Both were assigned to the Medicine Hall.

The air within thirty zhang of the hall was filled with a bitter aroma, making Ling Luo scrunch her nose in distaste. But she could only endure it.

The senior sister of the Medicine Hall led the two of them to the medicine room and said, “We just received two new batches of herbs. You two will be responsible for categorizing them according to the Pharmacopoeia.”

“Yes,” they replied.

“I won’t be checking, but don’t slack off, alright?” The senior sister teased before leaving.

After she left, Ling Luo picked up a medicine box and headed into the courtyard to sort the herbs drying on the wooden racks.

The yard was lined with rows of wooden racks, leaving only a few narrow paths in between.

Yue Liangze also grabbed a medicine box and went to the far corner of the courtyard, keeping his distance from Ling Luo.

Ling Luo glanced over and noticed how far away he was, and her temper flared.

Is this how you treat your little junior sister who saved you from disaster? Outrageous!

She knocked on the wooden rack with her knuckles, the crisp sound echoing in the courtyard.

Yue Liangze seemed not to notice, engrossed in picking through herbal residues.

Ling Luo rolled her eyes dramatically.

Why keep your distance now? Weren’t you right there when Hong Mao was hitting you?

She muttered inwardly but didn’t bother to strike up a conversation. If you don’t care, then neither do I.

She turned her attention to the Pharmacopoeia and began sorting the mixed herbs. Some racks were too high for her to reach, so she went inside to fetch a small stool.

After a while, she started sneezing incessantly.

“Ah-choo!”

Rubbing her nose, Ling Luo stepped off the stool, sneezing so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.

Through her watery vision, she glanced at the herbs in her hand—it was the dried leaves of nylon flower.

Nylon flower rarely grows leaves, but its foliage is a highly prized medicinal ingredient, said to appear only once in decades.

Unfortunately, Ling Luo was allergic to it.

Its scent was faint, and its appearance unremarkable, easily mistaken for ordinary leaves. Yet, upon inhaling its aroma or touching it, she would be plagued by relentless sneezing.

With a huff, she tossed the nylon flower leaves into the medicine box. “Ah-choo!”

Damn it!

The continuous sneezing finally drew Yue Liangze’s attention.

He glanced her way, noticing her crouched on the ground, sneezing uncontrollably while covering her face. His brows furrowed slightly, and he walked toward her.

A shadow fell over her. Without looking up, Ling Luo knew who it was and snapped, “Go away! Ah-choo!”

She wasn’t about to give Yue Liangze the satisfaction of laughing at her misery.

Yue Liangze stopped, obediently staying at a distance. Then he turned and left.

Ling Luo, seeing this, became even angrier.

You’re just—Ah-choo!

At this point, she wasn’t sure if her tears were from the sneezing or her irritation. Red-rimmed eyes brimming with unshed tears, she called out impulsively, “Yue Liangze!”

Her shout resembled a puffed-up cat baring its claws.

No response.

Ling Luo wiped her tears, stood, and scanned the courtyard, only to find Yue Liangze emerging from the house.

In his hands was a cup of dark liquid. He placed it next to her medicine box.

The bitter aroma hit her like a wall.

Pinching her nose, she grimaced and asked, “What… Ah-choo! What is this?”

“Medicine,” Yue Liangze replied in his clear, soothing voice. “For allergies.”

Ling Luo had no patience to admire the sound of his voice. She huffed, “I’m not—Ah-choo! Allergic! Who said I—Ah-choo! Was allergic?”

“Ah-choo!”

Yue Liangze remained silent for a moment. Then he said, “It’s a mix of triphala and calmgrass ash. It works quickly. The water is warm; if you wait too long, it’ll cool down.”

This was the longest string of words Ling Luo had ever heard from him.

“Ah-choo!”

Without waiting for her reply, Yue Liangze turned and walked back to continue sorting herbs.

Ling Luo glared at his retreating back, puffing up her cheeks in anger before downing the medicine in one gulp.

The bitterness made her shed a few more tears.

Did he deliberately make it this bitter? Couldn’t he have added some honey or sugar?

As she thought this, Yue Liangze returned, holding out his hand.

In his palm was a candied chestnut.

She didn’t care much, sneezing as she grabbed a chestnut, peeled it, and ate it.
The sweet, powdery chestnut melted in her mouth, alleviating some of the bitterness.

Ling Luo sniffled, looking at him with wide eyes. “Ah-choo!”

Yue Liangze hesitated for a moment and asked, “Do you want more?”

Ling Luo extended her hand toward him.

Yue Liangze placed the last two chestnuts in her palm.

Sweet but not cloying, they left her wanting more. Ling Luo licked her lips, suppressing the urge to ask him for more chestnuts. Instead, she pointed at the medicine box. “You clean up over there.”

Without a word, Yue Liangze walked over, picked up the medicine box, and inspected the herbs inside before beginning to organize them.

Are you really that much of a blockhead? Not saying a word again!

Ling Luo felt a pang of frustration, though she consoled herself that the medicine seemed effective—her sneezing gradually subsided.

While standing nearby with her face covered, she asked gloomily, “Did Senior Brother Xiuman say you purposely took the written test to suppress his ranking?”

Yue Liangze didn’t respond.

“I’m asking you…” she started, but the words caught in her throat.

Recalling how Hong Mao and the others frequently berated Yue Liangze in the same manner, Ling Luo decided she didn’t want to act like them.

She rephrased her question. “Is it true?”

Standing on tiptoe, Yue Liangze reached for the medicine basket on the high shelf and gave a soft “Hmm.”

Ling Luo: “…”

“Say it louder!”

Yue Liangze glanced at her, then looked back at the basket. “I did it on purpose,” he said plainly.

Whoa!

In that moment, Ling Luo felt an odd sense of pride, like a parent seeing their child grow up.

What had she said earlier?

This guy is just pretending!

Being able to manipulate his ranking precisely to knock Xiuman out wasn’t something a fool could accomplish.

He wasn’t brainless. Ling Luo pressed on. “If you’re brave enough to sabotage someone, why don’t you have the courage to fight back when they hit you?”

Yue Liangze carefully sorted the herbs in his hands without looking up. “Can’t beat them.”

Ling Luo: “…”

She was stunned.

“Say that again?” Ling Luo stared at him with laser focus.

Yue Liangze repeated, “Can’t beat them.”

What nonsense are you spouting?!

There’s no way you can’t beat those useless guys! You’re—

Ling Luo’s temple throbbed.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath.

Yue Liangze was once a nameless nobody.

Yet at the Golden Luan Pool Banquet hosted by the Daxian Sect in the Western Sea, he had burst onto the scene with a single sword strike that shocked the world.

Few knew he had once been an outer disciple of the Eastern Island Sect Tianji. Perhaps at this moment, Yue Liangze genuinely couldn’t beat Senior Brother Hong Mao, much like she herself couldn’t match the sect leader of Eastern Island Tianji now.

Maybe Yue Liangze, like her, had once been full of spiritual power but clueless about how to use it, even to the point of struggling to hold a sword.

Ling Luo studied him with a strange expression. Suddenly, she grabbed Yue Liangze’s hand and placed a finger on his spiritual vein to test it.

His spiritual power was faint—so faint it was barely perceptible.

For someone from the prestigious Daxian Sect, even an outer disciple’s standard shouldn’t be this low. If Yue Liangze had entered Tianji Sect with such weak spiritual power, it must have been through a backdoor connection.

Yue Liangze let her hold his hand without protest, seemingly aware of her intentions but indifferent.

Cultivators relied on their spiritual power to pass the twin hurdles of initiation and breakthroughs.

Some were born with it, in varying degrees, granting them a head start in the cultivation world. Others were born without it, and for them, gaining spiritual power was a lifelong struggle.

What Ling Luo sensed in Yue Liangze fell into a gray area—neither entirely absent nor truly present. His spiritual veins existed, but his power was so weak it was almost nonexistent.

This explained why his body was more resilient than ordinary people’s, yet he couldn’t even perform basic sword techniques, let alone advanced spells.

Ling Luo let go of his hand, looking disheartened. “With spiritual power like this, if you take today’s martial test, won’t people just laugh at you?”

Now she understood why he didn’t fight back when beaten.

Given his weak spiritual power, he truly couldn’t win against Hong Mao and the others.

Yue Liangze calmly placed the sorted herbs into the medicine box and said, “I won’t go.”

“At least you know your limits,” Ling Luo mocked. “How did you even get into Tianji Sect?”

“Through the mountain gate,” Yue Liangze replied.

Ling Luo: “…”

She was speechless. You’re so infuriatingly literal sometimes!

“I mean,” she clarified, “how did someone with such weak spiritual power become an outer disciple of Tianji Sect?”

Thinking back to Yue Liangze ten years later, with immense spiritual power that sustained him for half a month without food or drink, she was baffled. If she hadn’t remembered this man trapped in her formation on Mount Tianzhao and checked on him out of curiosity, she wouldn’t have known how long he could endure without sustenance.

Why hadn’t he broken the formation back then instead of stubbornly starving himself?

Her thoughts wandered until Yue Liangze’s lack of a response brought her back. Just then, she sneezed again.

Yue Liangze turned to look at her.

“Ah-choo!” Ling Luo’s eyes widened. “Why is it… Ah-choo! Happening again? Ah-choo!”

Weren’t the herbs supposed to help?!

After a pause, Yue Liangze held up his hand—the one Ling Luo had grabbed earlier. “You touched the nylon flower leaves I was sorting.”

Ling Luo: “Ah-choo!”

Curse it all!

Pointing at her empty cup, she managed to gasp between sneezes, “Ah-choo! More medicine!”

Yue Liangze silently took the cup back inside to prepare another dose.

Ling Luo sneezed repeatedly, tears streaming from her eyes. Through her blurred vision, she caught glimpses of his slim, upright silhouette.

She couldn’t help but wonder if Yue Liangze had done this on purpose, letting her touch the allergenic leaves. Or perhaps he was simply used to people handling him without resistance.

With her mind muddled by the sneezing, Ling Luo’s thoughts drifted aimlessly.

When Yue Liangze returned with the medicine, she drank it without hesitation.

The bitterness of the concoction brought fresh tears to her eyes.

“Chestnuts…” she mumbled, “I want chestnuts.”

“We’re out,” Yue Liangze replied.

Seeing her frown, he handed her a piece of dried licorice root. “This is sweet. It’ll help with the bitterness.”

Ling Luo took it and placed it in her mouth.

At that moment, a memory from her past life surfaced.

It was also on Mount Tianzhao. Injured after a battle, she returned in the midst of a storm. Exhausted and hungry, she lay restless on her bed, unwilling to get up.

She had forgotten Yue Liangze, trapped in her formation at the time.

In her delirium, he had patiently fed her, coaxed her into drinking medicine, and—when she complained about the bitterness—offered her a piece of licorice, saying, “It’s sweet. It’ll help with the bitterness.”

Back then, she had assumed he was trying to curry favor to escape her formation.

He could have killed her in that vulnerable moment, fulfilling his duty to vanquish demons.

But he hadn’t.