Chapter 70: Xiao Zhang’s Intentions

The distance lessened further until Ye Wenxin felt a breath hitting her face. She could feel the heat Xiao Zhang exhaled, warm as fire, yet her eyes were like rippling water waves, and she could not wait to devour Ye Wenxin alive.

Even though Ye Wenxin’s original purpose was to conquer Xiao Zhang, she never considered using seduction to win her over.

“If you want to revert, close your eyes first.” After a moment, Xiao Zhang’s voice came again.

Ye Wenxin was a little scared to do as she was told, scared that if she did Xiao Zhang would nibble on her.

“Why, afraid I’ll eat you?” Noticing Ye Wenxin’s dread, Xiao Zhang giggled, her eyes full of charm.

But this charm was unlike her goddaughter Liu Churan’s seductive allure; it emanated from the mature charm accumulated through life experience. Xiao Zhang understood people’s hearts well and was smart and capable; whether as a subordinate or a lover, she was impeccable.

“Mm, I’ll close my eyes, but you better not mess around with my handsome face.” Ye Wenxin closed her eyes honestly and felt the seemingly warm hand touching her cheek. There was a faintly cold sensation, and then her body began to shrink gradually, turning back into the thirteen-year-old Ye Wenxin.

When Ye Wenxin opened her eyes once more, she found that the great beauty Xiao Zhang before her had turned into ‘Ye Liangchen’ at some point.

“Why did you turn into Ye Liangchen?” Ye Wenxin was speechless. Xiao Zhang was already standing up unhurriedly, holding a folding fan identical to Ye Wenxin’s. Although she was quite handsome as well, she lacked Ye Wenxin’s ambivalent demeanor.

“How else am I to strut out of here?” Xiao Zhang retorted with a smile, leaving the room swaggeringly.

Ye Wenxin trailed behind and saw that Baili Mu had long been waiting outside. Upon seeing Xiao Zhang’s version of ‘Ye Liangchen’ appearing, she ran over excitedly and chatted with ‘Ye Liangchen’.

“Are you Wenxin’s elder brother?” Baili Mu’s eyes held warmth, and it was obvious that she had fallen in love at first sight with ‘Ye Liangchen’.

Xiao Zhang’s version of ‘Ye Liangchen’ looked at Baili Mu and smiled, “Yes, I am. Thank you for taking care of our Wenxin.” The voice was so magnetic. It was just a disguise, yet Xiao Zhang naturally adopted the role of ‘Ye Liangchen’.

But Ye Wenxin found that Xiao Zhang was particularly good at socializing and in a mere moment, she coaxed a smile from Baili Mu as well as a promise to be nicer to Ye Wenxin.

“Then, Sister, Brother will be leaving first.” After doing all this, Xiao Zhang left in a swaggering manner. Baili Mu watched that dashing back figure in a trance, like a young maiden in love.

Not only that, but Baili Mu’s attitude towards Ye Wenxin had also improved a lot, leaving Ye Wenxin particularly unused to Baili Mu’s tenderness…

Minutes passed, and Xiao Zhang’s face once again changed back to its original appearance. She smoothly slipped into an alley and leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

Her face was already as pale as snow, like a kite that could break off at any time. She clutched her clothes tightly, forcibly suppressing the pain caused by her internal injuries.

“Commander, there’s news from the palace of a way to treat you.” Under the darkness of night, a shadow appeared out of nowhere and knelt before Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang’s face was icy. Even though she was dying, the strong aura emanating from her body made the shadow dare not act recklessly.

“Never mind, I’ve come to terms with it. Inform the palace that I’ll fend for myself for the remaining time. If I die, keep it simple.” With less than three months remaining, despite knowing Ye Wenxin was unreliable, she was willing to entrust her final days to the girl.

But Xiao Zhang could not tell anyone about her crazy idea. As soon as she finished speaking, the shadow gave an assent and left without a second thought.

Xiao Zhang continued forward, following the path ahead. She adopted another stranger’s face then entered a room to change and rest naturally…

As night departed, Ye Wenxin woke up early for once for the Alchemy Workshop’s recruitment.

“You’re up early.” While Ye Wenxin was opening her eyes, Baili Mu was preparing to leave the dormitory.

Due to Xiao Zhang’s mediation yesterday, Baili Mu’s aversion towards Ye Wenxin had diminished somewhat. She responded somewhat stiffly to Ye Wenxin’s inquiry, “The number of applicants is too high, so I have to get up early to participate in the exam sooner.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Wenxin speedily got up as well. Medicine King Valley had an illustrious reputation, and Ling Jue’s prestige was even more widespread, it was evident how popular the Alchemy Workshop’s recruitment would be this time.

According to Xiao Zhang, the Alchemy Workshop would only be accepting fifty applicants.

Setting aside the issue of registration numbers, there were over ten thousand people in the Azure Wings Sect, and half of them would be participating in the Alchemy Workshop’s selection this time, which was known to be the most enthusiastic registration in history.

Originally, the Sect Leader of the Azure Wings Sect had previously arranged for Ye Wenxin to enter directly through the backdoor. However, Ye Wenxin really did not want to leave any pretext for gossip, so had insisted on participating in the exam herself.

If she had known how popular Ling Jue’s alchemy course would be, Ye Wenxin would absolutely insist on taking the backdoor route regardless of what she had said.

Before having any breakfast, Ye Wenxin hastily rushed to the registration site. There was a sea of people, and some even slept on the ground here last night.

Ye Wenxin regretted it more and more as she looked. Just when she contemplated getting in by acting coquettish and cutesy with Ling Jue, she heard Fatty’s familiar voice.

“Big Sister! Over here, over here!”

Looking again, the little brothers were lining up in the center of the congregation, enthusiastically waving at Ye Wenxin.

The gazes of everyone present turned in unison towards Ye Wenxin, but compared to their previous disgust, their attitude towards her had improved greatly.

Xiao Zhong’s strong charisma came to mind, and Ye Wenxin had the constant feeling the woman had helped her out this week.

“Why’re you guys here? I thought you weren’t interested in alchemy?” Ye Wenxin walked up to them. Putting aside Fatty, the rest did not appear to have any interest in alchemy, so she was puzzled as to why all the little brothers were queuing up here.

“What’re you saying, Big Sister? Didn’t you tell us yesterday to save you a spot?” The confused Fatty gave up his spot to Ye Wenxin as he spoke.

Ye Wenxin was taken aback and immediately realized this was Xiao Zhang’s thoughtfulness.

“Yeah, thanks to Big Sister’s foresight, we secured spots to find buyers. I’ve never seen so much money in my life.” Cobra was also there, exclaiming excitedly about the profits made from holding a spot.

Ye Wenxin simply nodded, further convinced of Xiao Zhang’s talent. If possible, however, she hoped to win Xiao Zhang over not through seduction but through her personal charm.

Ye Wenxin remained in a daze. The little brothers behind her were replaced with buyers one by one, leaving only her and Skinny still standing among the crowd. The other little brothers also stayed, chatting with Ye Wenxin to relieve their boredom, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Two hours went by like this. The queu behind Ye Wenxin had grown so far back the end could not be seen, and Skinny was still standing behind her.

“Skinny, you plan on taking the alchemy exam too?” a bored Ye Wenxin asked curiously. In her memory, Skinny had no interest in alchemy but excelled more in talismans.

Ye Wenxin’s question surprised Skinny, who instead showed a dubious expression, “Big Sister, did you forget again? You said I should also save a spot for your friend.”

This sentence left Ye Wenxin even more confused, so she could only force a smile in response.

“Well, you can’t blame Big Sister. She must have been working hard lately.”

“Yeah, even the old fart has been praising you for making great progress.”

The little brothers seemed accustomed to Ye Wenxin’s memory loss, leaving her unsure of how to respond. Instead, she just smiled at everyone, while speculating about that friend’s identity.

It did not take long for Ye Wenxin to figure out the answer.

“Sorry I’m late.” Xiao Zhang reappeared with her true face.

The concept of age among cultivators was already quite vague, and a woman’s appearance could evoke different levels of beauty. The maturity displayed by Xiao Zhang attracted everyone’s attention. The little brothers gaped, as if they could not understand where this great beauty had come from.

“Wenxin, didn’t you promise to reserve me a spot?” But it seemed like Xiao Zhang had not even noticed the overly bold stares around them, giving Ye Wenxin a slight smile.

“Skinny, make some room, my friend’s here.” Ye Wenxin looked at Skinny, who then realized what was going on and promptly made space for Xiao Zhang.

The little brothers standing around looked dumbfounded, as if they could not fathom where Ye Wenxin had abducted such a beauty.

Ye Wenxin’s emotions were equally chaotic. She thought she had everything under control, but Xiao Zhang’s assertiveness made her wary.

“Why did you come here?”

“I’m just worried you’ll blow your cover, so I specially used the other identity to help you.” Xiao Zhang replied, her breath tickling Ye Wenxin’s ear, involuntarily reminding her of their ambiguous encounter yesterday.

“Your service is indeed impeccable, but is this really okay? What if Her Highness finds out?” Ye Wenxin felt somewhat helpless. Xiao Zhang’s emotional intelligence exceeded her expectations. With just that sentence, she managed to silence all of Ye Wenxin’s complaints. With nowhere to vent her frustration, she decided to go along with the conversation.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s precisely because it’s almost over that I want to return to my true self.” Sensing Ye Wenxin’s concern, Xiao Zhang felt touched.

She had spent her whole life playing other roles, and now, she could finally reveal her true self to someone. Xiao Zhang felt so jubilant to have met Ye Wenxin in her final days, but seeing Ye Wenxin’s displeasure upon hearing her last words saddened her.

“I’ve told you, I can cure you.”

Ye Wenxin’s eyes were filled with stubborn confidence, but Xiao Zhang knew her own condition too well and did not want to shatter Ye Wenxin’s confidence.

“If I wait for you to cure me, won’t I be reborn?” Xiao Zhang brushed off Ye Wenxin’s words like comforting a child, assuming Ye Wenxin was just trying to reassure her, without taking any of Ye Wenxin’s grand claims seriously.