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Xuan Yangzi turned his head and gave Jiang Shaoling a sharp glare: “Are you going to continue questioning her?”
“Of course! The last plant, if she can answer correctly, then I’ll consider her assessment passed,” Jiang Shaoling said with a slight smirk.
The ten books didn’t represent all the spirit plants in the garden.
If she could even identify a plant not in the books, he would admit that she had some real knowledge.
Ye Qingning followed Jiang Shaoling deeper into the Spirit Herb Garden.
It was clear that the plants here were the rarest in the garden.
The system mischievously chimed in: [Welcome to the bonus question!]
Ye Qingning couldn’t help but twitch her lips. Of course, it was a bonus question.
But for some reason, she felt a bit excited.
Then she sighed inwardly: If only these spirit herbs all had her surname.
Jiang Shaoling noticed Ye Qingning’s expression and saw her look of regret, her brows furrowed.
So these spirit herbs didn’t catch her interest?! Ha.
Probably, she couldn’t recognize them, that’s why she had this expression.
“What is this spirit herb?” Jiang Shaoling asked, pointing to a very ordinary green herb with a slightly smug tone.
He was sure she wouldn’t be able to answer it correctly.
If she did, he would dare to dig weeds upside down!
Ye Qingning narrowed her eyes slightly.
The herb Jiang Shaoling pointed to was a bluish-green color, with long, slightly curved leaves, and deep red roots. Its appearance was very similar to both Qinglu grass and Xuelu grass.
The reason it was mentioned was that Qinglu and Xuelu grasses were so similar they could almost be indistinguishable.
Even those familiar with these two herbs couldn’t tell them apart with the naked eye.
She also couldn’t recognize it.
The only way to tell them apart was…
Just as Ye Qingning crouched down to verify, a sudden, sharp pain shot up her chest.
It felt like a sharp knife had pierced into her heart.
The pain spread through her body like an electric current, and Ye Qingning’s face turned pale in an instant. Sweat beaded on her forehead, rolling down her face.
Ye Qingning pressed her hands tightly to her chest, trying to alleviate the heart-wrenching pain, but she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
She continued coughing, and despite trying to cover her mouth, blood dripped between her fingers and fell to the ground, with a few drops landing on the green herb.
The sudden change startled both Xuan Yangzi and Jiang Shaoling.
“She… she… spit up blood?!”
Jiang Shaoling quickly reacted.
Only to be met with a glare from Xuan Yangzi: “What are you standing there for? Quickly help her sit down and give her a Blood Spirit Pill. I’ll check her pulse.”
The Blood Spirit Pill was a healing elixir that could quickly stop bleeding, generate blood, and speed up wound healing.
Jiang Shaoling always carried some with him, as most alchemists did.
But he wanted to ask the old man, would the Blood Spirit Pill work for emotional distress?
She wasn’t injured externally or internally. She just suddenly coughed up blood, and it was clearly due to the pressure of not being able to answer.
Jiang Shaoling thought this, but still did as Xuan Yangzi said.
As he helped Ye Qingning sit, he noticed something.
She was so thin… It felt like her arm could snap if he applied the slightest force.
She really was delicate.
And stubborn.
If she couldn’t answer, why not just admit it? Why make herself spit blood over it?
It was almost as if he had bullied her.
If she really wanted to be a servant in the Spirit Herb Garden, he would let her go. Could he not kick her out?
Jiang Shaoling’s thoughts wandered as he retrieved a white medicinal vial from his spatial ring, quickly poured out a Blood Spirit Pill, and placed it near Ye Qingning’s mouth.
“No, I… I’m fine…” Ye Qingning moved her lips, her voice faint, as if she would lose consciousness at any moment.
Jiang Shaoling froze. Had she just refused?
He was offering her a pill, and she didn’t want to take it?
Fine, fine, if she didn’t want it, let her spit blood all she wanted.
Ye Qingning had her reasons for refusing the pill, which had nothing to do with Jiang Shaoling.
The system had already guessed the cause and started cursing: [Damn dog lotus flower! She must have intentionally hurt herself, deliberately trying to harm Ningning!]
Ye Qingning didn’t take the Blood Spirit Pill because she knew that the pain in her chest was being transferred through the inner parasite, something no pill could cure.
Enduring the intense pain, she sat on the ground as Xuan Yangzi placed his hand on her left wrist to check her pulse, wondering if he would detect the parasite inside her.
At that moment, an abrupt system notification echoed in her mind.
[System Message: Blocked a sword for the tragic and powerful second male lead, Affinity +10%, Current Affinity: 10%, Points +100, Current Points: 100!]
The notification ended, and the system seemed to jump up from her head in a panic.
Flapping its tiny green wings, it stared wide-eyed at Ye Qingning, both of them thoroughly confused.
Ye Qingning: [Is Ye Hanyue trying to woo Xie Jibai? Then why did her message pop up in my system?]
The system frantically shook its head, almost knocking off its green tuft of hair: [It’s you! You got points! 100 points!]
Ye Qingning froze, even more confused.
Did she do anything? No.
Did she block a sword for Xie Jibai? No.
But the points appeared on their own.
In fact, the pain in her chest told her that it was Ye Hanyue who had blocked the sword for Xie Jibai.
But for some unknown reason, the affinity and points Ye Hanyue earned were transferred to her.
The system, brimming with excitement, transformed into a genius: [I get it now! It must be because the mother-child parasite was planted on both you and the dog lotus flower!]
[The dog lotus flower went to please Xie Jibai, but since she doesn’t have a system, the injuries she took for him transferred to you. Since the system is bugged, it assumed it was you who was injured, so it awarded you the points!]
[Ha ha ha! The dog lotus flower definitely didn’t expect that! She went to please Xie Jibai, and the points went to Ningning instead! If she knew this, she’d probably explode with anger!]
[By the way, the points! 100 points is exactly enough to exchange for a Spirit Renewal Stone! This really came easily! Ningning, just wait, I’ll exchange it for you right now!]
Ye Qingning: [Wait, don’t rush to exchange it. First, tell me, I’ve earned points, but do I still have to go after Xie Jibai? If so, I’d rather not have the points.]
The system, annoyed by Xie Jibai, quickly responded: [Don’t worry, Ningning! I didn’t show any task for you! That’s why I said the system is bugged!]
[You don’t have to go after Xie Jibai, and the points are rightfully yours since you were the one actually hurt. Finally, heaven is on our side!]
[Ah, forget it, I’m going to exchange for the Spirit Renewal Stone for you now!]
Ye Qingning finally relaxed, knowing that she didn’t have to woo Xie Jibai. Plus, the points could be exchanged for a magical stone, so she didn’t have to worry about healing her heart pulse anymore. The pain in her chest seemed to lessen as well.
The system, always quick to act, was already working on the exchange. The next moment, Ye Qingning felt a stone materialize in the palm of her right hand.
Fortunately, the stone wasn’t very big, or she wouldn’t have been able to hide it in front of the two of them.
And coincidentally, her fingers, already stained with her own blood, left a drop on the stone, binding it to her with a drop of blood.
In the world of immortal cultivation, magical artifacts were either ownerless or bound to someone, and once bound, no one else could use them unless they broke the bond.
Of course, if the person died, the magical artifact would revert to being ownerless.
To avoid the two noticing the stone suddenly appearing in her hand, Ye Qingning quickly and quietly hid it in her sleeve.