Shen Gurong reached out to Mu Zhe, his face expressionless, and asked, "Where's the sword?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe silently recalled the Jiu Xi Sword and put it away, not wanting his master to end up with a sword intended to threaten someone, only to be drugged by Lin Shuhe instead.
Lin Shuhe patiently waited for him to finish breakfast, then had Mu Zhe bring over several multicolored stones from the medicine cabinet in the clinic.
Shen Gurong was still angry that Lin Shuhe had drugged him, and while Mu Zhe wasn't looking, he kicked Lin Shuhe's shin under the table.
Lin Shuhe wasn't angry. He sighed and said, "If your kick had been any harder, I would have been bedridden for days. Little Eleven, please forgive your senior brother."
Shen Gurong hadn't used much force at all. He frowned and said, "I saw you were perfectly fine, lively and energetic, and you even gave me all sorts of weird drugs."
Even so, he still withdrew his restless foot.
Mu Zhe walked over, placed the sandalwood box on the table, and stepped back to stand to the side.
Lin Shuhe took out several different colored spirit stones from the box and placed them on the table. He casually turned Shen Gurong's chin so he was facing him: "Look in my direction."
Shen Gurong frowned and turned his head away from his hand: "What are you doing?"
Lin Shuhe tapped a red spirit stone in his hand and said calmly, "Making ice silk for you."
Shen Gurong quickly sat up straight.
Lin Shuhe smiled faintly, "Now what should we say?"
Shen Gurong, familiar with the situation, gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother. You've worked hard, Senior Brother."
Lin Shuhe smiled and said, "So obedient, so good at acting cute."
Shen Gurong looked utterly humiliated, a humiliation he himself didn't realize.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe desperately lowered his head, barely managing to suppress his laughter.
Lin Shuhe glanced at him and said, "Laugh away. You've seen how cowardly your master is. No need to hold it in."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong was startled, only then realizing his disciple was still watching. He said, "Mu Zhe, you should go ahead and get busy."
Mu Zhe agreed and turned to leave.
Lin Shuhe scoffed, "Self-deception."
Shen Gurong kicked him.
Lin Shuhe stopped there, not causing any more trouble. He waved the red spirit stone in his hand in front of Shen Gurong and asked, "What color is it?"
Shen Gurong's vision was blurred, and he couldn't see the special material's luster at all.
"White."
Lin Shuhe muttered under his breath, "Blind man," and then switched to a gold one.
Shen Gurong: "Gold? I see this one. My little disciple is always flaunting gold and silver in front of me."
Lin Shuhe casually summoned a piece of paper and drew an intricate initial magic circle on it, then slowly engraved the array from the gold spirit stone onto it.
Following this, Lin Shuhe then showed Shen Gurong other spirit stones, drawing the colors he could recognize within the magic circles.
Lin Shuhe, draped in a crane-feather cloak, rose and instructed, "Wait here, I'll go make you some ice silk."
The clinic had a protective barrier; even with the door open to enjoy the rain, no cold wind could get in. Shen Gurong leaned lazily against the soft pillows and mumbled, "Okay."
Lin Shuhe then slowly left.
Shen Gurong enjoyed the rain alone, listening to it. A small table beside him held warm tea; a wooden puppet would come to serve him tea with a wave of his hand—very convenient.
"Senior brother," Shen Gurong said towards the clinic, "These puppets of yours are so convenient. Can I take one back to Liren Peak?"
Lin Shuhe's voice faintly came: "Sure, as long as you're not scared when you see its face."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong said dryly, "Then...then I don't want it."
Lin Shuhe ignored him; spiritual energy swirled inside, probably from carving a magic array on the ice silk.
Shen Gurong continued to wait.
A quarter of an hour later, he finally grew impatient and was about to get up to enter the clinic when footsteps suddenly echoed through Thirteen Street, where only the sound of rain had been heard.
The footsteps appeared abruptly, as if they had fallen out of nowhere, without any warning.
A whiff of rouge wafted over, and soon, Shen Gurong heard a familiar voice in his ear: "Excuse me, is Physician Lin here?"
Shen Gurong's ears twitched slightly; he recognized the person.
It was Sang Luofu, the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms for the time being.
He turned his head and said calmly, "Physician Lin, someone is looking for you."
Physician Lin said, "Just say I'm not here."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Sang Luofu: "..."
Sang Luofu didn't seem embarrassed at all; on the contrary, she covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her voice alluring and captivating. Even just hearing her voice, one could tell she was an extremely beautiful woman.
She didn't exchange any more pleasantries, gave a slight curtsy, and went straight to the point: "Physician Lin, have you been searching for mermaid tears lately?"
Shen Gurong looked up abruptly. Lin Shuhe at the clinic remained silent, continuing his work on the ice silk.
Shen Gurong spoke up, "Do you know where to find it?"
Sang Luofu looked at him and softly asked, "And this gentleman is?"
Before Shen Gurong could speak, Lin Shuhe emerged from the clinic, giving Sang Luofu a cold glance: "Tell me what it is."
Sang Luofu looked away and nodded slightly: "Indeed."
Lin Shuhe raised an eyebrow: "There's no such thing as a losing proposition. Are you planning to exchange mermaid tears for your bone-changing treatment?"
Sang Luofu smiled in acquiescence.
Lin Shuhe smiled insincerely, "I said yesterday that I wouldn't change your bones, and that word still stands. I will never change my mind."
Sang Luofu's expression remained unchanged. She glanced at Shen Gurong before saying, "If Physician Lin insists, I won't force you. You can offer something else in exchange."
Lin Shuhe said indifferently, "Oh?"
Sang Luofu kept glancing at Shen Gurong out of the corner of her eye, a strange light flashing in her eyes. She smiled gently, "The same thing, something insignificant."
Lin Shuhe: "Tell me."
Sang Luofu breathed softly, "Beauty bones."
Lin Shuhe smiled upon hearing this. He lazily crossed his arms, his thin fingers lightly tapping his forearms, and said with a half-smile, "You want to remove my bones?"
Sang Luofu immediately nodded, "I wouldn't dare."
She turned her gaze to Shen Gurong, and in the next instant, Lin Shuhe's usually gentle expression changed drastically.
He said coldly, "Sang Luofu, you truly have audacity."
Sang Luofu remained unfazed, her face expressionless. "Mermaid tears are a rare find, worth a fortune. Doctor Lin, are you perhaps hoping to obtain them without any effort? Is there such a thing as a free lunch?"
Lin Shuhe's face was indifferent, several silver needles already protruding from his palm, gleaming faintly.
Sang Luofu seemed oblivious, continuing, "A beauty's bone is nothing to a cultivator's life; it's just a bone, easily extracted."
Lin Shuhe said, "Excessively pursuing physical beauty to the point of extracting someone else's bone—you'll face divine retribution sooner or later."
Sang Luofu stroked her exquisite face, smiling sweetly, "Who can predict the future? Perhaps I'll have such good fortune, like Physician Lin, surviving for so many years by taking advantage of someone else's destiny..."
Just as she finished speaking, a sharp sound rang in her ears, and several silver needles pierced her body, causing her to stagger back half a step.
Lin Shuhe grabbed Shen Gurong, who was about to grab the wooden puppet knife in inexplicable anger, his eyes coldly fixed on Sang Luofu.
Sang Luofu took a deep breath, raised her hand from her chest, and channeled her spiritual energy to force the silver needles out of her spiritual veins. They landed with a few crisp clinking sounds on the rain-soaked bluestone.
She remained unperturbed, her smile still radiant: "The name 'Mermaid's Tears' sounds beautiful, but it's actually blood ripped from the heart of a mermaid. You can use something like that on a human, so why are you so fixated on a bone?"
Sang Luofu looked at Shen Gurong, lightly licking her lips, a cold glint in her eyes: "This young master is merely a mortal, yet possesses the most beautiful bone in the world. If he can draw it out, I will grant him a lifetime of wealth and honor."
Shen Gurong had no idea what was happening. He had just heard this woman curse Lin Shuhe for "living a life of ignominy," and couldn't resist reaching for his knife, but Lin Shuhe had stopped him. Now, with these talk of "beautiful bone" and "mortal body," he was utterly bewildered.
Just then, Lin Shuhe leaned down gently behind him and whispered in his ear, "Junior Brother Feng Xue, someone said you are merely a mortal."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Huh? Who? Me?
So, after all this time, they want to draw my bone?!
Shen Gurong was furious.
Shen Gurong was incredulous.
The next instant, Shen Gurong… his old face flushed red.
He thought to himself: '"The most beautiful bones in the world," she must have been referring to me? Haha, haha, hahaha!'
Lin Shuhe had only intended to tease Shen Gurong, but after he finished speaking, the guy's ears turned red, and he wondered what he was thinking.
Lin Shuhe: "..."
Lin Shuhe poked Shen Gurong's waist in annoyance. Shen Gurong finally snapped out of his daze, glancing listlessly at Sang Luofu, and said indifferently, "Insolence."
Sang Luofu was startled. Lin Shuhe's address of "Junior Brother Feng Xue" suddenly connected it to his identity. Her face stiffened, and she abruptly lowered her head, seemingly desperately suppressing something.
She said with difficulty, "Your Majesty."
Shen Gurong said coldly, "You want to pull my bones out?"
Sang Luofu clenched her fists tightly, managing to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "This concubine dares not."
Shen Gurong rested his chin on his hand. Even though he had no spiritual power left, his imposing aura remained undiminished. He smiled coldly and said, "My bones are too heavy; I'm afraid you can't pull them out. We don't need the mermaid tears anymore. Show her out."
Lin Shuhe snapped his fingers lightly behind his back, and the wooden puppet swayed and forcibly escorted Sang Luofu out.
When Sang Luofu walked out of Thirteen Street in a daze, her fair palms were deeply indented by her nails, a bloody mess.
Her usual feigned gentleness was gone from her face; her eyes were sinister, as if brewing a storm.
"Shen, Feng, Xue.”
Sang Luofu enunciated each word slowly and deliberately, as if she were tearing the name apart and swallowing it whole. A crack appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face, like a porcelain doll splitting it in two, creating an eerie, painted-skin-like effect.
She raised her hand and licked the bluish blood seeping from her palm with her scarlet tongue. The crack slowly healed, restoring her porcelain-white complexion.
At the Lin Guan Medical Clinic.
As soon as Sang Luofu left, Shen Gurong immediately turned back: “Senior brother, what about the mermaid tears? Is there any other one?”
Lin Shuhe: “…”
Where did your integrity go?!
Lin Shuhe led him back to the clinic, saying, “Third senior brother was right after all; your personality has truly changed a lot.”
If it were the ordinary Shen Feng Xue, he would never have threatened someone with such imposing manner, only to turn around and timidly seek help from others.
Shen Gurong was taken aback, suddenly feeling a little guilty.
Lin Shuhe said, "It seems that going into qi deviation has some benefits. You should try it more often."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Are you even speaking a human language?
Lin Shuhe walked to the medicine cabinet, looked at the solidified ice silk, took it out, and examined it carefully.
As he examined him, he casually remarked, "That woman is no pushover. Don't go near her until your spiritual power recovers."
Shen Gurong, leaning against the medicine cabinet, asked doubtfully, "Will she come back?"
"Yes," Lin Shuhe replied, "The cultivation world is never short of beauties. The reason she's been able to stay at the top of the beauty list in Fenglu City for thirty years must be because of her methods."
Shen Gurong tilted his head: "Does that even require methods?"
"Did you see the spiritual power she forced out of my silver needles just now?" Lin Shuhe finished speaking, then realized what he meant and gave him a disdainful look. "Oh, right, I forgot you're blind. You can't see it."
Shen Gurong: "..."
"That spiritual power..." Lin Shuhe clicked his tongue, "She's probably a mermaid."
Shen Gurong asked in surprise, "Are there still mermaids in the Three Realms?"
"Of course there are. Back then, when you imprisoned...that water ghost from Fuxian City in Dongting Lake, a mermaid lingered outside Dongting for ten years without returning. Do you know about this?"
Shen Gurong didn't remember at all, and could only snort coldly, "The affairs of a defeated opponent are not worthy of my knowledge."
Lin Shuhe glanced at him before continuing, "This mermaid is most likely the one from Dongting Lake back then. Forty years ago, you caused them to be separated, and ten years ago you caused them to die. She definitely won't let you off easily and will definitely come back."
Shen Gurong: "..."
The water ghost from Fuxian City ten years ago...
He had almost forgotten about it, how come there's a sequel?
Lin Shuhe said, "Be careful."
Shen Gurong nodded, knowing that his spiritual veins were sealed and he couldn't use his spiritual power to protect himself, and said, "I have my disciple protecting me. A mermaid is nothing to Mu Zhe."
Lin Shuhe noticed that the ice silk seemed to have a mistake in one of the formations, which needed to be corrected. He simply stopped talking to him and focused on fixing the formation.
A short while later, Mu Zhe and Yu Xinghe walked in from the backyard.
Upon seeing Shen Gurong, Yu Xinghe eagerly approached and bowed, "Master, you're up so early!"
Shen Gurong patted his head, saying, "You're too late."
"I need to pack my things to go home," Yu Xinghe said, his heart fluttering with delight as he playfully twisted his body, "Xinghe will just stop by and visit, I'll be back tomorrow."
Shen Gurong: "Go home?"
Yu Xinghe nodded, "Yes, Mu Zhe will come with me."
Shen Gurong asked in surprise, "Mu Zhe is going too?"
For some reason, Shen Gurong always felt that Mu Zhe seemed to dislike Yu Xinghe, yet their interactions were always perfectly normal, leaving Shen Gurong with a nagging feeling that perhaps he was mistaken.
And now, Mu Zhe, who usually seemed indifferent to others' affairs, was actually going home with Yu Xinghe…
Shen Gurong still found it very strange.
However, he quickly recalled that if the timing was correct, Yu Xinghe's homeland might have been massacred during this period. If Mu Zhe went with him, he might be able to resolve the crisis for Yu Xinghe.
Even if he couldn't, it wouldn't matter. Lin Shuhe the Miraculous Healer could unseal his spiritual veins later, and Shen Gurong could go to Yu Xinghe's home again without any problem.
The fates of the three had already been altered from the beginning, and they couldn't be ruined by something that caused the master and disciple to drift apart, especially since it involved the lives of so many people.
Thinking this, Shen Gurong nodded slightly: "Alright, then go and come back quickly."
Mu Zhe nodded, stepped forward, and bowed: "Mu Zhe will be back soon."
Shen Gurong nodded: "Mm."
Mu Zhe didn't move, still standing in front of Shen Gurong, his tall figure exuding a powerful presence; even though Shen Gurong was blind, he could sense him.
Shen Gurong blinked, thinking: Hmm? What's going on? Could it be… another head pat?
Shen Gurong tried raising his hand to pat Mu Zhe's head like he would Yu Xinghe, but his hand was too low, landing directly on Mu Zhe's warm cheek.
His fingertips trembled, and he instinctively tried to pull back, but Mu Zhe not only didn't pull away, but tilted his head and rubbed against his palm.
So obedient.
After withdrawing his hand, Yu Xinghe, who was standing nearby, happily came over and said without thinking, "Master, Xinghe's going too, can you pat my face too?"
Shen Gurong: "…"
Shen Gurong thought, where did all these weird habits come from? Everyone likes having their faces patted?
Shen Gurong casually raised his hand and patted Yu Xinghe's shoulder, saying casually, "Alright, go."
Yu Xinghe: "…"
Mu Zhe's lips subtly curved upwards.
Yu Xinghe followed Mu Zhe dejectedly.
Lin Shuhe, standing to the side, tsk tsk tsk.
Shen Gurong: "What are you tsk about?"
Lin Shuhe laughed and said, "I'm tsking you, mistaking a ferocious beast for a spirit pet."
Shen Gurong asked confusedly, "What do you mean?"
Lin Shuhe didn't say much, but stuffed the prepared ice silk into Shen Gurong's hand, saying, "Here you go, it's done."
The feeling of being blind was too uncomfortable. Shen Gurong was overjoyed and unfolded the ice silk to put it on his eyes, but at the last second he stopped, asking strangely, "Sixth Senior Brother, you didn't put some weird stuff in this ice silk again, did you?"
Lin Shuhe's lips curled up: "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
Shen Gurong still felt uneasy. After confirming several times that Lin Shuhe said he hadn't added anything, he finally tried to put the ice silk over his eyes.
Shen Gurong was cautious and apprehensive.
He put it on briefly, then immediately pulled it off, afraid of being startled by some strange ghost again. He did this several times, scaring himself half to death; his heart was more pounding than if he were actually scared. Finally, he confirmed that the ice silk indeed contained nothing strange.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Shuhe leaned halfway against the medicine counter, lazily flipping through the abacus, and said, "Ice silk, five thousand spirit stones. Eleven, if you don't pay within a year, I can't be sure what will jump out of this ice silk."
Shen Gurong: "..."
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