The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

The herbs in the corner of the yard are growing well, with several clumps of lush green leaves unfurling in the morning light.

Dewdrops still clung to the tips of the leaves, poised to fall.

An elderly woman squatting in front of a patch of herbs.

Her full head of silver hair was combed meticulously and adorned with a plain silver hoe-shaped hairpin.

She was wearing a faded blue cloth dress with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing a section of her thin but muscular forearm.

At that moment, she raised her head.

That face, sculpted by time, had wrinkles of varying depths covering its forehead and the corners of its eyes, yet they couldn't conceal the gentle bone structure beneath.

"My wife's surname is Bai."

She put down the silver scissors, patted the mud off her hands, stood up supporting herself on her knees, and a kind smile spread across her face.

"In this Yaoguang City, the older neighbors all call me Granny Bai. You can call me that too."

She placed the silver scissors on the windowsill and turned to greet the two guests.

"You weren't scared last night, were you? When that thing started moving, it sounded like hundreds of ants were gnawing at the house, it was really creepy."

"But you guys seem to be in pretty good spirits right now..."

"We slept very well last night, thank you Grandma Bai for taking us in."

Tang Xixue stepped forward, took out a delicate white jade bottle from her sleeve, and presented it to Granny Bai with both hands.

The jade bottle was warm and smooth all over.

Jiu Fangzhi lagged half a step behind her, leaning against the courtyard gate.

His gaze swept over every corner of the courtyard without making a sound.

Then he shifted his weight from his left leg to his right leg, loosening his arms slightly.

That's the relaxation that comes only after safety is confirmed.

"Grandma Bai, I apologize for bothering you so much last night. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

"Oh dear, little one, why are you being so polite!"

Granny Bai paused for a moment, then took the jade bottle.

She uncorked the bottle, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out, subtle and delightful.

She brought her nose close and took a careful sniff; her somewhat cloudy eyes lit up.

He quickly put the stopper back in, held the jade bottle in both hands, and his lips trembled slightly.

"This...this is..."

She looked up at Tang Xixue, her eyes slightly red.

"This is the scent of the meridian-clearing ointment. There's no mistake... I've smelled this formula for half my life, I can't be wrong."

"Young lady, are you a doctor?"

"Um."

Tang Xixue nodded, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze brushing across the stream.

"Grandma Bai's leg, was it injured when she was young? It must be an old injury that has been left untreated for many years."

Granny Bai's hand, clutching the jade bottle, trembled slightly, and it took her a long time to manage to utter a complete sentence.

"Girl, how...how did you know I have an old injury on my leg? I walk...it seems perfectly normal, doesn't it?"

"Grandma Bai walked very steadily."

Tang Xixue's gaze fell on her knees, her tone gentle yet firm.

"When you walk, your right leg drags slightly, though very slightly, but your center of gravity shifts a second later than your left foot."

"When I squatted down just now, my left knee bent first, and my right knee always lags behind by half a beat."

"That's a sequela of the bone not being properly set after it was misaligned, causing it to grow crooked."

She paused, her gaze clear as water.

"Ordinary people can't tell, but I'm a doctor, so I can."

"What a good child."

Grandma Bai quickly wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve, as if she had remembered something sad.

The movements were hurried and clumsy, as if afraid of being seen.

Her gaze lingered on Tang Xixue's face for a moment before shifting away.

It was as if through that young and beautiful face, I saw the shadow of another person.

Jiu Fangzhi leaned against the door frame, looking at his junior sister with an indescribable tenderness in his eyes.

He didn't speak, but the corners of his lips under the mask curved very faintly.

"Little girls, are you heading towards the Tree of Three Lives?"

Grandma Bai carefully put away the bottle of meridian-clearing ointment, patted her clothes, and turned to walk into the house.

"Wait a minute, this old woman has something for you."

A short while later, she came out carrying a glass lamp.

The lamp was smaller than the ones that usually hung under the eaves of ordinary houses; its body was exquisite and translucent, and extremely thin.

A small, pale blue flame was sealed at the wick, as quiet as a star that had been frozen for a thousand years.

She handed the lamp to Tang Xixue, her calloused hand trembling slightly.

"This lamp was brought by my wife when she went to pray under the Three Lives Tree when she was young. She has kept it ever since and has never used it again."

"Take these; you'll need them on the road."

She pointed to the faint blue light at the wick.

"The lights in this city can only be lit by the spiritual essence of the Flowing Cloud Medicine God. Without the spiritual essence, the lights are lifeless."

"When you pass by the square, you can take some spiritual essence with you... When that thing comes at night, having a light will provide protection."

Tang Xixue took the lamp with both hands and gently shook it.

The flame in the glass cup remained motionless, as if it had been sleeping in this small cage for thousands of years.

"Thank you for the gift, Grandma Bai."

She looked up and solemnly thanked him.

"What are you thanking me for?"

Grandma Bai waved her hand, her tone carrying a hint of reproach from an elder.

"You are a young couple who came to Yaoguang City to pray. I'll help you if I can."

"Besides, this bottle of meridian-clearing ointment is worth much more than this broken lamp."

She paused, her gaze falling on Tang Xixue's face.

"It's truly remarkable that such a young girl possesses such excellent medical skills."

"These days, there aren't many girls who know medicine... When I was young, I knew one who was very good at medicine and, like you, kind-hearted."

The moment Jiu Fangzhi uttered the words "young couple," he turned his gaze to the old tree in the courtyard.

The leaves rustled in the morning breeze, and his cheeks flushed, as if he were recalling the night they had shared a pillow.

Without making a sound, he raised his hand and pushed the edge of the mask up half an inch.

"Grandma Bai."

He interrupted, his voice still in that indifferent tone.

"May I ask, what was the origin of that black fog last night?"

Grandma Bai's smile faded slightly.

Her gaze passed over the courtyard wall and fell silent for a moment as she looked at the tall tower hidden in the morning mist in the distance.

When she spoke again, her voice had become hoarse and heavy with age.

"That black mist initially came from the dry well under the old locust tree in the north of the city."

Her gaze was somewhat vacant, as if she were looking into another time and space through the morning light.

"At first it was just a thin strand, and people didn't pay any attention to it."

"It wasn't until later, when someone witnessed the fog sweeping over a vegetable field and turning the lush greenery into withered yellow in the blink of an eye, that people began to be afraid."

Her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

"That thing devours everything in its path. Grass, livestock, people... nothing remains in its wake."

"The more living beings they devour, the larger they become, until finally they blot out the sky and shroud the entire city of Yaoguang in darkness."

"And then what happened?"

Tangxi Xue asked softly.

"How was it resolved?"