I'm Afraid of Pain, but More Afraid of Death

The next morning, while Xu Xian was still meditating in his room, Yao Xiaoxiao had already appeared in the courtyard of Zuiwan Residence.

Holding a large broom, she swept up the fallen bamboo leaves while humming an obscure song from the Wendao Sect.

When Xu Xian pushed open his door and stepped out, she greeted him sweetly, "Good morning, Little Grand-Uncle!"

The youth responded with a smile, "Morning!"

Yao Xiaoxiao continued sweeping, not forgetting to complain to Xu Xian. "This bamboo is so annoying. Other trees lose all their leaves in autumn, but it insists on imitating ancient pines by staying evergreen all year round. In the end, it just drops leaves throughout all four seasons and doesn't even stop in winter. It's so irritating..."

Listening to the little girl's grumbling, Xu Xian strolled into the courtyard and sat down, teasing her, "Next year, we'll just cut it all down."

Hearing this, Xiaoxiao hurriedly said, "Don't! Let's keep it."

"It's useless to keep it. It would be more practical to chop it down and exchange it for money at the Merchant Hall," Xu Xian said.

Xiaoxiao said seriously, "It was useless before, but it's useful now. Don't they say spirit beasts love eating this bamboo? Perfect, we can give it to that little red-haired one."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xian praised her, "Hmm... true. You've thought it through, Xiaoxiao."

Thud—

The door to the side room was kicked open. Lu Yuan stood at the entrance and shouted loudly, "I don't eat bamboo!"

Yao Xiaoxiao looked at Xu Xian.

Xu Xian looked at Yao Xiaoxiao.

Yao Xiaoxiao thought for a moment and said, "Oh right, deer eat grass."

Lu Yuan growled in a low voice, "I don't eat grass either!"

Xu Xian shrugged.

Yao Xiaoxiao made a face that clearly said she didn't believe him and continued sweeping, muttering to herself, "Maybe I should plant some grass in the courtyard then."

Xu Xian said dotingly, "Whatever you like."

Lu Yuan clenched his fists, turned back into his room, and slammed the door loudly.

Yao Xiaoxiao curled her lip and accused, "Not only is he ugly, but his personality is terrible too."

Xu Xian actually agreed, "True. Stay away from him in the future."

"Mhm, mhm."

After finishing the sweeping, Yao Xiaoxiao went with Xu Xian to the spirit herb garden to weed and water the plants.

The ten-mu spirit field was growing beautifully.

Two mu were filled with immortal plants, and the spirit plants in the remaining eight mu had reached harvest season.

It wasn't hard to see that over the past four years, Lin Qianqian must have frequently traveled between Tianjian Peak and Zhijian Peak to look after this spirit field for him.

Yao Xiaoxiao said, "Little Grand-Uncle, these can all be sold now. We should sell them someday; they're worth a lot of money."

Xu Xian laughed. "No rush. Let them grow a bit longer. I'm not short of a few coins. It's a hassle to pull them up and have to plant more."

Yao Xiaoxiao said obediently, "True. I was thinking that once you returned, we'd sell all of these, and then I'd slowly replant the field for you. Now it seems there might not be enough time."

Xu Xian lowered his eyes...

"Hmm?"

Yao Xiaoxiao quickly explained, "Little Grand-Uncle, you know that when picking immortal plants by the roadside, you definitely can't take too many at once."

Xu Xian replied softly, "Right. Roadside immortal plants need time to grow, don't they?"

"Hehe, Little Grand-Uncle really understands."

"Of course."

Yao Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat from her forehead, squatted back down, and continued weeding, her little mouth never stopping.

"Actually, whether they are spirit plants or immortal plants, if they don't have to be picked, then they shouldn't be. Just like the medicine in a shop—it's best if it gathers dust. My ancestor often told me: 'Rather have three feet of dust on the medicine cabinet than a single sick person in the world.'"

"Did you know, Little Grand-Uncle? My Yao family isn't just our lineage in this world."

Xu Xian followed along, "Oh?"

Yao Xiaoxiao said, "Have you heard of Medicine King Valley, Little Grand-Uncle?"

Xu Xian answered honestly, "I've heard a little about it."

Yao Xiaoxiao said with a grin, "The ancestor told us that my Yao family branched off from Medicine King Valley. We share the same origin as the Yao family there. The ancestor said that when her mother was young, she traveled down the mountain to practice medicine and help people. While working as a traveling physician, she happened to meet the Sword Ancestor. She was completely captivated by his charm and followed him across the land..."

"She stayed until the Wendao Sect was established. I heard she even had a falling out with Medicine King Valley over this."

"Later on..."

"The foremother stayed in the Wendao Sect forever. Much later, she took a disciple, who then gave birth to our ancestor."

"The ancestor was named Yao Luochen. The meaning behind it was 'Rather have medicine fall like dust than have sick people in the world.'"

"That's the origin of the ancestor's name. Isn't it meaningful?"

Xu Xian listened patiently. "Yes, it shows great heart."

Yao Xiaoxiao sighed. "Sigh... unfortunately, in life, nine out of ten things do not go one's way. How could there be no sick people in this world? Just like our Wendao Sect, standing alone in the Northern Borders just to slay all the injustice in the world. But the world is like a person; it always gets sick. Injustice can never be fully slain, and illness can never be fully cured..."

The atmosphere grew inexplicably heavy, and the youth couldn't help but frown.

"...But what can we do? We just have to treat the illness when it appears and manage the injustice when we see it. I was born in the Wendao Sect and into the Yao family, so I should treat the illnesses of this world."

Xu Xian remained silent.

Yao Xiaoxiao suddenly looked up, staring at Xu Xian with a beaming smile. "So, Little Grand-Uncle, you can definitely cure Xiaoxiao, right?"

Xu Xian dithered for a brief moment...

Yao Xiaoxiao added sweetly, "That way, Xiaoxiao can live well and save even more people in the future. When I eventually die of old age, I'll tell Yanwang to credit all my merit to you. Hehe, you won't lose out, Little Grand-Uncle."

Xu Xian's expression softened, and he suppressed a smile, chuckling, "Silly girl."

Yao Xiaoxiao stood up, patted the dirt off her hands, looked around, and took a deep breath. "Alright, the work is done. Let's start the treatment. I'm ready."

Xu Xian placed his palms on his knees and stood up as well. He exhaled a long breath of turbid qi, gazed calmly at the girl before him, and asked softly, "It will be very painful. Are you afraid?"

Yao Xiaoxiao looked up, her eyes narrowing into crescents, and said honestly, "I am."

Xu Xian frowned slightly.

Yao Xiaoxiao whimpered, "Xiaoxiao is very afraid of pain. But Xiaoxiao is even more afraid of death."

Xu Xian's heart tightened.

Yao Xiaoxiao continued her rambling, "I'm afraid that if Xiaoxiao dies, the ancestor will cry. I'm afraid that if Xiaoxiao dies, Little Grand-Uncle will be sad. I'm even more afraid that if I die, I'll never see everyone in the Wendao Sect again."

Yao Xiaoxiao waved her fists and said forcefully, "So, Xiaoxiao wants to live. I won't die. I will defeat the pain!"

Xu Xian's heart wrenched. An optimistic, kind, and slightly silly girl was often the easiest to feel pained for.

He took a deep breath and turned to leave. "Follow me."

Yao Xiaoxiao jogged to keep up.

"Coming!"

Thousands of words were ultimately left unsaid; Xu Xian preferred action over speech.

Sweet words weren't for him to say.

Harsh words shouldn't be said to her.

What he had to do was give his all to ensure this girl lived.

That was all.

Returning to the courtyard, he called Lu Yuan. Carrying the two of them, he rode the wind away from Zuiwan Residence and headed to Baicao Garden.

Yao Luochen had been waiting for a long time.

Upon meeting, Xu Xian asked immediately, "Is the place I requested ready?"

Yao Luochen looked at Yao Xiaoxiao dotingly and replied, "Follow me."