She had deliberately changed her voice. Was she afraid I would recognize her?
But what good would that do?
sooner or later, the two of them were bound to come face-to-face, weren’t they?
The maid glanced uncertainly in the direction Shao Yutong had disappeared, then turned back and reported, “Miss, there wasn’t a stray cat outside. It was Miss Shao passing by.”
“Oh, so it was her.” Cheng Yao replied lazily from the bathtub, her tone flat. “Then I must have heard wrong. Please close the door, Sister. I’m getting a little cold.”
The door closed once more.
Leaning against the side of the tub, Cheng Yao’s lips curled into a faint smile.
Shao Yutong, you’re already losing your composure?
The game has only just begun.
…
The following morning, just as the sky began to brighten, a maid arrived to help Cheng Yao wash and dress. She also conveyed an invitation from Valley Master Gu Wangchuan, asking Cheng Yao to tour Heartless Valley with him.
Cheng Yao readily agreed.
Today, Gu Wangchuan had changed into a pale-blue robe, which made his tall, graceful figure and refined bearing even more striking. He walked unhurriedly ahead of her, keeping his pace deliberately slow for fear that Cheng Yao might not be able to keep up.
It had to be said that Heartless Valley’s reputation as the greatest gathering place of herbalists under heaven was well deserved.
The valley’s layout was exquisite, with a new scene revealed at every turn.
In addition to the usual pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing streams, the most eye-catching sights were the neatly arranged medicinal gardens, which were laid out in accordance with the principles of the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams.
The air was rich with the fragrance of herbs, refreshing and invigorating.
Rare medicinal plants that were seldom seen in the outside world could be found everywhere: the “Frost Jade Herb,” whose leaves were translucent as ice crystals; the “Vermilion Flame Fruit,” whose stalks were red as fire and whose tips bore tiny golden fruits; and the “Dark Jade Orchid,” black from root to petal and blooming only under the moonlight…
All of these had been described in the original novel. The Herbal Compendium should have contained detailed illustrations and explanations, but unfortunately, it had been lost long ago!
With a smile on his face, Gu Wangchuan patiently introduced the names and properties of the various medicinal plants to Cheng Yao. His words revealed not only his profound understanding of the ways of flora and herbs, but also the quiet pride of someone accustomed to being in control.
Cheng Yao was genuinely fascinated by the rare flowers and plants. From time to time, she voiced her sincere admiration, which seemed to make Gu Wangchuan even more enthusiastic about his explanations.
The two of them eventually arrived at the entrance to a valley shrouded in a thin mist, where the spiritual energy was especially dense. Gu Wangchuan stopped. Pretending to be casual, he raised a hand and pointed toward several half-rotted logs faintly visible in the depths of the valley.
In an even tone, he said, “Miss Cheng, you are widely learned. I wonder if you have ever heard of the ‘Purple Ganoderma’ and the ‘Seven-Leaved Flower’?”
Here it comes!
Alarm bells began ringing in Cheng Yao’s mind, but her expression remained composed. She nodded frankly. “I’ve heard of them. I once read about them in an incomplete ancient medical text. Apparently, both are rare spiritual treasures that are nearly impossible to find in this world.”
She paused as though she had just remembered something, then looked at Gu Wangchuan. Her gaze was clear, with a hint of embarrassment.
“Speaking of which, when I passed through the Benevolent Hall earlier, I told the owner where the Purple Ganoderma and Seven-Leaved Flower could be found in order to pay off our group’s medical expenses.
“I had read about them in that ancient medical text as well. I didn’t know whether the information was reliable, and at the time, I was only thinking of solving our immediate problem. I didn’t give it much thought. But afterward, I realized that I had done something wrong. What if the owner sent people to look for them and they met with an accident? What would I do then?”
By bringing the matter up herself and lowering her stance, she instead appeared open and honest.
Gu Wangchuan remained silent for a long time, his deep eyes fixed on her, their emotions impossible to read.
He let out a soft sigh. There was genuine sorrow and regret in it.
“To be honest with you, the treasure that disappeared from the valley some time ago was the Seven-Leaved Flower.”
His gaze shifted toward the mist-wreathed valley, and his voice sank, carrying a trace of distant reminiscence.
“That Seven-Leaved Flower was not wild. When I was still a small child, I happened to discover a young seedling deep within this valley.
“From that day on, I ordered people to guard it day and night in shifts. We tended it with the utmost care and used secret methods to cultivate it, pouring twenty full years of effort into its growth. It was finally about to complete its last seven-year cycle and reach full maturity…
“But unexpectedly, just a month ago, someone plucked it without anyone noticing. Twenty years of painstaking work destroyed in an instant. It is truly heartbreaking.”
His words were so heartfelt that the grief in them was almost moving.
Cheng Yao sneered inwardly. What a damn good actor. If she hadn’t read the original novel, she might really have been fooled by him.
On the surface, however, she put on a shocked expression and covered her small mouth.
“How could this have happened?! Could it be that I was the one who leaked the information, giving the thief an opportunity to steal the Seven-Leaved Flower?!”
She took the blame upon herself, her eyes filled with unease and guilt.
Gu Wangchuan slowly withdrew his gaze from the valley and brought it back to Cheng Yao’s face.
This time, his eyes were no longer distantly gentle as before. Instead, they became intensely focused, so deep they resembled two whirlpools, as though they meant to suck her very soul inside!
He stared straight at her without saying a word. The instant Cheng Yao’s eyes met his, she felt her mind go “buzz,” as if an invisible needle had suddenly pierced into her brain!
Then, as though it were no longer under her control, her mind gradually grew hazy, and her ability to think began to fade.
Mind reading? Or some kind of mental control?!
Cheng Yao’s heartbeat skipped, and panic instantly threw her into disarray!
Damn it! She absolutely could not let him succeed!
At this critical moment, her right hand, hidden inside her sleeve, suddenly clenched. Her fingernails dug viciously into the tender flesh of her thigh.
A sharp pain shot through her, instantly clearing the confusion in her mind.
She forcibly held on to her consciousness, which had nearly slipped away, while cold sweat soaked her back.
However, using a method that consumed so much mental energy, he obviously could not maintain it for long. She might as well pretend to fall for it and turn the situation to her advantage!
Her eyes immediately became somewhat dazed and unfocused, as if they had been controlled by that mental force and lost all awareness.
She clearly heard Gu Wangchuan ask, “Who are you? Where did you come from? Can you use invisibility techniques?”
Invisibility techniques?
Had he seen her teleport?
It seemed he really knew a great deal about her!
Following his lead, Cheng Yao murmured in a hazy, unconscious tone, “My name is Cheng Yao. I’m the secondary legitimate daughter of the General’s Residence in the imperial capital… What are invisibility techniques?”
Gu Wangchuan’s brows drew together almost imperceptibly. He changed the question.
“Were you the one who emptied the national treasury and stole the Seven-Leaved Flower?”
What the hell?!
She was a disgraced woman sent into exile, yet he had still managed to suspect her!
Had she revealed too much?
Panic stirred in Cheng Yao’s heart, and her voice became even slower.
“No, it wasn’t me. The national treasury is in the imperial capital, hundreds of miles from here. The Seven-Leaved Flower… wasn’t it stolen by the fat boss’s men?”
Her words came out in broken fragments, exactly like the response of someone whose mind had been bewitched and whose thoughts were no longer under control.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Gu Wangchuan’s forehead.
He asked several more vague questions, attempting to guide Cheng Yao into revealing more about her secrets.
“Where did that ancient medical text come from?”
“Have you ever seen the Seven-Leaved Flower?”
Cheng Yao’s answers were disjointed and contradictory. Sometimes she said, “It was kept at my maternal grandmother’s home,” or, “I can’t remember.” At other times, she said, “I’ve only seen it in a book,” or, “I’ve never seen the real thing.”
Gu Wangchuan swayed.
His face had gone as pale as paper, and his breathing had become labored. Then he abruptly closed his eyes.
