Chapter 35

A brief chill passed, and the snow piles on the ground had yet to melt completely.

Since that night, Yun Shuchen had refused to share a bed with Qing Zhouxue. Even when goose-feather snow fell, she would send her disciple out to sleep in her proper place.

The young woman seemed quite puzzled. Clutching her pristine white blanket, she pressed her hand against the closed doorframe. "If Master sleeps with me, wouldn't it be much warmer and allow you to rest better?"

"Qing'er is no longer a child. It would be improper for us to share a bed any longer," Yun Shuchen said coolly.

Qing Zhouxue looked as if she wanted to say something, but she only knocked once more. When silence answered, she realized Yun Shuchen truly would not let her in and had no choice but to turn back.

Yun Shuchen let down the bead curtain and extinguished the lamp. When she lay back down in her bedding, it was still cold, and when it became truly unbearable, her thoughts wandered back to Qing Zhouxue.

Logically, one thing; yet in her heart, she craved that warmth.

That night...

It had indeed been the best sleep she'd had in a long time.

But Yun Shuchen underestimated her disciple's persistence in certain matters.

Qing Zhouxue couldn't bear the thought of her master sleeping alone, especially after hearing that muffled cough through the door, so suppressed it made one's heart ache.

A few days later, Yun Shuchen spotted a familiar figure on her bed, having crept in sometime without her notice.

Before she could shoo her away, the disciple calmly got up and whispered, "I've warmed the bed for you, Master. Please rest here."

The woman in white, fully dressed, climbed off the bed and glanced back at her, then wrapped her robes tighter and vanished through the closing door, carrying the wind and snow and twilight with her.

Yun Shuchen watched her close the door and walk away. Her gaze lingered on the wooden panel, and she sighed.

She slipped off her outer robe and lay down in that soft, considerate warmth. When she pulled the covers up, the girl's scent—like an unavoidable mist—enveloped her completely.

Heyi Peak was always filled with the gentle fragrance of Nine Harmony incense, meant to calm the mind.

But there was another scent on her, cool and sharp—the dew of grass and trees she picked up during her morning sword practice.

When the familiar was tinged with something new, it was like a sliver of warmth added to a night of cold.

It wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing.

But the warmth in the bedding didn't last long, only giving her a moment to breathe.

Midnight's chill crept in, and Yun Shuchen couldn't sleep. She channeled her energy to ward off the cold.

But it was like searching for a needle in the ocean—she could find no reprieve.

This wasn't ordinary cold; it was a chill that had settled into her very bones, a recurring poison that surfaced whenever the temperature dropped even slightly.

The hardest things in this world aren't enduring endless darkness, but glimpsing light only to fall back into hopeless gloom.

She coughed a few more times and sat up, bracing herself against the bed. She cast a spell to stoke the brazier, which helped a little. But she couldn't sit by the fire for too long—it would dry her throat and cause another kind of discomfort. And the cold, once stirred, seemed to seep from the marrow; ordinary warmth could only reach the skin.

She got up to pour herself some tea, but her wrists were stiff and trembling, and she accidentally knocked it over.

The dark liquid spilled across the floor.

"Master?"

The noise must have been too loud. Soon, a familiar, concerned voice came from outside.

Yun Shuchen listened to the wind and snow howling; no one could stand outside for long. So she quickly gave leave: "Come in."

Qing Zhouxue pushed the door open, surveyed the shattered porcelain on the floor, and said nothing. She looked up at Yun Shuchen with a frown. "Are you very cold? I heard you coughing badly just now."

The room was open for only a moment, but some cold air rushed in before Qing Zhouxue closed it quickly.

Yun Shuchen couldn't bear the cold and trembled slightly. Qing Zhouxue hurried over to help her back to the bed.

Yun Shuchen quietly looked up; a lock of her disciple's black hair brushed against her hand. Her gaze flickered, then followed the strand to the girl's face.

Too cold.

Her bones ached with the chill.

Suddenly, she felt exhausted—she really didn't want to bear this alone, though she had before. But now there was another choice... one that might be less painful.

After nearly half the night of torment, she silently conceded a small step. Half-raised, she reached out and grasped the girl's arm. Qing Zhouxue bent down and gently touched her brow.

"It's too cold for you to stay out there. Would my disciple stay with me?"

Her voice was light, cautious, as if uncertain after being turned away so many times.

Yun Shuchen's hand fell back to the bed, and she felt a wave of relief. "Mm."

Qing Zhouxue slipped out of her robes and into the covers with a fluid motion. When she pressed close, the chill running through Yun Shuchen's meridians vanished, as if the snow had cleared after a storm.

Tonight, Qing Zhouxue hadn't bathed in hot water, yet simply her presence seemed to drive away the cold, far better than any brazier.

When Yun Shuchen asked how, Qing Zhouxue replied honestly: "I've thought about it for years. Since I have an Ice Spiritual Root and can gather cold energy, I must be able to remove it."

She turned onto her side to face Yun Shuchen. "I can reverse my technique, gather Master's chill into my own body, and let it flow through my lower dantian to nourish my spiritual root. The rest won't be so cold, and slowly, I'll transfer it back."

"This way, Master can sleep better, and I can also cultivate through the night." She stated with certainty. "It benefits us both."

Yun Shuchen listened with her eyes closed and couldn't help but curl her lips. "Is this some wild path you stumbled upon?"

"No."

Her disciple's tone was oddly proud. "This is the eleventh version. It has two forms for winter and summer, and the summer cooling method is already perfected."

"But the warming effect is not yet optimal; it needs improvement." Qing Zhouxue rested her chin on her shoulder. "Master, if you're still cold, how about I go take a hot bath?"

She was too close.

Yun Shuchen could feel the steady, powerful heartbeat beneath that other skin, and the soft curves of a woman's body. She pressed down on her disciple and said in a low voice, "No need. Don't move. And don't touch me."

Three nos in a row. But Qing Zhouxue couldn't yet operate at a distance without touching her. Just as she was about to explain, Yun Shuchen pushed her shoulder to flip her over. Then Yun Shuchen wrapped her arms around her from behind, holding her arms, like folding wings.

"Only I may hold you. Understood?"

This was better—it warmed the body without risking triggering the emotion poison from reckless touching.

The best of both worlds.

Her disciple was always obedient. At this, she nodded and turned into a quiet pillow. Yun Shuchen finally got a restful sleep without cold or discomfort. Just as she was drifting into dreams, she heard a voice, soft as falling snow.

"There's still a goodnight ..."

Suddenly, she was pinched on the waist. Qing Zhouxue let out a soft yelp, and the rest of the words never escaped.

*

When spring arrived, the new inner disciples also began their lessons. Since there were few inner disciples, they gathered at the Main Peak for classes.

Qing Zhouxue asked about this year's curriculum. The first year covered Daoist scriptures, formations, alchemy, and swordsmanship. Since she was already a sword cultivator, she didn't need to study swordsmanship, leaving three subjects.

One of those, formations, was already taught by Yun Shuchen.

The first class was with Senior Liu. Liu Xunqin stood with her hands behind her back, dressed in blue. Perhaps to set a good example for the disciples, she had finally set aside the ever-present pipe.

While watching the disciples below concoct pills, she still wore that cold gaze reserved for looking at trash.

The little trash disciples trembled under her stare. They weren't medical cultivators; most had come with the intention of just muddling through, treating it as a way to cultivate the spirit.

Qing Zhouxue remained calm. She had flipped through some pill manuals beforehand and performed steadily. While concentrating, someone poked her shoulder. Ruan Mingzhu whispered, "How many grams of that heavenly sun herb?"

She had no interest in alchemy; it was too precise, boring, and tedious. After she blew up the furnace three times for using the wrong amount, Ruan Mingzhu felt Liu Xunqin's gaze shift from looking at trash to looking at a dead person.

She broke out in a cold sweat.

Qing Zhouxue said, "Five grams."

Ruan Mingzhu, touched, broke a piece in half and threw it in. With a flash of fire, it blew up again, coughing out a plume of black smoke.

She looked up to meet Liu Xunqin's eyes and laughed nervously. "Senior Liu, I don't think I'm very good at this."

"You're not good at it at all," the elder said, looking away, her words merciless.

"..."

Ruan Mingzhu coughed and withdrew her hand. She opened the manual beside her and started searching from the beginning.

When all the little trash had managed to make some smooth-looking, shiny pills, someone asked if they could turn them in.

Liu Xunqin nodded. "Yes."

"Now eat what you've made."

The group was stunned, looking at each other in silence.

It was their first attempt at alchemy; many details were skipped or rushed.

They'd expected to just show it to the elder for a grade, but no one thought they'd have to consume the pills themselves.

Food you can eat without care; words you can say without thought.

But not these pills.

Worst case: you'd have a qi deviation, or die on the spot. This kind of mistake couldn't be risked even by chance, for it could destroy your cultivation base.

Liu Xunqin swept her gaze over the crowd. Seeing no one dare to move, she sneered, "If you don't even dare to take the pills you made, who would dare to take them?"

"So why bother making them at all?"

She walked past the line of silent disciples; a few who had slacked off lowered their heads.

"I began studying medicine when I was thirteen, and for over five hundred years since, the remedies I've made for others have never failed."

Her voice was calm, but every person present felt a chill in their hearts. "Now I see it wasn't my natural talent. It's because I've taken every medicine I created—including poisons—myself. Developing antidotes while in the throes of poisoning is a common occurrence for me."

"You may not practice medicine in the future, but it's the same for other cultivation paths. You must understand what you're doing, not just go through the motions to show your masters."

Liu Xunqin was thin and delicate, and stood a bit shorter than many of the disciples.

Yet none of them could help but admire her, and they did so with respect—she was truly worthy of the title "Number One Medical Immortal in the Nine Provinces."

Unreachable.

Qing Zhouxue lowered her eyes, traced her hand over the furnace, and recalled the heat, the amounts, the sequence just used. She compared each detail, and finding nothing amiss, she tipped her head back and swallowed the pill with water.

She waited for an incense stick's time as usual. No abnormal reaction, except her qi flow was smoother. Nothing else.

Liu Xunqin nodded to her. "You're done."

She turned and raised an eyebrow. "Anyone else?"

With Qing Zhouxue as precedent, a few others, faces pale, swallowed their pills. After waiting an incense stick's time in dread, they found themselves still alive and ran out joyfully.

Some were less sure, so they found the manual and tried again. Few had mishaps, and most only suffered a mild stomachache. In the end, they dispersed one by one, and the difficult lesson was dismissed.

Ruan Mingzhu walked behind Qing Zhouxue, clicking her tongue in astonishment. "With Liu Xunqin being so strict, Senior White must have a hard time normally. Poor her. By the way, when did you learn alchemy?"

Qing Zhouxue reviewed today's lesson in her mind, remembered it, and replied, "I'm interested in pharmacology."

She thought that if she knew more, she could at least make a rough judgment if her master were ever unwell, even if she couldn't treat her. So she put extra effort into this subject.

Ruan Mingzhu laughed. "Alright, alright, you're really something. Is there any part of cultivation you're not interested in?"