Shen Qingzhu asked softly, “Second sister… aren’t you going to ask me?”
Shen Qingdai smiled gently and placed her slightly cool hand over Shen Qingzhu’s hand holding the book.
“I asked. And then?”
“To turn you back into that timid, weak little brother? Or to let the Shen family return to a hopeless state where we are at others’ mercy?”
“Zhu’er,” Shen Qingdai gazed at her, her clear eyes full of trust and acceptance, “who you are doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are the hope of the Shen family. That alone is enough.”
Shen Qingzhu took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of bitterness in her eyes.
“Second sister, I really… have had some extraordinary experiences.”
She carefully chose her words, slowly explaining the story she had discussed with their grandmother.
“Father died unjustly, and the Shen family was on the verge of collapse. In my grief and anger, I fainted. In the dream, the ancestors of the Shen family appeared before me, saying that the calamity fell upon the family because our fortune had waned. To preserve the bloodline, the ancestors offered their souls as a sacrifice and opened for me a tiny space capable of holding all things.”
Shen Qingdai listened quietly, showing no surprise, only a look of understanding.
She nodded lightly. “I see. No wonder… no wonder your pulse, though appearing steady, contains a vast, turbulent energy flowing within. So it is the blessing of your ancestors. In that case, I can rest assured.”
Shen Qingzhu carefully stored Qing Nang Skill and the medicine box. “Second sister, you rest well. Leave the matters outside to me.”
Back in her own room, she closed the door, but her mind remained unsettled.
She opened Qing Nang Skill, and the very first line read—“Medicine and martial arts share the same origin; qi and blood are the root.”
It was more than a martial arts manual; it was a detailed guide to the body’s meridians and the flow of internal force.
Having studied traditional Chinese medicine in her previous life, Shen Qingzhu was intimately familiar with the meridians and acupoints. Comparing them now, everything suddenly became clear.
She opened the small sandalwood box, revealing several prescriptions.
One of them was the formula for the Qing Nang Skill Foundation Soup.
Following the methods recorded in Qing Nang Skill, she began practicing controlled breathing.
Inhale. Exhale.
At first, there was no reaction.
But when she calmed her mind and focused on her dantian, a faint, nearly imperceptible warmth slowly rose from deep within.
Ren and Du meridians… those lines existing only in medical texts, now appeared vividly in her perception.
It was the memory of this body!
Where the warmth flowed, every cell in her body rejoiced, greedily absorbing the internal force.
She raised her hand and willed it.
The warmth, now several times stronger, surged through her meridians to her fingertips.
Her fingers came together like a blade, slicing through the air lightly.
“Shhh—”
A soft sound, like cloth tearing, emerged.
An invisible force emanated from her fingertips, fluctuating and cutting fine ripples in the air.
This was… internal force.
A small smile curved Shen Qingzhu’s lips.
With this power, combined with her modern weapons, on the three-thousand-li exile route, who was hunter and who was prey remained uncertain.
It was time to check the situation outside.
She retrieved the palm-sized reconnaissance drone from her space and expertly controlled it, letting it silently fly out through the window and ascend into the sky.
On her laptop screen, the entirety of the Shen residence and its surroundings appeared.
The streets were eerily silent, a stark contrast to their usual bustle.
Shen Qingzhu zoomed the camera out.
At the edge of the screen, a team of several dozen people was rapidly approaching, encircling the Shen residence.
She immediately recalled the drone, calm and composed, and stepped out of her room.
In the courtyard, grandmother, mother, and eldest sister were still busy, faces showing both uncertainty for the future and a slight sense of reassurance from being occupied.
“Stop everything.”
Shen Qingzhu’s voice was cold.
“The Jinyiwei are coming. In at most a minute, they will reach the gates.”
“What?!”
The Old Madam’s dough dropped to the ground with a slap, her face instantly pale.
Lady Lin and eldest sister Shen Qingyao went weak all over, barely able to stand.
“Panic?!” Shen Qingzhu barked, “Follow me! To Jinxiujü!”
Everyone, including second sister Shen Qingdai who had heard the command, instinctively followed her, stumbling into the largest building in the inner courtyard, Jinxiujü.
Shutting the door, Shen Qingzhu gave no chance for questions and immediately pulled out a set of items from her space.
Several pairs of oddly-styled, thick-soled black cloth shoes.
A pile of bottles and jars of makeup.
A few small tracking devices.
“Listen carefully!” Her voice carried no emotion. “From now on, you do exactly as I say.”
“Take off your embroidered shoes and put these on.” She pointed to the sneakers on the floor. “They will protect your feet and allow you to run faster and farther.”
The women exchanged glances but did not dare disobey. They clumsily removed their delicate embroidered shoes and put on the ugly but surprisingly comfortable sneakers.
“Yaoyie, Miaomiao, come here.”
Shen Qingzhu opened the makeup box, holding her eldest sister and niece in place.
She applied the darkest shades to their fair skin, making it look sallow.
In an instant, a delicate young woman and a cute girl were transformed into a pale, frail-looking mother and daughter, as if just recovering from a serious illness.
“Zhu’er, what are you…” Shen Qingyao touched her unfamiliar face, full of confusion.
“On the exile route, beauty is a sin, a death talisman,” Shen Qingzhu explained coldly. “I would rather you be unattractive so no one stares, than attract unnecessary trouble because of your looks.”
Her words silenced all the women.
Shen Qingzhu continued, letting Lady Lin and Shen Qingdai handle their own makeup, while she personally transformed the Old Madam into a wrinkled old woman.
After finishing, she handed out the metal pendants to everyone.
“These are ‘Heart-Link Talismans.’ Wear them close to your body at all times. Never take them off. As long as you wear them, no matter how far apart we are, I can find you.”
Finally, she retrieved clean water and some high-calorie compressed biscuits from her space.
“Now, everyone, eat and drink immediately.”
Her gaze swept over each person, her tone unprecedentedly strict.
“I don’t care if you have an appetite; swallow it! And immediately take care of your personal matters. Once that door is kicked open, you will no longer have dignity, privacy, or choice.”
“This is your last dignity as human beings.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than—
Bang—!!!
A loud crash, accompanied by arrogant shouts, erupted from the direction of the main gate.
“By imperial order, search the house! The Shen family, come out immediately!”