The crying went on for a long time.
After weeping bitterly for a full ten minutes or so, Su Liuli finally stopped crying.
Raising her head slightly, she tightly wrapped her arms around her master, locking her red-rimmed eyes with his.
Though she had stopped crying, her delicate frame was still shaken by occasional sobs. Seeing that his well-behaved disciple had stopped crying, Qingyu continued to stroke her head, combing through her exceptionally soft, long red hair.
He spoke in a gentle voice.
"Lili, how are you? Do you feel a bit better now?"
"Remember, from now on, whatever happens, you must come to your master."
"Don't try to bear everything all by yourself."
With those words, Qingyu released Su Liuli.
Taking hold of her arms, a thought crossed his mind, and he retrieved two tier-four healing pills from his Storage Ring.
Without a moment's hesitation, Qingyu channeled his spiritual power directly into the two tier-four pills, shattering them into fine powder.
The medicinal powder then drifted toward Su Liuli's tender, delicate hands.
"Th-This... a tier-four pill?"
It wasn't until a cool, soothing sensation spread across both her hands that Su Liuli snapped back to reality.
Her master had actually taken out two tier-four pills for her!
Was she really worth that much?
Those were tier-four pills!
Did a minor hand injury like this really call for tier-four pills?
Su Liuli couldn't help asking herself this question over and over in her heart.
Back when she had been abandoned, the third junior sister who came to bring her medicine had only given her some useless herbs.
Forget tier-four pills—there hadn't even been a tier-one pill, nor even inferior medicinal washes!
At that time, she could be said to be covered in wounds, starving, exhausted, and with her dantian damaged.
Yet there hadn't been so much as a scrap of healing medicine!
And now, merely for a slight burn on her hands, her master had brought out such precious tier-four pills for her!
This brought the tears welling up in Su Liuli's eyes once again.
Yet right at that moment, she suddenly felt a piercing, biting pain shoot through both her hands.
This was the medicinal effect taking hold.
"Ah... Master, it hurts..."
Letting out a soft cry, Su Liuli felt all the strength drain from her body.
The fierce crying just now had exhausted every last ounce of her energy.
It caused her to lean directly against Qingyu's sturdy chest.
Fortunately, Qingyu reacted quickly, wrapping his left arm around Su Liuli while another thought brought a strip of cloth from his Storage Ring into his right hand.
"Careful, Lili, don't touch your hands."
"Let Master bandage them for you."
Offering this gentle reminder, Qingyu used his spiritual power to help wrap white cloth strips around Su Liuli's hands.
It looked just as though her hands were wrapped in bandages.
Feeling the soothing comfort radiating from her hands, Su Liuli swallowed hard, a very distinct smile blooming across her face.
Unlike her previous smiles, this time her smile came straight from the heart.
It was no longer a forced smile.
Once he finished bandaging them, Qingyu smiled faintly.
"Lili, go get some proper rest."
"Only by resting well can your hands recover faster."
"Mind you, don't ever do anything like this again. Whatever is on your mind, you must, absolutely must, tell Master, understand?"
"Don't try to shoulder everything on your own anymore."
Fortunately, there was still a chance for Su Liuli to recover now.
Otherwise, had she truly lost her mind, recovery might have been impossible.
Qingyu's words prompted Su Liuli to nod vigorously.
"Mn! Master, I will!"
With that reply, Su Liuli took on a somewhat drowsy, dazed expression.
"Master... Lili is a bit sleepy... but I don't have any strength left in my body..."
Su Liuli hadn't had a proper rest in a very long time.
Over the past month, she had only managed to sleep twice.
And each time, the sleep had been very brief.
Normally, even as an Early Golden Core cultivator, if she did nothing at all, she could easily get by sleeping only twice a month.
Yet Su Liuli hadn't been doing nothing—not only did she go out to pick tea leaves for Qingyu, but she also practiced making tea.
She had even pushed herself to the point of sustaining hard-to-heal injuries on both hands.
Even as an Early Golden Core cultivator, she couldn't withstand that kind of torment.
Naturally, after a bout of heavy crying, a wave of sleepiness would follow.Given the mix of shock, joy, and the flood of tears she had endured, managing to stay awake this long was already a remarkable feat.
Listening to her second disciple's words, Qingyu gently patted her head and spoke with a tender voice.
"Don't be afraid. Let your master tuck you in."
With that, Qingyu swept Su Liuli up into his arms in a bridal carry.
By the time they reached the bed—a mere few seconds later—Qingyu noticed that Su Liuli had already drifted off to sleep, her eyes closed tight.
Her long red hair was somewhat disheveled, and tear tracks still stained her delicate face.
Yet, to Qingyu, Su Liuli at this moment was exceptionally beautiful.
Tragic, yet strong.
How could such a woman fail to be breathtaking?
Removing her shoes, Qingyu laid Su Liuli flat on the bed.
Channeling his spiritual power, he cleaned her up before pulling the quilt over her. Then, extending his right hand, he gently stroked her long red hair.
Lying on the bed, Su Liuli breathed evenly, having fallen into a deep slumber.
Looking at his obedient disciple's adorable sleeping face, Qingyu let out a soft sigh.
He turned around and stepped out of his second disciple's small cottage, emerging onto the dimly lit path outside.
He had managed to resolve a few issues for all three of his dear disciples.
From now on, as long as he deviated from the original plot and showed them more care and affection, nothing bad would happen to them.
Qingyu had no desire to watch these three obedient, sensible, and beautiful disciples die.
Of course, besides his three disciples, there was someone else he needed to find.
Namely, the woman his disciples referred to as the Great Elder.
Aside from the three girls, this woman known as the Great Elder had also suffered immensely at his past hands.
In the original plot, her death had been the most tragic of all.
She had wasted away from illness.
Before dying, she had gone completely blind and deaf, lost all control of her spiritual power, and suffered shattered meridians throughout her body, rendering her immobile.
On a rainy night, left out in the downpour, she had died entirely alone.
Her body wasn't discovered by the original Qingyu until three days after her death.
Yet the original Qingyu hadn't cared at all, casually tossing her corpse into a pit and burying it.
Thinking of everything that transpired in the original story, an unnamed fury ignited within Qingyu's chest.
Damn that cursed original plot for turning him into such a monster!
The Great Elder's name was Hua Ruowei, and her current realm was Mid Nascent Soul!
She was a woman Qingyu had encountered back when he had just destroyed the Heavenly Demon Sect and was fleeing for his life from pursuers.
At that time, Hua Ruowei, like countless other cultivators, had mistaken him for a demonic cultivator and come to strike him down.
Yet once she learned the truth of his deeds, she, the holy maiden of a major sect, chose to stay by his side.
She was the very first person to treat him with genuine sincerity.
From then on, no matter how many times Qingyu was betrayed, how many times he was stabbed in the back, or what terrifying hunts he was subjected to, Hua Ruowei had always followed him.
She had never betrayed him!
Following the Battle of Tianbai Mountain, Qingyu had sustained severe injuries.
He desperately needed treatment, or else his soul would scatter and he would perish!
However, to heal a body trained in demonic arts and currently at the Soul Formation stage, he required another Soul Formation stage demonic cultivator to transmit demonic qi to him for healing.
By that time, however, Qingyu had long since become an enemy to the entire world; neither the righteous nor the demonic factions had any tolerance for him.
Only Hua Ruowei, upon learning how he could be saved, hesitated not for a second before beginning his treatment.
Hua Ruowei was a righteous cultivator and had never practiced demonic arts.
For a righteous cultivator to employ demonic arts carried immense risks: at best, it led to cultivation deviation; at worst, total loss of cultivation, or even death!
By circulating demonic energy to heal Qingyu, Hua Ruowei's original Mid Soul Formation realm completely dissipated.
She was reduced to a mortal.
Fortunately, Qingyu was healed and survived without any lingering hidden injuries.
Had it not been for Qingyu, Hua Ruowei would have long since reached the absolute peak of the entire Immortal Cultivation World: Soul Formation Peak!
She would never have been reduced to her current state as merely a high-level cultivator at the Mid Nascent Soul stage.