The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Jiu Fangzhi heard the old Taoist priest's words.

The most important thing about the nine-linked rings is not solving them, but locking them.

He stood there, the warmth of the pull and twist he had just used to tie the silk thread still lingering on his fingers.

He tied that knot himself; it was so secure that the wind couldn't untie it.

In his life, he always acted as if he were unraveling a nine-linked puzzle.

He meticulously planned and schemed, always believing that he needed to peel back the layers of himself and sort out his concerns one by one before he was worthy to stand before her.

Like unraveling a nine-linked ring, the answer is only revealed when the last link is removed.

But when she fell asleep clutching his clothes last night, he clearly hadn't figured anything out.

He just never let go.

It's not that I can't let go.

They don't want to relax.

It turns out that some things in this world don't need to be dissected so thoroughly.

If you tear it down, it will fall apart.

Just hold it in place, that's enough.

The gentle tinkling of countless wind chimes is like a grand blessing.

The old Taoist priest leaned back in his chair, as if he too had transformed into a piece of old wood that had taken root under the Three Lives Tree, becoming no different from this world.

Tang Xixue turned her gaze away from the silver bell and turned around.

A corner of her green skirt was lifted by the morning breeze.

She also heard the old Taoist priest's words and gave Jiu Fangzhi a meaningful look.

Her senior brother is very good at saying one thing and meaning another!

"Senior brother, we've found this tree, but..."

She paused.

If there was anything left unsaid, Jiu Fangzhi heard it clearly.

The Three-Life Tree is here, but where is the Immortal Medicine Garden?

The legendary Crystal Palace, said to hold the legacy of the Medicine God, remains nowhere to be found.

"Junior sister, don't be anxious."

Jiu Fangzhi spoke, his tone steady, like a warm hand gently pressing on the slight anxiety in her heart.

"If it were easy to find, no one would have yet been able to see that person's legacy."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his dark robe casting a long shadow beneath the tree.

Throughout history, many medicine gods have emerged, and the lineages found in later generations are mostly left by the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Medicine God.

The true lineage of the original master remains dormant deep within this underwater labyrinth, untouched by anyone.

"I've heard that the Flowing Cloud Medicine God possesses profound medical skills, capable of communicating with the yin and yang, and discerning life and death."

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was deep and restrained, like turning the pages of a dusty ancient scroll.

"Her medical skills were extraordinary; they transcended the cycle of birth and death. The rare and precious elixir formulas that are still circulating in the world today are but a tiny fraction of what she left behind."

Just like their Divine Medicine Valley's "Tai Su Dan Jue," it's just a few bits and pieces left behind by the Flowing Cloud Medicine God.

That first-generation medicine god was truly a legend!

Tang Xixue listened quietly.

"I was just unwilling to accept it, watching her light go out."

She spoke softly, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

The Flowing Cloud Medicine God is the patriarch of medicine, who single-handedly illuminated Yaoguang City and protected countless lives.

However, the lineage was broken, the name was tarnished, and the achievements were forgotten in the cracks of history.

How could this not break one's heart?

Everything has a cause and effect, a karmic connection.

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was as calm as a deep pool.

"Our arrival here, seeing this city and this tree, is all due to fate. As for whether we will find the lineage..."

He paused briefly and turned his head to look at her.

The morning light brushed against his silver mask, reflecting a cold, sharp glint.

But the eyes behind the mask were warmer than the morning light.

"Junior Sister, you yourself are a lamp. The moment you stand here, the lamp is already shining."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xixue's lips curved slightly.

She didn't hesitate or flinch; she met his gaze openly.

"Senior brother is right. I am here, so this lamp will not go out."

Jiu Fangzhi looked at her, a slight glint of light in his eyes.

"Junior Sister, look over there."

He raised his hand and pointed to one side of the Three Lives Tree trunk.

Tang Xixue looked in the direction he pointed and saw that the tree trunk was covered with dense characters, most of which were covered by moss from the years, with only a few mottled strokes faintly visible.

She walked over, squatted down, and gently brushed away the layer of moss with her fingertips.

Beneath the moss were lines of delicate handwriting.

"It's the calligraphy of the Flowing Cloud Medicine God."

Jiu Fangzhi had been standing behind her for some time now, his voice unusually serious.

The snow in Tangxi cleaned the moss even more thoroughly.

Those words, sealed away for countless years, finally emerged completely in the morning light.

"My lifelong wish is neither to seek immortality nor to aspire to ascension."

My only wish is that every woman in the world has access to medical training, medical care, and the means to save her life.

Not confined to the inner chambers, not bound by social conventions, and not denied all possibilities simply because of being a woman.

"If anyone comes after you and sees these words, I hope you will remember them. A woman's hands can hold a silver needle, and they can also hold up the sky."

Tangxi Xue read it once.

Every word seemed to have broken through time a thousand years ago, landing on her heart, burning like a branding iron.

The handwriting is elegant yet powerful, and between the beginning and end of each stroke, there is a clear sense of stubbornness that refuses to admit defeat.

She could almost see that woman from a thousand years ago, standing under this tree, using her finger as a pen and the tree as a monument, carving her solitary courage into eternity.

"She really does know everything."

Tang Xixue's voice trailed off.

It wasn't sadness, but rather a kind of anger that had been suppressed for too long and finally found an outlet.

"She knew that future generations might forget her, that women's paths would be blocked, and that this lamp would eventually go out. So she inscribed these words here."

"Engraved on the Three Lives Tree, engraved in the deepest part of Yaoguang City."

Jiu Fangzhi's voice was deep and melancholic.

"Waiting for someone to read it a thousand years from now."

Tang Xixue slowly stood up.

She turned around and faced Jiu Fangzhi.

"Senior brother, I will not let her be forgotten by the world."

Her voice was firm and resounding.

"I will finish what the Medicine Goddess Liuyun left unfinished. I will walk the path she didn't have time to illuminate."

Jiu Fangzhi looked at her and nodded slightly.

He didn't say anything, but the light in his eyes clearly answered, "I'll stay with you."

At that moment, all the wind chimes on the Three Lives Tree rang in unison.

It was no longer the gentle tinkling of the wind, but a rapid, almost simultaneous, piercing scream.

Hundreds and thousands of silver bells were activated at the same moment, and the sound waves poured down from the tree canopy like a tide.

"What's going on?"

Tang Xixue suddenly looked up.

Why are the silver bells on the Three Lives Tree making such a racket?

"What happened?"

"I don't know!"

Tourists under the tree stopped and looked around in bewilderment.

Some people covered their ears, some looked around in panic, and several children cried out in fright from the loud noise.

"Mother, I'm scared."

"Don't be afraid, child, everything will be alright."

A young mother held her infant child tightly in her arms, her face instantly turning pale.

The old Taoist priest's palm-leaf fan slipped to the ground.

He opened his eyes.

Those turbid eyes were now frighteningly clear, the swaying canopy of the Three Lives Tree reflected deep within their pupils, and the last trace of weariness on their faces had vanished.

"Outsiders have intruded into Yaoguang City, and their intentions are not good."

His voice was hoarse and deep.

"They must be after the Three Lives Tree again."