"What do you think of the pill, Matriarch?" Elder Deng asked her for her opinions. "How does it compare to a high-quality pill?"
"This is without a doubt a pill with 100% quality — a flawless-quality pill." Matriarch Zhu's arms trembled just from holding the bottle. "As for the pill's strength… unless I try it myself, I will have no way to compare the two."
"But this pill… even with this many seals on the bottle, I can still smell the fresh aroma coming from it."
Elder Deng sighed, "Just who is this young man…? He's full of nothing but shocking abilities and secrets that we cannot comprehend."
"..."
Matriarch Zhu did not reply to him and remained silent. Although she's pretty much recognized Su Yang as Immortal Fairy Su Yue's son, it was still hard to believe it.
"Just where is Immortal Fairy Su Yue now? And why would her son appear out of the blue? Is this related to the Ghost Girl's appearance?" she wondered to herself.
"Umm…" Qing Shan silently stood there while Matriarch Zhu held the Advanced Spirit Refreshment Pill tightly in her grasp, seemingly unwilling to let it go. Although she had prepared for such results beforehand, she was still afraid that the Matriarch would try to take this precious pill away from her, and her heart would definitely bleed if that were to happen.
"Hmm?" Matriarch Zhu noticed the way Qing Shan was staring at her nervously and smiled, "Relax, Qing Shan. I will not lie and say I don't want this pill for myself — as a matter of fact, I really do — but I will not stoop as low as to steal it from my own disciple."
She said as she handed the bottle back to her.
Qing Shan sighed in relief inwardly after holding the pill in her hands again.
Matriarch Zhu then continued, "Although I will not take this pill away from you for nothing, I do not plan on doing nothing, either. I have many generous offers in my mind that I would like to trade for this pill, so why don't we sit down and talk about them?"
Hearing her words, Qing Shan showed her an apologetic smile, and said, "I'm sorry, Matriarch, but I have no intention to give away this pill for anything — no matter what."
"..."
Matriarch Zhu turned silent, and so did Elder Deng. They understood her feelings perfectly. If they were in her shoes they would also be saying the same thing no matter who the offer came from.
"It is regrettable, but I fully understand." Matriarch Zhu shook her head, feeling dejected. "Be sure to keep that pill safe — even if it costs you your life!"
"I will!" Qing Shan did not need Matriarch Zhu to tell her such a thing, as she would've done it even without her words.
Matriarch Zhu and Elder Deng left a little bit later.
"What should we do about him now?" Elder Deng asked her.
"You just need to focus on your part. I have my own thoughts."
"...Yes, Matriarch." Elder Deng did not speak anymore.
Elder Deng and Matriarch Zhu walked their separate ways a little bit later.
Sometime later, after a quick detour around the Sect, looking like she was searching for somebody, Matriarch Zhu called for a few Core Disciples to meet her.
"Disciple Gu greets the Sect Master!"
"Disciple Lin greets the Matriarch!"
"Disciple Pan greets the Sect Master!"
Three Core Disciples stood before Matriarch Zhu with their bodies bent and faces full of respect.
"Where did she go?" Matriarch Zhu said suddenly, "There is no record of her leaving the Sect, yet I don't sense her presence within the Sect."
"..."
The three disciples immediately started smiling with bitter expressions. They knew exactly who the Matriarch was speaking of despite no names being mentioned.
"And don't even try to hide it from me. Even if you are Core Disciples, I will punish you for lying to my face."
"..."
The three Core Disciples exchanged defeated glances with each other, before one of them opened their mouth to speak, "Although I do not know why, senior apprentice-sister Zhu left to the Holy Sword Academy to meet with their Prime Disciple after receiving some sort of message from her, and it seemed to be an emergency, seeing how she left with haste."
"The Holy Sword Academy again? I should've known!" Matriarch Zhu nearly facepalmed. "Aiya, why does that child keep going there despite my constant warnings?"
"Ever since she befriended that old man's daughter years ago, she has been more and more disobedient!" she thought to herself.
When Matriarch Zhu sent the Core Disciples away a little bit later, she retrieved a communication talisman and directed a few simple words towards the direction of the Holy Sword Academy, saying, "Tell my daughter to come back right this moment!"
-
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Inside the Holy Sword Academy, Wu Jinjing sat before a young lady with a similar age to her and appearances that rivaled her own.
The young lady was staring at Wu Jinjing with eyes filled with disbelief, and she spoke, "Sister Jinjing, you must be jesting with me!"
Wu Jinjing shook her head with a smile on her face, and she said, "I'm telling you the truth. I meet a young man at the Nine Spring Hall, and I will be bearing his child in the future."
"B-But you just met him, right? How could you do such a thing when you are practically still strangers! That's… That's unthinkable for even the weirdest people out there, much less someone like you!"
"You won't understand it," Wu Jinjing remained calm and said. "He is someone that defies all common sense, and such uniqueness devoured my reasoning. Even now, I cannot stop thinking about him."
"What about your dreams to surpass your father and become this world's best swordsman?! How will you achieve such a goal now that you will be bearing a child?!"
"Although bearing this child will definitely slow down my steps, it will not stop me from achieving my goals!" Wu Jinjing said while rubbing her stomach with a passionate expression, dumbfounding the young lady, who has never seen this side of her.
"This is… this is crazy!" The young lady became speechless and nearly fainted from shock.