Chapter 10: Today Is My Birthday Too

Jiang Niannian remembered from the book that Shen Yu was very self-important, always carrying a white jade flute named “Xiu Bai” which he never played, merely hanging it at his waist.

Looking around, her eyes were almost dazzled by the number of cultivators with white jade flutes at their waists.

Suddenly, she had a bright idea: if she couldn’t find Shen Yu, why not let Shen Yu find her?

She quietly spilled the wine from her cup onto herself.

A scream erupted from the crowd, drawing the attention of many cultivators.

Jiang Niannian was lying on the ground, twitching all over, covered in blood, foaming at the mouth, clutching the arm of a nearby female cultivator, and repeatedly muttering, “Quick… find Lord Fuhua, I’m dying…”

The female cultivator, frightened and pale, had been the source of the scream.

“Quickly, find Lord Sage Fuhua! Someone here is having a crisis, possibly epilepsy!”

The cultivators whispered among themselves, and soon a young man in a pink robe carrying a medicine box approached.

Everyone respectfully made way for him.

He glanced at Jiang Niannian on the ground with a somewhat cold expression.

He sneered, “Feigning illness? Which maid are you? You really have some nerve!”

Jiang Niannian’s heart sank, and she opened her eyes slightly, seeing the young man’s pale yellow bow at his waist.

Her mouth twitched, “Who are you? Kid, go play somewhere else.”

The young man had eyebrows like distant mountains, and his dark, golden eyes swept over her with a disdainful look.

He regarded Jiang Niannian with the expression one might reserve for a fool and coldly said, “Aren’t you the one who faked illness to get me here? Now pretending to be foolish, who are you fooling?”

Although the novel did not describe Lord Sage Fuhua’s appearance, Jiang Niannian found it hard to associate the name “Lord Sage Fuhua” with the pink-clad young man with a bow.

She said, “You’re really going to the grave just to burn newspapers—you’re just fooling the ghosts! If you were truly the Lord Sage Fuhua, why don’t you have the white jade flute at your waist?”

(T/N: expression used to call someone out for attempting to deceive or trick them in a way that is superficial or insincere. The analogy of burning newspapers at a grave refers to the act of performing rituals that are only for appearances, not meant to actually communicate with the spirits, implying that the person is doing something meaningless or fake.)

Just then, a maid squeezed through the crowd, hurriedly approaching the young man and said, “Lord Sage, I found the white jade flute you couldn’t locate this morning; it was under the bed.”

The young man raised an eyebrow coldly.

Jiang Niannian: Frozen on the spot.

Jiang Niannian felt deeply ashamed, her face flushed with embarrassment.

But in Shen Yu’s eyes, Jiang Niannian was captivated by his handsome appearance.

After all, many women admired him.

He waved his hand, “Everyone, disperse.”

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the music resumed, lively and bustling.

Shen Yu cast a final glance at Jiang Niannian and said, “There will be no next time.”

He turned to leave.

Jiang Niannian grabbed his thigh, causing Shen Yu to stiffen and then frown slightly, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Niannian lifted her face and smiled at him, her tone somewhat flattering: “Lord Sage, I’ve long heard of your extraordinary presence and unparalleled medical skills. In this world, no one dares to claim the first place if you claim the second. Now that I’ve seen you today, your reputation is indeed well-deserved. In this lifetime, I almost wish to be infatuated with you, to go crazy for you, and to bang my head against a wall for you! Today, I didn’t mean to tease Lord Sage on purpose; I just wanted to see you and ask for your help—a small favor, hehe.”

Shen Yu, seeing her affection, thought she was genuinely admiring him.

He cleared his throat and asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Niannian cautiously asked, “Lord Sage, with your medical expertise, could you perhaps restore someone’s spiritual roots?”

“Of course, I can.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Niannian let go of Shen Yu, kneeled in front of him, and said solemnly, “To be honest, my young master Yin Li has had his spiritual roots destroyed for two years, suffering daily. It is a fate worse than death. I humbly request that you treat him.”

Hearing this, Shen Yu’s expression darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, accompanied by a trace of scorn.

“I can treat anyone in this world, except him.”

“Why?! It’s said that doctors have a benevolent heart. Is it because of his dubious fate that you refuse to help him? He is still just a child!” Jiang Niannian asked, unwilling to accept the answer.

Shen Yu, unwilling to linger, waved his hand and left, disappearing from sight.

Why wouldn’t he save him?

Why!

In the book, the female lead was saved by Shen Yu when she was injured. After recovering, she frequently went to the Medicine King Pavilion to help him. Over time, influenced by the female lead’s halo, Shen Yu gradually fell in love with her and became one of the seven men entangled with her.

And the female lead, by relying on Shen Yu to heal Yin Li and taking good care of him, made the deeply unloved Yin Li devoted to her.

But there were still sixteen years before the female lead would meet the little cub.

Was he really going to endure sixteen more years of hellish suffering?!

Jiang Niannian knelt on the spot, tears streaming down her face.

After a long while, she got up, wiped her tears, and walked down the mountain.

As evening fell, the laughter from Erzhu Peak continued.

Amidst the wine and meat, people chatted and laughed, their demeanor majestic.

Jiang Niannian walked alone on the three thousand stone steps, her shadow lengthened by the blood-red sunset, looking somewhat forlorn.

By the time she returned to the bamboo courtyard, it was already night.

She saw Yin Li sitting alone on the steps in front of the house, with the coal ball lying beside him, already asleep.

His emaciated profile was illuminated by the cool moonlight, giving him a cold, white hue, reminiscent of flawless white jade, with an added touch of coldness and unruliness.

Jiang Niannian sensed something was wrong and sat down next to him.

“Why are you here…”

She reached out to pat his head but barely missed.

He was probably just sulking and needed comfort.

Jiang Niannian smiled, “Young master, I was wrong. Look, these five hundred spirit stones can buy you some new clothes…”

He waved his hand, knocking the spirit stones to the ground.

“Liar.”

Jiang Niannian was stunned.

Yin Li looked at her, his narrow eyes slightly raised, his red pupils filled with shadows, like a hell of surging lava, holding back tears.

In the distance were warm lights and joyful laughter, but they seemed to have little to do with him.

He should have been used to this, but now his heart ached as if it were splitting open.

It was this woman who had given him a little warmth only to suddenly withdraw it.

Was he too caught up in it?

Was she too frivolous?

The suppressed grievances inside him, once a crack appeared, surged forth like a flood.

Yin Li’s eyelashes fluttered, but he did not cry.

His throat began to choke, “You said you wouldn’t leave me, you said you would always be with me. But today is my birthday. Why… why did you leave me alone?”

【Affection -20, penalty imposed, 200 points deducted, current affection: 20, total points: 360.】