Gu Xianyu wasn’t foolish, just miserable.
After the initial shock, she quickly realized that the quilt was given to her by the bell in front of her that had spoken.
This warm quilt had saved her life, keeping her from freezing to death in the cold autumn. This bell—or the person speaking through it—was truly her lifesaver.
A sense of unreality wrapped around her heart. Could someone like her really inspire pity and care from another?
The girl’s eyes grew slightly red. With her bare feet on the icy floor, she struggled to bow in gratitude toward the bell.
“Thank you, fellow Daoist… for saving my life.”
Jiang Tong looked at the shivering Gu Xianyu, somewhat surprised.
He had thought Gu Xianyu would be confused, panicked, or even scream in shock…
But she immediately grasped the situation, not only understanding but also respectfully getting out of bed to salute him, even though she wore clothes torn apart by the whip, with cold wind biting her wounds, more painful than blades.
Jiang Tong felt more pity for this girl, and hurriedly sent her a message:
“Don’t stay on the floor. Get back in bed and cover yourself with the quilt. You’re in bad shape right now. A fever could be dangerous.”
Chilling cold seeped from her soles into her body, but Gu Xianyu felt a warmth in her heart.
This person in front of her wanted nothing from her, truly caring only for her well-being.
With red-rimmed eyes, she bowed again, then took the bell carefully into her hands and slowly slipped into the covers.
Inside the quilt, the light was dim. Through the tears in her clothes, one could faintly see red marks on her fair skin, shocking to behold, some wounds still oozing blood from the whipping.
Especially her legs—white as mutton-fat jade, half-hidden, but also the most brutally beaten, covered in bloody welts, with some wounds still trickling red.
Looking up, through some holes, the faint whiteness of her undergarment was visible at her chest. Her little “bunny” had not been struck and obediently stayed in her clothes.
Jiang Tong’s sight stopped there. He did not probe further.
Such was the benefit of Divine Sense: he could observe details the eye could not see, even in a dim environment.
Jiang Tong felt a bit strange. At this moment, as the bell, he was held in the girl’s hands, pressed close to her under the quilt, able to clearly sense her weak breathing.
Those clear, bright eyes carefully scanned the bell, her face just inches away, making him feel small.
Seeing her up close like this, a sense of familiarity rose in his heart again…
“What is your name?” Jiang Tong asked.
“Gu Xianyu.” The girl hesitated for two seconds, then lowered her head and softly added, “The ‘Xian’ of ‘becoming immortal,’ the ‘Yu’ of ‘gold and jade.'”
For some reason, Jiang Tong sensed a bit of inferiority in her introduction.
“Fellow Daoist… are you an Artifact Spirit?” Gu Xianyu summoned her courage to ask.
“No.”
“Then, then what are you?”
“…A Soul Fragment.”
As Jiang Tong spoke, he stared at her brows and eyes, discovering another benefit of being in a state of Divine Sense—he could openly stare at someone, and if their cultivation was lower than his, they wouldn’t even know it.
“A Soul Fragment?” Gu Xianyu was surprised, carefully cradling the bell and looking at it again and again. “How could a Soul Fragment be inside a bell?”
“When people die, their bodies perish and souls scatter. I died long ago; this Soul Fragment is only here by luck, by chance lingering in this artifact.”
The best lies are seven parts truth and three parts falsehood.
The Spring-Autumn Bell could be considered his secret. Not even his master knew, so how could he tell this little girl in front of him?
Borrowing a trope from those old grandpa-in-the-ring stories, his current state was similar—so it fit. As for soul death… in his past life, he was kicked to death by fate, so it had happened before.
“Has it been many years?”
“Many years.”
“But your voice sounds young.” The girl’s tender fingertips gently rubbed the bell as she whispered, “In that case, calling you ‘Senior’ seems more appropriate… Senior, you must be very lonely, right?”
Before she finished, she suddenly started coughing.
Jiang Tong neither confirmed nor denied, just looking at the whip marks on the girl: “Wait a moment for me.”
Gu Xianyu softly replied and waited quietly.
A few seconds later, a golden light flashed. Gu Xianyu looked up, and saw a Medicine Pill, emerald green all over, rolling on the bed.
“Take it.” Jiang Tong said gently.
“Senior! This…?”
The girl’s eyes widened slightly as she swallowed.
After her whipping, she had gone to the Zongmen Alchemy Hall to beg for a Healing Pill.
Healing Pills, from First-Grade to Second-Grade, were not expensive; most disciples would keep some on hand. Even so, she couldn’t afford even a First-Grade.
Outer Disciples received ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones as monthly pay. The Enforcement Hall, claiming a small punishment for a big lesson, had withheld her first month’s ten spirit stones completely, not giving her a single one.
Cold, gravely injured… she had already given up hope, waiting for death. But first came a warm quilt, and now, a Second-Grade Healing Pill!
Gu Xianyu wanted to say more, but the hope of survival she’d longed for was right before her. Unconsciously, her hands trembled as she reached out to cradle the pill.
Bringing it to her lips, her hand stopped. She looked cautiously at the bell.
“Go on, eat it.”
Jiang Tong prompted her. The girl licked her chapped lips, placed the pill in her mouth, and it dissolved with a faint metallic tang.
A cool sensation swept through her body, her internal organs coming alive again.
Even the wounds littering her skin began to fade, white, delicate skin reappearing.
So, this is the power of a Second-Grade Medicine Pill?
Jiang Tong smiled but did not speak.
This little girl was kind by nature, good-looking too, and most importantly, she felt oddly familiar. Giving her this personally-refined Second-Grade Medicine Pill was simply forging a good relationship.
Besides, the pill wasn’t just for healing. Jiang Tong’s cultivation wasn’t high, but he was adept at dabbling in side paths.
He’d whimsically mixed ingredients for Healing Pills and Vein-Replenishing Pills together, and cooked up this new thing—thinking that if his Spirit Veins were ever severed, one pill would heal and repair the veins at the same time.
He tried it on a mouse—the mouse was fine, squeaked even louder.
He tried it on a monkey—the monkey danced and even gifted him a few peaches.
Now, giving it to a person… no, this pill was tested and had no side effects, so how could he say the girl was his test subject?
“M-My Spirit Veins…”
Gu Xianyu was incredulous, staring at her hand. She could clearly feel that two of her Spirit Veins had just been unblocked by the pill’s power.
Now her eyes weren’t just red—overwhelmed with emotion, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Gu Xianyu wiped her tears, knelt down, and kowtowed three times to the bell, each thud echoing:
“Junior Gu Xianyu thanks Senior for granting me a new life!”
“Earlier, I failed to recognize your greatness and was disrespectful in my words. I beg Senior’s forgiveness!”
“If… if there’s ever a chance in the future…”
She bit her lip, her pink lips parting, but in the end, she didn’t say it.
With her aptitude, how could she have the nerve to talk of repaying such a debt? Besides, Senior was just a Soul Fragment. What could she possibly do for him?
“Get up. I only lent a hand. There’s no need for such grand courtesy.”
Jiang Tong saw her being so solemn and felt a little awkward. He continued, “Let’s speak as we did before. There’s no need for all this formality.”
These words struck Gu Xianyu with a sudden realization.
Yes, Senior had an easygoing nature. What she saw as great kindness was just a small effort for him.
Her own overexcitement and grand gestures had only put pressure on him—she had overdone it.
Gu Xianyu wiped her tears, rose, bowed again, and deeply engraved this gratitude in her heart.
“Thank you, Senior. I lost control just now.”
“It’s nothing.”
Jiang Tong looked at the now fully healed, transformed girl, and suddenly felt a bit of satisfaction, like nurturing someone.
Heh, so what if he treated this as a game?
“Now, I have a few questions to ask you.”
What does Senior want to know?
Gu Xianyu carefully cupped the bell. “Senior, please ask anything. I will answer all I know.”
“Where are we right now, and…”
Jiang Tong’s gaze swept across the girl’s exposed skin.
“Who was it that hurt you like this?”