Chapter 89: Dew-Laden Jade Beauty

Seeing this, She Meier immediately hurried after him.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Chixia and She Meier had reached the outside. There, Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Songtaer were huddled anxiously around Master Qingxu, calling out in alarm:

“Master! Master... you must hold on!”

“Master, Brother Yan is about to finish refining the pain-curing elixir! Once you take it, your illness will be gone!”

“Xiaomeng is right! Master, please endure a little longer...”

“Master, hold fast to the end, and victory will be ours!”

Master Qingxu lay on the grass, drained of color, drenched in sweat. His once-bright eyes had lost their luster; his nostrils flared with unbearable pain; his teeth were clenched, yet he could not suppress the torment of the inch-by-inch burning sickness. One racking cough after another tore from him, as though his very liver and bowels were being severed, leaving him in agony beyond endurance.

Yan Chixia was stricken with pity at the sight.

“Master, the elixir is ready!” he cried, rushing to Master Qingxu’s side. Dropping to his knees on the grass, he placed the elixir into the old man's mouth.

Master Qingxu swallowed it at once.

When Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Songtaer saw this, they fell silent, all eyes fixed on him.

Yan Chixia and She Meier, too, said nothing. Facing Master Qingxu, they quietly extended their spiritual awareness to observe him.

After the elixir went down, it dissolved in an instant. The blazing medicinal liquid swiftly transformed into an immense surge of heat that spread throughout his body. As that potent warmth, saturated with the elixir's power, continued to expand, nothing could stand against it, and the inch-by-inch burning virus retreated step by step. Before long, every blackened, scorched place on Master Qingxu's chest and back had rapidly improved, fading from charred black to purple, then dark yellow, pale yellow, and ashen white. Soon, color returned to them, and at last they were fully restored, as good as new.

“Aah—!” Master Qingxu could not help but exclaim in relief. “How wonderfully comfortable!”

“Aah!” Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Songtaer all let out long breaths and asked in unison, “Master, are you better?”

“I am cured!” Master Qingxu replied in a ringing voice, rising to his feet with renewed radiance.

At the sight, Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Songtaer all wept hot tears of joy, moved beyond measure.

“How wonderful! We’ve won!”

“Yes! Now that Master is well, we can live without worries!”

“That’s right! Sister Bai, Songtaer, once we formally become disciples, we’ll be able to cultivate the Way!”

Master Qingxu beamed. His bright gaze fell upon She Meier’s face, and his heart overflowed with gratitude.

“Miss She, there is an old saying: a great kindness needs no thanks. But even so, at this moment, this poor Daoist must still tell you: thank you for saving my life.”

“Daoist Master Qingxu, you are too kind!” She Meier said with a radiant smile. “Master, addressing me as ‘Miss She’ is truly more than I deserve... If you do not mind me, may you call me Meier from now on?”

“Ha-ha,” Master Qingxu said with a laugh, “Meier is the private term of endearment your master uses for you; I would never dare steal what is cherished by another. How about this: from now on, I shall call you She Meier?”

“Certainly!” She Meier said readily. “As you wish!”

“Then it is settled.” Master Qingxu’s voice rang out clearly. “She Meier, I misunderstood you before. If there were any careless words on my part, I hope you will forgive me.”

“Not at all, not at all!” She Meier waved her hands repeatedly. “You are broad and magnanimous, kind to all; you are the most amiable elder I have ever met!”

“Ha-ha...” Master Qingxu laughed heartily. “She Meier, you truly know how to speak! Since there is no ill feeling between us now, there naturally will be none in the future. You have saved my life, and I would like to give you a gift to show my gratitude. Yet I do not know what to give you?”

Hearing this, She Meier was secretly delighted. Here it comes! Master, you were truly far-sighted; as expected, the moment Qingxu’s burning sickness was cured, he would immediately offer me a token of thanks. Heehee... the Moon Dew Jasper is about to be mine!

Though she thought this, she pretended to refuse. “I saved you only out of a sense of justice. Why should you trouble yourself with a gift?”

In her joy, She Meier unconsciously changed her manner of address for Qingxu from Daoist Master to Elder.

Upon hearing this, Master Qingxu smiled. “Ha-ha, this is necessary. Please do not decline.”

“Since you insist, Elder, I would be rude to refuse.” She Meier pretended to think for a moment. “Elder, I am fond of Moon Dew Jasper. I wonder whether you might grant it to me?”

Master Qingxu hesitated. “This...”

“Why?” She Meier’s heart tightened. “Elder, is my request... difficult?”

“No.” Master Qingxu replied. “She Meier, I have seen the Moon Dew Jasper you mention. Though it is a rare gem in this world, for me, however much you want is not a problem. It is only that my body has just recovered, and I do not know whether my power has returned. If I am to give you the Moon Dew Jasper, I must activate it with the paper talisman painting technique... Very well, I shall try that technique now. Ha-ha, She Meier, if the activation succeeds, you may immediately take the Moon Dew Jasper with you; if it fails, then after a few days, when my power has fully returned, I can give it to you then without delay, cannot I?”

“Not too late at all!” She Meier said with repeated laughs. “Elder, then I shall trouble you!”

“No trouble at all!” Master Qingxu replied with a smile, and at once he used his spiritual power to summon the talisman paper and ink brush stored within his internal space. He had not expected them to appear, yet to his surprise, with his summons a sheet of talisman paper and a cinnabar brush instantly materialized before him.

Yan Chixia, Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Songtaer were all delighted to see this; She Meier was even more overjoyed.

Master Qingxu reached out with excitement and took the paper and brush. “It seems there is no problem! She Meier, how many Moon Dew Jaspers do you want?”

She Meier was ecstatic. “Elder, of course the more the better!”

“Then... would one hundred pieces be enough?” Master Qingxu asked casually.

She Meier’s heart leapt, almost bursting from her throat. She had wanted to say that it was plenty, but on second thought, opportunities like this did not come twice. So she brazenly asked for even more.

“Elder, if I were only keeping the Moon Dew Jasper for amusement, one piece would be enough. But I plan to use Moon Dew Jasper to pave a path through my garden, and to build two flowerbeds...”

“Ah?” Yan Chixia could not help exclaiming in astonishment. “That extravagant?”

“Heehee...” She Meier said with a brilliant smile. “What can I do? Yan Chixia, this young lady has no interest in gold or jewels; I am only deeply attached to Moon Dew Jasper... so I have always dreamed of making Moon Dew Jasper everywhere in my garden!” As she spoke, she turned her flowerlike face toward Master Qingxu. “Elder, is my wish... too much?”

“Good!” Master Qingxu said without the slightest hesitation. “She Meier, then it shall be as you wish!”

With that, he used his true energy to control the talisman paper, making it hover flat in the air before him. Then he moved the cinnabar brush briskly across it, drawing with swift, flowing strokes.

Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, Songtaer, She Meier, and Yan Chixia all gathered nearby, eyes wide as they watched.

Master Qingxu’s brush moved like a dragon or serpent. In the blink of an eye, he had drawn thousands upon thousands of Moon Dew Jaspers upon the talisman paper. Then he withdrew the brush back into his internal space, reached out to grab one corner of the talisman, and walked to an empty patch of ground. With a casual shake, a flash of golden light appeared. With a sudden rustle, a great heap of flawless white Moon Dew Jasper was activated and piled magnificently upon the grass.