My Secret Cultivator Spouse Is the Demon Lord - Chapter 2

“Stop!”

Just as Niu Er raised his fist toward Xu Xianqing, a clear, sharp male voice cut through the air.

The surrounding handyman disciples shrank back in fear, carefully wiping every trace of expression from their faces. They kept their heads down, quietly and dutifully tending to the medicinal herbs.

Niu Er froze, turning to see Zhao Xing hurrying toward them.

“Senior Brother Zhao! It was this useless trash who started it!” Niu Er’s face flushed red, his neck bulging as he blurted out his defense. “I was just trying to teach her a lesson!”

Zhao Xing gave him a cold glance. “The Elder needs someone to run errands over at his quarters. Why aren’t you there yet? As for the Young Mistress is her status something a base, brainless fool like you is allowed to comment on? If you dare act up again, don’t blame me for ignoring senior-junior sentiments.”

Panicking, Niu Er stammered an apology and scrambled away. But because of his heavy, bloated frame, his frantic run was barely faster than a casual stroll a comical sight to behold.

Zhao Xing didn’t speak to Xu Xianqing immediately. Instead, he turned to address the gathered disciples: “The Ye Family’s disciple trial is right around the corner, and we cannot run short on elixir pills. These herbs must be processed as quickly as possible. If any of you mess this up, don’t expect me to show mercy. There are plenty of slave traders outside; if you misbehave, I’ll simply have you sold off.”

The crowd bowed and apologized in fear, their hands moving twice as fast.

Only then did Zhao Xing look at Xu Xianqing. “Young Mistress, follow me.”

Xu Xianqing followed him into the inner hall. Once inside, Zhao Xing pulled out two bundles of herbs and handed them over. “With my current standing, this is all I could get. Please don’t look down on it.”

“This is already an immense favor,” Xu Xianqing said, inspecting the contents. Though they couldn’t compare to high-grade herbs, they were noticeably better than average mid-grade ones.

“Five years ago, we were both beggars in Pingkou Alley,” Zhao Xing sighed gently. “If you hadn’t shared half a mantou with me, I wouldn’t have survived let alone be standing here today. To me, your kindness is boundless. Besides, getting into the Ye Family was only thanks to your help. Without your care back then, how could the old patriarch have ever noticed someone like me?”

He sighed again. “It is only that the Heavens are unfair… to think you were born without a spiritual root, leaving you to suffer such injustice in this world.”

Xu Xianqing felt a stir in her heart. She, too, resented her lack of a spiritual root. If she was destined to have none, why was she born into this realm of cultivators in the first place? If she had been born in the mortal realm, perhaps she wouldn’t be in such a pitiful state today.

“Yet, while the Heavens seem unfair, they are also ultimately just,” Zhao Xing continued softly. “We mere mortals cannot comprehend the grand design, but I often hear people say that ‘Heaven never seals off all exits.’ Xianqing, you must not give up either. Perhaps your path forward is just around the corner.”

“Thank you. I understand.”

Xu Xianqing was a woman of few words and had an aloof demeanor. At first, Zhao Xing had been intimidated by her cold exterior, but after spending time around her, he learned she was warm-hearted underneath. She wasn’t truly cold, and she was far easier to get along with than those hypocritical, self-righteous ‘gentlemen.’

What a tragic shame that she lacked a spiritual root.

“I need to head back; I can’t leave Miss Ye alone for too long,” Xu Xianqing said, taking the herbs. She then pulled a mid-grade spirit stone from her pouch.

Before Zhao Xing could decline, she added firmly, “I know things aren’t easy for you either. Take this.”

In the Ye Family, an ordinary handyman disciple earned a monthly allowance of thirty low-grade spirit stones and three spirit-nurturing grasses. A single mid-grade spirit stone was worth roughly eighty to over a hundred low-grade ones. Even an junior apothecary like Zhao Xing only received around eighty low grade spirit stones and two spirit-nurturing pills a month.

“This is far too valuable!” Zhao Xing tried to push it back. “You don’t need to do this. I’m not helping you for a reward.”

“If you don’t take it, how can I ever ask for your help again? Keep it.” Xu Xianqing pressed the spirit stone into his palm.

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Xing accepted it. He privately resolved to use the stone to trade for better medicinal plants. Once his alchemy skills improved and he could refine pills to sell, he’d use the profits to buy even better herbs for Xu Xianqing.

Seeing him accept it, Xu Xianqing breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “I’ll be going now.”

“Mm.” Zhao Xing tucked the spirit stone away, then stepped forward. “Walking back takes too much time and energy. Let me fly you down the mountain.”

Zhao Xing summoned his sword, taking Xu Xianqing with him as they descended. Because his cultivation time was short and his power limited, his flying speed was relatively slow. Even so, Xu Xianqing couldn’t help but feel a flicker of emotion watching him sheath his sword after they landed.

“Head on back,” Zhao Xing said, watching her carefully. “If you ever need anything, come find me at the apothecary hall.” He stood watching until her silhouette disappeared into the distance before taking to the sky again.

Passing through the side hall and navigating the garden, Xu Xianqing finally reached the secluded courtyard only to freeze in panic.

The main gate was wide open.

She sprinted into the small compound, seeing the door to the side room left ajar. Throwing caution to the wind, she rushed inside.

A short while earlier, after Xu Xianqing had left, Ye Ming had been awakened by noise outside.

A bone-chilling cold radiated through her body, a agonizing sensation that usually required medicinal tea to suppress. But recent deliveries had consisted of nothing but low-quality scraps drinking them did little more than stave off hunger, offering a tiny bit of relief for barely half an hour at best.

Because of the constant pain, she was a light sleeper, and the faint commotion outside instantly jolted her awake.

Those light, careless footsteps definitely didn’t belong to Xu Xianqing. Instantly, Ye Ming’s guard went up.

In her current state, the Ye Family was a death trap. She had become a thorn in the side of certain people far too many wanted her dead, and they wanted it done quietly.

But she refused to die. She wanted to live, more desperately than anyone else.

Ye Ming forced her weak body upright just as someone pushed the small room’s door open.

It wasn’t an assassin, but a few younger members of the Ye Family her juniors by blood.

“What are you doing here?” Ye Ming asked. Her voice was weak and lacked force, but the sharp undertone of a former master remained.

The children facing her who had once feared, respected, and strived to emulate her now looked at her with complex, conflicted expressions.

“Little Aunt… how are you holding up?”

The speaker was the concubine-born granddaughter of Ye Ming’s eldest uncle. She was usually favored by Ye Qinfeng, though as a concubine’s daughter with mediocre talent, that favor only went as far as her cute, obedient demeanor could take her.

Ye Ming remained silent, her cold eyes shifting to the person behind her.

Standing there was the legitimate eldest granddaughter of Ye Qinfeng a girl a few years younger than Ye Ming, making her another niece. But her arrogant posture held zero respect for Ye Ming as an elder.

“I won’t beat around the bush,” Ye Jinlan said coldly. “Aunt, you used to possess a Fire Spiritual Root, and I happen to have a Fire Spiritual Root as well. Now that your root is ruined, it’s useless to you. We are both of the Ye bloodline. Back then, Second Uncle poured countless family resources into aiding your cultivation, only for you to end up like this. What a terrible waste.”

“And so?” Ye Ming endures the gnawing pain, a bitter, mocking smile creeping onto her lips.

Ye Jinlan faltered for a second, momentarily intimidated by that familiar aura. But then she remembered the glorious genius of the past was now just a crippled useless wreck who couldn’t even lift a sword. The fear vanished, replaced by spite.

“You’re already ruined!” Ye Jinlan declared self-righteously. “Your Sun-Sinking Flame Seed is useless sitting inside you. Why not hand it over to someone more deserving?”

“Someone more deserving?” Ye Ming sneered. “Are you referring to yourself someone who has been stuck at the second layer of Foundation Establishment for five whole years?”

Ye Ming was only nineteen years old, yet four years ago at the exact age Ye Jinlan was now she had already achieved Core Formation, an undeniable prodigy. Had it not been for her ties to the Ye family, she would have been a prized disciple fiercely fought over by the major immortal sects.

Ye Jinlan hated nothing more than having her cultivation brought up. In her impatience, she had gorged herself on medicinal pills to force her breakthrough. She had relied on pills through the Qi Refining stage just to outpace her peers. But when it came time to step into Foundation Establishment, she took a wrong turn accumulating severe pill toxins, failing to temper her physical body, and creating a mess of unstable spiritual energy.

In the end, her reckless shortcuts allowed her to leap straight to the second layer of Foundation Establishment, only to trap her there, completely unable to advance a single step for five long years.

Among her peers in the family, even the worst off had reached the fourth layer.

They were all Ye Family disciples why was she the only one stuck in this dead end?

Having envied and hated Ye Ming for hoarding all the family’s glory since childhood, seeing Ye Ming’s tragic downfall now was the most satisfying sight of her life.

“If you refuse to hand it over willingly, don’t blame your niece for being disrespectful,” Ye Jinlan sneered, her eyes flashing with malice. “You can’t use it anyway. It’s better off serving a real disciple of the Ye Family!”

With that, Ye Jinlan gathered her spiritual energy, extending a hand straight toward Ye Ming’s shattered Dantian intending to forcibly rip out the dormant, recovering Flame Seed!

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