Help, I’m Being Forced to Marry a Frail and Sickly Immortal Doctor! 68

Chapter 68: Plucking a Plum Blossom for Whom

“How is dual cultivation not a proper cultivation…”

After Ning Ruoque had put away the book, she thought of going down the mountain directly from the study to avoid running into Qin Jiangli.

She walked through the piles of ancient books, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over these medical books.

The light of the night-luminescent pearl was not dazzling, just right to illuminate a small bookshelf.

When she caught a glimpse of some special words, Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment.

She lowered her body and, with the light of the night-luminescent pearl, struggled to identify these blurry words.

“Summoning the Soul,” “Controlling Fate”…

The covers of all the books were pasted with bright red restrictions, indicating the danger of these techniques.

Some of the pages were even stained with reddish-brown stains, looking extremely ominous and making one frown.

Although Ning Ruoque was not a medical cultivator, she could still see the purpose of these books from the mottled titles.

She quickly averted her gaze, but her chest was still tight.

The sweet fragrance of incense was mixed with the musty smell of ancient books. The already small room seemed particularly cramped at this moment.

As if she had eaten too many hallucinogenic mushrooms, Ning Ruoque could almost see Yin Buran sitting in this study, flipping through the yellowed pages, her eyes lowered in silent contemplation.

The moonlight shone on her full head of white hair, hazy and dreamlike, like shining on a fragile piece of porcelain.

Since she has achieved immortality, why has her hair turned white?

Ning Ruoque suddenly clenched the hilt of her sword and vaulted out of the window with a heavy heart.

The next day, Ning Ruoque deliberately chose the time of the morning class to go to Suwen Peak—

During this time, Qin Jiangli had to check on her junior sisters’ homework and could not get away.

She brought a large box of gorgon fruit cakes. When she arrived, Yin Buran was still communicating with Qingtong.

From what Qingtong said, the Immortal Alliance had recently investigated many sects and had found several spies planted by the demon race.

Several sects were blaming each other and shirking responsibility, and it was estimated that it would not be cleared up in a short time.

Chu Xuan and Si Mingyue, on the other hand, were doing who knows what, and there was no news at all.

Ning Ruoque still had a matter to ask Chu Xuan for help with and was thinking of making an appointment with her to talk in detail.

Yin Buran cut off the transmission, patted the spot beside her, and ordered unceremoniously, “Come and help me turn the pages.”

On the desk in front of her was a book, a zither, and a pot of fragrant tea.

Just as Ning Ruoque had sat down cross-legged, Yin Buran lazily leaned against her.

The latter quickly adjusted her posture, planning to hold her, but she didn’t expect Yin Buran to become even more demanding.

She got up slightly and moved to a new position, directly sitting on Ning Ruoque’s lap, trying to use the sword cultivator as her own cushion.

Her arms were suddenly full, so much so that with a slight lowering of her head, her chin could touch the top of Yin Buran’s head.

Ning Ruoque didn’t know where to put her hands.

She could only maintain this awkward posture and let Yin Buran do as she pleased.

She first opened the food box and picked up a piece of gorgon fruit cake. “There’s too much. I can’t finish it.”

“You can put it away and eat it slowly.”

Most storage artifacts had a preservation function, and Ning Ruoque’s storage bag was filled with a large amount of food.

Yin Buran squinted and took a bite of the gorgon fruit cake. “There’s twice the amount as yesterday. Did you do something to wrong me?”

Ning Ruoque: “…”

Yin Buran looked up at her, her eyes full of innocence.

It was not her fault for having such a thought. Ning Ruoque had a habit of protecting her food, so it was very suspicious for her to suddenly be so generous.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and Ning Ruoque was the first to give in.

She explained in a low voice, “It was just a whim. I made a little more.”

Intentionally changing the subject, she naturally noticed the zither.

A high-quality paulownia wood zither. It was unknown what material the strings were made of, but they were completely snow-white, and three small characters were carved on the surface of the zither.

In the past few fights, Ning Ruoque had also seen this zither, but it was the first time she knew its name.

“Bright Moon Body.”

She was so focused on looking at it that she accidentally said it out loud.

The strings of the zither trembled, emitting a clear and melodious sound, as if in response to Ning Ruoque’s call.

Seeing this, Yin Buran lazily introduced, “This is the zither that Master gave me. With it, I’ll be a little more relaxed.”

Apart from the basic protection and attack, the most important ability of the Bright Moon Body was “enhancement.”

By using it to cast spells, Yin Buran could save some spiritual energy.

Because of this special function, the cost of the Bright Moon Body was quite expensive. Even for Suwen Peak, it was not a sum that could be casually taken out.

Seeing that Ning Ruoque had not spoken for a long time and was just in a daze, Yin Buran knocked on the table in dissatisfaction.

“I want to read. You help me turn the pages.”

She said that she didn’t want to move at all, leaned back, and comfortably nestled in Ning Ruoque’s arms.

One hand held the gorgon fruit cake, and the other held Ning Ruoque’s sleeve.

Ning Ruoque instantly came back to her senses and picked up the open book on the table.

This time, it was not a storybook, but a medical book about the spiritual soul and the sea of consciousness.

She observed Yin Buran’s line of sight, and when she estimated that she had finished the last paragraph, she would turn the page in time.

In the end, she simply read along with Yin Buran, and their reading speeds were not much different.

If she read too fast, Yin Buran would directly press on her hand to turn the page. If she read too slowly, Yin Buran would even ask her where she didn’t understand.

Just like that, Ning Ruoque actually got used to this clingy posture, and her hand unconsciously wrapped around Yin Buran’s waist.

She focused on reading, and when Yin Buran brought the gorgon fruit cake to her mouth, she subconsciously took a bite.

By the time she suddenly woke up and found that Yin Buran was holding the gorgon fruit cake and continuing to eat it, it was already too late to stop her.

Now Ning Ruoque was no longer turning the pages, and she was no longer holding her.

She grabbed Yin Buran’s wrist and said in a flustered and wronged voice, “Yin Buran, I’ve already eaten this piece.”

She had never shared a piece of pastry with someone like this before.

After all, what she had bitten was hers. How could she give it away again?

Yin Buran frowned. “What are you protecting your food for? Can’t I eat what you’ve bitten?”

After speaking, she slapped Ning Ruoque’s hand away and took another bite in front of her.

Ning Ruoque pressed her lips together, but did not feel annoyed or disgusted.

It was just that when she thought of the interaction between the two of them just now, her heart felt tingling and numb, both itchy and nervous.

She stared at Yin Buran’s white hair, and the half-piece of gorgon fruit cake in her hand, and silently tightened her arms.

She finally held the person a little tighter.

In this posture, Ning Ruoque could completely circle the person in her arms, which was just right to soothe her inexplicable emotions.

Yin Buran slowly finished the gorgon fruit cake and asked Ning Ruoque, “Where’s the book I asked you to read yesterday?”

Ning Ruoque: “…”

Ning Ruoque silently loosened her embrace.

She had carefully flipped through it last night. Apart from the first few chapters that seriously introduced the importance of the spiritual soul, the rest were all about teaching people how to nourish their own spiritual soul through dual cultivation.

Of course, the teaching method was also very serious, just like the cultivation techniques she had seen before, without a trace of emotion.

Ning Ruoque took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sugar stains from the corners of Yin Buran’s lips.

She said tentatively, “I think I got the wrong book.”

“Is it the top shelf of the bookshelf?”

Ning Ruoque nodded. “Mm.”

Who would have thought that Yin Buran would say decisively, “Then it’s not wrong.”

The whole row on that shelf was full of books about dual cultivation. It was not wrong for Ning Ruoque to take any of them.

As expected, the sword cultivator under her stiffened, and even her breathing paused for a moment.

After a long while, she explained dryly, “But the book only talks about dual cultivation. It didn’t teach me any other methods.”

Yin Buran patted Ning Ruoque’s thigh and pointed at her with perfect justification.

“Artifacts and spiritual medicines that can nourish the spiritual soul are already rare. Dual cultivation is the fastest and simplest method.”

“Cultivating alone is cultivation. How is it not a proper cultivation when two people do it together?”

Ning Ruoque was so shocked by Yin Buran’s words that she couldn’t speak.

At first glance, it made a lot of sense, but in reality, what was the relationship between her and Yin Buran?

The book had just said that the spiritual soul was extremely special.

It was so powerful that it could destroy the sea of consciousness of a low-level cultivator, and it was also so fragile that perhaps an illusionary realm could make it collapse.

In the cultivation world, there were many Dao companions who did not dare to dual cultivate with their spiritual souls, let alone her and Yin Buran, who were not Dao companions.

Yin Buran had already sacrificed too much for her.

Hearing no movement from Ning Ruoque for a long time, Yin Buran directly turned over and straddled her lap.

“I don’t mind. What are you worried about?”

Her brows were tightly furrowed, and she impatiently rubbed Ning Ruoque’s face and pinched her waist, like a baring and bristling cat.

She even smoothed down her own white hair to cover the faint red on the tips of her ears.

Ning Ruoque scrambled to block the other’s claw attack. “Yin Buran, I… you, it’s not—”

She was in a hurry to soothe Yin Buran’s fur, and by the time she heard the footsteps from a distance, it was already too late.

The door was knocked three times politely. The person outside the door even patiently waited for half a minute before pushing the door open.

As soon as Qin Jiangli looked up, she saw Yin Buran sitting crookedly by the table, her face cold.

And Ning Ruoque was standing beside her, not knowing whether to run or stay. Her dazed gaze was on the floor, but her posture was still upright and straight.

Qin Jiangli couldn’t help but sigh, “The Sword Venerable is even harder to catch than the spirit cats my junior sisters raise.”

She had never seen such an evasive sword cultivator. The small snakes she raised couldn’t even track her scent.

It made her suspect several times if Ning Ruoque’s cultivation had already recovered.

Now that she thought about it, it should be that she had cultivated a special technique.

Ning Ruoque let out a sheepish laugh, planning to obediently accept her punishment.

It didn’t matter if she was kicked out of Azurefall Creek. She would just sneak back in.

But Qin Jiangli said faintly, “The Medicine King has requested your presence. Come with me.”

Yin Buran asked coldly, “What does Master want with her? I’m going too.”

Qin Jiangli shook her head. “I don’t know. Senior only asked for Ning Ruoque.”

The meaning was that Yin Buran was not allowed to follow.

The latter sat back down, took a large gulp of tea, and slammed the teacup on the table.

Now she wasn’t pretending at all and was openly angry.

Qin Jiangli knew that she couldn’t persuade her, so she planned to leave.

But Ning Ruoque hesitated for a while, then awkwardly and stiffly hugged Yin Buran and stroked her head.

Then she forced herself to calm down and followed Qin Jiangli’s steps.

*

Qin Jiangli did not take her to Hidden Jade Valley, but instead turned to Sleeping Jade Peak halfway.

Unlike the lush flowers and leaves of Suwen Peak, Sleeping Jade Peak was planted with pine and cypress. When the wind blew, the sound of the pines was like waves, making it seem a little deserted.

The closer they got to the peak, the clearer the zither music, which was like the clear autumn water, became. Upon closer listening, there was actually a hint of the killing intent of war.

The zither music only stopped when Ning Ruoque stepped into the courtyard.

Qin Jiangli stopped in front of a moon gate and motioned for Ning Ruoque to continue forward.

Ning Ruoque walked through a long stone path and finally saw that golden-red figure in front of a lotus pond.

She did not look closely and first bowed. “Senior Medicine King.”

Then she still did not look up and only heard the woman on the platform say leisurely, “Do you know why I have called you here?”

Ning Ruoque tried to guess the Medicine King’s thoughts.

She was not very sure. “Does Senior want to warn me to stay away from Yin Buran?”

After a moment of silence, the Medicine King asked with a profound meaning, “Then will you leave her?”