Chapter 353-354 On How to Conquer System Fairies and Make Them Your Wives 353-354 |
“Pills have no constant form, and alchemy is not bound by causality…”
Learning something new was difficult.
Chen Yin had been locked away in the scroll’s space for days, tirelessly studying alchemy, poring over ancient texts, his mind focused on a single goal.
…He had only one Phantasmal Harmony Ganoderma leaf, one chance.
He couldn’t afford to fail.
He had to start from scratch, learning the basics of alchemy, memorizing complex formulas and procedures.
Fortunately, he had the System Shop, an endless supply of ingredients, and the scroll’s space, where time flowed differently. He gathered every alchemy text from the System Shop and practiced diligently, noting down any questions he had, then hurrying out to ask Master and the alchemist she had brought from the Ten Thousand Fragrance Pavilion during mealtimes, barely touching his food before rushing back to his studies.
Even Xiang’er was worried about him.
“Is he… alright?” Master had asked the alchemist, her voice filled with concern.
Master just nodded.
She knew Chen Yin’s stubbornness. Once he set his mind on something, nothing could stop him.
“Master,” Xiang’er asked, her voice also filled with worry, “is Senior Brother really alright?”
“Let him be,” Master sighed. “That brat… he’s more stubborn than a mule.”
Xiang’er lowered her head, her worry echoing in her heart.
A week passed.
“Ugh…” Bi Luo groaned, her face contorted in pain as tendrils of black energy seeped from her skin.
Lian’er knelt beside the bath, tears streaming down her face, unable to help.
The poison was spreading rapidly, its attacks becoming more frequent, more intense.
Bi Luo, despite her incredible willpower, had fainted several times from the pain.
And Lian’er could only watch helplessly, her tears falling silently onto the stone floor.
A gentle hand rested on her head, and she looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, to see Chen Yin wiping her face with a soft cloth.
“Big Brother…”
“Close your eyes,” he said softly, “it will be easier.”
Lian’er nodded obediently and closed her eyes, her sobs muffled by her hands.
After a while, the sounds of pain subsided, and Bi Luo, exhausted, fell asleep.
Lian’er opened her eyes, her lips trembling, her cheeks still wet with tears. “Big Brother, did you find a way to save her?”
Chen Yin didn’t answer.
His alchemy skills weren’t good enough.
And he had come here for a different reason.
“Lian’er, I have a few questions for you.”
“Me?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“When did you start serving the Grand Witch?”
“Since I can remember,” Lian’er said softly. “I was chosen to be her attendant.”
“I see.”
Chen Yin’s gaze was fixed on Bi Luo’s sleeping form.
“And… do you… have someone you like?” he asked suddenly.
“…Huh?” The question, so unexpected and unrelated to their previous conversation, startled her. She blushed and lowered her head. “Grand Witch said I’m too young to think about such things.”
“Not even someone you… admire?”
“Well…” she hesitated, her eyes darting around nervously, “I… I like men like you, Big Brother.”
Chen Yin chuckled, slightly surprised by her confession. “Don’t you like Big Brother?”
He gently stroked her hair. “Of course I like you, Lian’er. You’re adorable. Who wouldn’t like you?”
“Then… I’ll have to work harder,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing.
Chen Yin didn’t understand what she meant, but he just smiled and sent her away to rest.
After she was gone, he turned to Bi Luo. “Are you awake? I need to talk to you.”
“Can’t you let me sleep?” she mumbled, her eyes still closed.
“Give me the last Phantasmal Harmony Ganoderma leaf.” He held out his hand.
Bi Luo’s eyes flickered open. “Did you figure out how to refine the pill?”
“No.”
“But if I don’t take it now,” he said calmly, “I might not get another chance.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Who else would I give it to?”
“Then who did you give the other two leaves to?”
Bi Luo’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What did you find out?”
“Nothing,” Chen Yin said, then added, “I just remembered something I read in an alchemy text. And it made a lot of things… clearer.”
If the Wu Xuan Ancestor was so confident in the Liantian Pill’s efficacy,
Then he must have already created it.
Or at least, attempted to.
Bi Luo’s gaze turned cold and calculating, like a cat ready to pounce. “…No…” she whispered, her voice filled with a desperate plea, “please… I’ll do anything… you can have my body… you can have both of us… just… don’t tell anyone…” Her eyes lowered slightly, her long eyelashes shimmering with unshed tears.
Chen Yin was silent for a long moment.
Then he shook his head.
“Don’t worry. Give me the last leaf. I promise, no one will get hurt.”
Bi Luo hesitated, then sighed, her body slumping against the edge of the bath, her exhaustion overwhelming her. “…The last leaf… it’s buried on the mountaintop opposite the Wu Xuan Cave’s main hall, under the only tree that gets sunlight at noon.”
Chen Yin nodded and turned to leave, then he heard her voice again, soft and pleading. “If… if you’re not sure… don’t waste it. You know who needs it more.”
Chen Yin looked at her for a moment, then turned away.
“I don’t.”
“…Tell her yourself.”
For a week, Chen Yin was unreachable. No one knew where he had gone, not even Master or Xiang’er.
And Bi Luo’s condition worsened. The agonizing pain had become a constant companion, her mind growing hazy, her body submerged in the bath, her consciousness fading.
Nan Xiaoxiang visited her every day, her expression growing more and more troubled with each visit.
“Sister Xiaoxiang, the Grand Witch…” Lian’er would ask, her voice filled with worry.
Nan Xiaoxiang didn’t answer, unable to bear the sight of Lian’er’s hopeful eyes.
She couldn’t even find a way to ease Bi Luo’s pain.
“…Don’t worry,” she would say, forcing a smile, “she’ll be fine.”
Lian’er lowered her head, her silence a heavy weight in the room. Nan Xiaoxiang pulled her into a comforting embrace, gently stroking her hair.
“Sister Xiaoxiang…” Lian’er whispered, her voice barely audible, “is… is the Grand Witch… going to leave me?”
Nan Xiaoxiang’s hand froze.
She wasn’t good at comforting people.
Seeing Lian’er’s sad, empty eyes, her heart ached.
She had seen much death and suffering in her time as a physician,
But it never got any easier.
“I… I don’t know,” she said softly, unable to lie to her anymore. “If Chen Yin can’t refine the Liantian Pill, then…”
But the pill was incredibly difficult to refine, even impossible. Pressuring Chen Yin wouldn’t change anything.
“If he fails…” she trailed off, her voice filled with a quiet despair.
Lian’er knew what she meant and shook her head. “We won’t blame Big Brother. He’s trying his best. It’s my fault. I wish it were me… she’s so young, so strong… and I’m just a clumsy servant girl… I can’t do anything right… I always make her angry…”
Nan Xiaoxiang’s lips trembled. She saw Bi Luo, her eyes barely open, watching them from the bath, her gaze weak and tired.
“If it were me… it would be better…” Lian’er whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Nan Xiaoxiang bit her lip, her eyes filled with a sudden resolve.
“Lian’er—”
“Nan Xiaoxiang,” a weak voice came from the bath.
Lian’er quickly wiped her tears and rushed to Bi Luo’s side. “Grand Witch! You’re awake!”
Bi Luo’s eyes flickered open, her gaze lingering on Lian’er for a moment, then shifting to Nan Xiaoxiang, a silent message in her eyes.
…I don’t know how you found out… but don’t say anything…
Nan Xiaoxiang’s lips were pressed together tightly.
“Grand Witch?”
“Come here,” Bi Luo whispered.
Lian’er approached the bath, and Bi Luo reached out, her hand resting on Lian’er’s head.
She gently stroked her hair, her voice soft and weak. “You’re the clumsiest servant girl I’ve ever met. You can’t do anything right. You always break things. You have no tact, always embarrassing me in front of others. And you’re so spoiled, always using your cuteness to get away with your mistakes. And you’re so slow, your cultivation hasn’t improved at all. I don’t know why I ever chose you as my attendant.”
Lian’er’s eyes filled with tears, her lower lip trembling.
Even Nan Xiaoxiang couldn’t bear to listen anymore. “Grand Witch, there’s no need to be so harsh. She just—”
“But…” Bi Luo continued, her voice still weak but now filled with a gentle warmth, “you’re also the smartest servant girl I’ve ever met.”
Because you’re the only one I have. And you’re like a little sister to me.
“The Wu Xuan Cave is gone,” she said, her hand still stroking Lian’er’s hair, her voice regaining some of its strength, “you’re free now. You don’t have to be anyone’s servant anymore. You don’t have to endure my scoldings. You can do whatever you want.”
“Grand Witch…” Lian’er whispered, her voice choked with tears, her hand clutching Bi Luo’s.
Bi Luo didn’t answer, her vision blurring, her senses fading. She could barely speak. “Nan Xiaoxiang…”
“I’m here,” Nan Xiaoxiang said softly, taking her hand.
“There’s something… I’ve always wanted to ask… Do you… do you still… resent me… for what I did?”
Nan Xiaoxiang’s eyes lowered slightly, then she shook her head. “Perhaps… when I was younger… But if you hadn’t crippled my cultivation, I wouldn’t have become a physician. I’m… grateful.”
Bi Luo’s eyes were dull and unfocused, but a faint, mocking smile touched her lips. “…You… you’re such a saint… so fake… so pretentious…”
…If only it were true. If only there was a single shred of falsehood in your kindness… perhaps I wouldn’t have to die with this guilt, this regret…
“I envy you,” she whispered, her voice fading, “I wish… I could be like you… not the Grand Witch… not trapped in this poisonous swamp… Just an ordinary girl… wearing pretty clothes, eating sweet treats… with someone… to love… That would have been… nice…”
Her grip on Nan Xiaoxiang’s hand weakened, and Lian’er’s voice, though her mouth was moving, became fainter and fainter.
She had one last wish.
To see Lian’er get married, to see her happy, to witness the joy of a wedding, the rituals, the celebration…
It was a simple, human desire, a dream she had never allowed herself to imagine, trapped in her role as the Grand Witch.
But it was too late.
“…It’s not too late,” a voice, clear and strong, suddenly echoed in her ears, cutting through the fog of her fading consciousness.
She opened her eyes slightly, but her vision was blurry. She could only make out a familiar figure.
Something cool and smooth was placed in her mouth.
A pill.
“If you want to see something…” the voice said, a gentle yet firm hand cupping her face, “…then see it yourself. Don’t rely on others. Do you understand?”
It was Chen Yin’s voice, his words both a comfort and a command.