The Outer Court's Most Beautiful Woman, Jiang Nannan

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A few days later, at dusk, Huo Chen left the core disciple classroom and walked along the main road of the outer courtyard toward the office building. The setting sun stretched his shadow long behind him, while the plane tree leaves lining the road swayed gently in the evening breeze.

Just as he turned past the corner of the library, his gaze casually swept over a stone bench beside the flowerbed ahead, and his steps paused slightly.

A young girl was sitting there.

She wore a school uniform that had been washed somewhat pale. Her long golden hair glowed softly beneath the sunset as it fell quietly over her shoulders.

Her features were so exquisite that they seemed to have been drawn stroke by stroke by an artist: brows like distant mountains, eyes brimming with autumn waters, a refined, high nose bridge, and full yet gentle lips.

Her skin was very fair, carrying a faint glow beneath the sunset, like the finest mutton-fat jade.

Her beauty was not the flamboyant, aggressive kind, but a quiet beauty that made one unable to resist looking at her a few more times. Simply sitting there without doing anything, she resembled a tranquil painting.

Yet at this moment, a dense, inescapable sorrow clouded the brow of that painting.

She had her head lowered, her hands clasped over her knees, her gaze fixed on some point in the empty air. She was clearly preoccupied with something, so much so that she did not notice someone approaching.

Huo Chen recognized her.

Jiang Nannan. The number one beauty of the outer courtyard—he had heard that name more than once in the students' idle conversations.

Now that he saw her in person, he had to admit that the title was well deserved.

But what concerned him now was not her beauty, but the heavy sorrow between her brows.

He walked up to her and stopped.

Sensing someone nearby, Jiang Nannan raised her head.

Her eyes were beautiful, a pale amber color like honey steeped in sunlight.

But those eyes now carried a trace of exhaustion and confusion. When she saw that it was Huo Chen, she froze for a moment before hurriedly rising and bowing. "Teacher Huo."

"Student Jiang Nannan." Huo Chen looked at her. "Have you run into some difficulty?"

Jiang Nannan lowered her head. After several breaths of silence, she gently shook her head. "No. Thank you for your concern, Teacher Huo."

Her tone was polite but distant. Clearly, she did not want to trouble anyone else.

Huo Chen did not mind her evasion and said directly, "I heard about your mother."

Jiang Nannan's body jolted. She looked up, a flicker of panic and wariness crossing her eyes. "How... how did you know?"

"I'm a teacher at the academy. Looking after my students is my responsibility."

Huo Chen's tone was gentle and calm. "People from the Xuanming Sect came to see you. They said that only the Xuanming Pill could cure your mother's illness, and that the condition was for you to marry into the Xuanming Sect. Is that right?"

Jiang Nannan's face instantly turned pale. Her lips parted as if she wanted to deny it, only to find that she could not speak.

In the end, she lowered her head and gave a slight nod, her voice hoarse. "...Yes."

"That doctor was the one they brought you to, wasn't he?"

"...Yes."

Huo Chen looked at her lowered profile. Those amber eyes were filled with helplessness and despair.

She was only a girl in her teens. She should have been cultivating peacefully at the academy and enjoying her youth, yet she had to bear such a crushing choice alone.

"Jiang Nannan." His voice softened. "If I told you I could cure your mother without the Xuanming Pill and without requiring you to sacrifice yourself, would you believe me?"

Jiang Nannan abruptly looked up, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. She stared at Huo Chen for several seconds, her voice trembling. "Is... is that really true? But the doctor said my mother's illness..."

"That doctor is from the Xuanming Sect." Huo Chen's tone was calm and certain.

"They most likely exaggerated your mother's condition. Even if there really is a serious problem, I have a way to solve it. Are you willing to let me try?"

Jiang Nannan's lips trembled slightly. Her gaze lingered on Huo Chen's face for a long time, as though searching for something.

Her eyes gradually reddened.

"...I am." Her voice was soft, yet it carried the resolve of someone placing everything on a single gamble. "Teacher Huo, please save my mother."

Huo Chen nodded. "Lead the way."

Jiang Nannan's home was in a small alley in the commoner district of Shrek City. It was a rented little house, not large, but kept very clean.

Madam Jiang lay on the bed, her face pale and body thin, but she remained conscious.

Seeing her daughter return with an unfamiliar young man, she was somewhat puzzled, though she still greeted him politely.

Huo Chen did not exchange many pleasantries. He walked directly to the bedside, placed two fingers on Madam Jiang's wrist, and sent a thread of gentle soul power into her body. A moment later, he withdrew his hand.

Her condition was somewhat better than he had expected. Madam Jiang's meridians had indeed atrophied somewhat, but it was nowhere near life-threatening.

As long as he used soul power to clear her meridians and nursed her back to health for a while, she would recover more than half her strength.

Without another word, a soft emerald-green glow lit up in his palm. It was the healing power of the Reincarnation Other Shore Flower—gentle and pure, rich with the aura of life.

He gently pressed his palm against Madam Jiang's back, and the emerald-green light slowly flowed into her body.

Madam Jiang's body trembled slightly before relaxing.

She could feel a warm force flowing through her body. Wherever it passed, her atrophied meridians were like parched earth meeting spring rain, gradually unfurling bit by bit.

Her complexion improved at a visible rate. A trace of color returned to her once-pale cheeks, while her breathing became steady and deep.

Jiang Nannan stood to one side, both hands covering her mouth as tears silently streamed down her face.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Huo Chen withdrew his hand. Jiang Nannan's mother had already fallen into a deep sleep, her expression peaceful and her breathing steady. It was the soundest sleep she had had in months.

"All right." Huo Chen rose to his feet. "Your mother's meridians have been cleared. From here on, she only needs to take the medicine I prescribe for half a month, and she'll make a full recovery."

Jiang Nannan looked at him, her vision blurred by tears. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, only to find that every word of gratitude seemed pale and powerless at that moment. Her knees bent as she prepared to kneel.

Huo Chen reacted swiftly and grabbed her arm. "Don't kneel."

Held up by him, Jiang Nannan could not kneel and could only stand there as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Her voice was choked to the point that she could barely form a sentence. "Teacher Huo... thank you... I truly don't know how I can ever repay you..."

"You're a Shrek student, and I'm a Shrek teacher. It's only right for a teacher to help his student." Huo Chen released her arm, his tone gentle. "You don't need to repay me."

Jiang Nannan shook her head hard. Tears fell onto the ground, spreading into small dark marks. "No... to you, it may be a small matter, but to me... you saved my life. My mother is my only family left. Without her, I truly don't know..."

She could not continue. Lowering her head, her shoulders trembled slightly.

Huo Chen did not rush her. He simply waited quietly for her to calm down.

After a long while, Jiang Nannan raised her head and wiped away her tears with her sleeve. Her eyes were still red, but her gaze was far more resolute than before.

Looking at Huo Chen, she asked earnestly, "Teacher Huo, why did you help me? We didn't know each other at all. You could have chosen not to get involved."

Huo Chen thought for a moment, then gave a simple answer. "Because I can't stand seeing good people bullied. You're filial, and you were willing to sacrifice yourself for your mother. That's rare. Someone like you shouldn't be driven into a corner."

Jiang Nannan's eyelashes trembled, and the tears she had only just held back threatened to surge forth again.

She took a deep breath and forced them back, then said solemnly, "Teacher Huo, if there's ever anything you need from me, just say the word. This life of mine was saved by you."

"I don't want your life." Huo Chen smiled. "I want you to live well, cultivate well, and become an extraordinary soul master someday. That will be the best repayment you can give me."

Jiang Nannan looked at him. Her amber eyes were filled with gratitude, admiration, and something warm that she herself could not explain.

She nodded firmly. "I will."

Huo Chen left behind a prescription, gave her a few precautions, and then took his leave.

Jiang Nannan walked him to the door and stood in the twilight, watching his figure disappear at the end of the alley. The evening breeze brushed past her, stirring the loose strands of hair before her forehead. She remained there for a long time, unable to look away.

She lowered her head to look at her hands, as though she could still feel the lingering warmth of that gentle power.

Then she raised her head and looked in the direction Huo Chen had gone, softly saying, "Thank you, Teacher Huo."

Her voice was very soft, quickly carried away by the evening breeze.

But she knew that she would remember this day, and remember this person's name, for a very, very long time.