Chapter 111 - 103: Little Junior Sister is Critically Ill

Guixi Sect.

Su Ling’er was still brainstorming.

Whether it was being forced to practice the Sword Refining Skill,

or being groomed as a "guide,"

or even being pushed into the position of "Holy Daughter,"

it all pointed to one thing: in the eyes of these demons, she held a special value that she didn’t yet understand.

She couldn’t comprehend it, but perhaps... this was also the key to turning the tables.

"I have a plan,"

Su Ling’er said slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Don’t they call me the ’Holy Daughter’?

Don’t they think I’m important?

I don’t know why, but maybe I can use that."

"Tomorrow, I’ll feign illness.

A strange, indescribable sickness. Perhaps an illness of the heart, since those are the hardest to cure.

If my condition becomes critical, Eldest Senior Brother will certainly pay close attention. When that happens, important figures like Lu Wu from the Alchemy Pavilion and Shen Nong from the Hundred Herbs Valley might also be drawn over.

As long as I can draw all their attention to me...

you can take the opportunity to sneak into the lightly guarded Beast Taming House and find the Heart-Connected Fruit!"

Wang Xiedi was dumbfounded. He felt the plan was full of holes and far too risky.

It wasn’t that he doubted his Senior Sister’s intelligence, but... ’This plan sounds like dancing on a tightrope!’

’And below is a bottomless abyss!’

He couldn’t stop himself from blurting out every potential risk he could think of, constantly seeking reassurance from Su Ling’er.

"Senior Sister, this... will this really work? Shouldn’t we reconsider?"

"Wait, wait!

Senior Sister! You need to calm down!

Feigning illness?!

We’re Cultivators! Cultivators!

We live on wind and dew, protected by Spiritual Qi. Ordinary illnesses can’t even get near us!

You’re going to say you’re sick, with some invisible, intangible illness of the heart? You think that demon Eldest Senior Brother will believe you?!

He’ll definitely think you’re faking it to be lazy. Then, to ’correct’ you, he’ll drag you right back to the Artifact Refining Pavilion and give you the three-day, three-night forging special!"

"And let’s say, hypothetically, that you do manage to draw them all away. What about me?"

Wang Xiedi’s expression grew more and more conflicted.

"Senior Sister, I’m completely in the dark about the Beast Taming House! How big is it inside? Where would the Heart-Connected Fruit even be kept?

Are there any restrictive Arrays?

What if I get in there and just wander around like a headless fly, find nothing, and then time runs out? Then... then we’ll be exposed, won’t we?"

"And the most crucial point!"

Wang Xiedi took a deep breath.

"Senior Sister, what you’re doing is too dangerous! You’re making yourself the bait!

What if... what if they can’t diagnose your ’illness,’ and some Alchemy-crazed maniac gets a bright idea and says, ’Why don’t we refine the Holy Daughter into a pill? Maybe that will cure the disease at its root’... What then?!"

The more he spoke, the more he felt the plan was almost certainly a death sentence, with an appallingly low chance of success.

"Senior Sister, I feel like the success rate is so low... Are you sure this is okay?"

Su Ling’er was left somewhat speechless by his barrage of analysis.

She had to admit, she had considered everything Wang Xiedi had just said.

The plan was indeed fraught with risk; every step was like walking on thin ice.

But... did they have any other choice?

The Heart-Connected Fruit was their only hope. If they just waited, that hope would only grow slimmer.

Growing impatient with his questioning, Su Ling’er’s brows knitted together as she asserted her authority as his Senior Sister.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Come up with a better plan!"

"I... I... What kind of plan could I come up with?!"

Wang Xiedi couldn’t think of anything either.

’I’m just an ordinary Qi Refining Stage disciple! It’s a miracle I’m even alive in this den of demons!’

’Even though Senior Sister’s plan sounds like every step is a trap leading to the underworld... but... since she’s so set on it...’

He didn’t think the Celestial Furnace Sect could solve the Guixi Sect’s problems, but what else could be done?

He had no better ideas.

’Ah, forget it.’

Wang Xiedi chose to obey.

After all, not acting meant certain failure. But pointing out the flaws without offering a better alternative was even more fatal.

He could see that his Senior Sister would rather choose to do something wrong than do nothing at all.

Since his Senior Sister was so determined, he, unable to think of a better plan, could only follow her and brace himself for what was to come.

And so, with the plan set, the two of them went their separate ways.

Su Ling’er returned to her bamboo house, while Wang Xiedi went back to his thatched hut.

He thought of the "Jade-faced Mantis" he had met once, his heart filled with pity.

He didn’t know why he saw the other person as a young woman.

’But, I’ll finally have a chance to see that young woman again.’

His grandfather had told him to be a man who takes responsibility, and right now, he had to step up.

’I will definitely get the Heart-Connected Fruit for Senior Sister, and I’ll also save that imprisoned Jade-faced Mantis!’

’When you do something, you have to see it through to the end!’

’Even if it was just an accidental encounter!’

...

A sliver of light appeared on the horizon, heralding the arrival of a new day.

For Su Ling’er and Wang Xiedi, this was perhaps the most crucial day of their undercover lives.

The plan had officially begun.

Once again, he was jolted awake from that familiar nightmare.

In his dream, the old man who had shattered his Dao heart in the illusion of the Asking Dao Ladder had found him again.

One moment, it was a beautiful maiden;

the next, she spun around, and a terrifying, wrinkled face was right in front of his.

Its dark eyes and blood-dripping mouth asked in an ethereal voice:

"Have you forgotten?"

"Have you really forgotten?"

Its hollow eyes seemed to reflect the forgotten truth he had faced on the Asking Dao Ladder.

The scene itself was more horrifying than anything described in a horror story.

Unsurprisingly, Wang Xiedi was scared awake once more.

Sporting two dark circles under his eyes, he struggled to sit up from his pile of straw.

Though he had slept, the quality of his rest had clearly been terrible.

He slapped his cheeks hard, forcing himself to wake up.

In his mind, images of his beautiful senior sisters appeared, along with the "Jade-faced Mantis," who he imagined was suffering endlessly, waiting for him to come to the rescue.

The thought of taking responsibility and becoming a man who could be relied upon instantly invigorated him.

Today, he polished his Heart-Protecting Mirror until it was brighter than ever before.

As he passed by Su Ling’er’s small bamboo house, he subconsciously looked up.

Just then, Su Ling’er also pushed open her window. Her face was pale and her expression haggard, as if she hadn’t slept all night.

Their eyes met across the distance, and they both gave a slight nod at the same time.

’The plan begins.’

Wang Xiedi took a deep breath and didn’t linger.

He then went straight to the Transmission Hall and accepted the mission to "till the three-acre medicinal field in Hundred Herbs Valley" as his cover for the day.

After all, that place was closest to the Spirit Beast Garden.

’And as a disciple of the Guixi Sect, there shouldn’t be a problem with me wandering around there, right?’

...

[Real World]

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