He Xiaoyao and Li Dahai hurried back to Qilu Garden.
He Xiaoyao rummaged through the sundry room and found a pile of herbs: dwarf lily turf, tendril-leaved fritillary bulb, tangerine red, Baikal skullcap, dried tangerine peel, licorice, stemona, anemarrhena, and platycodon.
Currently, He Xiaoyao's medicinal inventory was limited, and in his rush, he had only managed to put together this single dose of Lung-Clearing Decoction.
Just as he was about to take the medicine over to Zhang Tianming, Zhang Susu came knocking at the door.
Li Dahai shouted, "Why are you here? Don't tell me you're following and spying on us—that's terrifying."
Zhang Susu said awkwardly, "Not at all. I was just in a hurry to come get the medicine."
Li Dahai said, "Then how did you know this place? Wow, you wouldn't have been quietly keeping an eye on He Xiaoyao's every move all this time, would you? Have you been sneaking over here?"
Zhang Susu waved her hands and shook her head. "No, no, I went to ask Yu Dongxi, and that's how I found out He Xiaoyao lives here."
How could this Yu Dongxi just give away addresses like that? People who talk too much really struggle to keep secrets.
The three of them turned back and headed to the Zhang residence. Zhang Tianming's dwelling had more rooms, but the garden wasn't as large as Qilu Garden, only about an *mu* in size. It was relatively close to the Public Academy.
He Xiaoyao said, "Put these herbs into a pot, add three bowls of clear water, bring it to a boil over high heat, and then switch to medium heat to simmer down to one bowl of water."
Zhang Susu followed his instructions. After the medicine was brewed, she took it and fed it to Zhang Tianming spoonful by spoonful.
In less than half an hour, Zhang Tianming actually had diarrhea.
This wouldn't do; his constitution was already quite frail, and further diarrhea would ruin everything.
He Xiaoyao said, "Go to the kitchen and get a lot of ginger. Mash it up and apply it to his navel."
The diarrhea improved. Thus, he was to drink three doses of medicine a day.
He Xiaoyao said, "My stock of medicinal herbs is insufficient; I've given you all three of these doses. Tomorrow I'll go up the mountain to gather more herbs."
Zhang Susu said, "I'll go with you."
Early the next morning, He Xiaoyao, Li Dahai, and Zhang Susu set out together to Beiwang Mountain to gather herbs.
The mountain air in the morning was a bit chilly, and the wind had picked up.
Ordinarily, He Xiaoyao and Li Dahai knew the paths well, but the herbs in the places they usually walked had already been harvested. This time they had to take unfamiliar routes, and it took quite a bit of stumbling and a long time before they found the few medicinal ingredients they needed.
On the way back, they encountered a large wild hare, and He Xiaoyao picked up his bow and shot it.
The three returned to Qilu Garden, slaughtered the rabbit, and roasted it to eat.
Zhang Susu nibbled on the roast meat with her small mouth, continuously praising it, "Mmm, delicious. I feel like I've never eaten anything this good."
Li Dahai said, "As long as He Xiaoyao made it, even if it tasted terrible, you'd still say it was delicious."
Zhang Susu said, "If you think it tastes terrible, then don't eat those pieces in your hand—give them all to me."
Li Dahai laughed heartily and said, "A girl eating so much—be careful you don't eat your husband into poverty. Your husband is very poor, you know; he's just a lowly odd-job worker. It looks like he'll have to hunt every day just to afford your appetite."
He Xiaoyao quickly stopped him. "Hey, hey, stop talking nonsense. Even with food in your mouth, you can't keep it shut; you have to talk while you eat. Haven't you ever heard 'do not speak while eating, do not speak in bed'?"
Li Dahai said, "If three people sit together to eat and don't speak, the atmosphere gets too weird."
After the meal, He Xiaoyao processed the herbs. Altogether, they could make nine doses.
He Xiaoyao said, "Starting tomorrow, just take one dose a day. Once the medicine is finished, I'll go over and see how things are."
Zhang Susu acknowledged this with a hum. By the time she left, it was already dark.
He Xiaoyao said, "I'll walk you back. It's late, and it's not safe for a girl to be out alone."
Zhang Susu smiled and said, "What danger could possibly come to me? Don't forget, I've reached the Four-Star level of immortal cultivation. Generally speaking, there won't be any danger."
Li Dahai said, "That's right! What if you walk her back, and on your way back alone, you—a little odd-job worker with no cultivation—run into danger? What then?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Then you can come walk us back too. With you protecting me on the way back, I won't be in danger."
Li Dahai said, "No, no, no. I don't have time; I still need to take a bath, practice my cultivation, and lose weight, or else I'll be disobeying my master's orders."
He Xiaoyao scoffed, "Psh! Normally I never see you working this hard. Usually, once you're full, you just lie on the grass outside and look at the stars. Since when are you so enthusiastic?!"
Insistent as He Xiaoyao was, he ended up walking Zhang Susu back himself; no matter what he said, Li Dahai refused to tag along.
Deep in the night.
A gentle breeze drifted past, and the sky was full of stars.
With the atmosphere set just right, the moonlight was like water, and the night was intoxicating without a drop to drink.
For a stretch of the road, the two of them walked in complete silence, each harboring their own thoughts.
After a while, seeing that the atmosphere had grown somewhat heavy, He Xiaoyao took the initiative to speak. "You run over here every day. Won't your master criticize you?"
Zhang Susu said, "Not at all. My master knows my uncle is ill. Besides, I practice very diligently in my daily cultivation, so my master trusts me quite a bit. He's also a relatively reasonable person."
He Xiaoyao said, "It seems your master still thinks quite highly of you."
Zhang Susu hummed in assent and said, "Yes."
He Xiaoyao said, "Who is your master?"
Zhang Susu said, "You don't even know who my master is? My master is the famously renowned Elder of East Peak, Sun Qingyan!"
He Xiaoyao said, "Who praises their own master as famously renowned? You should be a bit more modest."
Zhang Susu said, "Well, he *is* famously renowned. I'm so familiar with you, I didn't feel like pretending to be modest. Am I supposed to say my master is a nobody?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Modesty is a virtue."
Zhang Susu said, "He Xiaoyao, how old are you this year?"
Why was she suddenly asking about his age?
He Xiaoyao said, "Originally I was fifteen a few days ago, but now I've reached the tender age of sixteen."
Zhang Susu said, "You've already had your birthday? I remember you should have been fifteen when you came up the mountain."
He Xiaoyao said, "That's right. How do you know me so well? Have you been secretly investigating me? Besides, why are you asking my age? Are you planning to introduce some fairy maiden to me?"
Zhang Susu said, "You never say anything serious."
He Xiaoyao said, "You already said we're pretty close, so why bother talking all seriously and solemnly? Pulling a long face all day long must be pretty tiring."
Zhang Susu said, "I wouldn't have guessed. Normally you look so proper and stern, but now that the night is deep and quiet, your true nature is showing."
He Xiaoyao smiled and said, "Are you scared? Li Dahai even said I'm a very dangerous person."
Zhang Susu said, "As if I'd be scared of a mere odd-job worker—especially one with no cultivation."
He Xiaoyao was speechless. Day in and day out, people kept calling him a little odd-job worker with no cultivation.
Zhang Susu added, "Do you want to try cultivating? Our Immortal Sect doesn't restrict odd-job workers from practicing."
He Xiaoyao said, "I definitely want to cultivate. Once I cultivate, I'll have great strength and a strong body. But I only cleared three meridians when I came up the mountain, so practicing is tough; I have to take it slow."
Zhang Susu said, "That's true enough. Take your time, then. If you run into any problems and need help, be sure to come looking for your big sister."
He Xiaoyao said, "Alright, alright. I heard your master is quite formidable when it comes to formations, incantations, and movement techniques. I suppose your cultivation manual and skills must be very impressive too."
Zhang Susu smiled and said, "So you *have* heard of my master. Let's put it this way: ten He Xiaoyaos couldn't beat me."
He Xiaoyao broke out in a sweat. He thought to himself, *One day, I'll make all of you look at me in a new light.*
Zhang Susu said, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you angry?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Yes, I'm angry, but I'm not angry at you—I'm angry at myself. I hate myself for not clearing two more meridians so I could become an odd-job worker capable of rapid cultivation."
Zhang Susu said, "If you cleared five meridians, you'd already be an immortal cultivation disciple. Why would you still be doing odd jobs?"
He Xiaoyao said, "Doing odd jobs isn't bad at all; you don't *have* to be an immortal cultivator. Back when I was down in the mortal world below the mountain, I also did odd jobs. Coming here to do odd jobs, everyone gets along quite harmoniously. Even though it's a bit tiring, there's no backstabbing or scheming, and the atmosphere is wonderful."
Zhang Susu said, "You really take things as they come and have a great mindset. I'm almost envious of you—you're making me tempted to switch over and do odd jobs myself."
He Xiaoyao said, "It wouldn't really suit you to switch over and do odd jobs. You're so pretty that if you came over, all the male disciples would run straight to the odd-job quarters, and that won't do—it would interfere with the Immortal Sect's cultivation. If you have any younger sisters or lovely little fairy maidens, you should introduce them to us instead."
Zhang Susu smiled and said, "You're always asking me to introduce little fairy maidens. Someday I really will introduce one to you, just to see if you blush and try to run away."
He Xiaoyao said, "I'll blush, but I won't run away. A truly brave person isn't someone who never feels fear; it's someone who refuses to run away even when they are afraid."
Zhang Susu said dismissively, "Hmph, how did you turn yourself into a brave person again? You even manage to spin blushing into a virtue."
He Xiaoyao said, "Is that necessarily a flaw? From my perspective as someone who studies medicine, a person who blushes easily means their vital energy and blood are quite robust, and their body is healthy. They're bound to have a whole bunch of little babies in the future."
Zhang Susu burst out laughing. As she laughed, her voice trailed off into silence, and there was no telling what she was thinking.
The distance was quite long, but before they knew it, talking all the way, they had arrived.
Zhang Susu stayed at Zhang Tianming's residence. Upon seeing her, Zhang Tianming's wife, Lin Yuan, said, "Susu, why are you so late? It's not safe for a person to walk outside alone at night."
Zhang Susu said, "It's fine, Auntie. Today I went to gather herbs with He Xiaoyao, and we ate rather late. He just walked me back."
Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Oh, so you were with He Xiaoyao! No wonder the corners of your mouth are smiling and your eyes are full of affection."
Zhang Susu said, "Auntie, stop talking nonsense. There's no such relationship between him and me."
Lin Yuan asked, "What kind of relationship?"
Zhang Susu said, "I'm not talking to you anymore; I'm going to sleep."
Zhang Susu and the Zhang Tianming couple were very close, and ever since Zhang Tianming fell ill, Zhang Susu had been running over here all day long.
Early the next morning, Zhang Susu took out a dose of medicine, decocted it, and had Zhang Tianming drink it.
Today, Zhang Tianming's condition seemed to have improved slightly; his body was no longer burning up, and his spirit was somewhat brighter.
Zhang Susu said to Lin Yuan, "The herbs we gathered yesterday are enough for nine doses. He Xiaoyao said we only need to drink one dose a day. Once we finish these, he'll come over for a follow-up consultation depending on how things look."
Lin Yuan said, "Alright, please thank him for me. It looks like your uncle is going to be saved."
Zhang Susu said, "I know."
By the lake.
He Xiaoyao and Li Dahai were cleaning up again.
Zhang Susu walked over and said, "Xiaoyao, my aunt told me to thank you."
He Xiaoyao said, "Don't mention it."
Li Dahai said, "You came all this way just to say thank you?"
Zhang Susu said, "I just came to say thank you. This is important; I was entrusted by my aunt, so of course I had to follow through."
Li Dahai said, "Look at you, look at you! I was just asking casually—why do you have to explain so earnestly? I thought you were going to say that besides saying thank you, you also wanted to come take a look at the beautiful scenery by the lake."
Zhang Susu said, "That's right, I can look at the scenery too. I used to come here all the time. If you don't believe me, go ask that old grandfather over there in the distance."
He Xiaoyao walked over to Lin Anzhi, greeted him respectfully, and said, "Hello, Grandpa Lin, long time no see."
Lin Anzhi laughed and said, "Haha, that's right, long time no see, young man. How's it going? Out for a stroll with the little fairy maiden?"
He Xiaoyao gave an embarrassed laugh and said, "No, I'm here to do the same thing as you—working here, cleaning up the lakeside."
Lin Anzhi said, "Oh right, right, right. I forgot you're an odd-job worker just like me."
He Xiaoyao said softly, "Grandpa Lin, thank you for what you told me last time. I've kept every word in mind."
Lin Anzhi laughed heartily. "Haha, I've said a lot of things; I don't even remember what I told you. Did I say anything? Surely not!"
Seeing that the old man wouldn't admit it, He Xiaoyao merely smiled and said, "In any case, thank you."
Li Dahai chimed in, "Hey, Grandpa, what is he thanking you for? Why is he thanking you? What did you tell him?"
Lin Anzhi let out a chuckle and said nothing.
He Xiaoyao quickly pulled Li Dahai away, saying, "Hey, don't go bothering the old man. You don't even know him, yet the moment you meet him you're asking this and that, interrogating him about everything under the sun."
Li Dahai said, "I just wanted to ask if he went to consult the old-timer—someone with experience—to learn how to pursue a fair maiden."
Zhang Susu covered her mouth and chuckled softly nearby.
He Xiaoyao felt awkward.
After a moment, He Xiaoyao said, "Who doesn't know how to pursue a fair maiden? Do I need to consult anyone? I could write a book on it."
Li Dahai said, "Look at you, just look at you! If you can write a book looking like that, then do me a favor and teach me."
He Xiaoyao said, "Have you taken a fancy to some fairy maiden?"
Li Dahai said, "Not yet."
He Xiaoyao said, "If you haven't, why are you asking me? How am I supposed to teach you?"
Li Dahai said, "I can study in advance! Once I've learned it, if I happen to run into a beautiful, kind-hearted, naturally graceful fairy maiden someday, I'll be able to put it to use. Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared."
Zhang Susu was laughing again.
Li Dahai said, "Why are you always laughing without saying anything? I heard there are quite a few little beauties over at East Peak—when you have time, introduce a few to each of us."
He Xiaoyao said, "Introduce a few to each of us, my foot! Last night I asked her to introduce just one to me, and she was too stingy to do it."
Li Dahai said, "That's because you don't understand. She's unwilling to introduce anyone to you because she has other ideas."
Knowing what Li Dahai was about to say, He Xiaoyao quickly cut in, "It's just because she looks down on me as a little odd-job worker with no cultivation. She's already said those exact words thirty-six times yesterday."
Zhang Susu said, "I never looked down on you."
Li Dahai said, "Hear that? She didn't look down on you."
Unwilling to dwell on the subject any longer, He Xiaoyao asked, "Fairy Zhang, how is your uncle doing today?"
Zhang Susu said, "He's better. His spirit is improved, and he doesn't have a fever anymore."
He Xiaoyao said, "Since taking this medicine is effective, let him keep taking it for a few more days. Once he finishes the medicine, let me know."