When the servants finally left, leaving behind a pile of wealth that rivaled a small sect's treasury, the silence in the courtyard was heavy.
Xie Wangchen walked over to the table. He looked at the Snow Lotus Ointment, a medicine worth a thousand gold, usually reserved for internal injuries, now given to someone for a sore wrist incurred while beating up the donor's other son.
"I do not understand," Wangchen murmured, his voice low. "You humiliated the Heir. You shamed the Madam. By all laws of the clan, you should be kneeling on broken glass. Why..."
"Why am I getting rich instead?" Ji'an finished for him. She hopped off the veranda and walked over, trailing her fingers over the silk.
"Because, Little Puddle," she said, using a nickname she'd coined in her head, "General Lin is a man of the sword, not the abacus. He doesn't care about politeness. He cares about the spine."
She picked up a spirit stone, feeling the hum of energy within it.
The original owner of this body had hated General Lin, seeing his distance as rejection. But Ji'an saw the truth.
The General had loved Ji'an's mother, a woman of humble origins but fierce spirit. For years, the original Ji'an had acted like a cowardly rat, whining and clinging to the Head Wife who secretly despised her.
Today, for the first time, the General saw a flash of that "fierce spirit" in his disappointment of a son. He saw Ji'an standing tall, using logic and brute force to defend her territory.
The gifts weren't a reward for beating Zhaoyu; they were a reward for finally acting like a Lin.
"He thinks I'm a diamond in the rough," Ji'an muttered, tossing the stone to Wangchen. He caught it clumsily. "Keep that. Put it under your pillow. It helps with nightmares."
Wangchen stared at the stone. "You are giving this to me?"
"I have a box full of them. Don't look so moved." Ji'an turned away, hiding the sudden pang of guilt in her chest.
She looked at him, really looked at him. He was wearing the clean gray robes she'd given him, but they hung loosely on his frame.
His shoulders were slumped, not from laziness, but from the crushing weight of a lifetime of survival. His eyes, though intelligent, held the skittish, watery look of a stray animal waiting for the next kick.
'Soft puddle,' she thought again.
In the original novel, this boy would have been dragged to the East Courtyard today. He would have been beaten until his meridians shattered.
He would have crawled out, half-dead, and in his desperation, he would have killed the original Ji'an. Then, fleeing into the mountains, he would have stumbled into a cave and found the Blood-Drinking Scripture, a demonic manual that repaired his body by consuming the life force of others.
That manual was powerful, yes. But it twisted his mind. It made him a pariah. It barred him from the righteous sects and forced him into the shadows, where he festered in hatred until he decided to burn the world down.
"System," Ji'an commanded silently. "Open the Shop."
[Ding! System Shop Interface Online.]
[Current Points: 1,500 (Earned from: 'Face-Slapping the Heir' + 'Deceiving the Head Wife' + 'General's Favor').]
A holographic screen appeared before her eyes, invisible to Wangchen. Rows of glittering icons floated in the air.
"I need to fix him," she thought. "I can't let him find that demonic book. If he learns demonic arts, he can't enter the Sword Sect. If he doesn't enter the Sword Sect, the main plot falls apart, and I fail the mission."
But looking at Wangchen clutching that single spirit stone like it was his lifeline, the mission parameters felt secondary. She just... didn't want him to hurt anymore.
"Search for: Foundation Repair. Highest grade."
[Scanning...]
[Recommended Item: 'Nine-Petal Golden Marrow Pill'.]
[Effect: Cleanses the bone marrow, reconstructs shattered meridians, and purifies the Spirit Root. Can upgrade a mortal or damaged root to a Flawless Spirit Root.]
[Price: 1,450 Points.]
It was almost all her points. She had been saving up for a 'Indestructible wok' or a 'Teleportation Talisman' for herself.
Ji'an looked at the price. Then she looked at Wangchen's thin wrists.
"Buy it," she ordered without hesitation.
[Purchase Complete. Item stored in Inventory.]
"Wangchen," Ji'an said aloud, her voice breaking the silence.
The boy snapped to attention. "Yes, Young Master?"
"Go to your room. Lock the door. Do not come out until I call for you."
Wangchen's eyes narrowed slightly. The suspicion was back. "Is... is the Young Master expecting guests?"
"No," Ji'an said, walking past him toward the kitchen to grab a jug of water. "Tonight, we are going to fix that trash body of yours. Unless you want to remain a kitchen hand forever?"
Wangchen froze. "Fix...?"
"Go!"
An hour later, the moon was high. Ji'an entered Wangchen's small servant room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking terrified.
Ji'an didn't waste time. She pulled a small jade vial from her sleeve. Inside sat a pill that glowed with a soft, golden luminescence. The air in the room instantly smelled of rain and ancient forests.
"Eat this," she said, holding it out.
Wangchen looked at the pill. It pulsed with energy that made his skin prickle. "What is it?"
"Poison," Ji'an deadpanned. "I'm tired of your face, so I decided to end it quickly."
Wangchen looked at her. He looked at the sarcastic tilt of her lips. Then, with a resolve that surprised her, he reached out and took the pill.
"If Young Master wanted me dead, he wouldn't use something this expensive," he whispered. "This... feels like treasure."
"Smart mouth," Ji'an huffed. "It's a Marrow Cleansing Pill. Swallow it. Now."
Wangchen hesitated for only a fraction of a second before popping the pill into his mouth.
The reaction was instantaneous.
"Guh—!"
Wangchen's eyes rolled back in his head. He collapsed onto the bed, his body arching in a sudden, violent seizure.