Although Shi Ying knew Yun Jinghe couldn’t see her, she still acted like a child caught sneaking candy, quickly hiding the pills behind her back and feigning composure. “What do you mean, wrong ones?”
“Check if you grabbed the wrong pills. These aren’t the same as yesterday’s.” Yun Jinghe wasn’t in a hurry, her tone calm and steady.
Shi Ying bit her lip as she looked at the two pills lying in Yun Jinghe’s palm. “Don’t they all look the same? How can you be sure I got the wrong ones?”
“The smell is different from yesterday’s.”
Yun Jinghe lightly sniffed the pills in her hand. Though she didn’t recognize every type of pill, she remembered that yesterday’s medicine didn’t have this scent.
Clearly, Shi Ying hadn’t considered this. She racked her brain, trying to recall which two bottles she had taken yesterday.
But at the time, she had only focused on remembering that Yun Jinghe needed the Detoxification Pill and the Five-Cycle Pill, she couldn’t recall which ones she had casually grabbed.
“Are both of them wrong?” Shi Ying asked again, her voice tinged with frustration.
Hearing this, Yun Jinghe’s eyelid twitched slightly, but she still answered, “Yes, both are wrong. I need the Detoxification Pill and the Five-Cycle Pill.”
She listened to the clinking sounds of bottles being picked up and set down repeatedly until another pill was pressed to her lips.
Aside from the cool touch of the pill, there was also an unfamiliar sensation, warm and soft.
Yun Jinghe’s heart inexplicably tightened, and she turned her face away as if scalded.
“What’s wrong? Hurry up and take it,” Shi Ying urged, chasing after her with the pill.
The next moment, Yun Jinghe grabbed her wrist to create distance, her fingers resting on the thin fabric of Shi Ying’s sleeve. She could almost feel Shi Ying’s body heat seeping through the cloth onto her fingertips.
Yun Jinghe’s lashes fluttered slightly, her voice lowering. “I’ll do it myself.”
She took the pill from Shi Ying’s hand, pinching it between her fingers. Just as she was about to sniff it, she heard Shi Ying’s impatient urging.
“Just take it already.” Shi Ying looked anxious, she wasn’t even sure if this was the same pill she had given yesterday.
This made Yun Jinghe suddenly realize that Shi Ying had been watching her the whole time, while she herself couldn’t see. It made her feel as though her every move was being scrutinized.
Her previously composed movements now felt stiff and awkward, tinged with discomfort.
In her fluster, she forgot to check the pill’s scent and simply put it in her mouth. Only after swallowing did she realize her mistake.
“Was it right? Was it right?” Shi Ying pressed eagerly the moment she saw Yun Jinghe swallow.
But how could Yun Jinghe possibly know whether the pill she had just taken was the right one? She could only mumble a vague, “Mhm.”
“I’ll handle it myself from now on,” she said, thinking she could just sniff the pills herself and spare Shi Ying the trouble.
“Why? Don’t you trust me?” Shi Ying asked, her confidence bolstered by her earlier ‘success.’ She didn’t want to relinquish the task, lest she make another mistake.
Yun Jinghe froze, then shook her head. “No.”
She had intended to explain, but recalling some of Shi Ying’s peculiarities, she changed her mind. “Alright, then I’ll keep troubling you.”
Shi Ying happily resumed rummaging through the bottles, eagerly presenting a newly poured pill to Yun Jinghe. “Here.”
This time, Yun Jinghe steadied herself, unaffected. She sniffed it. “Wrong.”
“Is it not the right one?” Shi Ying leaned in, frowning at the medicine in Yun Jinghe’s hand, her breath brushing against Yun Jinghe’s fair and slender fingers.
Yun Jinghe instinctively wanted to lower her hand but resisted the urge.
She still remembered when she first began her cultivation as a child her master had warned her not to rush when encountering obstacles in her training. Only when she fixated on them would they become impossible to ignore.
The same principle applied here. She couldn’t let herself be overly bothered by Shi Ying’s actions.
Fortunately, Shi Ying soon pulled her head back and resumed rummaging through the medicine bottles.
Before long, another pill landed in Yun Jinghe’s palm. After examining it, she shook her head again. “Not this one either.”
After several repetitions, Yun Jinghe’s confusion only grew.
Shi Ying, while searching, had also been discreetly observing Yun Jinghe’s expression. She was starting to regret not agreeing to Yun Jinghe’s request to find the medicine herself.
Now, only two bottles remained on the table. Shi Ying refused to believe she could still pick the wrong one. Just as she reached for one and was about to pour it out, Yun Jinghe spoke up.
“Miss Shi.” Yun Jinghe’s brows were tightly knit, her elegant face carrying a trace of solemnity, though her tone held hesitation. “You!”
Shi Ying blinked nervously. “What’s wrong?”
As she spoke, she subtly inched toward the door. She remembered a few handy farming tools leaning against the wall outside.
If she were truly exposed, she’d dash out, grab one, and knock Yun Jinghe out.
But Yun Jinghe was merely weighing her words, not wanting to be abrupt. “Have you ever attended school?”
“No.” Shi Ying was uncharacteristically honest this time.
Schools were places where human children went for early education. By the time she came into existence, she had already shed any childlike form. Besides, she wasn’t entirely human she had no need for such things.
Hearing this answer, Yun Jinghe’s earlier doubts were resolved.
“So, you can’t read, is that it?”
Only then did Shi Ying realize Yun Jinghe thought she was an illiterate dropout.
Relieved that the crisis had been averted, she exhaled, then hopped onto the table, twirling a strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. She admitted freely, “That’s right.”
Yun Jinghe couldn’t help but sigh softly, wondering what exactly she had taken the day before.
Suddenly, she felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. “Are you angry?”
It wasn’t that Yun Jinghe felt nothing at all, but she wasn’t angry enough to lash out.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Shi Ying lowered her head, rubbing the fabric pinched between her fingers. “I was afraid you’d look down on me. I was wrong, okay?”
When Yun Jinghe remained silent, Shi Ying braced one hand on the table and pulled Yun Jinghe closer with the other, leaning in slightly. “Then, Sister, will you teach me how to read?”
Her softened voice was like delicate flower petals brushing against Yun Jinghe’s ear, sending a shiver down half her body.
The refusal simply wouldn’t leave Yun Jinghe’s lips.
Due to her master’s high seniority, Yun Jinghe’s own standing in Taicang Mountain was also elevated. She knew her personality was rigid and uninteresting, juniors usually didn’t dare act out around her, let alone behave so coquettishly.
Yet this version of Shi Ying reminded her of a tabby cat she once encountered on the back slopes of Taicang Mountain. It would always wait for her on the path she took back up the mountain after finishing her tasks, rubbing affectionately against her legs, utterly fond of being spoiled.
She never once crouched down to pet it, merely watching quietly as it nuzzled against her.
Over time, it became a little habit known to no one else.
But at some point, the cat disappeared.
Still, every time she descended the mountain and returned, she would sit in that same spot for a while, though she never saw it again.
She thought perhaps the cat had grown weary of her dull and uninteresting nature, so it left.
Now, Yun Jinghe’s fingers twitched slightly at her side, her palm tingling faintly.
“Alright,” she said, the word carrying the weight of both a sigh and a promise.
But even as she agreed, teaching Shi Ying to read would have to wait until her vision recovered.
Besides, she currently had no way of identifying which medicine was safe to take. Shi Ying helpfully suggested she simply try all the pills, one of them was bound to be the right one.
Yun Jinghe could only reply with a resigned, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
She asked Shi Ying if there were any households nearby where they could ask someone literate for help.
But Shi Ying claimed there were no homes within ten miles. Yun Jinghe distinctly remembered hearing a rooster’s crow that morning, to which Shi Ying explained it was just a wild pheasant in the mountains.
Indeed, Yun Jinghe couldn’t detect any signs of other people outside. Still, she found it odd that a young woman like Shi Ying would live alone in such a remote place wasn’t it unsafe?
Then again, perhaps Shi Ying had some unresolved conflict with the neighbors and preferred solitude. Yun Jinghe decided not to press further.
No medicine was fine, it just meant her recovery might take longer.
She only wondered what those three pills she’d swallowed actually were and whether they might have any adverse effects.
As for meals, when Shi Ying brought over another unidentifiable offering, Yun Jinghe once again politely declined, insisting she wasn’t hungry.
She had worried her refusal to eat might arouse suspicion, but Shi Ying didn’t seem to mind. What bothered her was Yun Jinghe’s rejection of the food she had prepared.
Even with Yun Jinghe’s considerable patience, such persistent kindness was becoming hard to endure.
Their back-and-forth continued for days. Occasionally, Shi Ying would return with some delicate pastries edible, at least.
Yun Jinghe had asked about the origin of these treats, but Shi Ying always brushed off the question.
Over these days, Yun Jinghe’s injuries gradually healed, though her spiritual energy recovered at a snail’s pace. She wondered if she needed to try a different approach.
As she pondered, Shi Ying returned with a pile of wild fruits gathered from the mountains.
Seated at the table, Yun Jinghe ran her fingers over the round, cool fruits before her, their surfaces still damp with dew.
“Did you pick these yourself?” she asked.
“Yeah, and I even cut my hand doing it,” Shi Ying grumbled offhandedly.
Yun Jinghe turned toward her though she couldn’t see and asked, “Is it bad?”
“Nah, it’s nothing,” Shi Ying dismissed.
But Yun Jinghe still fetched her medicinal ointment and insisted Shi Ying apply it to the wound, displeased with her careless attitude.
Because in her eyes, Shi Ying was an ordinary person, unlike herself. Ordinary people were born, aged, fell ill, and died. She had seen cases where a common wound infection ultimately claimed the life of a normal person.
“I know, I know. You’re even more nagging than the,” Shi Ying caught herself just in time, “than the crickets on the tree behind the hill near my house.”
Yun Jinghe still wanted to say more, but under Shi Ying’s urging, she finally reached out and picked up a fruit, placing it in her mouth.
“Is it good?” Shi Ying watched her eagerly.
Yun Jinghe slowly swallowed the fruit in her mouth. “Mmm, you should try some too.”
Shi Ying glanced at the pile of colorful fruits on the table. “I won’t eat these. I picked them especially for you.”
She deliberately emphasized the last part of her sentence.
Hearing this, Yun Jinghe’s eyes curved slightly, as if she couldn’t suppress a smile. However, the next words out of Shi Ying’s mouth froze that smile on her face.
“So, can you let me be your partner now?”
She slowly set down the fruit in her hand and pressed her lips together. “No.”
“Why not?” Shi Ying couldn’t help raising her voice. “Aren’t you happy?”
If she was happy, she should agree.
Yun Jinghe knew that lofty, reasonable words wouldn’t work on her, so she changed her approach. “Miss Shi, no one would agree to be someone’s partner just because of a wild fruit.”
“How can you say that? If you agree, then there would be such a case!” Shi Ying stubbornly insisted.
Yun Jinghe shook her head slowly, appearing rather unyielding.
Shi Ying abruptly stood up. Hearing the commotion, Yun Jinghe frowned and reached out to grab her. “Miss Shi, where are you going?”
The response was Shi Ying’s angry voice. “None of your business!”
As the two struggled, a familiar sound rang out once more.
“……” Yun Jinghe awkwardly withdrew her hand. After a long silence, she said, “Miss Shi, perhaps it’s best if you don’t wear this family’s clothes anymore in the future.”