Jade Shakes the Thousand Mountains - Chapter 17: Bitter Heart Grass, Who Are You Really

Chapter 17: Bitter Heart Grass, Who Are You Really

She seemed unaware of anyone approaching, holding a watering can as she lowered her head to attentively water the Jade Night flower bushes.

Wei Shengming stared at her for a moment. He didn’t know her identity, nor did he want to speculate or learn about it. He initially intended to leave directly, but a glance from the corner of his eye revealed that what she was watering wasn’t the Jade Night flower bushes.

Instead, it was a newly sprouted plant beside the Jade Night flower bushes.

The plant had frosty white leaves with slightly serrated edges.

This plant wasn’t common in Flame Province, but Wei Shengming was all too familiar with it.

It was… Bitter Heart Grass. The very same Bitter Heart Grass that had poisoned him when he was searching for the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom in Ancestor Province.

Just as he was about to step closer for a clearer look, the girl with the watering can turned around and looked directly at him.

Her eyes were strikingly clear and distinct, black and white without ambiguity. Their owner had rosy cheeks and dark hair, appearing no more than sixteen years old. Her spiritual energy was faint, suggesting her immortal age was still young. Yet her eyes lacked the reckless enthusiasm common in youth, nor did they hold the confusion and immaturity typical of the young. Instead, they were cool, sharp, and resolute. The moment she lifted her eyelids to glance at him, it was like a beautiful thin blade being unsheathed.

There was killing intent.

This killing intent, which shouldn’t appear on a young cultivator with limited immortal age, made Wei Shengming instinctively furrow his brows.

But that barely perceptible killing intent lasted only a moment. Recognizing him, Yu Chanyi blinked and asked, “You’re awake?”

Since Wu Xi Lan had previously informed her that this senior brother of hers had a peculiar temperament and ignored people, Yu Chanyi hadn’t expected a response. To her surprise, after her words, Wei Shengming replied.

“What are you doing?”

Yu Chanyi glanced down at the Bitter Heart Grass and answered, “Growing grass.”

“That’s a poisonous plant.”

Seeing Yu Chanyi remain unmoved, Wei Shengming warned, “This is Bitter Heart Grass. Its toxicity is colorless and odorless, silently permeating the air around where it grows. Your spiritual energy is faint, and you’re not using any techniques to protect yourself. If you can’t resist it, you’ll be poisoned.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Chanyi nodded as if it were obvious. “I know.”

She had already asked Wu Xi Lan about all this and learned it from her.

According to written records, Bitter Heart Grass was colorless and odorless, but its toxicity wasn’t strong.

A small Bitter Heart Grass plant shouldn’t be enough to incapacitate an adult cultivator.

Yet Senior Brother had been severely injured.

Wu Xi Lan thought there might be an error in her medical texts regarding Bitter Heart Grass.

“Everything you said, Senior Sister already told me,” Yu Chanyi said. “I found Bitter Heart Grass seeds stuck to your clothes and wanted to plant them to test how potent their toxicity really is.”

Wei Shengming asked, “Since you know, why aren’t you using techniques to resist its poison?”

Yu Chanyi didn’t answer again.

Wei Shengming silently watched her, and in a flash of insight, he suddenly thought of a rather unreasonable possibility

She might be using herself to test how potent the Bitter Heart Grass’s toxicity was.

Highly unreasonable, but at the moment, there seemed to be no other explanation.

Wei Shengming pressed his lips together and said, “Bitter Heart Grass’s toxicity isn’t strong; it just happens to counter me.”

Bitter Heart Grass’s poison attacks the heart, and he had a Heart Demon, his mind often clouded and confused. For him, Bitter Heart Grass’s toxicity was fierce and irresistible. But for other cultivators, that might not be the case.
Yu Chanyi paused at these words, carrying her watering pot as she stepped out of the Jade Night Flower field: “What a waste of effort then.”

Walking over to Wei Shengming, she swept another glance over him.

By her count, he had been unconscious for ten full days.

Even now that he had awakened, his face remained pale, his collar stained with blood. His entire being exuded a cold, ghostly aura that made him seem less like a living person and more like a corpse that had crawled out of a grave two days prior.

Had she not personally checked his pulse and felt his breathing, Yu Chanyi would truly suspect he was a dead body.

Yet that face was undeniably beautiful even drained of color with pale lips, it could still be described as strikingly gorgeous. The word “gorgeous” wasn’t usually fitting for a man, but it suited her senior brother perfectly. Now those eyes that had remained tightly shut for ten days were open, the faintly blurred irises tinged with red at the edges, the corners of his eyes also reddened as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

This Bitter Heart Grass had truly tormented him severely. Over these ten days, Wu Xi Lan had been busy scouring through texts to find more records about Bitter Heart Grass to correct the errors in her medical books, leaving the task of caring for their senior brother to Yu Chanyi.

More than once she had seen him drenched in sweat during his unconscious state, clearly suffering greatly.

Thinking of this, Yu Chanyi felt genuinely disappointed.

She had thought everyone poisoned by Bitter Heart Grass would experience the same effects as her beautiful senior brother. She had hoped… this Bitter Heart Grass could be used on Lu Wenshu.

Wei Shengming caught the subtle shift in her expression.

He remained silent, following behind Yu Chanyi as they entered the Medicine Hut together.

Inside the Medicine Hut, Wu Xi Lan sat surrounded by piles of various medical texts and pharmacopoeias, her hair disheveled, her expression looking utterly miserable.

Yu Chanyi said: “Senior sister, senior brother has awakened.”

“Awakened?” Wu Xi Lan looked up from a stack of bamboo slips, glanced at Wei Shengming, and upon seeing he was alive, quickly lowered her gaze again. “How typically peculiar he recovered on his own again.”

Remembering something, she looked up again: “Junior brother, let me introduce you. This is our Inexhaustible Sect’s newest junior sister, Yu Chanyi.”

Wei Shengming had already set down the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom and was about to leave the Medicine Hut. Hearing Wu Xi Lan’s words, he merely paused his steps briefly, offered no response, and walked out.

Wu Xi Lan looked at Yu Chanyi and said: “See? I told you he ignores people. Once he’s conscious, nine times out of ten he’ll go out to the sword stall to draw swords. Ah, we’ll become the laughingstock of the Inexhaustible Sect again.”

But Yu Chanyi was watching Wei Shengming’s retreating figure.

That lonely, desolate silhouette made Yu Chanyi vaguely feel he wasn’t the kind of person Wu Xi Lan described.

Hadn’t he just… responded to her earlier?

After Wei Shengming left, Wu Xi Lan reached over and picked up the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom: “Let me see what he left here… Spirit Nourishing Mushroom???”

“It’s the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom from Ancestral Continent!! Wonderful, wonderful!” Wu Xi Lan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her voice filled with astonishment and delight. “How does junior brother have Spirit Nourishing Mushroom? Never mind, since he left it here, it’s for me to use in alchemy. He used my Heart-Protecting Pill, I’ll take his Spirit Nourishing Mushroom we’re even.”

Yu Chanyi couldn’t help interjecting: “Senior sister, senior brother actually spoke a few words with me earlier.”

“Really?” Wu Xi Lan expressed great surprise and asked: “What did he say to you?”

“He didn’t say much, only a few words,” Yu Chanyi said. “Senior Brother mentioned that the reason Bitter Heart Grass injured him so severely is due to his unique constitution. This particular herb counters his nature, making it especially toxic to him.”

“What?” Wu Xi Lan was astonished, but after a moment’s thought, she quickly accepted it. “His constitution is indeed unusual. Though he’s not a cultivator with profound spiritual power, he’s survived countless injuries before, even when hanging by a thread. I always thought his physique was uniquely suited to his frequent reckless behavior, never realizing his resistance to toxins would be so poor. It seems the Heavenly Dao is indeed fair what one gains in one aspect, one loses in another.”

“So that’s it, that’s it! The problem wasn’t with the Bitter Heart Grass at all, but with the person.”

After this sudden realization, Wu Xi Lan looked up and complained, “Ahhh, then all those books I read over the past ten days were they all for nothing?”

Frustrated, she roughly ran her hands through her messy hair. Just then, footsteps echoed from the entrance of the Inexhaustible Sect.

Someone stepped through the Restriction and knocked on the open courtyard gate.

Accompanied by the firm knocking, a familiar voice called from outside the Medicine Hut, “Excuse me, is anyone there?”

With a swift Mystic incantation, Wu Xi Lan smoothed her disheveled hair, tucked away the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom, and stepped out of the Medicine Hut with Yu Chanyi. Seeing it was Li Xu, Wu Xi Lan was thoroughly surprised. “I haven’t ordered any seeds yet. What brings you here, Fellow Daoist Li?”

Li Xu appeared quite embarrassed. “Lately, I’ve been short on funds. It so happens that I’ve received a new batch of seeds, and I thought you might need some, so I came specifically to show them to you. If you could purchase some in advance, it would greatly ease my urgent needs. But I’m not insisting Fellow Daoist Wu, Fellow Daoist Yu, please take a look. If any suit you, you can buy them; if not, I’ll find other customers.”

Wu Xi Lan had always maintained good relations with those around her. Hearing of Li Xu’s difficulties, she warmly said, “Since you’re in a tight spot, I’ll buy some new seeds from you in advance.”

Li Xu replied, “Only buy if you need them. There’s no need to accommodate me.”

Wu Xi Lan said, “Seeds are something you can always stock up on it’s no trouble. Here, show me the seeds, and I’ll pick some.”

Grateful, Li Xu presented the seeds for her to examine.

As Wu Xi Lan selected the seeds, Li Xu frequently glanced behind her.

Behind Wu Xi Lan, to the left shoulder direction, stood two bedrooms.

One was Yu Chanyi’s room, and the other, next to Yu Chanyi’s, was where Wei Shengming resided.

After a few glances, Li Xu casually brought up to Yu Chanyi, who had remained silent nearby, “Fellow Daoist Yu, on my way here, I encountered a cultivator who looked unfamiliar, seemingly coming from the Inexhaustible Sect. Is he one of your sect members?”

Before Yu Chanyi could respond, Wu Xi Lan spoke first, “That’s my junior brother.”

“So he really is a cultivator from your Inexhaustible Sect.” The surprise and astonishment on Li Xu’s face were evident, tinged with what seemed like concern. “What happened to him? Why does he look so weak and severely injured? Where has he been? What occurred?”

Wu Xi Lan said, “My junior brother brought back the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom, so he probably went to Ancestral State. As for what exactly happened, I’m not too clear about that. This junior brother of mine, like my master, loves wandering outside and always returns covered in injuries, costing me many elixirs each time he comes back. Fortunately, this time he brought back the Spirit Nourishing Mushroom, so I…”

Beside her, Yu Chanyi gently tugged at her sleeve.

Unaware of anything unusual, Wu Xi Lan finished in one breath: “I won’t hold it against him then.”

Li Xu smiled faintly: “Fellow Daoist Wu’s medical skills are exceptional, truly working miracles. I imagine under your treatment, your junior brother will recover quickly.”

These words of praise pleased Wu Xi Lan considerably. After selecting her seeds and paying, Li Xu departed.

Once Li Xu left, Wu Xi Lan realized something and asked Yu Chanyi: “Little junior sister, why were you tugging my sleeve earlier?”

Seeing Wu Xi Lan’s clear gaze, like a stream so transparent one could see the bottom without any impurities, Yu Chanyi sighed softly: “It’s nothing. Consider it an itch in my hand.”

–

During these ten days of caring for the injured, Yu Chanyi didn’t forget to send her shadow out on patrol.

Ever since discovering her senior brother in the flower field that day, suspicious figures had multiplied outside the Inexhaustible Sect.

There was Li Xu, along with those merchants and stall owners from the Grand Micro Sect in the market.

They came in greater numbers, more frequently, and closer to the Inexhaustible Sect than before, yet they only watched – neither making noise nor causing disturbances, doing nothing at all.

This frustrated Yu Chaniyi immensely. Based on what these people had shown so far, she had no way of knowing or guessing what their true intentions might be.

Until today, after her senior brother woke up, Li Xu could no longer restrain himself and came visiting.

Yu Chanyi felt she was gradually approaching the truth of the matter.

–

Yu Chanyi wasn’t in a hurry to verify her suspicions.

She maintained her position, spending each day after her senior brother’s awakening immersed in cultivation, pushing hard to break through her second Spirit Vein.

The moment her second Spirit Vein opened, Yu Chanyi felt the changes within herself.

The transformation brought by advancing her cultivation was remarkably evident. If before her spiritual power had been meager, with one Spirit Vein only able to contain a bowl’s worth of spiritual power, now her spiritual power had become like a large vat.

She could control more spiritual power and employ more techniques.

It was time to deal with those Grand Micro Sect people outside.

Previously, out of caution, Yu Chanyi had only dared to send her shadow out for covert patrols.

But this time, she concealed herself, merging with the night shadows as she stepped out of the Inexhaustible Sect.

She heard Li Xu’s voice speaking to another person: “He seems to know someone is following him. He’s particularly vigilant about his surroundings, very cautious. Our people always lose track of him. There’s simply no way to know where he’s going this time he left the Inexhaustible Sect.”

Another person replied: “Can’t we just kill him while he’s weak? He’s barely clinging to life now – we could eliminate this future trouble once and for all. Why must we wait?”

They didn’t notice the shadow of the phoenix tree beside them shaking violently without any wind.

Hidden within the phoenix tree’s shadow, Yu Chanyi’s heart trembled.

Kill him while he’s weak…

Just as she had suspected, those Grand Micro Sect disciples closely watching the Inexhaustible Sect were indeed targeting her senior brother.

Moreover, they intended to kill him.

What kind of person could make one of the five great sects, the Grand Micro Sect, go to such lengths to hunt him down?

Yu Chanyi didn’t dare to imagine.

Rustling, a gust of wind passed, causing the flowers and trees to sway gently.

Following the shadow of roadside plants swaying like waves in the wind, Yu Chanyi returned to the Inexhaustible Sect.

Under the full moon, the Medicine Field lay silent. The Jade Night flowers shone translucent under the moonlight, their pale yellow petals layered over the moon’s gentle hue as floral shadows danced lightly upon the wall.

Moonlight settled on the window lattice. Simultaneously, Wei Shengming, who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation inside the room, opened his eyes. To expel the residual toxins of the Bitter Heart Grass, he had stripped his robe down to his waist, his exposed chest glistening with fine beads of sweat.

Yet before he could move, his dark shadow on the wall suddenly stirred, coalescing into a black silhouette.

Wei Shengming stared at it, his eyes trembling slightly. Within his faintly red pupils surged a terrifying killing intent, yet also a trace of confusion too subtle for others to detect.

For he soon saw Yu Chanyi emerge from the shadow, standing before him.

She had appeared without a sound, holding the Bitter Heart Grass she cultivated in her hand.

The roots of the Bitter Heart Grass were still caked with fresh soil.

Gripping the entire toxic plant, Yu Chanyi’s gaze was sharp as a blade, her voice cold and cutting: “Who exactly are you, and what is your connection to the Grand Micro Sect?”