Chapter 46: I Don’t Wanna Live Anymore

Being able to perfectly ruin even the simplest tasks is a talent in itself.

The entire rear courtyard of Rosy Fragrance Pavilion was in chaos, thick smoke billowing everywhere.

Huo Tian Tian rushed in to put out the fire, and the clumsy antics of her Junior Sister had all the girls laughing and crying at the same time.

This pair of Huangmao master and servant really were each more amusing than the other.

Yun Liu rubbed his brow and took back his earlier words—at this point, who was tormenting whom?

“Fine, you win, Little Ancestor. Go find somewhere cool and stay there.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Ji Shiyu lowered her head to apologize, nervously wringing her hands.

This time, she was truly sincere.

It was the first time she realized there were things she was so bad at, and the sense of defeat was overwhelming.

Yun Liu ignored her.

Huangmao just followed behind at a distance, watching as the young man cleaned up the pile of trash, then paid out of his own pocket—over a hundred Spirit Stones—to purchase new materials from the counter and continue the commission.

“Hiss, that’s so expensive! Isn’t this…”

She hadn’t done a thing, yet had added to their debt.

Huangmao wanted to cry but had no tears—her first day on the job was a disaster.

“Let it go this time. Treating you like a person was my mistake. It’s not your fault; I’ll pay for my own stupidity. Go empty the toilet.”

“What do you mean by that?!”

Ji Shiyu had just been moved, but after hearing the second half of his sentence, her face flushed red.

Even though it was the truth, Yun Liu’s words stung even more than a slap across the face.

With Huangmao’s peculiar way of thinking, what she cared about most was being looked down upon, not the dirty work itself.

From grinding medicines to cleaning chamber pots—what was this, treating her like some unrefined monkey?

“Exactly what I said.”

The youth walked off without looking back.

He re-sorted the medicinal herbs, ground the ink, roasted and processed them, all with focused attention, as if he was caring for a lover rather than mere Spirit Materials.

He finished all of Huangmao’s work one by one.

The Yun Liu at work was a different person—a face neither Xiao Xinran nor Ji Shiyu had ever seen before.

Even when handling inanimate objects, he was a hundred times gentler than with the two of them.

Huangmao watched, entranced.

Her gaze changed slightly, lips pressed together, clearly touched.

She calmed herself and began to imitate Yun Liu’s every move.

The Formless Spiritual Root granted her ever-changing innate attributes and an exceptional ability to learn.

Unknowingly, she worked busily for half the day.

By the time she looked up, it was already dark.

Yun Liu had gone home long ago—after all, the “lying flat” guy never worked overtime.

Ji Shiyu stretched, her waist and back aching.

Determined to prove herself and make her “Sworn Father” look at her differently, she gritted her teeth and finished all the dirty and tiring work, even scrubbing every layer of Rosy Fragrance Pavilion until it gleamed.

She wasn’t about to give Yun Liu another chance to mock her!

“Even though I didn’t earn a single coin today, I still worked hard.”

Ji Shiyu frowned miserably.

Is this what the life of an ordinary cultivator is like?

It’s just too exhausting…

Huo Tian Tian giggled.

“Keep it up, Junior Sister! Your soul is strong—you’re a promising Elixir Cultivator seedling. Don’t let Mr. Xiao Yun look down on you. Opportunities to learn from a Second-Grade Alchemist don’t come often.”

“Of course!”

Huangmao proudly raised her nose.

A true hero can’t let her fans down—even if it means emptying toilets.

Next time, for sure!

Night fell on Sighing Peak.

After the last Demon Sect invasion, the Mountain Gate Grand Array had been reinforced, and the Four Academies were on high alert.

Xiao Xinran spent the entire afternoon self-studying in the Illusion Pavilion, repeatedly studying the Classic Tomes that Xiao Yun had mentioned before.

To advance to the Inner Sect, she not only needed strong cultivation, but also good marks in the Six Arts of the Sect.

Returning to the Heaven Courtyard, Xiao Xinran noticed with some surprise that Ji Shiyu wasn’t lazing on her bed as usual.

“Did she get burned and have to be sent to the medical pavilion?”

Unfortunately, a while later, Huangmao returned with her head drooping, alive.

She washed up quickly and went straight to bed, without the energy for a single word, let alone chatting.

Maybe it was from banging her head all day, but for once, Ji Shiyu didn’t come sticking around.

Instead, she seriously picked up the thick tome given by Senior Sister Tian Tian and began to read.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading.”

Xiao Xinran raised the oil lamp and curiously peeked over.

It wasn’t a Qi Refining Manual, nor a Sword Dao Deduction.

The three large characters “Baicao Jing” (Classic of a Hundred Herbs) caught her eye, and she couldn’t help but snort.

“You can read?”

???

“What kind of person am I in your minds, anyway?!”

“A green tea bimbo pig.”

“…!”

Her sharp-tongued ex-wife was even harsher than her cheapskate Sworn Father.

“And you stink. The smell is killing me. Next time, don’t come in here without bathing.”

Xiao Xinran muttered with a frown.

As long as it didn’t affect her cultivation, anything was fine.

“Gu.”

Ji Shiyu sniffed her cloud-patterned robe, hugging her knees in grievance.

Thinking back on her rotten luck today, she sighed and even felt the urge to quit the sect and flee back to Star Isle to mooch off her family.

No, if she gave up after just one day, wouldn’t that little slicker mock her for life?

She wouldn’t be able to lift her head ever again!

Late at night, Huangmao tossed and turned, feeling like she’d forgotten something—something very important.

Suddenly, she sat up straight, practically springing to life like a corpse, her expression horrified as a flash of insight struck her.

“Wait, that slick kid is a Second-Grade Alchemist, and he’s treated as a Guest of Honor at Rosy Fragrance Pavilion. Could the Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pill that appeared in Mist City be…”

Ao Tian yawned and rubbed her eyes with a wing.

“You just realized?”

“How could… this be!”

Ji Shiyu’s eyes widened.

Suddenly, all the strange events that had happened in the “novice village” connected in her mind.

All this time, she’d been so distracted by the engagement drama that she was utterly oblivious.

So in the end, all her private savings had ended up in that kid’s pocket?

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Damn it!

If she’d known, she would have just asked her Sworn Father for help—why bother fighting with Xiao Xinran at the Auction House?

Ji Shiyu’s expression was a spectacular mess.

Thinking back on Yun Liu’s repeated teasing, she felt so ashamed she couldn’t even put it into words.

He’d seen through her all along, playing her like a monkey!

“Even if I told you, it wouldn’t matter. Now do you believe he really has zero interest in you?”

“…….”

No wonder Ao Tian was so sure Fortune had been by her side from the very start.

Ji Shiyu flopped down, feeling completely drained.

Fortune that had once been at her fingertips was now lost.

She’d ended up broke, with a rival now sleeping in the next bed.

It was enough to make even the self-proclaimed genius coin-forger’s mentality collapse.

“Wuwuwu, I don’t want to live anymore!”

“You’re so noisy. If you want to die, do it outside—don’t disturb my sleep.”

“Ouch!”

A pillow flew through the darkness, landing squarely on Huangmao’s head.

Morning lessons again.

Ji Shiyu, sporting dark circles, dragged herself up the mountain to the Dao arena, listless and dispirited.

Now that her extraordinary luck had lost its effect in East Pole Province, it seemed even the Protagonist’s halo was sealed away.

The self-confidence that had been built up to the heavens by someone else’s flattery suddenly began to crumble.

At that moment, a familiar figure leisurely walked up the mountain path.

What bad luck—today’s Inner Disciple on teaching duty was none other than the Chief of Celestial Phenomena Peak, Yun Liu.

As the white-robed youth strolled onto the Sighing Peak Dao arena, everyone’s gazes were strange—except for two girls, who suddenly perked up.