Hearing footsteps, Shi Xuanfei turned her head and saw Dong Xiaojie walking over with a steady stride.
"Master." Dong Xiaojie stopped in front of her and respectfully cupped her hands in greeting. Seeing how grave her expression was, Shi Xuanfei inexplicably felt a little guilty.
"Th-that... how is he?" She did her best to make her voice sound calm and natural.
"Alas..." Dong Xiaojie sighed before she spoke. She walked over beside Shi Xuanfei, gathered up her skirt, and sat down on the cold rock.
Out of habit, she pulled a pack of Lanzhou cigarettes from her Storage Bag, deftly took one out, and held it between her lips. With a "click," she lit it with a Lighter. Wisps of pale smoke rose and were scattered westward by the mountain breeze.
Shi Xuanfei turned her head and watched her Second Disciple exhale smoke with practiced ease. A trace of curiosity flashed through her eyes, and she couldn't resist reaching toward the Storage Bag at Dong Xiaojie's waist, wanting to fish out a pack and have a look herself.
"Ow! What are you doing~" The back of her hand was given a light smack. Shi Xuanfei winced, pouted, and rubbed her reddened hand.
Dong Xiaojie shot her a helpless look. "How many times have I told you? You can never touch this stuff!"
"Hmph! As if it's such a big deal..." Shi Xuanfei turned away in embarrassment and muttered under her breath, "I was just curious. I only wanted to take a look..."
Seeing her Master sulk like a little girl, Dong Xiaojie felt both exasperated and amused. She sighed inwardly, then finally fished a piece of fruit hard candy sold at Boss Yang's shop out of her bag and silently held it out to Shi Xuanfei.
Shi Xuanfei caught sight of the candy from the corner of her eye and immediately turned her scowl into a smile. She took it, deftly tore off the wrapper, and popped the glistening candy into her mouth. She had always loved sweets, and the candy's rich fruity aroma and sweetness melted across her tongue. Her eyes narrowed in contentment as she savored it.
"Master, don't take this the wrong way," Dong Xiaojie said, unable to help speaking up as she watched her. "Boss Yang is only a Mortal, after all. This time... don't you think you went a little too far?"
The look of pleasure on Shi Xuanfei's face as she enjoyed the candy froze for an instant.
At the time, Yang Ning's words about "loving yourself and loving others," along with his remark that "you're pitiful," had left her angry and aggrieved, with a shameful feeling mixed in—the feeling of having her innermost thoughts exposed.
Then his words, "someone who doesn't love herself," had broken through her defenses completely. She absolutely wasn't someone who didn't love herself; she was just a little... whatever, that was all~
With her blood rushing to her head, she had directly cast a spell to shut the bedroom doors, intending to teach Yang Ning a lesson. As she rose, the gauzy robe she wore fluttered around her. It was the very one Yang Ning had draped over her before he left.
People who loved others more than themselves were often starved for love; a small kindness from someone else could move them deeply. If her earlier treatment of Yang Ning had been because of the stirrings in her heart after three hundred years, then in that instant, the gauzy robe draped over Shi Xuanfei had touched her heart.
When she bit her lip and padded barefoot through the curtain, she realized that she hadn't fully reined in the pressure of a Mahayana Stage cultivator. A trace had leaked out... and the result was that Yang Ning, completely unprepared in the main hall, had been knocked unconscious. His face had happened to land right on the stockings she had casually taken off by the door.
Remembering the scene, Shi Xuanfei awkwardly stuck out the tip of her tongue and tried to get away with acting cute. "Xiao Jie Jie~ I just... lost control for a moment..."
Dong Xiaojie immediately raised a hand and made a "stop" gesture, her tone stern. "Stop! I've seen you act all coquettish like that at least eight hundred times. It won't work on me!"
Shi Xuanfei's embarrassment deepened, and her voice grew quieter. "I... I already gave him a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir, didn't I? He should... be all right now, shouldn't he?"
"A Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir?!" Dong Xiaojie sprang to her feet, her voice rising several notches.
Shi Xuanfei jumped at the sound and nodded in confusion. "Y-yes, a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir. What's wrong?"
"Oh, Master, what am I supposed to do with you!" Dong Xiaojie was at a loss for words. "The Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir is a top-tier perk supplied each year to the Peak Masters of the Twelve Main Peaks, as well as the core Great Powers of the Law Enforcement Hall, Mission Hall, and a few other places! They produce no more than thirty a year! I wouldn't claim it can truly bring the dead back to life or make bones grow flesh, but it can save someone from grave injuries, prolong life, and greatly boost cultivation. It's a life-saving divine pill!"
"Boss Yang was only knocked unconscious by your pressure. You may have accumulated quite a few Nine Revolutions Golden Elixirs over the years, but using such a divine medicine to treat fainting... Th-that's far too wasteful, making a mountain out of a molehill!"
Shi Xuanfei merely waved her hand, unconcerned. "Oh, it's fine, it's fine. They say taking one Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir can add fifty years to your life. He's a Mortal, so even if he can't fully refine its medicinal power, living twenty or thirty years longer shouldn't be a problem. Just consider it a little compensation from me. Besides, I still have plenty of Golden Elixirs stored away. Using one doesn't matter."
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