Chapter 33: Female Immortal in the Mist (Part 3): The Longer You Delay, the More It Will Hurt Part 1

She went around to the back of the house, where clusters of reeds enclosed a cold spring about three zhang square. Fist-sized pebbles lined the pool’s edge. The spring water was crystal clear down to the bottom, with cold vapors drifting up and condensing into a thin layer of white mist on the surface, quietly swirling.

A stone stele stood by the pool, inscribed with four characters: Gazing at the Moon in the Water.

She had heard that the Tianyu Sect also had a cold spring that could soothe bodily fatigue and heal injuries, with many wonderful uses, but it was quite a distance away and belonged to someone else. The original host’s personal relationships had never been handled well, and she herself disliked interacting with people, so despite suffering many injuries, she had never tried it.

Now there was one right in front of her, and no one else around. It would be a real shame not to experience it.

Mu Qian Tan approached the cold spring, removed her weapon, and took off her outer clothes, intending to get in and try it.

As her clothes piled up in the crook of her arm, she remembered the one following behind her. She turned her head to look. Shang Shan sat in the grass, head tilted as she watched, her messy long curly hair framing a small face flushed bright red, her gaze clearly dazed.

She had been fine just during dinner earlier, but now her condition had worsened again. This fever was coming on fiercely.

“….” With her arm still hooked around her outer clothes, Mu Qian Tan walked over to the girl, bent down, grabbed the back of her collar, and dragged her to the edge of the cold spring.

She half-squatted, pinched the girl’s ear, and said, “You wait here. Once I’m done soaking, then you get in. Understand?”

Shang Shan blinked, unable to comprehend.

The hem of her clothes had already dipped into the cold spring. The chilling pool water soaked into the fabric and touched her knee. Stimulated by the cold, she lowered her head and watched the ripples grow larger before her eyes, as if entranced, then plunged headfirst into the water. Her body flipped over and sank instantly to the bottom.

Large splashes rippled out, a few drops of spring water splashing onto Mu Qian Tan’s cheek. She narrowed her eyes and stood there expressionlessly for a moment, then flicked the water droplets from her face with her fingertip.

The water surface gradually calmed. After a while, it began bubbling again.

Shang Shan flailed her limbs, found her direction, and burst out of the water with a splash, dripping as she climbed back to the shore—but she didn’t come up. Instead, she stretched out her arms, sprawled flat at the pool’s edge, and buried her face in the water, soaking like that.

Mu Qian Tan nudged her cheek up with her toe, leaned in slightly to look, and saw that her jade-white skin was completely overtaken by bright red. If the fever wasn’t brought down, something bad might really happen, so she gave up the idea of pulling her out.

It wouldn’t be impossible to soak after she was done; spring water was purifying by nature anyway. The dirty dragon had already washed clean, so letting her soak first wouldn’t hurt anything. Mu Qian Tan, ever magnanimous, was willing to yield a step. She had just turned to head back to the house when she heard another splash.

Looking back, she saw that Shang Shan hadn’t gripped the pebble edge properly and had slid back in.

Bubbles rose again from the water. This time, she didn’t come up promptly. Could she really drown herself in a cold spring soak?

“…” Mu Qian Tan looked up at the sky, truly unable to understand why she had to deal with this fate, babysitting a brain-damaged protagonist like this.

After sighing at the heavens, she took off her outer clothes, folded them neatly by the pool, and walked slowly into the water wearing only her inner garment.

The chill should have frozen to the bone, but the moment it touched her skin, the cold softened considerably, even turning into countless fine strands of spiritual power that slid along her skin’s texture, nourishing her weary body.

It really was a good thing.

Two steps led down from the pool’s edge. Mu Qian Tan sat on the upper one, the water reaching her stomach. She leaned back against the edge and reached into the water to haul the person up. “Sit properly.”

The back of her hand inadvertently brushed the girl’s chest. Even in the cold spring, it was still scorching hot like a furnace. Mu Qian Tan endured the heat, helped her sit steady, then withdrew her hand and soaked it in the spring water to cool down.

The two dunks had somewhat restored Shang Shan’s senses. She sat on the step, her curly hair dripping water nonstop, her gaze dazed as she slowly turned her eyes, as if unable to confirm where she was.

“Hm?” Growing a bit panicked, she tried to recognize her surroundings. Her gaze shifted to the far left and landed on the cold-faced woman sitting nearby, which put her at ease. Her head tilted, and she fell asleep again.

The reeds swayed, carrying the faint, cool fragrance of flowers on the wind. Mu Qian Tan closed her eyes, relaxing her body as starlight and soft moonlight spilled onto the spring water, the reflections shimmering.

She was born with a tough temperament, yet her long hair had the exact opposite soft texture, curling at the slightest resistance. Now it cascaded down, the ends spreading out on the water’s surface, stirred by the wind, caressing the moonlight in the pool.

With her mind at idle while soaking, with nothing to do, Mu Qian Tan couldn’t help but recall the strange female immortal she had encountered upon entering the valley.

She should have unfathomably deep cultivation and spiritual power, yet it wasn’t visible on the surface at all. She might have a life experience similar to Panxiang Yin’s, but her behavior didn’t resemble that of a mentally sound adult at all—more like a child with no malicious intent.

As she pondered, Mu Qian Tan leaned back a bit more to change position and accidentally bumped the weapon placed by the shore, making a faint clinking sound.

She turned sideways to move the Solitary Goose farther away. Her gaze fell on that rusted sword, and she suddenly realized something. She had already confirmed earlier that the original host had been here too, so maybe she knew?

She gripped the rusted sword, turned back to lean against the stone wall, and asked, “Are you awake?”

Many days had passed since leaving Sweet Spring Mountain. Yao’e had probably gathered a bit of spiritual power, but not much—the rust had only faded slightly, and the inner glow was faint.

“Awake.”

Mu Qian Tan asked, “Have you been here before?”

Yao’e said, “Yes.”

As expected. Mu Qian Tan asked again, “Do you know who she is?”

Yao’e said, “No.”

Mu Qian Tan rubbed the sword blade with her fingertip and mused, “The first time I came, she seemed to be out. But isn’t she a hermit? Do you know where she might have gone?”

Yao’e said, “No.”

She had figured as much. After a moment of silence, Mu Qian Tan wanted to ask more, but the rust crept back over the sword, the light faded, and it fell back into deep slumber.

After resting so many days, it could only manage three sentences before failing again. It really was an extremely unstable remnant soul, liable to dissipate completely at any moment.

She put the rusted sword back and decided to set the matter aside for now—it wasn’t that important anyway. If there was a next time to deliver something, she’d just deliver it and be done. This female immortal didn’t seem inclined to probe her true identity, so it didn’t matter.

The cold spring did indeed have the effect of relaxing the body. After soaking for about the time it took to burn one incense stick, her accumulated fatigue vanished, but several injuries began to itch faintly.

Her ankle was almost healed and felt nothing. The more troublesome pain still came from the bite mark on her collarbone.

Straining to look down, she could only see the red marks spreading across her chest, not the exact state of the wound. But she didn’t need to see it to know—a bite mark wasn’t going to look pretty anywhere, and since the brain-damaged dragon had truly gone mad when inflicting it, it hurt far worse than the hand wound from before.

If there were any other way to heal it, Mu Qian Tan would have done so long ago—she was someone who hated enduring even the slightest hardship. But the problem was that it really could only be healed by having Shang Shan lick it. How was she supposed to accept that?

She let out a soft breath, her temper flaring from the pain on her collarbone. Unable to hold back, she kicked out. “You little demon.”

Shang Shan, who had been leaning against the stone step deep in slumber, slid back into the water again, spitting out a few bubbles before suddenly waking. She popped her head out of the water. “Hm?”

“What’s wrong?” Shang Shan wiped the water from her face and looked at the woman. “Did you call me?”

Her long lashes cast shadows. The woman’s lips remained pale pink, making her face seem even cooler than jade. Shang Shan swallowed, her foggy, muddled brain clearing as her gaze shifted downward, noticing the blood seeping from that straight collarbone.

Shang Shan exclaimed in shock, “Ah, you’re bleeding again.”

She swam over. Just as she got close, her knee was kicked, nearly making her lose balance and topple into the water again.

“Let me help you.” Steadying herself, Shang Shan stood in place, her big dark eyes pure and clear. “The longer you delay, the more it will hurt.”

Mu Qian Tan gritted her teeth. “Why don’t I have a talent like yours? Disgusting me once wasn’t enough—you have to do it a second time.”

Shang Shan said, “Don’t say that. I didn’t mean to. I already know I was wrong.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “You’d better know it. There absolutely won’t be a next time, or else you can forget about that mouth of yours. I’ll sew it shut with thread, and you can live like that for the rest of your life.”

Imagining that terrifying scene, Shang Shan shivered and covered her mouth with both hands. “I won’t dare.”

She had finished scolding, but her heartbeat grew stronger, anger and disgust intertwining to churn in her chest, nearly making Mu Qian Tan dizzy.

She took a breath to calm herself. This wound definitely couldn’t be avoided, and it had to be dealt with now, so she could only brainwash herself.

It was nothing—just being licked by a junior ten years younger than her…. She couldn’t think of it that way; it would be even harder to accept.

Change her thinking. It was all for healing the injury; it was just that the medicine was a bit unusual. She’d heard of bats being used in medicine—saliva had to be more acceptable than that strange stuff…. Right?

She kept finding new reasons, kept convincing herself, kept cursing the other person. Mu Qian Tan brainwashed herself until she fully accepted it, but her heart still couldn’t quite get over it. Finally losing patience, she said, “Bite yourself first.”

Shang Shan made an “oh” sound and bit her own arm.

“Draw blood.”

“Okay.” Shang Shan mumbled in agreement, her teeth clamping down mercilessly. With a faint squelch, blood spurted out, instantly dyeing the pool water beneath her red.

Seeing the one who hurt her suffer the same injury brought some relief. Mu Qian Tan snorted coldly. “Come here. Hurry up.”

As if the injury weren’t her own, Shang Shan pinched the wound, licked it a few times lightly, then covered it with her palm before walking over.

Her hair dripped water pat-pat-pat down her neck. Her soaked robes clung heavily to her body. Shang Shan didn’t like the feeling much. She tied her hair up again, stripped off her clothes, spread them on the shore, and sorted them out.

Mu Qian Tan gripped a pebble on the shore. “What are you doing now?”

Shang Shan said, “It’s uncomfortable. Taking it off.” After setting her robes aside, she pushed through the water and came over.