Peace of Mind
Mr. Dan fell into self-doubt, flipping through his notes while muttering frantically under his breath.
"Ahem," Xu Shulou cleared her throat, "Sir, I was just teasing you."
"..."
Xu Shulou smiled at him, her usual arrogance completely subdued. "When you said, 'I can't make the pill to restore your body,' weren’t you also teasing me?"
"Be serious," Mr. Dan sighed, standing up and turning to Bai Roushuang. "You—strike at her with your sword."
Bai Roushuang hesitated but obeyed, delivering a simple thrust without any technique. Xu Shulou leaped onto the tip of the blade, striking a pose like a soaring eagle. "It’s no use. I know my junior sister would never hurt me."
"Then I’ll do it," Mr. Dan borrowed Bai Roushuang’s sword. "Remember, I won’t hold back."
Xu Shulou paused. "Should I hold back, then?"
"..."
Mr. Dan was renowned for his alchemy, spending his days immersed in the study of elixirs. His swordsmanship likely couldn’t match Xu Shulou’s battle-hardened skills. Yet he wasn’t offended—just lunged forward with a swift strike.
Xu Shulou tapped her toes lightly against the ground, already retreating. This was just a test; she had no intention of drawing her sword against Mr. Dan. Her smaller size did hinder her movements—her leaps didn’t carry her as far as before—but she was still nimble enough to evade the glinting blade, twisting and turning midair.
Mr. Dan thrust again, aiming for her throat. Xu Shulou flicked the flat of the blade with a finger, but her lightness worked against her. Instead of deflecting the sword, she sent herself flying backward.
Still, whether she or the sword was knocked away, the attack had been dodged.
Mr. Dan nodded, sheathing the sword and returning it to Bai Roushuang. "That’s enough. Your reflexes prove you feel no fear."
Xu Shulou fluttered back to him. "Since entering the cultivation world, I’ve faced countless enemies. How could I fear so easily? No matter how my temperament changes, that part of me shouldn’t waver."
"You don’t fear my attacks, and you trust your junior sister won’t harm you," Mr. Dan mused. "To truly alter one’s nature, perhaps the elixir should also muddle memories or suppress emotions..."
"I think you’re on the right track. Memories and experiences shape a person’s character most of all," Xu Shulou agreed. "Losing parts of the past would be the surest way to change one’s disposition."
"In that case..."
"Sir," Xu Shulou interrupted gently, "with all due respect, I don’t think you should continue researching this pill."
"Why not? With it, the timid could become brave, the weak could grow strong..." Mr. Dan asked earnestly, genuinely seeking her opinion.
"Everyone would choose the most advantageous traits, turning into carbon copies of one another," Bai Roushuang murmured. "And with blurred memories and emotions, it’d be like creating puppets out of thin air."
Mr. Dan pondered. "But human nature is riddled with flaws. Wouldn’t fixing them be for the better?"
"Not every flaw needs a solution," Xu Shulou advised. "Sometimes, we just have to... accept them."
"Accept flaws?" Mr. Dan froze, then waved them off. "Let me think on this."
He fell silent, and the two women tactfully withdrew, wandering to the lakeshore to skip stones.
Xu Shulou managed ten skips and was about to declare victory when Bai Roushuang gazed across the water. "Looks like another boat is coming."
"Indeed," Xu Shulou heard the rippling oars and followed her gaze. "Hmm, the person aboard seems familiar."
"Same here." They exchanged glances but couldn’t place the face, so they gave up and returned to Mr. Dan.
Distracted from his thoughts, he reluctantly joined them at the shore and frowned. "Black Tortoise Tower again." Sёarch* The NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Black Tortoise Tower? The two women suddenly remembered—the man on the boat was one of their elders! During the incident with the true and false tower leaders, he’d stood among the crowd, scolding Gao Ming and Xu Shulou’s group as "reckless." Who’d have thought they’d cross paths again here?
"Why is Black Tortoise Tower here?"
Mr. Dan shook his head. "They’re still begging for medicine to prolong their leader’s life—his meridians are shattered."
"Their leader? Gao Ming?"
"Exactly. Since taking over, Gao Ming has elevated Black Tortoise Tower to unprecedented heights in just a few years," Mr. Dan watched the boat drift closer. "But his meridians are ruined, and his health is failing. Now his followers scour the land for rare herbs and elixirs, desperate to keep him alive—afraid the tower’s wealth will collapse without him."
Xu Shulou and Bai Roushuang shared another look, recalling the young man in the wheelchair. Had he truly risen so far?
Xu Shulou remembered the soft-hearted youth, his features gradually sharpening with ambition. She wasn’t sure whether to feel happy for him or wistful. But one thing was certain—he must have gotten what he wanted.
They had no intention of meeting the elder, so they slipped away before the boat reached shore.
———
Brewing the elixir would take time, so Xu Shulou and Bai Roushuang stayed. Occasionally, when Mr. Dan grew impatient with visitors, Bai Roushuang handled them. She tirelessly turned away petitioners, determined to let him focus on Xu Shulou’s cure. Soon, rumors spread that Mr. Dan had taken on a new apprentice.
Sometimes, she confided in her sister: "After meeting so many seeking pills these days, I’ve realized how many want to forcibly boost their cultivation. They know Mr. Dan refuses such requests, yet they still come, hoping for luck."
Xu Shulou lay by the lake, rolling over to bask in the sun. "The allure of shortcuts is too strong."
"True," Bai Roushuang built a tiny sand bed for her sister and fashioned a leaf parasol to shade her. "Who wouldn’t prefer laziness over hard work? Even knowing shortcuts harm future progress, it’s hard to resist gambling..."
Her gaze grew distant, as if recalling something from the past.
Xu Shulou glanced up. "If any of those petitioners give you trouble, I’ll chase them off."
"I know," Bai Roushuang laughed. "But first, focus on getting your body back to normal. Then you can worry about me."
"Fair enough," Xu Shulou smiled, then asked, "By the way, what did you say to Mr. Dan the other day? I saw him lost in thought again."
"I went to report to him about the seekers of elixirs, and he casually asked for my opinion again. So I said that the potion meant to alter one’s temperament shouldn’t be pursued any further," Bai Roushuang pondered. "I used myself as an example—when I first stepped into the cultivation world, all I cared about was flattering others, relying on their strength, and even trying to steal my senior sister’s betrothed. But later… well, people truly have the chance to become better, to overcome their flaws, but not through a pill. Only personal experiences and genuine emotional shifts can truly change someone."
"..."
"See? I was changed."
"You grew up."
"If this is what growing up feels like, then it’s wonderful," Bai Roushuang smiled. "To discern right from wrong, to live freely."
As they chatted idly, Mr. Dan suddenly appeared by the lakeshore, calling Bai Roushuang over to assist in alchemy.
She stood up briskly, brushing the sand off her robes. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your secrets?"
"Alchemy isn’t so easily learned," Mr. Dan replied, hands clasped behind his back as he walked ahead. "Besides, if I find you harboring ill intentions, I can always poison you into forgetting everything before you leave."
"..." Bai Roushuang turned back to her senior sister and made a face, as if to say she was under immense pressure.
Xu Shulou understood her meaning and responded with an encouraging smile and a gesture.
———
In the days that followed, Bai Roushuang was kept busy—both dealing with the elixir seekers and assisting Mr. Dan with his alchemy.
Meanwhile, Xu Shulou, whose current appearance made it inconvenient to show herself, wasn’t asked to help with the alchemy. Mr. Dan complained that she was barely larger than a pill, and he had to be careful not to accidentally toss her into the furnace. As a result, Xu Shulou remained idle, not seeing her occupied junior sister for several days in a row.
Mr. Dan could afford to dismiss people coldly, but Bai Roushuang, as his assistant, couldn’t easily offend them in his name. Handling the seekers took considerable effort.
What’s more, those who didn’t dare provoke Mr. Dan showed far less courtesy to her. One day, an especially troublesome individual barged in under the pretense of suspecting she had kidnapped Mr. Dan, insisting on verifying his safety.
Bai Roushuang had just spent half the day tending the alchemy furnace and was eager to return to her room to rest as night fell. Caught off guard by the intruder, she hastily drew her sword to block him. But the man had concealed a strange magical tool in his hand—with a flick of his wrist, a golden chain lashed out like a serpent, coiling tightly around her legs.
The other end of the chain remained in the seeker’s grip. He smirked at Bai Roushuang, as if mocking her for overestimating herself.
"Bastard!" she hissed through gritted teeth. She struggled, but the chain only tightened further.
"Keep cursing, and I’ll hang you upside down from a tree," he taunted, yanking the chain as if to drag her down. But before he could, a sword descended from the sky, pinning the chain to the sand.
This was no wooden practice blade—it was a true, renowned sword. Under the moonlight, it gleamed like a streak of silver, so radiant it seemed as though a crescent moon had suddenly crashed onto the shore.
Bai Roushuang jerked her head up. On a rooftop not far away stood a woman in red robes, her back to the moon. In the darkness, neither could make out her face, but the sight of her black hair and crimson robes billowing in the wind was enough to leave an impression of striking elegance.
The seeker tried to retract his tool, but the chain refused to obey. The red-robed woman on the rooftop called out, "Consider this tool forfeit as payment for your disrespect toward my junior sister. Now, leave."
Realizing he had met his match, the man clenched his fists but dared not push further. With one last glance at the discarded chain, he turned and left.
Bai Roushuang barely noticed his departure. She was already darting toward the rooftop. "Senior Sister! You’re back to normal?!"
The woman in red nodded with a smile.
Bai Roushuang leaped up beside her. "Why didn’t you tell me the cure was ready?"
"I wanted to surprise you."
Bai Roushuang threw her arms around Xu Shulou, her voice trembling slightly. "Senior Sister..."
Xu Shulou patted her back gently. "What’s wrong?"
Bai Roushuang’s nose stung. As adorable as her shrunken senior sister had been, seeing the familiar Xu Shulou again filled her with an indescribable sense of peace.