Chapter 17: The Tenacious Herb

Page 1/3

She seemed unaware of anyone approaching, holding a watering can and bending her head, focused intently on watering the jade night flower bushes.

Wei Shengming glanced at her a few times. He did not know her identity and did not wish to guess or inquire. He had intended to leave directly, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the plant she was watering was not the jade night flowers.

It was a newly sprouted plant beside the flower bushes.

The plant’s frost-touched leaves were pale white, with slight serrations along the edges.

This plant was uncommon in Yan Province, but Wei Shengming was very familiar with it.

It was the Bitterheart Grass—the very same that had poisoned him during his search for the Spirit Nourishing Herb in the Ancestral Province.

Just as he stepped forward to get a clearer look, the girl holding the watering can turned her head and stared straight at him.

Her eyes were strikingly clear, black and white sharply defined. The owner of those eyes had rosy cheeks and emerald sideburns, appearing no older than sixteen. Her aura was thin, likely indicating a young cultivation age. Yet her gaze lacked the reckless eagerness or naive confusion typical of youth; instead, it was icy and sharp. When she lifted her eyelids to sweep her gaze over him, it was like a slender, exquisite blade being drawn.

There was killing intent.

Such a deadly aura should not have appeared on such a young cultivator, causing Wei Shengming to instinctively furrow his brows.

But that barely perceptible killing intent lasted only a moment. Upon recognizing him, Yu Chanyi blinked and asked, “You’re awake?”

Having been forewarned by Wu Xilan that her senior brother’s temperament was peculiar and uncommunicative, Yu Chanyi had not expected a response. Yet after her words, Wei Shengming did reply.

“What are you doing?”

Yu Chanyi glanced down at the Bitterheart Grass and answered, “Nurturing the plant.”

“That’s a poisonous herb.”

Seeing her remain still, Wei Shengming warned, “That’s Bitterheart Grass. Its poison is colorless and tasteless, silently seeping into the air around where it grows. Your spiritual energy is thin, and you’re not using any cultivation to defend against it. If you can’t resist, you’ll be poisoned.”

Yu Chanyi nodded matter-of-factly, “I know.”

What he said she had already learned from Wu Xilan.

According to the records, Bitterheart Grass is colorless and tasteless, but its toxicity is not strong.

One small Bitterheart Grass shouldn’t be able to take down an adult cultivator.

Yet her senior brother was severely injured.

Wu Xilan suspected the medical texts she possessed had errors regarding Bitterheart Grass.

“You’ve already told me all this,” Yu Chanyi said. “I found Bitterheart Grass seeds stuck to your clothes and wanted to plant one to test how poisonous it really is.”

Wei Shengming asked, “If you knew, then why didn’t you use cultivation to resist the poison?”

Yu Chanyi did not answer.

Wei Shengming silently watched her and suddenly thought of an unlikely possibility—

She might be using herself to test the strength of Bitterheart Grass’s poison.

It seemed unreasonable, but for now, there was no other explanation.

Wei Shengming pursed his lips and said, “The poison isn’t strong, but it happens to counter me.”

Bitterheart Grass’s poison attacks the heart, and since he harbored a heart demon, his mind was often clouded and unclear. For him, the poison was fierce and unstoppable. But for other cultivators, it might not be so.

Yu Chanyi was momentarily stunned, then carried the watering can out of the jade night flower field.

“That’s truly a waste of effort.”

Walking beside Wei Shengming, she glanced at him again.

It had been ten full days since he had lost consciousness.

Though awake now, his face was pale, his clothes stained with blood. His aura was cold and faint, seeming less like a living person and more like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave after two days.

If she hadn’t personally felt his pulse and checked his breath, Yu Chanyi might have thought him dead.

Yet his face was undeniably handsome; even drained of color, his lips pale, he remained strikingly beautiful. The word “beautiful” usually did not apply to men, but for her senior brother, it was fitting.

Now, his eyes, which had been tightly closed for ten days, opened. The pupils were hazy with a faint redness around the edges, the corners of his eyes also reddened, as if on the verge of tears.

The Bitterheart Grass had truly tormented him.

During these ten days, Wu Xilan busied herself searching through medical texts for more records to correct her erroneous notes, leaving the care of her senior brother to Yu Chanyi.

Many times, Yu Chanyi had seen him sweat profusely in his coma, suffering greatly.

Thinking of this, Yu Chanyi felt a pang of disappointment.

She had thought everyone poisoned by Bitterheart Grass would show effects like her beautiful senior brother’s. She had hoped...

That Bitterheart Grass could be used on Lu Wenshu.

Page 2/3

Wei Shengming noticed the subtle change in her expression.

He said nothing, following Yu Chanyi into the herb cottage.

Inside, Wu Xilan sat amid piles of medical books and herbals, her hair disheveled, her expression weary.

“Senior sister, senior brother is awake,” Yu Chanyi said.

“Awake?” Wu Xilan looked up from the stack of documents and glanced at Wei Shengming. Seeing he was alive, she quickly lowered her gaze again. “As always, strange—he recovers on his own.”

Recalling something, she looked up again. “Junior brother, let me introduce you. This is our junior sister from Bu Jin Sect, Yu Chanyi.”

Wei Shengming had just set down the Spirit Nourishing Herb and was about to leave when he heard Wu Xilan's words. He paused slightly but said nothing, then walked out.

Wu Xilan turned to Yu Chanyi. “See? I told you he ignores people. Once he wakes, he’ll probably go to the sword stall to pull out his sword. Sigh, we’ll be the laughing stock of Bu Jin Sect again.”

Yu Chanyi instead looked at Wei Shengming’s departing figure.

That silhouette was desolate and cold; Yu Chanyi sensed he was not the person Wu Xilan described.

He had just acknowledged her presence, hadn’t he?

After Wei Shengming left, Wu Xilan picked up the Spirit Nourishing Herb. “Let me see what he left behind… Spirit Nourishing Herb???”

“It’s the Spirit Nourishing Herb from Ancestral Province! Wonderful, wonderful!” Wu Xilan’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Junior brother, how did you get Spirit Nourishing Herb? No matter, since it’s here, it’s for my pill-making. He took my Heart-Protecting Pill, so his Spirit Nourishing Herb makes it even.”

Yu Chanyi could not help but say, “Senior sister, senior brother just spoke a few words to me.”

“Really?” Wu Xilan was surprised. “What did he say?”

“Not much, only a few words,” Yu Chanyi replied. “Senior brother said the reason Bitterheart Grass harmed him so severely was due to his special constitution. The poison only affects him strongly.”

“What?” Wu Xilan was stunned, then quickly accepted it. “His constitution is indeed special, and he’s not a cultivator with profound spiritual power. Despite numerous injuries and near death, he never dies. I thought his constitution was a blessing, letting him take reckless risks, but turns out his resistance to poison is poor. Seems the heavenly way is fair: for every gain, there is loss.”

“So that’s it! The problem wasn’t with the Bitterheart Grass, but with the person.”

Realizing this, Wu Xilan complained, “Ahhh, I’ve spent ten days poring over books in vain!”

She angrily grabbed a handful of her tangled hair. Just then, footsteps sounded at the entrance of Bu Jin Sect.

Someone crossed the barrier and knocked on the open courtyard door.

With the tapping sound came a familiar voice outside the herb cottage: “Excuse me, is anyone here?”

Wu Xilan tidied her messy hair with a hand sign, put away the Spirit Nourishing Herb, and stepped out with Yu Chanyi.

Seeing Li Xu, Wu Xilan was surprised. “I haven’t ordered seeds yet. Li Daoist, what brings you here this time?”

Li Xu looked embarrassed. “I’m short on funds recently. I happened to come across a batch of new seeds and thought you might need them. I came specially to show you. If you buy in advance, it would help me out. But I’m not forcing you. Wu Daoist, Yu Daoist, take a look. Buy what suits you, and if not, I’ll look for other buyers.”

Wu Xilan, who had good relations with those around her, listened to Li Xu’s predicament and said warmly, “Since you’re in trouble, I’ll buy some seeds from you in advance.”

Li Xu replied, “You don’t need to buy just to accommodate me.”

Wu Xilan said, “Seeds are always useful to have on hand. Give them here, I’ll pick.”

Grateful, Li Xu presented the seeds.

While Wu Xilan selected seeds, Li Xu kept glancing behind her.

Behind Wu Xilan to her left shoulder were two bedrooms.

One belonged to Yu Chanyi; the other next door was Wei Shengming’s.

After a few glances, Li Xu casually mentioned to the silent Yu Chanyi, “Yu Daoist, I met a strange cultivator on the road earlier who seemed to come from Bu Jin Sect. Is he one of yours?”

Yu Chanyi did not reply; Wu Xilan spoke first, “That’s my junior brother.”

“Really one of your sect’s cultivators,” Li Xu’s surprise and concern were evident. “What happened to him? Why does he look so weak and badly injured? Where did he go? What happened?”

Wu Xilan said, “My junior brother brought back the Spirit Nourishing Herb, probably from Ancestral Province. I don’t know the details. Like my master, he loves wandering outside and always returns injured, costing me many pills. Luckily, he brought back the Spirit Nourishing Herb, so…”

Yu Chanyi gently tugged her sleeve.

Unaware of the interruption, Wu Xilan hurriedly finished, “…I didn’t hold it against him.”

Li Xu smiled slightly. “Wu Daoist, your medical skills are superb. With your treatment, your junior brother will recover quickly.”

Pleased by the praise, Wu Xilan finished choosing seeds and paid. Li Xu then left.

After he left, Wu Xilan suddenly realized something and asked Yu Chanyi, “Junior sister, why did you keep tugging at my sleeve just now?”

Page 3/3

Yu Chanyi met Wu Xilan’s clear, unblemished gaze—like a pure mountain stream—and sighed softly. “Nothing, I was just restless.”

—

During the ten days caring for the injured, Yu Chanyi had not forgotten to send out her shadow to patrol.

Since the day she found her senior brother in the flower field, suspicious figures outside Bu Jin Sect had increased.

There was Li Xu, and also merchants and stall owners from Taiwei Sect’s market.

More people came, more frequently, and closer to Bu Jin Sect, yet they only watched silently, making no noise, causing no disturbance, doing nothing.

This made Yu Chanyi furious. From what these people had shown so far, she had no clue what they were scheming.

Until today, after her senior brother awoke, Li Xu could no longer hold back and came seeking them.

Yu Chanyi felt as if she was approaching the truth.

—

Yu Chanyi did not rush to verify it.

She held back, and during her senior brother’s waking period, she devoted herself to cultivation, striving to break through the second inch of her spiritual meridian.

Once the second inch opened, Yu Chanyi felt a change within herself.

The advancement in cultivation was apparent. If before her spiritual energy was scant, like a bowl of water in a one-inch meridian, now it was like a large vat.

She could control much more spiritual energy and use more techniques.

It was time to deal with those in Bu Jin Sect’s vicinity.

Previously, for caution, Yu Chanyi had only sent out her shadow to patrol secretly.

This time, she herself melted into the night’s darkness, concealing her form as she stepped out of Bu Jin Sect.

She overheard Li Xu speaking to another, “He seems to know someone is following him, is extra vigilant and cautious. Our people always lose him. We have no way to know where he’s going this time.”

The other said, “Why not finish him off while he’s weak? He’s barely alive. We can eliminate the threat now. Why wait?”

They did not notice the shadow of the phoenix tree beside them, still and fierce.

Hidden in the tree’s shadow, Yu Chanyi’s heart trembled.

Finish him off while he’s weak…

Just as she had guessed, those Taiwei Sect disciples closely watching Bu Jin Sect were targeting her senior brother.

And they intended to kill him.

What kind of person could provoke such an elaborate manhunt by one of the five great sects, Taiwei Sect?

Yu Chanyi dared not imagine.

A breeze passed, flowers and trees swayed lightly.

Following the shadows of the swaying roadside flowers, Yu Chanyi returned to Bu Jin Sect.

On the night of the full moon, the herb fields were silent, the jade night flower bushes bathed in bright moonlight.

Pale yellow petals shimmered in the moonlight; flower shadows danced lightly on the walls.

Moonlight rested on the window lattice.

At the same time, inside, Wei Shengming sat cross-legged in meditation, regulating breath. His eyes opened.

To purge the residual poison of Bitterheart Grass, his robe was loosened to his waist, his broad chest covered with fine beads of sweat.

Before he could move, his black silhouette on the wall suddenly stirred, morphing into a dark form.

Wei Shengming stared at it, his eyes trembling slightly. His reddened pupils emitted a terrifying killing intent, mixed with a subtle, hardly noticeable confusion.

Because he soon saw Yu Chanyi emerge from the shadow, standing before him.

She appeared silently, holding the Bitterheart Grass she had nurtured.

The roots of the poisonous plant still carried fresh soil.

Yu Chanyi’s gaze was like a blade; her voice sharp and cold: “Who exactly are you, and what is your connection to Taiwei Sect?”