Seven days later, Jiang Xu woke up from her meditation to find Ming Yuan propping up her chin and staring straight at her, her gaze unfocused as if she were lost in thought.
A sudden flash of mischief seized her. She rose quietly and, with lightning-fast speed, rushed to Ming Yuan’s ear, letting out a loud, sudden shout, “Ha!”
Ming Yuan had been spacing out, and startled by the sudden fright, her hand trembled slightly. Reflexively, she almost slapped out, her hand already raised, before she remembered in the nick of time that Jiang Xu was the protagonist she was here on a mission to assist.
Cannot hit her, cannot hit her. This is the female protagonist, she cannot be beaten to death. If she is beaten to death, there is no point in staying here anymore.
Ming Yuan rolled her eyes. She wakes up from refining medicine, and the female protagonist becomes childish all over again!
Then, a thought struck her, and Ming Yuan’s gaze turned crafty. You started this yourself, Jiang Xu.
Originally brimming with excitement, Jiang Xu noticed that Ming Yuan didn’t react at all and instead stared at her with a gloomy expression. Her heart couldn’t help fluttering with panic, and she spoke cautiously.
“Ming Yuan, are you angry? I did not mean to. Well, okay, I was meaning to.”
Jiang Xu felt a bit discouraged. “I was wrong. I won’t do it next time, don’t be angry.” Please don’t ignore me.
Catching the underlying plea in her words, Ming Yuan felt a bit helpless. She smiled and glanced at her. “I’m not angry. It was just so sudden that I got startled.”
Jiang Xu checked her expression once more to confirm she truly wasn’t angry before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Seeing her relax, Ming Yuan rolled her eyes playfully and waved her hand to summon a large wooden bathing barrel.
She had scavenged this from outside after finishing her medicine refinement while Jiang Xu was still meditating.
The barrel was crafted from fine jade material, with a ring of fish-shaped patterns carved along its exterior. Its capacity was quite large, and visually, it could easily accommodate two people.
Compared to those crafted by humans, it looked a bit crude, but placed among the demons, it could already be considered quite decent.
Ming Yuan looked at Jiang Xu, her smile brilliant and radiant. “Since your injuries have healed and my medicine is done, let’s proceed with our first medicinal bath.”
Jiang Xu’s mind was completely captured by Ming Yuan’s brilliant smile. She stood there dazed, thinking how gorgeous the other looked when she smiled, before finally reacting and repeating in a daze, “A medicinal bath?”
It couldn’t be what she was imagining, right? Surely not! Ming Yuan was such a serious person, oh no, soul, how could she possibly joke about something like this?
Ming Yuan chuckled softly and nodded. “Yes, a medicinal bath. Exactly what you’re thinking, laying bare to one another.”
That’s for startling me just now, hmph!
Ignoring Jiang Xu standing frozen in place with a helpless expression, Ming Yuan directly waved her hand to pour the medicinal liquid, which had taken nearly five days to refine, into the bathing barrel. She then took out the Glazed Fruit, refined with soul fire, sliced it into several petals, placed them on a jade plate, and set the plate on the table.
Afterwards, she formed a hand seal with her fingertips, directly drawing up an undiscovered millennium-old spiritual spring water from the deep core of the Tengyun Mountain Range, a spell formation she had laid down the last time she accompanied Jiang Xu there.
Having completed all of this, Ming Yuan separated a wisp of deep blue natal soul fire, placed it beneath the bathing barrel, and looked at Jiang Xu.
“Alright, take off your clothes now and get in. Hold a slice of the Glazed Fruit in your mouth; the process will be extremely painful. But you don’t need to be afraid, I will be right beside you.”
Jiang Xu’s brows knitted together into a tangled knot. Is pain even the issue here? You are not planning to stay right beside me the whole time, are you?
“Ming Yuan, I know. Why don’t you go outside first? I can do it myself.” Jiang Xu felt her face starting to burn hot again.
Ming Yuan crossed her arms and watched her. Hearing this, she didn’t budge at all, using her eyes to signal that she could begin.
“Ming Yuan, Ah Yuan, Yuan Yuan, I really was wrong! I’ll never scare you again next time. I beg Lord Ming Yuan to show mercy and spare this humble one,” Jiang Xu wailed, attempting to suppress the complex, shy emotions churning in her heart.
Only then did Ming Yuan lower her arms, stand straight, and look at the woman whose face was as red as morning clouds, speaking with utter seriousness.
“I am not joking with you. I cannot leave. The agony of this medicinal bath is beyond anything you can imagine. Even for me, it is merely an estimate, because your body might be even more fragile than I perceive.
You are very likely to experience pain so intense you lose consciousness. When that happens, the medicinal efficacy will invade your body, and I need to protect your heart, otherwise you will be in mortal danger.
Furthermore, this wisp of soul fire is my natal soul fire, different from ordinary soul fires. If I am not here, it will lose control and burn you down to absolute nothingness.”
Jiang Xu looked at her half-convinced, her gaze filled with suspicion.
Really? Then what was with that crafty look you gave me just now? That smile of yours was clearly gloating!
“Really.” Ming Yuan felt a fresh wave of helplessness. “Originally, this medicinal bath could have been delayed for a few days to give you more mental preparation. However…”
Ming Yuan glanced at her, the meaning in her gaze self-evident. Who told you to scare me, and startled me good at that.
This time, it was Jiang Xu’s turn to feel helpless. How had she not known that Ming Yuan was such a petty, grudge-holding soul spirit?
“No need to look for excuses to postpone it. Sooner or later, you have to soak in it, and it won’t just be once. To completely nurse your body back to health, you’ll need at least three times.”
Seeing Jiang Xu’s expression turn utterly hopeless, Ming Yuan found it somewhat amusing and added, “However, it won’t be as agonizing as this time in the future.”
Agonizing? She didn’t care about the pain at all!
Ming Yuan didn’t know how, despite Jiang Xu saying nothing, she could somehow read her thoughts. She smiled and remained silent.
Jiang Xu didn’t care about the pain right now simply because she hadn’t experienced it yet. Once she endured this round, she would definitely feel lingering fear the next time, because it was going to hurt too much!
It felt as if she herself might have gone through something similar before; a few flashes of imagery sped through Ming Yuan’s mind.
Inside a pool glowing white on the exterior and filled with medicinal liquid, a young maiden sat quietly. Her body endured the baptism of the medicine, suffering pain to the absolute limit, yet she bit her lips so hard she didn’t make a single sound. Her eyes were blood-red, and fresh blood overflowed from her mouth to dissolve into the pool.
Ming Yuan’s gaze darkened. She shook her head, cut off the train of thought, and looked at Jiang Xu, teasing gently.
“Jiang Xu, are you feeling shy? Actually, you and I are both women; seeing each other won’t change anything. Besides, I can’t even be counted as human anymore.”
Hearing her first question, Jiang Xu secretly refuted in her heart, Not at all!
She, Jiang Xu, aspired to be the premier night assassin of the future who would slaughter every last dog of the Gong and Song clans, how could she possibly still feel shy!
Yet, hearing Ming Yuan say she wasn’t even considered human anymore, an unfamiliar, sour ache surged from the depths of her heart.
She hesitated and fussed awkwardly for a long while, knowing she couldn’t escape it today. She quickly popped a slice of the Glazed Fruit into her mouth, blushed as she untied her garments, and leaped into the bathing barrel at top speed, splashing water everywhere.
The moment she entered the barrel, Jiang Xu felt the medicinal liquid surge wildly into her body, especially toward her heart.
Feeling the liquid trying to breach her heart, a warm current flowed past, instantly subduing the pain in her chest.
Aside from her heart, Jiang Xu felt every other past injury on her body begin to ache dully; the deeper the wound, the more profound the agony at this moment.
Pain, it hurt so much. It was hardly any less excruciating than having her heart dug out. It felt like scorching flames roasting her flesh inch by inch, or needles slowly piercing through every wound.
Dizzy and muddled, Jiang Xu had no capacity left to remember any prior shyness or awkwardness, all that remained was agonizing torture.
She felt time dragging on excruciatingly slowly, even slower than her time in the water dungeon. Oh, and Ming Yuan hadn’t even told her when it would end.
Thinking this, Jiang Xu felt hope was light-years away, and the pain intensified.
Ming Yuan watched the woman in the bathing barrel. Surrounded by churning medicinal mist and rising vapor, the woman had bitten her lips until they bled, yet she stubbornly refused to make a sound, keeping her eyes tightly shut as she floated within the liquid.
In an instant, Ming Yuan was reminded of the young maiden in her vision. Even without her memories, she knew that was her younger self; the resemblance was truly unexpectedly striking!
Clearing her mind and refusing to dwell on it further, Ming Yuan kept her eyes fixed on Jiang Xu, silently guarding her side.
“Hm?” Ming Yuan narrowed her gaze, noticing a pattern flickering faintly on Jiang Xu’s back amidst the wash of the medicinal liquid. What was that?
Ming Yuan waved her hand to block the medicinal liquid from closing in, slowly bringing the pattern into clear view.
That was a butterfly!
The butterfly flickered in and out of existence, casting an illusory shadow that fluttered in circles around Jiang Xu before slowly folding its wings, showing signs of fading away.
A Desolate Butterfly! The Wood Spirit Physique!
Ming Yuan felt a jolt of shock. Finally, she understood why Jiang Xu had her heart dug out when they first met, and why the system had said Jiang Xu’s heart could save Song Qingling.
No wonder! Even after being thrown into the pauper’s grave, having her body eroded to death by malignant qi, and enduring such blood-curdling agony, Jiang Xu could still be reincarnated as a favored aristocratic princess.
Remembering the original substitute Heavenly Dao, a surge of killing intent rose in Ming Yuan’s heart for the first time. Truly meddlesome.
Then, recalling that surnamed Song woman who took Jiang Xu’s heart, her murderous intent grew increasingly fierce. Such a terrible waste of natural treasures!
Watching the butterfly show signs of dissipation, Ming Yuan knew now was not the time for idle thoughts. Forcing down the overwhelming killing intent in her chest, she channeled a massive torrent of soul power to pour wildly into Jiang Xu’s heart, while once again separating a wisp of natal soul fire to sink into Jiang Xu’s back.
The butterfly’s wings gently unfurled once more, fluttering as it slowly circled along Jiang Xu’s back.
Ming Yuan cast a barrier to completely envelop the courtyard, infused the remainder of the Glazed Fruit directly into Jiang Xu’s body, sensed her condition with a final glance, and vanished into thin air.
Jiang Xu had been suffering excruciating pain in the bathing barrel, but gradually, the agony receded, replaced by a warm, all-over sensation of indescribable comfort and ease.
She wanted to ask Ming Yuan if it was almost over, but found she couldn’t move or even open her eyes.
However, in her peripheral vision, she could sense a butterfly fluttering around her, causing a slight tickle. Jiang Xu reached out within her consciousness, and the butterfly fluttered its wings tremulously, coming to rest right upon her fingertip.