“Unbelievable,” Old Turtle muttered, watching from under the tree. “A hundred-year-old spirit creature acting like a simpleton… only you could’ve picked up something like that.”
Mumbling to himself, Old Turtle went back inside with the basket of herbs. As soon as he set it down, Bai Shuo slipped in behind him, asking in a low voice, “Old Hei, did you deliver it?”
He grunted impatiently, “Yes.”
“And… did he say anything?” She was worried. Since Chong Zhao had gone into seclusion in the back mountain to recover, she hadn’t dared to visit him. But she was still concerned about his injuries and had asked Old Turtle to quietly deliver the remaining half of the Bodhi elixir.
“He did.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Thank you.’”
“That’s it?”
“He’s the chief disciple of the sect and an Immortal Lord. You’re lucky he even said ‘thank you’. What else did you expect?”
Old Turtle grumbled, and Bai Shuo forced a dry smile. “You’re right.”
She didn’t have time to dwell on it before Old Turtle gave her a nudge, nodding at the young man staring blankly at the tree outside. “Girl, even though you’re not training on the inner island, you’re still an official inner disciple of the sect. Your name is now inscribed on Miao Miao’s jade roster. If you take a tree spirit as your disciple without reporting it, there’ll be trouble for you if the inner island finds out.”
Bai Shuo had been lost in her thoughts, but hearing this, she grew even more concerned. She looked back at the young man and muttered, “Heavens, I’m terrified too…”
If the sect leader found out that she’d hidden the Lord of Hao Yue Hall on the outer island and passed him off as a tree spirit, he’d probably want to strike her down with lightning for her deceit.
But what could she do? She had to live with her own mistakes.
That night, she had saved the Lord of Hao Yue Hall, fully prepared to be slapped to death in the process. But when he woke up, he was like a newly transformed spirit—his demeanor was innocent, almost childlike, and he only had a spark of his usual demon power. In a moment of thoughtlessness, she’d blurted out that she was his master, immediately regretting it. But Fan Yue had taken it seriously, obediently calling her “Master” before falling back to sleep in her arms. She had lain awake, too scared to move until dawn. The next morning, when he opened his eyes and sweetly called her “Master” again, Bai Shuo felt as if her life was flashing before her eyes.
Bai Shuo couldn’t bring herself to harm or silence anyone, so she resigned herself to her fate and accepted Fan Yue as her disciple. She gave him a transformation talisman made from an ancient locust tree, which concealed his demon aura and turned him into a plain-looking tree spirit. In the beginning, Bai Shuo was extremely cautious, worried he’d regain his memories and reveal the truth. But after two weeks, her obedient, dull-witted “apprentice” had taken on all the chores around the herb garden and followed her instructions without question. Eventually, she grew bold and straightened her spine, playing the role of “master” with complete confidence.
Behind her, Old Turtle was snoring loudly, having transformed back into his turtle form and fallen asleep, exhausted from herb gathering.
Bai Shuo’s thoughts drifted as she looked outside. Just then, the young man under the tree glanced her way and gave a soft, tentative smile. Bai Shuo shivered but couldn’t resist calling out.
“Mu Mu! I’m hungry!” she shouted, hands clasped behind her back as she strolled outside. The young man immediately got up and obediently headed off to cook for her.
Watching his back, Bai Shuo grinned foolishly to herself. My goodness, a demigod as a disciple! Not even the most far-fetched plays dare write such a plot! Even if she got struck down by divine lightning one day, she’d still be remembered in the chronicles of the immortals!
At the entrance of the secluded mountain cave, Chong Zhao stood at the peak, holding a spirit-filled elixir in his palm. His gaze rested for a long time on the herb hut nestled among the ancient trees on the outer island. A falling leaf startled him, and with a sigh, he closed his hand and stepped back into the stone cave. The massive boulder at the entrance rolled shut, concealing him from the outside world.
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