At this moment, the voice of Chengyu came shouting from outside the door: "Zhang Chen, come quickly to drink the medicine. I’ve cooked you some new herbal decoction."
Xiaodouding walked into the room beaming with excitement, holding a bowl of medicine, but her smile quickly disappeared, because that female demon was sitting inside the room, on her stool, smiling at her.
Xiaodouding was suddenly at a loss, not knowing where to put the bowl of medicine, standing at the threshold, neither entering nor retreating.
"Greetings, noble lady." Xiaodouding eventually drooped her head and walked in, handing the decoction to Zhang Chen and respectfully greeting Xie Lingyun.
Xie Lingyun looked at Xiaodouding, seeing that she was quite ordinary despite being adorable, but didn’t have the aura of mystery about her, and couldn’t help being secretly surprised:
"Or did I get it wrong last night, and it’s not these two who have the mysterious power, but it’s hidden somewhere in this courtyard?"
Xie Lingyun pondered in her heart, then said to Xiaodouding, "No need for such courtesy, come over here, let me have a look at you."
Chengyu watched Xie Lingyun open her arms, the red robe like a giant beast ready to swallow her up, could only muster a forced smile, stiffly walking to Xie Lingyun, and being pulled into her embrace for entertainment.
Xie Lingyun ran her fingers over Xiaodouding’s acupuncture points, feeling a bit disappointed, "She’s just a normal person, without any mysterious energy."
"These two are both ordinary people, without any trace of the mysterious. With my Celestial Demon Dao skills, even if the other party were a Twelfth Tier mystery, they wouldn’t be able to escape my perception at such close range. It seems these two are undoubtedly ordinary people. Could the mysterious force be some object in the courtyard? That would make things difficult." Xie Lingyun muttered to herself; once the mysterious hides, it’s shrouded in unpredictability, searching for it is as hard as reaching the heavens.
The mystery itself might be hidden in the void, hidden within objects, or could be as small as a grain of sand beneath your feet.
"What a headache!" Xie Lingyun secretly lamented.
"You’re still drinking this decoction? Could it be that you have some illness?" Xie Lingyun’s eyes were fixed on the herbal decoction in Zhang Chen’s hand, filled with curiosity because she had just probed Zhang Chen, and he seemed quite healthy, how could he be ill?
At this moment, Xiaodouding went rigid in Xie Lingyun’s arms, her eyes swirling around, secretly exclaiming: Oh no!
She had said, ’The decoction can wash marrow and cut veins, aiding in the enhancement and understanding of Martial Dao,’ and such nonsensical words could perhaps fool Zhang Chen, someone ignorant of Martial Dao principles, but facing a noble girl from a wealthy family, she’d undoubtedly get caught, and then she’d be beaten black and blue by the disrespectful junior brother.
Most importantly, a month had passed, reaching the crucial stage of treatment for her junior brother, and anything going wrong must be avoided at all costs.
So, Xiaodouding quickly replied to the noble girl’s question on behalf of Zhang Chen: "He’s physically frail and needs to drink more herbal medicine to strengthen his body so that his training doesn’t deplete him."
As she said this, Xiaodouding winked at Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen, seeing Xiaodouding’s gesture, thought she was trying to protect their secret formula from being revealed and nodded cooperatively: "That’s right, I’m too weak, lacking nourishment from a young age, so while practicing martial arts, I need some decoction to strengthen my body."
There’s nothing wrong with those words! But who is Xie Lingyun? She’s a Cultivator at the Exorcism stage, her spirit interferes with matter, keenly perceiving everything, she immediately noticed the crack in their expressions, yet said nothing, instead, she followed along their conversation: "I see, if that’s the case, you should drink more decoction to replenish your body sooner."
Then Xie Lingyun did not leave, instead, she continued conversing with them, talking about everything under the sun as noon drew near, and the lunch bell rang. Xie Lingyun still chatted with them endlessly, while Xiaodouding in Xie Lingyun’s arms grew impatient, frantically signaling to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen glanced at Xiaodouding, then listened to the bell beside his ear, immediately understanding Xiaodouding’s intent: they were running out of time for lunch, as they had to rely on running over quickly to secure their meal.
But Zhang Chen looked at the ceaselessly talking noble lady who showed no intention of leaving, his heart filled with extreme helplessness.
She was the noble lady revered by the entire temple. Could he really leave her and rush to the canteen for food? If word spread, wouldn’t he be beaten to death by the Law Enforcement Elder?
The two anxiously fidgeted inside the room, but they had no choice but to cope with Xie Lingyun.
At this point, Xie Lingyun smiled as she held Xiaodouding, seemingly endlessly chatting nonsense, but her eyes scanned the whole courtyard, pondering over the whereabouts of the mystery. It wasn’t until a guard arrived to respectfully bow to Xie Lingyun: "Miss, it’s time for lunch," that Xie Lingyun finally got up to leave.
Chengyu watched the red robe leave like a blaze of fire, vigorously rubbing her own cheeks, feeling as though her face had been pinched out of shape.
"Zhang Chen, what do you think nobles like that eat for their three daily meals?" Xiaodouding curiously asked, not waiting for Zhang Chen’s answer, she answered herself: "It must be large bones, prepared in various ways, such as braised, steamed, or spicy..."
The more Xiaodouding spoke, the hungrier she became, and soon saliva began to trickle down.
Zhang Chen glanced at Xiaodouding, and grumpily said: "Hurry up to the canteen to grab food, I fear if you delay any longer, you won’t even have a steamed bun to eat."
Zhang Chen carried Xiaodouding, while Xiaodouding held the meal bucket, and the two hurried all the way to the canteen, but unfortunately, they were too late.
There was no porridge left, and each of them could only get one steamed bun.
At this moment, Xiaodouding held the bun with her mouth, her pink cheeks puffed in displeasure, taking a fierce bite out of the bun: "It’s all that noble lady’s fault, lingering past mealtime so we could only eat buns. Two meals a day, both just buns and watery porridge, who can withstand that?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen offered his bun to Xiaodouding: "You eat it, I’m not hungry!"
He really wasn’t hungry, having sneaked some pastries last night.
Xiaodouding was tempted by the bun in Zhang Chen’s hand, but ultimately turned her head away: "Forget it, one bun is enough for me, I don’t have a big appetite. You’re still growing, you mustn’t go hungry, or you’ll never grow..." she mumbled.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen directly stuffed the bun into Xiaodouding’s mouth: "Girl, you still want to be courteous with me?"
"Zhang Chen, how dare you be so rude to your elder sister? This is outrageous! This time, considering the bun’s sake, I’ll let it pass, but if there’s a next time, I won’t hesitate to break your leg."
Xiaodouding grumbled discontentedly while munching on the bun, her face full of joy as she scurried along.
The two returned to their quarters, Zhang Chen sat cross-legged on the bed; now there was time to continue exploring the Spirit Secret Realm.
Sensing Zhang Chen slipping into meditation, Xiaodouding nibbled her bun while drinking cold water, gazing at Zhang Chen in meditation, suddenly finding the bun in her hand unappetizing.
"Elder Zhang’s medicine doesn’t seem to be working, does it? Why is my junior brother still meditating on Qi Cultivation, naively hoping to cultivate into an immortal?" Xiaodouding’s smile vanished, turning to leave the dormitory while nibbling her bun, heading toward Elder Zhang’s herb room: "It must be that my description of the illness to Elder Zhang wasn’t accurate enough last time, so the prescribed medicine seems ineffective, not working very well."
In the herb hall
Xie Lingyun stood before the medicine box, casually grabbing herbs and placing them into the cloth pouch at her waist.
Over the years, she not only sought ways to combat the Celestial Demon but also attempted to decipher the formula for the ’Calming Incense’ which emerged alongside the Celestial Demon.
This incense strengthens the Divine Soul and clears and energizes the mind; of course, it requires various herbs.