The Secret of Changqing

The White Bone Poison Arrow had pierced through Mu Xiuyun's chest, its tip protruding from her back.

Though it had not struck her heart directly, it had nearly grazed it. The lingering force and poison had already seeped into her heart meridians.

"This injury is beyond saving!"

Lan Chang'an's expression turned grave as he sighed inwardly.

For such a fatal wound, only a third-tier healing elixir or the personal arrival of a Core Formation True Person could preserve her life.

As a Foundation Establishment Realm marketplace, Bamboo Leaf Mountain could not possibly meet either condition.

Lan Chang'an could only channel Evergreen Mana into her body, neutralizing the poison and protecting Mu Xiuyun's heart meridians.

He hoped to grant Mu Xiuyun a final flash of life, allowing her to leave behind her last words before dying.

At the very least, she could name the true culprit.

Then Lan Chang'an could be more vigilant in the future.

Yet, by the time he had moved Mu Xiuyun to the private chamber on the third floor of the shop, he could no longer hear the beauty in his arms breathing or feel her heartbeat.

Her heart had stopped!

Though Lan Chang'an's Evergreen Mana had neutralized the deadly poison, the force of the poison arrow had already eroded and damaged her heart meridians.

"Dead?"

Lan Chang'an stared blankly at the graceful, delicate Eldest Miss on the bed. Her breath and heartbeat were gone, and her life force had irreversibly faded away.

To mortals or low-level cultivators, this was already a corpse.

At most, a beautiful corpse.

Before long, her soul would scatter, and her body would decay as well.

But Lan Chang'an came from Earth and had cultivated through two lifetimes. He knew that a stopped heart did not necessarily mean there was no hope of recovery.

CPR?

The poison arrow's force had invaded and damaged her heart. That would likely cause secondary harm.

"I can only try the healing secret art of the Evergreen Art, even if it only prolongs her life for the moment."

Lan Chang'an sat cross-legged before the bed, treating a dead horse as if it were alive.

As a Wood-Type Technique, the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art naturally possessed healing abilities, including a healing secret art.

Because it consumed vital essence, Lan Chang'an had never used it before.

Buzz!

Mana surged within Lan Chang'an's body. A layer of verdant, ancient azure radiance coiled around his palm.

It was like an ancient tree stretching out fresh green buds, breathing in and out the vitality of life.

At a time like this, he could not concern himself with the distinction between men and women.

Lan Chang'an loosened Mu Xiuyun's robes. His palm, wrapped in verdant radiance, pressed against the wound on her chest.

The blue-black discoloration around the wound faded at a visible speed.

A scab gradually formed, and the skin nearby regained the icy purity of snow.

Lan Chang'an could not help but be astonished. The healing secret art of the Evergreen Art was unexpectedly effective.

Like its poison-neutralizing ability, it far surpassed ordinary Wood-Type Techniques.

"Mm..."

Mu Xiuyun gave a muffled groan on the bed. Fine beads of sweat appeared across her forehead, while a faint flush surfaced on her pale face.

"A final flash of life?"

Lan Chang'an felt a burst of joy. His palm remained pressed to Mu Xiuyun's chest, and he did not dare move it away, afraid that she would breathe her last the next instant.

"I... I'm not dead?"

Mu Xiuyun opened her starry eyes and looked at Lan Chang'an. A faint smile was forced onto her pale face.

"Chang'an, it really was you..."

When she had been poisoned in the Medicine Garden, she had felt herself falling into endless darkness. Then a thread of Azure Warmth had pulled her out of the abyss.

Today, that feeling had come again.

Even if Lan Chang'an had disguised his appearance, she could not mistake that familiar masculine presence.

"Steady your breath. Speak softly."

Lan Chang'an removed his disguise, raised a hand to stop her, and said sternly:

"Leave your last words quickly. Who was the murderer? I need to give the Mu Family an explanation."

Mu Xiuyun froze for a moment. A bleak, tragic beauty appeared on her snow-white face, flushed by that final reflected glow.

"The murderers were Robber Cultivators."

"Three were at the Qi Refining Late-Stage, all wearing masks. Their leader, a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator, was no ordinary man. He possessed a High-Grade Magic Item bow and arrows, as well as an extremely fast Flying Eagle Spirit Beast..."

As she described them, reluctance filled her starry eyes. She instinctively tightened her grip on Lan Chang'an's warm hand, refusing to let it leave her chest.

Once she had named the murderers, Mu Xiuyun seemed to have a weight lifted from her heart.

She quietly gazed at Lan Chang'an, and a relieved smile bloomed upon her delicate, graceful face.

"Chang'an, being able to die before you is a kind of fortune."

"Do you know why I declared back then that I would not marry outside the family? Your path to immortality was clearly so dim, so why were you unwilling to marry into the Mu Family? If you had been willing, then perhaps... one of our children in the future could have taken your surname, Lu."

Mu Xiuyun's heartfelt confession before death left Lan Chang'an stunned.

Eldest Miss, you were thinking far too far ahead!

Whoosh!

At that moment, Lan Chang'an's mana ran dry and his vital essence was greatly depleted. He had no choice but to stop the healing secret art.

Mu Xiuyun clutched his hand tightly, so it could only remain pressed against her chest.

"Before I die, can you hold me once?" A trace of shyness appeared on her face.

"Mm."

Lan Chang'an could not refuse the final wish of someone about to die. Besides, the Eldest Miss had nurtured and cared for him greatly.

Lan Chang'an drew the gentle, elegant Eldest Miss into his arms. She buried her lovely head against his chest, savoring that final warmth before death.

Hm?

Lan Chang'an's hand was still on her chest. Sensing her gradually stabilizing heartbeat, he realized something was wrong.

In his earlier panic, and with his hand touching an improper place, he had inevitably been distracted and had not paid close attention.

"Why... why am I not dead yet?"

A few breaths later, Mu Xiuyun looked somewhat bewildered as she touched the White Bone Arrow in her chest.

"Strange! Why haven't you died?"

Lan Chang'an blurted out in uncertainty.

He released her and examined Mu Xiuyun's condition.

Her pulse was steady, and the fatal injury around her heart meridians had healed.

The White Bone Arrow was still lodged in her chest, but for a cultivator, it would not take her life in the short term.

"How is it?" A thread of anticipation shone in Mu Xiuyun's eyes.

Lan Chang'an wore an odd expression. "You came back to life."

"I truly lived?"

Mu Xiuyun's face flushed like morning clouds, and a line of clear tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I lived, yet you seem unhappy?"

Mu Xiuyun's starry eyes shifted as she looked toward the pensive Lan Chang'an.

"...No."

Lan Chang'an had only meant to prolong Mu Xiuyun's life long enough for her to leave her last words and name the murderer.

But plans could not keep pace with change.

The healing secret art of the Evergreen Art had exceeded his expectations. It had actually saved Mu Xiuyun's life.

Only after performing the secret art did he realize that it had consumed two months of his lifespan.

The Evergreen Art prolonged life by absorbing the Aura of Time.

Yet the healing secret art of Miraculous Touch Reviving Spring also consumed lifespan?

Through this accident, Lan Chang'an had touched upon the core secret of the Evergreen Art.

Hiss!

Mu Xiuyun was too happy. She tugged at her wound and broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.

"Don't move. I'll help you remove the arrow."

Lan Chang'an had Mu Xiuyun lie on her side on the bed. He first used the Cleansing Technique to remove the poison from the arrowhead.

One hand rested on her chest, Evergreen Mana protecting her heart meridians.

With the other, he slowly pulled out the White Bone Arrow.

During the extraction, Mu Xiuyun was drenched in fragrant sweat from the pain. Yet she kept a smile on her face, did not make a sound, and watched Lan Chang'an's serious expression.

After removing the arrow, Lan Chang'an applied medicinal salve and channeled more Evergreen Mana into her body, accelerating the healing of her wound.

"Chang'an, your Wood-Type Technique is extraordinary. Its healing effect is truly excellent!"

After a moment of silence, Mu Xiuyun could not help saying.

She noticed Lan Chang'an's slightly furrowed brow.

As if she understood something, she pressed her lips together and smiled. "Chang'an, every cultivator has secrets of their own. Ever since the incident at the Medicine Garden, I felt that you were different from ordinary cultivators."

"If you are worried, Xiuyun swears upon her Inner Demon that she will never mention today's events to a third person."

Mu Xiuyun raised a hand and made the oath with a solemn expression.

"The Eldest Miss is not an outsider. It need not be so serious."

Lan Chang'an's brow relaxed into a smile. He was pleased by Mu Xiuyun's intelligence and thoughtfulness.

The potent healing effects of his technique were not some earth-shattering secret.

To ordinary cultivators, they were not nearly as tempting as a Breakthrough Pill or a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even the life-extending effects of the Evergreen Art could be found in some high-level wood-element techniques, capable of extending one's lifespan by more than ten percent.

Lan Chang'an's greatest secret was the Nine Imprint Tablet. The Evergreen Art was merely secondary, not to mention this was only the tip of its iceberg.

"Those... 'last words' I said earlier..."

With her injuries stabilized, Mu Xiuyun recalled her confession when she thought she was dying. Her face burned red with embarrassment, vexation, and awkwardness.

"What last words? How would I know?"

Lan Chang'an said calmly, as light as drifting clouds and gentle wind.

The moment his words fell—

Mu Xiuyun hooked her arms around his shoulders. Her dark hair fluttered, and that delicate, graceful face filled his vision.

Lan Chang'an was startled, then felt a soft, sweet breath against his lips.

A subtle fragrance like osmanthus and orchid enveloped them as the two kissed.

A moment later.

Lan Chang'an, whose State of Mind was clear, released the beauty who was still weak.

"You should rest and recover first."

Lan Chang'an had Mu Xiuyun lie back on the bed.

"Chang'an, will you fly far away?"

Unease filled Mu Xiuyun's heart as she gripped his hand tightly.

Lan Chang'an was taken aback by Mu Xiuyun's intuition and simply admitted:

"After reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, I will leave the Mu Family."

After reaching the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he intended to venture out in search of an opportunity for Foundation Establishment. The Mu Family would no longer be of much help to him.

The time was not yet ripe.

How could Mu Xiuyun fail to understand the meaning beneath his words? Her starry eyes dimmed.

She released his hand, and Lan Chang'an departed.

She said faintly, "You truly are frank enough!"

"Knowing that you will leave someday, you still do not wish to become entangled with me? Would ten or twenty years of time, even the entire Mu Family, leave not the slightest trace of attachment in your heart?"

Mu Xiuyun's attack outside the marketplace, where she had nearly died, caused a sensation throughout the Marketplace afterward.

This was the second incident of merchants being attacked by Robber Cultivators.

Several days later.

Mu Xiuyun joined forces with the major merchants of the Marketplace to pressure the Maple Leaf Huang Family, demanding that they strengthen the Marketplace's security and eliminate those brazen Robber Cultivators.

With their own safety at stake, the major merchants shared a common hatred for the enemy.

The Maple Leaf Huang Family felt immense pressure and had no choice but to convene a meeting to discuss countermeasures together.