Chapter 28: You’ve Gone Too Far, Stinky Taoist

Although Tan Jianren had provided Lu Shijiu and her companion with a plausible identity in front of everyone, he immediately called them aside under the guise of settling them in.

In a secluded room, Tan Jianren stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze heavy as he stared at Lu Shijiu.

"What exactly is your relationship with the Divine Physician Tan? And why did you know this place belonged to him?"

"I told him what dragon bone really is. He said he owed me a favor and gave me a token engraved with a narrow-bottomed wine jar, telling me to seek help from any shop marked with that symbol if I ever needed it," Lu Shijiu replied expressionlessly.

"Where is the token?" Tan Jianren asked.

"I declined it at the time. However, in return for your help today, I am willing to do him another favor."

Tan Jianren did not say whether that was acceptable or not, only stating, "The Divine Physician is away searching for dragon bone. Any transactions between you and him can wait until he returns."

It was clear he intended to keep them there.

"Staying here is fine! But please, arrange a private room for us!"

At the thought of the unsettling look in Mistress Li's eyes, Lu Shijiu could not help but make the request. Tan Jianren glanced at the girl standing quietly to the side and nodded.

That night, when only Lu Shijiu and Lan Yin remained in the room, Lan Yin sat huddled on the edge of the bed with her arms around her knees, while Lu Shijiu sat on the inside.

Unable to contain her burning questions any longer, Lan Yin spoke up, "Shijiu, why did you go there today?"

"To repay the silver," Lu Shijiu said, lying down and pulling up the quilt, her voice concise.

Lan Yin was stunned. "You still remembered that?"

"I said I would repay you, so I certainly would."

"Thank you for saving me today! Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Lan Yin, a native of the capital, and the daughter of the current Grand Marshal, Lan Qingyuan," Lan Yin said apologetically. "I ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage, so it was inconvenient to reveal my true name. That is why I asked you to call me 'Sister Sanliang' that day."

"It’s fine. Being cautious when away from home is always for the best," Lu Shijiu murmured, drifting toward sleep.

"Shijiu, you seemed to know the man who tried to harm me? You even seemed to hate him!" Lan Yin pulled her knees tighter and bit her lip.

Lu Shijiu’s eyes, which were about to close, snapped open instantly. Her voice turned icy. "He is my fourth uncle in name only. I have an irreconcilable hatred for him! The scars on my arms that you saw were caused by them."

"In name only?" Lan Yin asked, confused.

"I am the child they swapped out!"

With just that sentence, Lan Yin understood. After all, she had seen plenty of the dirty schemes played out in the inner chambers of noble houses.

"What are your plans for the future?" Lan Yin asked.

"First, to ensure your safety!"

"Ensure my safety?" Lan Yin chuckled lightly. "You are just a child yourself!"

"I am ten years old!" Lu Shijiu emphasized.

"Ten?" Lan Yin was aghast. "How can your frame be so small?"

"Before, they only fed me a bowl of dishwater a day and made me do heavy labor. That is how I ended up like this," Lu Shijiu said, her tone as calm as if she were speaking of someone else.

Lan Yin felt a pang of intense pity. "When I was ten, my mother passed away and my father remarried. My stepmother was always plotting in the dark to harm me... I thought my own circumstances were miserable enough, but compared to yours, it is truly nothing."

Lu Shijiu shook her head. "In this world, everyone has their own sorrows. I have no need for pity, and your life has not been easy either!"

Perhaps because the night was so deep, or perhaps because Lu Shijiu’s words struck a chord in Lan Yin’s heart, the fear she had tried to ignore during the day came rushing back. No matter how strong she appeared on the surface, tears began to flow without warning.

"I thought I was doomed today. I had even prepared myself to bite my tongue and end my life..."

Lu Shijiu sat up abruptly, tugging at her sleeve in a flustered, earnest manner. "Don't die!"

Lan Yin sniffled, looking startled. "That is a strange way to comfort someone!"

"I am serious! You may feel your situation is terrible, but you might be someone else's salvation!"

"Is that someone else yourself?" Lan Yin asked.

"Yes. You are the first person who saw the strangeness in my eyes and did not feel a shred of aversion."

"That is because I am from the capital; I have seen and heard of many people who differ from the norm, so I naturally wouldn't have any strange thoughts."

"And you are the first person to show me kindness for no reason."

Lan Yin leaned back against the headboard, staring unblinkingly at the canopy of the bed. "Because I saw my own reflection in you, and I couldn't help but want to pull you up!"

"See?"

Lan Yin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears and laughter. "You little girl! You’ve actually managed to comfort me! Very well! This sister will live well and be your salvation! Get some sleep now."

Once Lu Shijiu lay down, she drifted into a deep sleep.

"Stinking Daoist, why have you only been letting me out lately when you practice your calligraphy?"

"Because you need to calm your mind! Calligraphy is the best way to achieve tranquility. This is a brush I crafted especially for you. Take it and try."

"What? You actually want a vengeful ghost to learn to write? What a joke! I never touched a book when I was alive, and now you want me to write after I’m dead! I won't! Not unless you let me kill that family!"

"Why is your resentment still so heavy?"

"Shouldn't a vengeful ghost be full of resentment?"

"If your resentment does not fade, it will be hard for you to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Do you truly wish to vanish from this world forever?"

"As long as I can kill that family, I would be willing to let my soul be scattered to the winds!"

"You! Incorrigible! Simply incorrigible! You are going to be the death of me!"

"Tch! What would a stinking Daoist who has never stepped foot in the mortal world understand about the love and hate of our kind?"

"It is not that we cultivators do not understand; it is that we have seen through it."

"Seen through it? Hah! By relying on those self-deceiving mantras you chant every day?"

"They are not self-deceiving mantras; they are words of wisdom filled with profound truth!"

"Those damn words of yours have been trying to liberate me for so long, yet they haven't pacified the hatred in my chest, nor have they soothed my grievances. It seems they are of no real use. I tell you, it would be more effective to just let me out to kill that family. I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit afterward."

"Even if I were to let you out, what strength do you have to kill them?"

Lu Shijiu’s vision suddenly blurred, and she groped around.

"Solomon's seal—its nature is sweet and neutral, non-toxic. It can ascend and descend; it is the yin within the yang..."

Suddenly, the clear sound of reading aloud echoed not far away.

Lu Shijiu sought out the sound and saw a man in Taoist robes holding a book, facing the rolling, cloud-covered mountains, reciting with rhythmic cadence. She could not see his face clearly, but she could clearly see the title of the book in his hands.

On the cover were written four large characters: *Compendium of Materia Medica*.

"Stinking Daoist, why is the book you are reading today so strange? It has neither doctrines nor fables."

"Medical texts are for saving lives and healing the wounded; why would they need doctrines or fables?"

"Don't tell me you want me to learn this too?"

"Naturally!"

"Stinking Daoist, you’ve gone too far!"