When he turned around, Qu Xin stood behind him, her face expressionless. "Found it. One dose every two days will do."
"...Oh, thank you."
"Sorry, Pei Ye. Was I a little rude just now?"
"..." Pei Ye froze, then hastily waved his hands as he caught on. "No, no. You saved my life. I'm not that petty."
"Because every patient has their privacy. Although she hadn't undressed, you still needed to knock." Qu Xin explained earnestly.
Pei Ye fell silent. Her words sounded so high-minded that he could hardly bring up how she had made him bare his backside without closing the door.
"So you're not angry with me anymore, right?"
"...I wasn't angry to begin with."
"Mm-hmm." Qu Xin was very satisfied. "Then can you take me along in the carriages back to the Prefectural City tomorrow morning? I can't ride."
"..."
Candles burned all night in the little courtyard.
In the peaceful night, Qu Xin brewed medicine at the stove while the boy leaned beside the woman's couch, turning through the entire Sword Manual page by page amid her gentle explanations.
Perhaps there wasn't enough time, or perhaps it was because the boy had already entered the Spirit Realm; afterward, Ming Qitian taught him nothing more advanced, instead guiding him bit by bit through the Jadeite Sword Theory Li Weiru had given him.
"The sword art you're most proficient in now is this Jadeite Sword. Studying its Sword Theory with the sword art in hand means you won't be building a pavilion in the air. As the two corroborate one another, understanding one thing will lead you to a hundred others," the woman explained gently. "Your flashes of inspiration are exceptionally strong, and you often do astonishing things with the sword. I don't worry that your approach to