Chapter Fourteen: The Fragrant Boudoir of Sweet Snow

Rubbing his aching nape, Xu Wen awoke from a deep sleep and quickly sensed something unusual. He was lying in a bright, spacious room, with a quilt covering him that exuded a refreshing fragrance. The scent made him momentarily dazed, as if he had returned to the boudoir of his modern girlfriend.

"So... it was a dream?"

A relieved and relaxed smile tugged at Xu Wen's lips. Despite how real everything in that dream had felt—herbal aroma, Wan’er, Xie Zhan, Ding Yushan, Stinky Lai, Gale Fox...

"Awake?"

An unexpectedly pleasant female voice interrupted Xu Wen’s recollection, and a pair of bright, beautiful eyes pulled him firmly back to reality.

"Senior Sister Mishelle?"

Xu Wen sat up reflexively, and a strong soreness and ache quickly swept through his limbs, causing him to frown unconsciously.

He glanced around, his gaze pausing, then let out a bitter cry and collapsed back onto the bed.

Damn it!

It wasn’t a dream... He was still in this unfamiliar world, one filled with unknowns and death. The bed he now lay upon must belong to Senior Sister Mishelle.

The fragrance, too, was naturally hers.

Mishelle watched him with a strange look as Xu Wen nervously sat up and then, inexplicably, smiled bitterly and lay back down, rumpling the bedding she had carefully arranged. Her pretty brows furrowed slightly.

Previously, regarding this boy who entered the Blackwater Mountains without her permission, barging in with Xie Zhan, and recklessly aiding Ding Yushan against the two-star advanced magical beast, Gale Fox, Mishelle had felt something indescribable.

He was out of line, impulsive...

Yet he managed to befriend the shy and introverted Mu Wan’er.

He seemed gentle and considerate...

But a one-star, eighth-stage mage venturing into the forbidden zone of the Blackwater Mountains to face a two-star, eighth-stage Gale Fox?

If he were foolish or slow, that was even less likely.

How could an idiot snatch a jade pendant from Ding Yushan, forcing a two-star intermediate warrior to not dare touch him? How could a fool rise from an ordinary boy to his current level in just twenty days?

Everything about this boy was like a riddle, impossible to understand or grasp.

Just now...

She had kept vigil by Xu Wen’s side for a day and night, imagining countless possibilities.

When Xu Wen awoke to find his surroundings changed, would he remain immersed in the terror of the Blackwater Mountains, feel the relief of surviving disaster, or mourn the fallen disciples? When someone returns from the edge of death to safety, their truest reaction should unconsciously surface, giving her a chance to glimpse his heart.

Yet.

What happened just now did not let her see through Xu Wen; instead, she glimpsed an even deeper mystery in him...

The smile that surfaced the moment Xu Wen awoke was genuine, but her voice seemed to have "startled" him out of a beautiful dream, rather disappointingly. His reaction made her, for the first time, doubt her own voice and beauty.

Afterwards...

Xu Wen’s expression grew stranger.

That bitter smile from deep within, that thick, unresolvable emptiness in his gaze, tugged at her heart.

"Junior Brother Xu?"

"I’m fine."

Xu Wen breathed quietly, saying,

"I shouldn’t have entered the Blackwater Mountains with Xie Zhan without your approval. That was my fault."

By this time, Xu Wen’s mind had completely recovered. He put aside memories evoked by the scent of his girlfriend’s room and embraced his role in this world.

Looking at his childish expression on the bed, Mishelle’s bright eyes showed a peculiar look: though his expression seemed unchanged, for some reason, it felt as if this boy had quietly hidden away his heart.

"We’ll talk about that later. Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Master came by and left several medicines—I’ll see if any are useful."

Mishelle’s caring tone warmed Xu Wen’s heart:

"I’m fine, thank you, Senior Sister... By the way, is Xie Zhan alright?"

Xu Wen finally remembered the incident in the Blackwater Mountains.

He had used a fireball to ignite Gale Fox... Later, someone seemed to have appeared.

"He only suffered a few superficial wounds. After taking medicine and resting for a day, he’s almost recovered... He told us in detail about your battle. He said you were the main force in defeating Gale Fox." Mishelle answered while closely watching Xu Wen’s face, not missing a single change.

"Oh."

Upon hearing that Xie Zhan was fine, Xu Wen breathed a sigh of relief. As for the rest, he laughed and explained that he acted desperately twice because he knew the situation was critical, and Gale Fox was careless.

"That simple?"

Mishelle, though she had already heard a vague account from Xie Zhan, still found it hard to believe that a two-star advanced magical beast would be so careless as to let a one-star mage get close and stab a short blade into its eye.

"By the way, what about Ding Yushan?"

Xu Wen shifted the topic.

"Him?"

Hearing the name, Senior Sister Mishelle’s eyes clearly showed a hint of disgust and hatred, so much so that her tone turned icy:

"Expelled! As captain, Ding Yushan led the team deep into the Blackwater Mountains to face a beast they couldn’t possibly defeat, resulting in the tragic deaths of six talented registered disciples. When the rescue team brought him back yesterday and he confessed everything, Master immediately expelled him from the Seventh Medicine Peak, stripped him of his disciple status, and denied him entry to the inner sect."

Hearing this, Xu Wen fell silent.

He had expected Ding Yushan’s punishment.

Six registered disciples, all stronger than one-star, seventh-stage, each eligible for the inner sect, with promising futures—such talent wasted in the forbidden zone of the Blackwater Mountains, it was naturally heartbreaking.

As captain, Ding Yushan was indeed the culprit—even if he had already paid a heavy price and regretted it deeply.

"Senior Sister Mishelle? What about me..."

Xu Wen looked worriedly at Mishelle, whose face was icy, and felt his scalp tingling.

His unauthorized entry into the Blackwater Mountains was originally a minor offense, but now that it led to the tragedy injuring six registered disciples, it could turn into a major issue and he might even be expelled from the Hortonklin family.

Mishelle, astute and perceptive, immediately saw through the concern written all over Xu Wen’s face, and the icy expression she wore faded away.

"Don’t worry, Master has already forgiven you. Actually, if it weren’t for you and Xie Zhan, Ding Yushan wouldn’t have lasted until the rescue team arrived with just those scrolls. If anything happened to Ding Yushan, his grandfather would surely trouble Master. So, you’ve actually earned some merit this time, little fellow."

"Phew."

Upon hearing this, Xu Wen immediately exhaled in relief, repeating how fortunate he was:

"I was worried Master would kick me out of Medicine Peak."

"…"

Senior Sister Mishelle shot him an attractive sideways glance. "Hmph! I don’t see any sign that you’re worried. Rather, you seem certain we’d never expel you, so you act without scruple. You must be feeling quite pleased right now, aren’t you?" The inadvertent girlish charm in her words left Xu Wen momentarily dazed.

"No, not at all..."

"Still denying it, and now you dare daydream while talking to your senior sister?"

Mishelle pretended to be angry, but deep down, she couldn’t help feeling a bit proud. After observing him for so long, she finally saw a glimpse of genuine charm in Xu Wen.

"…That’s because, just now, Senior Sister, your smile was so beautiful."

Almost involuntarily, this sentence slipped from Xu Wen’s lips. Mishelle’s face flushed unexpectedly, and she glared at him in mock annoyance:

"Well, your courage is growing. You even dare joke with your senior sister… Tell me the truth, is that how you tricked Wan’er, that silly girl?"

"Injustice… Ouch."

Xu Wen clutched his head where she had knocked him.

"Alright, get up. Tell Senior Sister about everything you and Xie Zhan experienced yesterday in the Blackwater Mountains. There are still some unclear points. Hey, why are you lying back down?" Seeing his childish face burrowing back beneath the quilt, Mishelle was both exasperated and helpless.

"Ah, just sitting up made me dizzy. I won’t get up today. Ask whatever you want, Senior Sister. By the way, Senior Sister Mishelle, this is your bed, isn’t it? It smells so nice..."

Mishelle’s expression was one of utter helplessness, completely defeated by her little junior brother who refused to leave her bed:

"Everyone knows Ding Yushan lost his qualifications. The other registered disciples are now working harder to cultivate. Aren’t you worried at all, lying here like this?" She changed tactics, hoping to convince her junior brother to leave her beloved bed. Unfortunately…

She underestimated Xu Wen’s determination.

"What’s there to worry about?" Xu Wen replied carelessly, "I can already independently refine at least nine types of one-star and two-star pills. Even if I lie here till the last day, a quick review will get me through. Relax, Senior Sister." As he spoke, he laughed inwardly: to him, enjoying Senior Sister Mishelle’s cozy bed once might be a unique pleasure, and who knew if there would be a next time? No way he’d move!

Seeing Mishelle’s speechless, stunned expression, Xu Wen poked a hand out from under the quilt and asked mysteriously,

"By the way, Senior Sister, you don’t have a boyfriend yet, do you… Ouch!"

"Nosy!"

Mishelle withdrew her slightly reddened fist, snorted, and then left the room.