“Junior sister’s name is truly pleasant to hear, especially the surname,” Gu Shenzhi smiled as he spoke, though the latter half of his sentence carried a hint of gritted teeth.
However, at this moment, Bai Ling was busy cursing the black-hearted senior brother’s ancestors up to the eighteenth generation, having exhausted all the swear words she knew in her lifetime. She had no time to listen to him.
Bai Ling said irritably, “Enough with the pleasantries. I still have to go to the back mountain to chop some spirit bamboo to complete today’s task. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first.”
With that, Junior Sister Bai turned and left, her final glance at Gu Shenzhi seeming like a farewell to the embodiment of all the ugliness in the world, her disgust and aversion written plainly across her face.
Yet, it was precisely this look from the young girl that made Gu Shenzhi completely lower his guard, convinced that their shared surname was merely another coincidence.
Because his master would never look at him with such eyes—absolutely impossible.
Gu Shenzhi comforted himself silently, perhaps he was just too sensitive; the traces of Bai Qi in his heart were too deep, impossible to erase in this lifetime.
“Wait a moment,” he called out to Bai Ling, who was hurrying away, his tone serious. “I have a task here too. I want to ask you to bring me to meet a junior sister from Qingying Peak. The reward is generous. Junior Sister Bai, won’t you consider it?”
“How much could taking you to meet someone be worth in spirit stones? I’m not going,” Bai Ling turned and made a face at him, then hurried toward the interior of Qingying Peak.
Watching the girl’s hasty retreat, Gu Shenzhi smiled slightly and said, “What if it’s ten high-grade spirit stones?”
Hearing this, Bai Ling immediately stopped in her tracks. After some hesitation, she beamed and returned to the side of the black-clad youth, respectfully asking, “May I know which junior sister from Qingying Peak Senior Brother Gu wishes to see?”
“Taotian, the one who wears pink clothes, just recently joined your Qingying sect a few months ago. Her recommender should be Senior Sister Yuexi,” Gu Shenzhi replied calmly.
“You… you want to find Xiao Tian?” Bai Ling covered her face with her hand, surprised.
“Oh, so you actually know each other,” Gu Shenzhi said gently. His mood could flip faster than turning a page; from the black-hearted villain just now to the gentle senior brother now, he could switch seamlessly with every gesture.
“Of course. According to the rules, two disciples in Qingying Peak share a cave abode. The one living with me is Taotian. Aside from Senior Sister Yuexi, she is the one I’m closest to in the peak.”
Bai Ling put her hands on her hips, quite proud of herself.
“Since you’re a friend of Xiao Tian’s, I’ll help you clear one hundred high-grade spirit stones of debt. But Junior Sister Bai, remember not to touch gambling again. As the saying goes, ‘long-term gambling always loses.’”
In just a brief moment, Bai Ling’s feelings toward Gu Shenzhi experienced a rollercoaster ride—from the depths to the peak, then plummeting to a cliff, before finally soaring back up from the bottom.
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. I will keep it in mind.”
The two walked along the winding path deeper into Qingying Peak. After several dozen paces, the terrain suddenly opened up.
Clouds and mist curled around several scattered cultivator dwellings on the mountain, each protected by formation arrays, and filled with abundant spiritual energy.
The Shadow Accompany Formation was a standard defensive setup for Qingying Peak disciples’ abodes. Though not high grade, probably only around the Yellow Rank, such formations were like paper in front of powerful cultivators—one strike and they shattered.
For an outstanding Heavenly Dao Saint Infant like Gu Shenzhi, a single sword would cut through them all.
But their advantage was practicality and simplicity, sufficient to defend against scattered weak mountain beasts.
“Xiao Tian, someone’s come to see you!”
Bai Ling excitedly pushed open the door. The room’s furnishings were simple; apart from sandalwood tables and chairs, there was only a begonia screen, unable to compare with the luxurious Qi Huang Courtyard.
However, the pink-clad girl did not come out as usual to greet her. Instead, harsh coughing came from the bedroom behind the screen.
Before Bai Ling could react, Gu Shenzhi quickly moved behind the screen, disregarding formal guest etiquette in his urgency.
After years together, in terms of servant-master bonds, Taotian held considerable weight in his heart, just slightly less than Su Linghuang.
Childhood sweethearts were ultimately no match for fated marriages.
On the quilted bed, the girl wore a plain white nightgown, her complexion dreadful. Her once vividly red lips were now pale.
“Young master, you actually came to visit your servant!” Seeing her beloved who she longed for day and night, the pink-clad girl’s weak breath instantly rejuvenated as she joyfully said.
To her, Gu Shenzhi was the best medicine.
Before she finished speaking, the elegant black-clad youth raised a finger to her jade lips, signaling her to rest quietly and not speak.
Seeing this, Taotian obediently lay back down without resistance. The sweetness in her heart was indescribable.
Since coming to Yueying Sect, she had been outmatched by Su Linghuang everywhere, driven to the brink in the battle for her husband. This illness was, in a way, a blessing in disguise, allowing her a slight comeback.
Though not honorable, it was at least a victory over that vixen once.
Then Gu Shenzhi extended his right hand, placing it on the girl’s slender pale wrist. The fingertips were cool and delicate, like caressing a peerless jade.
He infused his spiritual energy into her, nourishing her meridians and dantian. His technique was gentle and slow; he dared neither speed up nor increase the flow.
Taotian’s cultivation was only late Foundation Establishment stage, her meridians relatively blocked, and dantian small. Her opening was tiny, so Gu Shenzhi’s vast and mighty spiritual energy naturally couldn’t enter in full. Forcing it in would only cause rupture.
“Senior Brother Gu, you actually know medicine?” Bai Ling asked curiously, blinking her beautiful starry eyes.
“A little, nothing worth mentioning.”
In fact, this was no false modesty from Gu Shenzhi. His understanding of medicine was far from profound—at best, he was ignorant.
What he just did was purely to deceive onlookers and incidentally tend to his maid’s health.
As for Taotian’s root problem, he could see through it at a glance with his dual pupils. It stemmed from evil energy entering her body, disrupting her original pulse pattern, preventing spiritual energy from gathering in her dantian, and causing it to scatter chaotically through her meridians.
“Young master, is my illness very serious?”
Gu Shenzhi shook his head and said softly, “Not at all, it’s just evil energy inside. Expelling it will be fine. I just cleared your meridians; take a Qingning Pill and you’ll be well.”
He paused, then asked seriously:
“However, Yueying Sect is a first-rate grand sect. There shouldn’t be any evil energy in its grounds. The appearance of evil energy is a serious matter. Xiao Tian, where have you been these days? Have you visited any strange places or met anyone unusual?”
At these words, the sick girl thought deeply but couldn’t recall any strange places or people.
“These days I’ve stayed within Yueying, never left the sect. The people I’ve seen are only senior and junior sisters from Qingying Peak, plus the elders and stewards who teach. I haven’t noticed anything abnormal.”
Suddenly, Taotian seemed to remember something and hurriedly said:
“Senior Sister Yuexi hasn’t been herself lately. She’s locked herself in her cave abode completely. I haven’t seen her for days. When I went to visit her yesterday, she was clearly inside but said she wasn’t receiving visitors and sent me away with just a few words.”
PS: Chapter 95 really got axed, tears in my eyes.