Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Small Fry Meets the Big Fish
Inside the Medical Hall, Ying Zong Yu had just dismissed Jin Wang Chou and was now schooling Si Shao.
“When you take a disciple someday, don’t learn from Jin Wang Chou. Zhao Ke Xin committed a serious mistake. A hundred lashes was what she deserved. But look at her master—jumping around like a madwoman. She’s not only cleaning up Zhao Ke Xin’s mess, she’s hunting down spiritual medicine to treat her wounds. Fine, whatever. But it’s been seven days, and she still runs to the Medical Hall once a day. If you spoil a disciple like that, how will Zhao Ke Xin ever learn? How will she ever truly realize what she did wrong? People say a doting mother ruins her child. In my view, that’s exactly what she is.”
Si Shao accepted the lecture, but still muttered, “If we’re talking about spoiling disciples… Sect Master Yu of Qing Xu Sect, and Martial Grand-Uncle Gu of Jade Void Peak, are even worse than Martial Uncle Jin.”
Ying Zong Yu gave him a cool look. “How can Jin Wang Chou compare to Sect Master Yu? Qing Xu Sect’s Sect Master has influence everywhere. Jiang Li Sheng has been in Qing Xu Sect for years, walking sideways without anyone daring to stop her. If she hadn’t burned the spirit fields and destroyed over ten thousand spiritual plants, her crime wouldn’t have been so severe. She wouldn’t have needed Sect Master Yu to personally shield her and send her to Kun Lun Sect for discipline.”
He snorted. “Didn’t you see it? When that little girl arrived at Kun Lun Sect, she wasn’t injured in the slightest. The Mountains-and-Rivers Scroll delivered her—ten thousand li in a day. And your Martial Grand-Uncle Gu may not compare to Sect Master Yu, but Gu Cheng Zhou’s swordsmanship ranks first in slaughter among Kun Lun Sect’s thirty-two Peak Masters. He fights like he doesn’t care whether he lives. Who isn’t afraid of him? An Ru Xu hasn’t even learned a fraction of his essence.”
Ying Zong Yu’s gaze sharpened. “Those two protect their disciples because they have the ability to protect them. But Jin Wang Chou? Other than her background and her slick tongue, what does she have that can compare? Among the thirty-two Peak Masters, she isn’t dead last—but at best, she uses money to smooth things over for her disciple. Spoiling a disciple like that, what’s worth praising?”
Si Shao straightened and cupped his hands. “Yes, Master. I understand.” Still, he couldn’t help asking, voice lowered, “Then Junior Sister Jiang truly burned Qing Xu Sect’s spirit fields and destroyed over ten thousand spiritual plants?”
Ying Zong Yu snorted. “Sect Master Yu tried to suppress the news, but the disaster was too big. Qing Xu Sect is in an uproar. Someone was bound to leak a bit of resentment sooner or later. I heard it from Qing Xu Sect’s Medical Hall Master. Of course it’s true.”
Spiritual plants were tied to pill making. The ones angriest about the loss were naturally Qing Xu Sect’s Medical Hall.
Si Shao sighed. “Sect Master Yu spoils his disciple too much.” Compared to that, Martial Uncle Jin really was small fry meeting the big fish.
Wei Qing Lan reached the doorway, caught a few words, paused, then stepped into the Medical Hall.
Jiang Li Sheng followed right behind him. She heard it too. Over the years, she had caused plenty of disasters in Qing Xu Sect—yet this one wasn’t her doing at all. She had taken the blame for someone else, with no way to argue back. The injustice still sat like a stone in her chest.
She had just told Wei Qing Lan that she always caused trouble and feared dragging him down. Well—now he’d heard it with his own ears. She hadn’t lied. She really couldn’t let people get too close. An Ru Xu was proof enough; wasn’t he currently lying in bed, nursing injuries?
The romantic mess might have started with him, but if she hadn’t gone head-to-head with Zhao Ke Xin, he wouldn’t have been hurt so badly. Another inch, and it would have struck his heart meridian. He would have died.
Seeing them enter, Ying Zong Yu and Si Shao stopped talking. Ying Zong Yu showed not a trace of embarrassment at being overheard. He glanced at Jiang Li Sheng, brow lifting. “Awake? I thought you’d sleep another two days.”
Jiang Li Sheng saluted properly. “Hall Master Ying.”
Ying Zong Yu waved it off and pointed at a wooden box set nearby. “This box of Spirit-Replenishing Pills is all yours. Do you want to use them here, or take them back?”
“Here.” Jiang Li Sheng didn’t hesitate. “I’ll use them now. Once my spiritual power recovers, I can treat Senior Brother Wei immediately. With this many Spirit-Replenishing Pills, it’ll be enough to heal the injury to his spiritual mansion.”
“All right,” Ying Zong Yu said, easy and decisive. “Then use them now.”
The box was already open. Inside, bottles lay lined up in neat rows.
Jiang Li Sheng had slept for seven days. Her stomach was empty. She grabbed a bottle, popped the stopper, poured the pills into her palm, and swallowed them one by one. Before long, she finished the bottle—then reached for another and kept going.
For her, Spirit-Replenishing Pills were as ordinary as food. In a short time, she went through five bottles.
Si Shao stared, stunned.
Wei Qing Lan’s expression didn’t change.
Ying Zong Yu couldn’t help speaking. “Good thing your spiritual power is special. If an ordinary person took that much at once, they’d burst and die.”
Jiang Li Sheng nodded. She’d been eating this stuff since she was small. She was long past sick of it—if she had any other way, she wouldn’t touch it.
Five bottles filled her stomach. After that, she crushed the pills instead, drawing the spiritual power straight in through her fingertips. Bottle after bottle. Empty glass clinked softly as it piled on the floor. With each infusion, the exhaustion faded from her face, little by little, until her eyes were clear again and her breathing steadied.
After dozens of bottles, she finally stopped and looked up. “We can start. I can heal Senior Brother Wei’s spiritual mansion now. Hall Master Ying, Senior Brother Si—assist me like last time. When my spiritual power runs short, crush the Spirit-Replenishing Pills and help me replenish it.”
Ying Zong Yu nodded. “Fine.”
If he hadn’t witnessed it, he wouldn’t have believed it—dozens of bottles, and she perked up like a wilted flower drinking its fill, her whole presence shifting.
No wonder rumors had spread for years that her Foundation Establishment cultivation had been forced up by Sect Master Yu with pills. With spiritual power like hers, if there had been any other road, Sect Master Yu would have taken it. If pills weren’t the last resort, it wouldn’t have come to this.
Ying Zong Yu turned and sealed the Medical Hall doors. “Come. Let’s begin.”
Wei Qing Lan looked at Jiang Li Sheng. This time, he didn’t tell her to go rest. Anyone could see she’d recovered. He gave a single nod.
Jiang Li Sheng quietly exhaled. She stepped in front of him and, just like before, carefully sent her spiritual power into his spiritual mansion. With her previous experience, it went smoothly. She worked with practiced hands, patching what was damaged, smoothing what was torn, sealing fractures so fine they felt more like threads than wounds.
She wanted to finish quickly. But repairing a spiritual mansion was delicate work. No rushing. Even with impatience burning under her skin, she kept herself steady and cautious, mending it inch by inch.
Wei Qing Lan could feel how careful she was—how she held herself back, how she endured. He stood silent, gaze resting on her face. Moments ago, she had looked bright and lively from replenishment. Now, as her strength drained, her complexion paled again, visibly.
The spiritual power she’d replenished was being consumed right in front of them.
Acting as guardians at the side, Ying Zong Yu and Si Shao didn’t dare wait until she overextended herself like last time. The moment her face went pale, they pressed Spirit-Replenishing Pills into her hands.
In the hush of the sealed hall, the only sound was the soft crack of pill after pill being crushed.