Wei Mingyi considered herself a proper, upright person.
But as her gaze fell upon Wu Chongyun’s skin, as lustrous as white jade, her breathing couldn’t help but quicken.
With Wu Chongyun’s movement, the hem of her robes slipped to one side, revealing bare skin. Wei Mingyi felt as if struck by lightning, her ears filled with buzzing.
Her Shizun’s state was clearly not right.
She wasn’t even dressed properly!
Wei Mingyi cautiously grasped Wu Chongyun’s ankle, her fingertip hooking lightly at the anklet.
Another crisp, clear sound rang out.
“Shizun?” Wei Mingyi held her breath. She looked at Wu Chongyun, whose expression was full of weariness and languor, and asked again, “Where does it hurt?”
This time, Wu Chongyun finally graced her with a look. She stretched the foot that Wei Mingyi loosely held, mussing Wei Mingyi’s clothes with a kick. Lazily, she asked, “Can a dead person even feel pain?”
Wei Mingyi: “…?”
Although her Shizun was always in a sort of frozen, unresponsive state, heaven knew she had never once treated her as a dead person! Could she be a ghost cultivator, like those often seen in novels? Wei Mingyi touched Wu Chongyun; though slightly cool, she ultimately had body warmth, not the rigid cold of the dead. Wei Mingyi sighed in relief, and her gaze towards Wu Chongyun gained a touch more pity.
Perhaps the torment of her body was so overwhelming that she wished this flesh would simply die.
She didn’t know how to ease Wu Chongyun’s poison, so she could only rely on her own understanding, pressing and kneading her way inch by inch up Wu Chongyun’s leg muscles. As she massaged, however, she vaguely sensed something amiss. Come to think of it, if Shizun’s legs could move like this… then her being “crippled” was also fake, wasn’t it?
“Take it off,” Wu Chongyun ordered coldly, a trace of impatience in her tone.
Wei Mingyi looked up, eyes filled with confusion.
She hated it most when people spoke in riddles, leaving things unclear and incomplete. But the moment she saw Wu Chongyun’s devastatingly beautiful face, she cheerfully forgave her again.
Wu Chongyun said, “Take it off.” But what, specifically?
Wei Mingyi thought for a moment, her gaze landing on Wu Chongyun’s sash.
Could it mean undoing her clothes?
Wasn’t Shizun’s demand a bit too outrageous? Did a disciple really have to go this far? A look of difficulty crossed Wei Mingyi’s face, but seeing Wu Chongyun’s furrowed brows, she started guessing wildly again. Perhaps it was a method to ease the poison? After all, this was the cultivation world, where things transcending her common sense were normal.
Having mentally prepared herself, Wei Mingyi immediately leaned closer to Wu Chongyun. “Shizun, forgive my offense.” After whispering this apology, she reached for the sash at Wu Chongyun’s waist. But just as she loosened the first tie, her wrist was seized by a firm grip. Amidst the movement, the hung jade ornaments slid, producing a delicate clatter. Wei Mingyi looked up to meet Wu Chongyun’s gaze, filled with embarrassed annoyance and faint anger, and blinked innocently.
Was this not the right way to do it?
“What are you doing?” Wu Chongyun asked, biting her lip.
Wei Mingyi: “Didn’t Shizun say to take it off?” She gathered the loosened front of Wu Chongyun’s robes. Seeing no reaction, she unhurriedly retied the sash for her. She added, “If Shizun doesn’t speak clearly, your disciple can only interpret it herself.”
Wu Chongyun was silent for a moment, then said: “The anklet.”
Wei Mingyi didn’t ask why she couldn’t do it herself—perhaps the full-body pain made movement inconvenient. Lowering her gaze to the red cord, she asked, seemingly casually, “Did Shizun put this on herself?”
“It’s very beautiful.”
Unsurprisingly, Wei Mingyi received no reply.
Her Shizun was probably determined to play deaf and mute to the bitter end.
The anklet wasn’t complicated. Wei Mingyi undid it with ease. Spiritual energy coiled around it; it seemed to be a magical artifact. Her cultivation was too weak; looking at it for long made her dizzy, as if what lay before her wasn’t a mere chain.
The instant Wei Mingyi removed the anklet, Wu Chongyun quickly withdrew her leg, letting her loose robe fall to cover her skin. Without even a glance at Wei Mingyi, she simply said, “Leave.”
It had a distinct flavor of flipping the table and refusing to acknowledge her favor.
Wei Mingyi stared at Wu Chongyun for a few moments, then set the anklet aside.
“Your disciple takes her leave.” Her words seemed respectful, but her gaze was unchecked and brazen.
A few breaths later, she straightened the creases in her clothes and withdrew from the inner room with light, quick steps.
After that interruption, her previously swollen brain felt capable of absorbing new knowledge again.
The desire to grow stronger lingered in her heart, so Wei Mingyi decided not to return to her room. She sat down right there outside to continue studying Dao Script.
She wasn’t exactly a studious person, but with Wu Chongyun’s interpretation, the text was no longer an unreadable heavenly tome. Flipping through page after page, besides seeing no end to it, the only downside was the occasional illusion of being slapped across the face by the Dao Script itself.
The night deepened; the mountain moon was silent.
Wei Mingyi immersed herself in the Dao Script. Her five senses became acutely perceptive while comprehending the Dao Rhyme.
To the point she even detected a surge of restless spiritual energy.
Restlessness—
Wei Mingyi instantly jolted out of her studious state. Only she and Wu Chongyun were in this small courtyard.
Her own spiritual energy wasn’t rampaging, so where was that uneasy energy coming from? Wu Chongyun’s side? But wasn’t Wu Chongyun’s Nascent Soul shrouded in death Qi, her cultivation completely ruined?
Doubt rising, Wei Mingyi headed for the inner room without hesitation.
Wu Chongyun was still on the daybed, engulfed by turbulent spiritual energy. She was no longer leaning lazily as before, but curled into a tight ball. Her face was pale as paper, her eyes unfocused. Fresh blood trickled from the corner of her lips. Hearing Wei Mingyi’s footsteps, she raised her head and gave Wei Mingyi a strange smile.
“Shizun!” Wei Mingyi’s expression changed drastically. This was a situation beyond her ability to handle. She immediately took out a Dharma Talisman to summon others. Wu Chongyun’s expression made her deeply uneasy. Although she only had Meridian Opening cultivation, she still pushed through that chaotic energy towards Wu Chongyun. She expected to be slapped away by that more powerful force, but nothing happened. That power seemed controlled, deliberately bypassing her. All its sharp edge and ferocity fell solely upon Wu Chongyun.
Wei Mingyi’s eyelid twitched.
The word “self-harm” jumped into her mind.
Hua Xiaozhu came very quickly. Entering the room and seeing Wu Chongyun’s condition, she unhesitatingly raised her hand and flicked out needles, sealing the rampaging spiritual energy coursing through Wu Chongyun’s body.
“How is Shizun?” Wei Mingyi asked.
“Nothing serious,” Hua Xiaozhu replied while feeding Wu Chongyun a pill. Once the restless spiritual energy in the room was pacified, she turned to Wei Mingyi and uttered a puzzled “Huh,” saying, “Strange, why is the ‘Lock’ missing?”
“Lock?” Wei Mingyi suddenly had a bad premonition.
“Although poisoned, with her Nascent Soul filled with death Qi, the realm remains at Nascent Soul and she can still mobilize spiritual energy. However, doing so means enduring immense pain. Furthermore—” Hua Xiaozhu paused and didn’t continue. When Wu Chongyun circulated her spiritual energy, it was usually to self-harm. A portion of her injuries were self-inflicted. Meeting Wei Mingyi’s gaze, Hua Xiaozhu changed the subject. “For the Perfected One’s health, the Sect Leader and I sought out a magical artifact to lock down her spiritual energy.”
“What kind of artifact?” Wei Mingyi asked again. When she heard the word “Lock,” she immediately realized something was wrong. No incidents had occurred the past few days; how could the moment the anklet was removed, this happen? Could the “Lock” be the anklet? But wasn’t that too strange? What kind of quirk was this?!
“A Flying Shuttle,” Hua Xiaozhu said.
Wei Mingyi breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t what she had removed.
But when her gaze swept towards where she had placed the anklet earlier, the heart that had just settled rose back into her throat.
Where was any anklet? Only a Flying Shuttle, its tip tinged with crane-like red, lay there.
Her vision instantly went dark.
Unaware of Wei Mingyi’s distress, Hua Xiaozhu just frowned and said, “That artifact is missing. We must find something else to replace it. During this time, we’ll have to rely on medication to control it. Fortunately, we still have leftover pills from before.”
Feeling a tightness in her chest, Wei Mingyi pointed. “Assistant Master, look there.”
Hua Xiaozhu’s eyes lit up instantly. Finding a new artifact was not easy, and with Chongyuan Sect currently in dire straits, the recovered Flying Shuttle lifted her spirits. She summoned the Flying Shuttle into her palm, formed a hand seal, and drove it back into Wu Chongyun’s body, locking her spiritual energy once more.
The two had spoken without avoiding Wu Chongyun’s presence.
Lying on her back on the daybed, Wu Chongyun’s eyes were unfocused. Only after Hua Xiaozhu finished and stepped back did she slightly turn her head, casting a strange smile towards Wei Mingyi.
Wei Mingyi: “…” She had been fooled so easily and completely, unable to see through even a simple illusion.
Hua Xiaozhu advised Wei Mingyi, “Weigh the Perfected One’s requests carefully yourself. Even refusing is fine—after all, she won’t repeat herself.”
Wei Mingyi rubbed her forehead. This night had still dealt her a moderate blow. She agreed repeatedly. After seeing Hua Xiaozhu out, she returned to the inner room.
A simple cleansing incantation could remove the mottled bloodstains, but that shocking scene lingered in Wei Mingyi’s mind. She still felt as if the room was saturated with a thick, clinging scent of blood that wouldn’t disperse.
“Shizun?” Wei Mingyi called tentatively.
Wu Chongyun turned her body, facing away.
Wei Mingyi: “…”
Fine. Still ignoring her.
After a moment’s thought, Wei Mingyi simply bent down and scooped Wu Chongyun horizontally from the daybed into her arms.
Wu Chongyun looked at Wei Mingyi, her eyes deep and profound, like a bottomless dark pool. Yet, in an instant, only a world-weary languor remained. She didn’t speak, just shrinking slightly into Wei Mingyi’s embrace, and said softly, “Keeping me around brings you no benefits.”
Wei Mingyi blinked.
She had her golden finger bringing her benefits anyway.
As for Wu Chongyun as her Shizun, she hadn’t planned on gaining anything anyway… Besides, hadn’t Wu Chongyun taught her Dao Script?
Placing Wu Chongyun back into the wheelchair, Wei Mingyi studied her by the pale moonlight filtering through the window.
After a long while, she spoke a blunt truth: “Just being able to look upon Shizun’s face is enough for me.”
Wu Chongyun was silent for a very long time. She didn’t speak again, merely pulling together her loosely draped clothes.
