the masses, without being expected, they could still move forward toward their own goals.

His words came out with force, but after finishing, he felt embarrassed. Too shy to look at anyone, his backside seemed ready to spark a fire on the seat.

“Ah, this… saying so much, it’s just my overreaching thoughts…”

“Keep at it.”

The youth was stunned. “Huh?”

Yun Jinxue smiled. “Keep at it. I believe you can do it.”

Perhaps he had been scolded and suppressed too much and had never received encouragement.

Hearing this, the youth’s eyes instantly reddened, but he laughed loudly to cover it up.

“Ahaha, this, haha, I’m just, I’m just, I…”

His voice gradually quieted. After a long moment, he said softly, “Thank you, Senior Sister. I will work hard.”

Yun Jinxue said, “Mm.”

Wang Kaiji lowered his head to compose himself for a moment, then remembered something and added, “By the way, Senior Sister, what kind of pain is it? There are many people here and it’ll be a long wait; I can take a look for you first.”

Yun Jinxue looked at his leg, hesitating. “Shouldn’t you look after yourself first?”

Wang Kaiji shook out his trousers. “This injury is just from the sword slipping and cutting me during practice. I can handle this small wound myself, but that girl Sui Xin made a huge fuss and dragged me here.”

Thinking of that carefree girl who wore a butterfly hair ribbon, Yun Jinxue smiled. “I see.”

Wang Kaiji said, “So Senior Sister doesn’t need to worry about me. What about your injury?”

Yun Jinxue subconsciously rubbed her shoulder. “I’m not injured. It’s a stabbing pain that started out of nowhere.”