Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 3

Hua Man  certainly wouldn’t sell the hoe. In fact, upon hearing Shen Lezhi’s  words, she immediately put the magical artifact into her storage ring.

Shen Lezhi stared blankly for a moment as such a large object suddenly vanished before her eyes before finally reacting.

This was the first time she had seen a storage ring, and she was very curious about how it worked, but right now, she wanted a hoe more. She needed to clear more land tomorrow.

“Then, Senior Sister, do you know where I can find a hoe like this?” Shen Lezhi asked.

Hua Man shot her a speechless look. “If you need a magical artifact, ask your Master for it. Didn’t Immortal Venerable Clear Moon prepare one for you?”

However, Hua Man didn’t finish her thought. Shen Lezhi was only in the middle of the Qi Condensation stage and hadn’t even established her foundation yet, so she probably wouldn’t need a good magical artifact. It was understandable if Immortal Venerable Clear Moon hadn’t prepared one.

But Shen Lezhi took the words to heart and began to consider how to ask Wang Xi for a hoe tomorrow.

She really didn’t want to interact with Wang Xi. The other woman’s aura was too strong and cold, making her uncomfortable. The previous two times Wang Xi came close, Shen Lezhi genuinely felt a chill. Her current body was already deficient and incredibly fragile, making it extremely sensitive to temperature changes.

Wang Xi seemed to carry ice on her person, in the literal, physical sense. Although Shen Lezhi hadn’t seen it, the feeling of the surrounding temperature instantly dropping always made her shiver uncontrollably.

But then, thinking of the uncultivated wasteland and the various spiritual plants from another world she had never seen, Shen Lezhi decided to brave it.

With this thought, Shen Lezhi ended her day’s work and fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Lezhi had a dream where she saw Wang Xi covered in blood, surrounded by many people, with weapons all aimed at her. Wang Xi was dishevelled, frenzied, and utterly unlike the aloof, pure, and transcendental figure Shen Lezhi had seen the previous two times.

At this moment, Wang Xi’s eyes were filled with madness, and even the blood on her face appeared strangely seductive.

Shen Lezhi looked at her, and Wang Xi stared back intensely. The hatred was like a burning fire, scorching Shen Lezhi with fear.

Shen Lezhi instinctively backed away, her body trembling uncontrollably. Yet, the person, who was clearly on the brink of death, suddenly flashed in front of her, one hand tightly gripping her throat, the other hand breaking open her chest without hesitation.

The change happened too quickly. By the time others reacted, they had been pushed out of range by Wang Xi’s dominating spiritual power to save Shen Lezhi.

Shen Lezhi’s heart was forcibly extracted, and that half of the Exquisite Heart was tightly clenched in Wang Xi’s hand.

“Was my heart useful?”

Shen Lezhi heard these words from Wang Xi’s mouth again.

The other woman’s face was smeared with blood, and her crimson eyes held monstrous hatred. Yet, her brow was wrapped in a layer of frost, like a wound that fire couldn’t consume.

Only then did Shen Lezhi realize that this scene was the novel’s ending, the moment Wang Xi and Shen Lezhi perished together.

Shen Lezhi looked at her extracted heart. Although her neck was being throttled by Wang Xi, her consciousness was detached. She couldn’t understand the entanglement between the two, and she merely watched calmly.

She suddenly felt pity for Wang Xi.

The first time she saw the woman, she was cold, aloof, calm, and serene. Wang Xi ought to be a cold and arrogant person, her gaze always carrying indifference, as if nothing in the world was worthy of her attention. She was like a snow lotus on a snowy peak, standing alone, impervious to wind and snow.

But to save the original protagonist, she willingly cut out half her heart and willingly ruined her cultivation.

The intensity of Wang Xi’s hatred now represented the depth of affection she had given the original protagonist.

Even though she had dug out the Exquisite Heart that the original protagonist had occupied, and even though she had personally taken revenge, that hatred did not seem to diminish.

Shen Lezhi looked at the woman’s frenzied face, looked into those eyes filled with hatred, and saw the shattered core within.

Truly pitiful.

But Shen Lezhi only lamented that she was pitiful. This wasn’t her world, and the person before her was not someone she knew. She knew with absolute clarity that this was merely a dream. She felt nothing for any of it.

Shen Lezhi forced her eyes shut and began to constantly tell herself to wake up in her mind. When the sounds around her finally vanished, she finally opened her eyes.

The dark-brown carved bed canopy was still above her. Outside the window, the sky was already faintly bright.

Shen Lezhi immediately sat up. She had to go check if the Green Cloud Branches had sprouted in the field.

After a simple wash, she headed straight for the wasteland. This never-before-seen spiritual plant truly piqued her curiosity. This feeling was like the anticipation and excitement she felt when she and her teachers and colleagues were doing research and finally cultivated the first seedling of a new plant.

But as she approached, she realized something was wrong. Not only had the Green Cloud Branch seeds not sprouted, but the field she had watered with fertilizer was covered with tiny, dense holes.

Shen Lezhi frowned and squatted down to check, but she had never planted this kind of spiritual plant and had no idea what was happening. The “Spiritual Plant Cultivation Manual” was also very brief about spiritual plant cultivation, leaving Shen Lezhi completely stumped.

So, she decided to go to the Medicine Herb Peak for advice.

The Medicine Herb Peak was far away, requiring her to cross two mountains. This distance was extremely easy for a cultivator who could fly on a sword, but Shen Lezhi knew no such skill and could only walk. Fortunately, the Archive had a complete map of the Profound Jade Sect, and she had drawn a copy, thinking it would be useful.

However, Shen Lezhi’s body was too frail. After walking for just half an hour, she was already breathless with exhaustion. She once hiked for over ten hours in the jungle in modern times, and she felt less miserable than she did now.

After crossing the two mountains, she collapsed onto the ground in front of the Medicine Herb Peak’s main courtyard. A passing Senior Sister from the Medicine Herb Peak discovered her.

“Who is this? Why is she sitting here?”

Shen Lezhi reported her name with difficulty. Fortunately, Shen Lezhi was still a minor celebrity; otherwise, she feared the passing Senior Sister might have just left her alone.

The kind Senior Sister, surnamed Qi and named Yue, not only brought her inside but also fed her a spirit-nurturing pill.

“You’re really Immortal Venerable Clear Moon’s disciple? Shen Lezhi?” Senior Sister Qi was quite skeptical.

Shen Lezhi felt much better and nodded helplessly.

In the novel, Immortal Venerable Clear Moon was world-renowned. Before she cut out half of her Exquisite Heart, her Void Refinement stage cultivation was unmatched in the Profound Jade Sect, and her Profound Jade Sword Art was peerless. Immortal Venerable Clear Moon had only accepted one disciple. Although people within the Profound Jade Sect had long heard rumors of Shen Lezhi’s frailty, they hadn’t expected her to be this weak. She was in the Qi Condensation stage yet was so exhausted from climbing mountains that she collapsed on the ground.

Shen Lezhi couldn’t be bothered with how others looked at her; she just wanted to ask about the Green Cloud Branches.

“Senior Sister Qi, I planted three Green Cloud Branches yesterday, but when I just went to check, they hadn’t sprouted, and the spiritual field was full of dense small holes.”

Senior Sister Qi frowned slightly upon hearing this. “Green Cloud Branches are very easy to grow, that shouldn’t happen, should it? And I’ve never encountered the situation with the holes before.”

Senior Sister Qi pondered for a moment and then said, “The spiritual field outside the Medicine Herb Peak might not have enough spiritual Qi. Go get some spiritual spring water to irrigate it, and see if that works.”

“Spiritual spring water?” Shen Lezhi was surprised.

Senior Sister Qi thought she didn’t know the location of the spiritual spring water and considerately offered to take her there. “Although everyone in the sect now uses their own magic to irrigate and fertilize their spiritual fields, the spiritual spring water at the Medicine Herb Peak contains much richer spiritual Qi. Using it for irrigation and fertilization will make the spiritual plants much healthier, it’s just a bit more trouble.”

Spiritual spring water for irrigation, fertilization…

Shen Lezhi instantly understood. This spiritual plant didn’t seem to use the same fertilization method as in the mortal world… The fertilizer she found yesterday was…

Shen Lezhi felt terrible for the Green Cloud Branches.

Senior Sister Qi seemed to be taking care of her and didn’t fly on her sword. She led Shen Lezhi to the spiritual spring and handed her a wooden gourd with a talisman-like pattern carved on it, gesturing for her to fill the gourd with water.

“This gourd can hold enough water to irrigate about one mu (around 667 square meters) of land at a time. However, spiritual spring water cannot be stored for too long. Once taken from the spring, the spiritual Qi will begin to dissipate, and after about three shichen (six hours), the spiritual Qi contained in the spring water will completely disappear.”

Shen Lezhi understood the meaning: she couldn’t fill it all at once and pour out a little each day, as the spiritual spring water would turn into ordinary water after six hours.

“Thank you for the warning, Senior Sister Qi.” Shen Lezhi sincerely thanked her and was eager to return to water the Green Cloud Branches.

Senior Sister Qi understood her impatience and waved her away.

Shen Lezhi returned to the wasteland, so exhausted she could barely stand straight, yet she endured and poured the spiritual spring water onto the field. Just as the spiritual spring water soaked into the soil, Shen Lezhi inexplicably felt another emotion.

She suddenly lifted her eyelids, carefully trying to distinguish this emotion. Shen Lezhi was certain this was not her own. It was an emotion hidden in the wind, wrapped in the air, a very subtle feeling, yet exceptionally clear to her.

It was only a moment again, quickly disappearing without a trace. When she tried to catch it again, it was long gone.

Shen Lezhi was actually too weak to think much. Her body was close to its limit.

She looked at this patch of wasteland, thinking that she would build a small cabin here later, a temporary resting place when she was tired from working.

But for now, Shen Lezhi decided to return to her room to rest for a while. She slept for a long time, and when she woke up, the window was already pitch black.

She hadn’t woken up naturally, but was awakened by the noise outside. A clear sound came from the door latch. Shen Lezhi nervously stared, unable to imagine who would come and try to open her door so late at night.

Click. It was the sound of the lock being opened.

Shen Lezhi took a sharp breath, clenched her fists, her mind full of scenes from the cultivation dramas she’d watched—monsters or ghosts entering the room at night to take lives. She had always been quite afraid of this sort of thing. When she went on rural surveys before, she had to drag her colleagues to sleep with her.

While her thoughts were running wild, the door was gently pushed open. Very gently, as if the wind had opened it. In the silent night, the turning of the wooden door forced Shen Lezhi’s heart to panic.

There was a figure behind the door. In the pitch black night, Shen Lezhi’s eyes, hidden under the quilt, couldn’t see clearly. She didn’t know if it was a monster or a ghost.

She watched the figure approach, slowly walking to her bedside. Shen Lezhi’s heart was pounding out of her chest. She had no weapon, and she desperately thought about how she could escape right now.

But the figure just stopped by her bed. The shadow it cast felt oppressive, making it hard for her to breathe.

The air suddenly seemed to turn cold. She didn’t know if it was the cold wind blowing in from outside or the surrounding temperature suddenly plummeting.

Shen Lezhi suddenly paused. A familiar feeling instantly spread through her heart.

And the figure by the bed spoke at this moment.

“Shen Lezhi.”

The voice was cold, like the chill moon in the deep night, hanging high in the Guanghan Palace, unattainable.

Shen Lezhi’s heart settled instead. She looked at the person, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, and she finally saw the person’s face clearly.

“Master?” Shen Lezhi responded.

Wang Xi lowered her head, meeting Shen Lezhi’s gaze. She didn’t seem to intend to explain why she had suddenly arrived at this hour. She stared intensely at Shen Lezhi for a while, then suddenly bent down to get closer.

Wang Xi’s breath was cold. The sudden closeness startled Shen Lezhi. By the time she reacted, Wang Xi had already bitten her on the jaw.

The bite was hard, probably drawing blood. Shen Lezhi whimpered from the pain but forgot to resist because of the shock.

She saw the fire raging in Wang Xi’s eyes. The face that was usually as cold as frost seemed to be on fire, burning fiercely right before her.

Shen Lezhi suddenly understood.

They were actually that kind of relationship, weren’t they?

Otherwise, why would Wang Xi cut out half her heart for the original protagonist?

And why would she run over here in the middle of the night to bite her?

They absolutely must be that kind of relationship!!!