Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Xia Sheng thought he had a point, so she didn’t insist. She planned to ask Jiang Zhongqing to find a few patients for her to test it on when she got back.

The car stopped at the entrance on the first floor of the villa.

By now, the rain had already stopped. Xia Sheng pushed open the car door.

Before she could get out, she saw Shen Yanchen step out ahead of her, then stride toward the back of the villa without looking back.

Confused, Xia Sheng looked at Lu Ren. “Where is Uncle Nine rushing off to?”

Lu Ren gave an awkward laugh. “There’s a hidden door behind the villa that leads straight to the master bedroom. Ninth Master might be in a hurry to use the bathroom.”

Xia Sheng understood.

That was indeed pretty urgent.

She went up to the second floor and headed to Shen Shen’s room.

On the balcony, inside a wide flowerpot, a ginseng plant was sprawled lazily across the soil, its roots buried in the damp earth like it was soaking its feet, looking perfectly at ease.

Xia Sheng walked over and reached out, lifting the little ginseng out of the dirt.

Shen Shen had been sleeping. The moment he felt his body suddenly rise into the air, his eyes snapped open.

When he met Xia Sheng’s face, Shen Shen’s heart gave a violent jolt. He transformed into a soft, fair little boy, dangling there as Xia Sheng held him by the collar.

The little fellow’s face scrunched up in displeasure. “Little Immortal, you’re supposed to knock before coming in. Why don’t you have any manners at all?”

Xia Sheng set Shen Shen down on the floor and said casually, “I’ll remember next time.”

Shen Shen patted the dirt off himself and asked, “Little Immortal, what are you here for today?”

Xia Sheng glanced meaningfully at Shen Shen’s thick black hair.

Shen Shen hurriedly covered his head, looking deeply aggrieved. “Little Immortal, you already plucked several strands of my hair the day before yesterday…”

Xia Sheng said, “Don’t be afraid. The Spirit Gathering Array I drew for you is very powerful. It’ll grow back in a day.”

Shen Shen: Being a ginseng is so exhausting.

When one lived under someone else’s roof, one had no choice but to bow one’s head.

The little fellow steeled himself, squeezed his eyes shut, and plucked a few strands of hair from his head. With great reluctance, he handed them to Xia Sheng. “Here. Take them.”

After lying in the Spirit Gathering Array for the past two days, Shen Shen’s cultivation had increased quite a bit.

Plucking his hair didn’t hurt, but he still hated parting with his precious little roots.

Xia Sheng accepted the few ginseng rootlets, chatted briefly with the little fellow, then carried him downstairs to get ready for dinner.

Ever since Shen Shen had tasted human food, he had fallen in love with it. The moment he heard it was mealtime, his eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly again and again.

After the two of them, one big and one small, went downstairs, they sat in the living room for more than half an hour, yet Shen Yanchen still hadn’t come down.

Shen Shen rubbed his empty stomach. “Little Immortal, why hasn’t Mr. Shen come down yet?”

He was so hungry.

Xia Sheng also found it a little strange, so she prepared to go upstairs and take a look.

“If you’re hungry, go to the dining room first. I’ll go up and call Uncle Nine down.”

With that, she got up and headed upstairs.

When she reached the master bedroom door, she knocked. “Uncle Nine, are you inside?”

After a long while, no one answered.

She frowned and pushed the door open directly.

The bedroom was very quiet. Only the faint sound of water came from the bathroom.

The bathroom door was closed, but Xia Sheng’s hearing was sharper than an ordinary person’s. She could still make out what sounded like low, ragged breaths mixed into the sound of the water, as if he were in great pain.

Shen Yanchen had been born carrying baleful energy, which made it easy for evil spirits to be drawn to him.

Thinking Shen Yanchen might have been entangled by some ghost or monster, she quickly walked over and knocked on the door. “Uncle Nine, what’s wrong? Are you wearing the protective jade I gave you?”

The sounds in the bathroom went quiet for a few seconds. When his voice came, it carried an indescribable hoarseness.

“I am. I’m taking a shower. Is something wrong?”

Xia Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s time to eat. I came up to ask when you’re coming down.”
“Soon. You go on ahead.”

“Okay.” Xia Sheng agreed, but she still felt uneasy and couldn’t help asking, “Uncle Nine, are you feeling unwell? I can hear you breathing really hard.”

Silence fell for another few seconds.

From inside, the man’s voice came low and faint, much calmer than before. “Water got into my nose just now. I held my breath for too long, so I’m a little uncomfortable.”

Xia Sheng checked their surroundings and, after confirming there were no evil spirits causing trouble, said, “Then I’ll head downstairs first.”

Shen Yanchen gave a quiet “mm” and said nothing more.

Xia Sheng kept feeling that Shen Yanchen was acting very strangely today, but she couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong.

Still, since Shen Yanchen didn’t want to talk about it, she wasn’t going to pry.

When she returned downstairs, Shen Shen had already started eating in the dining room.

Xia Sheng sat down at the table as well and picked up her bowl and chopsticks.

About another ten minutes passed. Xia Sheng was nearly finished eating when Shen Yanchen finally arrived, late and unhurried.

Xia Sheng noticed that his face was a little red.

Shen Yanchen had a special constitution. His body temperature was usually much lower than an ordinary person’s, and he had always been pale and cool-toned, never sweating or blushing.

Now that a flush had actually risen to his face, something was clearly wrong.

“Uncle Nine, are you really all right? If you don’t feel well, you can tell me. I’ll refine some medicine for you.”

At the words “refine some medicine,” Shen Yanchen’s hand paused around his chopsticks. “No need. I’m not sick.”

Xia Sheng was about to say more when Shen Yanchen changed the subject. “I heard from Shen Ze that your younger sister came to see you today. What did she say to you?”

Shen Yanchen had previously had someone investigate Xia Sheng’s background, so he knew she was a member of the Xia Family.

Xia Sheng was successfully distracted. “Does Shen Ze often talk to you about me?”

There had been many people present when she spoke with Xia Zhiruo today. Shen Ze was well-informed, so it wasn’t strange that he knew about it.

But for Shen Ze to bring up matters about her with Shen Yanchen? That was a little unbelievable.

Shen Yanchen said evenly, “He and I are rather close. He often shares amusing things from school with me.”

“Really?”

Xia Sheng thought back to the previous times Shen Ze had met Shen Yanchen.

Close? She hadn’t seen that at all.

Afraid? Absolutely.

Like a mouse seeing a cat.

Xia Sheng didn’t linger on the topic for long and said, “This weekend is Old Master Zhou’s seventieth birthday banquet. Xia Zhiruo came to me today because she wants me to go with her.”

Shen Yanchen asked, “You don’t get along with the Xia Family. Why would Xia Zhiruo go out of her way to invite you?”

“Because the Xia Family and the Zhou Family have a marriage arrangement. The Xia Family wants me to marry into the Zhou Family.”

Shen Yanchen raised his eyes to look at her, the emotion in his gaze dark and unreadable. “And what do you think?”

“Naturally, I don’t want to. I’m going this time to break off the engagement.”

Calling it breaking off the engagement wasn’t quite accurate. She was simply going to cut off the Xia Family’s idea of using her to take Xia Zhiruo’s place and marry into the Zhou Family, so those people from the Xia Family would stop coming to harass her.

Full, Xia Sheng set down her chopsticks. “People of the Mystic Sect should sever love and abandon attachment. Otherwise, it will only hinder the advancement of their cultivation.”

Shen Yanchen pressed his thin lips together slightly, his gaze burning as he looked at her. “I was born carrying baleful energy, and you happen to be able to absorb it. If you were with me, your cultivation could improve very quickly.”

Xia Sheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. “What did you say?”

Seeing that she seemed startled, Shen Yanchen lowered his eyes and disguised his words as casual. “I was only giving an example. I just wanted to tell you that not all feelings are a waste of time, nor are they completely without benefit.”

Hearing this, Xia Sheng thought about it for a moment, then agreed. “You’re right. Maybe one day, I really will meet someone who suits me in every way.”