The cold air pierced her clothes. It penetrated her flesh and felt as if it would freeze her blood.
Su Li’s face was white, but her expression was calm. She gathered her strength, quickened her pace and ran into the bamboo forest in the mountain. A memory from her previous life animated her actions. She dug up two winter bamboo shoots. Holding the bamboo shoots in her arms, she ran to a pile of clam shells by the river and picked up the largest one.
Su Erya squatted down by the river to wash the winter bamboo shoots and clam shells slowly. The water was frigid and reflected her little sickly face. Only her beautiful black eyes stood out.
For as long as she could remember, she had hardly eaten a good meal. She was fourteen years old, but she was as thin as a ten-year-old girl.
Su Erya touched her cheek and gave a beautiful smile. The scar was no longer there. She took all the things she had washed and went back into the mountain. It was about two hours before she came down from the hill and went back to her hut.
Su Erya put the clam shell filled with water on the fire brazier. She wrapped up the quilt and went to the corner to pick up some pieces of charcoal and threw them into the brazier. Soon the water in the clam shell was boiling.
Su Erya threw some of the peeled bamboo shoots into the water and continued to peel the others.
The aroma of the bamboo shoots filled the hut. Su Erya couldn’t help drooling and became hungrier.
She picked up the branches beside her and scooped up some of the cooked bamboo shoots. Ignoring the heat, she put bamboo shoots into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed them.
“So tender!”
Su Li’s eyes lit up. She looked at the bamboo shoots in the water. The bamboo shoots had no taste themselves, but she could taste the sweetness from the wild vegetables.
Su Erya moved fast as she picked up the bamboo shoots and ate them as soon as they were cooked.
She ate two bamboo shoots in less than one hour. She now felt full and had gained some strength.
After handling the clam shell carefully, she took out several herbs that she picked from the mountain.
These were supplements to improve her body. But she also knew that she was too weak to absorb all their benefits. Although she could control the quantity, she was still going to have a fever.
Soon, Su Erya had a burning feeling in her throat. This was the onset of a fever. She had been in the cold wind for about four hours and her body was too weak for that.
Su Erya put the herbs into her mouth and chewed. She wrapped herself in the quilt and lay down again. The supplements entered her bloostream and it wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long it took…
“Second Miss, Second Miss...”
Su Erya opened her eyes reluctantly. She felt as if she were in a stove, and even her brain was about to burn.
Her vision blurred and slowly cleared. She looked up at the old woman, Nanny Li.
“My poor Second Miss...”
Nanny Li’s rough hand was on Su Li’s forehead and her eyes were hazy with tears. She knew what a sudden fever meant.
“Is that Nanny Nanny?”
A faint voice was sounded. Nanny Li was startled and immediately said with surprise and joy, “Second Miss, you are awake?!”
Hearing Su Li’s unique name for her, Nanny Li felt a pain in her heart, but her face became softer. She bowed her head and touched Su Li’s face and whispered, “Second Miss, it’s me. It’s Nanny Nanny!”
Su Erya frowned in pain and said pitifully, “Nanny Nanny, I want to see my eldest brother. I didn’t steal the night-luminescent pearl. I want to see my eldest brother...”
After holding on to this sentence, she tilted her head and fell asleep again. She was not faking it. The medicine was too fierce. Even her strong will was no match for it.
Seeing that Su Erya fell asleep again, Nanny Li panicked. She shouted several times in a row, but Su Erya did not wake up. Her heart trembled and she let go of her hand.
Stupefied for a moment, Nanny Li’s eyes became firm. She stroked Su Li’s hot forehead gently and whispered, “Second Miss, Nanny Nanny is going to find your eldest brother!”
Without packing up anything, Nanny Li turned and ran to Su’s mansion.
…
As it was getting late, Su Qingtan put down his sword and took a long breath. He was about to go back to his room to study, but there was a noise outside the yard.
“I really have something important to tell the young master. Just one word...”
“How presumptuous! A poor nanny can’t come to First Young Master’s yard!”
The guard’s severe reprimand made Su Qingtan frown. He was not used to the domineering guards his mother had arranged for him.
He called a servant girl and said, “Let the nanny in.”
The servant girl’s face revealed a dilemma, “Young Master, my lady wants you to concentrate on your studies. Don’t…”
“Am I a young master, or are you a young master?” Su Qingtan said coldly, “Let her in!”
When the servant girl saw that the young master was angry, she got up quickly and went outside the yard to let Nanny Li in.
A smile lit up Nanny Li’s otherwise desperate face. She stepped into the yard without saying a word.
“So, it’s you, Nanny Li. What’s wrong with you?”
Su Qingtan asked doubtfully when he saw Nanny Li, who was in high spirits. Nanny Li was the nursemaid of his second younger sister when she was a child, so he was also familiar with her.
When Nanny Li saw Su Qingtan’s indifferent expression, her heart fell and her face grew pale. Perhaps the young master did not care so much for Second Miss.
But at this point, there was nothing she could do about it. She could only plop down on her knees and cry,
“Young Master, no matter how serious her mistakes were, please come to see Second Miss for the last time! This is her only wish before she dies!”
Su Qingtan’s body trembled violently, and there was a shocked look on his face. The teacup fell from his hand and shattered into pieces. He seem not to realize that some of the boiling tea had spilled on his hand.The servant girl picked up a handkerchief to wipe it off, but Su Qingtan pushed her hand away. He grabbed Nanny Li and said angrily, “Take me there!”On the way to the hut, Nanny Li’s hand was held painfully by Su Qingtan, but she was calm because at least the first young master still cared about Second Miss. But why didn’t he respond to what the First Madam had done? Didn’t he know what happened?At this moment, Su Zipei sat at a table in an exquisite and luxurious room in the western yard of the Su’s mansion. She was so furious that a group of servant girls were completely silent out of fear.There was an extinguished charcoal basin in front of her.“Where is Nanny Li?”Su Zipei was so angry that her voice changed. The charcoal basin i
Nanny Li almost fainted with fear when she saw this. She crawled on the ground in front of Su Erya, and begged, “Please spare her life, Third Miss. If you beat her again, she’ll die!”Su Zipei frowned. Nanny Zheng came forward with her cane, and Nanny Li closed her eyes expecting the worst.“That’s enough.” Su Erya moved weakly as she spoke. She left Nanny Li’s protection and looked directly at Su Zipei. “I’ve taken the rap for you, and I’ve paid the price of being kicked out of the mansion. Why don’t you leave me be?”Su Zipei looked a little flustered. “What are you talking about?” She said with a cold face. “How could I be the one who stole the night-luminescent pearl?" Su Erya’s body trembled. With a bitter face and a hoarse voice, she said, “I saw everything. That day when you went to see Cousin Yang at Sanhe Bridge outside the town, and you gave him the night-luminescent pearl with your own hands.”Su Zipei grew pale, and started to panic.
Nanny Li sighed slightly and said, “Young master, the Second Miss has lived in the backyard with the maids since she was a child.”Su Qingtan looked angrier. How many such dark secrets had his mother and second mother kept from him all these years?The second mother was the second sister’s biological mother. How could she force the second sister to live such a hard life? The second sister had been so thin because of malnutrition.“Does my father know about these things?”“I don’t know, young master.”Su Qingtan snorted coldly and walked directly to the eastern courtyard with Su Erya in his arms. “From now on, my second sister will live in the eastern courtyard. Nanny Li, don’t go back to the western courtyard either. Just stay and take care of my sister.”Hearing this, Nanny Li was immediately relieved. She was full of joy. “Thank you, young master. I will take good care of the Second Miss and restore her health.”Su Qingtan nodded slightly.
The next morning, Su Qingtan went to the main courtyard. Before he entered the door, he saw his father having breakfast with the first mother and second mother.When the First Madam saw him coming, she gave a slight cough and smiled affectionately and said, “Tan, come and sit down. Today I ordered the kitchen to specially cook bird’s nest syrup.”The Second Madam was a little confused. Usually, her son never came to the main courtyard for breakfast. How did Zhu Yan know that her son would come today?Su Qingtan snorted coldly, sat down and said, “Father, I’m coming for—” “Your first mother has told me why you are here.”Su Huanli put down his chopsticks, looked up with a pair of dignified eyes, and continued, “This matter will not be announced. It’s ok to take Erya back and I will deal with Zipei. That’s all.” His father’s words made Su Qingtan incredulous. “Even if my sister comes back, she’s had such horrid accusations launched at her. How is
“Eldest brother, second sister!!”There was a childish voice calling from outside the room. Su Erya was a little puzzled.Su Qingtan was not the only boy in the family. Su Qinghao was the fourth child in the Su family.Su Qingtan and Su Qinghao were both the Second Madam’s sons. She and Su Zipei were the First Madam’s daughters. Because of that, although the Second Madam didn’t come from high status family, she still had a lot of rights.Su Erya couldn’t help but feel strange about Su Qinghao. When she had made a mistake in her previous life, she never saw Su Qinghao again. She didn’t hear the news about him until after she married that poor young master. Su Qinghao was poisoned and died when he was 15 years old. The killer was never found.“Second sister, I knew you were wrongly accused!”Su Qinghao, who looked very much like Su Qingtan, ran in with a smile. He had a snow-white leather hat on his head, which made his handsome little face look ext
Ink was very expensive, so Su Erya could not use it. There was a sand table for setting up war games in the study. Su Qingtan used that to teach her to write.Su Qingtan was surprised to find that the second sister was very smart. She could understand simple words after he taught her once. It took him less than an hour to teach her all the basic rhymes.So Su Qingtan let Su Erya practice basic calligraphy in the study. One of them read books in front of the table, and the other drew on the sand table. It was very quiet in the study. Instead of being distracted, the rustles of the sand allowed him to concentrate more.The servant girl, Zhu’er, who had been serving Su Qingtan, saw Su Erya go into the study of the first young master every day. She stamped her feet in anger and muttered: “How dare she disturb the young master’s reading! I’ll go and tell the Second Madam!”When the Second Madam heard Zhu’er’s words, she rushed to the Eastern Courtyard at on
When Mammy Li heard the footsteps outside, she immediately came out of the kitchen into the yard and asked with a shocked face, “Miss, why are you back so early today?”Su Erya smiled sheepishly and explained, “Nothing, the Second Mother came to see eldest brother. It was not wise to stay there. So, I came back first. Nanny Mammy, is there anything good for lunch today?”Mammy Li was surprised. She wiped her hands, took off her apron, hurried over and held Su Erya’s hands, looked at her and asked nervously, “Second Madam didn’t make trouble for you, did she?”“No, eldest brother was there,” Su Erya said, giggling foolishly.“Alas...”Mammy Li sighed. No matter how well-intentioned the young master was, he was still the son of the Second Madam. Once the young master better understood the ways of the world, he might not care so much about Second Miss.These thoughts had long hovered in the heart of Mammy Li. It was just that Su Erya was so happy rig
“You’re Erya?”Su Huanli looked shocked. He did not seem to be able to associate the beautiful girl in front of him with the ugly little doll who used to be as thin as bean sprouts. After three months of recuperation, Su Erya had changed her ugly demeanor. The warm red velvet clothes helped highlight her oval rosy face. Her nose was tall and small, and her pink lips glowed like honey. Long black hair spread behind her as if it were dyed by ink . Her eyes were like the stars, rippling with the purest colors in the world.The old housekeeper could not help exclaiming, “I didn’t expect that after the recuperation, Second Miss would look as if she had been reborn. You are really a beautiful girl! In a few years, you might be the most beautiful girl in Dasu Town!” Su Huanli now regretted his previous attitude. If he had known that Erya would look like this, he would never have let Erya take the blame for Zipei. But it was too late to say anything.When Su
Qu Liancheng watched the scene in silence because he was an accomplice. At this moment, he was at a loss except to remain silent.After adding an extra layer of protection for Bai Su, Ling Li dodged over to the Many-faced Witch, who had almost melted into a pile of flesh, and spoke calmly, "You've been cheated."A look of relief spread over the human face amidst the flesh, "I have sinned countless times in my life and deserve to die, but it is a pity that I couldn't drag him to die with me.""I'll let him accompany you in the hell."Ling Li looked up at the dispersing dark clouds. He was born in the Qingshui Circle and had never slaughtered mortals. The fight between practitioners couldn't cause the natural law to blast down the Destroy Thunder.In other words, Bai Mo could do nothing to him."Be careful. He... must have a backup plan."The human face amidst the flesh gradually couldn't
"Cough cough cough..."Fang Huaji fell in the ruins and threw back his head to laugh loud while coughing blood, "It's worthy of being a thunder for testing that even the Great Lord couldn't withstand. I provoked the slaughter, so it is natural for me to withstand the Destroy Thunder. But your thunder seems weak and has failed to kill me once, hahaha cough..."Bai Ming raised his eyebrows and bent his finger to flick. In an instant, another bucket-thick thunder rushed down from the dark clouds and directly ground Fang Huaji's bones to dust. At the same time, his laughter stopped abruptly.Fang Huaji was dead!Bai Su was not hesitant about this and just stared at the ground with the blood-red veins still on it.Bai Ming frowned slightly. This was indeed out of his expectation. Who but a Great Emperor could support the operation of such vast veins?"Well, just destroy it..."As Bai Ming wa
Unexpectedly, Fang Huaji received the thunder for testing into his hands. Did a Great Emperor... have such a powerful strength?With a cold snort, Fang Huaji drew opening a round portal with his right hand and then threw the light in his grip into it, "I don't dare to accept this 'great gift'. Here you are."As soon as Fang Huaji finished speaking, a round portal appeared above the Fate Palace. The violent thunder blasted down, but it directly dissipated into the air when approaching the Fate Palace.Fang Huaji coldly snorted at this and didn't care at all."Everyone, my refining weapons are under your feet. As long as you are willing to fight for the Qingshui Circle, you can take up them. Mortals can kill practitioners in the Zhuji Realm with them! Practitioners in the Zhuji Realm can kill the ones in the Jindan Realm with them! By analogy, if you are in nature's test, you can even join forces to kill a Junior Emperor. The
Su Li was sitting in the hall on the first floor. She was unsure whether her blood poison had diminished, but her only certainty was that even a Junior Emperor had no way out about her poison. Even though her blood poison had diminished a lot, it was also very likely to achieve the effect of poisoning the one in the Jindan Realm.Without waiting too long, Su Li saw the female practitioner who had just left and was rushing over, with the unfaded fear in her eyes. Immediately, she calmed down."Senior, our administrator invites you to the top floor for a detailed discussion."Su Li didn't scare in the slightest and chuckled, "It seems to receive a good effect."It was far superior to that!The female practitioner wore a sincere smile and led the way respectfully. After receiving the senior in such a position, her reward might be beyond expectation.A while later, they arrived at the top floor, and the
Hua Yan was surprised and suddenly enlightened. Su Li once went to see Fang Ling alone in the dungeon. After coming out, she didn't release Fang Ling, but she withdrew the punishment in the dungeon and simply imprisoned Fang Ling.Did Fang Ling take a risk to reveal something to Su Li at that time?Hua Yan pondered for a moment, and her attention was soon attracted by Mei Ruohan's broken spell, "So you can tell those secrets now? Who is the Many-faced Witch?"Mei Ruohan closed her eyes and sighed, "I don't know who she's playing. She is good-looking and young. She likes to wear a faint yellow imperial costume. Sometimes she stands in a pure white palace, sometimes she is in a luxurious golden hall, and sometimes old women in grey robes walk around her, looking like elders...""Yin Lin!"Qu Qingning interrupted Mei Ruohan's description with an astonished look, "She's the Head of Huangxing Hall, Yin Lin! In this c
Qu Liancheng kept a straight face but was appalled inside. His cultivation was superior to Qu Qingning's. However, was he seen through by this junior?Was "Qiyu Evil Martial Art" really so powerful?Thinking of this, Qu Liancheng was suddenly stunned. He unleashed his divine awareness, only to find that Qu Qingning's holy method had advanced at a terrifying speed and even his cultivation had secretly soared to the late stage to be in nature's test!In less than a month, Qu Qingning had skipped four realms of the holy method in a row. Did he directly skip one big realm and three small realms?He was only a step away from being a Junior Emperor!What was more, if Qu Liancheng hadn't come here on a sudden whim today, the Holy Boy of the Ankui Valley would probably complete "Qiyu Evil Martial Art" within a few months and rise to become the elder of the Ankui Valley.Qu Liancheng thought it was very ridi
In the wild wind, Fang Huaji's withered face was as calm as still water and his white hair was fluttering behind.He was waiting for the blood-red veins to spread throughout the Qingshui Circle.No matter who tried to stop him at this stage, he wouldn't hold his hand."Senior."With hair disheveled, Bai Su knelt beside Fang Huaji and was in a state of utter disarray. He looked up at Fang Huaji, and starlight welled up in his eyes."Do you know I've divined? Do you know... What had I seen after the war started?""What is it?"Fang Huaji seemed to be in a good mood and even asked Bai Su with an obscure smile on his face, "Will I win or lose?"Bai Su's eyes turned grave, "The Tianhe Sect will be destroyed!""Oh."Fang Huaji nodded indifferently and turned to Bai Su, who looked serious, continuing, "So what? I wonder if I win... or lose? Didn’t you see
Just as the Ni Sect assembled 27 holy sects to head for the Tianhe Sect, the world of the Chuangxing Path had passed several days.Su Li gradually figured out the daily routine of her adoptive mother and Duan Hongchen's childhood. The Jin family was rich, but this small courtyard seemed to have been forgotten by them, and Duan Hongchen had lived the life of a poor mortal.Today was the day she made her regular trip to the market to barter the extra vegetables for money, which was also her only free day every month.Su Li's adoptive mother didn't seem to be worried about her getting lost and always let her go alone every time. Su Li guessed that her adoptive mother might take this opportunity to observe her, so she didn't intend to show any abnormality.The Jin family seemed to be the top family in Fanglong City and had its mansion occupied a prime location. Not long after leaving the Jin's, Su Li saw the market archway from
When Hua Yan left the hall, Bai Su also stood up and left to make preparations.The grand elders of 27 sects looked at each other in silence for a moment and then closed their eyes for rest. Because attacking the Fate Palace was the most important thing now, they would rather wait here for the result than leave.In the secret room, the divination items Bai Su requested were soon ready.Hua Yan stood aside, quietly watching as Bai Su was burning incense with a devout look. After finishing that, Bai Su stood up, and Hua Yan finally couldn't help but speak."Does divination have an effect on you?"Bai Su paused and soon looked up with a smile, "Divination is to calculate nature's mystery. It is a great disrespect. Even a mortal's birth chart will be damaged by calculation, let alone I am calculating the cultivation circle. But whether it has any effect or not is of little significance to me at the moment."