A trade? What kind of deal could the Night King possibly make with such an ordinary woman? It's obvious he's taken a liking to her.
Luo Rui suddenly realized he didn't even know her name, so he asked, "Hey, woman, what's your name?"
Ye Lanshan weakly replied, "My name is Ye Lanshan, and don't call me 'hey' from now on."
Luo Rui's eyes widened in realization. "So you're Ye Yutian's unoffical wife. That explains it. You're his shield—as long as he needs you, you won't die."
"No wonder he called me here to treat your injuries. You're just his tool to fend off all those hidden enemies."
Ye Lanshan could no longer hold on. She had intended to grab some pills from her space, but her depleted spiritual energy made it impossible to enter.
Panic surged within her. *If I don't get strong spiritual energy soon, my meridians will be ruined. But I can't access the space. What do I do? What do I do?*
Then an idea struck her. Her eyes lit up. *Isn't there a flower rich in spiritual energy in this world?* She looked at the seemingly refined Luo Rui before her and quickly formed a plan.
Biting back the searing pain in her body, she said, "Give me one herb, and I'll tell you what that energy inside me is. Deal?"
Luo Rui's eyes gleamed. "Really?"
Ye Lanshan rolled her eyes helplessly. "Of course it's true. Would I lie to you?"
Luo Rui clapped his hands. "What herb do you need?"
Ye Lanshan replied, "A spiritual flower like a lotus, blue in color."
Luo Rui frowned. "You mean the Blue Spirit Flower?"
Ye Lanshan shook her head. "I don't know what it's called."
Luo Rui pulled out a book, flipped a few pages, and pointed. "This one."
Ye Lanshan nodded. "Yes, that's it."
Luo Rui sighed. "Lucky for you, I happen to have a Blue Spirit Flower with me."
Ye Lanshan's face lit up. "Really?"
Luo Rui chuckled. "But this Blue Spirit Flower isn't free. You'll have to pay me three thousand White Mystic Stones first."
Ye Lanshan was taken aback. "That expensive?"
Luo Rui said, "This isn't an ordinary herb. Only the Lan family, the first family of Star Kingdom, can cultivate it. It rarely circulates. I barely managed to get this one."
"If it weren't for the Night King's sake, why would I give it to you? And this price is already very low—can't go any lower."
Ye Lanshan sat on the bed. "How about I borrow one Blue Spirit Flower from you now and return one to you later?"
Seeing his skeptical look, she hurriedly added, "I promise I'll pay you back. Besides, didn't the Night King send you to heal me? If my injuries don't improve, how will you explain that?"
Luo Rui reluctantly pulled out the Blue Spirit Flower. "Here. Now you can tell me what that energy inside you is."
Ye Lanshan clutched her chest. "Step out first. Once I've regulated my energy, I'll tell you."
Seeing that she seemed capable of healing herself, and since he had no confidence in doing it himself, Luo Rui stepped outside.
Inside the room, Ye Lanshan consumed the Blue Spirit Flower. Sitting cross-legged, she carefully guided the flower's spiritual energy into her dantian. Her depleted dantian, like parched earth meeting rain, absorbed the nourishment.
With the spiritual energy's support, her dantian quickly regained its vitality. But the problem with her meridians remained. She guided the strange energy in her meridians back into her dantian and repeatedly nourished the meridians with her own spiritual power.
Finally, after spitting out a mouthful of black blood, her mystic power obediently returned to her soul sea.
She let out a long breath. Though she had dropped from the ninth level of Qi Refining to the seventh, and from Mystic Master to the ninth level of Mystic Warrior, at least her meridians were saved.
She stretched, put on her shoes, and walked outside.
"Your injuries are healed?" Luo Rui asked in surprise.
Ye Lanshan nodded softly. "Mm, healed."
Luo Rui looked at her with interest. "Now can you tell me what that energy inside you was?"
Ye Lanshan gazed into the distance. "It's true energy."
Luo Rui was puzzled. "True energy? I've traveled far and wide, but I've never heard of that term. What is it?"
Ye Lanshan thought to herself, *You'd be a ghost if you knew. That's what we call it in the cultivation world. How could a local like you possibly know?*
But she needed to come up with a way to fool him. If word got out that she was practicing some heretical path, she'd become the enemy of the entire continent.
She put on a mysterious air. "It's a method of cultivating mystic power taught to me by a master."
Luo Rui asked, "Who is this master?"
Ye Lanshan hesitated. "He's a reclusive master who forbade me from revealing his name."
The world was full of eccentric people, so someone like the one Ye Lanshan described wasn't unusual. Luo Rui didn't press further.
"Your injuries are healed?" A cold voice came from behind.
Ye Lanshan startled, quickly turned around. "Night King!"
Ye Yutian stared at her coldly. "Since you're healed, don't stay here."
Ye Lanshan smirked. "Tsk, tsk. I've only just recovered, and you're already kicking me out. How heartless."
Ye Yutian said icily, "Since you know I'm heartless, then get lost."
Ye Lanshan flashed like a ghost to stand before Ye Yutian, hooking her finger under his chin with a sly smile. "Night King, acting like this, you'll never win a girl's heart."
Ye Yutian fumed. "How dare you!"
Ye Lanshan sidestepped, dodging his palm strike, and used the force of his attack to retreat. In an instant, she vanished, leaving only a string of bell-like laughter echoing behind.
Luo Rui looked at the furious Ye Yutian and chuckled. "Not going after her?"
Ye Yutian said coldly, "No. Let's go. We should head back to the city."
Luo Rui shivered inwardly. *So cold. You're still as icy as ever.*
Ye Yutian couldn't be bothered to waste words and simply swept away.
Luo Rui called after him, "I'll return in a while. By the time I'm back, I'll have him cured."
Ye Yutian paused, a rare trace of tenderness flickering across his face. He said softly, "Thank you."
Luo Rui shook a fan he'd somehow produced, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "No need to thank me. He and I are brothers through life and death. Healing him has always been my lifelong wish."
A warmth flowed through Ye Yutian's heart. He declared, "The greatest fortune of my life is having friends like you."
Luo Rui said firmly, "Don't worry. Not just him—I'll cure your poison too."
Ye Yutian sighed. "Good. I believe you."
Back at the Ye residence, Ye Lanshan ran in, panting, and patted her chest. "That was close."
At that moment, Ye Feng and Ye Yuan were locked in a scuffle with the Ye family disciples.