Cheng Yue checked Song Yao's weak, almost imperceptible pulse, then turned and walked out. “I'll go check the elixir room. Maybe I can still find some useful pills!”
She was in such a rush that the moment she stepped over the threshold, she nearly collided head-on with two figures. Quickly braking, she gasped in surprise, “Second Senior Sister? Ji—Senior Ji?”
Zhu Zhao was gripping Ji Duchuan with one hand, pushing him straight into the room. She said briefly, “Senior Ji, I'll have to trouble you.”
Ji Duchuan stumbled a bit before finding his footing.
How was this “troubling” him?
This was outright coercion!
Raising his hand to smooth out his crumpled hem, he looked at everyone in the room with a face full of helplessness. “I am an honored guest of Beiyao Sect, after all. If they find out I snuck over here to treat your people, how could they possibly let me off?”
Zhu Zhao raised an eyebrow, and the long sword at her waist unsheathed half an inch with a sharp clank. “I don't wish to fight someone from Medicine King Valley, but the situation is critical. Please help us, Senior Ji.”
The Second Elder was startled.
This child used to be so calm. Why is she drawing her weapon at the drop of a hat now?
He hurriedly stepped forward to press down on Zhu Zhao's wrist, pushing the cold, gleaming blade back into its scabbard. Turning to Ji Duchuan, he solemnly cupped his hands and spoke with deep sincerity, “Ah Zhao is simply worried about her junior sister and acted a bit too rashly. Please do not take offense, Young Master Ji. It's just that Lin Mu's body has always been weak, and she is currently injured on top of that. With our sect in such dire straits, we cannot go out to seek help from other pill or medical cultivators. We beg you to assist us, Young Master Ji. If you have any demands, please do not hesitate to speak. We will do our utmost to accommodate them.”
The Second Elder held an incredibly high status in the cultivation world. Ji Duchuan did not dare to accept such a gesture from him. He quickly stepped aside to avoid it and bowed respectfully in return. “Second Elder, you overhonor this junior. It is not that I refuse to save her, but...”
Before he could finish, a very soft cough came from the bed.
Song Yao's eyelashes fluttered several times before she slowly opened her eyes. A watery mist shimmered in her gaze as she hazily scanned the room. Before she was even fully awake, she spoke up in a lazy tone, “It's fine, I won't die. No need to treat me. Even if you do, it won't cure me anyway, so don't bother.”
The room instantly fell silent.
The Second Elder frowned and quickly stepped forward, scolding her in a lowered voice, “What nonsense! You're so young, how could you be incurable? Lie down and don't move.”
“Second Master! Don't raise your voice at my master!”
Ming Ran immediately shielded Song Yao like a mother hen. Seeing her trying to sit up, she quickly rushed forward to prop a soft pillow behind her back. “How are you, Master? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Everywhere hurts.”
Song Yao let out a yawn, her gaze falling on her. “Are you injured too? Did Feng Qing lay a hand on you?”
Ming Ran hadn't expected her to worry about her in return. Her eyes darted away as she shook her head unnaturally. “I'm already fine.”
Song Yao reached out to check her condition. Once she finished, she shrank back under the quilt, exposing only her face, and offered them some sincere advice: “Treating her would be a much better use of resources than treating me. It's more cost-effective, right, Senior Ji?”
Ji Duchuan opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.
She wasn't wrong. He had examined her condition many times before, and it indeed wasn't something that could be cured with a few pills or acupuncture. Her vitality was too severely depleted, and there was something obstructing her from within. Only by recovering her soul and breaking the seal inside her body would there be any hope of a full recovery.
But...
Wasn't this girl's will to live a bit too lacking?
With such a deathly pale face, she did nothing but utter depressing words.
He sighed softly. Out of his friendship with her Eldest Senior Brother and the fact that he had met her a few times, he couldn't help but feel a bit soft-hearted. He was about to speak again.
A gust of wind brushed past him.
Zhu Zhao stepped to the bedside ahead of him, her expression dark and cold. “All of you, step out for a moment. I have a few words to say to her in private.”
Song Yao suddenly had a bad feeling and spoke up in a hurry, “Wait, I'm not talking to you.”
Aside from Ming Ran, no one listened to her. They all turned and walked out with great tact.
Ming Ran squatted anxiously by the edge of the bed. “Second Senior Sister, please don't speak too harshly to my master. She's already in this state...”
Before she could finish, the Second Elder hauled her away, leaving behind a brief remark: “Your Second Senior Sister knows what she's doing.”
Song Yao: “...”
Like hell Zhu Zhao knew what she was doing.
Which of Zhu Zhao's fights with her hadn't been aimed at taking her life?
Seeing everyone withdraw, she struggled to sit up and get out of bed. Just as her toes touched the floor, a cold light flashed before her eyes. With a soft clack, a sword scabbard pressed against the bedframe, firmly blocking her path.
At the same time, the main door was considerately shut from the outside, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Song Yao: “...”
She silently pulled her legs back, looked up at Zhu Zhao, and grumbled softly to take the initiative, “Look at you, impatient as always.”
Zhu Zhao looked down at her. “Must you always talk as if you're looking for death?”
Song Yao: “I didn't.”
Zhu Zhao sneered. “Do I need to beat some sense into you to wake you up?”
“...”
Cornered on the bed and shrouded in Zhu Zhao's shadow, Song Yao inexplicably felt that she wasn't joking.
Knowing her personality, she really might pin her down and beat her to within an inch of her life.
Song Yao wasn't afraid of dying, but she was a little afraid of getting beaten up.
Worse, she couldn't beat Zhu Zhao in a fight right now.
It would be incredibly embarrassing if word got out.
After a moment of consideration, she reached out and tugged at Zhu Zhao's sleeve, softening her tone. “We are fellow disciples. Can't we talk things out nicely?”
Zhu Zhao: “...Let go.”
Instead of letting go, Song Yao gripped it even tighter, using the leverage to shimmy a little closer to her. She tilted her face up and argued in all seriousness, “Right now, only the three of us are left among the personal disciples of Nine Saints Hall to depend on each other. We should be looking out for one another, showing solidarity and sisterly love, not beating each other up every single day.”
“Besides, Nine Saints Hall is in a time of crisis. We should present a united front against outsiders, not unite against me...”
Zhu Zhao's outer robe had been pulled down halfway by her tugging. Seeing her pale lips moving non-stop as she babbled on, her temples throbbed violently. She tapped her scabbard against the bedframe. “Shut up and lie back down.”
“Only if you swear.”
Song Yao clutched her sleeve and refused to let go. “Swear that you won't say you'll beat me up ever again.”
Zhu Zhao: “?”
It was already a miracle that she hadn't forced her to swear an oath, yet here she was, audaciously turning the tables.
She looked down and saw the girl before her looking completely righteous despite having no leg to stand on. She was almost driven to laughter by the sheer absurdity. It took her a long moment to squeeze out a few words through her teeth: “Has the illness muddled your brain?”
Song Yao nodded, looking up at her with clear, bright eyes. “Yes, my brain is muddled. Are you going to swear or not?”
Zhu Zhao: “...”
She took a deep breath and averted her gaze, making a rare concession. “Fine, I can stop saying it, on the condition that I never hear the word 'death' leave your mouth again.”
Giving her an inch, Song Yao immediately demanded a mile. “Conditional oaths don't count.”
Zhu Zhao paused. “Are you saying you still intend to talk like that?”
Song Yao: “Why are you misinterpreting my words again? If there's a condition attached, how can it be called an oath? You have to say, 'If I ever want to beat up Song Yao again, may lightning strike me down and leave me to die a horrible death'...”
Rate on N.U.
