"Master, I'm back." Cang Shu walked in from behind as well, though his complexion was slightly paler, and a faint scent of blood clung to him.
"Where have you two been lately?" Ye Lanshan took Cang Shu's pulse—it was extremely unstable.
"We went to the forbidden grounds of the Medicine Valley." Yun Di hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell her everything.
The forbidden grounds truly lived up to their name; they had only been on the periphery and had already faced near-death experiences. If they had ventured deeper, he probably wouldn't have made it back alive.
Still, he didn't regret entering the forbidden grounds, because his strength had grown by leaps and bounds. He had even reached the fourth level of the Dust-Avoidance Technique, though the growing sense of violence within him was becoming harder and harder to control.
"So there's a place like that among these herbs?" Ye Lanshan felt she should find time to go in and take a look—maybe she could even break through to the Xuan Emperor level.
"Shan Luo." No sooner had things quieted down than Liu Chunsheng came chirping over to cling to her, with Lan Yeyan following behind, looking helpless, dejected, and downcast.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Ye Lanshan gently patted her head, not finding the gesture the least bit odd. In her mind, they were both women, so it was perfectly fine.
But in the eyes of others, she was an untouchable, holy, god-like man. Liu Chunsheng, touched by her like this, felt her heart flutter, her face blooming with springtime joy and satisfaction, believing Ye Lanshan liked her too. Oh, what a beautiful misunderstanding.
Lan Yeyan's eyes darkened at the sight, but quickly returned to normal.
Yun Di's eye twitched as he watched, inwardly screaming, *Ah~ Ye Lanshan, do you even realize? You're giving people the wrong idea, especially the one you're touching—she likes you!*
Well, Ye Lanshan truly had no idea Liu Chunsheng liked her; she just saw it as normal friendly behavior.
As for Sikong Feihe, he had finally figured out his feelings for Ye Lanshan, but now he was conflicted. How could he possibly like Shan Luo? He was a man—he should be liking women, right?
After wrestling with it for a while, Sikong Feihe decided to go find Ye Lanshan anyway. But as soon as he walked in, he saw her affectionately patting Liu Chunsheng's head. That beautiful scene stung his eyes, and his twisted, unspoken feelings were buried deep in his heart at that moment.
Yes, even if he didn't like Liu Chunsheng, he should like other women, right? How could he accept this twisted, worldly-unacceptable love?
Under this strange misunderstanding, aside from Mo Ran and Yun Di, who knew her true identity, everyone thought Ye Lanshan and Liu Chunsheng were a couple—except Ye Lanshan herself, who had no clue.
"I'm so furious! Shan Luo, don't listen to those people in the valley talking nonsense. They don't know the facts at all—they just hear rumors and start spreading them." Liu Chunsheng stormed into the Medicine Madness Courtyard, carefully comforting Shan Luo.
At that moment, Shan Luo had just finished her cultivation practice. Opening her eyes, she heard Liu Chunsheng's words and blinked in confusion, unaware of the gossip spreading through the valley.
It took her half an hour to learn the whole story. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing. She had thought Sikong Cheng might come up with something clever, but it was just this low-grade trick.
Trying to crush her with rumors? Majority rule, words can be deadly—using the power of gossip to break her down. If she were someone weak-willed and not very strong, she might have crumbled under the pressure, committing suicide or doing something unforgivable. But why would she care?
Maybe she wasn't the strongest, but every situation worked in her favor.
Sikong Kuang was a criminal of the Sikong family? He had just escaped a few days ago? She couldn't possibly have taken him as her master? She had forced and threatened Yun Di? She had even deceived Sikong Yanguang? She was unworthy of being the Medicine Valley's master? Hah, what naive tactics.
Sikong Kuang wasn't a criminal, and she hadn't threatened Yun Di. Deceived? Yes, she had deceived Sikong Yanguang, since she hadn't actually taken Sikong Kuang as her master. But so what? Did they really think that would force Sikong Kuang out?
No matter how fierce the rumors outside grew, Ye Lanshan kept doing what she needed to do. She didn't try to defend herself, didn't try to stop them—she just let them escalate.
This silence left Sikong Feiyu baffled. He had expected Ye Lanshan to come out and defend herself. If she claimed to have taken Sikong Kuang as her master, that would flush him out. If she denied it, he could rally half the alchemists in the valley to force her out, and the valley would still belong to the Sikong family.
But now, Ye Lanshan wasn't playing along, which made things tricky for him.
"Shan Luo, are you really okay? You're not bothered at all?" Liu Chunsheng had been by her side this whole time, thinking that no matter what, Ye Lanshan would feel at least a little upset.
But she was completely calm, spending every day either cultivating or cultivating, paying no attention to the rumors outside, as if they weren't about her.
"What could be wrong with me? Don't worry about it." Ye Lanshan patted her head again—her hair was smooth and pleasant to touch.
Yun Di could hardly bear to watch this scene anymore, while Mo Ran was thoroughly enjoying it. Honestly, he thought the Sikong family's tactics were beneath him—tricks he had gotten bored of as a child, yet here they were being used with such enthusiasm.
To be fair, if this were an ordinary person, such tactics might have worked. But Ye Lanshan was no ordinary person.
Sikong Feiyu gritted his teeth in frustration behind the scenes, deciding to use the Medicine Valley's power. He rallied the alchemists who outwardly submitted but inwardly resented her, pressuring Ye Lanshan together.
But Ye Lanshan shut them down with a single, light remark: "Come talk to me when you've become divine-grade alchemists yourselves. I'm already the valley master now—all objections are invalid."
Sure enough, though those alchemists wouldn't publicly acknowledge her as valley master, they respected her in their hearts, because divine-grade alchemists were so rare in this world.
"How foolish. This doesn't seem like my father's style—it looks more like my little brother's antics." Sikong Feihe sat slouched on a stool, completely lacking in decorum.
"It seems Sikong Cheng doesn't take me seriously." Never underestimate anyone, or they might just make you lose everything.