“Waaah… Junior Sister, I got beaten up by someone outside. It hurts so much—you absolutely have to help treat me properly—”
“What number of times is this? How many times have I told you? I cultivate the Dao of the Sword Pill, I am not a medical cultivator who specializes in treating injuries. If you need treatment, go find a medical cultivator from the Medicine King Valley yourself. Also, don’t copy Yue Jue’s messy tone of voice.”
Ji Ling exasperatedly looked at Jiang Changge, who had once again barged into her apothecary, and pushed that teary-eyed, pretty head away from her sight.
“Ah, didn’t I provoke that little green snake from the Medicine King Valley a few years ago? She bites me whenever she sees me now. How could I dare go to the Medicine King Valley to find her?”
Jiang Changge chuckled. She consciously sat on the examination bed on the side and set down the Autumn Water Sword she had been carrying on her back.
At this point, her cultivation had reached the Spirit Severing Stage, and the Autumn Water Sword had long since been subdued by her, obedient and docile.
Over these years, because they truly could not stand Jiang Changge continuing to plague the female cultivators in the Sect, the Sect Elders had earnestly talked with her for a long time. Finally, they managed to persuade her to leave the Sect and go outside to find those female confidantes.
But who knew that once she left, Jiang Changge would be like a frolicking monkey returning to the mountain forest, or a runaway horse returning to the wild plains. She completely let herself go and began to plague the female disciples of all the major and minor righteous sects. From time to time, complaints would find their way to the Xiaoyao Sword Sect, giving the Elders quite a headache.
For thousands of years, Jiang Changge’s reputation as a “womanizer” had pretty much spread across the entire Cultivation World. Even so, the female cultivators by her side continued to change constantly; only that Autumn Water Sword remained with her all along.
“Don’t you deserve it?”
Ji Ling shot her an annoyed sidelong glance.
“Where are you injured this time? Arm, or leg?”
“I hurt my waist.”
Sitting on the bed, Jiang Changge swiftly lifted the hem of her clothes in a few quick motions, revealing fair, delicate skin. A scar on it was particularly conspicuous.
Ji Ling only cast a hasty glance before shifting her gaze away.
“I say, it’s been so many years, and you’ve had countless romances. Could it be that not a single woman has truly entered your heart?”
While applying medicine to Jiang Changge, Ji Ling seemed to casually ask offhandedly.
“Hah, the beauties in this world are countless; this is just the tip of the iceberg for me. I won’t settle down so easily.”
Jiang Changge let her finish applying the topical medicine and wrapping the bandages. Then, she immediately stood up, picked up her Autumn Water Sword, and put down a white jade spirit mushroom the size of a human head:
“Thanks, Junior Sister Ji. Consider this Moonlight Profound Jade Mushroom as my medical fee this time. Take note of the excess, I’ll come back to you next time!”
Before her voice even faded, Jiang Changge walked briskly to the door, waved at Ji Ling, and departed via Sword Kinesis. Her figure quickly disappeared into the horizon.
Only Ji Ling was left alone, leaning by the door. She gazed in the direction she vanished, standing there for a long time, her eyes seeming to carry a hint of unknown melancholy and loneliness.
“Junior Sister Ji! Junior Sister Ji! Come look at this, quick!”
Jiang Changge burst into Ji Ling’s apothecary once again. Ji Ling was long used to the strange sights, but this time, what she held in her hands was neither precious medicinal herbs nor rare Magic Treasures—it was a white-haired little girl swaddled in blankets.
“Junior Sister Ji, do you know how to nurse a child?”
Ji Ling stared in shock at Jiang Changge, who had barged in covered in injuries, holding a baby with an anxious face.
“Jiang Changge, whose child is this with you?”
“Ah? How could this be my child! I, Jiang Changge, have fooled around for so many years, but I would never do something like leaving a child with someone. Don’t slander me, Junior Sister Ji!”
Seeing Ji Ling’s expression suddenly turn cold, Jiang Changge thought she was doubting her character and hastily rushed to explain.
“I’m only telling you this, Junior Sister—I found this child in that newly appeared Secret Realm in the Northern Plains!”
She mysteriously leaned close to Ji Ling. Cradling the girl in her arms, she blinked at her.
“The very Secret Realm rumored to be connected to the Frost Star Immortal?”
Ji Ling asked, furrowing her brows. Her anxious heart settled slightly, but new doubts welled up in her mind.
She knew that Jiang Changge had excitedly run off a while ago to the newly appeared Secret Realm in the Northern Plains, which was rumored to be connected to the Frost Star Immortal. But how could there be a little girl in a Secret Realm connected to immortals and Immortal Artifacts?
“Exactly! Although I found absolutely nothing in that Secret Realm this time, it was quite strange—deep within a sword mound, I heard the cries of a child. I followed the sound and found this little girl.”
“I thought to myself, this child is staying all alone in a place like that. Whether she has any relation to the Frost Star Immortal or not, I had to bring her out no matter what. But the moment I took her away, I was attacked by the Secret Realm’s guards on the way back. That experience, tsk tsk…”
Jiang Changge shook her head, looking completely oblivious to how heavy her injuries were and instead appearing somewhat smug.
“Anyway, after I brought this child out, the Secret Realm disappeared. So I’ve made up my mind—I’m going to raise this little one!”
She lifted up the adorable little baby, who hadn’t even opened her eyes yet, and smiled brilliantly:
“No matter what, I, Jiang Changge, cannot return empty-handed!”
Afterwards, on the various peaks—especially Danxia Peak—one could frequently see the figure of Elder Jiang, who originally was rarely in the Sect. If Jiang Changge wasn’t asking people for rice paste, she was asking how to change diapers or bathe a child…
Because it was snowing when she brought the child back to Mianyun Peak, Jiang Changge gave the child a name: Yun Xuechang.
“Yun” was taken from Mianyun Peak, and “Xuechang” naturally came about because it snowed heavily that day, as if draping a layer of clothes over Mianyun Peak. Jiang Changge was quite proud of this name. She genuinely felt that the white-haired little girl she brought back looked exactly like a handful of snow on Mianyun Peak, pure and flawless.
Days passed one by one, and Yun Xuechang also grew day by day. The Elders of the various peaks gradually discovered that Jiang Changge had poured all her attention into the child she brought back. She no longer casually went out seeking pleasure, and no one came to the Xiaoyao Sword Sect to demand answers for her misdeeds anymore. Every single Elder beamed with joy.
Even though Jiang Changge still didn’t participate much in Sect affairs, and as a Peak Master, she hadn’t even attended a single morning meeting, the Elders were already highly satisfied.
Perhaps, except for Ji Ling…
“Oh, Junior Sister, let me tell you, my Xuechang is really just a blockhead! She only scored thirty or forty points again on this Quarterly Exam. When the Academy’s Master called out names, I didn’t even dare go up on stage…”
By the winter lake, heavy snow covered the shores, and a chill wind gently blew. Clad in a plain white cloak, Jiang Changge sat on the grass holding a wine cup, complaining and shaking her head at Ji Ling beside her.
“However, her Martial Course grades are quite good, which actually carries some of my demeanor from back then.”
Saying this, she proudly nodded her head again.
“Right, right, guess what? She even asked me a few days ago where babies come from. With that blank and silly look of hers, hahahahaha! I tricked her and said they come from kissing, just to save her from being too naive and being easily taken advantage of by others in the future!”
“And also…”
‘Yun Xuechang, Yun Xuechang… Why is it that nowadays, the only thing you talk to me about is that little girl’s name?’
‘Obviously you have never cared so much about anyone before, not even those female cultivators you shared a bed with… Jiang Changge, what kind of spell has that girl cast on you?’
The hand Ji Ling used to grip the wine cup tightened more and more.
“Hey, Junior Sister Ji, why haven’t you been saying anything? Is this snow scenery not pretty?”
After rambling for a long time, Jiang Changge only belatedly realized Ji Ling’s silence and asked the woman beside her.
“I’m leaving. I still have to go back and refine pills.”
Ji Ling abruptly flicked her sleeves and stood up. Without turning back, she left a bewildered Jiang Changge sitting in place, watching her retreating back.
“Speak. What did you come to me for?”
In front of Ji Ling, a milky-white Sword Pill hovered in the air, gleaming with piercing cold light. Her eyes narrowed tightly, staring intently at the mature woman with green hair draped over her shoulders before her, her expression icy cold.
“My, my, don’t be so angry—perhaps we can sit down and discuss this slowly?”
Qingluo waved her hand, ignoring the poised Sword Pill aimed at her. Her golden vertical pupils flashed with an eerie light.
“I have nothing to discuss with a wanted criminal who defected from the Medicine King Valley and degenerated into an Evil Cultivator.”
Ji Ling scoffed, her Spiritual Power ready to strike at any moment.
“Ah, setting aside whether your Sword Pill, with your minor in alchemy, can actually defeat me… if you and I fight today, the loser will most likely be you. You are aware of this too, aren’t you, Ji Ling?”
“So what if I am?”
“But what if I came to you today for a matter concerning Jiang Changge?”
Hearing this name, Ji Ling’s pupils contracted, and the Sword Pill before her trembled along with it.
Seeing her react this way, Qingluo wore a knowing smile on her face:
“I knew it—you and Jiang Changge are so close, you must also hate that fickle woman to death. Am I right?”
She observed Ji Ling’s impassive expression, her voice carrying a bewitching tone:
“The reason you didn’t show it before is because you also know that Jiang Changge has never loved anyone. Deep down, you were also hoping, hoping that you still had a chance.”
“But what about now? Now she has poured all her thoughts into that little disciple of hers. You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? She cares about that little disciple more than she ever has before.”
Qingluo circled to her side, a forked tongue slipping from her red lips:
“So you’ve started to not be able to stand her anymore either—you can’t stand her talking non-stop about her little disciple in front of you, you can’t stand that the person in your heart truly has someone she cares about… So you used pill refining as an excuse to distance yourself from her, who has always been close to you, haven’t you?”
“Don’t lie to yourself, Ji Ling. You clearly hate her just as much as I do!”