Chapter 47

Coolness touched her hand. Shen Qing realized he had slipped a fragrant sachet into her palm.
Delicately made of fine silk, it was smooth to the touch, embroidered with a blooming peach blossom.
Li Daoxuan sneered. “Thought I wanted to harm you?”
Shen Qing withdrew her hand, rolling her eyes.
Given his fierce posture, it was easy to misunderstand.
She felt a refreshing coolness seep into her palm, easing the stifling heat.
Amazed, she asked, “What is this?”
Li Daoxuan: “A little gadget Gu Yun made recently. Works well against heat.”
He then drew another sachet from his sleeve. Shen Qing raised an eyebrow, curious how many he had hidden.
She thought: Gu Yun always tinkers with unusual devices. Now he’d even devised a way to beat the heat, perfect for her.
Shen Qing, who had always been sensitive to heat, wanted the sachet very badly.
Looking up, she saw him loosen the drawstring, letting a finger dip into the icy liquid inside and smear it across the back of her hand.
The skin touched by the liquid instantly felt cool and refreshing. Even after a while, the sensation didn’t fade. Shen Qing touched the area, eyes widening in astonishment. She then opened the sachet herself, noticing a few ice fragments that hadn’t fully melted and some green, grassy herbs.
Li Daoxuan watched her curious and delighted expression, amused by her innocence, as though she were a child seeing the world for the first time.
With a delicate motion of his long fingers, he closed the sachet. Then, without hesitation, he pulled the sachet she was clutching firmly out of her hands.
The sachet, still warm with Shen Qing’s touch, wobbled slightly with the movement of his fingers.
He found it slightly awkward to hold this way, so he switched to holding it by its drawstring.
Shen Qing blinked. “What are you doing?”
Raising an eyebrow, he said, “You didn’t really think I’d just give this to you, did you? Nothing in the world comes that easily. There are only two of these in existence.”
Seeing his calculating expression, she knew there would be no freebie. Yet she wanted the sachet badly, so she asked, “Then what do you want?”
Li Daoxuan: “Don’t just stand there. Since you came all this way, you might as well fetch what I want.” He gestured toward the files on the desk, leaving no ambiguity.
Shen Qing realized he was using her as a tool to retrieve the files. But he had gauged her perfectly, she had come here for this very purpose. Now that she could act openly, why not? She nodded, agreeing to help.
Still, she extended her hand. “Give me the sachet first. I’m afraid you’ll change your mind.”
Li Daoxuan: “Do I look like the type to go back on my word?”
Hearing that, Shen Qing lowered her hand and examined his face carefully, finally concluding: “Yes, you do.”
“Hmph…” Li Daoxuan expressionlessly tossed the sachet into her lap.
Satisfied with her prize, Shen Qing, smiling, went to fetch the documents.
Li Daoxuan read at lightning speed but found nothing useful in all the files Shen Qing brought.
Meanwhile, Shen Qing leaned against the desk, rubbing the sachet’s liquid onto her neck. The cool refreshment temporarily drove away the stifling heat, like receiving a bowl of icy water on an unbearably hot day, bringing immense relief. She couldn’t help but sigh.
“What's in this?” she asked.
Li Daoxuan instinctively replied, “Probably fanhecai and douloupo herbs.” Thinking further, he added, “And, ” He suddenly paused, eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her.
Seeing him fall silent, Shen Qing felt a twinge of disappointment, realizing she wouldn’t get an answer.
Sure enough, he said, “This is a unique formula, not to be shared.”
Shen Qing tried to negotiate: “Am I considered an outsider? We’ve faced the same dangers, broken into the Underworld Palace, and both wanted to handle Bai Shuisha. Aren’t we on the same side? Why be so stingy?”
Li Daoxuan: “It was purely accidental. As for why I found you, you know well enough.” He tapped the twin-fish jade pendant at his waist. “As for the Underworld Palace… if you hadn’t used the Glass Heart as bait to coerce me, why would I have gone there, only to catch a chill that hasn’t fully healed yet?”
The chill naturally referred to the unique cold inside the Underworld Palace.
Shen Qing: “You understand the principle of not acting without a target. My grandmother painstakingly prepared these remedies for me. If you want them, you’d better act. You even poisoned me slightly, what makes you think I’d hand them over for free?”
He scanned her up and down and nodded. “Indeed, I was afraid.”
“Hah, so you admit fear. Then it seems I too…”
Seeing their bickering escalate, Li Daoxuan cut in: “Enough.”
Shen Qing pressed her lips together, still a little unsatisfied. Their quarrel had released some long-suppressed tension.
She lifted her chin. “All that talk, just to get me to fetch something for you. So tell me, how will you finally tell me what’s inside this sachet?”
Li Daoxuan: “Cooperate with me.”
“What?” Shen Qing froze.
“Surely that Bai Shuisha visited you not long ago.”
Shen Qing frowned. “How do you know?”
Li Daoxuan lifted his hand, revealing another sachet. Pure white, with a subtly glossy surface, smooth to the touch. With a flick of his fingers, the drawstring loosened, and a strand of black hair, long pressed down, sprang upright.
He twirled it in front of her eyes. “The yin energy on this hair smells exactly like that Bai Shuisha. I sensed it from afar. Now, do you know how I knew?”
Shen Qing, amazed at his extraordinary perception, instinctively tried to snatch it back. Li Daoxuan stepped back, holding it high out of reach.
“Shamelessly stealing from someone! Give it back!”
He pressed her head down, preventing her from moving forward or jumping. Her face flushed crimson, resembling a ripe peach.
“Though I don’t know when Bai Shuisha approached you, or how you escaped and obtained this hair, I can tell your goal is clear, you want to trace Bai Shuisha to find the mastermind who tried to harm you.”
Shen Qing’s eyes widened in shock, momentarily forgetting to retrieve the hair.
He continued calmly: “Although I wasn’t there that day, I roughly know what happened. A girl pushed Zhang Shilang’s daughter into the water, saying, ‘You are the daughter of a dog traitor; your family will die.’ When you returned Lady Liu’s soulless body to her room, you fumbled with the talismans and then spat blood. I deduce that someone destroyed the barrier you set, causing the backlash.”
Normally, Taoist disciples encountering evil in crowded places first create protective barriers. If the barrier is broken, the practitioner suffers backlash, internal injuries, bleeding, or even unconsciousness.
“Someone intentionally sabotaged your barrier and tried to trap you in Bai Shuisha’s Underworld Palace, making it seem like a demonic disturbance. Luckily, Bai Shuisha wasn’t present, so you survived.”
“I believe that once they realized you survived, the mastermind wouldn’t stay idle. They’d continue plotting against you.”
“Shen Qing, front and back, you face enemies and Bai Shuisha alike. Truly pitiful.” He spoke with sympathy, yet his eyes were icy.
Shen Qing: “So all this talk, is it to mock me?”
Li Daoxuan flicked his fingers. “No.” He leaned close to her ear. “I said we… cooperate.”
Seeing his sincerity, Shen Qing lifted her eyelids, meeting his gaze. “How do we cooperate?”
Li Daoxuan lowered his eyes, observing her fair, flushed skin dotted with sweat. Perhaps distracted by the pale skin, he looked away. “I know you want to investigate Bai Shuisha, and possibly more.”
“You don’t need to care about that. Just cooperate with me to lure out Bai Shuisha. As for other matters, as long as they are within my ability and not immoral, I’ll permit them.”
“Even though this world is more open than before, a woman still faces difficulty protecting herself or achieving her goals.”
“Now that we have this agreement, I will honor it. Trust me; I’m not one to break my word. Together, we handle Bai Shuisha’s threat. Once it’s done, everyone gets their due. Isn’t that delightful?”
His words struck her heart.
Just handling Bai Shuisha alone might entangle court politics. For a mere woman like her, protecting the Shen family would be extraordinarily difficult.
The frontier tribes were like endless grasslands, impossible to burn out. News came of unrest at the border; her father had been dispatched again, burdened with worry, prematurely graying, looking weathered.
She couldn’t bear for her parents to suffer more for her sake.
Moreover, every move her father made was likely watched. If he investigated prematurely, it could alert the enemy.
Only by finding sufficient, convincing evidence and eliminating the threats to the Shen family could she safely present her findings to her father.
Li Daoxuan watched the girl lost in thought, awaiting her reply.
After a moment, Shen Qing said, “I can agree, but I have one last question.”
Li Daoxuan: “Speak.”
“Was this cooperation your spontaneous idea, or a carefully considered plan?”
“Naturally, I thought it through carefully before proposing.”
“Why?” Shen Qing looked up.
“Why what?”
“Why choose me? Besides some minor skill in formations, my body technique is messy. I’m not clever, only capable of doing my best within limits, hoping for a peaceful life. Knowing I’m reckless, headstrong, and picky, why involve me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll slow you down?”