Mei Man’s vision went black.
It wasn’t because wolf fur had blocked her sight. The White Wolf had slammed into her head-on. It happened only once, but the impact nearly squeezed all the air from her chest.
She felt her breathing seize and let out a short, strangled gasp before passing out.
Just before she lost consciousness, all she could smell was a thick doggy odor, like glutinous rice left sealed up for too long.
Before long, Mei Man stirred awake.
She had been licked awake.
A wet, warm, rough tongue scraped over her cheek, accompanied by huffing and panting. Mei Man slowly opened her eyes and happened to see the White Wolf lick her once more before nudging her neck and head with its damp, cold nose. One enormous paw was pressed firmly against her shoulder, occasionally pushing down.
!
She came fully awake at once. Bracing herself against the ground, she scrambled backward and stared in horror at the White Wolf sitting before her.
The White Wolf stared back.
Although it was behaving like a dog, it was nowhere near as exuberant or lively as one. It remained perfectly still, its dark-brown eyes cool and composed.
Mei Man pulled out a handkerchief and hurriedly wiped her face before looking toward the puppet standing beside the White Wolf.
“What happened?” she asked.
The puppet replied in a stiff, matter-of-fact tone, “When I pulled it up, it jumped onto you and nearly crushed you to death, so I dragged it away. When it saw that you had fainted, it called for you. When that failed to wake you, it began licking—”
“…Are you writing a report?” Mei Man pressed a hand to her chest. She still hadn’t caught her breath, and even breathing hurt. “It didn’t attack you?”
The puppet shook its head.
Could it have succeeded in taming it?
Mei Man looked suspiciously at the White Wolf.
Half kneeling and half crouching, she leaned forward and cautiously extended a hand.
The White Wolf did not move or make the rumbling sound it had earlier.
But just because it was quiet didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. A dog that bit people did not necessarily bark, and perhaps the same was true of wolves. Mei Man therefore did not let down her guard. The instant its ears twitched, she quickly withdrew her hand.
After several such attempts, her fingertips finally brushed its head.
When it still showed no intention of biting her, Mei Man pressed down, letting her palm sink into a patch of soft fur.
It hadn’t bitten her.
Mei Man pressed her lips together, her expression cast in a faint shadow. Yet the crease that so often gathered between her brows had eased slightly.
She cautiously stroked it.
The White Wolf did not resist. Instead, it lowered its ears a little, and its tail began to sway slowly from side to side.
Mei Man’s arm remained stiff, and her strokes were awkward.
Perhaps no one had ever touched it like this before. Before long, the White Wolf began to lift its neck of its own accord, pushing its head into her palm.
It even bared its teeth and panted, looking almost as though it were smiling.
The puppet stood nearby, watching her pet the wolf. Since he was standing so close, the blade-like tail lashed against him from time to time with loud smacks.
He wasn’t sure whether the Immortal Lord could accept this situation, but instinct told him that when it came to uncertain matters, silence was the safest choice.
With the White Wolf now obedient, Mei Man had far fewer difficulties to deal with.
At the very least, she no longer had to worry about her life being in danger, and she could spare time to do other things.
Early the next morning, Mei Man left her cave dwelling.
She had originally planned to purchase some Nine-Turn Meridian Tempering Pills, but halfway there, she ran into Yu Guiya.
A group of people had just emerged from the teleportation array. The atmosphere seemed relaxed, and they were chatting and laughing among themselves.
Yu Guiya was in the middle of the group. His features were striking to begin with, with a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, and sharp brows. His tall stature made him stand out even more.
Mei Man lowered her lashes and swept her gaze over the crowd, noticing that they all wore the gold-and-jade tokens of Exorcist Envoys.
Fan Zilang was not among them.
She was hesitating over whether she should avoid the group when Yu Guiya had already noticed her.
He paused, then called out with a smile, “Junior Sister?”
Everyone else followed his gaze.
Mei Man immediately lowered her eyes.
She was not accustomed to crowded places.
When too many gazes fell upon her, she could no longer tell whether they were friendly or hostile. It left her with an oppressive feeling of being examined and scrutinized.
But after a moment’s hesitation, she gave up on going down the mountain and changed her mind.
Yu Guiya strode over and asked with a smile, “Junior Sister, what made you come out today?”
“I have something to do,” Mei Man replied.
The other Exorcist Envoys also came over. Most of them were the people who had been shooting arrows at the target range that day.
“Guiya, she’s the junior sister you mentioned? She looks familiar. Have I seen her somewhere before?”
“Hey! Isn’t she the one from the target range that day…?”
“Wasn’t she Qiu Heyang’s friend?”
“…”
“What do you mean, Qiu Heyang’s friend?” Yu Guiya shot the speaker a sidelong glance, still smiling. “All I know is that she’s my junior sister. Junior Sister, come on. Our master is in seclusion these days, so you could say the skies are high and the emperor is far away. I hear a mystic realm has opened near the foot of the mountain. Let’s go take a look.”
Someone teased him, “Yu Guiya, take it easy. Have you forgotten the lesson you learned a couple of days ago? You’ve already paid out more than enough spirit stones. Are you looking to spend even more?”
Yu Guiya’s smile faded slightly. “Hmph. I was led into a trap that day. If I run into that thief again, I won’t let them off so easily.”
The others broke into another round of laughter and playful banter. It was clear, however, that they meant no malice. They were merely teasing him.
Mei Man kept her head lowered as she listened to them laughing and joking. Suddenly, she felt dazed.
Not long ago, in the teahouse, Yu Guiya had still been plotting against her together with Fan Zilang.
Now he was laughing so freely and treating her with such warmth.
What if she hadn’t overheard them that day? Would she eventually have been deceived by his hypocritical kindness, only for him to shatter the illusion with his own hands?
She did not want to think about it. All she could feel was a nauseating urge rising from her chest and stomach.
As luck would have it, someone asked Yu Guiya whether there had really been a thief, or whether he and Fan Zilang had simply made the whole thing up. He clicked his tongue and said, “The teahouse attendant saw it too, but unfortunately, he was a puppet. He was too easily frightened and couldn’t describe what happened.”
She wanted to vomit.
He continued, “Junior Sister saw it too. The thief even ran into her.”
Someone else asked him, “How did you know?”
“Because I happened to run into her as well,” Yu Guiya said with a smile. “Zilang and I were too slow in pursuit. Fortunately, the thief didn’t hurt Junior Sister. Otherwise, our master would have scolded me.”
The sound of their laughter circled and echoed in her ears, winding round and round until she nearly felt faint.
So disgusting. So disgusting!
Mei Man suddenly turned around and hurried several steps away from them. With her back to the group, she silently took several large breaths.
The cool spring air rushed into her lungs, scraping faintly against her throat, but it also helped clear her head. The urge to vomit subsided.
The laughter behind her abruptly stopped.
“Junior Sister?” Yu Guiya called hesitantly.
Mei Man tugged at her stiff features. By the time she turned around, all the agitation and gloom had been carefully tucked away.
Her expression was calm. She walked back to where she had been standing, a suitably apologetic look appearing between her brows.
“I felt a little dizzy just now,” she said. “I was afraid I might throw up here.”
“Dizzy?” Yu Guiya showed the same concerned expression as the others. “How did that happen?”
“I caught a chill last night.” Mei Man lowered her face and gave an awkward little smile. “I thought the spiritual energy here was so abundant that it would be difficult to get sick, so I practiced my sword a little longer yesterday and ended up getting chilled by the wind.”
Yu Guiya immediately offered to take her to the Medicine Valley, then told the others to go on ahead.
They went to Medicine Valley, where the senior medical sister who had treated Mei Man’s injuries before happened to be. She examined Mei Man’s body.
“I told you I didn’t want to see you here again. It’s only been a few days.” The senior sister’s brows had been furrowed the entire time she took Mei Man’s pulse.
Mei Man found it strange. Her words clearly sounded like a reprimand, yet Mei Man didn’t find them as irritating as she should have.
Suppressing this odd thought, she remained silent.
She hadn’t actually caught a chill. She had merely wanted an excuse to check the condition of the meridians inside her body.
The senior sister’s brows drew together even more tightly. She suddenly looked up at Yu Guiya. “Senior Brother Yu, please wait outside. I have something to discuss with her.”
After he left, she asked, “Have you been taking medicine lately?”
Mei Man nodded. “I’ve taken some Nine-Turn Meridian-Tempering Pills.”
The senior sister injected spiritual power into her body. After a long while, she said, “Your meridians have become much stronger.”
“Much stronger” was already a very conservative way of putting it.
To be precise, Mei Man’s meridians seemed to have been completely reforged.
Their strength and resilience had both increased dramatically, and the channels were so clean that not the slightest trace of impurity remained.
They were even superior to those of a cultivator.
Mei Man pretended not to understand and said, “Are the effects of the Nine-Turn Meridian-Tempering Pills really that good? I thought the shopkeeper was trying to cheat me. Senior Sister, you’ve been frowning this whole time. Is there some harmful side effect?”
“No, it’s just…”
It was simply too unbelievable.
How could this be possible? Mei Man was clearly an ordinary mortal. She had only taken a few Nine-Turn Meridian-Tempering Pills, so how could her meridians have been strengthened to such an outrageous degree?
The senior sister thought of one possibility and asked, “Have you taken any other medicine? For example…the Meridian-Reforging Pill?”
“The Meridian-Reforging Pill?” Mei Man pondered, then shook her head. “No. The shopkeeper said it wasn’t something I could take.”
That made sense.
The senior sister discarded her original suspicion.
Even a Core Formation cultivator wouldn’t dare take a Meridian-Reforging Pill lightly. The slightest mistake could completely destroy their meridians and wipe out their cultivation. Not to mention, the pain of having one’s meridians reforged was so severe that it could drive a person to seek death.
And Mei Man was merely a mortal with no cultivation at all.
Perhaps it had simply been a fortunate accident. After all, there was no other possibility.
The senior sister withdrew her hand and said, “There’s nothing wrong with your body. The dizziness and nausea may be caused by the Nine-Turn Meridian-Tempering Pills. You can stop taking them for a while. But if you experience any discomfort, remember to come to Medicine Valley at once.”
Mei Man nodded.
Once she had confirmed that her meridians were fine, she felt relieved. Before leaving, she added, “Senior Sister, could you prescribe me something to calm the spirit? I haven’t been sleeping well these past few days.”
The senior sister’s lips twitched faintly. She thought to herself, Of course you can’t sleep. Your meridians are as tough as iron, and your spirits are bursting with energy. It would be strange if you could sleep.
She prescribed some Spirit-Calming Powder and repeatedly instructed Mei Man to come to Medicine Valley if anything felt wrong.
“Understood,” Mei Man replied.
As soon as she stepped outside, Yu Guiya asked, “Little Junior Sister, how did it go?”
His expression was worried, and he looked as though he truly cared about her.
“I’m fine. Senior Sister prescribed me some medicine.” Mei Man looked downcast. “Senior Brother Yu, I…”
“What is it?”
“I received another letter.”
Yu Guiya froze. This time, unmistakable astonishment flashed across his face.
Mei Man guessed that he was probably wondering how there could be a so-called “second letter” when Fan Zilang had never mentioned it to him in advance.
He led her to a secluded place and asked, “What letter?”
“A letter, a letter…”
“Don’t be afraid. Take your time. Where is the letter?”
Mei Man shook her head. “After I read it, I wanted to go find Immortal Master.”
Yu Guiya’s breathing briefly caught. “Did Immortal Master see it?”
“No. I didn’t have time to show it to him. The letter burned itself, and not even a trace of ash was left behind.”
“Then it must have been imbued with some kind of spiritual art,” Yu Guiya said. “Little Junior Sister, what exactly did the letter say?”
“Can we go somewhere else to talk?” Mei Man glanced around. “I’m afraid someone might overhear us.”
Yu Guiya considered it for a moment, then took her to his cave dwelling.
Only after they arrived did Mei Man lower her head and hesitantly begin, “The letter said…said that if I had any sense, I should leave the sect as soon as possible. That way, I might live a few more years. Otherwise, they would find a way to make me regret it. I was wondering…could it be the same person who pretended to be Immortal Master before?”
At this point, she lifted her head and looked steadily at him. “Senior Brother, did you find out who that person was?”
As she asked this, she thought of how, back in Medicine Valley, he had kept asking the senior sister about her condition. Only after confirming that she was unharmed had he finally relaxed a little.
She also thought of how, in front of all his friends, he had called out to her and introduced her openly as his junior sister, completely unconcerned that she was a mortal.
It seemed that he truly regarded her as a friend—a genuine friend.
Just like the White Wolf. At first, it had wanted to bite her, but after repeated training, it had learned to treat her gently.
She had thought that if he were willing to tell her about his arrangement with Fan Zilang, and tell her that he no longer wanted to harm her, then, since she had suffered no real loss yet, she would stop in time—even if they could not become friends.
But after hesitating, wavering, and agonizing over it again and again, the answer he finally gave was, “Not yet.”
“Oh, I see…” Mei Man’s hand slowly tightened into a fist, though her expression remained unchanged. “Senior Brother, could you pour me some water first? I walked too quickly just now, and I’m a little thirsty.”
