“Master Uncle, the Qin Chong is gone!”

In the spacious great hall, wind swept up fallen leaves from outside the courtyard, flying in through the windows and landing on the long table with spiritual fruits and cups, making the air feel even more desolate.

The great hall was completely quiet.

After a moment, the youth looked at Mendong across from him and slowly spoke, “What did you say?”

“The Qin Chong is gone.” Mendong shrank back, seemingly intimidated by Gu Baiying’s gaze. He simply knelt on the ground and began wailing, “Today I went to Gufeng Mountain, calculating that the Qin Chong seed should mature in a few days. But when I arrived at the Black Swamp, I discovered that someone had tampered with the restrictions on the Black Swamp. I used my Yuanli to probe the entire bottom of the Black Swamp and found that Qin Chong was gone!”

“How is that possible?” Gu Baiying stood up. “Did you see wrong?”

“Master Uncle,” Mendong knelt on the ground with a bitter face, “There’s only that one living thing at the bottom of the entire Black Swamp—it’s very easy to find. Now there’s nothing there. How could I have been wrong?”

Gu Baiying’s face darkened. “Only you, me, Fifth Senior Brother, and the Sect Master know about Qin Chong’s existence. Even if someone luckily learned about it, they couldn’t possibly risk being eroded by miasma to go pick it, unless it was obtained by chance.” He paused, then pondered, “Only inner disciples collecting spiritual herbs and pill materials would enter Gufeng Mountain.” He looked at Mendong, his gaze turning cold. “Check which disciples entered Gufeng Mountain during the year I was away.”

Mendong’s expression immediately became hesitant, stammering, “Actually, Master Uncle…”

Seeing this, Gu Baiying’s gaze changed slightly. “You know who it is?”

“I… I asked Senior Sister Zi Luo,” Mendong carefully chose his words. “Previously, there was a female disciple whose face was scarred by demon qi. Fourth Uncle wanted her to find a section of Night Vine branch to refine into Smooth Skin Jade Complexion Pills—taking them would beautify and nourish the skin. Night Vine branches grow right beside the swamp. According to that female disciple’s account… she was secretly harmed by a fellow disciple and fell into the Black Swamp, escaping by luck…” Mendong couldn’t continue the rest of his words.

In ten years, there had been only one person who fell into the Black Swamp. If not her, then who?

“Face scarred by demon qi,” the youth stared at him, his tone suddenly becoming dangerous, “Don’t tell me that female disciple is named Yang Zanxing?”

“Master Uncle, how did you know?” Mendong looked up in surprise, then realized, “Oh right, Sixth Uncle said you constantly sneak peeks at her, so naturally you’d know.”

“I don’t sneak peeks at her.” Gu Baiying gritted his teeth, emphasizing each word.

Mendong shrank back and said quietly, “Then… what do we do now?”

A seed painstakingly cultivated for ten years—gone just like that. Who wouldn’t collapse?

The great hall was deadly silent.

“Don’t tell the Sect Master and Fifth Senior Brother about this yet.” After an unknown amount of time, the youth’s voice came through, carrying a hint of coldness. “When a Qin Chong seed enters the spiritual meridians, there will be a resonance. I’ll go test her first. If it is her…” He looked at Mendong, who was so frightened he lowered his head, hearing the sinister warning from above: “You figure out a way to get the seed out.”

…

After finishing her cultivation, Zanxing carried her staff back to the small wooden building.

In the small wooden building, Tian Fangfang had already made himself at home, crouching on the ground, petting the cat.

Mimi’s body had grown a full size larger and was sprawled on the ground in a “大” character shape, being scratched under the chin by Tian Fangfang with a completely satisfied expression. Tian Fangfang had also achieved spiritual comfort; his expression could be described as euphoric.

When Zanxing returned, this was the harmonious scene of one person and one cat she saw. If this weren’t her dormitory, she would have suspected she’d entered an opium den.

She walked around Mimi on the ground and sat down by the soft couch, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Tian Fangfang was awakened by the noise. Seeing Zanxing had returned, he quickly stood up to greet her, “Junior Sister is back. Oh my, all that sweat—you work hard.”

“Can I not work hard?” Zanxing took a sip of tea. “Didn’t you hear Hua Yue threatening the other day that she’d kill me sooner or later?”

“Don’t be afraid,” Tian Fangfang patted his chest, “Senior Brother’s got your back—won’t let anything happen to you. But,” his gaze fell on Zanxing’s iron staff, “Junior Sister, your staff is a bit ugly.”

This iron staff was standard issue for new Taiyan Sect students. After using it for so long, perhaps unable to withstand the wear from Yuanli, the entire staff was covered in rust, looking exactly like something a beggar would use to collect scraps. Among the entire Taiyan Sect, few women used staffs to begin with, and this staff was so ugly that sometimes looking at it was truly beyond words.

“Can’t help it,” Zanxing leaned back with both hands, “I don’t have extra Spirit Stones to buy a new one from Huajin Tower.” She sighed, “If everyone in Taiyan Sect gave me one Spirit Stone…”

Zanxing shook her head. She was going crazy from poverty.

“Hey,” Tian Fangfang sat across from Zanxing, holding Mimi, leaning in close, “I heard that in a few months, during our inner disciple assessment, Sixth Uncle Xuan Lingzi will select the most talented among the new disciples to be his direct disciple.”

He said mysteriously, “I also heard that direct disciples can go to Taiyan Sect’s armory and choose their weapons. All the weapons there are good stuff—even the worst are mid-grade Spirit Artifacts. Junior Sister, don’t you think if we became direct disciples, we’d be flying high and striking it rich?”

Zanxing: “…”

Sometimes she quite admired Tian Fangfang. Most mortals cultivated to pursue powerful spiritual force, cultivation methods that surpassed everything, or to escape ordinary human lifespans in pursuit of immortality. But Tian Fangfang’s cultivation had developed a worldly sense of striving upward, as if he aspired to be a landowner who worked his way up, competed for fame and profit, and finally achieved financial security.

But people had different aspirations. To each their own—as long as he was happy.

Zanxing said, “Not bad, Senior Brother. I believe you’ll become a sensation.”

“Thank you.” Tian Fangfang happily returned the sentiment, “Let’s get rich together.”

After petting the cat for a while longer, Tian Fangfang reluctantly returned to his small wooden building.

Zanxing finished washing up and also got into bed. Attending classes during the day and self-studying at night, tired from a full day, Zanxing quickly fell into dreamland.

After she fell asleep, a shadow suddenly appeared at the window. After another moment, someone entered the room.

In the middle of the night, someone was standing silently by her bedside. If Zanxing woke up now, she would surely be scared into a heart attack.

The white cat lying by the bedside opened a pair of jade-green eyes, staring unblinkingly at the unexpected visitor. Gu Baiying glanced at it and extended a finger to scratch under its chin. The white cat comfortably squinted its eyes, making “purring” sounds in its throat.

The woman on the bed turned over, one leg crossing over and resting on the blanket. The moonlight illuminated the room clearly, also making that leg particularly eye-catching. This sleeping posture was not very elegant.

Gu Baiying looked away with disgust. With a movement of his finger, the blanket “whooshed” up, covering everything below her chest tightly.

He turned his head again and exerted force with his palm. In an instant, a thread of Yuanli drilled into her chest like a silver light, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

At Zanxing’s chest, a green light and shadow gradually emerged. This light was like spring willows casting shadows by the riverside, carrying a rich vitality that filled the entire room.

Gu Baiying suddenly withdrew his hand, his face looking extraordinarily ugly.

The Qin Chong seed was indeed within her body.