The Thousand-Layer Schemes of the Sickly Beautiful Master - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A hand gently pressed on her shoulder, and Qing Zhuxue was forced to tilt her head back. The bitter medicine filled her mouth, so intense that even her throat felt the burning bitterness.

She instinctively pushed forward with both hands, but her weak struggle was useless. It seemed to annoy the other person, and the hand on her shoulder pressed down harder.

Moments later, Qing Zhuxue knelt down, retching. The bitterness was so overwhelming it felt like her insides had been crushed.

Yun Shuchen picked up a candied fruit and fed it to her. The cloying sweetness dulled the bitterness, but it couldn’t stop a nauseating disgust.

These days, she had been well cared for. With richer meals, her cheeks had filled out, and her hair had grown darker and smoother. She wore fine clothes from Crane Feather Peak, soft silks that were quite refined. They say clothes make the person, and at a glance, she looked like the daughter of a wealthy official.

Yun Shuchen didn’t mind being close to her now.

Qing Zhuxue held the candied fruit in her mouth, barely suppressing the nausea in her throat. Her eyes were misty with tears.

Her thoughts drifted hazily to the first day when Elder Yun didn’t even want to touch her hand.

It was just a matter of mood, not that she disliked her.

Or rather, she just didn’t like others approaching her主动ly.

For some reason, after reaching this conclusion, Qing Zhuxue quietly felt relieved in her heart. The bitterness in her mouth didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

Speaking of which, when the medicine clogged her throat, she knew it wasn’t the same kind Yun Shuchen had spilled last night.

“Though not the same kind, the taste is still uniquely bitter.” Yun Shuchen’s lips curved. “Good medicine tastes bitter but helps the illness. Tell me again?”

Qing Zhuxue repeated it dryly and weakly protested, “I’m not sick.”

“Who says you can’t drink medicine if you’re not sick?”

“I…”

“After you go back today, you might have stomach pain or feel dizzy,” she raised an eyebrow, her expression serious and not joking, “or you might even die.”

“If anything goes wrong, come find me quickly.”

“After all, dying in your room is bad luck.” She added lightly.

“Huh?”

Seeing her pale face, Yun Shuchen’s mood subtly improved. So she softened her voice to comfort her, “A person who can’t be killed by heavenly thunder won’t be harmed by a bowl of medicine. I have great confidence in you.”

Qing Zhuxue, fully trusted by Elder Yun, hadn’t walked far when she felt like she was poisoned.

She didn’t even leave the small pavilion before she knelt weakly on the ground, trembling all over.

Her limbs and bones ached, a piercing pain. Her insides felt like they might burst out at any moment. She thought she would explode, but the next second, she was still alive. Her consciousness drifted away, and something red flowed from her nose…

When she woke again, it was noon the next day.

Her body was soft, like willow fluff in March. Was she at the Bridge of Helplessness or the Hall of Yama?

“Now my guess is confirmed. Her constitution is far more special than normal people. As a medical cultivator, Senior Sister, can you see anything unique?”

“From last time, nothing.”

Two women’s voices floated in from outside, distant and ethereal. Moments later, footsteps approached, and the door was quietly pushed open.

Qing Zhuxue opened her eyes and turned to see Yun Shuchen and Elder Liu.

Liu Xunqin checked her pulse and couldn’t help glancing at Yun Shuchen. “You’re quite bold. If an ordinary child drank that bowl of rare treasures, their meridians would have shattered, and they’d be dead.”

“Don’t scare her.” Yun Shuchen smiled and patted the child’s cheek. “She’s still warm, isn’t she?”

Elder Liu ignored her and asked, “Do you know how far you rolled down the slope that day?”

“Seven hundred twenty-three steps,” Qing Zhuxue thought. “I fell from the southwest slope, kept running, and met Elder Yun.”

At that height, a mortal body, even if her fall cushioned most of the damage, wouldn’t have survived on the spot, let alone stood up again.

Not to mention running so far under the pursuit of a thunder tribulation.

Liu Xunqin’s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she grabbed her hand and mercilessly cut a gash on her wrist. Qing Zhuxue winced in pain, but Elder Liu’s hand, though slender and refined, gripped her wrist tightly, unmoving.

Bl00d flowed down the child’s arm. Tears welled in her eyes from the pain and hung at the corners. In her helplessness, she instinctively looked toward the more familiar Yun Shuchen.

Yun Shuchen noticed her gaze and pondered whether to pretend she hadn’t seen it.

Honestly, being the object of a child’s complete reliance wasn’t exactly a good thing.

It was even a hassle.

Perhaps considering they might be together for a long time, or perhaps because her current state was pitiful enough, Yun Shuchen decided to go along with this newfound reliance.

“Haven’t you noticed you’ve scared the child to tears?”

Liu Xunqin was focused on the wound, so absorbed it was like no one else existed. Yun Shuchen poked her shoulder, and she snapped back to reality.

She looked up and met the child’s teary eyes. Elder Liu coughed lightly, released her hand, and healed the wound completely with spiritual energy.

Qing Zhuxue quickly pulled her hand back, looking like she wanted to shrink into the wall, warily watching Liu Xunqin.

Elder Liu stood with her hands behind her back. Though she looked like a young girl, her usual stern expression made her seem unapproachable.

“Your wounds heal several times faster than normal,” she concluded.

“That cut was still just a cut, wasn’t it?”

“Those who study medicine see differently. I can see the effect of tissue regeneration.” Liu Xunqin’s gaze shifted back to Qing Zhuxue, almost reluctantly asking, “Yun Shuchen.”

“Such a constitution is rare, and medical texts lack records. Can you lend her to me?”

Liu Xunqin was a renowned medical immortal in the Nine Provinces, obsessed with her craft for years.

The medical immortal was aloof, with skillful hands but no compassion. She treated patients based on her mood.

She welcomed those she liked, but for those she didn’t, no amount of wealth or begging would sway her.

She had an intense desire to explore rare conditions and unusual cases, bordering on obsession.

For someone like Qing Zhuxue, even if Yun Shuchen hadn’t sought her out, she would have come to study her. Yun Shuchen simply took the opportunity to invite her, curious about what made this fated child special.

Qing Zhuxue trembled at her words and instinctively leaned closer to Yun Shuchen.

She felt Liu Xunqin’s gaze wasn’t like looking at a person but at fish on a cutting board, ready to be dissected.

However, a warm hand rested on her head, not too heavy, perhaps somewhat comforting. Qing Zhuxue heard the hand’s owner say softly:

“She’s so scared of people now, so let’s not.”

Seeing this, Elder Liu didn’t press further. She nodded faintly, checked her condition again, prescribed a few tonics, and left alone without a word.

“Why do I still have to drink medicine?”

Qing Zhuxue stared at the prescription, recognizing a few common herb names. After the near-death pain that day, she clearly had a shadow over such things.

“Because you just built your foundation, and your realm is unstable. You won’t need to drink it for long.”

Hearing “built foundation,” she glanced at the ancient book by her bed, which she’d read a lot of in recent days.

‘Introduction to the Initial Path’ was a basic guide for cultivators new to the immortal path, written in fairly simple language. Yun Shuchen hadn’t given her this book randomly.

“Building foundation” was a major chapter after “drawing qi into the body,” marking the true entry into cultivation. She hadn’t yet grasped how to draw qi, yet she’d skipped to this step, which felt quite strange.

Elder Liu mentioned “rare treasures.” The thick, medicine-like substance Yun Shuchen gave her, after drinking it, propelled her straight into the foundation-building stage—clearly very valuable.

Even a cultivator like Elder Liu thought it was costly.

The effort Yun Shuchen put into her seemed far beyond Qing Zhuxue’s understanding.

“Will you take me as your disciple?”

Perhaps picking her up, giving her a place to stay, and feeding her could be explained as pity or kindness.

But now, she couldn’t think of any reason for Yun Shuchen to invest so much in her other than taking her as a disciple.

Yun Shuchen raised an eyebrow lightly.

“It’s not a one-sided matter.”

“Taichu Realm is divided into inner and outer sects. From the outer sect, you pass a written test to enter the inner sect. Then, the inner sect holds arena matches and other assessments. Every term, countless compete, but only a few stand in the Sect Leader’s Hall as direct disciples.”

“So,” she sighed leisurely, “putting other things aside, whether I can rightfully keep you depends on seeing you in that hall.”

In other words, she was willing, but Qing Zhuxue had to earn it herself.

Qing Zhuxue listened carefully and after a moment lowered her eyes, saying, “Hmm.”

“It’s rare to find someone I like,” her tone feigned worry, “don’t let me down.”

“Hmm!”

At that time, Qing Zhuxue didn’t yet know what it meant to coax a child. She didn’t realize that in these light words, her future for many years was neatly arranged by that woman.

After night fell, Qing Zhuxue lit the lamp again and reread ‘Introduction to the Initial Path’. Many confusing parts became clearer upon rereading.

After building her foundation, her body felt a subtle, indescribable change. Yun Shuchen told her to adapt to it for now.

While reading the book, Qing Zhuxue raised her hand again.

Form follows intent.

She tried hard for a long time, imagining the feel of “water,” its shape. How rivers, lakes, and seas flowed and merged into a great stream.

Until a cool dampness touched her fingertip. Opening her eyes again, a round water droplet rested on her finger.

So small and faintly glowing, reflecting the warm firelight.