After the spring rain, the mountain mist was dense.
Under the locust tree at the entrance of the village, a few children were running around wildly, playing in the puddles.
Xiling Zhou leaned against the tree nearby, waiting impatiently and considering going out to search for someone.
Just then, someone suddenly shouted, “Sister Xiaoxi!”
Everyone else immediately looked up and rushed forward together, splashing water everywhere.
At the end of the road, a woman in a blue cloth skirt gradually became clear as she emerged from the mist.
She was slender, yet stood tall like bamboo after the rain.
Though her facial features weren’t entirely visible, her snow-white face could be seen.
She heard the call, and the corners of her lips seemed to lift into a smile.
Lowering her head, she reached out and gently rubbed the face of the child who had run up to her.
Then, she took a few fruits from her bamboo basket and distributed them to the children, holding one child in each hand as she walked forward while chatting with them.
Xiling Zhou watched the approaching woman.
Although it wasn’t the first time he had seen her, his heartbeat still quickened.
Half a month ago, he had been injured in an accident and had fallen at the foot of a mountain outside Taoxi Village.
Before losing consciousness, he vaguely heard a gentle female voice calling out to him.
When he woke up, he found himself in this secluded mountain village, being taken care of in the home of an elderly man living alone.
During his recovery, he learned that the voice he had heard that day was not a hallucination—it belonged to someone from the village, a woman named Wei Xi.
Miss Wei had come to visit him the day after he regained consciousness.
That was the first time he saw her clearly—a face of stunning beauty, like a lotus after the rain.
She looked more delicate than most people, her complexion as pale as snow, seemingly somewhat frail.
Yet, her eyes held an intelligent liveliness, and when she spoke, she carried a gentle smile, her dimples making her seem kind and approachable.
She chatted with him for a while before leaving.
Xiling Zhou could recall that day with remarkable clarity.
Wei Xi had curiously asked if he was a cultivator and where he was from.
When he told her that he was an outer disciple of the Wen family from Dongyun, her gaze showed a flicker of something unspoken.
Then, after some hesitation, she asked if he knew a cultivator named Wen Ruyu.
Wen Ruyu—the name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall where he had heard it.
After all, he was not a direct descendant of the Wen family, only an outer disciple.
So he truthfully shook his head and told her he had never heard of the name.
Clearly, Wei Xi’s expression darkened with disappointment.
After that, she seemed to lose interest in further conversation.
She asked a few things about the outside world, then simply told him to focus on recovering before leaving.
She never visited him again.
But as his condition improved and he could move around, he often saw her here and there.
He also learned that she had arrived in the village three years ago with a male cultivator.
That man later left, leaving her alone to live here.
Her health was not good—she had a heart condition.
Though she had partially stepped onto the path of cultivation, she had not yet broken through to the transcendence stage.
She only knew some simple spells, which allowed her to dispel minor malevolent spirits and help children ward off nightmares, making her well-liked by the village children.
Xiling Zhou pulled himself back from his thoughts and looked at the woman who had now come close.
He couldn’t help but straighten his robe, even though he knew that his charming and handsome appearance often attracted admiration from female cultivators.
Yet, in this moment, he felt a rare sense of nervousness.
Taking a few steps forward, he called out, “Miss Wei.”
Hearing his voice, Wei Xi looked up, a lingering smile still on her face.
She nodded politely.
“Immortal Xiling.”
With that, she showed no intention of continuing the conversation and lowered her head again to speak with the children beside her.
Xiling Zhou couldn’t help but follow along, keeping pace with her.
His gaze was drawn to her as he spoke, “Did you go to the foot of the mountain again today?”
The elderly man he was staying with had mentioned that Wei Xi went to the foot of the mountain every day.
That was the road leading out of the village—an ordinary person would have to climb for eight or nine days before reaching the outside world.
This place was one of the most remote villages in Dongyun.
Wei Xi nodded but showed little interest in continuing the conversation.
Xiling Zhou wanted to say more, but when he looked down, he saw five or six children all raising their heads, staring at him in unison.
He suddenly fell silent and simply followed quietly.
He walked alongside them until all the children had gone home.
Wei Xi was heading back to her own house when she noticed the young man still following her.
Not wanting to bring him home, she stopped and asked, “Does the Immortal have something to say?”
Xiling Zhou had been rehearsing his words in his mind, but when she suddenly stopped, he looked up at her.
Though she still had a faint smile, there was an unmistakable distance in her eyes.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking solemnly, “There’s no need to call me ‘Immortal.’ Just call me by my name… I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”
With that, Xiling Zhou bowed to Wei Xi.
Wei Xi quickly stepped aside, speaking softly, “No need. I only asked someone to bring you back to the village.”
Xiling Zhou insisted, and since she didn’t want to argue over the matter, she simply accepted his gratitude.
“I will be leaving tomorrow,” Xiling Zhou continued.
“The new head of the Wen family in Dongyun is about to take over, and all disciples must return for the grand ceremony. I came to bid you farewell.”
When Wei Xi heard him mention the Wen family, her expression flickered slightly in a daze, but she quickly regained her composure.
She nodded, the dimples at the corners of her lips faintly appearing.
“I wish you a smooth journey.”
Xiling Zhou did not respond immediately.
His affectionate, peach blossom-shaped eyes rested on her as he hesitated for a moment before saying, “I wonder if Miss Wei would be willing to leave with me?”
After saying this, he himself seemed to realize how abrupt his words were, and a slight flush crept up his face.
Before Wei Xi could answer, he hurriedly added, “I heard that your heart condition often forces you to rely on a medicinal herb found in the mountains—Cùcǎo.
It carries a mild toxicity, and prolonged use is not good for your health. There are medical cultivators outside. If you receive proper treatment, your condition should be curable.”
For ordinary illnesses, medical cultivators were usually able to provide effective treatments, and Xiling Zhou spoke with confidence.
But what he didn’t know was that someone had already sought out a medical cultivator for Wei Xi before.
Her heart was naturally malformed, with chaotic meridian connections, causing poor circulation and extreme fragility.
She couldn’t tolerate potent spiritual medicines, let alone high-intensity spiritual energy environments, which made her feel breathless as if she were intoxicated.
The only way to survive was to maintain a slow, sustained treatment with mild herbal remedies.
Two years ago, Wei Xi had stopped relying on the wild herbs from the mountains.
Instead, she took one pill per month.
It was the Qingxin Dan left by Wen Ruyu—twelve pills in total.
She still remembered how he had smiled at her back then and said, “When you’ve finished all the medicine, I’ll be back.”
The boy had been pure and gentle, like an unpolished jade.
Standing under the lantern light, the flickering glow reflected in his eyes like countless stars.
Wei Xi snapped back to reality and shook her head.
“No, thank you for your kindness, Immortal. The herb I take works just fine for me.”
Xiling Zhou was unwilling to accept this answer and took a step closer.
Wei Xi immediately stepped back.
Seeing this, Xiling Zhou felt a bit frustrated and backed away half a step himself.
He said, “I just can’t bear to see you so weak. I only wish to repay my debt. I know this is abrupt… but please, give me a chance.”
His peach blossom eyes gazed at her with deep meaning.
Wei Xi still declined, pretending not to understand his intentions.
Though her voice remained gentle, her expression became even more distant than before.
Finding an excuse, she turned and left for home.
Xiling Zhou had no choice but to abandon the idea of taking her away.
If he had more time, he would certainly try again to persuade her.
But the sky was already dark, and by morning, he had to leave this place.
Wei Xi lived alone.
That evening, she made a simple meal for herself.
Her cooking skills had not improved much over the years—she seemed to have no natural talent in this area.
At best, her food was edible.
After eating, she meditated as usual, enduring the pain while forcing the minuscule strands of spiritual energy to circulate within her body.
It wasn’t long before she was gasping for breath, her face pale, and sweat covering her forehead.
She persisted for a while longer before finally stopping.
What a hateful body.
She couldn’t help but feel some resentment.
Unlike other cultivators in this world, cultivation was extraordinarily difficult for her.
It might have been due to the heavy impure energy in her body from a past she could no longer remember, or it could have been her heart condition.
Every session of cultivation was sheer agony.
In fact, three years ago, she couldn’t even enter places dense with spiritual energy—it caused severe symptoms similar to oxygen intoxication.
If not for this, she wouldn’t have been separated from Wen Ruyu.
The thought of this made Wei Xi’s mood plummet, a sourness rising in her nose.
Four years ago, at just sixteen years old, Wei Xi had woken from a nap, only to find that the usual school bell hadn’t rung.
She initially thought it was broken, but then she realized she was in a completely unfamiliar world.