The “library” Shen Shushi had mentioned was a three-story wooden building. It looked old and worn, as though it had weathered countless storms.
Yet once inside, it was a completely different world.
The wooden building had clearly been enhanced with some kind of spiritual art. From the outside, it seemed only so large, but inside, its depths stretched so far that the eye could not find the end.
Countless neatly arranged bookshelves extended into the distance, shrinking until they were no more than tiny specks.
Mei Man stared blankly at the books, thinking about how troublesome it would be to clean a place like this, and how difficult it would be to find a single book.
Most importantly, she simply couldn’t imagine how much all these books would sell for!
Shen Shushi seemed to have guessed what she was thinking and said, “There is a Dust-Cleansing Formation in this room, so it does not need to be cleaned regularly. If you leave, lock the door behind you. Some of the books have developed spirits. If there is no human presence in the room, they like to run around. Don’t let them sneak out.”
Mei Man looked at him.
When she saw that his expression remained cold and composed, her heart grew even more sour.
The sight that had left her utterly stunned was nothing more than an ordinary matter to him.
Shen Shushi took a ledger from the bookshelf on the far left and handed it to her. “You have no spiritual power, but if you write the name of a book in this ledger, that book will fly over by itself.”
He mentioned her lack of spiritual power in such a natural and frank manner.
But Mei Man was a petty person who couldn’t stand hearing things like that. No matter how unintentional his words were, they still felt like needles stabbing her, twisting her heart into a sour, bitter fruit.
Mei Man gave a sullen little “Mm,” then accepted the brush and paper. Under his watchful gaze, she hurriedly wrote a few characters, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.
But no ink appeared on the page.
Shen Shushi quickly understood. “Few people other than this lord come to the library. The paper and brush have developed spirits and recognize their master as well. You need to give a little blood. It will hurt, so endure it for a moment. Once the spiritual art is complete, I’ll heal the wound for you—your hand.”
Mei Man instinctively extended her left hand, but suddenly remembered that her palm might still bear the marks from where she had clenched it. She hurriedly withdrew it and offered her right hand instead.
Shen Shushi used his spiritual power to pierce her fingertip, then pressed along the side of her finger, squeezing out more blood.
He dripped her blood into the inkstone used for grinding ink. After healing her wound, he took a little of his own blood and dripped that in as well.
The two vivid red drops of blood gradually merged together. As Mei Man watched, she unexpectedly tasted a trace of warped delight—as if her ugly thoughts were slowly eroding him, defiling him.
Shen Shushi formed a spiritual seal, and the blood completely seeped into the inkstone.
He dipped the brush into the ink again and had her use the ledger.
Mei Man made another stroke, and the ledger worked this time.
She stared at the ink marks, then shifted her gaze to the tip of the brush, which was stained with ink.
A few strands of fur clung to the tip, some of them already free of ink. They were white, and for no reason at all, they reminded her of the white wolf Shen Shushi had transformed into that day.
On impulse, she suddenly asked, “Immortal Master, is this brush made from wolf fur?”
The moment she said it, she regretted it. Even if he really was a wolf demon, that didn’t mean he would pluck out his own fur to make a brush, did it?
Shen Shushi fell silent. What came to mind instead was the embarrassing sight of himself restoring his human form in front of her that day, without a single stitch of clothing on.
“No,” he replied after a moment. “As for the matter of my transforming into a demonic form, I will explain it to you in the future. Do not mention it to anyone else.”
“…Oh.”
After teaching her how to retrieve books, Shen Shushi did not rush Mei Man to begin cultivating. Instead, he gave her some time to arrange the second floor.
Unlike the first floor, which was vast beyond measure, the second floor was about the size of an ordinary residence. Besides a study and a tea room, it also contained two unused rooms.
The rooms had originally been almost empty, but Shen Shushi was very thoughtful. Before long, he had his puppet immortal servants deliver beds and other daily necessities.
He had already prepared all the larger items, but Mei Man still needed to buy some odds and ends. So, while it was still early, she left the main peak and went to the spirit market in the Inner Sect compound.
The Outer Sect compound had a spirit market as well, but compared with the one in the Inner Sect, it was practically no more than a few temporary stalls set up at the entrance of a village or on the outskirts of a city.
The spirit market in the Inner Sect was more like a small town. From the entrance, rows upon rows of shops stretched into the distance, with no end in sight.
Mei Man stood at the entrance for a full quarter of an hour, stunned. There was only one thought in her mind:
She absolutely, positively never wanted to return to the Outer Sect compound.
For the next several days, Mei Man stayed on the second floor of the library, reading.
In truth, she had little interest in making medicines or refining pills.
As for the reason, it was probably because she was a rather withdrawn person by nature. Whenever she refined pills or spiritual medicines, she found the process dull and tedious, unable to feel the slightest bit of enjoyment.
She preferred practicing the sword.
Whenever she swung her sword, it felt as though she were cutting away all the unhappiness inside her.
If she had possessed spiritual power, perhaps she would have liked spiritual arts as well.
Of course, none of that mattered anymore.
If she wanted to stay here, she had to temporarily give up certain things, even the things she liked.
Mei Man began reading day and night. Whenever she grew hungry, she ate one of the fasting pills Shen Shushi had given her.
Sometimes she would zone out, thinking over and over about how she could obtain spiritual power.
Several days passed like this. Then, on the seventh day of the third month, Xie Xu actually found her.
When he arrived, Mei Man was clearing the small courtyard outside the library.
Although Shen Shushi had set up a Dust-Cleansing Formation, it could not stop weeds from growing.
The weeds had pushed their way through the cracks between the bricks, flourishing in thick green clusters.
With the weather gradually growing warmer, Mei Man was afraid there would be snakes, so she wanted to clear them away in advance.
She had just pulled up a handful of grass when she heard footsteps. Assuming it was Shen Shushi, she raised her head—only to see Xie Xu standing not far away.
She was startled.
To be honest, Mei Man was not the sort of person who believed in sharing hardship. If someone called her petty, she would take it as a compliment.
She had long since thrown this man out of her mind.
But how had he managed to find this place?
It was one thing for him to exchange the favor of helping Qiu Yingling for a chance to enter the immortal residence. But this was Shen Shushi’s personal abode.
It was impossible that he had helped Shen Shushi too.
More than that, Mei Man was afraid that Shen Shushi would discover her relationship with Xie Xu. She was also afraid that Xie Xu would expose her.
She had revealed far too many shameful sides of herself in front of him.
He had probably heard countless of her dark and vicious thoughts. If Shen Shushi found out about them, she would be utterly finished.
Mei Man hurriedly glanced around. Only after confirming that Shen Shushi was nowhere nearby did she lower her voice and ask, “How did you find this place? What are you doing here?”
“News that Shen Shushi has taken you as his disciple has already spread throughout the entire immortal residence,” Xie Xu said.
Mei Man secretly rejoiced, but on the surface, she pretended not to care. “Oh. That fast? I had no idea.”
“Today, when I went to teach at the Outer Sect compound, I told him that I had something I needed to hand to you personally.”
Mei Man looked suspicious. “What is it?”
“That was merely an excuse.”
Mei Man was even more confused. She watched him warily, looking every bit like someone judging a gentleman with a petty person’s heart, afraid that he had come to ruin her new life.
She bombarded him with questions. “Then why did you come looking for me? What are you planning? What do you want? Don’t tell me you want to become his disciple too.”
Unexpectedly, Xie Xu only said, “Today is the seventh.”
Mei Man frowned. “And?”
His expressionless reply was, “The seventh day of the third month.”
Mei Man stared at him in bewilderment. “You came all the way here just to tell me that?”
This time, it was his turn to look puzzled.
“Today is the seventh,” he repeated. Then he added, “At noon. The Immortal-Seeking Tower for tea.”
Only then did Mei Man remember.
Last month, Qiu Yingling had asked her to pass a message to Xie Xu, inviting him to the Immortal-Seeking Tower at the foot of the mountain for tea at noon on the seventh day of the third month.
She found it even more baffling. “Yes, that’s right. Then go.”
Why had he come running to her?
Xie Xu nodded. “Let’s go.”
Mei Man nodded as well.
He turned and walked away. After a few steps, however, he stopped and looked back at her.
Mei Man remained where she was.
He stood still too.
Mei Man said, “…What are you doing, standing there like a post?”
“Aren’t we leaving?” Xie Xu asked.
“Yes. No one’s stopping you.”
“You’re not coming?”
“Me? Why would I—” Mei Man suddenly stopped, realizing what he had misunderstood. She gave him an odd smile. “Don’t tell me you thought I was the one who invited you to tea?”
Xie Xu said nothing, which clearly meant he had.
“Xie Xu, what are you thinking? How could I possibly go out and openly have tea with you? Am I insane?” Mei Man looked as though she had seen a ghost. “That Qiu fellow wanted to thank you and give you a spirit pill. Naturally, he was the one who invited you to tea.”
Xie Xu froze slightly. A look of astonishment appeared in his eyes, and his face gradually turned pale.
Mei Man glanced at the sky. Noon was fast approaching, so she hurried him along. “Go on, Qiu Yingling must be waiting at the foot of the mountain. Don’t miss the appointed time.”
“Qiu Yingling…” Xie Xu murmured the name, seemingly still unable to fully process what he had heard.
Mei Man nodded.
Xie Xu’s expression tightened. He abruptly turned and walked away. “I’m not going.”
“Not going? Wait, wait—” Mei Man rushed forward and grabbed him, panic creeping into her voice. “What do you mean? You already agreed to go. Why are you going back on your word now? You’re not allowed to leave, don’t leave!”
Xie Xu turned his face toward her, his complexion paler than paper. “I did agree, but I thought it was—In any case, I’m not going.”
“Why not? You saved him, and he wants to thank you. Who knows how many benefits he might give you? Are you stupid? There are good things right in front of you, and you don’t want them. Besides, besides, I already told him you’d go. If you don’t, what am I supposed to do?”
“The debt of gratitude has already been repaid. There’s no need to remain entangled with him.” Xie Xu frowned slightly, his words unusually blunt. “I have not the slightest good feeling toward that man. Having tea with him would be no different from drinking filthy water. It makes me sick.”
With that, he pulled his hand free and walked away without looking back.
“Xie Xu!” Mei Man called after him.
But he did not turn around. He walked even faster than he had on the way there.
“Xie Xu! Xie Xu!”
This was bad.
Mei Man’s face went pale.
Though she occasionally played tricks on Qiu Yingling, she would never let him get hold of anything he could use against her.
Even if she was unlucky enough to be found out, she could usually find someone else to help shield her from the consequences—either Qiu Er or the young miss. But Qiu Er had gone down the mountain, and she had no idea where the young miss was. As for Shen Shushi, she still had to keep up appearances with him and could not possibly ask him for help.
If that Qiu fellow decided he had been made a fool of and came after her, wouldn’t she be finished?
Mei Man grew increasingly frantic and wished she could simply drag Xie Xu to the Immortal-Seeking Tower.
But he ran faster than anyone else, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
She ran two steps after him, then stopped.
There was absolutely no way she could beg Xie Xu over something like this.
Even though she knew this mess had happened because she had failed to explain things clearly, she still refused to swallow her pride and plead with him.
What a menace! What a selfish bastard! What a scoundrel!
She cursed him inwardly, pacing anxiously in place.
Then, suddenly, she raised her head and looked toward a pavilion not far away.
A sign above it read: “Alchemy Room.”
These past few days, Mei Man had occasionally gone to the alchemy room.
Many precious medicinal ingredients were stored there. Unlike before, when she could only study them in books, she could now examine the actual ingredients and learn about their appearance, scent, and medicinal properties.
Aside from the herbs, there were also countless pills refined by Shen Shushi. He had even told her to help herself to the fasting pills.
She remembered that one of the pills was a face-changing pill.
Even a mortal who took it could alter their appearance.
Her heart gave a heavy thump.
What if she disguised herself as Xie Xu and made a trip to the Immortal-Seeking Tower?
All she had to do was go there. If Qiu Yingling was waiting, she could meet him, explain that no thanks were necessary, and leave.
The entire trip would take less than fifteen minutes. Surely nothing would go wrong.
That way, she would not have to beg Xie Xu, and she could resolve the problem. Perhaps she might even manage to gain some benefit, just as she had with that spirit-nourishing tonic pill.
Mei Man was even more tempted. She went into the alchemy room.
