With that, she paid no mind to Gu Qingyuan’s expression and swept away with Li Rao.

Gu Qingyuan clenched his fists, his aura fluctuating unstably.

But in the end, he didn’t try to stop her. After all, there were outsiders present, and he didn’t want Ye Chuxue to become the subject of gossip.

Song Wanning left. Bai Yang hesitated, shifting his feet several times, but ultimately decided not to follow her.

Ye Chuxue was unconscious, and they were all extremely worried.

But they knew with absolute certainty that no matter how they begged their Master, she would absolutely refuse to help!

"Master Lan, since our Master won’t help, you can at least try, right?"

An Ze suddenly asked Lan Le, who was sitting off to the side.

When Ye Chuxue had first gotten into trouble, Lan Le had helped examine her. But he didn’t have a Heavenly Yuan Nourishing Heart Pill, which was why Gu Qingyuan had ended up begging Song Wanning.

Now that Song Wanning refused to save a life, the only remaining hope fell on him.

Hearing this, Lan Le frowned. He rose and walked over, sweeping his Divine Sense over Ye Chuxue’s body before falling silent in thought.

Gu Qingyuan’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Senior Brother Lan, Chuxue’s Dantian has already recovered. There’s only a little poison left. Can’t it be cured?"

’He clearly helped her expel so much of the poison before. Why would Chuxue’s poison flare up again?’

At his words, Lan Le’s frown deepened.

"This poison is indeed strange. I have not yet found an antidote."

Lan Le had to admit that compared to Song Wanning, his medical skills were still vastly inferior.

Even though he was constantly trying to catch up, he was still outmatched in terms of talent.

He sounded somewhat dejected. "For now, I can only wake her up. But as for the antidote..."

As he spoke, he handed Gu Qingyuan an Elixir Pill, a look of helplessness flashing across his face.

Gu Qingyuan’s heart sank.

Taking the Elixir Pill, he held Ye Chuxue and strode away.

Seeing this, Bai Yang and the other two followed, their hearts heavy with worry.

The perfectly good competition had been interrupted by this turn of events. The crowd of onlookers wore various expressions, but thankfully the final round began right away, and everyone’s attention was quickly diverted.

Neither of the two Heavenly Inquiry Sect disciples had made it to the finals. The Sect Master’s expression was grim, but he still had to force a smile and greet the other sect masters.

Deep down, however, he couldn’t help but blame Song Wanning.

...

"Senior Uncle Gu, it’s not a solution to just let Senior Sister Ye’s injuries drag on like this. Is there really no other way?"

An Ze was so angry he kept clenching his fists. Now that Song Wanning wasn’t around, he had his nerve back.

"A petty person like our Master would never treat Senior Sister Ye. In fact, she’d probably try to harm her!"

"If it weren’t for our Master, Senior Sister Ye never would have been poisoned in the first place!"

His expression was full of resentment. When he spoke of Song Wanning, it was as if she weren’t his master, but his mortal enemy.

Bai Yang and Lu Nanfeng said nothing, but they clearly also believed that Song Wanning would only harm Ye Chuxue.

Gu Qingyuan’s expression was dark. He lowered his head to look at his young disciple on the bed, his heart aching for her.

’An Ze was right. Song Wanning was no longer the Song Wanning of the past. He couldn’t pin his hopes on her.’

’He had to find another way!’

*

On Yunxiao Peak, Li Rao sat beside her Master, her eyes wide as she gazed at her profile.

’Just now, Master had seemed so calm and detached, but she had been gripping her hand very tightly.’

’Master must be hurting, too, right?’

"Master, you still have Rao Rao."

She took the initiative to hold her Master’s hand, her big eyes filled with adoration and love.

’She didn’t understand why her senior brothers were siding with an outsider.’

Hearing those innocent words, Song Wanning lowered her head and gently stroked Li Rao’s hair.

’She had originally taken in Li Rao simply to repay a life-saving debt. She never expected that in the entire, vast Heavenly Inquiry Sect, Li Rao would be the only one on her side.’

"In a few days, I will be entering seclusion. Starting tomorrow, you are to come to me every day."

’Her words today served two purposes. First, she refused to suffer in silence any longer; she wanted the whole world to know about Gu Qingyuan’s grand, dramatic love.’

’Second, it was to provoke that group of people into heading to the ruins of the Medicine King Sect ahead of schedule.’

’When she had first broken free from the Three Lives Mirror, Song Wanning had only one thought: kill them all. Leave no one alive!’

’But after calming down, she had chosen to endure.’

’She knew that the so-called ’male and female leads’ possessed extraordinary fortune and might even be protected by the Heavenly Dao.’

’Trying to eliminate them by force would likely only result in her own demise, her very essence wiped from existence.’

’Therefore, she could only proceed step by step, plotting her course slowly.’

’Didn’t they want to step on her to climb to the top?’

’Fine. She would give them a taste of their own medicine and let them feel that same pain.’

’To get her revenge while also protecting herself and the Song Family—that was her true goal!’

Song Wanning’s lips curved into a smile. ’They’ll be getting antsy very soon.’

...

After settling his disciple in, Gu Qingyuan prepared to go to the Scripture Pavilion to search for a way to cure the poison.

Halfway there, he saw a familiar figure—it was his good friend, Xiahou Shang.

Some days ago, after saying what he had to say, Xiahou Shang had left the Heavenly Inquiry Sect in a hurry. It seemed he had only just returned.

Gu Qingyuan watched him hurry off in the direction of Yuanxiao Peak.

For some reason, he paused. Then, he changed direction, and by the time he realized what he was doing, he was already following him toward Yuanxiao Peak.

Gu Qingyuan pressed his lips together, telling himself over and over that he was only doing this for Chuxue’s poison, and for no other reason.

Back on Yunxiao Peak, Song Wanning had just finished guiding Li Rao’s cultivation when she saw a figure standing at her gate.

The visitor wore tight-fitting black robes, the ink-black brocade tailored perfectly to his tall, slender frame.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist—a truly outstanding figure.

He had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, which were deep and profound. The line of his jaw was firm and severe.

He stood with his hands behind his back, watching her from a distance.

Song Wanning froze. The visitor was unexpectedly Xiahou Shang.

Xiahou Shang was Gu Qingyuan’s childhood friend. The two of them had left their village together, supporting and relying on each other all the way to the present day.

As a result, he was also very familiar with her.

His personality was the complete opposite of Gu Qingyuan’s. He was talkative and sharp-tongued, and always loved to argue with her.

He used to infuriate her to no end.

’So why had he suddenly shown up to see her now?’

Her expression unchanging, Song Wanning strode toward Xiahou Shang.

"What’s this? Come to watch the show?"

Though her words were self-deprecating, the corners of her mouth held a faint, constant smile.

Xiahou Shang watched her approach step by step. His usually glib tongue was now tied, and he found himself growing unconsciously tense.

By the time Song Wanning stood before him, his face had turned completely red.

"Don’t tell me you’ve been poisoned, too?"

Song Wanning quipped, feeling that Xiahou Shang was acting rather strange today.

"I... I haven’t!"

Xiahou Shang retorted, "I just came to see you!"

"Tsk, you really came just to see me?"

Song Wanning raised an eyebrow. "Did you come to see me weeping buckets of tears, or to see me lose my mind in disgrace?"

"Neither!"

Xiahou Shang frowned. It seemed Song Wanning had a huge misunderstanding of him.

He gripped the jade box behind his back even tighter.

Just as he was about to take the jade box out, a voice suddenly came from behind him.