A Good Piece of Green Moss (Part 1)

In the center of three stacked rock formations arranged in a triangular shape, a hot spring about ten feet square bubbled and steamed. A faint scent of sulfur hung in the air. Qingchu's clothes were neatly folded on the rocks. With her hair unbound, she squatted in the pool, gently washing her dark, long hair with soapwort. Fine white foam trickled down from her hair tips, sliding into the pool. Bubbles rising from the bottom dispersed and pushed the foam away, carrying it towards a bowl-sized hole in the rock face, through which it slowly flowed out.

After washing her hair, Qingchu carefully tied it into a bun, securing it firmly with two wooden hairpins. She cautiously glanced around before softly humming a tune and standing up from the pool. She slowly massaged soapwort all over her body, cleaning herself thoroughly. Naked, she sat on a black stone by the pool, tilting her head and gazing quietly at the sky, waiting for the sun and mountain breeze to dry the moisture from her body. The green birthmark on her face had faded considerably.

"Big Brother Lin~" Qingchu, who had been spacing out on the rock, suddenly called out softly. Her small face immediately flushed red, and like a startled cat, she quickly jumped back into the pond. The scalding water immersed her entire body, leaving only her small head above the surface. She bashfully and timidly looked around, listening intently for any sounds nearby. Only then did Qingchu gently pat her chest and sigh softly.

After spacing out in the water for a while longer, Qingchu moved back to the edge of the pool. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a palm-sized box. The box was carved from ebony, with a small mimosa flower etched onto it in a simple style. Qingchu hummed a tune as she opened the box. Inside was half a box of fine powder that shimmered with a clean red light. A wave of warmth wafted from the box, mixed with a slightly pungent medicinal scent that made Qingchu sneeze several times.

Pouting her small lips, Qingchu shook her head and squinted, murmuring to herself, "Big Brother Lin's medicines for others smell so good, why does this powder he made for me smell so bad? But it's powder that Big Brother Lin personally made~ not like what the senior brothers made." Blinking her eyes, Qingchu carefully picked up a pinch of the powder with her fingers and gently applied it to the half of her face that bore the green birthmark, rubbing it vigorously on her face.

Powder of Fine Gold and exquisite jade was best for removing scars. Moreover, this Fine Gold and exquisite jade were obtained by Lin Xiao from old man Li Le. They were top-quality materials found alongside fire-attribute spirit stone veins, imbued with a trace of fire-attribute spiritual energy. Grinding such fire-attribute Fine Gold and exquisite jade into an extremely fine powder that could blend with the skin, with every rub, a tiny bit of fire-attribute spiritual energy would seep into Qingchu's skin, gradually wearing away the cold poison within the birthmark on her face. The powder also contained meticulously prepared spiritual herbs by Lin Xiao, which were excellent for nourishing the skin. After the birthmark was slowly eroded by the fire-attribute spiritual energy, not a single scar would be left behind.

Qingchu's large green birthmark contained a trace of innate cold poison, making it extremely troublesome and difficult to treat. The Pill Hall of the Origin Sect couldn't refine a suitable antidote, and no one would be willing to specially refine medicine for a mere handyman disciple like Qingchu. Cultivators with profound cultivation could forcibly remove the birthmark with their true essence. However, as mentioned earlier, who would expend such great effort for a handyman disciple girl?

Having been ridiculed by some ill-intentioned senior brothers and sisters for so many years because of her green birthmark, Qingchu, who was self-conscious but dared not harm herself, had long grown accustomed to a solitary and lonely existence. Besides old man Li Le, who else would spare Qingchu a second glance? Only Lin Xiao, as cold and unfeeling as a stone statue, with his rare, peculiar voice, would instinctively care for Qingchu and specially concoct this spiritual medicine to remove the birthmark on her face. Her fingers slid gently across her cheek, and Qingchu felt the strange sensation of faint heat seeping into her skin. It was as if that warmth had also penetrated her heart, filling her with a sense of warmth, like a dormant worm in winter suddenly seeing the long-lost warm sunlight, its entire body warming up.

Humming a cheerful tune, Qingchu carefully applied the medicinal powder all over her face. Then, following Lin Xiao's instructions, she circulated her meager true qi to activate the medicinal properties, allowing them to penetrate deep into her cheeks. She had been using the medicine continuously for a month, and today, the medicinal effect penetrating her face felt exceptionally different. It felt as if a flame was burning in her cheeks. Qingchu could clearly sense that the stiff, cold area within her cheeks was slowly melting away. Gradually, her entire face grew warm.

Looking down at the pool, the clear water reflected Qingchu's radiant face. Thin streams of viscous green liquid were slowly seeping out from the pores of her cheeks, dripping into the pool. Only a tiny, insignificant trace of Qingchu's birthmark remained on her face, and even that last trace was rapidly disappearing.

A tender, delicate face with an intoxicatingly ethereal aura appeared in the reflection on the water's surface. Qingchu frantically patted her face, staring in shock at the reflection in the ripples, repeatedly asking herself, "Is this me? Is this Qingchu? Is this me? Is this Qingchu? No, it's not, how can I look like this?" Accustomed to her 'ugly' face, Qingchu couldn't believe that the beautiful face in the water, like that of a little fairy, belonged to her!

That delicate oval face, a straight, elegant nose, a rosy, diamond-shaped small mouth, paired with those large, flickering eyes, and a clean, fair face adorned with a faint, shy smile. How could such a beautiful person be her, Qingchu? "It's not me, it's not me~ this person isn't me!" Qingchu muttered in panic, pinching her cheek hard. The pain from her face, however, told her that the beautiful face in the water was indeed her! It was her, Qingchu!

"Wuwu, Big Brother Lin~~~" Large tears suddenly rolled down Qingchu's face. What maiden didn't care about her appearance? The malicious words from her senior brothers and sisters had long left scars on Qingchu's tender heart. Lin Xiao's spiritual medicine was a mere trifle to him, but it revitalized Qingchu's scarred little heart. Qingchu stared blankly at the face in the water, her face covered in glistening tears. Suddenly, she tensed her small face, and a determined, resolute spirit emerged in her eyes.

Carefully placing the ebony box back into her pocket, Qingchu took out a jade bottle the size of her thumb and poured out a pale red pill that exuded a rich fragrance. This pill was one of seventy-two Beauty-Nourishing Pills refined by Lin Xiao seven days prior. He had suddenly ordered his supervising Daoists to search tens of thousands of mountains within the Origin Sect's territory and find two Midnight Orchids that were bearing fruit. Lin Xiao had specifically instructed Qingchu to take the Beauty-Nourishing Pill after her birthmark had disappeared.

The Beauty-Nourishing Pill was a spiritual medicine for nourishing beauty that Danxia and Hua Feng'er had put great effort into refining, but had failed several times due to Lin Xiao's accidental mistakes. Danxia and Hua Feng'er were no longer around. Lin Xiao had refined seventy-two Beauty-Nourishing Pills but didn't know what to do with them. He unceremoniously gave them to Yi Yi to sell at the pharmacy, keeping one for Qingchu. Lin Xiao figured that since Danxia and Hua Feng'er cared so much about their appearance, Qingchu, being a woman, should feel the same.

Fingering the Beauty-Nourishing Pill, Qingchu's face held an unreadable expression. When Lin Xiao gave her the Beauty-Nourishing Pill, he briefly explained its effects. Qingchu naturally knew what the Beauty-Nourishing Pill meant—eternal youth. This single small pill, if offered to the junior disciples of the Origin Sect, would cause some disciples to fight desperately for it.

Qingchu had once heard the resentful sighs of some female cultivators of the Origin Sect, who were close to the Golden Core Stage, while accompanying them to Medicine Mountain to gather herbs—to not have achieved Golden Core before one's beauty faded was a cruel fate for a woman. Qingchu remembered clearly a female cultivator whose cultivation was nearing the Golden Core Stage sighing to the heavens: if there were a medicine for eternal youth, she would trade all her cultivation and all her magical treasures for it. Cultivation could be regained, magical treasures could be acquired again, but a youthful, beautiful appearance was even more precious than life itself to these female cultivators.

"Big Brother Lin!" Qingchu called out softly and joyfully, swallowing the Beauty-Nourishing Pill. A rich fragrance enveloped Qingchu's body, and wisps of white mist circled her. Qingchu felt a tingly sensation all over her body. In just a moment, a thin layer of dead skin peeled off. As the fragrance and mist dissipated, Qingchu's skin became as fair as mutton-fat jade, smooth and lustrous like fine jade. Her entire body seemed to be enveloped in a hazy light.

Looking at her now exquisitely beautiful hands in disbelief, Qingchu took a deep breath, and two tears rolled from her eyes again.

Standing blankly in the pool for a while, Qingchu suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no, Little Qing is going to steal medicine again today, I can't let it get caught." Hurriedly grabbing her clothes, Qingchu quickly dressed herself, scrambled up the rock formation, and cautiously looked around. Qingchu stamped her feet anxiously, "It's over, it's over. The nearest flying boat is still fifteen miles away. Ugh, fifteen miles, how long will it take me to run? By now, Little Qing would have reached the pharmacy and likely been discovered by the patrolling senior brothers."

Another stream of tears fell. Qingchu sobbed softly, complaining, "It's all my fault, Qingchu, for spacing out for so long. Wuwu, if Little Qing gets a limb chopped off, it'll be a long time before it can move again."

Quickly picking up her pace, Qingchu ran towards the nearest flying boat docking point. However, after walking less than a hundred feet along the small path in the forest, Qingchu looked as if she had seen a ghost. In a panic, she turned and fled into the roadside woods, diving into a thatched hut. She curled her body into a tight ball, holding her breath and not daring to make the slightest sound. (To be continued)