Chapter 1376: Man and Woman
“Definitely!”
The two of them smiled at one another. In the Hundred Herbs garden shining with the beauty of spring, they possessed a mutual understanding of each other.
As people of cultivation, they could help and assist each other as strangers, but they did not have to be overly attached to one another. They were better off letting each other be than dragging each other down in times of need.
“Senior sister Ruan, who’s this?”
A voice broke the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. The two of them looked over together, and a man drifted over. His long, black hair was held together by a clasp as his sky-blue robes swayed in the wind. He even held a book of poems in his right hand, such that he seemed like a handsome, elegant scholar.
Ruan Yaozhu’s smile immediately vanished. She turned as expressionless as she usually was. “Junior brother Shen, this is junior brother Li Qingshan. He’s joined the Myriad sect recently and will be working in the Hundred Herbs garden in the future.”
“Oh, nice to meet you then!” Shen Yushu looked over and glanced past the badge on Li Qingshan’s chest, followed by all the shadow clones beside him. “You’re already a formal disciple despite just joining the sect, so you must have come first in the entrance test! Junior brother Li’s cultivation is truly extraordinary. It’s no wonder you have the good graces of senior sister Ruan.”
Li Qingshan immediately sensed a strange hint of hostility. It was purely due to the instincts of male creatures. He thought, Looks like no matter how great your cultivation is, humans just can’t surpass their animalistic instincts!
Eating and drinking are the desires of humans. Even immortals must eat pills and absorb spiritual qi. Looks like ingestion is something they cannot do without, while the feelings between a man and a woman are no different. This guy is clearly Ruan Yaozhu’s wooer.
However, Ruan Yaozhu clearly did not need any people to woo her. He had no intentions of becoming one of her wooers either. Otherwise, it really would be quite awkward with how well she treated him.
He directly clasped his hands. “And may I ask for senior brother Shen’s full name?”
“Shen Yushu.”
Shen Yushu bowed slightly, demonstrating great politeness. However, that was the courtesy someone superior showed to someone inferior. It was the modesty that a gentleman of nobility showed to a common farmer. He bore the badge which represented his identity as an inner disciple on his chest, shining brightly under the sun.
Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. Even though he had no interest in Ruan Yaozhu, it did set off his competitiveness. Then he thought, Whatever. If I’m always that competitive, when am I going to make any progress with the Qiling Transformation? It’s not like Ruan Yaozhu has any interest in him, so why should I get jealous for nothing?
In other words, if Ruan Yaozhu really was interested in Shen Yushu, even just that tiny bit, he probably would have done something about it.
He smiled widely. “A fine name! Senior brother Shen, this is my first time here, so I do hope you can take good care of me.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ve been handling all the miscellaneous affairs of the Hundred Herbs garden, and in the blink of an eye, it’s already been a century. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me. I’ll definitely make it as clear as I can to you.”
Shen Yushu said very generously before grumbling to Ruan Yaozhu, “Senior sister, why have you come to such a cluttered place? Just leave these small matters to me.”
“Junior brother Li will handle everything within five kilometres of the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. I’m going to go cultivate.”
Ruan Yaozhu only left them with that instruction before the nine-coloured deer bounded off with a kick of its hoof, leaving behind Li Qingshan and Shen Yushu staring at each other.
With Ruan Yaozhu’s departure, Shen Yushu immediately became a little more reserved. “Junior brother Li, have you done something like this before? This job is not as simple as you think it is.”
You really want to know what I’m thinking?
Li Qingshan brought out the phoenix’s demeanour, becoming even more reserved than him. “I haven’t!”
Immediately, the two men were like peacocks with open tail feathers, competing against one another to see who was better.
Shen Yushu furrowed his brows by an undetectable amount. The hierarchy in the Myriad sect was clearly outlined. If this was somewhere else, he could even downright find an excuse to punish a formal disciple that had just joined the sect, but this was Ruan Yaozhu’s Hundred Herbs garden.
“Junior brother Li, the Hundred Herbs garden is the foundation of the Myriad sect. Every single leaf and petal here has been planted and grown from senior sister Ruan’s efforts. If you mishandle the task and do a poor job, the consequences are unthinkable. There have been some careless disciples that not only failed to gain any benefits from the Hundred Herbs garden, but instead had much of their contribution and bookmarks deducted as a penalty. Some of them have even been punished, directly expelled from the Myriad sect.”
Li Qingshan said, “Don’t worry senior brother. I’ll take my time and work things out.”
Shen Yushu began to laugh. “Alright then. You can take your time and work things out then!” He turned around and left gracefully. He thought, Hmph, biting off more than you can chew, you ruffian who has no understanding of hierarchy. You have no idea how delicate and complicated the work in the Hundred Herbs garden is. Once you make a mistake, I’d like to see how you explain yourself. Senior sister Ruan can’t blame me for not warning you either.
Li Qingshan stood where he was and thought about it before shaking his head with a smile. He did not take it seriously. He began to search through the warehouse for tools and fertiliser.
There were several dozen plants and herbs around five kilometres of the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. They all possessed different characteristics and required different types of care. However, with the jade slip that Ruan Yaozhu had provided him with, coupled with the great analytical and deductive abilities of the spirit turtle, it was nothing difficult.
In a lake within the depths of the Hundred Herbs garden was a serene dwelling.
Ruan Yaozhu sat on the stone bed and sighed. “Junior brother Shen is crossing the line more and more now.”
She knew exactly what Shen Yushu was thinking. He had just spent the century hiding his thoughts carefully, and he worked extremely hard, so she could not dismiss him over a mere thought of his. However, as his cultivation climbed higher and higher with the recent years, gradually approaching the fifth heavenly tribulation, he virtually became the head caretaker of the Hundred Herbs garden, and this thought of his began to manifest itself, which left her a little displeased.
Nearby, a hanging basket woven from green vines rocked back and forth. A pair of slender legs drooped out of them. The snowy-white skin possessed a gorgeous, fleeting pattern as she swung her calves around quickly and gently.
“There’s nothing you can do. Who can help the fact that he also practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. He can save you a lot of trouble so that you can focus on cultivation, so you’ll just have to turn a blind eye to it! Hehe, who can help the fact that you’re just so charming?”
Ruan Yaozhu was rather perplexed. “Then why are you so strict with him?”
Regardless of the time they had known each other, their identities, their cultivations, or even their thoughts and sincerity, Li Qingshan came nowhere close to Shen Yushu.
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The basket suddenly stopped, and a young lady leapt out. She was completely unclothed. Her snowy-body seemed to be shrouded in rainbow mist, while her beautiful face was embedded with a pair of gentle, moist deer eyes. She stared at Ruan Yaozhu. “That’s not called being strict. He’s very dangerous. Trust me, keep your distance from him! No one who walks the same path as Maheśvara can be a good person.”
Ruan Yaozhu behaved like she had not heard her at all. She held her chin. “If junior brother Li can undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, he might be capable of replacing junior brother Shen with his bloodline of the qilin. He’s getting a little too annoying now.”
“Look at you! What did I say?” The nine-coloured lady leaned against her arm. She seemed as helpless as watching her dear daughter becoming enamoured by a bad boy. She planted her hands on her hips and said righteously, “If that kid dares to develop even the slightest feeling towards you, chase him out of the Hundred Herbs garden immediately! There’s no room for discussion!”
“Alright then. Could you put on some clothes?”
“I don’t want to!”
Li Qingshan was in no hurry to begin working. Instead, he strolled through the wilderness, sniffing a flower at some times and touching a tree at others. He was like a tiger patrolling his territory, leaving behind his smell everywhere.
Now that he was experiencing it in person, he only gained a deeper understanding of how extraordinary the Hundred Herbs garden was.
Every single exotic herb and plant had its own environment to live in, yet they all gathered in the “tiny” Hundred Herbs garden, flourishing and growing together. Upon closer thought, that was basically unbelievable.
The Hundred Herbs garden was basically like a complete organism, yet it was also like the crystallisation of all of nature. It was extremely perfect and delicate.
Just who exactly designed all of this? Was it the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance that was skilled in calculations, the two mysterious sect masters, or the Elder of Heavenly Tomes beyond the Nine Heavens?
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Shen Yushu gazed over from afar and thought he still had no idea what to do. You fool, let’s see what you do now. Just come and beg me already!
Before he knew it, Li Qingshan arrived before a bush of Razorteeth grass. The slender, bone-white blades of grass truly were razor-sharp like teeth. It was dense and slender like a forest, even giving off an exotic smell. It was not the refreshing fragrance of flowers. Instead, it made him think of the taste of the human heart. It was thick and enticing, making him get a little closer.
Shen Yushu sneered inside, Idiot, the Razortooth grass feeds off flesh and blood. Once you get close, it’ll suddenly extend and attack you. This Razortooth grass has already been growing for several tens of thousand years. If you approach it rashly, even Golden Core cultivators will face life-threatening danger. You’re bound to suffer when you bite off more than you can chew!
The Razortooth grass suddenly began to grow furiously, reaching over thirty metres long and lunging towards Li Qingshan.
However, the Razortooth grass wrapped around Li Qingshan gently, without any sharpness to be seen. Li Qingshan waved his hand, and it slowly shrunk back again, turning back to normal.
Shen Yushu was stunned. What’s going on?
Li Qingshan silently circulated the Qilin’s Conventions of Longevity. This really was a job very suited for him.
