Su Qinghan nodded. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated, ultimately choosing to remain silent by his side.
Jiang Lan glanced at her and smiled faintly. "Miss Su, is there something you wish to say? I am indebted to you for your care these past few days. Please, just say what's on your mind."
"Forgive me for being presumptuous."
Su Qinghan hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "But I must know, Young Master Jiang, is your illness... Heart-devouring Syndrome?"
During her time at Cyan Mountain Academy, aside from her daily cultivation, she also enjoyed reading various scriptures and ancient texts, and had a wide range of interests.
In one such volume, a Medical Scripture, she remembered reading about a terminal illness.
"One afflicted by the heart-devouring illness suffers from madness. It consumes their Essence Blood, causes agonizing pain and convulsions in their limbs, and makes their vital energy flow in reverse."
During an episode, the afflicted might climb to high places and sing, tear off their clothes and run wild, strike out and destroy things, and lash out at friend and stranger alike.
Although she had only skimmed through it at the time, this rather strange and sinister terminal illness had left a deep impression on her.
The symptoms Jiang Lan had displayed when his illness suddenly flared up in the pavilion that night matched the description of the Heart-devouring Disease in every detail.
In fact, the sheer agony Jiang Lan had shown made her face turn pale and her heart tremble.
Just witnessing it made her own limbs ache faintly in sympathy.
'If it were happening to me, I can't imagine how much it would hurt.'
An ordinary person would have been wailing, begging for a death that would be sweeter than life, but Jiang Lan had only let out a muffled grunt, with no further reaction.
From beginning to end, he withstood the pain with what could only be described as terrifying fortitude.
At that moment, Su Qinghan couldn't help but feel a genuine and heartfelt admiration for him.
'Only by enduring what ordinary people cannot can one achieve what ordinary people cannot.'
"Heart-devouring Syndrome?"
Jiang Lan wore a slightly surprised expression, then smiled noncommittally. "And where did you learn of this, Miss Su?"
"I happened to have seen it in a Medical Scripture, that's all."
Su Qinghan lowered her voice. "Heart-devouring Syndrome is a terminal illness, but it is not without a cure. At least, the Medical Scripture I read mentioned a solution."
Seeing Jiang Lan's increased surprise,
she continued in a soft voice, "One method is to use a heart to mend a heart. Every day, consume three bowls of blood from the heart-tip of a person brimming with vital energy. A complete cure can be achieved in a few years."
"The second is to drain one's own Essence Blood, inducing a state of deficiency and weakness. With no Essence Blood left for it to devour, the symptoms naturally subside. But this method is not a true cure. Once the Essence Blood is replenished over time, the symptoms will flare up again."
From Jiang Lan's current physical state, Su Qinghan could tell he must have chosen the second method.
No wonder he always looked so pale, gaunt, and weak, as if he were just recovering from a serious illness.
Anyone who didn't know any better would probably assume he spent his days lost in debauchery, toiling day and night until his vitality was completely drained.
'Even I used to think that...'
'With the power and influence of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he could have easily obtained the heart-tip blood to completely cure himself. Yet he deliberately chose the second method, which only provides relief.'
'Is it because every bowl of heart-tip blood would cost several innocent lives?'
Whenever she thought about this over the past few days, Su Qinghan felt her emotions become incredibly complicated.
Seeing Jiang Lan fall silent after she finished speaking,
he just gazed out the window lattice at the weeping willows, which seemed to droop in the gentle breeze, and appeared lost in thought.
Sunlight scattered across his handsome, pale face, making it seem as if he were lost in a sea of emotions.
"Young Master Jiang, please continue to rest. I will take my leave now..."
Su Qinghan spoke softly. Not wanting to disturb Jiang Lan's rest any further, she rose, picked up the basin of water, and departed.
'You've already filled in all the blanks and explained everything yourself. What is there for me to say...?'
Only after Su Qinghan had left did Jiang Lan slowly withdraw his gaze, a slightly surprised smile touching his lips.
Jiang Lan could, of course, guess Su Qinghan's thoughts. He also vaguely understood why her attitude toward him had grown so much warmer.
But this was something he could not possibly explain to her.
His condition was indeed very similar to Heart-devouring Syndrome—in some respects, they were exactly the same—but in substance, they were completely different.
His was purely a case of post-transplant rejection. To be precise, it was rejection of the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Immortal Heart.
Twenty years ago, the Kunlun Immortal Ruins suddenly materialized in the Nine Provinces Land, causing celestial phenomena that stretched for tens of thousands of miles.
The various Immortal Sect Dynasties and powerful Noble Families dispatched their members to investigate and contend for the Immortal Fate Creation within.
Jiang Lan's parents were among them. As two of the most powerful figures of their generation, they broke through numerous Restriction Array Patterns, defeated a host of strong enemies, and ventured deep into the Kunlun Immortal Ruins, ultimately returning with an Immortal Embryo sealed by a Tao Source.
The Immortal Embryo was a nexus of spiritual energy, with naturally formed Tao Patterns and a dense covering of various Innate Immortal Markings. It overflowed with vitality and was incomparably mysterious.
Three months later, the Immortal Embryo shattered, and a little girl as exquisite as a jade carving walked out. That little girl was Jiang Lan's adoptive sister, Jiang Ruxian.
Another six months passed before Jiang Lan was born.
Although Jiang Ruxian had only emerged three months before him, she looked at least three or four years his senior.
Despite her young age, she was mature, gentle, and considerate. She treated Jiang Lan like her own blood-related younger brother, caring for him in every conceivable way.
Unfortunately, while Jiang Lan was still in the womb, he was exposed to the aura of the Kunlun Immortal Ruins, and his Innate foundation was damaged.
From the moment he was born, he was hopelessly weak and plagued by numerous illnesses.
Despite being nourished with all manner of Celestial and Earthly Treasures, his health only began to gradually improve when he was around three years old.
By the time Jiang Lan was three and just beginning to practice cultivation, Jiang Ruxian was already displaying an air of invincibility. The pace of her progress left even their parents in awe.
The two of them declared that in just a few years, the entire younger generation of the Nine Provinces Land would likely be living in Jiang Ruxian's shadow.
She was truly worthy of being an Immortal Embryo from the Kunlun Immortal Ruins. With her immortal bearing, Dao Bone, and translucent Immortal Heart, her innate talent was unparalleled in the world.
Although Jiang Lan had inherited the talents of both his parents, because of his damaged Innate foundation, a vast gulf still separated him from his sister.
No matter how diligently he cultivated, he could never catch up to his sister.
He cultivated while eating, while sleeping, during his morning studies, and even when he got up in the night.
Out of the twelve two-hour periods that made up a day, he spent a scant few moments actually resting.
But even though he was cultivating at every possible moment, he still couldn't catch up. Soon, he couldn't even see her retreating back.
To the Celestial Prides of the outside world, he was perhaps a genius in his own right.
'But in front of his sister, what real difference was there between him and an ordinary mortal?'
A deep-seated inferiority complex took root in his young heart.
Although his father offered timely words of comfort, to his young and competitive self, they were no different from sharp thorns.
'The Jiang Lan in these memories is vastly different from the one I knew from the story...'
'As a child, he was clever and well-behaved, obedient and kind, gentle and polite. Every maidservant adored him. Because he couldn't catch up to his dazzling sister, he secretly pushed himself to cultivate even harder, day and night, forgoing food and sleep. But the gap only continued to widen. Because of this, he gradually grew withdrawn and taciturn...'