Call Me Big Sis

Dozens of herb-field attendants had already set aside precious Ginseng, Fleeceflower Root, and other herbs for Qin Dongcheng, waiting for him to come pick them.

"You picked a ten-year-old Ginseng. Congratulations, you triggered a Triple Critical Hit and received three ten-year-old Ginseng roots!"

"You picked a fifteen-year-old Fleeceflower Root. Congratulations, you triggered a Fourfold Critical Hit and received four fifteen-year-old Fleeceflower Roots!"

He had harvested a fine crop of precious herbs this time, getting more than a dozen plants worth hundreds of silver taels. It was definitely a bountiful haul.

After giving the herb-field attendants a few pointers, Qin Dongcheng headed for Osmanthus Garden. The route passed through a dense bamboo forest, so he quickened his pace, hoping to get through as soon as possible.

After all, there were so many bamboo stalks here that Demons and Ghosts could easily hide among them. Even in broad daylight, he had to tread carefully.

"Huh..."

Just as he was about to leave the bamboo forest, his gaze inadvertently swept past a certain spot, where he spotted someone lying on the ground.

She wore a pale green outfit that outlined her slender, graceful figure. A pool of blood lay beneath her; she was clearly badly injured. He had no idea how she had ended up there.

She seemed vaguely familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Dongcheng hurriedly picked her up and carried her out of the bamboo forest. He wanted to keep any hidden Demons and Ghosts inside from catching her scent and tracking her down. If they did, the woman would lose her life.

On the way, he took a closer look at her. He had indeed seen her before at Osmanthus Garden, though he didn't know her name or anything about her.

Her features were delicate, her brows and eyes like a painting, and her lips red and teeth white. Though she wore no makeup, she was still fresh and lovely. Her slender, willowy figure swayed in his arms like a willow branch in the breeze.

Putting those thoughts aside, he hurriedly laid her down in an open space near the bamboo forest. He found the wound on her back, crushed a Golden Wound Pill and applied it, then wrapped the injury with gauze.

Though men and women were supposed to keep their distance, a physician's heart was like a parent's. As a healer, he had at least that much integrity.

Only after her condition had stabilized did Qin Dongcheng let out a sigh of relief. He was about to call someone over to carry her to Osmanthus Garden, since he didn't know the details of her situation.

Just then, the woman before him groaned and woke up. The first person she saw was Qin Dongcheng. Wariness flashed across her face, but then she seemed to realize something. "Did you save me?"

"I found you unconscious in the nearby bamboo forest, so I brought you out and bandaged you up. But you'll need better pills and a physician to recover fully," Qin Dongcheng explained.

The woman noticed her condition, and a flush briefly crossed her face. Lying on the ground, she clasped her hands in a salute to Qin Dongcheng. "Thank you for saving my life, brother. My name is Dong Hongyan, and I'm an Inner Sect Disciple of the Five Elements Sect. I live with my family at Osmanthus Garden. You look a little familiar. Do you live there too?"

"So you're Senior Sister Dong. I'm Qin Dongcheng, an Outer Sect Disciple and an Alchemy Apprentice," Qin Dongcheng said, surprised. He hadn't expected this refined, pure-looking woman to be an Inner Sect Disciple. He thought he'd heard the name Dong Hongyan before; she was probably one of the most prominent people at Osmanthus Garden.

It was also rather unusual for an Inner Sect Disciple to live at Osmanthus Garden instead of at one of the main peaks.

When she learned who Qin Dongcheng was, Dong Hongyan smiled. "No wonder your bandaging is so good. You did a much better job than my younger sisters. I owe my life to you, Alchemist Qin. If I'd been left in that bamboo forest, there might have been another Demon or Ghost lurking there. If it had caught the scent of blood and come over, I'd have been done for."

"Another Demon or Ghost?" Qin Dongcheng asked in surprise.

Dong Hongyan said angrily, "I finished a task today and was passing through that bamboo forest on my way back to Osmanthus Garden. As soon as I entered, I saw the face of an incredibly handsome man staring at me from deep in the forest. I couldn't help walking toward him."

"If I hadn't been indifferent to romance and quickly regained my senses, then pretended to fall for its trick so I could get close, I might have died at the hands of that level-four Beauty Snake."

"A level-four Beauty Snake?" Qin Dongcheng blurted out.

Dong Hongyan nodded. "That's right. Attendants have been disappearing from Bamboo Forest Valley one after another lately. Now even Official Disciples have started going missing. It's all the doing of that level-four Monster Beast, the Beauty Snake. Its strength is comparable to that of a top expert in the Fourth Martial Realm, the Tendon Phase Realm. There aren't many people in Bamboo Forest Valley who can match it."

"If I hadn't pretended to fall under its bewitchment and approached it, I might have died in the bamboo forest too. I can't believe such a powerful Demon or Ghost has infiltrated the area near our Five Elements Sect headquarters. I must report this to the Inner Sect Elders."

Her words left Qin Dongcheng shaken, but also immensely relieved.

Fortunately, when he sensed that something was wrong, he immediately took the Official Disciple exam and moved into Osmanthus Garden.

If he had stayed in Bamboo Forest Valley, the dense aura of blood energy radiating from him might have made him a target for the Beauty Snake.

It was a level-four Beauty Snake. Even if Qin Dongcheng unleashed a top-tier Strange Phenomenon, he would be nowhere near its match. He might not even have the chance to run.

He had also heard that Monster Beasts like the Beauty Snake excelled at bewitchment. Without enough willpower, one couldn't resist at all.

Having lived two lifetimes and fused with the original owner's soul, Qin Dongcheng's willpower had improved considerably. But resisting a Beauty Snake above level four still seemed beyond him.

He also had Dong Hongyan to thank this time. He hadn't expected the Beauty Snake to start attacking people in broad daylight. If Dong Hongyan hadn't killed it first, he didn't know whether it might have attacked him when he passed through that stretch of bamboo forest.

Though he had saved Dong Hongyan, in a way, she had saved him too.

He felt even more grateful to her and was about to call someone to take her home.

"Why call someone? Can't you carry me back?" Dong Hongyan raised her delicate brows when she heard Qin Dongcheng say he was going to find someone to take her back.

Qin Dongcheng glanced at her curvaceous figure. "I thought you might find it awkward, Senior Sister Dong. Besides, Osmanthus Garden isn't far. I can quickly find a few female disciples to come over."

"We're people of the martial world. Why fuss over little formalities? Just carry me." Dong Hongyan seemed to understand and smiled as she held out her hand to Qin Dongcheng. "Don't call me Senior Sister Dong. You saved my life, and that sounds too distant. From now on, just call me Big Sis. If anything happens, I can look out for you."

"Uh..."

Qin Dongcheng stared at the delicate, picture-perfect girl before him, feeling that calling her Big Sis was a little strange.

But remembering Dong Hongyan's strength and the Dong Family's influence around Bamboo Forest Valley, he smiled. "All right, Big Sis."

For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that his rose-colored glasses had just shattered.