At the summit of Taishan within the Xishan Sect, the vegetation was sparse, and a faint layer of frost and snow covered the ground.
Ji Lanruo gazed out at two Flying Boats approaching from the distance.
One was red with gold trim, decorated in an especially festive and magnificent manner.
That was Li Qihua’s Flying Boat.
Seeing it arrive, Ji Lanruo felt a sense of anticipation.
The other boat had little decoration, looking like a common vessel rented by ordinary cultivators, but it flew a striking yellow flag with the character “Lin” written on it.
‘Lin Yue’er?’ Ji Lanruo frowned.
Lin Yue’er’s reputation for traveling and healing the world was well-known.
As a fellow cultivator in the Tribulation Transcendence Stage, her travel routes were always announced to various powers in advance to avoid conflicts.
As the Sect Master of the Xishan Sect, Ji Lanruo naturally possessed Lin Yue’er’s clinical schedule.
According to those plans, she should not have appeared at the Xishan Sect today, nor would she visit the sect without cause.
She must have been invited by Qianlin.
‘Fine, I’ll let her perform an examination. It’s better than having Qianlin constantly suspect me,’ Ji Lanruo thought. She flicked her sleeves and turned to head down the mountain.
—
Below the mountainside of Taishan.
Inside the sect’s main hall, Xixin Hall.
Ji Lanruo had changed into a light red silken dress and sat upright on the exquisite throne of Xixin Hall.
Below her, tables and food had been prepared for the guests to enjoy.
After the gate-keeping disciples announced the visitors, the first person to enter was not a guest, but Ji Qianlin.
She wore black clothes, and though her face was cute, she carried a valiant aura.
The guests followed behind her.
First was Lin Yue’er, a young girl dressed entirely in white.
Her clothing style, facial expression, and demeanor were all as cold as frost.
The other was Li Qihua, who wore bright red and looked every bit like a matchmaker.
As the group arrived before her, Ji Lanruo raised her hand.
“Please, you two, take a seat,” Ji Lanruo said.
“This old woman thanks Sect Master Ji,” Li Qihua said, bowing low.
Lin Yue’er did not speak.
After a slight cupping of her hands in greeting, she went to sit on the left.
Li Qihua sat at the table opposite Lin Yue’er.
She bowed fearfully, only sitting down after receiving a nod of permission from Lin Yue’er.
Ji Lanruo glanced at Ji Qianlin, who was standing to the side of the throne, eyeing the Spirit Fruit and spiritual food on the tables.
“I wonder, for what reason has the Medical Immortal paid us such a sudden visit?” Ji Lanruo asked slowly.
“I was entrusted by your daughter to examine Sect Master Ji’s body,” Lin Yue’er replied.
“I see.”
“This may involve some privacy. I am not sure, Sect Master Ji, if you have any important matters to handle?” Lin Yue’er glanced sideways at Li Qihua.
“Perhaps we should dismiss outsiders.”
“There is an important matter to handle, and it will likely take a long time. I am already aware of your intentions; please, Medical Immortal, diagnose me first.”
“Very well.”
Lin Yue’er asked, “Have there been any issues lately?”
“No issues. I feel quite good,” Ji Lanruo answered.
Suddenly, the hall fell silent.
Li Qihua, who was eating a Spirit Fruit, looked at both parties in confusion.
‘Wasn’t it because Ji Lanruo was sick that Ji Qianlin invited Lin Yue’er?’
Ji Qianlin offered an awkward smile.
“Please, let me take your pulse.”
Ji Lanruo raised her wrist.
Lin Yue’er also raised her hand.
In an instant, a rift tore open in the air in front of Lin Yue’er.
Behind the opening was Ji Lanruo’s pale, jade-like hand.
Through this method, Lin Yue’er took the pulse of both Ji Lanruo’s left and right hands, examining her thoroughly.
“Hmm…”
“How is it? Is there a problem?”
Ji Qianlin asked hurriedly.
Ji Lanruo looked at her daughter, who seemed almost desperate for her to be ill, and felt a surge of irritation.
“No, there are no problems. If I had to find something, it would be that Sect Master Ji has been overthinking lately. Her sleep at night is likely restless, and there is a slight kidney yin deficiency.”
“Huh?”
Ji Qianlin asked, refusing to believe it.
“Are there really no other problems?”
“None. The pulse is steady and powerful. There are no traces of being influenced by evil arts,” Lin Yue’er said flatly.
“That’s not right. That shouldn’t be…”
Ji Qianlin held her head, muttering to herself.
A vein throbbed on Ji Lanruo’s forehead.
Her daughter had truly been spoiled rotten.
However, she did not lose her temper.
It would be too embarrassing to hit her 400-year-old daughter in front of outsiders.
“However, there is another issue.”
Lin Yue’er cupped her hands and asked, “Sect Master Ji, are you truly certain that man is Ji Qianlin’s father?”
“Qianlin really told you everything!”
As she spoke, Ji Lanruo glared at Ji Qianlin.
Ji Qianlin did not dare to look her mother in the eye.
Ji Lanruo shook her head and let out a long sigh.
She didn’t blame Ji Qianlin for trusting Lin Yue’er.
In truth, she also trusted Lin Yue’er’s character.
There weren’t many doctors who could spend hundreds of years, day after day, traveling to treat the poor and the rich alike.
Furthermore, she was a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse.
“I wonder, Medical Immortal, do you have any more questions?”
Lin Yue’er then repeated everything Ji Qianlin had told her.
“If that is the case, what is the problem with a man and woman becoming betrothed?”
Lin Yue’er spoke up.
“The problem lies in why you believe that youth is Ji Qianlin’s father.”
“That is something I cannot disclose,” Ji Lanruo said.
“I have seen many cases where those who could not obtain the love they sought in their early years became depressed for a long time and eventually fell into qi deviation.”
“You have checked my pulse.”
“Correct. Body and mind are one; changes in the spirit will reflect in the physical form. That is the most interesting part. In some cases, when patients see someone similar — or even identical — to their beloved, their physical condition tends to stabilize.”
Upon hearing this, the hall fell into silence again.
Li Qihua, who had been making crunching sounds while gnawing on fruit, froze.
She noticed everyone’s gaze falling on her and instinctively shrank back.
Although she was the oldest person there, she had the lowest cultivation.
She couldn’t afford to provoke anyone!
Ji Lanruo looked directly into Lin Yue’er’s eyes.
Two pairs of beautiful eyes met.
The examples Lin Yue’er mentioned were not rare.
The so-called “similar or identical appearance” usually referred to the descendants of a beloved.
High-level cultivators often had very long lifespans, so it was not strange for them to see the descendants of a sweetheart.
It was also not strange for those descendants to resemble their ancestors.
“This is especially severe for female cultivators who are bound by their emotions. I have handled such patients before. Almost all of them fell into madness due to their obsession, only for their condition to stabilize under the care of a replacement,” Lin Yue’er added.
Silence reigned.
Only the sound of the wind remained in the hall.
Lin Yue’er’s implication could not be clearer.
Ji Lanruo’s expression remained calm, completely ignoring Lin Yue’er’s words.
Her daughter and the records from Nanyang Academy had already proven that Ding Nan was her Master.
That face, that Jade Tablet, and that natural composure — she could not be mistaken.
“Mother, stop being so stubborn!”
Ji Qianlin broke the silence in the hall, her voice loud.
Ji Lanruo’s eyes shifted toward Ji Qianlin.
“Ding Nan couldn’t possibly be my father, nor could he be Mother’s sweetheart. He’s only 18 years old!”
A vein popped on Ji Lanruo’s forehead — that wretched girl was essentially calling her old!
Lin Yue’er calmly took a sip of tea from the table and used two fingers to pop a Spirit Fruit into her mouth.
‘Go ahead, argue. The more you argue, the more energy you waste on each other. Little Qianlin, you have to work hard; don’t let your mother indulge in her lust!’
Even though Ji Lanruo wasn’t ill, Lin Yue’er was determined to label her as mentally unstable today.
Although she doubted Ji Qianlin could hold Ji Lanruo back, keeping Ji Lanruo away from him for even a single day was for the best.
‘Clearly, my fool and I never even had children!’
Lin Yue’er bit down viciously on the Spirit Fruit.
“The theory of reincarnation is nothing but a delusion. We cultivators live between heaven and earth, soaring through the skies. We have one heart and one life; how could we suffer from memory loss?”
If one lost their memories, were they still themselves?
A cultivator should not lose their memories.
“Have I not made myself clear already? This is related to your father’s own cultivation method,” Ji Lanruo said, her voice stiff with anger.
“As long as he returns, his memories will slowly recover after a period of time.”
“No, they won’t! If that were the case, why hasn’t he come back to find you? From the time I was born until now, it has been 400 years. Has he ever returned?”
Hearing this, Ji Lanruo was momentarily speechless.
Indeed, it had been over 400 years.
He should have been able to return long ago, but he hadn’t.
He had not returned to the Xishan Sect, nor had he returned to her side.
“Wake up, Mother! The truth is that he has already left because he doesn’t love you!”
Ji Qianlin said hysterically.
Ji Lanruo was furious.
Ji Qianlin’s voice was high-pitched, and she put heavy emphasis on the word “left.”
The phrase “doesn’t love you” was like a stone smashed into the mirror-like surface of Ji Lanruo’s calm heart, triggering a massive surge of emotion.
Ji Qianlin had accurately pierced Ji Lanruo’s scar, ruthlessly tearing open the sorrow she had held within for nearly a century.
“Shut up, Qianlin!”
Ji Lanruo roared, unable to contain her rage.
Immediately, the entire Xixin Hall began to tremble.
The pressure belonging to a Tribulation Transcendence Stage powerhouse weighed down upon the entire Xishan Sect.
Spirit beasts bowed their heads, and the disciples outside the Xishan Sect were crushed so hard they could barely breathe.
The sky flashed with lightning and rolled with thunder in response to Ji Lanruo’s anger.
Facing Ji Lanruo directly, Ji Qianlin could not withstand the pressure.
She fell to one knee, coughed up fresh blood, and panted in pain.
“Mother… Mother…”
Ji Qianlin called out.
Her body felt as if it were being torn apart, but her heart was in even greater agony.
Seeing this, Ji Lanruo hastily withdrew her pressure.
Looking at her injured daughter, a hint of heartache flickered in the depths of her eyes.
She felt pained, but she still flicked her sleeve and maintained a stern facade.
“From this day forward, you are confined for 15 days!”
Ji Lanruo declared.
Ji Qianlin stood there in a daze, her mouth stained with blood.
“My apologies for making you witness such a scene… I suspect today is inconvenient. Medical Immortal, do you have any other advice?”
The moment those words were spoken, Lin Yue’er knew Ji Lanruo was dismissing her.
“If the heart is ill, Lin Yue’er is powerless. Please take care of your health, Sect Master Ji.”
With that, Lin Yue’er stood up and said, “Thank you for the fruit, Sect Master Ji. Farewell. There is no need to see me out.”
Ji Lanruo gave her consent, and Lin Yue’er turned to leave.
Outside the hall’s entrance, the gray sky was oppressive.
Ji Lanruo was not the only one stung by Ji Qianlin’s words.
Lin Yue’er was arguably in even more pain.
Ji Lanruo was only a little over 400 years old, while she was already over 600!
Lin Yue’er suppressed the resentment and hatred in her heart, struggling to control her power so as not to affect the world and expose her state of mind.
‘Don’t be too sad, it’s almost time. As long as I go to Qingquan first, he will return!’
Lin Yue’er comforted herself.