CHAPTER 4: Even Dogs Won’t Eat This

Yu Youyou felt like her life was way too hard.

On one side, she was desperately refusing the steamed bun; on the other, Qi Nanfeng was desperately trying to feed her another one.

Qi Nanfeng’s eyes were filled with tears. “I caused you to get hurt, and I couldn’t even save you. Just let me do this one last thing for you! Maybe if you eat enough, you’ll have the strength to hold on until someone comes to rescue you!”

Yu Youyou spat out a mouthful of bun crumbs and used all her strength to shout, “Stop wasting your energy trying to save me!”

Save me? Bro, just don’t kill me, and I’ll be fine!

As soon as she said this, Qu Qingmiao and the alchemists who had been blocked off all froze in place.

The disciples of Pill Cauldron Sect were often sent out to heal the wounded and sick. They had long grown accustomed to people fighting desperately for life-saving pills, snatching them with everything they had.

This little girl’s injuries looked absolutely miserable. If it were someone else—an adult cultivator even—at this point, they’d probably be crying, begging for help, or even threatening the alchemists with force to make them heal them.

And yet, this frail little girl in front of them seemed so detached from life and death. She didn’t even force the alchemists to save her?

Qu Qingmiao’s expression shifted slightly.

Qi Nanfeng choked up, mumbling, “But I just want to try a little harder.”

Yu Youyou struggled to roll over, trying to escape this brother’s evil bun-feeding hands. She forced out her words with difficulty, “Go save someone else instead.”

Damn it, I’m begging you, just let me be!

The alchemists didn’t catch what Qi Nanfeng was saying and assumed the little girl was speaking to Qu Qingmiao.

As soon as Yu Youyou said this, even these alchemists, who had seen countless life-and-death situations, couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The little girl was far away and couldn’t have seen that Yu Nianrou only had a minor injury. Even though she herself was on the brink of death, she was still willing to give up her chance at survival for someone else.

What a kind-hearted girl, so pure and selfless!

In contrast, those people from Yunhua Sword Sect, who clearly weren’t seriously injured yet were throwing their weight around, and that pampered little miss over there… They were simply disgraceful!

Most alchemists had kind and compassionate hearts. Now, when they looked at Yu Nianrou, the initial respect in their eyes had turned into condemnation.

Look at you people, even making a fuss over medical treatment. Shameful!

Qu Qingmiao could no longer stand idly by.

A surge of spiritual energy erupted from her, sending a burst of scorching flames directly at Jiang Yuan, forcefully knocking his sword aside.

Jiang Yuan’s expression immediately darkened. “What is the meaning of this, Daoist Qu?”

“I am going to save someone.”

Jiang Yuan reminded her, “Junior Sister Nianrou is the beloved daughter of the Undying Sword God, while that little girl…”

He cast a distant glance at Yu Youyou, his expression as cold as ice, not bothering to finish his sentence.

The girl curled up on the ground was dressed in tattered old clothes, her body covered in a mix of mud and blood, utterly wretched. From the torn bundle beside her, a rough, coarse steamed bun had rolled out, a clear sign of her poverty and lowly status.

Compared to Yu Nianrou, she was like a speck of dirt in a gutter, while the other was a bright moon hanging high in the sky.

Qu Qingmiao knew exactly what Jiang Yuan had left unsaid.

“That little girl is nothing but a worthless mortal.”

Qu Qingmiao stopped walking. Just as Jiang Yuan thought she had finally come to her senses, she continued forward without even turning back, her voice cold and indifferent.

“In my Pill Cauldron Sect, all life is equal.”

She walked straight to Yu Youyou and looked down at the barely breathing girl on the ground.

She was so small, like a little kitten. Blood dripped from her frail wrist onto the dusty earth, drawing winding red lines across her pale skin.

Qu Qingmiao felt her eyes sting.

But just as she was about to help Yu Youyou up to check her injuries, the girl suddenly moved.

The painkiller had finally kicked in.

No wonder it was called the “Pop one pill, and even if a zombie bites your leg off, you can still run” miracle drug in the apocalypse!

Grabbing onto Qu Qingmiao’s hand for support, Yu Youyou swiftly flipped herself over and climbed to her feet.

“Thanks.”

She glanced at the steamed buns scattered on the ground behind her, sighed, and shook her head when she realized they were no longer edible. Then, feeling the stickiness on her face, she wiped at it with her sleeve.

Well, great. Before, she had just been bleeding from her seven orifices—now her whole face was smeared with blood.

Yet somehow…

This blood-covered, risen-from-the-dead girl looked surprisingly energetic?

The spectators: “……”

Qi Nanfeng nearly jumped out of his skin. His voice stammered, “Y-you… You’re not dead? But you were just about to pass out from blood loss!”

Still wiping the blood off her face, Yu Youyou carelessly muttered, “Ah, maybe it was the bun you fed me?”

Qi Nanfeng immediately raised the half-eaten bun still in his hand, eyes gleaming with excitement. “Then how about another one?”

Yu Youyou: “Scram!”

Qu Qingmiao frowned slightly, looking Yu Youyou over with a hint of surprise.

Yu Youyou had yet to start cultivating, so there wasn’t even a trace of demonic energy on her. Plus, today, she was wearing an old dress given to her by Aunt Hua, which was a little too big, completely covering her tail.

For cultivators below a certain level, it was truly impossible to tell that Yu Youyou wasn’t human.

Half-demons were incredibly rare, and few even knew about the existence of bloodline backlash. Not to mention, this condition only caused unbearable pain leading to death—besides the chaotic blood flow in her meridians causing massive hemorrhaging, there weren’t any external signs at all.

Qu Qingmiao examined Yu Youyou carefully again but still couldn’t find anything unusual. In the end, she could only attribute it to the girl’s extreme physical frailty.

This conclusion made the alchemists feel deeply sympathetic. So when arranging accommodations for the young candidates participating in the entrance exam, while everyone else was crammed eight to a room… Yu Youyou was given a private one.

After bathing, Yu Youyou dried her tail and fluffed it for a while, feeling utterly content.

Her living conditions had been too harsh before, and her tail fur had become tangled. But the guest rooms in Pill Cauldron Sect had top-quality scented soap, and after a thorough wash, her tail was now silky smooth. Even touching it herself felt amazing.

If only Qi Nanfeng hadn’t insisted on “taking care” of her because of her “mysterious illness,” which then moved the alchemists so much that they gave him the private room next door, it would have been perfect.

As expected, Qi Nanfeng, who couldn’t sit still, came over again.

The moment he stepped through the door, he was startled. “What are you doing lying on the bed in broad daylight!”

At first glance, it almost seemed like Yu Youyou was about to die again.

Yu Youyou expressionlessly lifted her head, then lowered it again before the blood trickling from her nose could fall.

The backlash from her bloodline was gradually fading. Her skin had stopped oozing blood, but her nosebleed still wouldn’t stop.

Qi Nanfeng then noticed the bowl placed beneath her head, already half-filled with nosebleed.

He took one look and immediately averted his gaze, sympathizing with her. “Let’s go to the dining hall later and get some duck blood curd soup to replenish your blood.”

Yu Youyou popped a painkiller into her mouth while nodding. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Since arriving in this world, she hadn’t eaten any meat. Duck blood curd soup sounded heavenly.

Qi Nanfeng, excited, started gossiping with her. “Remember how Senior Sister Qu didn’t treat the daughter of the Undying Sword God earlier? That Jiang Yuan guy ended up taking his junior sister straight to the inner sect, insisting that the elders of the Pill Cauldron Sect heal her.”

“But guess what? By the time the elder saw her, Yu Nianrou’s wound had already scabbed over, hahaha.”

“The elder said that as a cultivator, she would naturally heal in a couple of days. But she was so scared of scarring that she took over ten bottles of pills and even insisted on staying in the Pill Cauldron Sect, saying she was afraid of a relapse and wouldn’t leave until she was completely sure she was fine.”

Yu Youyou listened intently. The original novel only ever described Yu Bumei slaughtering enemies and leveling up. It never detailed the entertaining daily lives of the side characters behind him.

It wasn’t surprising that the Yunhua Sword Sect was so protective of Yu Nianrou.

In the original novel, that scumbag father had doted on Yu Nianrou immensely—because the one who had helped him escape the Demon Realm was none other than Yu Nianrou’s mother, the main wife among his countless romantic interests, the female lead Cui Neng’er.

Of course, as the female lead, she wasn’t depicted as a scheming mistress in the story. Instead, she was portrayed as intelligent and pure, the embodiment of true love.

Yu Youyou’s treatment, naturally, was a million times worse than Yu Nianrou’s.

Given that scumbag father’s “decisive and ruthless” nature—where he would wipe out entire families of his enemies—Yu Youyou was pretty sure that if she ever stepped forward to expose his dirty laundry, a sword from a Nascent Soul-stage powerhouse would come flying to chop off her head.

Fortunately, he had long since forgotten about the other daughter he had abandoned in Tonghua County.

By the time Qi Nanfeng finished gossiping, it was already evening. Yu Youyou stuffed some cotton into her nose and went with him to the Pill Cauldron Sect’s dining hall for dinner.

Cultivators below the Golden Core stage still needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves like ordinary people. As for fasting pills—well, rumor had it they tasted like cockroaches, so no one wanted to eat them. The dining hall was quite lively as a result.

Qi Nanfeng, being generous, ordered a large bowl of duck blood curd soup and carried it to a corner to eat with Yu Youyou.

Just as they were about to dig in, a commotion broke out on the other side.

It turned out that the people from the Yunhua Sword Sect had also come to eat.

Jiang Yuan and Yu Changan flanked Yu Nianrou on either side, carefully shielding her, while two other sword cultivators went to fetch food. Soon, their table was piled high with over ten dishes.

However, Yu Nianrou still didn’t seem to be in a good mood. From start to finish, she didn’t even lift her veil, let alone eat.

Staring at the table full of meat dishes, Yu Youyou suddenly found her bowl of duck blood curd soup a little lackluster.

In her past life, she had never eaten well during the apocalypse. In this life, as a half-demon, she still couldn’t eat well. Her eyes were practically glued to their feast.

Qi Nanfeng, on the other hand, thought she was feeling down about being bullied earlier. He comforted her, “Don’t be sad. She just happens to have a good father, that’s all. Too bad her surname is Yu while yours is Fish… Wait, I still don’t know your name. What’s your name?”

Yu Youyou glanced at him. “Yu Youyou.”

Qi Nanfeng clicked his tongue. “Fish Swimming? Who gave you such a tacky name?”

“……”

Yu Youyou didn’t argue with him. Instead, she precisely picked out the largest piece of beef tripe from her bowl.

Heh. She knew it. With this guy’s barely noticeable intelligence, there was no way he’d connect her to Yu Nianrou. In fact, no normal person would think they were sisters.

Just then, Yu Youyou sensed a gaze lingering on her. Looking up, she locked eyes with Jiang Yuan, who was frowning in her direction.

Clearly, Jiang Yuan was still holding today’s incident against her.

Unfortunately for him, Yu Youyou’s gaze remained calm and unwavering. She leisurely dipped her beef tripe into the sauce and ate with relish.

Jiang Yuan stared at her coldly for a long time, but all he saw was Yu Youyou eating more and more enthusiastically.

Not only did she finish four large bowls of rice, but she also used the spicy sauce to eat two whole steamed buns!

“……”

Jiang Yuan swallowed. Suddenly, he felt a little hungry.

But just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks—

“I have no appetite. The food at the Pill Cauldron Sect is too crude. Even dogs wouldn’t eat it,” Yu Nianrou said as she got up to leave.

Jiang Yuan: “……”

Woof?

….

The next day, the entrance examination began as scheduled. All the applicants were taken to the testing peak.

Since this was an official examination, aside from Qu Qingmiao, an outer sect elder had also come.

“The Pill Cauldron Sect’s outer sect examination does not assess spiritual roots, nor does it require you to refine pills. It only tests your knowledge of medicinal herbs,” said Elder Wan, his forehead gleaming, as he warmly explained the rules to the group of children before him.

The outer sect of the Pill Cauldron Sect didn’t require disciples to refine pills. Most of them spent their time studying medicinal herbs and basic pill recipes. If the exam required them to refine a pill to pass, the sect would likely miss out on countless promising talents.

As for whether they had spiritual roots, that wasn’t too important either. Most outer sect disciples ultimately remained in the Pill Cauldron Sect to cultivate and process medicinal herbs, work that didn’t necessarily require spiritual power.

“This year’s examination will be based on this.”

Elder Wan gently waved his hand, and streams of azure spiritual energy lifted hundreds of small boxes into the air, before guiding them into the hands of the young candidates awaiting their assessment.

Yu Youyou opened hers and found a pea-sized pill inside.

“This is a newly developed pill from our inner sect disciples last month. The pill formula has not yet been disclosed, but I can tell you—it contains a total of ten medicinal ingredients.”

“There are hundreds of sealed stone chambers on this peak, each stocked with one hundred different medicinal herbs. You will need to identify the ten correct ingredients within seven days!”

“The first one to succeed will receive an additional reward—permission to freely select a single Grade-One spiritual herb from the medicine fields!”

A Grade-One spiritual herb!

Yu Youyou’s eyes lit up instantly.

She didn’t know what that was yet, but it sure sounded impressive. What if there was something in there that could cure her bloodline backlash?

The Pill Cauldron Sect was truly generous!

Qi Nanfeng immediately shouted, “Elder Wan, is there any—”

Before Yu Youyou could hear what this fool was asking, a flash of light appeared before her eyes. When she opened them again, she was already inside one of the stone chambers.

Boom!

A muffled thud echoed as the stone door sealed shut.