“This little girl of the cultivation world has no choice but to level up for love!”
Ointment?
Fu Shuang froze. Before she could ask anything else, the shop waiter, busy with his chores, had already turned and walked away.
Her expression shifted slightly, becoming grave as she reached out to uncover the small medicinal jar. A faint, slightly bitter scent of herbal medicine wafted out.
It really was ointment.
The woman in white stood at the door, motionless for a moment. Her expression was as indifferent as frost and snow, but if one looked closely, they could detect a tremor deep in her eyes.
Fu Shuang’s expression went blank, leaving her somewhat at a loss.
It was as if what she held in her hand wasn’t an ordinary medicinal jar, but some sort of scorched potato that one would avoid at all costs.
What was this feeling? It was like preparing yourself to face wind, knives, and frost, only for the opponent to give you a harmless hug, leaving you unsure of how to respond.
Fu Shuang thought blankly: She knew I was injured?
How could she know…
She hadn’t said a word. Just like when she was alone as a child, she only knew how to lick her wounds in solitude, she wouldn’t use them to act spoiled or seek favor. Hidden between her wide sleeves, the injury was actually very inconspicuous. Among the three travelers, Feng Cheng hadn’t noticed, yet the seemingly careless Ming Yuemian had looked so closely.
Why would she send me medicine? What medicine is she really selling in this gourd (what is her hidden agenda)?
Fu Shuang pondered for a moment and reached a conclusion.
Could it be… this medicine is poisoned?
As she thought this, she nodded, affirming herself. She thought with certainty, It must be poisoned.
The rooms of the three were adjacent. Fu Shuang remained quiet for a moment, then, clutching the “poisoned” ointment, she walked to Ming Yuemian’s door and raised her hand to knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
No movement.
Knock, knock, knock.
Still no answer.
Fu Shuang’s patience ran out. She reached out and pushed the door. With a clatter, the door swung open. She looked up to see the room was empty, no sign of anyone.
Where is she? Where did she go?
No wonder she had someone else deliver the medicine, she wasn’t even in her room.
Fu Shuang was about to return to her own room when she hesitated. If Ming Yuemian wasn’t in her room, was she with Feng Cheng?
This suspicion caused her eyes to turn a few degrees colder, her pupils appearing as if coated in a thin layer of frost.
She walked to Feng Cheng’s door and knocked. This time, the door opened quickly: “Who is it?”
Feng Cheng’s voice rang out, and his handsome, spring-breeze like smiling face appeared before her.
“Shuang’er?” Feng Cheng was surprised, the kind of surprise that comes from joy. He immediately beamed, “Are you looking for me? Quick, come in.”
Fu Shuang didn’t move. She only raised her eyes to quickly scan the room behind him.
No one.
Fu Shuang asked, “Are you the only one in the room?”
“Hmm?” Feng Cheng didn’t understand why she was asking that. He paused and said, “Yes.”
Fu Shuang, naturally, wouldn’t take his word for it. She released her spiritual sense and swept it around the room, there truly was no one else there.
It seemed they really weren’t together.
Feng Cheng: “Shuang’er, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Fu Shuang retracted her gaze with a lack of interest. “Just asking. I’m going back to my room.”
Feng Cheng froze: “…Huh?”
Seeing Fu Shuang take the initiative to find him, he thought she wanted to talk about the matter regarding Miss Xiao Ju from this morning. He had been in his room drafting a speech, planning to find her once he had the right words. He hadn’t expected her to come to him first.
Fu Shuang was always distant. She wasn’t like Ming Yuemian, who wore her love and hate on her sleeve; she wouldn’t proactively tell him she was angry, but rather bottled it up inside.
Feng Cheng was initially very happy because he felt that this time, Fu Shuang couldn’t even hold it in. This behavior could only mean she loved him too much, her “vinegar jar” had completely overturned, and she could no longer pretend to be magnanimous and calm.
Unexpectedly, she just asked this nonsensical question and then left.
Feng Cheng was completely bewildered. He raised his hand to stop her: “Wait…”
Fu Shuang turned a deaf ear. She toyed with the porcelain jar between her fingers, thinking: Fine. Anyway, the evidence is in my hands. It won’t be too late to confront Ming Yuemian tomorrow.
Fu Shuang ignored Feng Cheng. The “bang” of her door closing served as a meager reply.
Feng Cheng: “…”
The “Consumerism” Trap
On the other side, Ming Yuemian was still wandering the streets.
She had just entered a pharmacy, bought the best external trauma medicine, and had the clerk deliver it to Fu Shuang. She still had quite a bit of the money Feng Cheng gave her left, so Ming Yuemian decided to see if there was anything else worth spending it on.
As for why she didn’t deliver the medicine to Fu Shuang herself…
It was indeed a good opportunity to show kindness, but Ming Yuemian feared Fu Shuang wouldn’t give her the chance. She guessed that if she went, Fu Shuang would likely refuse to take it, throw it back into her arms, and give her a cold order to leave.
But for an innocent clerk just doing his job, the upright and kind Fu Shuang wouldn’t make things difficult; she would certainly cooperate and accept it.
While doing this, Ming Yuemian couldn’t help but think smugly to herself: Heh heh, I really am a genius.
In fact, she had guessed correctly. Although they hadn’t known each other long, she had read the original novel and had a very accurate grasp of Fu Shuang’s personality.
Though Qujiang City was a remote little town, its commerce was very developed. Currently, the evening lights were just beginning to shine. The night was deep, but the lights on the street flowed, making the midnight as bright as day.
Ming Yuemian walked down the street with light steps, listening to the vendors shouting, being enthusiastically recruited all along the way.
She was born with beautiful and neat features. From her dress and manner, one could tell she was a young lady from a wealthy family. The street vendors weren’t fools, each was sharp-eyed and shrewd, wanting this rare “gold sponsor” to spend some money at their stalls.
“Young lady, young lady, look at my family’s silks! With your beauty, if you buy some to make clothes, you’ll surely look like a celestial being!”
“Young lady, young lady, look at my family’s rouge! Apply it to your cheeks, and your head-turn rate on the street will surely be 100%!”
“Young lady, young lady, look at my family’s hairpins…”
But in truth, the money Ming Yuemian had left wasn’t particularly much.
The vendors’ enthusiasm was like fire. Ming Yuemian simply couldn’t withstand it, so she could only smile awkwardly and “paint a cake” (make a hollow promise) for them: “Uh… that, I’ll come back next time, next time, haha.”
After saying that, she greased her feet and quickly turned into a slightly less crowded alley, leaving the swarm of promoting vendors behind her.
“Phew…” Ming Yuemian leaned over slightly, supporting herself on her knees and wiping thin sweat from her forehead. She thought to herself that the sweet trap of consumerism was indeed an invitation to sin.
After resting for a moment, she looked up and saw the shop in front of her.
A Bagua plate and a peach wood sword hung at the entrance of this shop at a glance, it was a place for masters and cultivators but it was lonely and neglected. It looked old and dilapidated, likely having been there for many years.
Ming Yuemian thought for a bit, lifted her skirt, and walked in.
The shop was filled with a faint smell of decaying dust, and the light was dim. Ming Yuemian covered her nose and walked inward with light steps, her eyes curiously scanning the surroundings.
“Young lady, do you practice cultivation?”
An old voice suddenly rang out. Ming Yuemian was startled: “Ah!”
She turned and saw a figure by the bookshelf. It was an old man with hair as white as snow and a long beard like frost, looking at her mysteriously. He repeated: “Young lady, do you practice cultivation?”
This tone sounded like the people handing out flyers on the street before Ming Yuemian crossed over, the demonic whisper of “Beauty, want to sign up for a card?”
In modern times, Ming Yuemian would have directly refused, saying, “No, go away.”
Now, she could only say: “I do.”
The old man’s eyes brightened slightly. Before Ming Yuemian could react, a sudden gust of wind blew toward her. The next moment, the old man was standing right in front of her, almost touching her face.
Ming Yuemian leaned back, thinking: Is this harassment?
The old man rubbed his hands together, his cloudy eyes staring at her fixedly: “So decisive! You’re good material. This old man admires you. It doesn’t matter if you have no spiritual roots, as long as you have the heart, this old man can carve any stubborn stone into fine jade… Eh? Wait, you already have spiritual roots?”
“What’s this then?” The old man straightened up, suddenly losing interest. “How boring.”
He talked to himself a great deal, giving Ming Yuemian no chance to interject, and then turned to leave on his own.
“Pick what you want to buy yourself. The prices are marked. No bargaining. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Ming Yuemian: “…”
She asked humbly: “Why is it boring just because I have spiritual roots?”
She really didn’t understand this old man’s logic.
The old man said: “If you’ve already opened your spiritual roots, it means you must already belong to an immortal sect. If you have a sect, you have a master. If you have a master, what does it have to do with me?”
Ming Yuemian understood a bit. “Are you very short of disciples?”
The old man’s back seemed to stiffen for a moment. “Me? Short of disciples?! Humph, people wanting to be my disciple are lined up from here all the way to Tianxuan Pavilion!”
Ming Yuemian: “…”
She started to find it funny.
The old man thought she was mocking him and flew into a rage: “Get out, get out! If you’re not buying, don’t get in the way of my business!”
Ming Yuemian wasn’t angry instead, she thought the old man was quite cute: “Who said I’m not buying? I’m buying, I’m buying.”
“Excuse me, do you have any sword manuals or secret techniques for ‘newbies’ here?”
The secret manuals taken from the Tianxuan Pavilion library were too difficult for Ming Yuemian to read. She felt it was because she had received textbooks that didn’t match her level.
She was currently just a first-grade elementary student in the cultivation world, of course she couldn’t understand high school textbooks! This was natural, not a problem with her intelligence.
“What on earth is a ‘newbie’?” The old man looked at her in surprise.
“Oh, it means a cultivator who has just entered the threshold.”
The old man found it even more incredible: “Your spiritual roots are already so mature, and you’ve only just entered the threshold??? Which sect are you from, and who is your master?”
He had a look on his face that said, “Don’t say it, it’s too embarrassing.”
Ming Yuemian felt it was better not to blacken Tianxuan Pavilion’s name. “I previously suffered a head injury, so I’ve forgotten many things I learned. Isn’t this just starting from scratch?”
“Humph, I bet your level wasn’t that high even before the head injury.” The old man grumbled and cursed, but he still turned around to rummage through the bookshelf and found an old book with yellowed, curled edges.
He handed it to Ming Yuemian as if taking out a basic exercise book for first-grade addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division: “Take it. If you still can’t understand this one, just dig out your own spiritual roots and quit the cultivation world.”
Ming Yuemian tried reading a page or two and found the content truly easy to understand. This book even started from how to condense the Sea of Qi.
The price was also very beautiful, leaving Ming Yuemian who looked rich but actually wasn’t very satisfied.
She paid the money. Having finished the transaction, she didn’t leave immediately, but asked: “Is there a supporting service?”
Having done business for so many years, the old man heard of this service for the first time: “What supporting service?”
“It’s…” Ming Yuemian said shamelessly, “If there’s anything in the book I don’t understand, can I ask you for answers?”
Old man: “…”
Ming Yuemian: “I can pay extra.”
When the time came, she would just ask her ATM machine senior brother for it.
The old man changed his tune: “Fine then.”
He handed Ming Yuemian a talisman: “A Thousand Mile Sound Transmission Talisman. If you want to ask something, transmit your voice directly to me. I won’t come to your door to answer questions.”
Ming Yuemian accepted it with satisfaction: “Many thanks!”
Leveling Up for Love
Early the next morning.
Fu Shuang always woke up early and didn’t have a habit of staying in bed, except for yesterday, but that was due to being drunk, a special reason for not being able to get up.
When she left her room, she brought the porcelain jar with her, intending to find Ming Yuemian to get a clear answer after breakfast.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she went downstairs, she saw that red figure in the courtyard. She was holding a not so standard horse stance, looking somewhat ridiculous, looking down at a book spread out on a large rock in front of her.
Fu Shuang froze. Ming Yuemian also saw her and waved.
“Sister, good morning!”
Since she spoke, Fu Shuang could no longer pretend not to see her. She walked over as if nothing was wrong and replied: “Up so early?”
She didn’t think Ming Yuemian was this kind of person because at Tianxuan Pavilion, when she got up, this person would still be snoring, habitually sleeping in every day.
Ming Yuemian gave an “Mhm,” beaming with smiles.
Fu Shuang looked at her strange posture, temporarily forgetting to question her about the ointment: “…What are you doing?”
“Cultivating! Sister, can’t you tell?” Ming Yuemian blinked at Fu Shuang and made a fist full of energy, as if she had drunk ten bowls of chicken soup. She said with great drive, “The whole day’s work depends on a good start in the morning. Starting from today, I’m going to work hard and cultivate well!”
Because she wanted to catch up to Fu Shuang’s level and protect her, this talk sounded a bit like a fantasy now, but she was serious. Taking it slowly, she would one day achieve it.
Just as modern high school students study hard to get into the same university as the person they like, this little girl of the cultivation world had no choice but to level up for love!