Chapter 490: Chapter 490

"Miss Shen, please take it slow. The Third Elder said that in just a short while longer, you'll be able to get out of bed and walk normally."

"Who knows, you might even be able to regain your cultivation?"

Stirring the freshly brewed brown medicinal soup to a suitable temperature, the young maid's eyes were full of unconcealable wonder.

In the blink of an eye, several months had already passed since An Ning first arrived here.

Unlike the Fu Family, which was as small as a palm, the Xie Family was the largest cultivation family in the entire Jiangzhou region. Backed by the Azure Cloud Sect, their strength was not to be underestimated. The personal maids attending the young masters and ladies all possessed some level of cultivation, more or less.

Suyun naturally knew just how severe Miss Shen's injuries were when she was first brought here. Apart from the fatal wound in her abdomen, the important thing was that almost half of the meridians throughout her body were practically crippled.

Logically speaking, with such injuries, even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance of surviving, regaining one's cultivation would be as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Yet, who would have thought...

Ah, no wonder the Family Head is placing more and more importance on her day by day. Even the punishment for the Fourth Young Master earlier is no longer being mentioned.

Not long after, a group of female attendants dressed in gauzy clothing entered the room with smiles, bringing freshly picked spirit fruits.

The jade-white fruits were misty and fragrant, placed on a long celadon jade platter, making the overflowing spiritual energy even more apparent. After a bow, the leading purple-clad attendant immediately said with a smile:

"Miss Shen, these were specially ordered by the Young Master. He said they would be very beneficial for your recovery."

Spirit-Nourishing Fruits, produced from the peak of Jade Dragon Mountain. They bloom once every hundred years and bear fruit only once every three hundred years. Moreover, they are often guarded by spirit beasts during this period. One could say they are extremely rare and hard to obtain.

Truly worthy of a cultivation family with a lineage stretching back a thousand years. Such a grand gesture.

Her gaze paused briefly on the spirit fruits before her. An Ning soon nodded, her usually rather aloof eyes now unusually showing a hint of warmth:

"Please convey my thanks to your Young Master for me! Tell him that once my injuries have healed, I will personally go to express my gratitude."

Although she knew the reason for this sudden change in attitude from these people, when under another's roof, and considering she would need quite a few spiritual medicines for her subsequent recovery, the necessary courtesies still had to be observed.

Sure enough, after her words fell, the smile on the leading purple-clad attendant's face became much more sincere.

"The Young Master said, Miss, you need not be so polite. Just focus on resting and recuperating. If you need anything in the future, simply call for us servants."

Unlike the busy green-clad junior attendants from before, now in this small courtyard, the attendants for sweeping, cooking medicine, and serving washing were all quite complete.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries and seeing that An Ning seemed to show signs of fatigue, the young maids bowed and took their leave.

Only after everyone had left did An Ning pick up the fruit placed beside her hand.

The hundred-year Spirit-Nourishing Fruits indeed had remarkable efficacy, and they were rare items for gently nourishing the spiritual meridians. After consuming several, and with the recuperation over these past days, An Ning felt that her spiritual meridians, which were already mostly recovered, had become much more unobstructed.

Good. Feeling the spiritual energy surging within her meridians, she reckoned that in a few days, she would be able to regain her cultivation.

Sigh. To avoid exposing too much, she had endured nearly two months of being practically crippled. She'd had enough.

But before that, the meridians of this body were still too fragile.

Thinking of this, An Ning quickly got up and wrote another prescription on the desk.

At the same time, in the Clear Phoenix Courtyard.

"Is Fourth Brother out searching for someone again?"

Casually handing the plain letter in his hand to an attendant beside him, the man before the desk, the current Xie Family Young Master, the Eldest Young Master Xie, let out a gentle sigh.

"Of course! Knowing that Third Young Lady's fate is still unknown, how could that kid possibly sit still!"

To the side, Third Young Master Xie couldn't help but snort coldly. The thin lips slightly turned downwards were full of disdain for his unlucky brother.

"Back then, he insisted on going to search for her, and then brought her home without a word…"

If he hadn't promptly taken people to clean up the mess and erase traces for this reckless kid, given the Xuanming Cult's domineering and unreasonable nature, this kid wouldn't have enough lives to squander.

"Alright, having Zichu busy outside is good too. At least it can serve as a cover. After all, Miss Shen's face is truly misleading…"

If someone were to notice, it would be a disaster for their Xie Family as well.

However, speaking of that Miss Shen, looking at his elder brother who seemed to have completely trusted her, Third Young Master Xie beside him couldn't help but frown. A trace of doubt appeared in his fox-like eyes.

"Big Brother, do you think there really is such a coincidence in this world?

Over there, Third Young Lady Fu has just disappeared from the Xuanming Cult with the child. Over here, Miss Shen just happens to leave the mountains and, by a stroke of bad luck, becomes an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire! Mistaken for Miss Fu by the pursuers and suffering this calamity…"

This is all a bit too coincidental.

Moreover, these two people look so similar, without the slightest difference. Not only the pursuers, but even Fourth Brother, who has admired her for many years, didn't notice.

To be honest, regarding this so-called Miss Shen, his intuition told him there must be something wrong.

In fact, if these two were actually the same person, it would be easier for him to accept…

Unfortunately, Third Young Master Xie's little bit of doubt did not gain his elder brother's approval. Casually patting his younger brother's shoulder, Xie Ze couldn't help but smile gently.

"Alright, Third Brother, I know you're cautious. But, not to mention that Miss Shen's identity was personally verified by Third Granduncle, just this astonishingly brilliant medical skill alone must come from a famous master. How could the former Third Young Lady Fu possibly achieve that?"

As the future successor of a great family, Eldest Young Master Xie naturally understood clearly in his heart.

An adopted daughter of the Fu Family—it just sounded nice. Not to mention the Fu Family itself wasn't some famous noble clan, just the term 'adopted daughter' revealed the underlying subtleties.

No matter how good her innate talent was, truly good resources would definitely not fall into her hands.

A true physician requires not just excellent inheritance, but must have handled countless good medicinal herbs. Not to mention Miss Fu never displayed any talent in this path before. Even with great opportunity, she absolutely could not reach the level of the current Miss Shen.

As for the so-called possession, that's even more laughable!

Eldest Young Master Xie couldn't help but shake his head.

Not to mention possession was already a rumor from eight hundred years ago.

To have such ability, one's cultivation in life must have been extremely formidable. What kind of powerful figure would be so bored as to possess a dying person entangled in troubles?

Moreover, although Miss Shen was seriously injured, one could still see that the spiritual energy around her, though weak, was quite pure, with no signs of rejection at all.

"These are all things Third Brother witnessed earlier with his own eyes."

"Alright, I know you've always been cautious, Third Brother, but don't overthink this matter too much." Gently comforting the younger brother before him, Eldest Young Master Xie spoke again with a smile.

In his heart, however, he thought that he should probably assign Third Brother more tasks recently, lest he become suspicious and paranoid, wandering around Miss Shen's place all day and causing her displeasure.

An outsider from the world beyond, and a highly capable one at that—it was best to try to befriend her.

Not to mention the mysterious master behind her, just Miss Shen's medical skills alone were worthy of the Xie Family treating her as a distinguished guest.

"Third Brother, do you remember Cousin Jue from Second Granduncle's family?"

"Remember? How could I not remember…"

A trace of darkness flashed unconsciously in Xie Xuan's eyes.

Because of some verbal dispute, those people from the Xuanming Cult ruthlessly struck and crippled Cousin Jue's entire meridian system with a single palm.

That year, Cousin Jue was just over ten years old, hadn't even completed Foundation Establishment, and had his foundation completely destroyed by that one palm.

Second Granduncle, who had already lost his only son early, turned white-haired overnight.

With such a great enmity, how could the Xie Family not hate them?

This was also why, when Fourth Brother earlier insisted on taking that desperate gamble and bringing that person home, the elders in the clan were so opposed. The Xie Family Head, who had always doted on his youngest son, even went so far as to punish him severely.

Even the Eldest Young Master, who usually protected his younger brother, didn't speak up in support at that time.

Thinking of this, Eldest Young Master Xie couldn't help but sigh, yet his eyes held a rare hint of joy.

"Indeed. Cousin Jue's injuries were so severe that even Granduncle was at a loss. But ever since using the prescription left by Miss Shen, he has already improved considerably."

"Third Granduncle went to see him earlier. As long as he recuperates well, resuming cultivation in the future won't be a problem."

It was well known how important meridians were to a cultivator, yet they were also the most fragile. Not to mention being almost completely crippled; once injured, it basically announced the end of a cultivator's future prospects.

But now, it could have such an effect.

And this, while Miss Shen was still injured and hadn't personally examined the pulse.

This showed it wasn't just some miraculous encounter she possessed, but that this Miss Shen was truly a rare and exceptional master of the medical path.

Such a person, no matter how unfavorable her current situation, should only be befriended to the best of one's ability, not offended…

Wait, meridians? Not far away, even Third Young Master Xie couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

"This Miss Shen… is she really that formidable?"