Chapter 6: Cold Evil and Garden Grass

Zi Hour.

The moon hung at its zenith, its clear radiance like water, or frost.

The entire side courtyard of the Ye family seemed submerged in a bottomless, icy pool. The air was stagnant; even the wind skirted around, not daring to stir.

No lamp was lit in the east wing.

Xiao Liuli sat cross-legged on the floor. Beneath the black iron mask, her face was bloodlessly pale.

White cold air visible to the naked eye wafted around her body; with every breath, a mist of frost spilled from her lips.

The “Nine Nether Cold Fiend” arrived as scheduled.

It was a torment she had long grown accustomed to in her life.

The chill, like maggots gnawing at her bones, crept inch by inch along her shattered spirit veins, freezing every meridian into ice crystals before grinding them into powder by invisible force.

Her consciousness floated on the edge of clarity and pain, sustained only by a single thread of unwilling obsession that clung to the last vestige of brightness within her Spirit Platform.

She curled in on herself, slender body trembling.

On the paper window, her silhouette was reflected, lonely and wracked with suffering.

However…

Just as she thought she would, as always, be completely devoured by the soul-rending agony, a strange sensation emerged.

The expected torrent of pain did not reach its peak.

That marrow-deep, bone-chilling Yin Fiend Energy seemed to be wrapped in an invisible, gentle veil.

Though still piercingly cold, though still unbearable, the core tyranny capable of annihilating all vitality was lessened.

The pain was actually lighter than any time before.

How could this be?

In the midst of agony, Xiao Liuli’s mind jolted in shock.

She had battled the “Nine Nether Cold Fiend” for years and knew its nature well.

Such a change could not be coincidence!

An illusion? Or…

—

At the same time, in the west wing.

Ye Chen sat quietly in the darkness.

He wasn’t circulating spiritual energy—he simply let himself drift in a hollow state, sensing the subtle threads of the world’s laws.

Suddenly, he “saw” a dissonant wave of Yin cold energy spread from the neighboring room, like a drop of ink falling into clear water.

What he sensed wasn’t pain, but a sense of disharmony and abruptness. Like a page of Chinese text interrupted by lines of English.

This power was incompatible with the life of this world.

In the fractured, chaotic depths of his memory, something was stirred by this energy.

A green plant with delicate silver patterns on its leaves floated into his mind, vivid in form, scent, and even the soil conditions it needed to grow.

A name followed—Condensing Soul Grass.

And with it, an impression arose: This thing can calm the soul, stabilize the spirit, and even neutralize Yin Fiend Energy.

Ye Chen opened his eyes slowly, his gaze unmoved.

To him, the “disharmony” in this courtyard was slightly irritating, like seeing a tilted object and wanting to set it straight.

In simple terms, a kind of peculiar compulsion.

—

So, the next morning, Xiao Xiao was amazed to discover the young master had uncharacteristically gone out early.

When he returned, a few unremarkable wild grasses were in his hand.

He said nothing.

He simply went to a neglected patch in the corner of the courtyard, parted the soil with his fingers, and planted the grasses, watering them casually.

The whole process was skillful, yet unremarkable.

—

The wave of pain slowly receded.

Xiao Liuli forced her weak body upright and probed her surroundings.

Her spiritual power was exhausted and her divine sense faint; she could sense nothing amiss.

Everything in the room was as it had always been.

Could it be… this courtyard?

For the first time, she gazed out the window with a hint of scrutiny.

Moonlight bathed the silent yard.

A few newly planted osmanthus trees, a stone table and stools, and… in the corner, a few unobtrusive patches of green.

And the figure, at some unknown point, who had left his room and now sat quietly beneath an osmanthus tree, as if merged with the moonlight.

A ridiculous thought flashed through her mind, only to be instantly crushed.

Impossible.

—

Days later, when the cold fiend showed signs of erupting again, Xiao Liuli made an attempt.

Taking advantage of an afternoon when Ye Chen and Xiao Xiao were absent, she quietly left her room and went to the inconspicuous “wild grass” at the edge of the courtyard.

She sat down and began to circulate her energy.

As the first wisp of cold rose within her, she clearly felt a gentle, peaceful aura emanating from the grass beside her, threading into her breath, seeping into her spirit veins, quietly dissolving the most violent strand of the cold fiend like spring rain.

It really worked!

Shock surged through Xiao Liuli’s heart.

She stared hard at the Condensing Soul Grass, recalling that morning when Ye Chen had planted them with his own hands.

Was it him?

No…

She quickly dismissed the thought.

“No, how could a mortal whose spirit veins aren’t even awakened understand these things? He must have dug up wild grass from the mountain, found it pleasing, and planted it by chance.”

She shook her head.

“Nothing but a careless act.”

She chose to believe it was her own fortune—a thread of hope that fate, not a mortal she’d already defined in her heart, had granted.

—

As for Ye Chen, at the instant he planted the Condensing Soul Grass and his fingers touched the damp earth and leaves, more fragments of information surged into his chaotic mind like a tide.

Not just Condensing Soul Grass, but also “Purple Monkey Flower,” “Earth Dragon Root,” “Xuanyang Grass”…

A fragmented Pill Recipe unfolded in his consciousness, as if he had seen and memorized it somewhere before.

In an instant, he understood: Condensing Soul Grass was but a superficial remedy—a minor auxiliary herb.

To truly resolve the “disharmony,” the ingredients listed on this Pill Recipe were necessary.

He rose and left the small courtyard, wandering through the medicine shops and marketplaces of Qingyang City.

The result: nothing.

Most of the materials on the Pill Recipe were unheard of in this place.

Standing at the town’s gate, hands behind his back, Ye Chen gazed past the bustling crowd toward the vast, cloud-shrouded mountains stretching under the sunset outside Qingyang City.

Yaoshou Mountain Range.

It seemed some things had to be obtained personally.