9 - Little Peasant Wife

Jing Ao Xue was inwardly astonished, thinking to herself: The price of medicinal herbs in ancient times is truly expensive. When she was selecting herbs earlier, she had specifically chosen slightly inferior ones, considering her savings, not daring to pick anything too good, yet it still cost seventy-five taels of silver. It seemed that once she healed, the first order of business would be to make money. Taking the packaged herbs, she thanked the elderly doctor and turned to leave. She was aware that the original owner had rented a house in town, so she led Shen Lu Man and Liu Er towards that residence. On the way, she bought a few small stoves, charcoal, and medicine pots. After passing two streets, they caught the fragrant aroma of food. Pondering for a moment, she decided to first treat the two trailing behind her to a meal. They ordered three portions of wontons at a street stall. Jing Ao Xue rested her chin in her hand, watching the bustling ancient streets with interest. She thought: This town is full of people, so lively, with not a few wealthy households—making money should be easy here. While she was at ease, Shen Lu Man's face looked displeased. Liu Er was teary-eyed, looking at Jing Ao Xue with a pout, wanting to speak but unable to utter a word. Jing Ao Xue hadn't noticed them at first but turned to see their reactions. Amused, she said, "What's wrong? I told you it'll be okay." Liu Er immediately asked, "R-really?" Jing Ao Xue pinched her cheek. The girl's face, still with baby fat, felt wonderful to touch. Unable to resist, she pinched it a few more times. The girl sat there dumbfounded, not knowing to dodge, obediently letting her do as she pleased. Jing Ao Xue felt as if she'd been struck, realizing that such irresistibly adorable creatures actually existed in the world. She finally understood why her female teammates would squeal and fawn over fluffy animals. Shen Lu Man didn't stop her. Worry gnawed at her mind, doubting Jing Ao Xue's reassurance. It wasn't that she didn't trust the doctor's skills—it was that she trusted her own instincts more. Her body was unique, not entirely human, and when she heard the doctor's diagnosis, she instinctively used a secret technique to sense Jing Ao Xue's condition. The result was, sadly, as the old doctor said. Jing Ao Xue's lifeforce was mostly depleted. Unless there was some miraculous elixir from the world of immortals, otherwise... Thinking of this, Shen Lu Man felt deeply conflicted. She frowned as she watched Jing Ao Xue enjoy her meal blissfully, a phrase suddenly coming to mind: "The emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is!" After the meal, still worried, she held Liu Er's hand and followed Jing Ao Xue to the rented house in town. The house, though spacious, was really not worth its rent due to its location on the notorious gambling and entertainment street, where several mysterious deaths had occurred, making it hard to lease. The original owner had been conned into taking it. Jing Ao Xue didn't care about these details and asked Shen Lu Man to help with boiling plenty of hot water and cleaning the newly bought medicine pots, letting Liu Er entertain herself. She then returned to the room where the original owner resided. Liu Er clung to her, unwilling to play alone, and Jing Ao Xue, seeing this, helplessly let her stay. She carefully took out portions of each herb, combining those with compatible effects. When Shen Lu Man brought the cleaned medicine pots, Jing Ao Xue lit the charcoal in the stove, placed the pots on it, added clean well water, and tossed the herbs in to brew. Unaware of how she planned to heal, Shen Lu Man went to the kitchen to continue boiling water, fearing Liu Er might get in the way, she took her along. Jing Ao Xue then closed the door, shutting her eyes to muster her meager wood-based abilities. She circled the medicine pots, stimulating the herbs' maximum potency. Once the pot contents reduced by half, she refined them again with her ability. When the water finally evaporated, she extinguished the fire, collected the sediment from the pot into a container, and repeatedly refined it, creating a bowl of dark green elixir and dense pellets from the sediment. Just as she was about to consume the elixir, Shen Lu Man knocked, announcing the hot water was ready. Placing the bowl down, she opened the door, letting Shen Lu Man bring in the hot water to fill the bath. Amidst the steamy mist, Jing Ao Xue tossed a pellet into the hot water, turning it a light green hue. After adding some more well water, adjusting it to just above body temperature, she downed the bowl of elixir. Under Shen Lu Man's gaze, she undressed and immersed herself in the tub. Shen Lu Man hadn’t expected her to do this, and inadvertently saw Jing Ao Xue's bare form—her back was glaringly white. Flustered, she immediately lowered her gaze, though the image burned itself into her memory, impossible to forget. Chapter Nine: Previous Events To tell the truth, this was the first time Shen Lu Man had seen Jing Ao Xue's body while fully conscious. Despite being married to Jing Ao Xue for many years and having a child together, their marriage had begun because of a schemed "accident." Shen Lu Man still vividly remembered that after the head of the Jing family arranged a marriage for Jing Ao Xue, she had been sullen and much more irritable than usual. With her spiritual roots destroyed and lacking the family head’s favor, the servants in the courtyard, who always floated with the tide, left for better opportunities if they had connections. Those without options became scapegoats for Jing Ao Xue's temper. During the few months when Jing Ao Xue was preparing for marriage, there weren't many servants left in the courtyard, and her bad temper drove away the remaining ones. Consequently, by the end, only a few older maids were left to attend them in the courtyard. The lack of staff made it easy for outsiders to intrude. During the day, while cleaning the courtyard, Shen Lu Man noticed some suspicious signs. She subtly warned Jing Ao Xue, but the latter dismissed her concern and even scolded her. Sure enough, that night, a few cultivators in the Qi Refining stage invaded. Dressed in black and with their faces covered, they stealthily released knockout smoke into Jing Ao Xue’s room. They then found a couple, drugged them, and threw them into Jing Ao Xue's room before sauntering off. Witnessing their entire plot, Shen Lu Man certainly wouldn't let their scheme succeed. Once they left, she rushed into Jing Ao Xue's room, dragged the drugged couple to the woodshed, and then found herself at a loss for what to do next. As she was pondering her next move, the group of men returned. Their leader, at the eighth level of Qi Refining, looked at her with a condescending sneer, saying, "Who would've thought that even in this state, Jing Ao Xue still has a loyal servant." She stepped back in fear, but the other men advanced on her. Their cultivation far exceeded hers, leaving her powerless as they pinned her down and forced her to take the drug. Before long, an intense heat enveloped her body, and the scene before her eyes became obscured as if shrouded in mist. Dazed, she vaguely sensed being thrown onto a bed, followed by a mocking man's voice: "Since you are so devoted to Jing Ao Xue, I'll grant your wish for you two to be together in broad daylight!" Her mind was on high alert, yet her body felt limp, like overcooked noodles. Tears flowed uncontrollably like a broken string of pearls, and then... When she awoke, Jing Ao Xue's palm was already upon her. Though Shen Lu Man wanted to explain, Jing Ao Xue wouldn’t listen. They were forced by the lady of the Jing family's main house to marry under duress and were expelled from the Jing family the next day, thrown into the mortal world. Jing Ao Xue had always believed that being disowned by her family was all Shen Lu Man's fault. In her eyes, Shen Lu Man was merely a climber who plotted to trap her in marriage by having a child. Therefore, Jing Ao Xue maintained a bitter demeanor toward her and held disdain for their child, Liu Er. Shen Lu Man had tried many times to explain, but Jing Ao Xue would dismiss her as lying, so she eventually stopped trying. They roamed the mortal world for months. Lacking silver, they pawned some items brought from the cultivation realm for a few thousand taels. But living off savings wasn't a sustainable solution, and Shen Lu Man was not without her own ideas. At the time, her belly had grown, and she aimed to settle in a place with beautiful mountains and abundant spiritual energy. Her cultivation wasn't high, but a secret skill guided her to Duobao Village, known for its rich spiritual energy within the mortal realm. Encouraging Jing Ao Xue to settle there, they acquired property. Jing Ao Xue rarely returned home, staying mostly in town. Meanwhile, Shen Lu Man spent her days hunting in the mountains, using the spiritual energy for cultivation, and her nights caring for Liu Er, raising her bit by bit. Late at night, lying in bed and watching the delicate sleeping face of Liu Er, Shen Lu Man thought: Once Liu Er grows older, they could test if she had spiritual roots. If she did, Shen Lu Man would teach her cultivation to decide whether to take her to the cultivation realm or remain in the mortal world. If not, she planned to save enough silver for Liu Er to establish herself in this world. Her plans didn't include Jing Ao Xue. To Shen Lu Man, Jing Ao Xue was a responsibility she was born into. She would treat her well but didn't expect anything in return. She had thought her life would go on as planned until a few days ago when Jing Ao Xue was almost fatally beaten. Upon waking, her character altered in unpredictable ways. Just like earlier—when Jing Ao Xue undressed in front of her without hesitation. Such an occurrence was unthinkable before, given Jing Ao Xue's constant suspicion of her intentions and paranoia about intimacy to avoid another child. Since that first time, there had been no further closeness between them. Her disrobing so nonchalantly now seemed like an entirely different person. Perplexed, Shen Lu Man watched Jing Ao Xue in the tub. Despite the water being light green, she could faintly see hints of the other's figure. She dared not look closely, feeling uncomfortable, and turned to leave. Jing Ao Xue suddenly spoke, "I will be meditating here to heal my body soon. I'll need hot water added regularly to maintain the effectiveness. Could you...?" Before she could finish, Shen Lu Man understood her request and replied, "Sure, I'll add hot water every quarter of an hour." Jing Ao Xue glanced at Shen Lu Man, noticing her unnaturally flushed face. She attributed it to the heat, unaware that her own boldness had caused the reaction. It wasn't her fault, as Jing Ao Xue never fully embraced her non-human nature. To her, she and Shen Lu Man were merely women in appearance, with nothing distinguishing their bodies from one another. For women to see each other naked was trivial in her eyes. In the apocalypse, as her abilities grew slowly, she had lived in communal quarters with other women, and such sights were routine. Not overthinking it, she thanked Shen Lu Man and closed her eyes, beginning to channel her wood-based abilities to slowly repair her damaged meridians.