Song Yao was still a bit dazed when she woke up, her head throbbing in waves of pain.
She walked out of her room, and it was only after He Yu stuffed a Heart-Clearing Pill into her mouth that she began to feel a bit better.
The Seventh Elder was nearby brewing porridge. Seeing her, his brow furrowed deeply. “How is it? Are you still feeling unwell?”
Song Yao was still a little confused. “I'm fine, I...”
“You were poisoned. Bone-Dissolving Incense.”
The Seventh Elder ladled some porridge into a bowl and set it on the table, saying crossly, “You're just a little Foundation Establishment cultivator. Who gave you the guts to run off to a place like the Zuixian Pavilion in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
He Yu sat down as well, his face stern. “I heard that place is crawling with evil cultivators who specialize in capturing low-level disciples like you to buy and sell. You really don't care about your own life, do you? Fortunately, your Fourth Senior Brother ran into you and brought you back.”
Song Yao rubbed her temples.
She only remembered being kept in the private room by her Fourth Junior Brother to read a pill manual, and falling unconscious while reading.
She had been woken up midway by some noise, her head splitting with pain. That must have been the effect of the Bone-Dissolving Incense.
How tragic. She would never find another place to sell her swords in Sichun City.
“But it's also quite strange. I examined that Bone-Dissolving Incense; its grade is extremely high. Your Fourth Senior Brother has protective runes, so he wasn't affected much. But you, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator...”
The Seventh Elder gestured with his fingers. “You should have been unconscious for at least three days, had weak muscles for ten days, and taken at least a month to fully recover. How did you get better so quickly—”
Before he could finish, Song Yao weakly slumped onto the table. “I'm not better.”
The Seventh Elder: “...”
“A month. I still need a month to recover.”
Song Yao said weakly, “Please ask for another month of leave for me.”
The Seventh Elder: “...”
Where on earth did he find such a troublesome disciple?
Seeing her pale face, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to refuse. The Seventh Elder sighed helplessly. “Fine, fine, I'll go speak with the outer yard's head elder. But you are absolutely not allowed to sneak off to a brothel like that again next time. You almost lost your life!”
Song Yao, however, didn't think much of it.
Although her spiritual energy and spiritual roots had been sealed years ago, her sword path could not be sealed.
Fighting her way out from a few evil cultivators wouldn't have been difficult, and she would have only sustained minor injuries at most. That was why she had dared to swagger into the Zuixian Pavilion so openly.
But being caught red-handed by her Fourth Junior Brother was unexpected.
And reading a book in a private room with him only to get drugged was also unexpected.
In short, it was all her Fourth Junior Brother's fault.
Thinking this in her heart, she nodded obediently. “I understand.”
The Seventh Elder had walked halfway out when he remembered his duty as a master and walked back. “Right, since you can't read the pill manuals for now, why don't you try being a medicine cultivator first?”
Song Yao: “A medicine cultivator?”
The Seventh Elder said, “Yes, you have a wood spiritual root, so being a medicine cultivator should be easier for you. You can go look around the herb fields on normal days and see if you can learn anything.”
Song Yao agreed immediately without a second thought.
Being a medicine cultivator was great. She had originally wanted to farm and raise chickens anyway. Learning from a medicine cultivator would save her twenty years of trial and error.
Besides, she heard that medicine cultivators made a lot of money.
“Then follow your Eldest Senior Brother to the back mountain. It's full of spiritual fields. Let the Sixth Elder teach you.”
“Okay.”
“Don't rush, drink your porridge before you go.”
Song Yao hummed in agreement, sitting at the table and waiting for He Yu to fry an egg for her.
Just as she finished eating, two young boys entered the courtyard.
Song Yao recognized them. They were pages who served under her Second Senior Sister.
The two of them carried several sets of neatly folded clothes in their hands.
The topmost set was plain white, the ones below were light green, and a pale pink one was pressed at the very bottom.
The two boys walked up to her and smiled. “Junior Sister Lin, these are the clothes Second Senior Sister ordered us to deliver to you.”
Song Yao was startled.
Zhu Zhao sent her clothes?
Why?
Seeing her puzzled expression, the slightly taller boy on the left spoke up. “Second Senior Sister prepared them for all the newly joined disciples. Please accept them, there's no need to be shy.”
Everyone got them?
Song Yao let out a soft sigh of relief. It was good that they weren't specially made for her.
She had thought she was recognized.
But even if she were recognized, Zhu Zhao probably wouldn't send her clothes. It would already be an act of great mercy if Zhu Zhao didn't beat her to death with a staff.
She thanked them and took the clothes. The boy added, “Second Senior Sister also specifically instructed that you can only wear these clothes yourself; you cannot sell them.”
Song Yao: “...”
The entire sect was stripping away her right to sell things.
Detestable.
Before heading to the back mountain, Song Yao returned to her room to try on the clothes.
Surprisingly, they fit perfectly.
This was quite beyond Song Yao's expectations.
In her memory, Zhu Zhao was not such a caring and delicate Second Senior Sister.
She would only whip junior brothers and sisters who didn't cultivate properly, telling them to get lost from the sect if they didn't work hard.
Compared to that, Zhu Zhao didn't seem to have gone to the dark side; she seemed more like she had gone to the light.
Having changed her clothes, He Yu led her toward the back mountain.
As they walked, he introduced things to her. “The medicinal plants grown back here are all the most common varieties. Those are Azure Spirit Grass, the most basic medicinal herb. And that over there is Ice Heart Lotus; it prefers shade, so a barrier must be set up to cover it. And that...”
Song Yao listened as they walked, feeling a bit drowsy.
He Yu spoke until his mouth was dry. Turning back to see her eyelids drooping, he couldn't help but smile. “It's a bit dry to listen to now. In the future, I'll take you deep into the mountains where there are many rare species, but we'll need Master to lead us.”
While talking, they crossed a few rows of spiritual fields. The Sixth Elder poked her head out from the lush medicinal plants.
She wore coarse cloth clothing, her sleeves rolled up to her forearms to reveal mud-stained hands. She was squatting in the dirt, protecting a newly sprouted bud, and waved at them. “Come over here.”
As a medicine cultivator, the Sixth Elder spent her days facing the dirt and back to the sky, so Song Yao hadn't had much contact with her.
He Yu said, “Go on. I'm heading back to refine pills. I'll pick you up later.”
“Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother.”
Song Yao walked over and squatted down beside her.
“Old Seven told me about you. You're that little girl with the Heaven-grade wood spiritual root, right?”
The Sixth Elder sized her up with great satisfaction. “On the day of the apprenticeship ceremony, I was busy taking care of the spiritual plants and couldn't make it. Otherwise, I definitely would have taken you as my disciple. It's fine, you can learn from me now. We medicine cultivators have a very bright future.”
Song Yao nodded like a chicken pecking at grain.
She also felt that medicine cultivators had a very bright future.
The Sixth Elder smiled, placing her hand over the seedling. A faint green light glowed from her palm, and her spiritual energy seeped into the soil like threads of silk.
The seedling seemed to be gently supported by something, its leaves unfurling and looking much more vibrant than before.
“The medicinal plants in these spiritual fields are different from wild weeds in the mountains. If you want to grow them successfully, you must infuse them with spiritual energy daily. Too much will burn the roots, and too little won't let them grow strong. You must master just the right balance.”
She stepped aside slightly and gestured to Song Yao. “You try. Be careful, or it'll die easily.”
Song Yao followed her example and placed her hand before the seedling.
The moment her spiritual energy seeped out, she suddenly sensed a subtle difference.
She seemed to have established some sort of connection with the seedling, able to see the fine veins on the leaves and feel the wind brushing over them.
Feeling a sense of novelty, she released a bit more spiritual energy.
At the same time, the serpent-patterned seal inside her body suddenly trembled violently.
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