Both of them were assigned to the Medicinal Compound.

A bitter smell permeated the air for thirty zhang around the Medicinal Compound. Ling Luo found it extremely distasteful but could only endure it.

The senior sister of the Medicinal Compound led the two to the medicine room and said, “We’ve recently received two batches of new medicinal herbs. You two will be responsible for categorizing them according to the pharmacopeia.”

“Yes.”

“Though I won’t come to check, don’t slack off, okay?” the senior sister of the Medicinal Compound joked.

After the senior sister left, Ling Luo took a medicine box to the courtyard to sort the herbs drying on the wooden racks.

The courtyard was filled with rows of wooden racks, leaving only a few pathways.

Yue Liang Ze also took a medicine box and went to another corner of the courtyard, keeping far away from Ling Luo.

Ling Luo glanced over and, discovering he was so far from her, immediately became irritated.

Is this how you treat a junior sister who saved you from disaster?

This is simply outrageous!

Ling Luo bent her finger and knocked on the wooden rack, making a crisp sound.

Yue Liang Ze acted as if he hadn’t heard, focusing on picking through the herb residue.

She rolled her eyes in anger.

Why stay so far away?

Why didn’t you know to dodge when Hong Mao was beating you?

Ling Luo grumbled inwardly but didn’t take the initiative to speak to him. She ignored him just as he ignored her.

She looked at the pharmacopeia and categorized the mixed medicinal herbs. Some of the wooden rack shelves were too high for her to reach, so she went back to the room to bring a small stool to stand on.

After sorting for a while, she began to sneeze continuously.

“Achoo—”

Ling Luo rubbed her nose, got off the stool, and covered her face as she sneezed non-stop.

Tears were forced from her eyes.

With teary eyes, she looked at the herbs she was holding—sliced and dried Nylon Flower leaves.

Nylon Flowers typically only bloom without growing leaves, and their leaves are extremely precious medicinal materials, encountered perhaps once in several decades.

Unfortunately, Ling Luo was allergic to them. The leaves had no obvious smell and looked like ordinary leaves without any distinctive features.

Once she inhaled the scent of Nylon Flower leaves or touched them, she would sneeze continuously.

Ling Luo irritably tossed the Nylon Flower leaves in her hand into the medicine box. “Achoo—”

Damn it!

The incessant sneezing finally drew Yue Liang Ze’s attention.

He glanced sideways toward Ling Luo, seeing her crouched on the ground covering her face and sneezing repeatedly. His brow furrowed slightly as he walked over.

A shadow fell from above, and Ling Luo knew who it was without looking. She said irritably, “Go away! Achoo—”

She didn’t want to give Yue Liang Ze a chance to mock her.

Yue Liang Ze stopped in his tracks, obediently keeping his distance, and turned to leave the next moment.

Seeing this, Ling Luo became even more annoyed.

You really— Achoo!

At this point, whether from anger at Yue Liang Ze or the torment of sneezing, teardrops sparkled in her reddened eyes, overflowing from the corners and tracing a tear track down her face.

Ling Luo couldn’t help but instinctively call out, “Yue Liang Ze!”

This shout sounded like an angry, bristling cat snarling at someone.

There was no response.

Ling Luo wiped her tears and stood up, looking around the courtyard but not seeing the young man. She was puzzled until she saw Yue Liang Ze coming out of the room.

He was carrying a cup of black liquid, which he placed beside Ling Luo’s medicine box.

The bitter smell was overwhelming.

Ling Luo wrinkled her nose, her face scrunched up as she asked, “What is… Achoo! What is this!”

“Medicine,” Yue Liang Ze said softly. “For allergies.”

The young man’s voice was clean and bright, very pleasant to hear.

But Ling Luo wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it. She said angrily, “You’re the… Achoo! One with allergies! Who told you I… Achoo! Have allergies!”

“Achoo—”

“I don’t have allergies! Achoo!”

Yue Liang Ze: “…”

He said, “Mixed with Three-Flavor herb and Spirit Calm grass ash, it works quickly. The water is warm now, but it will cool soon.”

This was the longest speech Ling Luo had heard from him so far.

“Achoo!”

After speaking, Yue Liang Ze walked away again, returning to continue sorting the medicinal herbs.

Ling Luo looked at him with puffed cheeks, then picked up the medicine and drank it in one gulp.

The medicine was so bitter that she shed a few more tears.

Could this guy have deliberately made it so bitter?

He could at least have offered some preserved fruit or something sweet!

Just as she thought this, she saw Yue Liang Ze return, opening his palm to her with a sugar-roasted chestnut in it.

Without thinking too much, she took it while sneezing, peeled it, and ate it.

The sweet powdery chestnut melted in her mouth, alleviating some of the bitterness.

Ling Luo sniffled and looked at him with her eyes open, “Achoo—”

Yue Liang Ze hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Do you want more?”

Ling Luo reached out her hand toward him.

Yue Liang Ze placed the last two chestnuts in her palm.

Sweet but not cloying, leaving her wanting more.

Ling Luo licked her lips, suppressing the thought of asking him for more chestnuts, and pointed at the medicine box, saying, “You come clean up this area.”

Yue Liang Ze didn’t speak but walked over, picked up the medicine box, looked at it to confirm the herbs inside, and began to sort them.

Are you such a wooden block? Not speaking again!

Ling Luo felt her liver ache with anger, but fortunately, the medicine worked quickly, and her sneezing gradually decreased.

During this time, she stood to the side covering her face, and asked in a muffled voice, “Senior Brother Xiu Man said you deliberately took the written test to push down his ranking. Is that true?”

Yue Liang Ze didn’t answer.

“I’m asking you…” The words “what” almost escaped her lips but were suppressed.

Ling Luo recalled that Hong Mao and the others often scolded Yue Liang Ze like this, and she didn’t want to be like them.

She asked again, “Is it true or not?”

Yue Liang Ze stood on tiptoe to take down a basket of herbs from the long shelf and simultaneously let out an “Mm” sound.

Ling Luo: “…”

“Speak louder!”

Yue Liang Ze glanced at her, then lowered his head to look back at the herb basket, saying, “Yes, I did it deliberately.”

Wow!

At this moment, she felt a sense of pride, as if watching her child grow up.

What had she said before?

This guy was just pretending!

Being able to accurately control his ranking to just barely squeeze out Xiu Man was not an easy feat.

He wasn’t someone without brains. Ling Luo asked further, “Since you have the nerve to ruin someone’s plans, why don’t you have the courage to resist when they beat you? Why do you let them hit you?”

Yue Liang Ze carefully sorted the herbs in his hands without raising his head, saying, “I can’t win.”

Ling Luo: “…”

She was stunned.

“Say that again?” Ling Luo stared intently at the person before her with twelve parts focus.

Yue Liang Ze repeated, “I can’t win.”

What nonsense are you talking about?

How could you possibly not beat those worthless people?

You are—

Ling Luo’s temple throbbed violently. She raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath.

Yue Liang Ze had emerged suddenly at the Golden Luan Pool Banquet of the great immortal sect West Sea Primordial, shocking the world with one sword. Before that, he had been unknown.

Not to mention that no one knew he had once been an outer disciple of East Island’s Tianji. Perhaps at this time, Yue Liang Ze truly couldn’t defeat Senior Brother Hong Mao.

Just like she currently couldn’t defeat the Sect Master of East Island’s Tianji.

Perhaps Yue Liang Ze was like her, possessing spiritual power but not knowing how to use it, or perhaps he once couldn’t even hold a sword properly.

Ling Luo looked at him with a strange expression for a few moments, then suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Yue Liang Ze’s hand as he was handling the herbs, placing a finger on his spiritual meridian to test.

His spiritual power was weak, very weak, almost non-existent.

After all, in a great immortal sect family, even for outer disciples, the standard wouldn’t be this low.

For Yue Liang Ze to enter East Island’s Tianji with such weak spiritual power, he must have had connections, right?

Yue Liang Ze quietly allowed her to hold his hand, showing no surprise, as if he understood Ling Luo’s intention but didn’t care.

For cultivators on the path of immortality, both at the entrance and breakthrough stages, what matters is one’s spiritual power.

Some people are born with it, though in varying amounts, indicating different levels of aptitude. Such people start with one foot already in the world of immortal cultivation and can strengthen their spiritual power through later cultivation.

Some people are born without it.

And without means without.

For such people who want to enter the world of immortal cultivation, their first goal is to be able to cultivate spiritual power. Most people struggle their entire lives without achieving this.

Having spiritual power versus not having it makes a world of difference at the entrance stage.

The spiritual power Ling Luo detected in Yue Liang Ze was between having and not having, very subtle.

He had spiritual meridians, but his spiritual power was so weak it was as if the meridians didn’t exist.

This meant he could only be physically stronger than ordinary people, more resilient, and able to endure beatings. But if he tried to practice spells or sword techniques, he probably couldn’t even perform the simplest sword incantation for beginners.

Ling Luo released him with a listless expression, saying, “With your spiritual power if you went to today’s martial test, wouldn’t people laugh at you?”

Now she understood why he only endured beatings without resistance.

With his weak spiritual power, he indeed couldn’t defeat Hong Mao and the others.

Yue Liang Ze placed the herbs in his hand into the medicine box, showing no emotional fluctuation as he said, “I won’t go.”

“You’re quite self-aware,” Ling Luo mocked. “How did you get into East Island’s Tianji?”

And two years earlier than her.

Yue Liang Ze said, “I entered from the foot of the mountain.”

Ling Luo: “…”

She thought he was a wooden block who couldn’t speak, but occasionally when he did speak, he could infuriate someone to death.

Ling Luo: “I meant, with your weak spiritual power, how did you become an outer disciple of East Island’s Tianji?”

Thinking about the Yue Liang Ze of ten years later, with the abundant spiritual power that could sustain him for half a month without food or water. If she hadn’t remembered there was such a person trapped in the formation she had set up on Mount Tianzhao and returned out of curiosity to check, who knows how long this person would have refused food.

Given his temperament and character, he would either starve to death or force his way out.

Speaking of which, why didn’t he force his way out of the formation back then, instead foolishly starving himself for half a month?

Although her formation was strong, if Yue Liang Ze truly wanted to leave and used all his strength to break it, it wouldn’t have held him for so long.

Ling Luo’s thoughts had wandered for a moment. Before she heard Yue Liang Ze’s answer, she sneezed again.

Yue Liang Ze turned to look at her.

“Achoo—” Ling Luo’s eyes widened slightly. “Why… Achoo! Again! Achoo! Didn’t you say… Achoo!”

Didn’t you say drinking the medicine would solve the problem?!

Yue Liang Ze looked at her, paused for a moment, then extended his right hand that Ling Luo had grabbed earlier and said, “I just sorted the Nylon Flower leaves, and you touched them again.”

Ling Luo: “Achoo!”

Damn it!

She pointed at the empty cup. “Achoo!”

Yue Liang Ze tactfully took the cup and returned to the room to prepare more medicine for her.

Ling Luo sneezed, tears forced out again, making the person in the room appear blurry.

The young man’s slender, straight back overlapped into two or three images.

She couldn’t help wondering if Yue Liang Ze was doing this deliberately.

Knowing what caused her allergies, yet not stopping her!

Or perhaps he was used to it.

Used to people manhandling him without him resisting.

Because of the continuous sneezing, Ling Luo’s mind couldn’t focus, and she thought of various disjointed things.

Yue Liang Ze came out with new medicine and handed it to her. This time, Ling Luo didn’t hesitate and drank it immediately.

After drinking, she was again tormented by the bitter taste, shedding two more tears.

“Chestnuts…” she mumbled. “Chestnuts.”

“All gone,” Yue Liang Ze saw her frown and took out a dried herb slice, saying, “This is licorice, it’s sweet and can neutralize the bitterness.”

Ling Luo took it and put it in her mouth.

At this moment, she suddenly remembered having heard these words in her previous life.

Also at Mount Tianzhao.

She had returned injured from outside. It was a rainy night with constant thunder. The demon spirits were trembling with fear and dared not approach because of her anger at being wounded.

At that time, she was both exhausted and hungry, tossing and turning in bed, and unwilling to go out because of the thunderstorm.

She had forgotten about Yue Liang Ze, who was still trapped on Mount Tianzhao.

While she was drifting in and out of consciousness due to repeated pain from her injuries, this person patiently fed her until she was full, coaxed her to drink medicine, and when she lost her temper because the medicine was too bitter, he placed an herb slice near her lips, saying, “Sweet, can neutralize the bitterness.”

Ling Luo had once believed that Yue Liang Ze behaved this way to curry favor with her so that he could leave the formation.

He had come to eliminate demons and uphold righteousness. That night, she had been completely defenseless, and Yue Liang Ze could have successfully killed her.

But unfortunately, he didn’t act.