Chapter 17: It’s too small! It’s really too small!

She didn’t know why, but the first person who came to mind was Ling Huan.

Clearly, it had only been a mere ten years, not even counting before he could remember things, so how did he suddenly take up such a big space in her heart?

Was it because… he was the only one who truly “didn’t mind”?

“By the way, Miss.”

Jiang Yue asked again, “Did the books you read mention how many months it’ll take for my face to recover?”

“It won’t recover.”

The voice from outside made Jiang Yue’s heart suddenly stop, her whole body trembling.

“I’ve changed the prescription.”

Yin Luoling’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Sir, you’re actually a cultivator, aren’t you?You’d never let a useless face interfere with your future cultivation path.”

So I took it upon myself to change the prescription and swapped out one of the herbs.

With this, you’ll be able to retain your full strength!

“You’ll have nothing to worry about anymore!”

In fact, the prescription hadn’t changed at all—it’s just that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

Sometimes, if you don’t stick your neck out, nobody will ever notice you.

Back when Yin Luoling was still at the mortal sect, she had always been well-behaved and diligent, never shirking hard work.

But she realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could never match those slick-talking, flattering disciples who lazed about in cultivation and slacked off on sect duties—they always lived better.

That’s when she understood: if you don’t fight for yourself, others will just take it for granted.

Of course, it wasn’t just empty words.

In her past life, before Jiang Yue died, she bitterly regretted that her strength was too weak—even in her final moments, she hated herself for dying so helplessly, unable to protect Yin Luoling even a little longer.

She despised how useless her life had been, always failing at the critical moments.

Now, having been reborn, she would never let Jiang Yue live with regrets!

Yin Luoling waited expectantly for Jiang Yue to open the door and become her most reliable ally in the mortal realm!

….

Boom!

A powerful, icy aura suddenly descended!

A bone-chilling cold instantly flooded Yin Luoling’s surroundings.

It was as if all the air had been sucked away, and the suffocating sensation was like two invisible hands strangling her throat.

Wh—!?

Wh-what’s happening?!

Why did such a powerful aura erupt out of nowhere?!

Yin Luoling could hardly stay standing and dropped to her knees on the ground.

Thankfully, the terrifying aura vanished as quickly as it came, so she wasn’t crushed into a pulp.

Even so, Jiang Yue had already held back… otherwise… she’d be dead.

But… why…?

Yin Luoling’s mind began to blur, her body swaying.

Just as she was about to collapse—

A hand immediately caught her.

Those hands were small, very small.

Her blurry vision couldn’t make out the person’s face, but that little face… Yin Luoling still guessed who it was.

She tried to struggle, but had no strength left, and passed out directly in Ling Huan’s arms.

【Mission complete!】

【Yin Luoling has thoroughly angered Jiang Yue! Jiang Yue has started to dislike Yin Luoling!】

【Evaluation: Perfect!】

【Reward: Innate Qi (complete) — Doubles cultivation speed, guarantees Foundation Establishment success, and instantly raises user to the peak of Qi Refinement Ninth Layer upon acquisition.】

The generous reward appeared before his eyes, but Ling Huan didn’t even bother to look at it.

Still… he’d arrived too late…

Shifu, it seems you’ve completely lost your temper.

Though it wasn’t nice to speak ill of others behind their back, don’t be fooled by how gentle Jiang Yue usually seemed, how approachable she was with everyone.

Only Ling Huan knew: that was because Jiang Yue chose not to take offense.

Once she did, or if you really ticked her off, she was almost impossible to handle.

How did that saying go?

Don’t be fooled by her act as the ever-gentle mentor; once she gets angry, she’s truly a handful…

What a pity that Ling Huan, for all his cultivation, now could only run on two legs.

He couldn’t use his spiritual power at all, leaving his abilities wasted.

For the first time, Ling Huan found himself hating how big his house was.

The door was about to fall off its hinges.

After just two glances from Ling Huan, with a loud “bang,” the door crashed to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

Inside, the scene behind Jiang Yue was completely exposed.

She was standing in front of her dressing table.

The bronze mirror had already been smashed away, shattered into pieces, fragments embedded everywhere.

The bamboo hat lay discarded on the ground.

Jiang Yue braced both hands on the dressing table, panting heavily, her breath laced with a subtle trembling.

“Sir…?”

Ling Huan had no idea what was going on.

He shrugged off his outer robe, spread it on the floor, and gently set Yin Luoling down before getting up and moving toward Jiang Yue.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Buzz—

A sudden burst of sound stabbed at Ling Huan’s eardrums, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t… come near me… Today… I don’t want… anyone near me.”

Her voice was low, tinged with a hint of pleading.

But Ling Huan didn’t listen.

Instead, he took a step forward.

“I told you… not to come near! Can’t you hear?!”

The sharp rebuke, laced with powerful spiritual energy, crashed into him.

Ling Huan’s face turned pale.

His whole body trembled, and a primal fear rooted his feet to the spot.

Still, he moved closer.

He’d seen this kind of scene before.

Back then, talking had been enough to resolve things.

But this time, that wouldn’t work.

Because… back then, when Jiang Yue was angry, she’d never used her cultivation.

No matter how many times Ling Huan repeated it, no matter how often he tried to reassure her—“You’re not ugly” or “I don’t mind”—none of it worked.

In the end, if you want your words to become someone else’s unwavering belief, you have to act.

If you want your words to live forever in someone’s heart, those words must be the summary after you’ve acted.

Now it was time for the villain to act.

At this moment, Ling Huan didn’t want to listen to anyone else!

“Ling Huan, I’m not joking this time!”

Jiang Yue’s voice was stern and cold.

“Sir, I don’t know what happened, but my answer is still the same as always—I don’t mind.”

Ling Huan stepped behind Jiang Yue and took her hand.

“You—!”

Jiang Yue was utterly shocked!

She never expected this fool would—

Ling Huan’s hand instantly broke out in countless red rashes, which then split open, oozing thick, disgusting pus.

“Sir, r-remember to save me…” With that, Ling Huan winked his right eye at Jiang Yue, then suddenly straightened up and fell backwards!

He collapsed onto the floor, instantly fast asleep.

Leaving Jiang Yue all alone.

Alone, looking at this ten-year-old boy… her heart a storm of emotion.

How had he gotten poisoned and passed out, and why was his hand still gripping hers, refusing to let go?

He was just a little kid, so why… did his promise seem so big that she had to lift her head to see it all?

Sigh… idiot… Your teacher here, I’m not just ugly on the outside, I’m ugly inside too…

Really will be…

Looking down at the shattered bronze mirror, looking at her own hideous face, and the obviously shrunken tumor on it—

…?

It’s smaller…?

She carefully used her spiritual energy to drag Ling Huan aside, then quickly crouched down and picked up a piece of the bronze mirror to examine herself closely…

Yes…

It was smaller…

It really was a size smaller!