Qiu Yingling was the first to speak. “Junior Brother Xie, it’s been a long time. I left in such a hurry back then that I didn’t have the chance to properly thank you. Are you settling in all right at the Servant Quarters?”
Xie Xu was stingy with his words. “Mm. Thank you, Senior Brother Qiu.”
“I was too busy to come see you these past few days, so I asked Manman—ah, you probably don’t know her yet. I asked someone to bring you some pills.”
“I know you meant well, Senior Brother, but I’ve already entered the Servant Quarters. That is more than enough.”
“Why say such things? It’s rare for fate to bring us together. It would be wonderful if I could become friends with you, Junior Brother Xie.” Qiu Yingling smiled reassuringly. “And don’t grieve in secret. Though your spiritual root has been destroyed, the marvelous thing about cultivating immortality is that there are countless opportunities. Who knows? You may stumble upon one someday.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother Qiu.”
Qiu Yingling continued at an unhurried pace, “Now that you call me Senior Brother, I may as well count as half an older brother to you. As for spiritual arts and immortal techniques, I’m still only a student myself, so there isn’t much I can teach you. There is just one thing I must remind you of. Now that you have entered the Immortal Estate, all the personal entanglements of your former life should be severed when necessary.”
There was no telling whether Xie Xu had taken those words to heart. Once Qiu Yingling finished speaking, all he said was, “Thank you, Senior Brother Qiu.”
“Very well. I’ve said too much. You must think I’m being long-winded.” Qiu Yingling crossed the threshold, his foxlike eyes curved into crescent moons by his smile.
Who could have expected that Xie Xu still would not move aside? He stood motionless in the darkness, like an eerie black shadow.
Silent, restrained, and unsmiling.
Qiu Yingling’s expression did not change. Still smiling, he said, “Junior Brother Xie, please move aside.”
Only then did Xie Xu slowly raise his eyelids. His eyes were as though washed in ink, filled with a deathly, pitch-black stillness.
After a long while, he turned sideways and let Qiu Yingling pass.
Once they had gone some distance, the immortal servant beside Qiu Yingling complained, “Eldest Young Master, I think that Xie Xu is made of stone. Over and over, all he can say is ‘Thank you, Senior Brother Qiu. Thank you, Senior Brother Qiu.’ He’s so wooden. Why would the Immortal Venerable have you take special care of him? You’re busy enough as it is—where would you find the time to worry about a block of wood like him?”
Qiu Yingling shot him a sidelong glance. “With that many jokes tumbling out of your mouth, why don’t you tell them to my master? It just so happens he complains of boredom all day.”
The immortal servant obediently shut his mouth.
Qiu Yingling asked, “What happened with the matter I told you to investigate?”
The immortal servant thought it over, but in the end could not resist saying, “Eldest Young Master, this is exactly why I said Xie Xu was carved from wood. I asked around throughout the estate, but no one has ever seen him speak to anyone from our household. Forget speaking to them—many people don’t even know he exists.”
He truly could not make heads or tails of it. Apart from his face, there was nothing remarkable about Xie Xu. Why was the Sword Sovereign keeping an eye on him? And why did the Eldest Young Master need to investigate whether he had any dealings with someone from the Qiu household?
It was truly strange.
“Then keep investigating,” Qiu Yingling said. “Go and ask around at the martial arts school where he used to work as well. Be careful. Don’t alarm anyone.”
The immortal servant grinned. “Rest assured. I’ll go right away. I guarantee no one will notice.”
With that, he left. Qiu Yingling stopped and turned around, gazing from afar toward the medicine hut.
Only after a long while did he withdraw his gaze and turn away.
* * *
Qiu Yingling had barely left when Xie Xu entered the medicine hut.
Mei Man could not be bothered with him and simply pretended to be asleep. She kept her eyes tightly shut, while her ears remained alert to his every movement.
At first, he began stacking firewood. The muted sound of the logs brushing against one another was oddly soothing.
Even with her body aching, she found herself growing drowsy. But suddenly, the sound of him putting down the wood stopped. In its place came footsteps drawing closer and closer.
She immediately tensed, preparing to open her eyes and “fight back” at any moment.
Yet he did not say a word. He only took hold of her hand and placed it beneath the quilt.
Her tightly clenched hand spasmed involuntarily, and Mei Man was bewildered.
What was he doing? Pitying her?
The gloom in Mei Man’s heart only deepened. After hearing him walk away, she opened one eye a sliver and secretly glanced toward the doorway.
Unexpectedly, in the very next instant, her gaze collided with Xie Xu’s.
He stood in the doorway, staring at her without moving.
Mei Man was furious. “You did that on purpose just to mess with me?!”
“Did what on purpose?” Xie Xu said. “You said you didn’t know me. We have no connection whatsoever—why would I mess with you?”
What a shameless bastard! Mei Man gritted her teeth. She wanted to curse him, but the moment she exerted herself, pain stabbed through her lungs like needles.
She wilted at once, turning her face away listlessly. She refused to look at him or pay him any attention.
Xie Xu watched her in silence—or, more precisely, he stared at the wounds covering her body.
After a long while, he turned and left. Not long after stepping outside, he ran into the senior female physician.
The senior sister was already accustomed to his quiet nature and knew that he rarely spoke to anyone. She merely nodded at him in greeting.
Unexpectedly, Xie Xu stopped.
“Senior Sister…” He seemed to hesitate, weighing his words before continuing. “The person in the medicine hut just now is seriously injured.”
“You mean Junior Sister Mei?” The senior sister nodded, her expression solemn. “She fell from the upper floor. We’ve only just set her bones. Sigh, she’ll probably be in pain for a while tonight. I’ll leave you for now—I still have medicine to take to her.”
“Wait.” Xie Xu stopped her and took out a very old storage pouch. From it, he searched for a moment before pulling out a green porcelain bottle with a cracked body. “She was poisoned by pill toxins before. It happened five days ago. The toxins have already been purged, but some medicines still shouldn’t be taken directly. This Detoxification Pill can be used alongside them. It suits her constitution and should be taken before the medicine.”
It was the first time she had heard him say so much, and the physician was somewhat stunned. “You know Junior Sister Mei?”
Xie Xu opened his mouth, but what surfaced in his mind was Mei Man’s stubborn gaze.
His expression did not change as he said, “I don’t know her. I merely happened to run into her when she was poisoned by pill toxins that day and came to the medicine hut for something to treat it. Senior Sister needn’t tell her this medicine came from me. I’m not a disciple of the Medicine Valley, so she may not feel at ease taking it.”
“So that’s how it is.” The senior sister accepted the bottle of Detoxification Pills. “I understand. Fortunately, I ran into you. The medicine we’re using this time is quite strong, and given Junior Sister Mei’s constitution, it would have been difficult for her to endure.”
Xie Xu nodded in response and walked away.
When the senior sister returned to the medicine hut, Mei Man was scratching at her arm. The moment she saw it, she hurried over to stop her.
“Junior Sister Mei, don’t scratch your wounds.”
“But it itches.”
The itch raced wildly through her bones, impossible to touch or soothe. It was agonizing.
“Your bones are growing back, so of course they’ll itch. Don’t be afraid. I have some medicine to help you sleep. Once you get through tonight, it’ll be all right.” As she spoke, the senior sister opened the green porcelain bottle and poured out a brown pill, then crushed it beneath the candlelight.
Mei Man eyed her warily. “What medicine is that?”
“A Detoxification Pill.”
Mei Man grew even more suspicious. Bracing herself against the bedding, she tried to get out of bed. “I’ve taken Detoxification Pills before. They’re always swallowed whole. Why are you crushing this one?”
“Hey! Don’t move. Lie back down.”
The senior sister pressed her down at once.
Damn it. Mei Man no longer even had the strength to struggle, and she sank back into the warm bedding.
Even so, she continued staring fixedly at the physician, hoping to detect something suspicious.
It was not that she distrusted the senior sister. She was worried that the elder had changed his mind and was secretly trying to harm her.
The senior sister said, “This medicine was only delivered a moment ago. I need to check whether it’s suitable before using it with your constitution.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she sent out a thread of spiritual power, covering the powder made from the crushed detox pill. It really did look as though she was examining it.
Mei Man found this strange. The Medicine Valley had made the medicine itself, so why did Senior Sister still need to test it?
But Senior Sister gave her little time to wonder. She swiftly disposed of the pile of powder, poured out another pill, and stuffed it straight into Mei Man’s mouth.
Mei Man did not even have time to question her before she swallowed the pill.
The moment she swallowed it, she closed her mouth.
That familiar sweetness spread through her lungs and bowels, transforming into a fine, warm current that flowed toward her limbs and bones, as if it meant to wash away every impurity in her body.
Tsk! The Medicine Valley’s standards weren’t all that impressive. The pill they made tasted exactly like the ones Xie Xu concocted.
Mei Man smacked her lips a few times, and Senior Sister brought over another cup of medicine.
This medicine was so bitter it was practically unbearable. Frowning, she swallowed it in one gulp.
Senior Sister said that all she had to do was make it through the night. At first, Mei Man did not take that seriously—until the itch and pain crawling through her bones grew more and more intense.
The worst part was that she could not even scratch at it. The calming medicine had taken effect, leaving her only half-conscious.
It was utterly torturous!
Mei Man could vaguely feel the pain and itch, yet no matter what she did, she could not open her eyes. She wanted to sleep, but her consciousness continued to drift on the surface, unable to sink completely into oblivion.
She thought bitterly that this was no calming medicine at all. It was clearly a form of torture.
Before long, she began to have a series of fragmented nightmares.
She dreamed that she had been thrown into an abyss engulfed in flames. The fire burrowed straight into the gaps between her bones. Then, for some reason, several hideous-looking ghosts appeared and tied her to a rack, roasting her back and forth over the flames like a whole lamb.
Mumbling, Mei Man said, “Stop roasting me, stop roasting me, I’m going to be done soon.”
The ghosts ignored her. Grinning hideously, they said, “Done is good, done is good. It’ll be easier to eat you then.”
She cursed at them. “You’ve been dead for eight lifetimes, you stinking ghost! What do you want with cooked food?”
In her daze, she seemed to feel someone take her hand.
She could not tell whether it was part of the dream, but a light drizzle suddenly began to fall within it.
The rain was very fine, just a few icy drops striking her face, yet it extinguished all the flames.
The rotten ghosts who had wanted to eat her vanished as well, replaced by indistinct whispers.
Someone asked beside her ear, “Does it hurt?”
The voice trembled with restrained emotion. It sounded familiar, but she could not identify it.
He spoke in broken fragments that Mei Man could not make out. At one moment, he kept repeating, “I’m sorry.” At another, he said, “Don’t be angry anymore, all right?” Then, “It was my fault.” In the end, he went back to murmuring, “I’m sorry.”
The rain in her dream grew a little heavier, one drop after another landing on her face.
Mei Man grew irritated. She raised an arm, wanting to swat the voice away.
She used quite a bit of force, enough that even in the dream she heard a faint sound.
But the person did not retreat. He caught hold of her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm.
The kiss was damp and cold, bringing with it the faintest trace of an itch.
Mei Man instinctively curled her fingers. Almost at the same time, something pressed against her lips.
It felt like an arm, or perhaps a vine—for warm liquid began to flow into her mouth.
It tasted rather like blood, with a faint, barely perceptible sweetness and metallic tang. But it was much better than blood: clear and refreshing, reminding her of the detox pills Xie Xu made. Those tasted this sweet as well.
Unable to resist, she began to suck at it, wanting to draw out more. The pain and itch crawling through her bones gradually subsided, and the restless heat lodged deep in her heart also eased.
Sleep weighed more heavily upon her. Before long, she was too tired even to move her mouth. Just before she drifted off, that damp, chilly kiss seemed to land on her cheek, accompanied by an indistinct murmur:
“Sleep now. It’ll be all right. It’ll be all right.”
The next day, Mei Man jolted awake.
There was no one beside the bed. Not even a ghost.
What a ridiculous dream.
Mei Man furrowed her brows in annoyance. She had not yet realized that all the pain in her body had vanished. She only felt that her face was a little tight.
She casually wiped at it, but there was nothing there—only a slightly dry mark, like the trace left by evaporated water.
She paid it no mind. Once the medical cultivator caring for the patients in the medicine ward brought her water, she washed it clean.
