Chapter 7: The Knife-Blocking White Moonlight Who Returned from the Dead (VI)

Qingyuan raged alone in his room, while outside, Tushan Xi walked away from the cave residence with a light step. Before leaving, she politely bid farewell to the old yellow dog. “Goodbye, senior,” she said.

Only after she had left did the old yellow dog resume his human form and head back into the dwelling.

Upon returning to her own quarters, Tushan Xi first checked on Xiyun to ensure she was still sound asleep, then felt reassured enough to go to the pharmacy and search for suitable restorative herbs. Fortunately, Qingyuan’s ambiguous feelings for the original owner meant he had carefully preserved all her belongings. Otherwise, there wouldn’t even be a cup to drink from, let alone medicinal herbs.

Seeing that there was no one around, Tushan Xi exchanged information with the system about what had just happened.

[Host, the male lead’s favorability toward you has dropped from 70% to 65%.]

Tushan Xi was speechless. “Even after I made my stance so clear, his favorability still only dropped by five points?”

She shook her head. “It seems I have a long way to go before Qingyuan abandons this idea completely. By the way, at what favorability does it mean there are no romantic feelings between two people?”

[Host, according to our criteria, if a member of the opposite sex has more than 55% favorability toward you, we suspect there may be romantic interest. If it exceeds 70%, we consider it to be love.]

Listening to the explanation, Tushan Xi nodded. “I understand. Then I must find a way to keep Qingyuan’s favorability at 40%. That way, I’ll be safe.”

The system circled her in confusion. [Host, actually, we don’t need to care about the male lead’s favorability. We just need to increase the female lead’s favorability.]

Tushan Xi set down the herbs she had just selected and countered, “According to the plot you gave me, Heaven itself will ensure the male and female leads end up together. As the senior sister, I must maintain the proper boundaries. If the male lead ever crosses the line, no matter how rational the female lead is, emotionally she will blame me. Her favorability will drop accordingly. So, we must raise the female lead’s favorability and lower the male lead’s as well.”

The more she spoke, the more confident she became, her entire aura strengthening. “Otherwise, the male lead’s favorability is a ticking time bomb—if it explodes, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Hearing this, the system found her reasoning sound. [Host, you truly think of everything. What should we do next?]

“Next, of course, is to have Qingyuan come here and kneel in apology!”

[Um, will the male lead agree to that?]

“I am his senior sister, after all. Even if I can’t make him kneel, at least he can apologize, right?” Tushan Xi’s eyes flashed with determination, and her every movement seemed livelier, making her look even more like a real person.

…

Xiyun slept for most of the day. Afraid she might slip away unnoticed, Tushan Xi waited by her bedside with a book until she woke.

Close to mealtime, Xiyun finally stirred awake. Upon opening her eyes and seeing the familiar surroundings, she was no longer as panicked as before. Glancing to the side, she saw Tushan Xi engrossed in a medical text by the lamplight, and hesitated to disturb her. Only after struggling to sit up did she realize the bandages on her chest had been changed.

She had thought that after what she said before falling asleep, Tushan Xi would never care for her again.

Xiyun shook her head with a bitter smile, only to hear a delighted female voice, “You’re awake. Are you hungry? I made you some medicinal porridge. Would you like to try it?”

She turned and found Tushan Xi almost leaning into her. At such close range, she could truly appreciate Tushan Xi’s beauty, and her heart skipped a beat. Yet her thoughts ran wild: so stunning, even among nine-tailed foxes she was famed for her looks.

Realizing where her mind had wandered, she quickly shook her head and drew back repeatedly. No, what nonsense was she thinking? This was someone who had nearly killed her! She couldn’t forgive her just because she was beautiful!

Her retreat was so obvious that a flicker of disappointment crossed Tushan Xi’s eyes, but she quickly rallied, handing over the bowl of porridge she had been keeping warm.

“You must be hungry after sleeping so long. Here, eat something. I’ve added plenty of restorative herbs, but don’t worry, it doesn’t taste bitter at all.”

“Thank you.”

Seeing her accept the bowl, Tushan Xi beamed. “You’re welcome.”

At first glance, the white porridge seemed ordinary, but upon tasting it, one could discern the remarkable ingredients—she recognized at least ginseng of heaven and earth, silver ring grass, and autumn fruit. Those three alone would fetch five bottles of top-grade spirit stones, while all her life savings had only amounted to two.

She shook her head, thinking, some people really are just different.

The atmosphere grew quiet. Worried Xiyun might overthink, Tushan Xi started chatting, “Luckily, when I died before, all my herbs were kept by my master. He preserved them for me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to save you. I’ll have to go offer incense at his grave soon.”

Xiyun paused mid-bite and looked up. “You prepared these herbs?”

“Of course. Though some lost potency from long storage, so I had to increase the dosage. But don’t worry, I’ll keep it under control—it won’t harm your body.”

Xiyun nodded, her voice cold. “Sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Tushan Xi waved her hands, a trace of guilt on her face. “Really, you were hurt so badly because of me. Tell me, what should I do for you to forgive me? Whatever it is, as long as you name it, I’ll do it.”

“Truly?”

Xiyun stared into her eyes, searching for any sign of deception, but found none. She failed to realize that the woman before her had lived for thousands of years, seen countless people and great events—how could a junior of only a few millennia see through her?

Tushan Xi nodded. “If you can say it, no matter what it is, even at the cost of my life, I will do it for you.”

Faced with her burning gaze, Xiyun looked away uncomfortably, muttering, “I worked so hard to bring you back to life; if you risk your life again, wasn’t all my effort for nothing?”

With her keen hearing, Tushan Xi caught every word, the corners of her lips curling in satisfaction. There it is, the favorability is rising.

After Xiyun finished eating and the system confirmed her favorability had reached 10%, Tushan Xi finally brought up Qingyuan.

“I’ve already clarified things with Qingyuan. He truly wronged you in this matter. Whatever conditions you have, just say the word. Or if you have any other thoughts, I won’t stand in your way.”

At these words, Xiyun asked directly, “What if I want to kill Qingyuan?”

Tushan Xi’s expression didn’t change. “Qingyuan took so much of your heart’s blood; by all rights, that’s no different from trying to kill you. He tried to kill you, and you survived and want revenge—that’s only human. I have neither reason nor standing to stop you. If the roles were reversed, if I were you, I too would stop at nothing to kill Qingyuan.”