Chapter 101: Bloodletting to Death

After all, O Xinlai’s skills were well-known, and Cao Ge and Cao Qian didn’t dare to provoke him. They knew they wouldn’t need O Xinlai’s help in the future anyway. Besides, as humans, none could escape the cycle of birth and death—growing old, falling ill, and passing away were natural laws. For a healer as capable as O Xinlai, he was undoubtedly someone these cultivators would seek favor with.

“Well said, well said,” O Xinlai replied cheerfully, his mood excellent after obtaining what he wanted. When he looked at Cao Ge and Cao Qian, a warm smile graced his face.

Cao Ge and Cao Qian weren’t quite sure why O Xinlai was so fond of the item, but since they had already given it away, trying to understand his reasons would only bring them frustration.

After leaving a pile of belongings behind, they tactfully took their leave.

This kind of thing wasn’t to Shan Ziyao’s taste. As soon as Cao Ge and Cao Qian left, Shan Ziyao wrinkled her nose in disdain. “Cai Cai, this outfit is pitch black and looks awful. Why do you want it? If you want men’s clothes, just say so. I can ask our parents to buy you something much nicer.”

In Shan Ziyao’s mind, there weren’t many reasons for O Xinlai to want this item. One was probably for convenience when going out—disguising as a man by wearing men’s clothes. Shan Ziyao had done this before, so it was easy for her to understand.

Picking up the black garment, she said, “This has been worn by a man, so it probably smells bad. More importantly, it’s way too big for you.”

Shan Ziyao was highly critical, convinced that if O Xinlai wore it, it would be a huge failure. It would look like a child wearing an adult’s clothes—too obvious and easy to see through, ruining the fun.

“Right, right, Zi Fei, you definitely wouldn’t like Cai Cai wearing clothes that belong to other men,” she added.

Since she had started playing matchmaker between O Xinlai and Ye Zi Fei, Shan Ziyao often dragged Ye Zi Fei into conversations about O Xinlai.

Her dislike for the clothes was one thing, but she was even more certain that Ye Zi Fei would never appreciate his woman wearing another man’s clothes.

“Cai Cai, if you really want clothes worn by men, I think Zi Fei’s clothes look much better than these. Zi Fei, why don’t you give these clothes to Cai Cai?” Shan Ziyao suggested.

Hearing this, O Xinlai blushed, realizing Shan Ziyao was truly committed to her matchmaking role.

Ye Zi Fei playfully flicked Shan Ziyao’s forehead. Although he was happy about her efforts to pair him with O Xinlai, this approach was too crude. If he wasn’t careful, it might backfire and make O Xinlai dislike him instead—then he wouldn’t even have a place to cry.

“What’s so special about this clothing?” Ye Zi Fei asked O Xinlai, knowing well that if there was no reason, O Xinlai wouldn’t be interested in a man’s garment.

“Not sure yet. I need to wait a bit longer to confirm,” O Xinlai shook his head, unable to give a definite answer. At least the little white snake was excited, so it was almost certain something was up.

Ye Zi Fei saw O Xinlai’s excited expression as if he had found treasure and sighed softly, “I’m jealous.” In truth, he wasn’t as magnanimous as Shan Ziyao claimed.

Seeing O Xinlai clutching another man’s clothes made Ye Zi Fei feel quite sour.

“Jealous?” O Xinlai looked up and laughed at Ye Zi Fei, thinking he didn’t really mind. “Drinking more vinegar is good for your health!” She patted his shoulder, indicating she could do nothing, then took the garment back to her room to study it.

Shan Yuanxi and Lady Shan, seeing they were no longer needed, sensibly left without mocking Ye Zi Fei. After all, they weren’t as close to him as Shan Ziyao was.

Shan Yuanxi always explained Shan Ziyao’s closeness with Ye Zi Fei as youthful boldness, but he himself knew better. Both he and Lady Shan understood Ye Zi Fei’s strength and dared not get too close.

Soon, only Ye Zi Fei and Shan Ziyao remained in the living room.

Ye Zi Fei had his own matters to attend to and left after confirming O Xinlai wouldn’t leave the Shan residence easily. At that moment, Shan Ziyao found herself alone, wondering how everyone had disappeared so quickly.

Bored, Shan Ziyao went to play with O Xinlai’s little white horse, hoping to vent some frustration. But who ended up playing with whom was uncertain. The horse was completely obedient to O Xinlai but paid no mind to Shan Ziyao.

With a toss of its tail and a stomp of its hoof, it turned its back to Shan Ziyao, nearly driving her mad.

Back in her room, O Xinlai examined Cao Ge’s garment carefully. The white jade serpent bracelet on her wrist had returned to its original form—a small snake that curled on her shoulder, helping her investigate the clothing’s mysteries.

After a while, the little white snake bit its own tail, drawing a drop of blood that fell onto the black garment. Strangely, the clothes didn’t absorb the blood at all.

It was like a raindrop falling onto a lotus leaf, rolling around without soaking in.

O Xinlai waved her hand, and the blood droplet slid off the garment onto the floor, splattering.

“How could this be?” Even the little white snake was surprised. As a dragon, its blood was precious, and yet, the garment seemed unaffected.

The snake flicked its tail at O Xinlai’s face and said, “Try human blood.”

Seeing the snake’s persistence, O Xinlai reluctantly pricked her finger and let a drop fall. Unexpectedly, while the snake’s blood was useless, O Xinlai’s blood was absorbed immediately.

The garment seemed to sprout a mouth, sucking up her blood entirely.

However, after absorbing her blood, the garment showed no other reaction.

O Xinlai blinked. “Could it be that the garment despises you? It can absorb others’ blood, but not yours, so blood isn’t the key to activating it.” She wasn’t trying to insult the little white snake but truly felt the garment was belittling it.

“Then let others try,” the little white snake suggested, feeling dejected as if it had been scorned by the garment.

Later, O Xinlai summoned some servants to drip their blood on the garment. To her surprise, the reactions were the same as the snake’s; the blood rolled off like water on a lotus leaf, not absorbed at all. The garment didn’t retain a single drop.

Only O Xinlai’s blood triggered a response.

“See? See? I’m the noble divine dragon, yet this garment dares to despise me!” The little white snake was proud. If it were truly scorned by a piece of clothing, it might just lose its temper.

“Quick, give more blood!” The snake slapped O Xinlai’s face arrogantly, demanding more.

Since the garment favored her blood, O Xinlai reluctantly let a larger cut bleed, eventually giving almost half a cup.

The garment kept absorbing her blood, but no visible changes occurred.

“Is this garment trying to suck me dry? I won’t allow it!” O Xinlai growled. If this continued, she might die.

The little white snake pondered and agreed that unless O Xinlai bled completely dry, the garment wouldn’t react further. “Let’s rest for today and continue tomorrow. A little each day should be fine.”

For several days, O Xinlai spent all her time on the troublesome garment, dripping a small cup of blood daily, then meditating to practice the Yin-Yang transformation. She had now reached the third level of minor accomplishment in Yin-Yang transformation.

She hoped to perfect it soon so that when she met the black bird again, she could pluck all its feathers clean!

Since Shan Qing’er was taken by the black crow, the Shan family never mentioned her name again. Lady Shan even ordered her room cleaned, erasing all traces of her existence.

With Shan Qing’er gone, O Xinlai secluded herself for training. Bored, Shan Ziyao finally thought to visit the Chi Yun Academy. Fortunately, having been there before, she no longer felt uneasy.

Though she hadn’t made close friends yet, she found many companions she could talk with.

After all, the imperial capital of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom was home to many talented students admitted to Chi Yun Academy. Once people learned Shan Ziyao’s status, some tried to curry favor but not too obviously. Others had even higher ranks than her.

Thus, Shan Ziyao’s days at the academy were relatively harmonious.

After twenty-five days of continuously feeding blood to the garment, it finally reacted. Had it not, O Xinlai was ready to dismantle it.

Once saturated with her blood, the garment’s color shifted from deep black to a red-black hue.

The tree’s branches and leaves embroidered on it seemed denser, and the small fruits hanging from the branches appeared plump and full, as if nourished.

Suddenly, a burst of red light flashed. O Xinlai and the little white snake’s vision blurred, and when they opened their eyes, they found themselves in another realm.

This world was shrouded in a faint black mist, like the outer layer of the garment.

The little white snake sniffed the air carefully, quickly detecting a pleasant scent. “That way,” it instructed with its tail.

Following the snake’s direction, O Xinlai walked about the time it takes to burn an incense stick before arriving.

Before them stood a massive dark tree bearing numerous black fruits, each glowing faintly red.

Exchanging a glance, O Xinlai and the snake realized they had entered the garment’s world, and this tree was the one depicted on the clothing.

“What is this...” O Xinlai asked the snake, since it had found this first.

“Ha ha ha, these are wood fruits, wood fruits!” The five-element fruits—O Xinlai and the snake had found two types before, and this was the wood element fruit.

Hearing this, O Xinlai was delighted and reached out to pluck one. The fruit was incredibly hard; she doubted she could bite into it.

“Can it be eaten?” she looked questioningly at the snake.

“Yes, yes!” The snake joyfully struck the fruit with its tail. With a sharp “pop,” the fruit split into four sections like wood chopped by an axe, revealing green, jelly-like pulp inside.

O Xinlai understood then that the fruit wasn’t swallowed whole; only the four pulp sections were edible. She ate the pulp.

Following prior habits, the little white snake helped O Xinlai break open five wood fruits for her to consume.

Then, the snake leapt onto the tree, happily circling it with its mouth wide open, swallowing the fruits.

Observing this, O Xinlai raised her eyebrows—she truly admired the snake’s stomach. The fruit’s shell was so tough, yet the snake digested it effortlessly.

At this moment, O Xinlai was beginning to accept that the little white snake might really be a dragon. No ordinary snake could have such a stomach.

Soon, the snake finished devouring all the fruits on the tree. Then it lay still like a soft worm.

A red light appeared on its body and traveled upward to its head.

O Xinlai watched closely and was surprised to see two small, hard horns sprouting atop the snake’s head!

Seeing this, she picked up the snake and wrapped it around her wrist, then left this world.

Once outside, she stared at the garment for a long time before realizing she could perhaps transform it into a spatial storage item.

She woke the little white snake and asked it to try fulfilling her wish.

Now with horns and in good spirits, after numerous requests from O Xinlai, the snake finally agreed.

A beam of light shot from the snake’s horns onto the black garment, which condensed into a black crystal ring. O Xinlai slipped it onto her finger, where it made her hand look exceptionally beautiful.

She was thrilled and began placing all the items she had collected into the ring.

Seeing O Xinlai’s foolish delight, the little white snake warned, “Don’t show this off. If anyone finds out you have this, they’ll take you down and snatch it away.”

Inside the ring was essentially a parallel dimension. There was a kind of mineral called jade, with the saying “jade nourishes people, people nurture jade.”

This space was similar—the space could nurture a person, and a person could nurture the space.

The garment had been neglected by the Cao family for so long that its world was still dim and foggy.

With O Xinlai’s current cultivation, as long as she wore the ring long-term, the world inside would undergo dramatic changes.

“More importantly, time inside the ring flows ten times faster than outside. With enough skill, this could even become a hundred times faster.”

In other words, ten days inside the ring would only be one day in the outside world.

This ring had never been nurtured before but already had this tenfold difference, making it a rare treasure.

“Oh, so that’s how it is!” O Xinlai’s eyes lit up, pleased that her gamble had paid off.

If Cao Ge and Cao Qian knew the garment’s true power, they’d certainly be furious.

“You finally came out! If you didn’t, I’d have thought you starved in there,” Shan Ziyao said excitedly when O Xinlai emerged after her seclusion.

O Xinlai hadn’t left her room except when servants delivered meals and took away empty bowls.

Seeing her come out made Shan Ziyao ecstatic.

“Tsk tsk tsk, have you been having so much fun you forgot about me?” O Xinlai teased, noticing Shan Ziyao’s eyes were brighter and her demeanor more cheerful. Clearly, Shan Ziyao had ventured beyond just Shan Qing’er’s world, which lifted her spirits.

“No way! I love Cai Cai the most,” Shan Ziyao said, clutching O Xinlai’s arm firmly. She wasn’t just flattering; she knew without O Xinlai, she wouldn’t be who she was or have experienced the outside world.

“Alright, alright, cut the sappy stuff,” O Xinlai poked Shan Ziyao’s head. “Any big news lately?”

O Xinlai suspected something good was about to happen.

“Of course!” Shan Ziyao was excited. “I heard the Immortal Pool Return Ruins are opening in two days. Cai Cai, let’s go together.” She had been hesitant before but now dared to venture there.

“Immortal Pool Return Ruins?” O Xinlai raised her eyebrows with interest. On her last trip to the Ancient Chi You Cave, she found the snake and learned Yin-Yang transformation. She wondered what treasures the Immortal Pool Return Ruins held.

“Cai Cai, are you coming?” Shan Ziyao was sure O Xinlai would say yes just by the sparkle in her eyes.

“How many days until then? How do we get there?” O Xinlai asked.

“Five days. Dad will send us. Zi Fei will probably go too,” Shan Ziyao added, pulling Ye Zi Fei into the conversation again.

O Xinlai smiled. Ye Zi Fei hadn’t gone on the previous trip to the Ancient Chi You Cave. Back then, Xuan Ye made great progress in supernatural cultivation, and the O family’s three young men lamented that Zi Fei missed out, being overtaken by Xuan Ye.

Now it was clear Zi Fei had surpassed Xuan Ye by far, though they hadn’t realized it then.

“So, you should prepare to go to the Immortal Pool Return Ruins in five days,” O Xinlai said.

The ruins’ opening period was much longer than that of the Ancient Chi You Cave.

She was sure she’d meet many old friends there. She wondered if Shan Qing’er and O Xinya would show up.

Though she had been in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom a long time, she’d never seen O Xinya. O Xinlai was quite good at hiding. She didn’t believe O Xinya could stay hidden forever.

Five days passed quickly. Shan Yuanxi naturally escorted O Xinlai and Shan Ziyao to the ruins, with Ye Zi Fei providing protection. Others from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom were also attending.

At the entrance to the ruins, O Xinlai saw only a sea of heads, making it difficult to see faces.

—End of side note—

Recommended music: The completed fantasy novel “Shang—Xie.”

Before transmigration: zero, zero, zero.

After transmigration: sixty, sixty, sixty!