Chapter 103: Respectfully Sending Off the Master

She glanced at Xiao Jihan, noticing that although he had been struck by lightning, he was nothing like herself—his body remained immaculate, not a hint of char or soot. Yet, that was not to say he was well. His complexion shifted from deathly pale to flushed red, then to ashen blue and even to a faint purple. He trembled all over, and the hand she clasped shook violently, the picture of a man enduring excruciating pain.

“Yan Shu! Don’t stop! Keep going!” The Medicine King’s stern shout snapped Yan Shu from her daze. Steeling herself, she realized she couldn’t remember the words she’d prepared on that slip of paper, so she simply began to improvise her insults.

“Xiao Jihan, your looks defy the bounds of human imagination… When your mother gave birth to you, did she throw away the baby and raise the placenta instead?”

Boom!

“From your elegant bearing and dashing appearance, any onlooker would think you the scum of the earth, the beast among beasts!”

Boom!

“That day you cured a blind man, but when he finally saw you, he begged you to make him blind again.”

Boom!

“Your so-called brilliance? It’s only because the world has seen too little. The world is vast, but not as vast as the piece of sense you’re missing!”

Boom!

Thunder rolled again and again. Yan Shu could barely stand, so she let go of Xiao Jihan’s hand and slumped to the ground, clutching his leg instead.

She had lost all sense of time, barely hanging on through sheer willpower, cursing him in her mind because the Medicine King hadn’t told her to stop—she didn’t dare stop.

“Damn it, I want to look you in the face while I talk, but why have you buried it in your backside? Oh, my mistake, I didn’t realize that was your face—so where’s your backside?”

Boom!

“Clearly you were calcium-deficient as a child and love-deficient as you grew. Your grandmother didn’t dote on you, and your uncle didn’t care. Your left cheek begs for a slap, your right for a kick. Donkeys would kick you, pigs would trample you.”

Boom!

“Xiao Jihan, you must have been born a cucumber—just begging to be smacked! Raised as a walnut—crying out to be cracked! Fated as a broken-down motorbike—waiting to be kicked! Seeking a wife, you’re a screw—waiting to be twisted!”

Boom!

By the end, Yan Shu was truly out of words, her mind muddled by the relentless lightning. She leaned against Xiao Jihan’s leg, her thoughts looping with a handful of words: “Pig! Idiot! Fool! Wretch! May you live and die alone!”

She didn’t know how long it was before she finally heard the Medicine King declare, “It’s done!”

All at once, she relaxed, her body going limp as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Yan Shu dreamed a long dream. In it, she was a phoenix—beautiful beyond compare and unashamedly vain, convinced that no one in heaven or earth could rival her looks.

Then one day, her father found a stranger. At first, she took him for a woman, and seeing he was more beautiful than herself, she was immediately vexed, intent on sullying that face.

But she couldn’t best him, so she settled for comparing their figures. Discovering he was flat-chested, she resolved to deal a crushing blow. She went invisible, slipped out of her clothes, and lay in wait in his bath.

She waited and waited. At last, he arrived—and only then did she discover why his chest was so flat.

That was the day she learned, for the first time, the true differences between men’s and women’s bodies.

He, too, hadn’t expected to find her lurking in his bath, and by the time he did, it was already too late. There they stood, both naked, staring at each other in stunned silence, before the weight of embarrassment dawned.

Even in the dream, the shame made Yan Shu want to curl up and disappear into the ground.

Anxious, she woke with a start.

Her eyes opened to a canopy of red gauze. The embarrassment from the dream still lingered, leaving her dazed and absent-minded.

“You’re awake?”

Xiao Jihan’s cool, clear voice brought her back to her senses. She rubbed her face, trying to banish the embarrassment before turning to look at him.

Favorability: 35 (Friendly)

Ten points gained at once—the lightning wasn’t suffered in vain.

She smiled and asked, “Has your spiritual root fully transformed?”

“Yes,” he answered softly, his phoenix eyes gazing deeply at her, his voice a little hoarse. “You… don’t ever need to do that again.”

“It’s fine,” Yan Shu sat up and looked at him. “For you, it was worth it.”

After all, with his spiritual root problem solved, she no longer had to fear that, one day, Xiao Jihan would follow the plot, kill her, and refine her spiritual root.

Favorability: 45 (Fondness)

Another ten points in the blink of an eye. Yet Yan Shu felt no exhilaration—on the contrary, the word “fondness” startled her, and she instinctively moved back a step. But then she remembered what Little Nine had said: the favorability notes were meaningless. Relieved, she relaxed.

Xiao Jihan frowned slightly at her wary retreat. “What’s wrong?”

Realizing her reaction was odd, Yan Shu quickly put on a flattering smile. “Nothing. Where’s Master?”

At her words, Xiao Jihan’s gaze darkened a little. “Master is waiting for you.”

Hearing this, Yan Shu immediately sensed what was about to happen. She hurried off the bed, not even bothering to fasten her outer robe properly, and rushed out of the room.

“Don’t rush. Master has been here all along.” Xiao Jihan reached out and pulled her back, lowering his eyes as he fastened her buttons one by one. Only then did he look up and say, “Let’s go.”

Yan Shu’s heart was pounding with the ache of impending parting, so she didn’t notice the intimacy of his gesture. After all, they had shared a bed for years; she was long used to his closeness.

Once her buttons were done, she nearly ran out the door.

The autumn air outside was clear and crisp. The Medicine King lounged on his rattan chair, looking utterly at ease.

Seeing Yan Shu, he smiled, “Awake at last?”

Noticing that his form was now almost transparent, Yan Shu’s eyes reddened. She sniffed and murmured a soft “Mm.”

“Silly girl, what’s there to cry about? I’m just returning to my soul’s rightful place, not dying!”

He rolled his eyes at her and pointed to a teleportation array that had appeared outside the courtyard. “That formation will send you back to where you came from. Ten years have passed—it’s the day when the Brahma Sky Secret Realm opens once every decade. Pack your things and get ready to go.”

“There’s nothing worth packing.” Yan Shu knelt beside him to meet his eyes. “Besides, there’s time enough for that later. I just want to be with you for a while.”

“But I don’t want your company!” the Medicine King retorted mercilessly. “Today is the last day the Brahma Sky Secret Realm is open. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be stuck here another ten years. Off with you, both of you! I’ve had enough of looking at you these ten years—scram!”

As he spoke, he produced his long-forgotten ruler and made as if to swat her.

Frightened, Yan Shu jumped to her feet. “Alright, alright! I’ll go pack, okay?”

“Hmph! So feisty—just wait till I ascend and refuse to recognize you!”

She shot him a glare, huffed, and marched back inside.

Watching her retreat, the Medicine King bristled and grumbled, “Brat!”

Then, turning his gaze on Xiao Jihan, he said, “Be good to her.”

“I will.” Xiao Jihan bowed deeply. “Disciple respectfully bids Master farewell.”

The Medicine King gave a satisfied hum. His body, already growing faint, gradually faded until he vanished completely from the world.