23 - The Divine Physician’s Overbearing Wife

Web Novel Chapter 23 After accepting the task, a small icon resembling a compass appeared in the task bar, along with some strange symbols underneath. Yan Zhu Guang sat cross-legged, but upon standing and moving around, the icon began to sway from side to side, and the odd symbols at the end started to change continuously. The system commented, "I forgot that the host can't read Arabic numerals. I'll change it to letters." With a flurry of operations, the string of symbols quickly transformed into "519 zhang." Yan Zhu Guang quickly grasped the significance of the icon and symbols: "He Sheng's body is in that direction?" The system replied, "It's not certain yet, but there are definitely clues there." Yan Zhu Guang had some knowledge of the Feng Hua Xian Zong. The sect was vast, covering several dozen li in all directions. The task bar indicated a distance of five hundred zhang, meaning He Sheng hadn't left the Feng Hua Xian Zong. This implied that He Sheng's killer was likely someone from within Feng Hua Xian Zong. "Host, are you going now?" Yan Zhu Guang pondered, "What's Yun Mi Xue doing?" If not for the sudden incident with He Sheng, Yan Zhu Guang had no plans to leave the icy pavilion. She had promised Yun Mi Xue and didn't wish to go back on her word lightly. However, the matter with He Sheng couldn't be delayed. She could only quietly apologize to Yun Mi Xue. The system said, "Senior Sister is still handling sect affairs and won't be back for some time." In that case, a quick resolution was necessary. Yan Zhu Guang needed to deal with this before Yun Mi Xue returned. As long as Yun Mi Xue didn't find out, she wouldn't have broken her promise. Yan Zhu Guang walked outside, speaking to the system, "Open the new grand package." "Got it." The items from the new grand package swiftly appeared in her storage, with ten lower-grade spirit stones converting into a string of numbers in the coin section at the bottom of her inventory. "Give me ten spirit stones." Each lower-grade spirit stone was about half the size of Yan Zhu Guang's palm, and taking out all ten quickly filled her arms. She was carrying a heap of spirit stones but didn't seem overwhelmed. Yan Zhu Guang moved swiftly through the corridor outside the pavilion, stepping into the snowy world of the small flower garden. The system watched Yan Zhu Guang curiously. She clutched the ten spirit stones to her chest and swept away the thick white snow from the garden's greenery. The plants varied in type, with leaves of different sizes. Yan Zhu Guang chose a plant with large leaves, cleared the snow beneath it, and began placing the spirit stones according to a certain pattern. The system's knowledge was vast, yet its understanding of the cultivation world was limited to recorded information. What Yan Zhu Guang laid out seemed to be some sort of formation, but its specific purpose was unknown to the system. In the past, the system might have asked, why, when she was supposed to look for He Sheng, Yan Zhu Guang was playing with plants. But now it had learned. Its host was skilled and had her own plans. She never engaged in useless activities. More importantly, its host was so absorbed in her task that she wouldn't even notice the system's questions — asking would be pointless. Indeed, Yan Zhu Guang paid no mind to the system's queries. She couldn't spare the attention for external matters. This formation required her full concentration. Considering her current strength was still in the nascent qi stage, even a formation modified by her still required significant spirit stone usage and was quite taxing to execute. Unfortunately, she had to risk it in order to save time. He Sheng's death was no ordinary occurrence; accidental killing could be ruled out. Therefore, He Sheng was intentionally murdered. Why would someone want to kill her? Was it because of grievances with others, or perhaps she discovered something she shouldn't have, knowing secrets she shouldn't have known, leading to her being silenced? There was another possibility, one that concerned Yan Zhu Guang the most — that He Sheng's murder was intended to achieve a certain goal, such as framing someone. If it was simply because someone bore a grudge against Yan Zhu Guang for Yun Mi Xue’s handling of He Sheng, using her death against Yan Zhu Guang wouldn't make her that desperate. She was long accustomed to such things, indifferent to misunderstandings and slanders. However, if He Sheng's murderer was targeting Yun Mi Xue, Yan Zhu Guang wouldn't tolerate it. With Feng Hua Xian Zong being bustling and chaotic, it wasn't impossible for someone in the shadows to make a move during Yun Mi Xue's preoccupation to tarnish her reputation. Despite Yun Mi Xue’s likability and the seemingly universal fondness for her at Feng Hua Xian Zong, if everyone truly loved her, events like Frost and Snowfall wouldn't have befallen Yun Mi Xue. Many deceived openly and concealed their true motives privately. Yan Zhu Guang was more than qualified to make this claim. Yan Zhu Guang's array setup was swift. In no time, a circle of spirit stones was placed around the plant, which began to emit a faint glow, transforming into a peculiar jade green under some mysterious influence. Seeing this, Yan Zhu Guang wiped the sweat from her forehead, took a deep breath, and rapidly moved her hands, forming a series of hand seals. Her fingers danced quickly, leaving nearly only afterimages, while sweat increasingly dripped down her forehead, sliding past her damp hair clinging to her face, across her slender neck, and over her delicate collarbones before disappearing into her clothing. The system dared not disturb Yan Zhu Guang’s spell-casting, choosing instead to be mesmerized by her beauty. An earnest host was the most beautiful, though unfortunately, the white dress on her always seemed out of place. The system thought perhaps radiant red or deep captivating purple would suit her better. As Yan Zhu Guang delved deeper into her spell, a pale green light began to radiate from her fingertips, gradually wrapping her entire body like a ribbon. In the next moment, the green light around her intensified. She concluded her seals and stepped into the formation, vanishing completely. The system felt as if it had dived into the plants along with its host. They were jumping swiftly from one plant to another, so fast it left no time to react. Just as the system was getting used to the sensation, a sudden force pushed both it and the host outwards. After a dizzying moment, the host landed softly, and this rapid journey came to a halt. "We're now less than ten zhang away from the task's indicated location!" It remarked in surprise. They were in a small forest, surrounded by tall, dense trees. Unlike the Snow Peak, there was no blanket of white snow here. Yan Zhu Guang was crouched half-kneeling at the base of a large tree, bracing herself against it, visibly exhausted. "Host, are you alright?" Yan Zhu Guang shook her head and stood up. "Open the mini-map." The system obediently opened the mini-map. Yan Zhu Guang scanned the area, but apart from a few small red dots representing small animals, there was nothing unusual, nor anyone nearby. "Do you have a way to detect any surveillance or recording spell in this area?" Yan Zhu Guang was cautious. Given the possibility that He Sheng's death was framed, someone might have left recording spells to achieve this purpose. She had methods to monitor such spells, but forcibly performing the wood escape technique previously had drained her, and she needed to conserve her strength for potential threats ahead. Thus, she relied on the system for this part. The system responded, "The Save the White Moon System is equipped with an anti-surveillance device. Once activated by the host, the world's recording spells can't capture her, a benefit that comes with the system, which the host needn't worry about." The Save the White Moon System, being foreign, involved actions by the host that might not align with native behaviors. If recorded, it could upset the world's order. Thus, the anti-surveillance device was necessary, though it was an active skill requiring the host's consent. "As for scanning other methods, it will deduct spirit stones — each scan costs two lower-grade spirit stones and may incur additional charges depending on the detected spell's strength." Yan Zhu Guang didn't hesitate. "Activate the anti-surveillance device and start the scan." The system deducted two spirit stones from Yan Zhu Guang and professionally scanned the surroundings. "No anomalies detected." Satisfied, Yan Zhu Guang nodded and dashed quickly in the direction indicated by the task icon. After a few strides, she found what she sought. The system confirmed, "He Sheng's body is indeed here." Yan Zhu Guang approached the body. The woman lay as she had died, prone on the ground, her head turned to the side, eyes open, retaining a trace of disbelief from her final moments. Perhaps due to this small forest's seclusion and the preoccupation of Feng Hua Xian Zong’s members with the sect leader's succession ceremony, no one had yet discovered He Sheng's body. From discovering He Sheng's death, accepting the system's mission, to rushing here using the wood escape technique, Yan Zhu Guang hadn’t spent much time. Logically, He Sheng's body should still have retained warmth at this point. Strangely though, this small forest wasn’t cold like the Snow Peak, yet He Sheng's body was already cold, with frost covering her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Yan Zhu Guang's eyes turned cold. The appearance of the body clearly indicated death by ice-element techniques. She wasn't sure how many at Feng Hua Xian Zong could wield such magic, but Yun Mi Xue certainly was one of them. If He Sheng's activities before her death were further investigated, the fact that Yun Mi Xue expelled her from the sect would only cast more suspicion on Yun Mi Xue. In the cultivation world, killing one or two people wasn't considered a big deal; it was a routine occurrence for most. But Yun Mi Xue was not like most. Even though He Sheng’s actions might have deserved the death penalty, it couldn’t be Yun Mi Xue who executed it. Yun Mi Xue was recognized as kind and upright, incapable of secretly executing a misbehaving disciple. The framing of Yun Mi Xue for He Sheng’s death was crude and obvious, yet effective. Even if it were eventually proven that Yun Mi Xue was innocent, the incident would cast a shadow over her reputation. Yan Zhu Guang was pondering how to handle the situation when she heard the system urgently whisper, "Host, host, hurry! Someone's coming!" Her gaze darkened—someone had arrived quickly.