The night breeze was slightly cool. Yun Pianpian, holding the hem of her skirt, ran along the bluestone path beside the lotus pond, circled the rugged rockery, and finally spotted Liu Yun's figure behind the mottled shadows of the stones.
That maid was holding a plain gauze lantern, its warm yellow glow reflecting on her round cheeks. Seeing Yun Pianpian emerge from behind the rockery, she deliberately put on a stern face and chided, "Where has Miss gone? Liu Yun had such a hard time finding you!"
Yun Pianpian hurried past her, secretly pressing a hand to her rapidly beating chest—it must be because she ran too fast, it must be.
Seeing her walking ahead with her head down, Liu Yun asked no more questions, merely followed quietly at her side, holding the lantern to illuminate the bluestone path. The light and shadow of the lantern flickered, casting fragmented spots of light onto the stone slabs, like scattered starlight.
When they reached the vicinity of the bedroom, they saw Liu Ying from afar, a blade of grass held between her teeth, shading her eyes and looking around. That maid had sharp eyes; she rushed forward in one leap, her gaze circling Yun Pianpian's face, then suddenly tilted her head, her eyes full of curiosity: "Miss, why is your face so red?"
The air instantly grew still.
Liu Yun coughed lightly. The two maids tacitly supported Yun Pianpian, one on each side, escorting her back to the room as if protecting some fragile treasure.
The moment the carved wooden door was pushed open, Yun Pianpian froze in place.
The previous dilapidation was completely gone—the walls were re-covered with plain silk, the sunken bed had been replaced with a Peony vine four-poster bed, and the bluestone floor was polished enough to reflect a person's image. The most eye-catching was the brand-new dressing table; on the mother-of-pearl inlaid surface, Rouge, powders, and hairpins lay in a dazzling array, glowing warmly under the candlelight.
In modern times, she squeezed into a dilapidated apartment of thirty-five square meters, sharing with three other households, and climbing six flights of stairs every day—when had she ever imagined living in a room where the sleeping quarters alone were dozens of square meters?
Her nose suddenly felt sore, and a voice whispered softly in her heart: 'Wuwu Grandpa, Pianpian is finally living a good life now.'
Seeing their Master standing stunned outside the door, Liu Yun and Liu Ying exchanged a look. Liu Ying playfully tiptoed and gently pushed Yun Pianpian's back: "Miss~ Hurry up and go in!"
She sounded like a cheerful little sparrow, her voice crisp, "If you dawdle any longer, the hot water will get cold. Miss must be exhausted today, right? Let this servant serve you well for your bath and change of clothes~"
Yun Pianpian was thus half-pushed, half-coaxed into the bathing room. Pushing the door open, a mist of hot steam rushed toward her. Plain gauze sleeping robes hung neatly on the rack, and the central cypress wood tub was filled with hot water, the surface floating with layers of flower petals that shimmered softly in the candlelight.
She curiously picked up a few petals. Liu Ying's little head suddenly popped out from the side: "Miss, these are Flame Lily petals!" Her eyes sparkled, "Combined with the Marrow Cleansing Elixir that Master Shen gave today, it will surely make Miss reborn tomorrow~" After speaking, she playfully blew a breath onto the water, causing a ripple.
The two maids were about to step forward to help her change, but as their hands touched her waist, Yun Pianpian was startled, clutching her collar with one hand and grabbing her belt with the other, her voice completely changing pitch: "Wait! I, I'll do it myself, you two go out first..."
Liu Yun and Liu Ying exchanged glances—wasn't serving the Master during her bath the most natural thing in the world? Why did Miss act as if she were about to be molested?
At this moment, the shyness ingrained in the Southern girl's bones completely flared up. She suddenly recalled the shock of seeing the large public bathhouses in the North during university: in the vast white steam, young women stood completely exposed, which scared her into buying a shower curtain online overnight. Unfortunately, after many attempts, she couldn't overcome her psychological barrier, and ended up curling up in the narrow bathroom of her dorm to shower for the remaining four years.
Only after confirming that the sound of footsteps outside the screen had truly faded away did she cautiously shed her clothes. As the warm water flowed over her shoulders and neck, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment.
The fragrance of the Flame Lily seeped into her skin strand by strand, and the fatigue of the past few days gradually dissipated with the rising steam. As the water gently swayed, she looked at the flickering candlelight reflected in the water and suddenly felt that perhaps transmigrating to this era where she could bathe alone was also a kind of fortune.
She opened the bottle of Marrow Cleansing Elixir given by Shen Yue, and a rich Medicinal Fragrance rushed out. Engraved on the bottle were a few small characters: "Half a pill taken internally, half a pill used externally."
"Quite thoughtful," she chuckled lightly, flicking her finger to divide the Elixir in half.
The moment half the pill was dropped into the tub, the clear water surged, and the surface emitted a faint fluorescence, the flower petals tossed up and down by the agitated current. She tilted her head and swallowed the other half—
"Ugh—"
Yun Pianpian's pupils instantly shook. An indescribable bitterness exploded in her mouth, as if ten pounds of Coptis mixed with mud had been poured down her throat; it was so bitter that her soul felt like it was floating out of the top of her head.
"This thing must be poison..." She clutched her mouth in pain, terrified she might vomit it up.
At this moment, she would rather trade a city for a sip of clear water to rinse her mouth; her entire being was thoroughly marinated in the medicinal taste.
At this moment, it seemed as if she had no life or ideals left.
The water in the tub gradually turned a faint greenish-yellow, and a stinging sensation seeped in through her pores, like thousands of silver needles moving beneath her skin. Even more terrifyingly, thick black mucus began to ooze from her body, and a foul, fishy stench instantly permeated the entire bathing room, comparable to a rotten fish left to bake in the midsummer sun for three days.
"Am I... going to die again?"
This was her last thought before she passed out.
—The next second, she completely lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, heaven and earth had drastically changed.
A vast, boundless crystallized earth stretched beneath her feet, and she stood suspended in mid-air, surrounded by absolute silence.
Based on her understanding of this world, this was the Original Owner's Spirit Sea—a domain that should have been rippling with Spiritual Qi, but was now blocked by thick silt, resembling a dried riverbed, utterly lifeless.
Yun Pianpian frowned; the Spirit Meridian wouldn't become like this for no reason. She delved deeper into the Original Owner's memories, and scenes flashed by like a revolving lantern—
"Come, Pianpian, drink this spirit-refreshing soup. You'll surely shine brightly during the test later!"
In the memory, Third Aunt's smile was gentle as she held a bowl of soup with a strange luster. The Original Owner didn't suspect anything and drank it all down in one gulp.
But the moment she stepped onto the Testing Platform and placed her hand on the Spirit Meridian Sphere—
Dead silence.
The Spirit Meridian Sphere showed no reaction, as dull as a common stone. Once, twice, three times... The muffled laughter of the onlookers gradually turned into unrestrained mockery.
"The Legitimate Daughter of the Duke's Residence is actually trash!"
"She doesn't even have a Spirit Meridian; she truly disgraces the Yun Family!"
The Original Owner felt intense pain all over her body and finally collapsed onto the Testing Platform, the continuous jeers echoing in her ears. From then on, the title "Yun Family Trash" echoed throughout the Eastern Profound Nation.
"Oh~ My dear Third Aunt..." Yun Pianpian sneered, a cold glint flashing in her eyes, "So it was you."
How could she have forgotten?
"Currently, Spirit Meridian attributes are divided into six types: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, and Thunder. Most people awaken only one or two Spirit Meridians in their entire lifetime. The more Spirit Meridians one possesses, the broader the path of cultivation."
The voice from the memory echoed in her ears—
"Dual Wood-Fire Meridians can become an Alchemist, dual Fire-Metal Meridians can forge divine weapons, Fire-Earth synergy can draw Talismans..."
—And all of this was inseparable from the Fire Spirit Meridian.