The book had mentioned that Jin Haochen had been betrayed by someone close to him in his early years, and he had nearly died from it. When the Jin family found him, he was barely breathing, and even after recovering, he suffered from severe aftereffects. As a result, his personality became extreme and paranoid, and he looked down on everyone—except the female lead, who alone won his heart.
Could this be exactly what happened today?
…
Liao Xing had only intended to beat the men down, but unexpectedly, all of them ended up dead.
You Yu walked over and saw black blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. “Third Senior Brother, they seem to have died from poisoning.”
Liao Xing nodded. The two of them looked toward Jin Haochen, who uttered the words “thank you” to them before fainting dramatically.
“Third Senior Brother, what do we do?”
“His injuries are severe. Let’s bring him back to the sect for treatment.”
They were very close to Taiyi Zong, so it would be more convenient to bring him back for treatment.
More importantly, he didn’t know medicine himself, so they needed to bring him back for Senior Sister to examine.
Seeing that Jin Haochen looked like he could kick the bucket at any moment, the two didn’t delay. They brought him back to Taiyi Zong and headed straight for Ji Qing’s mountain.
Ji Qing had successfully advanced to the fourth rank today and hadn’t yet had the chance to tell her junior brothers when she saw Liao Xing and You Yu arriving with someone.
“Senior Sister, save him!”
Ji Qing could tell at a glance that this person was seriously injured. “Bring him to the guest room.”
Liao Xing carried Jin Haochen inside, and Ji Qing followed to examine him. “This person is quite lucky.”
“Why?”
“I just refined a fourth-rank healing pill today, and it happens to be suitable for his injuries.” Ji Qing took out a pill and fed it to him, then treated the wounds on his body.
While she was treating his wounds, Jin Haochen opened his eyes, glanced at her in a daze, and then fell back asleep.
After finishing with his wounds, she finally asked Liao Xing what had happened. Upon hearing that he had been betrayed by someone he trusted, she sighed with sympathy.
“Senior Sister, if there’s nothing else, should I head back?”
“You’ve been out all day and must be tired. Go back and rest.”
Ji Qing gave You Yu a paper crane. After You Yu infused it with Lingli, it carried her flying back to her own mountain.
After You Yu left, Ji Qing asked Liao Xing about what had happened in Heyue Cheng. When she heard that You Yu had bought nearly ten thousand Lingshi worth of ingredients, she was astonished.
“Little Junior Sister has no interest in spirit pills or spirit tools, yet she bought so many ingredients… Her heart is pure.” Ji Qing finally praised her.
“Little Junior Sister is still young. She’ll have many expenses in the future, so we need to save up more Lingshi to support her.” For the first time today, Liao Xing felt that his money wasn’t enough.
“Indeed. To support Little Junior Sister, our current income won’t be enough.” Ji Qing sighed. “I need to refine more pills.”
“Then I’ll go hunt more Yaoshou.” Liao Xing agreed.
The patient lying in bed, Jin Haochen: “…”
Did they forget they still had a patient here?
…
You Yu returned to her own mountain and thought it over. She decided to first plant the seeds she had on hand.
The first step was to turn over the soil.
Looking around and seeing nothing but grassland and forest, she felt that the first step was already a bit difficult.
She took out the sickle she had bought today and started hacking away at the grass on the left side of the courtyard.
“Little Junior Sister, what are you doing?” He Fan and Rong Xuan came over and saw her cutting the grass on the ground, looking utterly confused.
“I’m planning to clear some land to plant vegetables, rice, and wheat.” You Yu replied.
“Why don’t you go plant in the sect’s spiritual fields?”
“I’m planting ordinary food, so using spiritual fields would be a waste. Those are for the medicinal herbs that Master and Senior Sister plant.” You Yu explained. “Besides, this is closer, so it’s easier for me to take care of.”
“Alright, we’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother.”
The three of them worked together and quickly cleared two mu of land.
“Little Junior Sister, should I burn these weeds for you?”
“No need, I still have a use for them.”
“What use do weeds have?”
“After they dry, I’ll burn them. The plant ash left behind is great for fertilizing the soil.” You Yu said. “Sixth Senior Brother, you have an Earth Linggen. Could you help me turn over the soil and clear out the rocks inside?”
“Of course.”
Rong Xuan’s Earth Linggen wasn’t very pure, but he had enough control over the soil. He quickly turned over the compacted earth and cleared out all the rocks, big and small.
Now the land was fine except for being a bit poor in nutrients.
By then, it was already dark.
“Fifth Senior Brother, Sixth Senior Brother, since you helped me turn the soil, let me treat you to dinner. I bought quite a lot of Spirit Food today.”
“You know how to cook?” He Fan asked curiously.
“Yes, I used to cook often.”
“You cooked often? Aren’t you the Young Miss of the You family?”
You Yu froze. Oops, that slipped out.
“Although I’m the Young Miss of the You family, the current matriarch is my stepmother, and I have a younger sister who is only a year younger than me. You can probably guess what my household is like.” You Yu’s expression turned somewhat despondent, and she added, “In my family, You Xue’er is the real Young Miss, while I… am nothing more than someone even worse off than a servant.”
“Your life was bad before?”
“That’s terrible. When I was little, I often went hungry and had to fight the servants for food. After being scared by hunger for so long, I started going out to find ingredients and cook for myself. My clothes were also altered from old ones given to me by a kind neighbor lady who couldn’t bear to see me suffer. Every time I saw You Xue’er showing off that Father had bought her new clothes or some delicious treats, I would think, why is the treatment so different when we’re both Father’s daughters?”
You Yu was sowing discord, ruining You Xue’er’s image in their minds first. Maybe later, when he encountered You Xue’er, he wouldn’t fall for her mindlessly like in the book!
Seeing their spirited little junior sister suddenly look so sad, He Fan’s heart ached with sympathy.
No wonder she looked so thin and small at fourteen—she had never had enough to eat since she was young!
“That sister of yours is deliberately showing off to you. At such a young age, and already so malicious at heart.” He Fan said with heartache.
“Mm-hmm, she not only shows off to me, but if she catches me eating the food I found myself, she’ll knock it to the ground and make me pick it up and eat it.” You Yu said, “She has maidservants around her, so I couldn’t fight back. Later, when I grew up, I would eat outside before going home.”
You Yu sounded a bit bitter as she spoke. These were all things her original body had experienced, so she wasn’t lying to them.
She stopped after saying this—knowing when to stop had the best effect.
She rinsed the rice and started cooking porridge, then took out some Lingcai and skillfully picked and chopped the vegetables. She also brought out a piece of Demonic Beast Meat, sliced it thinly, and seasoned it with various spices, planning to make grilled meat later. She also prepared some marinades and spices for braised meat.
Seeing her deft movements, both He Fan and Rong Xuan believed her words.
If she hadn’t been doing these things since childhood, she couldn’t possibly have such good knife skills or move so nimbly.
Both of them had the same thought rise in their hearts: their little junior sister had suffered so much before—they would have to cherish her more from now on.