Yuan Shu's lips curled up slightly. She glanced back at Ji Qingyan before turning and heading into the nearby pavilion.
A moment later, Ji Qingyan lifted the curtain and walked in. He sat opposite Yuan Shu and clasped a cool bracelet around her wrist.
"It's a bit hot here in the medicinal plant garden, and digging down ten zhang will take some time. This is a magical artifact imbued with the ice element. It can calm the mind and dispel the heat."
Ji Qingyan had picked out a pile of gifts last night, but felt they were too cumbersome, ultimately settling on this single bracelet.
Yuan Shu raised her hand to look. On her fair, slender wrist rested a vintage, heavily crafted bracelet featuring exquisite openwork and filigree techniques.
The wide band of the bracelet was adorned with two rows of delicate filigree flower tassels dangling from the top and bottom edges.
It made her hand look even more beautiful.
It was obvious that a lot of effort had gone into selecting it.
"It's beautiful. Thank you, Senior Brother Ji," Yuan Shu thanked him with a bright smile.
Her soft, delicate voice was like honey drizzled over a pastry, sounding incredibly sweet.
"Shushu, is your foot alright?" Ji Qingyan's cheeks burned under her gaze, and he abruptly spoke up to shift the focus.
Having rushed over earlier, he hadn't carefully checked if her foot had healed, and he had been worrying about it ever since.
Yuan Shu looked up to see Ji Qingyan staring at her unblinkingly, his eyes brewing with an affection she was all too familiar with.
Shu Linyuan had this exact same expression when he was shy!
Yuan Shu's lips curved, and she blinked, a mischievous thought forming. With a sudden cry of "Ah!", she fell straight toward him.
Ji Qingyan caught her out of reflex, asking in alarm and uncertainty, "Shushu?"
"Mmm... Senior Brother Ji, my foot still hurts a little. I might have to trouble you to take care of me."
Yuan Shu tilted her pretty little face up, her large eyes blinking innocently.
Ji Qingyan caught a glimpse of a wicked smile hidden in the depths of her eyes.
Even knowing she was likely doing it on purpose, he couldn't muster even a hint of annoyance.
Almost instantly, Ji Qingyan bent down, scooped her up into his arms, and strode toward a nearby chair.
Just as he was about to set Yuan Shu down, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Senior Brother Ji, the chairs in this pavilion don't even have cushions. They are uncomfortable to sit on."
Ji Qingyan's heart softened, and he simply sat down on the chair with Yuan Shu still in his arms.
"Is this... okay?"
"Ah, I knew Senior Brother Ji was the best!" Yuan Shu cheered, then nestled smilingly against his chest.
Ripples of emotion spread across Ji Qingyan's heart.
He had never known that a single touch could stir the heart, and a second meeting could lead to complete infatuation.
Even knowing Yuan Shu was doing this deliberately, just the thought that she did it to be close to him, to embrace him...
Then, whether it was deliberate or not no longer seemed to matter.
Ji Qingyan carried a faint, fresh scent of green bamboo, and his embrace was warm and comfortable.
Figuring it would still take some time to excavate the Red Sun Sand, Yuan Shu found a cozy position and closed her eyes to rest.
Ji Qingyan lowered his gaze, staring unblinkingly at Yuan Shu's little face for what seemed like ages.
Until a startled cry came from outside.
"Deacon Ji, the Red Sun Sand... has been dug out!"
...
When Yuan Shu and Ji Qingyan walked back to the medicinal plant garden, the managers and disciples were all staring worriedly at a bucket of Red Sun Sand placed on the table.
Even Mo Shoudan, upon hearing the news, had rushed over with a withered stalk of Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass in his hand.
The moment he saw the Red Sun Sand, his expression changed, and he cried out, "How is this possible?"
If there was Red Sun Sand beneath the spiritual fields, wouldn't that mean no spiritual plants could be grown at all?
No, the main point was, how could there be Red Sun Sand beneath such a high mountain as Yaoyun Peak?
"The reason is already obvious. The presence of the Red Sun Sand is affecting the growth of the spiritual plants."
"Moreover, it's highly likely that this Red Sun Sand appeared in large quantities quite recently."
Yuan Shu swept her gaze over it and said, "If we want to investigate the cause, we'll probably have to start with the sudden gathering of the fire element."
"Then, what should we do with all this Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass?" a manager swallowed hard and asked cautiously.
"Destroy it all, of course! What else can you do with unripe Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass?" Mo Shoudan snorted, cutting in from the crowd.
Everyone around immediately turned to look at him.
"What are you all looking at me for? These spiritual herbs haven't matured yet. If we don't destroy them, what else can we do?"
Mo Shoudan snapped angrily. When he looked up, he saw Yuan Shu also looking at him with a meaningful gaze.
It was a look that clearly said she was "looking at an idiot."
?
Just as Mo Shoudan was about to say something, Yuan Shu turned back to the manager and the others, her lips curling as she spoke.
"Grandmaster Mo doesn't run the household, so he doesn't know the cost of daily necessities. It's normal for him to have such thoughts."
"Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you mocking me?" Mo Shoudan's face darkened upon hearing this. He had barely opened his mouth when Yuan Shu raised a hand to cut him off.
"If such a massive field of Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass is destroyed, it would be a significant loss. When the Peak Master returns, he will definitely hold someone accountable, and Manager Du cannot bear that responsibility."
The manager standing to the side, Du Jiang, had a bitter expression. Hearing this, he nodded hastily. Knowing he couldn't count on Mo Shoudan, he quickly pressed Yuan Shu for an answer.
"Does Guest Elder Yuan have a solution?"
"I do have one method, though it will take some effort," Yuan Shu said.
"I can see that this Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass has already entered its ripening phase. It only needs half a month to fully mature."
"Right now, we just need to carve out a three-inch isolation zone ten zhang beneath the grass and set up an array to separate it from the Red Sun Sand. If we can hold out for half a month, it will be ready for harvest."
"Will... will that work?" Du Jiang was stunned. Carving out an isolation zone for such a huge spiritual field—how much manpower and resources would that take?
Furthermore, setting up the isolation array also required people, and they didn't have that many hands on Yaoyun Peak.
"If it's just a three-inch isolation array, any disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage or above can do it. If we don't have enough people, we can go borrow some from Lingshu Peak," Ji Qingyan spoke up.
The Master of Lingshu Peak specialized in arrays and mechanics, and most of the talents on his peak were of that type.
Borrowing a few dozen people to help out was entirely feasible; they would just need to provide some compensation when the time came.
Hearing this, the manager finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yuan Shu led the disciples, personally demonstrating how to carve out the space and place the isolation array.
Her movements were crisp and decisive, leaving everyone thoroughly convinced and full of admiration.
"Guest Elder Yuan must have set up isolation arrays like this before!"
One of the medicinal plant garden managers remarked, and another quickly chimed in.
"If she hadn't actually done it, how could she have come up with such a tricky solution? Guest Elder Yuan is truly a capable person!"
"Yes, exactly! If it weren't for Guest Elder Yuan, all this unripe Mystic Frost Purple Splendor Grass would have gone to waste for nothing!"
The crowd nodded in agreement one after another.
"Grandmaster, it seems there's nothing left for us to do here. Should we, perhaps, head back..."
In an empty clearing to the side of the medicinal plant garden, a young medicine boy standing next to Mo Shoudan stammered.
Then, under Mo Shoudan's increasingly icy glare, he slowly shut his mouth.
Mo Shoudan's face was dark. He had been respectfully invited here by the managers, but because of this Yuan Shu, not only had his thunder been completely stolen...
She had also made him look like a clown, subjected to everyone's doubts and criticism?
He hadn't missed the looks those disciples and managers had just given him.
They seemed to be saying: You can't even compare to a lowly Foundation Establishment disciple.
Never in his entire life had he been subjected to such utter humiliation. Trembling with rage, he gave his sleeve a sharp flick and snapped, "We are leaving!"
...
