Her movements were practiced and swift, each Spirit Herb handled with care.
This herb garden was prepared by the Heavenly Dao for Su Xinrou, its quality astonishingly high, with most plants at their optimal harvesting stage.
Su Jin was immersed in the joy of the harvest.
Yet, a hundred miles away, the Su family was thrown into chaos.
Inside a bedroom of the Su residence.
"Cough… cough…"
On the bed, Su Chen’s face was as pale as paper, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.
The front of his robe was soaked with blood, dried stains mingling with fresh wounds in a horrifying sight.
Su Jing’an, Madam Su, Su Ze, and Su Xinrou stood around the bed, four pairs of eyes fixed intently on the medical cultivator examining Su Chen.
An elderly man with white hair and beard, Elder Chen, was a Golden Core medical cultivator who had served the Su family for many years.
Elder Chen withdrew his fingers from Su Chen’s wrist, his brows furrowed so deeply they could crush a fly.
After a moment of silence, he slowly shook his head.
That shake sent the hearts of everyone in the room sinking to the depths.
"Elder Chen, Chen’er…" Su Jing’an’s voice trembled slightly. The usually authoritative family head now wore only the worry of a father for his son: "How severe are his injuries?"
Elder Chen sighed, his tone grave:
"The injuries are extremely serious. The talisman’s force directly impacted his internal organs. Five ribs are broken, and the most troublesome part is…"
He paused, as if weighing his words: "His meridians. Young Master Su Chen’s meridians… are almost completely severed by the explosive force unleashed by the talisman."
"What?!" Madam Su’s vision darkened, her body swaying before Su Ze beside her quickly steadied her.
Su Ze’s face was also extremely grim. Clenching his teeth, he asked, "Elder Chen, is there any way to treat him?"
"Difficult," Elder Chen shook his head.
"To repair severed meridians requires gentle-nurturing heavenly and earthly treasures over time. My rough estimate is that it would take at least ten years,"
"and during that period, he would need to continuously take ‘Meridian-Renewing Pills’ as support. Moreover, the pills must be no lower than fifth-grade."
"The main ingredient, ‘Continuation Flower,’ is extremely rare, making the price quite high. A single fifth-grade Meridian-Renewing Pill costs no less than 300 Mid-grade Spirit Stones on the market."
"Ten years… three hundred spirit stones per pill…" Su Jing’an murmured in repetition, his fingers trembling slightly.
But that wasn’t all.
Elder Chen continued, "Additionally, Young Master Su Chen’s soul has suffered minor tearing. Although the injury isn’t fatal,"
"if not repaired early, it may affect his future cultivation foundation. Items that mend the soul… are even rarer and more precious than Meridian-Renewing Pills."
With a soft thud, Madam Su finally couldn’t hold on any longer, collapsing weakly into a chair.
She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking violently as suppressed sobs escaped through her fingers.
"My Chen’er… my poor, unfortunate Chen’er…"
Su Jing’an turned his back, his spine slightly hunched as if he had aged a hundred years in an instant.
His face contorted, his hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles turned white, veins bulging on the back of his hands.
"Su Jin—!" Flames of rage blazed in Su Jing’an’s eyes.
"That sinful karma! That scourge! How could I, Su Jing’an, have given birth to such a heartless, ungrateful creature!"
"She dared to inflict such cruelty on her own elder brother!" Madam Su raised her tear-filled eyes, her voice shrill, "If I had known this would happen, back then I should have… I should have…"
"Should have what?" Su Jing’an sharply cut her off.
"What's the use of saying all this now?! The most urgent matter is to treat Chen'er's injuries and find that sinful karma, then capture her and bring her back!"
"I want to personally cripple her cultivation, break her legs, make her wish she were dead, and force her to kneel before Chen'er's bed in repentance!"
Su Ze's eyes also flickered with hatred: "Father, I'll go search! Even if I have to turn all of Biluo City upside down, I'll drag her out!"
…
For a moment, the room was filled with curses and resentment directed at Su Jin.
Yet Su Xinrou, standing to the side, remained silent all along.
Her complexion was no better than Su Chen's on the bed, pale to the point of near transparency.
Ever since that moment, her heart had inexplicably felt uneasy, as if something important was slipping away from her.
This feeling… was all too familiar.
Yesterday at Liuli Pavilion, when Su Jin took away that spirit beast egg, she had felt exactly this way.
Only this time, it was even more intense than yesterday. Her heart felt as if it were being tightly clenched by a large hand.
"Hmm…"
Su Xinrou groaned softly, raising a hand to clutch her chest. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her forehead, and her breathing became labored and rapid.
"Xinrou? What's wrong with you?" Madam Su noticed her unusual state and quickly wiped away her tears to ask.
"Mother… I…" Su Xinrou opened her mouth, but before she could finish, a sweet taste rose in her throat.
"Pfft—!"
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, splattering on the clean floor tiles and blooming into dazzling flowers.
"Rou'er!"
"Xinrou—!"
Another wave of panic swept through the room. Madam Su rushed over to support Su Xinrou.
Su Ze hurriedly took out a healing pill and brought it to Su Xinrou's lips, but she waved her hand to refuse.
"I'm fine…" Her voice was weak, but her gaze was unusually clear. "Mother, Father, Second Brother, listen to me…"
The three of them stopped their actions and looked at her.
Su Xinrou took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the increasingly intense palpitations in her heart.
She closed her eyes, carefully sensing that mysterious pull. In the unseen depths, something was calling to her.
Guiding her to a certain place. It was a nearly instinctual intuition.
As if… her Opportunity was being snatched away.
And the one snatching it was Su Jin.
Once this thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed. Su Xinrou opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.
"I know where Su Jin is," she said through gritted teeth, word by word.
"What?!" Su Jing'an was stunned.
"Rou'er, what did you say?" Madam Su also found it hard to believe.
Su Xinrou didn't explain; she couldn't explain this mysterious feeling clearly. She simply grasped Su Jing'an's arm, her voice urgent:
"Father, believe me. I can feel it now—Su Jin is somewhere, and she's taking away… taking away what should rightfully be mine!"
She paused, then added, "Something very, very important, even more important than that spirit beast egg!"
Su Jing'an looked into his adopted daughter's urgent and determined eyes, hesitating for a moment.
But remembering that his eldest son, now severely injured and unconscious, had ended up like this all because of that sinful girl, a surge of anger rose in his heart once more.
"Alright!" He slapped the table. "Father believes you! Ze'er, you stay at the estate to look after your elder brother and mother. Rou'er, you come with Father!"
"Father, I want to go too!" Su Ze protested unwillingly.
"No!" Su Jing'an decisively refused.
"Chen'er is severely injured, and the manor cannot be left without someone to oversee it. Moreover, your cultivation is still shallow. If you truly encounter any danger, I may not be able to protect you fully."