The Frosted Immortal’s Descent: A Mad Quest for Love - Chapter 3

Yun Jinghe finally realized the other person was referring to her name. She gave a slight nod and replied politely yet distantly, “Miss Shi.”

Her voice was deep and mellow, like the resonance of an ancient zither.

Before the words had even fully left her lips, she felt a light touch at the corner of her eye. Her long lashes trembled faintly, as if startled.

Before she could react, Shi Ying asked, “You, can’t see, can you?”

Yun Jinghe paused at the question. “Yes, there was an accident,” she replied.

As she spoke, she considered her next steps. With no spiritual power left and her vision gone, moving around would naturally be difficult. If she left now, finding her way back to Taicang Mountain would be a problem in itself.

After some thought, the best course of action for now was to stay here and recover. But that would mean troubling the young woman who had brought her here to take her in for a while longer.

She had inadvertently held the other’s wrist twice before and sensed neither demonic energy nor spiritual power, just an ordinary person. Staying here shouldn’t pose any danger.

Yet, in the past, it had always been others who sought her help. She had rarely been the one imposing on someone else, so she wasn’t quite sure how to bring up the matter.

But remaining silent wasn’t an option either. She took a quiet breath and began, “Miss Shi, I—”

“How are you feeling now?”

Interrupted, Yun Jinghe pressed her lips together briefly. “I’m alright, thank you for your concern.”

She couldn’t see the faint curve of Shi Ying’s lips as she cut her off.

“But you must be badly injured. When I found you, there was quite a bit of blood on you. And now you can’t see, it wouldn’t be easy for you to leave. Why not stay here and recover for a while?” Shi Ying’s words were considerate and perfectly timed.

It was as if a pillow had been handed to her just as she was about to doze off. Yun Jinghe fell silent for a moment. “I don’t know how many people are in your household. I wouldn’t want to trouble your family.”

“It’s just me. The others? They’re all dead,” Shi Ying replied, her tone as light as ever, as though the deceased weren’t her family at all.

Yun Jinghe hadn’t expected her to be the only one left. Her voice softened slightly. “I’m sorry. Since you’re willing to take me in now, I’ll repay you in the future.”

At the word “repay,” Shi Ying’s delicate brows lifted slightly, and she said cheerfully, “Good. Then you’ll have to repay me properly later.”

Yun Jinghe nodded solemnly. “I will.”

It sounded like a solemn promise.

Then Shi Ying asked, “I’ve heard many stories about repaying kindness. Most of them end with the person offering themselves in marriage. Why don’t you do the same?”

“I’m not a suitable match,” Yun Jinghe replied, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, her tone turning more serious. “Besides, marriage is no trivial matter. You should be careful in choosing the right person, Miss Shi.”

“But I just think you’re very good-looking.”

Yun Jinghe was momentarily at a loss for words. “Appearance is superficial. What matters is a person’s character.”

“Ugh, you’re so,” Shi Ying reached out again to poke the rigid, overly cautious cultivator, but this time, before she could make contact, her hand was caught.

The faint light from outside reflected in Yun Jinghe’s eyes, like black stones submerged in water.

Yun Jinghe gently lowered the other person’s hand. She had grown up on Taicang Mountain with her fellow sect sisters, but even among them, boundaries were never crossed.

Her peers wouldn’t treat her like this, and her juniors naturally wouldn’t dare.

Though their time together had been brief, it wasn’t hard to sense that this Miss Shi was quite different from the people she usually interacted with.

She was pondering how to respond, but she had clearly underestimated just how unconventional this person was.

Shi Ying actually raised her other hand and lightly tapped Yun Jinghe’s forehead, finishing what she had left unsaid. “Why are you so rigid?”

The fleeting touch on her forehead didn’t provoke anger in Yun Jinghe just sheer astonishment.

To Shi Ying, this reaction was rather amusing.

Yun Jinghe wanted to say something, but considering the other woman had saved her life, she swallowed her words.

If Shi Ying didn’t understand personal boundaries, then she would just have to be mindful of them herself.

“Miss Shi, did you happen to see a silver longsword?” Yun Jinghe smoothly changed the subject.

“A silver sword?”

She felt Shi Ying sit down right beside her. For a moment, she considered standing up, but that would have been too deliberate.

“Yes, it’s mine.”

“Nope. Just dragging you back was hard enough,” Shi Ying grumbled, making it clear that rescuing this cultivator had been no small feat.

The most frustrating part? The woman had actually survived.

Hearing that her spiritual sword hadn’t been retrieved, Yun Jinghe was disappointed, but she couldn’t demand anything from Shi Ying. After all, bringing her back was already an act of great kindness.

Without her spiritual power, she couldn’t sense the sword’s location. All she could do was hope no one else found it before she recovered.

“Why were you carrying a sword? Are you a wandering warrior or a cultivator?” Shi Ying asked pointedly.

“The former,” Yun Jinghe lied slightly. Though in truth, a cultivator without spiritual power wasn’t much different from an ordinary person.

Shi Ying found her answer amusing and pressed further, “Then how did you end up so injured, and why are your eyes like this?”

Yun Jinghe fabricated a story about accidentally tumbling down a slope into the woods, only to be bitten by a venomous snake, which had left her blind.

After she finished speaking, there was a brief silence. Unable to see, Yun Jinghe relied on sound to gauge reactions and tilted her head slightly. “Miss Shi?”

“So, will you ever be able to see again?” Shi Ying’s tone carried a hint of contemplation.

Assuming Shi Ying was worried she’d become a burden, Yun Jinghe reassured her, “Most likely.”

Once the lingering poison was purged from her system, her vision should return.

“Really?” Shi Ying sounded almost disappointed.

Though puzzled, Yun Jinghe didn’t dwell on it.

“Miss Shi, where are the clothes I was wearing before?” She remembered she still had some medicinal pills in her storage pouch.

“Threw them away,” Shi Ying said.

Yun Jinghe froze. “Threw them away?”

“Of course. Your clothes were covered in blood and mud, full of holes what, was I supposed to keep them?” Shi Ying spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, seeing nothing wrong with her actions.

“Then, did you see a brocade pouch?” The clothes didn’t matter, but the pouch was far more important.

“The brocade pouch?” Shi Ying thought for a moment. She did recall something like that, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open it. In frustration, she had tossed it away along with the rest.

“Is what’s inside important?”

Hearing her words, Yun Jinghe vaguely guessed that it might have been discarded along with the clothes. Not wanting to pressure her, she replied, “Not particularly. It’s fine if it’s gone.”

“Wait here for me!” Shi Ying said before bustling out in a whirlwind, leaving Yun Jinghe grasping at air, unable to stop her due to her blindness.

After Shi Ying left, the room fell into sudden silence.

Yun Jinghe tried to stand, relying on touch to get a sense of the place she was in.

She bumped into things here and there, but she could tell the house was sparsely furnished, suggesting a rather humble living.

It made her think of Shi Ying mentioning she lived alone. During her occasional demon-hunting trips, Yun Jinghe had encountered ordinary people and knew how difficult it was for a woman to survive on her own in these times.

Shi Ying’s willingness to take her in must mean she had a kind heart. Those slightly rude actions earlier were likely just thoughtless, not ill-intentioned.

She shouldn’t demand too much from her.

At the same time, Yun Jinghe found it strange. She remembered all her injuries, yet now there were unfamiliar spots aching. She reached to touch them but found no wounds.

How odd.

Before she knew it, she realized she had reached the doorway.

Shi Ying hadn’t closed the door when she left. Standing there, Yun Jinghe felt a cool breeze carrying fine raindrops brush against her face.

So it was raining outside.

Frowning at the realization, Yun Jinghe thought that had she known, she wouldn’t have brought up the pouch.

“Miss Shi,” she called out tentatively, but there was no response.

Just as she considered stepping outside, she heard footsteps approaching rapidly.

Unable to move aside in time, she collided squarely with the person. Reaching out to steady them, her hands met damp clothing.

“Is this it?” Shi Ying’s voice rang out.

Then something was thrust into her hands, the very pouch she had carried.

“Yes.” Yun Jinghe had felt the chill in Shi Ying’s fingertips. She must be freezing.

“It’s so cold! Why are you blocking the door? Let me in!” Shi Ying nudged her inside.

Yun Jinghe retreated with the push until they were back in the room.

“So what’s actually in this thing?” Shi Ying asked curiously after shutting the door, leaning in to peer at the pouch in Yun Jinghe’s hands.

“Just some medicine.” This time, Yun Jinghe wasn’t lying. She rarely carried anything else on her, especially valuables.

She opened the pouch and took out several small bottles and jars, placing them on the table.

Seeing that all her effort had been for these mundane items, Shi Ying couldn’t help but feel annoyed. She plopped onto a chair, propping her cheeks on her hands in a sulk.

After going through so much trouble to drag this person back, even cleaning her up, now not only was she not dying, but it seemed like she might actually recover.

“What kind of pouch is this anyway? Why couldn’t I open it?”

Yun Jinghe traced the embroidered patterns on the pouch with her fingertips. This bag could hold dozens of times its size, a common storage pouch carried by cultivators.

Hers was slightly different, though, enchanted with a seal that only she could open.

She had initially worried that without her spiritual power, she wouldn’t be able to open it, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Earlier, she had claimed to be a wandering martial artist, so she explained to Shi Ying that the pouch was bought elsewhere, with the special feature that only she could open it.

“Miss Shi, could you help me read the labels on these medicine bottles?” Yun Jinghe asked.

Since all the pill bottles looked identical, she couldn’t distinguish them by touch alone. Nor was she an alchemist, so she couldn’t identify them by scent either.

Shi Ying, who had been somewhat displeased earlier, perked up at this request. Though she couldn’t wait for Yun Jinghe to die, this opportunity had practically fallen into her lap.

“Of course!” Shi Ying eagerly pulled the assortment of bottles toward herself, carefully examining the labels under the light.

Yun Jinghe tried to recall the types and effects of the pills she had brought with her.

“Could you pass me the Detoxification Pill and the Five-Cycle Pill?” she requested. The Detoxification Pill could neutralize poisons, while the Five-Cycle Pill could help regulate her spiritual meridians.

She wasn’t sure if they would have any effect on her injuries or the poison, but it was worth a try.

“Oh, sure.” Shi Ying smiled sweetly and handed her two bottles labeled “Mystic Core Pill” and “Blazing Fire Pill.”

Unaware of the deception, Yun Jinghe poured out the pills and swallowed them together.

She could sense that her wounds hadn’t been treated at all, only her clothes had been changed.

So she rummaged through the bottles again and found the only distinguishable one, an external injury ointment and prepared to apply it herself.

Noticing her movements, Shi Ying said, “Are you going to dress your wounds? Let me help you.”

Without waiting for Yun Jinghe’s refusal, she grabbed the ointment with one hand and reached for Yun Jinghe’s collar with the other.

Yun Jinghe had never encountered such a situation before and was momentarily stunned, unable to stop her. As they struggled over the collar, there was a loud rip.

“Miss Shi!” Yun Jinghe closed her eyes, her voice tinged with anger, her ears flushing red.

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