Setting out

"This young lady is in good health. She isn't ill." After examining her, several apothecaries all reached the same conclusion.

As for why she remained unconscious, the apothecaries examined her for a long time before offering this explanation: "She's asleep. She must be exhausted from her daily routine, so it's only natural for her to sleep more."

Sleep more?

Would someone who was merely sleepy sleep for ten days without responding to anything?

After seeing the apothecaries out, Dongfang Wanyu nearly smashed her teacup.

"Wanyu, I promise you, she's only unconscious because she completely exhausted her spiritual power." Qing Mo was on the verge of pointing at the heavens and swearing an oath.

Dongfang Wanyu picked up the damp cloth beside her and resigned herself to gently wiping the sleeping beauty's face, then her hands. She wiped each of those ten slender fingers individually, with meticulous care. "You've said that at least ten times. But even if Ninth Sister's spiritual power had dried up, she should have woken by now."

Qing Mo had never seen anyone sleep for so long either. After a moment's thought, he said, "Could it have something to do with her spiritual affinity?"

Dongfang Wanyu set down the cloth and racked her brains, recalling what little she knew about Dongfang Minghui. "Back in the Dongfang Family, Ninth Sister was among the earliest to awaken her spiritual power. Since her affinity wasn't one of the ten elements, the Lineage didn't focus on nurturing her. I suppose that's why she sulked and refused to cultivate." It seemed some of their experiences were rather similar.

"Could it have something to do with the demonic plant she contracted?"

The two of them, neither particularly knowledgeable about the wood affinity, continued making wild guesses.

Back in the Magic Beast Forest, Dongfang Minghui had never enjoyed a good night's sleep because she was constantly frightened and on edge. After sleeping for several days, she felt quite comfortable, but her body wouldn't move. She could sense people coming and going around her and occasionally hear the heroine speaking to her, but she couldn't respond at all.

Unable to open her eyes, she could only call to her companion in her mind. "Little Lecher, Little Lecher, wake up!"

After the battle with Mu Qing, she had thought Little Lecher was dead. But upon further reflection, they shared a blood contract. As long as she was alive, Little Lecher would be all right.

Yet Little Lecher still gave no response.

Dongfang Minghui waited and waited, until one day she nearly went mad. "Little Lecher, you useless demonic plant! And you called yourself the king of the Magic Beast Forest? One measly Great Spirit Master knocked you flat. Do you know how a cow gets blown into the sky? By all your hot air!"

She repeated belittling remarks like these about Little Lecher countless times, until her lips were dry.

"Enough. Can't you let me cultivate in peace?" Little Lecher's utterly feeble voice suddenly interrupted her muttering.

Hearing that voice, Dongfang Minghui nearly wept with joy. "Boohoo, Little Lecher, what are we going to do? I can't wake up!"

"When do you plan to leave for the Royal Academy?"

One morning, as Dongfang Wanyu was giving Dongfang Minghui a simple wash and brushing her hair, Qing Mo suddenly spoke.

The Royal Academy's annual admissions were about to begin, yet they were still staying in a remote little county town in the Golden Star Empire, without even asking about what was happening outside. He had no idea what Wanyu was thinking.

"Don't forget what you need to do." With that, Qing Mo immersed himself in cultivation.

Dongfang Wanyu sat on the edge of the bed, picked up Dongfang Minghui's hand, and toyed with it. Dongfang Minghui had a pair of slender, jade-like hands, pale and clean, with soft, smooth skin. Two calluses had appeared on her palm, still a little rough to the touch. They must have formed over the past few months. "If you don't wake up soon, your Seventh Sister will leave you behind."

They had spent two or three months together on their journey from home to the Purple Demon Mountains. During those months, Dongfang Minghui had cautiously tried to please her at every turn, and she had noticed.

Without those ordeals, she would certainly have left Dongfang Minghui behind and set out alone, not caring whether she lived or died.

Yet the Ninth Sister who had clung so tightly to her hand and murmured not to leave her behind before losing consciousness had somehow made her reluctant to do so.

"We've stayed in Ningyuan County for a full half month, and you've been asleep for more than that. I've never met a girl as fond of sleeping as you. If you keep being so willful, I'll have no choice but to have someone send you back to the Dongfang Family."

"Seventh Sister, don't leave me behind."

Dongfang Minghui suddenly opened her eyes. She caught the heroine's hand in return and held it tightly, using almost every scrap of strength she had.

Seeing her awake, Dongfang Wanyu froze for a moment, then a trace of amusement flashed in her eyes. She gently patted the back of Dongfang Minghui's hand. "I was joking. I've already prepared a carriage. If you still hadn't woken, I would have put you in it and taken you to the Royal Academy. I wouldn't leave you behind."

After hearing the heroine's explanation, Dongfang Minghui relaxed completely.

Dongfang Minghui lay limply on the bed. Only after a tremendous effort, with the heroine's help, did she manage to sit up.

"Seventh Sister, I need the stamens from ten Red Peonies, the roots of three stalks of purple green grass, and five taste umbrellas. Could you help me find them?"

Seeing how listless she was, Dongfang Wanyu couldn't help asking, "Are they to restore your spiritual power?"

Dongfang Minghui nodded. If Little Lecher hadn't transferred some of the Purple Cloud Fruit's spiritual energy back to her, she would probably have remained asleep until Little Lecher finished cultivating and woke up.

That miserable feeling of helplessness was unbearable.

Dongfang Minghui handed her bundle to the heroine and asked her to pawn her jewelry as well. "Seventh Sister, sorry for the trouble."

After Dongfang Wanyu left, she sat on the bed in a daze.

Little Lecher had said she needed to break through to Spirit Warrior as soon as possible, or she wouldn't be able to see her companion for the time being.

She was deeply upset. Because of her, her companion had been injured and couldn't come out. Little Lecher might have had a sharp tongue and been a little haughty, but she had never wanted her companion to pay such a steep price.

When Dongfang Wanyu returned, she found Dongfang Minghui looking so guilt-stricken that she was on the verge of tears. Setting the things on the table, she said, "Ninth Sister, I've bought everything you needed."

Dongfang Minghui got out of bed, her legs still weak and lacking strength. She opened the bundle and checked its contents. Everything was there, and the medicinal ingredients were of excellent quality. "Seventh Sister, sorry for the trouble, but could you ask them to bring me a bathtub? I want to take a bath."

By the time the bathtub arrived, hot water and everything else she needed had also been prepared.

Dongfang Minghui tossed the five taste umbrellas straight into the bathtub. Watching them sink to the bottom, she then took out the stamens from five Red Peonies and one root of purple green grass.

Seeing that she could barely walk, Dongfang Wanyu couldn't help offering, "Do you want me to carry you in?"

Dongfang Minghui hastily shook her head. "Seventh Sister, keep watch outside. I might soak for a long time."

Dongfang Wanyu didn't leave. Instead, she set up a screen in the room and sat outside it, so she would know immediately if anything happened within.

Dongfang Minghui paid no attention to where the heroine went. She was using these medicinal ingredients simply to cleanse the impurities from her body and open her meridians.

From the moment she woke up, she had been ready to use the cultivation method Little Lecher had given her to break through to Spirit Warrior as quickly as possible.

Spirit Warrior-it seemed quite difficult to reach that rank. But thinking of what her companion had suffered, Dongfang Minghui gritted her teeth and endured. She tested the water, stripped off her clothes, and sat in the bathtub, using her meager spiritual power to circulate the medicinal liquid through all her meridians.

Then she absorbed all the energy from the stamens of the five Red Peonies and the one root of purple green grass.

Dongfang Wanyu waited outside all night. Only the next day did she hear movement from behind the screen.

"Do you need any help?"

Having just fastened her inner robe, Dongfang Minghui smiled at the heroine. "Seventh Sister, I'm all better now." At least she wasn't as weak as before.

She had opened three of her meridians and automatically absorbed all the energy from the remaining five Red Peonies' stamens. Her spiritual power had recovered a little as well.

Seeing that she seemed to have recovered half her spiritual power, Dongfang Wanyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"When I went to buy the medicinal ingredients, I heard that people from the Azure Mist Sect were trying to find a sister and brother who had come out of the Magic Beast Forest. I suspect it's because of Mu Qing. We're the ones they're looking for."

What an aggravating piece of bad news.

Dongfang Minghui blinked, not understanding why her Seventh Sister had suddenly brought this up.

"What I mean is, don't dress as a man. It makes us too conspicuous, and we'll be recognized easily." Dongfang Wanyu took a set of clothes out of her storage space.

"I've worn these before. I hope you don't mind."

With that, Dongfang Wanyu went downstairs, presumably to arrange breakfast or something of the sort.

Dongfang Minghui looked at the clothes in her hands, her brows drawing together slightly. Why did she feel that, after she woke up, the heroine's attitude toward her had become a little strange?

Having changed back into women's clothes, Dongfang Minghui deftly applied a little makeup to make herself look more lively. The sight left Dongfang Wanyu stunned when she came upstairs carrying bowls and chopsticks.

Dongfang Minghui had inherited her looks from the Second Madam. She was the very picture of a well-bred young lady, petite and delicate, with exquisitely fine features, bright, expressive eyes, a cherry-like mouth, and two dimples that appeared when she smiled.

Dongfang Wanyu was used to seeing her dusty and disheveled. Looking at her now, she found her surprisingly lovely.

"Seventh Sister, I look good, don't I?" Dongfang Minghui turned in a circle, showing off the heroine's clothes.

Dongfang Wanyu nodded slightly. "Don't wear men's clothes anymore. This is better."

Soon, the waiter downstairs had people carry the bathtub out. The two of them sat at the table and ate a quiet meal.

"The Royal Academy's admissions are about to begin. My plan is to reach the capital of the Golden Star Continent as soon as possible and take part in this year's admissions. What do you think?"

What did she think?

Dongfang Minghui was dumbfounded. The heroine only needed to take her along. She had already made up her mind to cling tightly to that powerful leg; wherever the heroine went, she would follow.

"Seventh Sister, you can decide."

"All right."

With both of them in agreement, Dongfang Wanyu and Dongfang Minghui checked out that very night and traveled through the darkness to avoid encountering anyone from the Azure Mist Sect.

Sitting inside the carriage, Dongfang Minghui fidgeted restlessly, as though there were needles beneath her backside.

The heroine was driving outside while she rested inside. It gave her the strange impression that she had picked up the wrong script.

Halfway through the journey, Dongfang Minghui finally couldn't stand it anymore. She lifted the carriage curtain and said apprehensively, "Seventh Sister, take a break. Let me do it."

Dongfang Wanyu's lips curved. Her Ninth Sister really did seem different.

"No need. Rest properly. I'll switch with you if I get tired."

That was what she said, but Dongfang Wanyu waited all night without the heroine asking her to take over. She waited and waited, going from fear and trepidation to restless unease, until the jolting carriage eventually rocked her to sleep.

Once the carriage left Ningyuan County, Dongfang Wanyu pulled the reins and stopped to rest. Lifting the curtain, she saw Dongfang Minghui asleep against one side of the carriage, her head continually nodding forward, without the slightest sign of waking.

She couldn't help chuckling. Finding an outer robe in the bundle, she draped it over her.