After paying their respects to the Head of Yanyun Sky and making all the necessary arrangements, Wen Qianshu and Yun Cai left Five Spirits Mountain.
They departed from Qiankun Earth and headed towards the location of the Fire Iris—Myriad Marshes Cliff.
Fortunately, although the Fire Iris was a rare flower, it was only beneficial to the disciples of Five Spirits Mountain. The other sects gave face to Five Spirits Mountain and did not compete for it. Therefore, Yanyun Sky was at ease letting Yan Chengshuang take Yun Cai out alone.
But just a moment after they left, Yun Cai seemed to see something and called for Wen Qianshu to land with her.
If 2333 had hair, it would have scratched it all off by now. “Can’t you two hurry up? If this were the original book, the flower would have been picked by someone else long ago!”
Wen Qianshu said leisurely, “We’re hurrying. We’re not playing around.”
This place was not far from Five Spirits Mountain. It was a forest of ancient, dense trees with gnarled branches intertwining, obscuring the sky and sun. Yun Cai held an old book in one hand and used her spear to lift a vine from the ground, comparing it to a picture in the book.
Wen Qianshu, on the other hand, leaned against a tree, Endless Moon floating up and down beside her.
Yun Cai put away the book. With a flick of her spear tip, she crushed the end of the vine, picked it up, and placed it in a jade box. “I think it looks like a Hidden Vine. I’ll ask Grandpa Qi from Fuliu Boat when I get back.”
Wen Qianshu: “Hidden Vine?”
Yun Cai: “Yes.”
“Hidden Vines like to hide and often grow parasitically on other vines, making them very difficult to find. They are a good medicinal herb for treating illnesses.”
Wen Qianshu: “Medicine?”
Yun Cai nodded. “Yes, medicine.”
“This ancient forest has many medicinal herbs. The disciples of Fuliu Boat love coming here. I heard Grandpa Qi mention it long ago and have wanted to come see it for several years.”
Fuliu Boat of Five Spirits Mountain practiced the wood element of the five elements. Their spiritual power was gentle and enduring, full of vitality, and they produced many pharmacists and alchemists.
Wen Qianshu: “You want to study medicine and alchemy?”
“I do.” Yun Cai looked up at her, her light-colored pupils shining. “Saving people, curing illnesses, snatching lives from the hands of King Yama—how glorious, how capable is that?”
Wen Qianshu: “A pity Head Yun won’t allow it, so you can only come secretly this time?”
Yun Cai: “Ah, how did you know—”
She immediately fell silent. She looked at Yan Chengshuang’s expressionless face but inexplicably felt that she was smiling. “You’re tricking me?”
Wen Qianshu: “That’s right.”
Yun Cai’s eyes widened, and she was speechless for a long while. Only when Wen Qianshu could barely maintain her straight face did she say aggrievedly, “Then you’re not allowed to tell my father.”
Just as Wen Qianshu was about to open her mouth, 2333 knew she was going to tease her. “Character persona!”
Wen Qianshu: “Of course. Don’t worry.”
She stood up straight. “Since we’re already here, let’s look around a bit more before we go.”
“No rush,” Wen Qianshu said unhurriedly, it was unclear whether she was speaking to Yun Cai or retorting to 2333. “Take it slow.”
2333: “…”
“Actually, it’s not that Father forbids it.” As the two walked, Yun Cai said again, annoyed, “It’s because I’m from Yanyun Sky. At most, Fuliu Boat will introduce some herbs to me, but they won’t teach me the real stuff.”
“Father only said that because he was afraid I’d be sad. It’s better for him to stop me than for me to be unable to learn no matter what—” Yun Cai kicked a pebble on the ground. “But I’m not a child anymore. He doesn’t need to hide it from me.”
“Forget it, forget it.” The dejection lasted only a moment, and Yun Cai quickly smiled again. “It’s rare that no one is following me. I have to bring more back.”
Wen Qianshu: “Okay.”
She thought of the library tower in Yanyun Sky that was closed to her; she thought of the seawater barrier of Canglan Courtyard that Yun Cai couldn’t enter, and narrowed her eyes slightly. “A bit interesting.”
2333: “What?”
Wen Qianshu: “The five sects of Five Spirits Mountain are much more guarded against each other than I thought.”
“Logically, it shouldn’t be like this.” Wen Qianshu watched as Yun Cai stopped to look at a flower. The flower grew strangely, its stem pointing upwards and then splitting. Although they were flowers from the same plant, they faced away from each other, twisting in different directions. “When the arts of Five Spirits Mountain are cultivated to the highest level, they are supposed to master all five elements. But with their current practices—who can truly reach the final step?”
Newly initiated disciples scramble and compete, spending a little time learning the basics before entering one sect. Disciples born in Five Spirits Mountain go round and round, and no matter what their interests are, they only study in one sect.
2333 didn’t understand. “Why are you always focusing on these strange things? Does this have anything to do with the female protagonist?”
Wen Qianshu: “Oh, just thinking. Don’t worry about the details.”
As she spoke, she came back to her senses, only to see that Yun Cai had already walked away and was standing under an ancient tree, looking up.
Wen Qianshu walked over. “What did you find now?”
Yun Cai turned to look at her, her light-colored pupils darting up and down before turning back to the ancient tree. “I found a spirit flower.”
Before Wen Qianshu could speak, Yun Cai leaped into the air, reaching the top of the ancient tree in a few bounds. Wen Qianshu only had time to see a flash of red before she saw her twirl and descend in the blink of an eye.
Her hair was tied up high, the silk ribbon on it like fire.
Yun Cai wore soft armor over her neat, practical attire. The cuffs were tightly fitted, revealing only a section of her snow-white wrist.
The person by the wine jar is like the moon, her fair wrist like congealed frost and snow.【1】
She stood before Wen Qianshu, a flower resting on her fingertips. The flower had not yet bloomed and was still a bud, but it was surrounded by a faint silver glow, like the cold moon and autumn frost, already exquisitely beautiful. “This flower is called Frost Under the Moon, also known as Moon Chaser. It grows parasitically on the tops of ancient trees, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. It takes a thousand years to grow one plant. It blooms at sunset and closes at moonset. It’s extremely rare.”
Wen Qianshu: “Then the disciples of Fuliu Boat—didn’t pick it?”
“Of course they wouldn’t pick it.” Yun Cai smiled, her fingertips moving as she stared at the flower. “Although Moon Chaser is rare, it’s difficult to use in medicine.”
Wen Qianshu: “In that case, why did you pick it?”
Before her words had faded, Yun Cai took a step forward and said with a light laugh, “I picked it to give to you, Senior Sister.”
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled.
The strands of Yun Cai’s hair, lifted by the wind, brushed against Wen Qianshu’s cheek. Endless Moon spun wildly by her side. The brilliant sunlight pierced through the branches and green leaves, reflecting in Yun Cai’s light-colored pupils.
Her fingertips touched and then pulled away. Freed from the suppression of spiritual power, Frost Under the Moon instantly sent out vines that coiled and tangled around Wen Qianshu’s hair ribbon. The flower bud tilted, resting in her hair.
Yun Cai looked at it carefully, then tilted her head and said to Wen Qianshu, “I was right. It looks good on you, Senior Sister.”
“The flower is beautiful, and so is the person.”
She was too close, her breath too soft, her pupils too light, the sound of the wind too loud, the sunlight too intense—
It was as if everything was overwhelming, making one dizzy.
Yun Cai glanced at it a couple more times, then took a step back. “I’ve long felt that your hair looked a bit empty. This flower is indeed nice. Why don’t you just leave it on, Sister?”
Wen Qianshu: “Okay.”
“That’s great.” Yun Cai was satisfied and smiled. “Then I’ll go look at some other things. We’ll leave in a little while.”
Wen Qianshu: “Go ahead.”
Wen Qianshu slowed her pace by a couple of steps, then walked slower and slower, until gradually only Endless Moon was following Yun Cai while she fell behind. After a moment, 2333 finally couldn’t help but ask, “Are you okay, Host?”
Wen Qianshu: “I’m perfectly fine.”
2333: “Oh.”
So it immediately deactivated the system’s facial adjustment function, took a snapshot with a click, and showed it to Wen Qianshu.
The person in the photo had the corners of her lips slightly curved, her eyes half-lowered, with a smile in their depths that couldn’t be hidden.
2333 said sarcastically, “Perfectly fine? You’ve never made that expression before. It’s giving me goosebumps.”
It had expected Wen Qianshu to retort, but instead, she just stared at the photo and then said, “Yes, perfectly fine.”
After speaking, she straightened her sleeves and said, “After the Young Miss finishes looking at the herbs, we’ll go pick the Fire Iris. Let’s aim for a quick resolution.”
2333: “Huh?”
Then why aren’t you setting off now, still dawdling here?
Wen Qianshu seemed to know what it was thinking. She smoothed her sleeves and smiled.
“We can’t be slow later, but for now—”
“We can’t be hasty.”
Wen Qianshu: “We have to give them some extra time to set up their trap, don’t you think?”
2333: “?”
Author’s Notes:
OOC Skit:
2333: #Every day I suspect my host is a psycho#
Notes:
【1】The person by the wine jar is like the moon, her fair wrist like congealed frost and snow – Wei Zhuang
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
