Chapter 10: Returning East to Guyang and Seeing Youran

Lingxiang had just woken up; the first thing to meet her eyes was the water-colored bed curtain, upon which the embroidered orchids looked vivid and lifelike.

"You're awake? Do you feel any discomfort?"

The voice was soft and gentle, quite pleasant to the ear.

"Who are you? The eldest daughter of the Liu family?" Lingxiang struggled to sit up and asked.

"Chiyanzi the immortal master said your internal organs were injured and you still need to recuperate for a few days. You have just woken from a long sleep, so don't be in such a hurry to get up." As the eldest Miss Liu spoke, she hurriedly pressed Lingxiang down and tucked the corners of the quilt for her. "If you don't mind, you may just call me Alan."

"In that case, have those women all been released?"

"Yes, speaking of which, I really must thank you."

"Even so, I must still apologize to you for telling the fox demon about your affairs without permission; I hope you can forgive me."

"It is no matter. If those women were saved because of me, it is still a virtuous deed."

"Then you..."

Alan held Lingxiang's hand, then stood up and walked to the window.

"After the battle with the Barbarian Clan, he vanished without a trace. Whether he is dead or alive, I have no way of knowing, but I still cannot let him go. It was only to marry me in glory that he went to that blood-soaked land. If he is fortunate enough to survive and returns to see me, yet I have already married another man..." Speaking of this, Alan seemed to choke with sobs.

"So you discussed it with your younger brother to fake being captured, but you didn't expect that the fox demon would really target you."

"Yesterday he found me, and I told him everything. He is actually a pitiful person too..."

After Alan felt sorrowful for a while, she urged Lingxiang to rest well and went off to another place.

Indeed, who has not had a past? Whether happy or sad, it is all just passing smoke; why insist on dwelling on it?

Leaving Cangzhou and passing through Xiangcheng, it was only a day's journey to Guyang. To thank Lingxiang and her group, Master Liu specially prepared a carriage to see them off.

Upon arriving at Guyang, Lingxiang specially gifted Chiyanzi a Marrow Cleansing Pill to express her gratitude. Chiyanzi declined repeatedly but could not refuse, so he accepted it and went off to visit an old friend.

But what exactly does this Long Qi intend by following her all the way here?

Youran Abode is located in the bustling market south of the city, surrounded by wine shops, general stores, medical clinics, and merchants. Back then, it cost Lingxiang quite a lot of silver to acquire this storefront.

Having lived here for several years, she got along extremely well with the neighbors. Seeing her return, they all greeted her, and Lingxiang responded to each one, her mood seeming quite good.

"This is my Youran Abode," she said while opening the door.

"Oh~ not bad at all!" Long Qi praised, slapping his palm with his fist, but just as he was about to step inside, he was blocked by Lingxiang.

"I just don't know what advice you have, young hero, for gracing my humble home?"

"Hey, we've been together for quite some time now, and we've even been through life and death together, so we can be considered friends. Look, I've just arrived in this precious place, I'm a stranger here, and I'm penniless. Shouldn't you, as a friend, look after me a little?" As he spoke, he flashed inside the house.

Seeing this, Lingxiang hurriedly chased after him: "Forcing your way into a woman's boudoir, is this how a gentleman behaves? Get out at once!"

"I have never thought of you as a woman, and you shouldn't think of me as a gentleman. We are all brothers; don't be so formal!"

"How can you be such a rogue?" Lingxiang wanted to use force, but she couldn't bear to risk her house full of treasures.

In the end, Long Qi stayed, on the condition that he help Lingxiang look after those precious Spirit Plants.

He had thought that looking after Spirit Plants meant weeding and watering, but he didn't expect that this water was spring water from beside a spirit vein on Qingwei Peak of Jiuque Mountain.

It was a ten-mile round trip, and he had to carry two full buckets. Even though Long Qi had practiced martial arts since he was young, he found it miserable. Before he had even filled one bucket, he was lying flat on the ground, unable to move.

This woman, since she wants to use spirit vein spring water to nourish her Spirit Plants, why must she live so far away...

"I don't believe... that you... have always... carried the water yourself..."

At this moment, Lingxiang was lying on a hammock, leisurely eating snacks.

"That is only natural. I certainly have ways to fill these two vats, but why would I be foolish enough not to use the ready-made labor? Besides, you are the one eating and living for free, and you are the one who said you wanted to cultivate. What, it's only the first day, and you're already failing?" Lingxiang said, picking up another small pastry. "If you can't do it, then quickly leave my humble temple."

"I heard you had already reached Foundation Establishment at seven years old. Could it be that you were like this before that too?"

"Hey~ that is where you and I differ," Lingxiang stood up, crouched above Long Qi's head, and poked his face. "Although you have practiced martial arts since childhood, it only forged your external body, which counts as Body Tempering, but you have no foundation internally. The entry to immortal cultivation is Qi Refining, which must be experienced personally when one is extremely exhausted. The so-called 'exhausting the muscles and bones to temper the heart and will' is exactly what you need to do right now. As for me, sigh~ I was fortunate to have heaven's favor, and I attained the power of Foundation Establishment without having to refine my tendons or clear my meridians..."

Long Qi didn't listen to a word of what Lingxiang said later; he only felt that as soon as she came near, a burst of fragrance assailed his nostrils, which was truly intoxicating. He even forgot to breathe. After a long while, he came to his senses, suddenly felt his face burning and his breath short, and hurriedly got up, grabbed the two wooden buckets, and fled out the door.

After much difficulty filling the two vats, Long Qi felt that his entire body was beyond his control. Before he could rest for even a moment, he was called by Lingxiang to bathe in the hot spring.

The bathroom was filled with the scent of medicine, and the bathtub was steaming. The water was the spirit vein spring water he had just carried, and it contained a Medicine Pouch prepared by Lingxiang. As soon as he entered the tub, his whole body felt comfortable. Just as he was stretching out, he heard the door open and close; it was Lingxiang entering. He hurriedly covered himself with a towel and submerged into the water.

"Tch~ although I am not skilled in medicine, I have still performed physical examinations, so what part of your little body would I not know? Why hide it?" She said, putting down a set of clothes and a book. "Remember to memorize this 'Guiyuan Sutra'. From now on, when you take your daily bath, sit in meditation and regulate your breathing according to these techniques to consolidate your foundation and nourish your essence."

Does this woman really not know about the boundaries between men and women, or is she just dense...

After a month like this, Long Qi actually felt his five senses becoming sharper, his breathing seemed to merge with his whole body, and even the daily water carrying became easy for him, without feeling tired at all.

The Chonglou obtained from the Taishang Sect began to sprout. Lingxiang had only been experimenting; she didn't expect it to break through the soil even away from that spirit vein, though she didn't know if it could grow nine leaves.

Half a year ago, she obtained a pill formula from her mother's posthumous writings called 'Heaven-Returning', but the required ingredients were all rare, and the formula was incomplete, with the techniques unclear. If the trial refining failed, she couldn't exactly go back to Changyun Peak to ask for more.

Long Qi had originally thought Lingxiang was just a spirit-refining alchemist; he didn't expect her to have some ability to remove diseases and dispel evil. From time to time, people would come to invite her, and every time, she would go to the appointment alone, and he didn't know if it was real or fake.

Thinking of those fake Taoists who shook their heads and put on airs, if she also acted like that, it would probably be very amusing...

A very beautiful woman acting in that manner—Long Qi couldn't help but hold his stomach and laugh...

Yes, although he never saw her dress up, she was still extremely beautiful...

Long Qi giggled for a moment, then suddenly came to his senses and knocked himself on the forehead.

What was he thinking? That tigress had not spared him from chores this month. Looking small and Linglong, she was actually full of mischief and would constantly try to mess with him. How was she beautiful!

After coming to his senses, he hurriedly picked up the wooden buckets and went up the mountain to fetch water.