Chapter 56: What Cannot Be Tolerated

A cultivator entered, placing a gift box on the table, saying, “My master Xu Du accidentally injured Master Wei Yuan and deeply regrets it; he has specially sent one hundred pieces of immortal silver as compensation.”

Zhang Sheng’s expression darkened. But before he could react, a familiar voice came from outside: “Little Wei Yuan, I heard you got stabbed?”

Before the person arrived, the voice had already struck the wound—this was the senior sister arriving.

Ji Liuli entered the ward, saw Zhang Sheng, and her eyes flickered with faint brightness before returning to normal. She picked up the gift box, weighed it in her hand, and said, “One hundred pieces of immortal silver? That’s far too much! Go tell your master: our little Wei Yuan isn’t worth much—next time, just give him one or two pieces as a token.”

The cultivator’s attitude toward Ji Liuli was clearly different; he bowed apologetically, “Senior Sister Ji, my master has always respected you—this matter has nothing to do with you…”

Ji Liuli’s face darkened: “Just deliver the message. Who asked you to speak? Get out!”

The man dared not say more and left, head hung low.

Ji Liuli came to the bedside, casually patting Wei Yuan’s body, saying, “Minor injury, hmm—the medicine was overdosed; otherwise, he’d already healed. By the way, I heard that girl from the Bao family took a sword blow for you! Quick, tell me—what tricks did you use to trick her into this? Have you been doing something behind my back? How many times?”

This senior sister was truly gossipy; she’d rushed over and knew more than Zhang Sheng. Her eyes sparkled, waiting for an answer. But Wei Yuan had no idea why Bao Yun had taken the blow for him—he’d fainted the moment he fell, and only learned the details afterward.

In previous duels, Wei Yuan had always been betrayed by his own side because Bao Yun had secretly arranged it. Children can’t hide secrets; those she’d instructed always whispered about it behind his back, and Wei Yuan’s acute perception naturally caught every word. But first, duels were chaotic brawls—getting beaten wasn’t a big deal, and Wei Yuan wasn’t one to be easily hurt. Second, Bao Yun had secretly lent him many pieces of immortal silver, plus what he’d borrowed from the public account—he already owed several hundred years’ salary.

Even if Bao Yun had beaten him face-to-face, Wei Yuan would have endured it silently, softening his posture to avoid hurting the Bao heiress’s hands—after all, keeping the financier happy mattered more than anything.

For this pre-exam duel, Bao Yun not betraying him was already a miracle—how could Wei Yuan know why she’d taken the sword for him?

After asking for a long while and getting no answer, Ji Liuli grew displeased, pinching Wei Yuan’s body idly: “This minor injury means nothing—you can resume cultivation tonight, and resume foundation refining tomorrow.”

Watching Ji Liuli’s unscrupulous hands, Zhang Sheng frowned slightly.

Fortunately, she pulled her hands away in time, sparing Zhang Sheng from reacting.

Ji Liuli turned and asked, “One hundred pieces of immortal silver—can you tolerate that?”

Zhang Sheng snorted, “If you hadn’t been babbling, I’d have already taught those two a lesson.”

Ji Liuli lounged lazily, “Xu Du has only a little status, but his talent is abysmal—he even borrowed his luck from others, barely scraped through the Earthly Realm, a complete waste. Xu Zhuang is a slightly less useless waste. Two wastes—killing them wouldn’t even be worth it. Besides, the boy was merely jealous of Wei Yuan; his crime doesn’t merit death. If we act, we gain nothing but a reputation for bullying the young.”

Zhang Sheng knew this logic, but seeing Wei Yuan lying in bed, he couldn’t swallow his anger.

Ji Liuli said, “Since you owe me so much money, come on—I’ll take you to vent your rage!”

Zhang Sheng hesitated but followed her out of the ward.

After leaving the ward, Ji Liuli glanced back at the crude room and said, “Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding… this Xin-class ward—there are only two left in the entire Xuanming Hall, and now they’re both your Tianqing Hall’s exclusive property. Next time little Wei Yuan gets hurt, give him a better ward—I’ll cover the cost.”

Zhang Sheng snorted, “Mind your own business! First tell me how we’re going to vent our rage!”

Ji Liuli asked, “Who in the Xu family has the best talent and highest status among our generation?”

“Xu Henshui. But this has nothing to do with him.”

“Why does he bear the Xu surname? Then it has everything to do with him.” Seeing Zhang Sheng still didn’t understand, Ji Liuli explained, “We’re both famous enough—we can’t afford to be seen beating up two wastes. But if we beat him, no one will say a word. We’ll use the excuse that Xu Du injured your disciple and give him a thorough thrashing!”

Even Zhang Sheng’s temperament hesitated: “Isn’t that… a bit forced?”

“You don’t get it! He’s petty and loves to take out his anger on others. After he’s beaten, knowing he can’t retaliate against us, he’ll vent it on those two wastes. Given his nature, he’ll harass them endlessly for years—won’t stop until he’s worn them down.”

Zhang Sheng could only sigh in admiration: “You’re truly ruthless!”

Ji Liuli laughed, “Why else am I the two-zhang-five-foot senior sister? That extra foot isn’t wasted!”

Zhang Sheng’s face darkened instantly.

Moments later, the two crept silently to the entrance of a quiet courtyard. The courtyard was filled with orchids, serene and elegant.

Ji Liuli listened, whispering, “He’s composing poetry again—this is when his guard is lowest. When I give the signal, we strike together—you suppress his movement, I uproot his Dao foundation!”

Zhang Sheng nodded, his figure flickering and vanishing from the spot.

Suddenly, sword qi surged into the sky—the rooftop of the pavilion exploded dozens of zhang into the air, then silently turned to dust! Amid the wind and rustling trees, a faint, mournful cry echoed, then silence.

Inside the room, Xu Henshui trembled slightly, staring at Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli in shock and fury.

Zhang Sheng stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back, admiring the orchids in the courtyard, offering only his back to Xu Henshui.

Ji Liuli stood before the desk, one hand holding an orchid, the other holding a still-wet scroll, reciting with dramatic cadence: “Lush, fragrant orchid, the recluse plucks it… oh? You want to be picked? You should’ve said so sooner!”

Xu Henshui was humiliated beyond endurance.

But the immortal orchid was in Ji Liuli’s hand—he couldn’t die, and he couldn’t live.

“Enough! What do you two really want? Come here just to humiliate me?”

Ji Liuli said, “Your Xu family’s Xu Du unprovoked injured Zhang Sheng’s disciple—shouldn’t you be humiliated?”

“Who is Xu Du?” Xu Henshui frowned in thought.

He despised the scheming within his family and rarely cared about Xu family affairs. After much thought, he vaguely recalled there was such a person—some cousin or niece’s child, utterly insignificant.

“Regardless, he’s from your Xu family. When one of your family causes trouble, shouldn’t you make amends? Why do you apologize only to the Bao family and ignore us? Is our Wei Yuan not a person? In short—this matter isn’t over!” Ji Liuli unleashed a storm of accusations onto Xu Henshui’s face.

With his Dao foundation in their hands, Xu Henshui had no choice but to bow: “Fine, fine! It’s our Xu family’s fault. What compensation do you want?”

“How about I halve the medicine fees you owe me? That’ll be enough.”

Xu Henshui’s voice rose sharply: “Why don’t you just rob me?”

“I’m not capable of robbery. Besides, if I were robbing you, would I leave you half?” Ji Liuli sneered.

Xu Henshui turned to Zhang Sheng, gritting his teeth: “Zhang Sheng! Is this your intention too?”

Zhang Sheng stood with his back to Xu Henshui, motionless, as if in deep meditation. In truth, his face burned, his heart raced—Ji Liuli’s actions were utterly shameless. But the debt Ji Liuli owed Xu Henshui was, in fact, Zhang Sheng’s own debt. Hearing he could halve it, Zhang Sheng found himself unwilling to speak.

In the past, Zhang Sheng would never have done such a thing. But now, first, Ji Liuli stood in front of him, and second, his Void-Cutting Sword Art had reached perfection—his sense of shame had greatly faded. Though he still felt deeply ashamed, he could endure it—for this was tens of thousands of pieces of immortal silver. How many threads would he have to slice? How many fillings would he have to chop?

Seeing Xu Henshui resist, Ji Liuli’s eyes lit up: “You refuse? Then don’t blame me for being uncivil.”

Ji Liuli waved her hand, and a basin of clear water appeared before her. She sprinkled in flour and stirred. Then she pulled out various seasoning dishes, lit a stove, and poured oil into the pot.

Xu Henshui, who cherished the pleasures of life, occasionally cooked. When he saw Ji Liuli preparing to dip the orchid into the flour broth, he screamed—he finally understood what she intended: she was going to thicken the immortal orchid!

This is intolerable!

…But even if intolerable, he had to endure.

With tears in his eyes, Xu Henshui agreed to halve the medicine fees and promised to supply Ji Liuli with ample medicinal herbs whenever she needed them—barely managing to send off the two plagues.

(End of Chapter)