“You want to use my furnace?”
Zhao Qingyue leaned against the door frame of the side room, her fingers idly tapping the copper belly of the alchemy furnace.
“Fine, but on one condition~”
Bai Shuangshuang gritted her teeth.
‘This brat might as well have the word “extortion” written on her face.’
“What conditions?”
“First, from now on, you clean this room.”
“…Fine.”
“Second—”
Zhao Qingyue drew out the word, smiling as she looked at her.
“From now on, I get to pat your head before you sleep.”
Bai Shuangshuang blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it~”
Zhao Qingyue looked completely serious.
“It’s just a head pat, not too much, right?”
‘Something feels off. When did this girl become so easy to deal with?’
She stared suspiciously at Zhao Qingyue for two breaths, then tentatively countered.
“Then… only one pat.”
“Two~”
‘I fall silent. I now seriously suspect Zhao Qingyue has some other trick up her sleeve. But since it’s already come to this, I can’t fall out over such a small matter.’
“Fine, it’s settled then!”
She nodded reluctantly.
“Settled, settled.”
Zhao Qingyue clapped her hands with a smile.
“The furnace is yours, use it~”
‘I feel like I’ve been taken advantage of, but I can’t say how exactly. Whatever, the furnace is what matters.’
She reached out her hand, palm against the furnace wall, and tried to extend a thread of mental energy inside.
Nothing happened.
Bai Shuangshuang froze for a moment.
‘Oh right, the residual toxins in my meridians haven’t been cleansed yet. I can’t muster even a bit of spiritual energy. Without spiritual energy, how can I refine medicine? This furnace isn’t a wood stove where you just throw in some firewood and it burns.’
She slowly turned her head to look at Zhao Qingyue.
‘Lady Zhao has a bit of cultivation, right? It should be enough?’
Zhao Qingyue was standing with her arms crossed, watching the spectacle.
When their eyes met, she froze for a moment, then slowly curved her lips into a smile.
“Gotta add something~”
“…What do you want?”
“Half of the medicine you refine?”
“Why don’t you just rob me?”
Bai Shuangshuang glared at her.
“This stuff is really important to me. If I give you half, how much will I have left?”
“Then two-thir—”
“At most twenty percent!”
Bai Shuangshuang clenched her teeth.
“Can’t give any more.”
“Deal~”
Zhao Qingyue agreed readily, which once again made Bai Shuangshuang feel she had been ripped off.
Bai Shuangshuang divided the medicinal herbs, speaking casually as she did so.
“This medicine is fire-attributed. Your cold affliction… might be useful for that.”
After saying that, she herself was stunned.
‘Something’s not right. Why am I starting to care about Zhao Qingyue?’
Bai Shuangshuang quickly ran through her thoughts.
‘From the time I returned to the manor until now, this brat has actually done several things that moved me. She took a sword strike for me, climbed the wall to steal medicine with me, and risked her old ailment flaring up just to cheer me up at the market… My heart’s not made of stone. How could I not remember her kindness? No, no, this must be Zhao Qingyue’s scheme! Give a little sweetness first, then trap someone—it’s an old trick!’
Bai Shuangshuang shook her head to dispel the thought, then said seriously.
“We’re starting. When I tell you to input spiritual energy, you input it. When I tell you to stop, you stop. No more, no less. Understood?”
“Understood, understood~”
Zhao Qingyue rolled up her sleeves, looking eager to try.
Bai Shuangshuang closed her eyes and focused, calming her mind to sense the temperature inside the furnace.
“Add a little, just a little.”
Zhao Qingyue placed her palm against the furnace wall, and a thread of warm spiritual energy seeped through the copper surface.
Bai Shuangshuang sensed for a moment with her eyes closed.
“Too much, pull back by two parts.”
The spiritual energy lessened.
“Good, hold it steady.”
She timed it perfectly and threw the Jade Dew Mushroom into the furnace.
The pale green herb slowly curled in the gentle flame, oozing out a few drops of emerald juice, and a bitter herbal fragrance filled the air.
“Increase the fire by one part.”
The spiritual energy rose slightly.
Bai Shuangshuang’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, her fingers hovering above the furnace mouth, sensing the temperature change.
At a certain moment, she suddenly opened her eyes and threw in the Purple Salvia and Three-leaf Green at the same time.
“Maximum fire, for three breaths.”
Zhao Qingyue gritted her teeth and pushed her spiritual energy to the limit.
The fire inside the furnace flared up brightly, and the heat rushed toward them, making both of them lean back.
“Stop!”
The spiritual energy was withdrawn, but the residual heat remained.
Bai Shuangshuang threw in the last Azure Root and some auxiliary ingredients, then covered the furnace lid and let out a long breath.
“Alright, just wait for it to reduce.”
After half a cup of tea’s time, the furnace lid was lifted, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.
The bottom of the furnace was covered with a layer of pale gold powder, faintly glowing in the firelight.
Bai Shuangshuang scraped out the powder with a small silver spoon, divided it into two portions, put the larger one into a porcelain bottle, and pushed the smaller portion toward Zhao Qingyue.
“Here, yours~”
She suddenly asked another question.
“Aren’t you curious? Me, a girl from a small county town, knowing how to refine medicine?”
“I figured it out a long time ago. You’re not normal.”
Zhao Qingyue tipped the powder into her mouth, washing it down with water.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a thousand little secrets. You’re my maid, that’s not going to change.”
Bai Shuangshuang watched her swallow the powder directly, completely stunned.
“Wait… you actually ate it? You don’t even know the name of this medicine?”
“What’s wrong?”
Zhao Qingyue licked her lips.
“Isn’t it the one you refined?”
“You’re not afraid I’ll harm you?”
Bai Shuangshuang thought this person had some screws loose.
“What if I’m some assassin, trading one life for another?”
Zhao Qingyue tilted her head, thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
That smile in the dim candlelight seemed both serious and absurd.
“Then that’s perfect. Souls broken in the same place, fate sealed for three lifetimes—how romantic~”
Bai Shuangshuang opened her mouth, but couldn’t speak for a long time.
‘I feel like something is stuck in my throat. It’s not the powder, it’s Zhao Qingyue’s crazy ramblings.’
“…You’re crazy.”
“Just figuring that out?”
Bai Shuangshuang ignored her, and after taking the medicine herself, she turned around and somehow pulled out several blank talisman papers from somewhere, then found cinnabar and a brush, and began drawing on the table with quick strokes.
Zhao Qingyue came over to look.
“What’s this?”
“Dream-Sealing Talisman.”
“What’s it for?”
“Sealing dreams.”
Zhao Qingyue waited for two breaths, saw that she wasn’t going to explain further, pouted, and wisely didn’t ask again.
Bai Shuangshuang finished drawing the last line and set the talisman paper on the table to dry.
‘Looking at those crooked runes, I actually have no confidence. With my current skill level, this thing might not work. But that black-dressed girl in the dream, every time we meet she kisses and bites me—I have to do something about it, right? Might as well try anything. What if it works?’
While the talisman paper was drying, the night had grown deep.
The candle flame flickered twice, making a faint crackling sound.
Bai Shuangshuang yawned, her eyelids growing heavy.
‘The Triple Fire Marrow Cleansing Powder’s effects are mild. It probably won’t kick in until I wake up tomorrow morning. I can’t just sit here waiting.’
“Tired?”
Zhao Qingyue poked her head out from under the covers and patted the empty spot beside her, her eyes reflecting the candlelight, sparkling.
“Come on, same bed competition~”