Lin Wanqiu’s infatuated expression was written all over her face, and Xiao Minghuang caught every bit of it, which left her rather helpless.
We’re all girls here. I’m just a tiny bit prettier, it’s not that shocking, is it?
Thinking that, she walked up to Lin Wanqiu, gently patted her shoulder, and let out a soft sigh.
“Wanqiu, I came to see you this time not only to bring you a pill. There’s also something I want to ask your opinion on.”
That gentle, clear voice carried a faint scent of orchids. Lin Wanqiu subconsciously sniffed. The fragrance made her intoxicated, unable to pull herself free.
“Your Highness, please ask. I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Lin Wanqiu lifted her head, her expression extremely solemn.
“Good. This matter concerns a lifelong decision between you and me. You must think it over carefully. To be safe, you can take your time to consider it and answer me after.”
Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu froze, then her fair little face flushed bright red. The corners of her lips curled up wildly, and unrestrained ecstasy surged into her eyes.
“I’m willing!”
Xiao Minghuang raised a fine eyebrow, puzzled.
“I haven’t even asked yet, and you’re already willing?”
Lin Wanqiu’s lips curved in a soft smile, playing coy and reserved. Her eyes held three parts shyness, seven parts allure. She lowered her head slightly and murmured in a small voice:
“Why is Your Highness asking something you already know? I can get embarrassed too, you know…”
Xiao Minghuang didn’t quite understand and kept feeling Lin Wanqiu must have misunderstood something.
“Wanqiu, what I wanted to ask is—are you willing to return to the capital with me to cultivate?”
At those words, the little deer pounding in Lin Wanqiu’s chest came to a sudden halt. The joy on her face froze.
An expression of disbelief appeared in her eyes.
“Th-That’s… what Your Highness wanted to ask?”
“What else would it be?” Xiao Minghuang countered.
Lin Wanqiu could only feel helpless. Just now she’d thought Xiao Minghuang wanted to discuss when they should get married. Her heart had been about to burst with excitement, only for it to turn out she’d been happy for nothing.
Even so, being able to follow her to the capital was still an enormous blessing.
“I’ve thought about it carefully. I’m willing to go to the capital with Your Highness.”
Xiao Minghuang nodded slightly. Lin Wanqiu’s answer was within her expectations, but she still asked once more, solemnly.
“Since you’ve agreed, then it’s for a lifetime. You can’t go back on it.”
Those words made Lin Wanqiu’s heart jolt. She immediately raised her right hand, five fingers pointing to the sky, and said with great seriousness:
“I, Lin Wanqiu, swear that in this life, I will never leave Xiao Minghuang. If I break this oath, may heavenly lightning—”
Before she could finish, a warm, jade-like hand suddenly pressed against her flushed lips, stopping her from going on.
Xiao Minghuang smiled, reached up, and gently ruffled Lin Wanqiu’s hair.
“Wanqiu, there’s no need to go that far. I believe you.”
If she didn’t believe Lin Wanqiu, she would never have asked that question in the first place.
With Xiao Minghuang’s warm hand resting on her head, Lin Wanqiu’s heart was thumping wildly, her cheeks burning. Only now did she realize she seemed to have just said something outrageously serious.
But then she thought again. Compared to the sweet words Xiao Minghuang had just spoken, what she said felt pitifully inadequate.
At that moment, Xiao Minghuang suddenly pulled out a storage pouch from her robes. Without any explanation, she simply stuffed it into Lin Wanqiu’s hands.
Lin Wanqiu held the pouch, completely confused, not sure what to do.
Xiao Minghuang smiled.
“That pill from earlier doesn’t count. What I’m giving you now is the real first-meeting gift. Go on, take a look.”
Following her words, Lin Wanqiu sent her spiritual sense into the storage pouch.
The instant she saw what was inside, her beautiful face blanched with fright.
Inside the pouch, there was a single pill lying quietly, radiating a strange divine glow. Five-colored divine light flowed over its surface, dense pill fragrance wafted out, and it was covered with mysterious patterns, as if they were explaining some supreme law of heaven and earth.
If not for the system’s seal, the moment this pill appeared, it would likely have triggered a terrifying vision that pierced the heavens. Once that vast spiritual energy erupted, the entire Beiyang City and even the whole Barbarian Wilderness Forest would be affected.
Right now, Lin Wanqiu’s pupils were filled with sheer disbelief. If the Spirit-Nurturing Pill from before had still been something within her expectations, then this miraculous pill in front of her had shattered them entirely.
She stared blankly for a long time before finally snapping out of her daze. Cradling the storage pouch in both hands, she asked in a dazed murmur:
“Y-Your Highness, this pill is…?”
Xiao Minghuang gave a faint smile.
“This is a Heaven-grade, high-tier pill called the Five-Viscera Spirit Origin Pill. It can reshape the body and cultivate a spiritual root. This is my true first-meeting gift to you. Keep it well, and don’t let down the expectations I have for you.”
Leaving those words behind, Xiao Minghuang turned and walked away.
Watching Xiao Minghuang’s graceful figure drift off like a startled swan, Lin Wanqiu was still wrapped in an unreal sense of dreaminess, as if she were still asleep and had yet to wake.
But when she lowered her head and saw the pill inside the storage pouch, wreathed in five-colored light, everything felt overwhelmingly real again.
“Just… how much does Your Highness like me…?”
Lin Wanqiu’s voice choked up. Her nose stung, and her eyes reddened.
But she could not allow herself to sink into soft romance and stop moving forward. She knew very well: Xiao Minghuang had pinned immense hopes on her. Otherwise, she would never have gifted her such a precious pill, something beyond description, so casually.
“I have to cultivate hard. I absolutely cannot fail Your Highness’s expectations!”
With that thought, Lin Wanqiu made up her mind. She had to grow stronger as quickly as possible, to gain the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Minghuang.
To gain enough strength to protect her, always, at her side.
…
[Ding!]
[Detected: Host has successfully gifted an opportunity of fortune!]
[Congratulations to the Host. Random quest completed, triggering Ten-Thousandfold Critical Compensation. Final reward multiplied—monthly group of Chitong, ID 6949 36135—obtained: Heaven-grade high-tier pill, Five-Viscera Spirit Origin Pill x2!]
Leaving Lin Wanqiu’s little courtyard, Xiao Minghuang heard the system’s voice and was not surprised in the slightest. Those two pills had already been in her pocket from the start.
She did not return to her room to go into seclusion and refine the pills.
Instead, she headed for Ye Ruoshui’s residence.
Her most precious treasures at the moment were the Essence-Replenishing Pill and the Spirit-Nurturing Pill. Both were ninety-percent-grade pills that had produced pill patterns. The former had already been given to Lin Wanqiu to make up for the Five-Viscera Spirit Origin Pill, so naturally the latter was meant for Ye Ruoshui.
She was a very fair person. With the two most important girls by her side, she naturally had to keep the balance even.
“I wonder how much compensation this Spirit-Nurturing Pill will trigger…”
Xiao Minghuang moved quickly. After only a few breaths, she arrived at Ye Ruoshui’s small courtyard. Sensing her aura, Ye Ruoshui came out to greet her.
Seeing Xiao Minghuang dressed in a vivid red dress, the joy on the little girl’s face instantly dimmed. But she forcibly brightened her expression and called out with a smile:
“Big Sister!”
Catching that change in her expression, Xiao Minghuang knew Ye Ruoshui was probably feeling unhappy. So she walked over, reached out to gently pat Ye Ruoshui’s small head, then pulled her into her arms, soothing her in a soft voice.
With her little head resting against Xiao Minghuang’s chest, Ye Ruoshui muffled a question:
“Big Sister, is this dress from Lin Wanqiu?”
