Turns Out I’m the Villain They’re Supposed to Redeem? [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 47

The journey home was silent. Li Xuzhi didn’t speak again, as if tacitly approving Huo Yuwan’s daily returns home, or perhaps he was contemplating something.

Before bedtime, Huo Yuwan was awakened by noises at her door. She got up and opened it to find the little white dog scratching at the door.

“Master, I’m back!”

Hearing the familiar voice, Huo Yuwan let it in, and soon they were squatting on the floor, communicating.

Huo Yuwan wanted to ask why the fox spirit had taken so long to return, but before she could speak, a potted plant appeared out of thin air, its green leaves swaying gently in the soil.

“Isn’t this the Luanwei Flower I raised?”

Puzzled, Huo Yuwan examined the plant, which looked exactly as it had before she left the fox clan, and she couldn’t make sense of it.

The fox spirit, who had been about to boast, was also taken aback.

“You raised this?”

“The high priest said the petals and leaves of the Luanwei Flower can cure all human diseases, and it only grows in extremely cold regions. How did you manage to keep it alive…”

Hearing this, Huo Yuwan’s gaze toward the plant turned delighted.

“Really? That’s wonderful. Now we just need to wait for it to bloom.”

Modern medicine could only alleviate asthma symptoms, not cure them. With the Luanwei Flower, Li Xuzhi would no longer have to suffer from the illness.

Carefully placing the pot in the center of the table, Huo Yuwan examined the budding plant under the moonlight. The more she looked, the more certain she became that it was the one she had cultivated.

“This flower was indeed raised by me. The seedling was a gift from my sister before I even took human form. Even the glowing patterns at the bottom of the pot are identical.”

Over a hundred years ago, when Huo Yuwan was still cultivating, Li Xuzhi, in his red fox form, often accompanied her at her training grounds. The Luanwei Flower was a gift from him back then.

According to ancient texts, the Luanwei Flower is also known as the Eternal Flower. When mature, its petals shine brighter than starlight, but it only appears in the Snow Abyss of the extreme cold lands. Over millennia, it’s unclear whether any traces of the Luanwei Flower still exist in the world.

Li Xuzhi had once cultivated in the extreme cold regions and stumbled upon a Luanwei Flower seedling in the Snow Abyss, which he then gave to Huo Yuwan. Little did they know that the flower would have healing properties in the mortal realm.

The fox spirit also observed the green plant curiously under the moonlight. The reason for its delayed return was that it couldn’t find any remedies for asthma in the clan’s library.

Knowing Huo Yuwan wanted to cure Li Xuzhi, it waited specifically for the high priest to emerge from seclusion.

Upon hearing its request, the high priest handed over the Luanwei Flower, explaining that the petals in their mature stage emit a fragrance capable of curing all human ailments. Keeping the flower in the patient’s room would gradually lead to a full recovery.

“Master is truly knowledgeable.”

Huo Yuwan sighed sincerely and decided to move the flower to Li Xuzhi’s room the next day.

The fox spirit nodded in agreement but still had doubts.

“But Master, the texts say the Luanwei Flower only grows in extreme cold. Can we really cultivate it here?”

Smiling, Huo Yuwan slowly raised her hand, and a white light appeared in her palm, which was quickly absorbed by the Luanwei Flowerpot nearby.

“The Cold Wood Spring Blossom cultivation method I practice happens to complement it perfectly. I’ve been nurturing this flower in this way since its earliest growth stages.”

“However, when I came here for training, I was worried it wouldn’t be properly cared for, so I transplanted it back to the extreme cold region. I just had to trouble my master to make this trip for me.”

Fox Spirit nodded with sudden understanding. No wonder the Grand Priest hadn’t given any instructions on how to care for the flower when handing it over, it turned out she already knew the Young Fate Master could sustain it.

The next day.

Huo Yuwan woke up early. During breakfast, watching Li Xuzhi quietly eating congee across from her, she lowered her head and delivered the speech she had prepared the night before.

She said she had discovered a particularly beautiful flower on the mountain that morning, dug it up intending to grow it at home, then used her school commitments as an excuse to ask Li Xuzhi to take care of it for her.

Li Xuzhi responded with a noncommittal nod. But when Huo Yuwan brought out the potted plant from her room, her expression became somewhat inscrutable.

The plant consisted of a single green stem with a few scattered drooping triangular leaves, not even a flower bud in sight. Li Xuzhi genuinely couldn’t understand how Huo Yuwan had determined this was beautiful.

Without comment, she placed the pot on her windowsill, then left the house with Huo Yuwan.

Now that Huo Yuwan would be attending high school in the city, there would be no one left in the Huo household to tend their farmland. They needed to report to the village secretary to officially return their land for redistribution.

After discussing matters with the village secretary, Huo Yuwan followed Wu Xiao to help in the fields. Since land redistribution wouldn’t happen immediately, there was plenty of farm work to keep them busy for the day.

At noon, as Li Xuzhi walked home from the village elementary school, she began feeling discomfort in her chest.

The fields near the school were planted with extensive rapeseed flowers, clustered right outside the classroom windows. Mischievous students would sometimes duck below the windowsills during class to reach out and pick them.

This being peak blooming season, the overwhelmingly strong floral scent made breathing difficult for Li Xuzhi. She managed to persist until lunch break, then left the classroom looking pale, heading home with plans to take medicine and remember to wear the mask Huo Yuwan had bought her last winter.

The midday sun was glaring. Sun Xuedong sat at the field’s edge plucking grass, an empty bamboo basket strapped to his front. When he looked up from chasing butterflies and spotted Li Xuzhi in the distance, he froze mid-reach, then reacted with a foolish grin, clapping his hands as he ran toward her.

“Li… Li…”

Sun Xuedong often roamed the village playing with children. After all the village children old enough started attending the elementary school, lacking playmates, he began lingering beneath trees outside the classrooms. Over time, he became familiar with Li Xuzhi, who taught the children.

Her striking beauty and elegant, cool demeanour made her the unattainable flower of Shihe Village. Sensible single young men knew she was from the city and would eventually return there, so most kept their distance. But Sun Xuedong, with his mental disability, lacked such awareness and would approach Li Xuzhi whenever he saw her.

Without breaking stride, Li Xuzhi had no intention of engaging with someone of diminished mental capacity. Her cool, detached gaze shifted away only momentarily. With a slight frown, she continued walking homeward.

Sun Xuedong either didn’t notice or didn’t care about her coldness, still hopping and skipping around her while clapping his hands playfully, cheerfully chanting Li Xuzhi’s name.

He had come to the fields today with Widow Sun. While Widow Sun was busy spreading quicklime in the fields to prevent insects, he sat alone at the edge playing.

He still wore the coarse cloth gloves Widow Sun had specially sewn for him to protect his hands from the lime. The gloves were stained with mud and traces of lime, and as he clapped without restraint, dust particles scattered through the air, instantly shrouding the surroundings in a grimy haze.

Covering her nose and mouth tightly, Li Xuzhi already had cold sweat beading on her forehead. She furrowed her brows, forcing herself to quicken her pace.

She was already having some difficulty breathing, and now, with Sun Xuedong pestering her like this, she felt an even more suffocating tightness in her chest.

Huo Yuwan was in the kitchen preparing lunch when she heard the commotion. Peeking out, she saw Li Xuzhi’s clothes covered in grayish-white dust, even her hair was coated with it.

Startled, she hurried over and noticed Li Xuzhi’s pale complexion. Quickly supporting her into the house, she fetched medicine from the drawer and fed it to Li Xuzhi, then handed her a cup of warm tea.

Only after seeing Li Xuzhi’s complexion gradually ease did Huo Yuwan turn her attention to the dust covering her. There was both mud and lime. Carefully wiping the dust from her hair with a towel, she asked with concern, “How did you get covered in all this? Did someone throw it at you on purpose?”

It was the busy farming season when lime was being spread, but even carrying bags through the fields wouldn’t result in such complete coverage unless someone had intentionally thrown it at her.

At this thought, Huo Yuwan’s expression darkened, her first suspicion falling on Widow Sun. Ever since Li Xuzhi had refused to teach her son to read, the grudge between them had deepened completely.

Hearing this, Li Xuzhi didn’t respond. She slowly regulated her breathing, one hand pressed against her chest, breathing weakly and softly.

Noticing her unstable condition, Huo Yuwan knelt before Li Xuzhi with the towel in hand, looking up at her with deeply worried furrowed brows.

“Is the medicine not helping? What can I do to help you?”

Glancing at the slowly growing orchids on the windowsill, Huo Yuwan could only silently pray in her heart for them to grow faster.

Leaning one hand on the table edge, Li Xuzhi looked at Huo Yuwan’s worried face and managed a faint, reassuring smile at the corners of her lips.

“I’m fine, I just need to rest for a while.”

Looking down at the dust on her clothes and the strands of hair falling to her shoulders, her voice carried traces of helplessness and exhaustion.

“Is there still hot water? I’d like to bathe.”

“Yes, I’ll fetch it right now.”

Huo Yuwan rushed to the kitchen to bring boiled water to the backyard, pouring pot after pot into the bathing tub. After adjusting the temperature with cold water, she helped Li Xuzhi to the backyard.

“I’ll wait outside. Call me if you need anything.”

After giving this concerned instruction, Huo Yuwan walked out, glancing back repeatedly before sitting on a small stool to wait.

Removing her clothes and sinking into the tub, Li Xuzhi closed her eyes, allowing her body to submerge into the water.

Whether it was from continuously inhaling too much pollen and dust, she felt that the relief from the medicine wasn’t as effective as before.

Perhaps one day, she would quietly pass away in such a state.

When the suffocating sensation underwater reached its peak, she endured the dull pain in her chest and lifted her head above the surface, closing her eyes as she gasped for air.

Droplets slid down her cheeks. Li Xuzhi lowered her gaze slightly, her expression calm as she gripped the edge of the bathtub, attempting to rise.

But a sudden, unbearable tightness in her chest made her instinctively furrow her brows, and her palms abruptly lost their strength.

Thud.

The back of her head struck the edge of the bathtub. Whether it was the pain in her head or the ache in her chest, her mind began to spin with dizziness.

Her entire body slid downward uncontrollably.

Almost the instant the collision sound echoed, Huo Yuwan, who had been anxiously waiting just outside, unable to rest, sprang to her feet and rushed in.

Quickly grasping Li Xuzhi’s palm, she pulled her out of the water.

Though the water in the tub was still warm enough, Li Xuzhi’s hands felt icy cold to the touch.

Huo Yuwan’s face was stern, her eyes red-rimmed as she carried Li Xuzhi out. She snatched the clothes hanging nearby, wrapped them around her, and strode into the room.

Her gaze swept over the medicine bottle on the table, still more than half full. Tears welled up in Huo Yuwan’s eyes.

“It was still effective before…”

Her voice trembled with suppressed sobs. Remembering something, she turned her head to look at the iris flower on the windowsill, basking in the sunlight.

Without a second thought for its unopened state, Huo Yuwan gathered spiritual energy in her palm. A dense white light was continuously absorbed and transformed by the green plant.