Mei Man stood before the mirror, thinking of what Xie Xu looked like, then swallowed a Disguise Pill.
The pill had almost no taste, only a faint trace of fragrance. But the changes that followed were astonishing.
She could clearly feel her bones shifting and reshaping, forcing the flesh around them to twist and contort.
In the span of only a few breaths, she had become “Xie Xu.”
Mei Man stared at the person in the mirror. The face was familiar, yet strange.
It was Xie Xu’s face—so perfect that there was not the slightest difference.
But he would never make an expression like this.
Her head was slightly lowered. When sizing someone up, she usually only raised her eyelids, letting a sliver of her gaze slip out from beneath her lashes.
Her brows were faintly drawn together, her lips pressed into a thin line. She looked gloomy and thoroughly uninterested in speaking to anyone.
“…”
Did she really look at people like this normally?
Why did she resemble one of the ghost officials from those storybooks?
Mei Man leaned closer to the mirror and examined her reflection, then pinched one of her tightly drawn cheeks.
It was the first time she had ever studied her own expression so carefully—and she was doing it through someone else’s face.
But precisely because the expression before her was so different from Xie Xu’s usual one, she noticed all these tiny details.
How fascinating.
A thought suddenly surfaced in Mei Man’s mind—
If one spirit pill could cause such a drastic transformation to the body, what about a spirit root? Could one be forcibly fashioned into existence as well?
In an instant, her mind buzzed, as though a needle were plucking at her thoughts.
But she soon calmed down.
The idea was far too absurd. She had never heard of anyone creating a spirit root from scratch.
Mei Man rubbed her face and stopped dwelling on it, instead trying to arrange her features into Xie Xu’s usual expression.
She lifted her head slightly, relaxed her brows, and pulled the corners of her face downward.
It really did look like him.
She examined the face from side to side, thoroughly pleased.
The same face was, of course, much more handsome when worn by her.
There was still some time before the appointed hour, so Mei Man hurried down the mountain.
By the time she reached the Immortal-Seeking Tower, it was almost noon.
After explaining why she had come, one of the shop assistants took her directly to a private room on the second floor.
Mei Man drew a deep breath and pushed open the door.
The moment she entered, she caught the unmistakable scent of blood.
Her gaze swept across the room and landed on Qiu Yingling, who was pouring tea.
She had not seen him once during the past ten-odd days since he had gone out on a mission.
Just over ten days ago, he had still looked like an arrogant young master. Now, however, he was covered in injuries.
Bloodstained bandages were wrapped around his neck and arms. Through the gap in his loosely opened collar, she could vaguely see that his upper body was wrapped in white cloth as well.
More importantly, he was a cultivator. Ordinary injuries could be healed with a single spiritual art.
The fact that he had ended up in this state meant his wounds were clearly quite severe.
Seeing how wretched he looked, Mei Man could not help gloating. She nearly laughed out loud.
A treacherous man like him had actually taken such a hard fall.
What a pity she had not witnessed it herself.
When Qiu Yingling saw her, he smiled calmly. “Junior Brother Xie, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Please, have a seat.”
Mei Man knew how cunning Qiu Yingling was. If she stayed too long, she would probably give herself away.
So, after gauging Xie Xu’s temperament, she replied coldly, “There’s no need. I came this time to make it clear that the debt of gratitude has been repaid, and we are even. Senior Brother Qiu, you have thanked me again and again, but instead, you are making me feel burdened.”
She turned to leave, but Qiu Yingling said, “Junior Brother Xie, there’s no need to be so formal. I invited you here only to say a few words. You may leave after I’ve finished.”
That would be far too late!
Mei Man had no intention of helping the two of them pass messages back and forth. She was just about to refuse when she suddenly saw him take out a small monochrome-glazed jar and place it on the table.
?
What was that?
Mei Man stopped in her tracks.
After hesitating for only that brief moment, she heard him say, “This is an immortal pill refined from the divine blood of a phoenix, the bones of an ancient dragon, the spiritual power of a Soul Division cultivator, and a ten-thousand-year-old blood lotus. There is only one such pill in the entire world.”
Mei Man turned around completely, staring blankly at the little jar.
She had never even heard of the medicinal ingredients he had named, but she could still tell how precious this immortal pill was.
Phoenix blood, dragon bones, a ten-thousand-year-old blood lotus…
Anything that sounded like that had to be something extraordinary.
Mei Man was a greedy person by nature, so she could not help taking a few more glances.
“I know that your spirit root has been damaged and your spiritual meridians are incomplete. Ordinary methods could never heal them. If this continues year after year, you will become no different from an ordinary mortal. Even if you are allowed to remain in the Servant Disciples’ Court, the day will eventually come when your lifespan runs out.”
Qiu Yingling rested a hand on the little jar and pushed it toward her. “But if you take this pill, it will repair your spirit root and greatly increase your cultivation.”
Mei Man froze. It was as though someone had stuffed firecrackers into her mind, and they were exploding one after another with deafening pops.
What on earth was he talking about?
Hadn’t Xie Xu’s spirit root been almost completely destroyed when he was five? How could it still be healed?
And the entire Xie family had been unable to find a solution. How could a single pill produce results?
Besides, Xie Xu had merely lent him a hand. Yet this heartless, ungrateful wretch had first sent him into the Immortal Manor, and was now offering him something this precious as thanks. Since when had he learned to be grateful?
If things could be done this way, she should have simply paid a few powerful cultivators to beat Qiu Yingling half to death, then appeared to save him at the last moment. Perhaps she could have obtained a treasure like this too.
But—
Wait.
Phoenix blood, dragon bones, a blood lotus…
Why could these medicines heal spirit roots and spiritual meridians? Since they could heal them, could they also create them outright?
The properties of the various medicinal ingredients circled through her mind as she tried to work out their medicinal effects and their connection to the healing of spirit roots.
While Mei Man was thinking, Qiu Yingling said something even more painful:
“Giving you this pill was my master’s idea. He also has something else he would like me to relay to you. Junior Brother, with such excellent natural endowments, you truly should not remain trapped in the outer sect for long. If you are willing, my master would like to accept you as a personal disciple. All you need to do is nod, and you can accompany me to the main peak today.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Man felt as if she were twisting into some bizarre lump of clay, ready to cram herself into his mouth and plug up that lying, nonsensical tongue.
What? What was he saying?!
Qiu Yingling’s master was the Sword Sovereign—the sect master of the entire Immortal Manor. And he wanted to accept Xie Xu as his disciple?
Why?
What talent had Xie Xu ever displayed? He was not even considered a disciple of the outer sect.
A tremendous panic suddenly surged through Mei Man’s heart. She could not explain what the feeling was, but it was as if, the moment Xie Xu obtained all these benefits, she would lose everything.
Mei Man did not know why she was feeling this way. She only knew that her entire heart seemed to be swelling, as though it might explode at any moment.
Her breathing gradually quickened. Her gaze toward Qiu Yingling began to waver, and all the blood rushed to her head while her limbs grew stiff and numb.
Qiu Yingling looked at her with a smiling face. He was just as he always was, as though he could control every development and had everything firmly in hand.
He asked her, “Junior Brother Xie, what do you think?”
What did she think? What was she supposed to think?
She wanted nothing more than to blow up this entire Immortal-Seeking Tower!
But just as her emotions reached their peak, a gentle voice suddenly called out from the corner:
“Yingling.”
The blood drained from her head in an instant, and Mei Man came back to her senses.
There was someone else in the room?!
She whipped her head toward the corner. A screen stood there, and the voice had come from behind it.
Who was it?
Who was hiding there?
From the voice, it was a young man. She had no idea who he was, but the next moment, she heard him say, “Seize this person.”
She had been discovered.
The thought flashed through Mei Man’s mind, and her heart leapt into her throat. Panic seized her consciousness, provoking every instinctive reaction she possessed.
She snatched up the vase on the table beside her and hurled it at Qiu Yingling.
He reacted swiftly as well, instantly freezing the vase in place with spiritual arts.
Unfortunately, she had never cared much for ethics or decorum when it came to making a move. Without missing a beat, she grabbed a broom and several porcelain jars and viciously flung them at him.
Qiu Yingling had evidently not expected “Xie Xu” to attack so recklessly. After stopping the first vase on instinct, he paused for the briefest moment.
That single breath was enough for a porcelain jar to strike him squarely in the forehead, drawing blood at once.
He hissed softly and narrowed his eyes.
Mei Man turned and ran. She did not forget to slam the door shut and lock it behind her, wishing she could leave him far, far behind.
She knew she could never outrun Qiu Yingling. With a movement technique, he could cross a great distance in a single step.
Besides, Xie Xu was tall. In a crowd, he would stand out conspicuously—a walking target.
She could only hide.
At a time like this, the only advantage of having no spiritual root finally became apparent. She possessed no spiritual power, so as long as she hid well, it would be very difficult for him to trace her whereabouts.
Mei Man looked around frantically, searching for somewhere to hide.
She was on the second floor, where most of the rooms were private dining chambers for guests. Most of the doors were tightly shut, and formations had been set up outside them, making it impossible to barge in.
At last, she spotted an open door. Fixing her eyes on it, she was just about to rush inside when someone suddenly came up around the bend of the staircase.
It was Xie Xu.
He saw her too and stopped.
Mei Man froze. At the same time, she heard one of the workers downstairs say, “Well, that’s strange. He just asked me how to get to Immortal Master Qiu’s private room, and now he’s asking again. What a terrible memory that boy has.”
“Who are you?” Xie Xu’s hand had already settled on the hilt of the sword at his waist. It was a very old sword, but its edge had been honed razor-sharp.
Behind her came the sound of a lock falling away.
Mei Man hurriedly glanced back. Seeing that the door had already been pushed open a crack, she quickly waved at Xie Xu and hissed, “It’s me! It’s me! You miserable bastard, are you really going to cut me down?”
The disguise pill had, after all, been refined by Shen Shushi, and its effects were remarkably potent.
Xie Xu had not recognized her at first. He had already drawn his sword several inches, its cold gleam glaring in the light. But when he heard the familiar insult, “miserable bastard,” he paused. The hand holding the sword stopped in midair, and the frost in his brows and eyes eased slightly.
Mei Man had no time to explain. She hurried into the empty room beside her, then swiftly and quietly pulled the door shut.
Almost at the exact moment the door closed, Qiu Yingling emerged from the other side.
