Longzang

Chapter 58 Push

Wei Yuan barely managed to escape from the ward in Xuanming Palace. The Taoist priest had used too much medicine while cleaning his wounds, so he had to add more muscle-regenerating powder, and then there was still too much powder, so he had to sprinkle some more medicine on top. If it weren't for Wei Yuan's strong physique, he would have been seriously injured by the Taoist priest long ago.

In his panic, the Taoist priest inadvertently revealed that he was only eighteen years old, had not yet completed his apprenticeship, and had no talent for medicine, thus being unable to practice medicine independently. However, due to a shortage of staff in the temple, particularly in the Xin-level wards, he had been sent over.

After leaving the ward, Wei Yuan felt that according to etiquette, he should pay a visit to Bao Yun to thank her for saving his life. However, it wouldn't make sense to go empty-handed when expressing gratitude. But Wei Yuan was penniless and had nothing to offer. After searching the entire house, he finally found a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills, which was something he could offer, so he took it to visit Bao Yun.

Bao Yun's courtyard was dozens of miles away from Wei Yuan's residence. Wei Yuan was reluctant to take the palace carriage, so he relied on his youth and good physical strength and ran all the way to Bao Yun's residence.

Bao Yun's residence looked no different from Wei Yuan's from the outside; both were standard courtyard houses built against the mountain, two-story buildings, with cultivation rooms built directly inside the cave dwelling. However, standing at the entrance, Wei Yuan could smell a faint fragrance that was refreshing and invigorating.

Wei Yuan knocked on the courtyard gate, and an old servant opened it. Seeing that it was Wei Yuan, he smiled and invited him into the courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, Wei Yuan saw a flowering tree in the central courtyard, about ten feet tall, covered with blue five-pointed leaves that scattered specks of blue light as they swayed.

Nightshade nightshade!

Wei Yuan recognized the tree at a glance; it was simply too famous. Its leaves were one of the main ingredients in the Qi Cultivation Pill. This tree was at least a thousand years old, and the leaves from just one leaf were probably enough to refine hundreds of bottles of Qi Cultivation Pills, and top-grade ones at that. Top-grade Qi Cultivation Pills were 20% more potent than ordinary ones, but twice as expensive, which was why Wei Yuan had never taken them.

So how much silver is this thousand-year-old tree worth? And it seems that it was planted here not for picking, but just as a screen wall so that people cannot see the main hall at a glance after entering the courtyard.

Wei Yuan was still in shock when he caught a glimpse of bright red in the corner of his eye.

In one corner of the courtyard grew a strange tree, entirely fiery red and shaped like coral, with branches but no leaves, and flames rising from between its branches. The fragrance that Wei Yuan smelled outside the door was emanating from this strange tree.

Wei Yuan recognized this red jade coral; after all, it was one of the three precious medicines used to aid in forging the Dao foundation, a priceless treasure. During the art theory class, the teacher had shown a red jade coral, but not only was it forbidden to touch it, it also prevented everyone from looking at it for long. That one was about half the size of the one before him. Cui Yu also used a red jade coral as a precious medicine to protect his Heavenly Rank.

Besides, the tables and chairs in the courtyard were all made of North Sea ice jadeite. Ice jadeite itself isn't valuable, but adding the word "jadeite" makes it priceless. Wei Yuan couldn't tell the material of the tea set on the table, nor could he discern the nature of the grass growing in the lawn, or the vines bearing small red fruits climbing the courtyard wall…

"Junior Brother Wei is here? Please come in!" Bao Yun's voice came from the main hall.

Wei Yuan followed the old servant into the main hall. As soon as he entered, he felt that the spiritual energy inside was so dense that it was almost like water mist and rain! The concentration of spiritual energy here was more than ten times higher than that in Wei Yuan's courtyard. Cultivating here, even without any pills, would be two or three times faster than that of an ordinary person.

Wei Yuan looked around and immediately understood. It turned out that although the small building looked the same as before, it had actually been demolished and rebuilt.

Bao Yun was still dressed in a pale yellow dress. She was already extremely beautiful, and now that she had cultivated to the Refinement of Spirit level, her skin was even more translucent, radiating a halo from the inside out. Every frown and smile of hers illuminated the entire main hall.

"Junior brother, please sit down!" Bao Yun offered Wei Yuan a seat first, and then gracefully sat down opposite him.

Sitting opposite Bao Yun, Wei Yuan felt a little nervous, but he couldn't remain silent under her gaze. He forced himself to say, "I came here to thank Senior Sister for saving me with her life. I brought a small gift, which is really nothing to show for it."

Wei Yuan placed a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills on the table, his movements stiff and hesitant, as if he were carrying a small mountain. In retrospect, the gift was indeed a bit meager, considering that the other party had a thousand-year-old Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower growing in their courtyard. Wei Yuan had essentially given them a leaf, and one that wasn't even that old.

Bao Yun didn't answer immediately. Instead, she stared at Wei Yuan, a slight smile playing on her lips, and asked, "Junior Brother, what are you so nervous about? Is it because I'm not good-looking?"

"I'm not nervous!" Wei Yuan denied it outright. Wei Yuan knew he was just being stubborn; he was nervous for two reasons: firstly, the gift was really embarrassing, and secondly, he felt naturally guilty in front of his creditor.

Bao Yun suddenly smiled, and the main hall instantly blossomed with beauty. By this time, she had shed much of her childishness, revealing her stunning beauty, and her smile was simply breathtaking.

Bao Yun took the bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills and said, "Junior Brother, you shouldn't mention risking your life to save me anymore. To be honest, I really didn't intend to save you then, much less sacrifice myself to do so. But since this is the first gift you've ever given me, I'll accept it!"

Wei Yuan assumed Bao Yun was as shy as he was, too embarrassed to admit she had saved someone. After all, everyone had witnessed Bao Yun shielding someone from a sword with her own body, and no matter how much she denied it, Wei Yuan still had to accept the favor. Seeing that she had accepted the gift, Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he felt that Bao Yun's tone was a little strange.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Wei Yuan got up to take his leave. Bao Yun didn't try to keep him and saw him to the courtyard gate. At that moment, an old servant presented a gift box, saying it was a return gift from the young lady.

Wei Yuan was unwilling to accept it and firmly declined.

Bao Yun said, "We've been classmates for three years, are we going to be so distant? You won't even accept a small gift in return?"

Having said that, Wei Yuan had no choice but to accept the gift box and leave hastily, as if fleeing in panic. Bao Yun and the old servant watched Wei Yuan walk away before closing the courtyard gate.

The old servant nodded slightly and said, "This child is not bad! He is not pretentious at all, and he did not forget to train his body on the way here and there. He is much better than your fair-weather friends."

Bao Yun snorted and said, "He just doesn't want to spend money on transportation! You're getting younger and younger these days, making stinginess sound so elegant and refined. It's so annoying, and I have to fake a smile for him."

The old servant reached out and took the Qi-Nourishing Pill into his hand, saying, "Oh, if that's the case, then I'll just throw this bottle of pills away."

"No!" Bao Yun snatched the medicine bottle, returned to the study, and slammed the door shut.

In the study, Bao Yun casually thought of throwing the bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills into a drawer, but after thinking about it, she placed it on the antique shelf instead. This shelf was full of treasures; any one of them could be bought for hundreds of bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills.

She sat by the window, lost in thought, feeling inexplicably irritable. Suddenly, she gritted her teeth and said, "If I find out who pushed me out, I'll make sure you regret it!"

Upon returning to his residence, Wei Yuan carefully opened the gift box. Inside were two egg-sized, translucent fruits, each with blue veins. His teacher had mentioned these two fruits in his art theory class; they were seeds of the Heavenly Star Dragon Sunflower.

The seeds of spiritual plants are worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver.

(End of this chapter)