Seventh Elder also forced a smile, but after looking at her for a moment, his smile faded. He turned and walked back, sighing, “You've been gone for so long after running off. You didn't even think to send word to your master to let me know you were safe. And you've lost so much weight.”
Song Yao followed closely behind him. “Didn't Second Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother know I was on Black Cloud Mountain? They would have definitely let you know on my behalf.”
Seventh Elder snorted softly. “Rely on those two to send word? Have you seen them ever paying attention to anyone? It was only after this old man asked that Ah Zhao finally told me.”
Song Yao quickened her pace to walk beside him. “Alright, Master, don't be angry. Am I not perfectly fine? Besides, I haven't lost any weight at all. If anything, I've put on a little.”
Seventh Elder ignored her and quickened his pace.
The two of them entered a tower-like building one after the other. Walking deep inside, a rich fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted from the rooms.
Only then did Seventh Elder stop. He looked her over again, feeling a bit helpless. “Put on weight? Where? You don't have an ounce of flesh on you. Come in and wait for a moment. Once I finish refining this cauldron of pills, I'll cook something for you. You've traveled from so far away, you must be starving, right?”
Song Yao, who had just finished an entire food box of sweet osmanthus cloud cake, let out a burp and nodded. “I'm starving.”
“Then go find Sixth Elder to get something to eat first. I'll hurry up.”
He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Song Yao followed behind and peered in.
All the cauldrons from the Elixir Pavilion had been moved here, and over a dozen Elixir Pavilion disciples were hurriedly refining pills.
She even spotted her own cauldron sitting neatly in a corner.
Suddenly remembering something, she leaned in close to Seventh Elder and asked eagerly, “Master, what about the little chicks and ducklings in my courtyard?”
Seventh Elder was focusing all his attention on controlling the fire and had no time to pay attention to her.
Song Yao leaned even closer. “Did you help me catch them? And Lin Shui, the little puppy, is it still alive?”
Seventh Elder's hand shook, almost causing an accident. He quickly replied, “They're alive, they're alive. Just be quiet for a moment, we'll talk about it later.”
Song Yao: “Oh, then where are they?”
Seventh Elder: “...With Sixth Elder.”
Song Yao hurriedly turned to leave and find them. Just as Seventh Elder let out a sigh of relief, she ran right back. “What about the things in my room? Are they here too?”
Sweating profusely, Seventh Elder was forced to divert his attention to answer, “...In your Eldest Senior Brother's spatial pouch.”
“Alright, thank you, Master!”
Song Yao originally planned to go straight to check on Lin Shui and her chicks and ducklings. But as she reached the door, she turned back to her cauldron. She gathered some medicinal ingredients and refined a batch of pills just in case.
However, her pill-refining process was incredibly noisy. With loud explosions echoing through the room, the other pill cultivators almost lost their minds.
Only after she tucked her newly refined pills away and walked out the door did everyone finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
Seventh Elder even waved his hand and sealed the door shut immediately.
...
Following the path pointed out by a disciple, she walked through two stone archways and arrived at the spiritual fields cultivated within the secret realm.
However, the atmosphere here was even more depressing than in the alchemy room. Several disciples tending to the spiritual plants were crouching by the ridges of the fields, sighing. Sixth Elder paced back and forth along the ridges with her hands behind her back, her brow furrowed into a tight knot, her footsteps heavy with worry.
Feeling a bit tired, Song Yao found a suitable ridge to sit on. Looking up, she asked, “Sixth Elder, are Lin Shui and the others with you?”
Hearing her address her so casually, Sixth Elder was visibly startled. It took her a moment to process. “Little Wood, you're back? Lin Shui... Oh, right, you mean those puppies and other animals in your courtyard, right?”
Song Yao nodded. Sixth Elder gestured toward the back with her chin. “I was afraid they would run wild and trample or peck these spiritual plants to death, so I locked them all in the cages at the back. Is there something special about these little animals of yours?”
Song Yao blinked in surprise. “Something special?”
Sixth Elder remarked, “It's quite strange. If they didn't serve some special purpose, why did Ah Zhao, Ah Zhou, and your master all make sure to bring them along?”
“All of them did?”
Song Yao was also somewhat puzzled.
Her master had likely done so because she had entrusted them to him. But Zhu Zhao and Xie Zhou were people who excelled at weighing pros and cons and understood priorities perfectly. Under such dire circumstances, how could they have possibly spared a thought for these animals?
Could it be that during her long absence from the main peak, the two of them had secretly bonded with her pets?
Huh.
Neither of them really liked interacting with people, so it was actually quite possible they found it easier to bond with animals.
Didn't Zhu Zhao raise chicks and ducks before, and didn't Xie Zhou keep fish?
Although in the end, they were all stolen by Seventh Elder and ended up in her own stomach.
If all else failed, she could just gift them a chick and a duckling each later on.
Song Yao walked over to the cages, carefully considering which ones would make the best gifts, and then let Lin Shui out.
After all this time, the little chicks and ducklings had grown into full-sized chickens and ducks. They were plump and round, and there were even a few eggs nestled beneath them.
Lin Shui had also grown and filled out quite a bit. It excitedly rubbed against her ankles, wagging its tail furiously while letting out happy whimpers.
After catching up with her pets, Song Yao tied Lin Shui to the side and walked back over to Sixth Elder, who was inspecting the leaves of the plants. Song Yao's gaze swept across the entire spiritual field.
The spiritual plants in the field were all drooping, their leaves curled and yellowing.
She reached out to touch a curled leaf and asked, “Why did they end up like this?”
“It was too rushed.”
Sixth Elder sighed, her voice full of distress. “We only managed to transfer a small portion of the rarer ones. But these spiritual plants are far too delicate. Their roots were severed, and with the sudden change in environment, they are suffering from transplant shock. I don't know if they'll survive.”
Song Yao said, “Let me try.”
Sixth Elder froze. Suddenly remembering something, she waved her hands frantically, offering a strained, polite smile. “No, no, there's no need! Little Wood, you must be exhausted after rushing all the way back. Go rest on the side first. These spiritual plants aren't actually that delicate. With some slow, careful care, they'll recover. There's no rush.”
The last time this child had come to learn from her, the spiritual plants had all gone completely wild under her hands, destroying more than half of her spiritual fields.
If something like that happened again, Nine Saints Hall wouldn't even be able to save the seeds of these spiritual plants.
Song Yao replied, “It's fine. No need to be polite.”
Sixth Elder: “...No, I'm really not being polite.”
Before Sixth Elder could stop her, a faint, pale-green light shimmered in Song Yao's palm. She lightly pressed her hand down toward the spiritual field.
Her spiritual energy instantly spread like a warm, gentle tide, seeping through the soil and into the roots of every single spiritual plant.
Sixth Elder's heart instantly leaped into her throat. She frantically prepared to rush into the field to rescue the disciples who were still working.
However, she watched as the drooping, curled plants were instantly infused with boundless vitality. Their leaves unfurled with a soft rustle, and the yellowed, withered edges faded away at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning glossy, vibrant green, and full of life once more.
Not only that, but the short plants shot up a noticeable height. Fresh green buds sprouted between the branches, and even the severed roots firmly anchored themselves back into the soil. In the span of a single breath, the entire spiritual field brimmed with vibrant life, growing several times more vigorously than before they were moved.
Sixth Elder stared blankly, her eyes wide. The small hoe in her hand fell onto the ridge with a loud clatter.
The surrounding disciples also stopped what they were doing, staring at the completely transformed plants in the field, their mouths hanging open in sheer disbelief.
Song Yao withdrew her hand and said casually, “There, they should all survive now.”
Rate on N.U.
