A Fine Patch of Green Algae (Part 2)

Five young men and women, dressed in coarse cloth robes and carrying small bundles of firewood, ambled along a small path towards the back mountain, each holding a woodcutting knife. These were Princess Xiu and her four companions, who had been severely injured by Lin Xiao the last time they bullied Qingchu. After months of recovery, they had just been healed and then assigned to chop wood by Yi Yi. Fortunately, they had powerful backing. Although Yi Yi had punished them with the menial task of chopping wood, their missing teeth had been replaced with medicinal herbs, making them even whiter and cleaner than before, and they could speak without any air escaping.

"That little slut Qingchu!" Princess Xiu cursed Qingchu as she walked, listlessly hacking at the branches and weeds by the path with a light, flimsy ironwoodcutting knife. Foul language spewed from her mouth. Since childhood, she had never suffered such humiliation. A princess of the Qi Dynasty had her teeth knocked out! And in front of hundreds of fellow disciples! What was worse, Qingchu had faced no punishment afterward, while the five of them were relegated to the role of woodcutting disciples! This was a crude duty only for newly initiated handyman disciples!

"That little slut Qingchu! If she falls into my hands, hmph!" Princess Xiu snarled, her face contorted with malice. "I'll make her wish she were dead! This little slut, she, she, she has truly infuriated me! Hmph, but she actually climbed onto the high branch of Benefactor Lin, clung to Benefactor Lin's leg! Damn that little slut! Now, even if Ancestor Yi Xuan wanted to help us get revenge, he'd have to be wary of Lin Xiao by seven parts. This is infuriating!"

The five stopped right in front of the thatched hut where Qingchu was hiding. County Princess Jie sighed softly and timidly, saying in a weak voice, "Sister Xiu, there's no need to be angry. That Qingchu is just lucky! She's such an ugly freak, could Benefactor Lin Xiao really like her? With Sister Xiu's beauty and talent, and Sister Xiu's background and family status... could she really be inferior to an ugly girl of humble origins?"

Miss Ya fawned in a low voice, "Isn't that right? Grand Ancestor Yi Xuan himself said that Your Highness is a once-in-a-century cultivation genius! With Your Highness's roots and aptitude, as well as Your Highness's beauty and talent, hehe, even if Benefactor Lin Xiao is a true master in alchemy, how could he resist Your Highness's good intentions?" Miss Ya chuckled, "If Your Highness could achieve a good relationship with Benefactor Lin and become dual cultivation partners, Your Highness would be..."

Princess Xiu's face flushed with excitement. She proudly raised her head and said smugly, "This does make sense. Among the tens of thousands of new disciples in the Origin Sect, who can compare to me? Let alone that tattered, ugly girl Qingchu. Lin Xiao, hmph, Benefactor Lin! Hmm... If I were to ask Ancestor Yi Xuan to introduce me to Benefactor Lin, this matter..." Princess Xiu's eyes darted around, and she trembled with excitement. "With Benefactor Lin's support, my third brother's ambition to ascend the throne would be as easy as turning his hand over."

Qingchu, hiding in the thatched hut, foolishly watched Princess Xiu through the gaps in the leaves, not understanding what scheme she was hatching. Listening to her words, it seemed she wanted to get close to Lin Xiao, but why did it then connect to the succession of their Qi Dynasty's throne? With Qingchu's limited knowledge, she couldn't figure out the key. She just instinctively felt that Princess Xiu's desire to get close to Lin Xiao made her uncomfortable, a strange emotion churning in her heart, sour and tinged with instinctive vigilance!

On the path, the five people's conversation suddenly shifted to the Beauty-Nourishing Pill.

Princess Xiu gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, shouting, "Beauty-Nourishing Pill! The Beauty-Nourishing Pill that can keep women forever young! The Beauty-Nourishing Pill personally refined by Benefactor Lin! Heavens! The seventy-one Beauty-Nourishing Pills sold on consignment at the pharmacy, the cheapest one was exchanged for fifteen high-grade Spirit Stones and a low-grade Precious Artifact flying sword! I must... with Benefactor Lin..." Princess Xiu bit her lip tightly, her face flushing even more.

County Princess Jie's timid face also blushed. She sighed almost like a moan, "Beauty-Nourishing Pill! There is such a miraculous pill in the world! Seventy-one Beauty-Nourishing Pills were snatched up in just a quarter of an hour! I heard that Ancestor Yi Yi stood in front of the pharmacy and laughed for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then he ordered the manager of Medicine Mountain to clear a thousand acres of medicinal fields specifically for planting Midnight Orchid!"

County Princess Jie lowered her head and chuckled softly, "Benefactor Lin is so amazing."

Princess Xiu's expression changed. She suddenly pressed the thin ironwoodcutting knife against County Princess Jie's neck and snarled, "Don't forget your identity! Benefactor Lin belongs to me!" County Princess Jie shivered and immediately knelt on the ground, pressing her hands against Princess Xiu's feet and forcefully kowtowing on the path. Princess Xiu then nodded in satisfaction and chuckled softly, "That's my good cousin. Hmph, some things are not for you to touch, so you must learn to be smart!"

Qingchu, huddled in the hut, looked at County Princess Jie, who was kowtowing vigorously, with a hint of ferocity and a sarcastic smile on her face. County Princess Jie, who was usually so timid and delicate, screaming at the sight of a bug, how could she have such a terrifying smile? Qingchu shivered slightly and closed her eyes, not daring to look at County Princess Jie's terrifying smile again. The smile instinctively reminded Qingchu of a snow-white but incredibly venomous snake she had encountered on Medicine Mountain when she was young.

Princess Xiu sternly reprimanded County Princess Jie before letting out a satisfied cold snort. She then led County Princess Jie, Miss Ya, and their two followers away, cursing all the way towards the back mountain.

Qingchu waited until Princess Xiu and the others were far away, estimating they had gone two or three miles, before she scrambled out of the thatched hut. Casually brushing off the dirt and grass fragments from her body, Qingchu looked up at the sun and exclaimed, "Oh no, oh no, Little Qing..."

Breaking into a run, Qingchu hurried towards the nearest flying boat docking point.

Just as a flying boat landed, Qingchu presented her identity token and boarded. Standing on the flying boat, she anxiously bounced lightly, muttering something to herself.

However, although this flying boat was heading towards Medicine Mountain, it had to turn back halfway. Qingchu could only wait for half an hour at another docking point. Only after another flying boat bound directly for Medicine Mountain landed did she continue her journey to Medicine Mountain. By now, Qingchu didn't even have the strength to jump. She just sat blankly on the deck of the flying boat, weakly humming, "Poor Little Qing, how much will be left of you this time? Sob, why are you so disobedient? Why don't you remember what I told you at all?"

The flying boat landed in front of Medicine Mountain. Qingchu leaped off and rushed forward a few steps, then darted into Medicine Mountain.

Li Le, who was squatting by the main courtyard gate, smoking a water pipe, looked in surprise at Qingchu rushing into Medicine Mountain. He asked a nearby attendant disciple, "Strange, that figure looks like that girl Qingchu, but how did Qingchu become so beautiful? It's only been a few months since I last saw her? Uh, go ask the kid who just checked her waist token, who is that girl?"

Qingchu, unaware of Li Le's muttering, went straight into Medicine Mountain, familiar with the way. She navigated through several valleys, quickly passed two large mountains, and squeezed through a hidden crevice on a cliff, finally arriving at a secluded cave.

The cave was damp. The cave, shaped like a steamed bun, was about a hundred zhang in diameter. The ground was covered with a very thin layer of light green moss. In the center of the cave was a pool of water several feet in diameter, filled with fragrant spiritual spring water. Several natural water channels ran through the cave. These channels connected to an underground river in the adjacent cave. Some of the river water was diverted into the cave through these channels. The river water also contained a faint medicinal scent. The channels were covered with dense green moss. The river water, originally mixed with various colors, flowed through these channels and became crystal clear, its medicinal scent completely vanishing.

The moss in the channels extracted the essence of the medicinal juice from the river water, converting it into drops of viscous, pungent mucus. This mucus was transmitted through the thin green moss on the ground and gathered into the pool in the center of the cave, thus thickening the color of the spiritual spring water in the pool.

Qingchu rushed into the cave. The thin green moss on the ground and the moss in the channels swayed joyfully. Simultaneously, a sound like a baby's cry came from the pool in the cave. With the 'quack quack' cries, the water surface of the pool gently rippled, and a patch of purplish-green moss, about the size of a thumb, slowly emerged from the pool.

Qingchu suddenly covered her mouth and let out a scream, "Heavens... Little Qing! The last time I saw you, you were already two feet in diameter. How did you become so small today?"

A baby-like crying sound faintly drifted from the patch of moss: "Wuwu, bad guys~ they chopped me~ one piece, two pieces, three pieces~ I ran with all my might, but they were faster than me~ one piece, two pieces, three pieces, I was chopped into one thousand and eighty pieces, and only this small piece escaped back~"

Qingchu's face twitched a few times. She stared blankly at the small patch of moss, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Little Qing! You're so pitiful!" Qingchu cried for a few moments, then slowly wiped her tears with her sleeve. She slowly walked to the edge of the pool and squatted down, gently poking the moss floating on the water surface with her finger. "But, you get chopped by the patrolling senior brothers every two months. I'm used to you getting bigger and smaller. As long as you're not chopped to death on the spot~ it's fine!"

The patch of moss whimpered aggrievedly and gently circled in the pool. It grumbled resentfully, "It doesn't hurt, but it's uncomfortable~ Sob, it took me so long to grow so big, and then I was chopped into pieces~ I just wanted to absorb a few drops of the spiritual liquid from the Purple Ganoderma. Stingy~ they didn't let me absorb it~ they're all bad guys, bad guys~ they didn't let me absorb the spiritual liquid, and they chopped me~ they're all bad guys~ only Qingchu is a good person!"

Gently nudging the small patch of moss, Qingchu sighed, "Little Qing, hide here obediently. The medicinal power brought by the Yin River from the alchemical hall's waste liquid is enough for your cultivation. Why do you have to run to Medicine Mountain to steal food every two months? The Purple Ganoderma is also a top-grade spiritual medicine, and the patrolling senior brothers are most vigilant there."

"I, I don't know~" the moss whimpered softly, "It's so hot, so burning, so uncomfortable~ I want to absorb the spiritual liquid of the Purple Ganoderma!"

"Uncomfortable? How is it uncomfortable?" Qingchu looked at Little Qing with great confusion, not understanding what was wrong with it.

Little Qing spun desperately in the pool, crying out, "I want the spiritual liquid of the Purple Ganoderma, I want the spiritual liquid of the Purple Ganoderma~ I'm so hot, so uncomfortable! I want the spiritual liquid of the Purple Ganoderma! Wuwu, so hot, so uncomfortable~ I want the spiritual liquid of the Purple Ganoderma!"

Suddenly, a wisp of flame flashed across Little Qing's body, and a pungent smell of burnt char instantly filled the cave. The green moss on the cave floor was all transformed from Little Qing's body. A large area of green moss was burned to black ash by the flames that appeared out of nowhere. Little Qing screamed, " Wuwu ~~~ Quack quack ~~~ It hurts, it's hot, it's uncomfortable!"

The water in the pool churned violently. Little Qing darted around in the pool like a headless fly. Patches of green moss on the cave floor were burned to black ash and then regenerated. The smell of burnt char was pungent. As the green moss continuously regenerated, Little Qing's body was shrinking bit by bit.

"This, this!" A patch of flame erupted from beneath Qingchu's feet, startling her. She quickly jumped up, frantically patting out the flames that had ignited the hem of her skirt and trousers. She looked at Little Qing, who was emitting sharp cries of pain in the pool, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration, shouting, "Brother Lin~ Brother Lin must have a way~ Little Qing has eaten too much medicine!"

Qingchu turned and ran towards the cave entrance. As she ran, she shouted, "Little Qing, hold on! Don't get burned to death! I, I'll go get someone to save you right away!"

Rushing out of the cave, Qingchu frantically rummaged through her belt and finally pulled out a leaf carved from green jade. She forcefully crushed the leaf into powder.

A thin beam of green light shot up into the sky, heading directly towards Lin Xiao's residence. (To be continued)