Yuzhu's scream tore through the quiet morning, shrill enough to make anyone's scalp go numb. She stumbled out of the room, hair falling loose, her face drained of color like she'd seen a ghost.
"Someone! Hurry, someone come quick!" She collapsed on the corridor floor, voice hoarse. "Ah Xiu… something's wrong with Ah Xiu!"
By the time Chu Huaizhou rushed over, Xie Zhaolin was curled up on the bed. Her cheeks were unnaturally flushed, a damp cloth pressed to her burning forehead. Her lips were so dry they'd cracked and bled, the stark red against her pale skin looking painfully vivid.
"What happened?" He crossed the room in two steps and pressed his palm to her forehead. His face sank instantly. "Didn't her fever break last night?"
"Young Miss started burning up again in the middle of the night," Yuzhu fell to her knees, voice trembling. "She kept muttering nonsense… saying those black-robed men were coming for her…" She dropped her tone even lower. "She even… even mentioned your name, Young Master."
His fingers twitched almost imperceptibly.
Right then, Xie Zhaolin "woke up." Her lashes fluttered as she gazed up with tear-bright eyes. "Brother Huaizhou…" Her voice was so weak it was like she might stop breathing at any moment. "I… I dreamed of those black-robed men. They said they'd take me away…"
"Don't be afraid." He caught her hand, his palm damp. "With me here, no one can take you."
Her tears spilled faster. "But they said… they wanted my life…" Her voice faded into a whisper. "They said they wanted my blood…"
His face went white.
"Enough nonsense!" He shot to his feet, his sleeve knocking over the medicine bowl. Porcelain shattered on the floor with a sharp crack. "It was only a nightmare!"
Realizing his outburst, he forced himself back into calm.
"Silly girl." He tried a smile and pulled a scented pouch from his chest. "This is a calming sachet. Keep it under your pillow…"
She accepted it, her divine sense brushing through instantly. Hidden inside was Dream-Soul Grass, an herb that could plunge someone into endless sleep. So, the Chu family was too afraid she'd stir trouble and decided to control her with drugs.
Perfect. She needed the cover anyway.
"Thank you, Brother Huaizhou." She pressed the sachet to her chest with a grateful look. "I… I want to ask you for something…"
He stiffened. "What is it?"
"I want to learn how to cultivate." She lifted tear-filled eyes. "I heard cultivators don't have nightmares…"
His shoulders eased with relief. "Cultivation isn't child's play. You need a spiritual root."
"But…" She bit her lip. "I heard there's a kind of pill, that even mortals can use to sense cultivation…"
She rambled deliberately, while secretly watching his face.
Sure enough, a flicker of wariness flashed in his eyes. Such pills did exist, but they required living human blood as a medium.
"Don't talk nonsense!" His tone turned harsh, then softened again. "Those twisted methods aren't for you. Give it some time. I'll… I'll find a proper doctor for you."
She lowered her gaze to hide the sneer tugging her lips.
Give it some time? He meant until that black-robed man came to claim her life.
"Then…" She looked up timidly. "Brother Huaizhou, can you visit me more often? When you're here, I'm not afraid…"
His throat bobbed. "Alright."
Not long after he left, footsteps sounded in the courtyard.
A servant boy entered carrying a plain wooden box. Inside was a single snow ginseng, faintly glowing with weak spiritual light. Beside it lay some ordinary calming herbs: poria, sour jujube seed, polygala root. All common pharmacy goods that could be bought in any mortal marketplace.
"Young master ordered these delivered for the young miss." The boy placed the box on the table, tone flat, like he was just completing a routine errand.
Leaning against the headboard, she swept her gaze over the snow ginseng. Barely fifty or sixty years old, its spiritual energy was pitiful, the kind even low-tier cultivators wouldn't look at.
The rest had no spiritual power at all.
Her lips curved coldly.
So that was the Chu family's idea. Keep her alive, but never waste real resources.
After all, once a pill was eaten, it couldn't be retrieved. Chu Huaizhou had to count every ounce.
"Thank Brother Huaizhou for his thoughtfulness…" Her voice was frail as her fingertip brushed the snow ginseng. Black qi seeped into it, silently stripping away what little medicinal essence it had.
The boy added, "Young master said these herbs should be simmered over low fire. The kitchen will—"
"No need." She cut him off softly and turned her gaze to Yuzhu. "I want Sister Yuzhu to do it herself."
The boy froze, glancing at Yuzhu.
Her head was bowed, fingers nervously twisting her sleeve. It was the trace of consciousness Xie Zhaolin had allowed her to keep, enough to make her reactions natural.
"This…" The boy hesitated. "Sister Yuzhu doesn't usually prepare medicines…"
"Since Brother Huaizhou assigned her to me, then she should." Her voice lowered with a hint of grievance.
The boy blinked, understanding instantly. This Zhang Xiuxiu clearly wanted to make things difficult for Yuzhu. Before he could say more, she added softly,
"If Brother Huaizhou asks, just tell him… I was being willful."
He sighed, unable to refuse. He reminded Yuzhu not to ruin young master's kindness, then left.
The moment the door shut, her weak expression vanished.
"All this for something so pitiful?" She snorted, picking up the drained snow ginseng and tossing it aside.
Black qi wrapped the other herbs, devouring what trace medicinal essence they carried.
They were useless to her, but since the Chu family insisted on putting on this show of concern, she'd play along.
"Go boil it." Her voice was cool. "And keep it on the fire longer."
Yuzhu nodded blankly and carried the herbs away.
Xie Zhaolin sat cross-legged, suspending the stolen sliver of medicinal essence above her palm. The snow ginseng's faint chill dispersed like smoke before it even touched her meridians.
"Pathetic."
Her lips curved with cold ridicule.
The Chu family had measured it perfectly. Enough to stabilize Ah Xiu's "illness," but never enough for her to gain strength.
"Fine, even scraps are still meat."
She absorbed the weak essence. It didn't raise her cultivation, but it did soothe the damage her body had suffered from tempering with baleful qi.
When Yuzhu returned with a bowl of decoction, she didn't even look at it before pouring it out the window. The medicine was already stripped of effect, no different from plain water.
Since the Chu family wouldn't part with their true treasures,
Her lips lifted into a sharper smile.
She'd just have to find another way.