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Qin Shu's righteous stance began to crumble bit by bit, until finally, she could only mumble in a guilty tone—

"Didn't you say you were just lending it to me? How about I pay rent instead?"

Wen Chi, looking down at the high ponytail atop her head, felt amused.

He had never seen a child like this before—sometimes too clever for her own good, sometimes adorably foolish.

"That works," Wen Chi replied casually.

Qin Shu felt her heart ache as she rubbed her small storage ring, then asked cautiously—

"Senior Brother, how... do you calculate the rent?"

Wen Chi held one hand behind his back while lightly tapping his jade bone fan against his other palm before answering—

"How about... you complete the alchemy tasks I owe the sect?"

The moment he said this, Qin Shu felt a bad premonition creep up her spine.

She hesitated before asking, "Senior Brother... exactly how many years' worth of tasks do you owe?"

Wen Chi's lips curved slightly, his exquisitely handsome face tinged with amusement.

"Not much, not much—just sixty years."

Qin Shu: "......"

She seriously suspected that these two senior brothers had conspired together—each of them owing exactly sixty years?

Why hadn't the sect leader kicked them both out yet?

"Can I refuse?" Qin Shu made a last-ditch attempt to escape.

"You can," Wen Chi said with a smile. "Or perhaps... you'd rather do something else for me?"

Qin Shu tightened her grip on the robe and cautiously asked,

"Like what?"

Wen Chi tilted his head slightly, his laugh carefree and unrestrained.

The gentle wind ruffled his sideburns, making him look even more effortlessly elegant.

Then, in a calm and relaxed tone, he said—

"Capture two Yunhai Jiao for me?"

Qin Shu's hopeful expression immediately vanished.

"Forget it. I'll take the alchemy job."

Wen Chi laughed in satisfaction. His figure gradually faded away, but his voice still echoed in the air—

"Once you finish those sixty years of alchemy tasks, our debts will be settled. You can keep the Bodhi Leaf."

Qin Shu lowered her gaze from the spot where he had disappeared.

She looked down at the robe in her arms, then thought about the sixty years of alchemy tasks she now owed.

Her heart hurt.

Oh... and let's not forget her own six months' worth of debt.

Sixty years and six months.

Fine.

She hadn't even started practicing alchemy yet—she might as well use this opportunity to hone her skills.

By the time she paid off all this debt, her alchemy techniques would probably be perfected.

Maybe... she really would become a great alchemist in the future.

With that thought, Qin Shu stuffed the robe into her storage ring, then took out her green leaf flying artifact and slowly made her way back to her cave dwelling.

On the way, she passed by the small wooden house where she had lived before.

A year had passed, and the plants in the garden had bloomed.

The flowers there seemed to flourish particularly well, and Qin Shu felt a slight pang of nostalgia.

The noon sunlight bathed the flowers, making them look even more vibrant and radiant.

Seeing that the wooden house was still unoccupied, Qin Shu hesitated.

She had watered these flowers for several days before—surely picking just one to take home wouldn't be a big deal, right?

Just one. She only wanted one.

She lowered her flying artifact and landed gently, immediately greeted by the intoxicating fragrance of flowers.

Qin Shu took a deep breath, her face full of contentment.

Her gaze locked onto a deep crimson flower, its red petals so rich they seemed to be nourished by blood.

She rubbed her hands together excitedly.

Time to pluck the flower!

But after thinking about it, she decided against picking just the petals.

Instead, she dug up the entire plant.

Hehe.

She'd replant it next to the roses outside her cave.

But just as she brushed away the loose soil, her fingertips grazed something hard.

Curious, she dug deeper—and unearthed two gleaming scales.

Qin Shu froze, her expression shifting.

She quickly shoved the scales into her storage ring, then hurriedly finished digging up the flower.

After restoring the ground with an earth-element spell, she jumped onto her flying artifact and rushed back toward Lingxiao Peak.

Her giant snake liked to sleep a lot—maybe it still wasn't awake yet?

She debated whether she should first report to her master, but when she arrived at his residence, she discovered he was in seclusion.

With no other choice, she headed straight for her cave.

Opening the restriction on the entrance, she had expected dust to fly everywhere—but surprisingly, her cave was completely clean.

And the giant snake was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he... leave?"

Fine.

If he was gone, then he was gone.

But still... after raising him for so long, he left without even saying goodbye?

Sighing, Qin Shu planted the flower outside her cave, then walked to the pond behind her dwelling, planning to take a bath.

She held a cloth in one hand and a handful of rose petals in the other, ready for a relaxing floral bath.

But the moment she turned the corner—

She froze.

A man lay sprawled by the pond, his lower half still in snake form, his black scales shimmering under the water's reflection.

His clothes were completely soaked, the fabric clinging tightly to his body, revealing his powerful physique.

Tsk, tsk.

Who takes a bath fully clothed?

What kind of bad habit was this?

Xie Shiyuan lazily flipped onto his back, resting his head against his palm, his dark golden eyes half-lidded as he gazed at the slightly taller girl before him.

He had thought she had run off with his core, never to return.

But surprisingly, she came back—and even brought back a flower.

He could clearly sense its aura.

It was his.

"Long time no see," Qin Shu said awkwardly, trying to break the tension.

She forced a laugh.

"Haha."

Xie Shiyuan's cool, elegant voice followed—

"Six months, and your cultivation still hasn't improved at all."

Qin Shu: "......"

She suddenly lost all interest in talking.

With a wave of her hand, she cast a cleansing spell on herself, then walked straight into her cave.

The moment she entered, Xie Shiyuan followed.

Qin Shu stopped and glanced back at him.

Just as she expected him to say something venomous, he simply asked—

"Where did you get that flower?"

Faced with his attempt to change the topic, Qin Shu suddenly felt uninterested.

"The outer sect's wooden house. I also found two of your scales there."

She retrieved the scales from her storage ring and held them out.

"Here—returning them to their owner."

Xie Shiyuan's gaze swept over her small hands before he replied indifferently—

"Keep them."

He couldn't reattach them anyway.

The next time he shed his skin, new ones would grow back—so these were useless to him.

Qin Shu was stunned.

His core and scales—he was giving them all to her?

Would his blood be next?

Then... would he try to possess her body?!

Surely not—her mediocre three-spirit roots couldn't possibly be worthy of a snake's interest, right?

Qin Shu's expression shifted rapidly.

"I can't accept this!"

Xie Shiyuan glanced at her and let out a light scoff.

"It's not like I want to give them to you."

"I just don't want you to be so weak that you suddenly drop dead and drag my core down with you."