Chapter 043: Beautiful Lady, Why Are You Crying?

Calling someone an idiot is to say that Lin Zhan is foolish. After all, his companion has been disguised as a man for so long—how could he never have suspected that she was, in fact, a charming, lively, mischievous, and beautiful young woman, with skin so delicate and flawless? Yet, this point is beyond reproach.

But to call him dense is entirely unjust to Lin Zhan.

Think of it: a woman deliberately blurs the lines, disguising herself as a handsome young man, deceiving the brotherhood—even that's forgivable. But she played her part far too well, leaving not a single hint behind. How could Lin Zhan possibly have any thoughts about a senior brother whose gender he couldn’t even be sure of? If he did, that would truly be strange.

Thus, no matter how Yun Yin behaved before—whether she took the lead, deliberately taught him the Wind and Rain Cloud movement, or gazed at Lin Zhan’s face or back as he slept beside her—he could not have interpreted any of it in that way.

In short, all her efforts were wasted, because, as far as Lin Zhan knew, she was a man. How could he be blamed for being insensitive?

Throughout it all, his heart was in turmoil, which only made Yun Yin’s own feelings more chaotic when she saw how lifeless he seemed now.

“Why won’t you open your mouth? This is a life-saving elixir—hurry and swallow it! You’re going to drive me mad!”

“Please, be good. Open your mouth. Little Eleventh Brother, take your medicine like a good boy, and I, your senior, will show you a magic trick—I’ll become a girl and marry you, how about that?”

At this moment, Yun Yin had entirely forgotten that she was now wearing a pale blue long dress, her hair flowing, her beauty so peerless and ethereal, her figure so transcendent that she seemed almost unworldly. Especially now, with her expression a mixture of shyness, anger, anxiety, and sorrow, she was the very picture of tragic beauty, something only the heavens could have created, rarely seen on earth.

A true beauty, no matter her previous disguise or style, leaves the deepest impression in these moments—when she reveals her true self, unadorned, without pretense. This is what people remember forever.

Yun Yin’s murmured coaxing had no effect. Suddenly inspired, she placed several Icy Heart Pills in her own mouth, used her spiritual power to melt them into liquid, then leaned down and, mouth to mouth, passed the medicine to Lin Zhan.

Teeth and tongue took turns coaxing his lips apart, until finally, the elixir slid smoothly into his mouth.

“Damn you! You’ve made my lips and tongue so tired they’re numb! Hurry up and get better!”

Tears filled her eyes as she gently stroked Lin Zhan’s face.

Thinking that her first kiss was, once again, gone, a wave of grief washed over her, and the tears flowed freely.

And then, recalling how her chest had been so innocently grabbed before—she nearly broke down altogether. “Damn you, that hurt so much… sniffle, sniffle…”

Only now did the pain in her chest truly set in—she’d been too focused on healing Lin Zhan to notice it before. Now that sensation arrived, it was overwhelming—her sadness surged like a tidal wave, threatening to drown her.

“Sniffle, sniffle…”

On the outside, Lin Zhan was deeply unconscious, all his meridians destroyed, his foundation shattered. His dantian was like a deflated ball, his spiritual power completely dissipated. Even if he survived, he would be crippled.

The reason Lin Zhan did not die was that, in the moment he lost consciousness, the nine-star pattern in his right palm emitted a faint and undetectable light, wrapping his fragile essence and soul and drawing them into the nine-star diagram.

There, he found a space the size of a normal room, where his spiritual essence was temporarily sealed, forming a soul-body the size of his real self.

Soul-form Lin Zhan carefully examined this nine-star space. His first impression was of unreality—a dreamlike, chaotic void, impossible to grasp. An oppressive energy seemed to sustain it all, and the sky above was a strange, pale red.

The only visible features were the nine enormous stars hanging overhead. The first star glowed like the sun, illuminating the space; the second was half-bright, half-obscured; the other seven remained pitch-black, hollow and empty.

Lin Zhan guessed it was because he had yet to store spiritual power in them.

Then his attention turned outward, to the cave corridor where his physical body lay.

At that moment, his hand was still firmly clutching someone’s ample bosom, and that someone had just regained consciousness.

Oh heavens, Tenth Senior Brother is actually a woman!

Wait—so that soft, yielding thing was…!

Hold on, let me take a breath of this ancient, unknowable, chaotic energy to calm myself, thought soul-form Lin Zhan, wiping sweat from his brow.

He witnessed Yun Yin’s every move.

More than amazed, he even felt a touch of schadenfreude. “Heh, serves you right for playing us all this time. Now you’ve finally slipped up!”

Tenth Senior Brother was actually a woman—a great beauty at that. Lin Zhan had occasionally suspected before, but now the truth was laid bare.

As his soul observed the outside world, from the moment he accidentally grabbed Yun Yin’s chest, to the mouth-to-mouth medicine, to her unmistakable anxiety and sorrow, Lin Zhan’s emotions underwent a whirlwind of changes.

At first, he was dazzled by Yun Yin’s true appearance—she was stunning. He couldn’t help but feel a certain satisfaction that her secret was finally out, and in such a dramatic fashion.

Then came shock, embarrassment, and a guilty conscience for having done something so improper. The sensation of that softness lingered, stirring a strange feeling inside him.

Next came anticipation of retribution—surely, after treating a girl this way, he deserved a beating at the very least.

Yet Yun Yin’s hand only hovered by his cheek, never striking. The conflicted changes in her expression gave him pause.

Then, as she fed him the medicine, her sorrow and anxiety were written plainly on her exquisite face—her every smile and frown, her shyness and anger, all so genuine and touching that Lin Zhan’s very soul was deeply moved. Warmth flowed through his heart.

He touched his nose and smiled wryly to himself. “Looks like Tenth… likes me. Is this good or bad? Should I accept or… accept?”

“No, I can’t be such a beast!”

“But still, I need to think this through. If I don’t, I’m worse than a beast, right? What kind of man behaves so immorally?”

“Oh, never mind! If things keep developing this way, how can I stand by and let the girl take the initiative? Shouldn’t I be the one to act first? Tenth Little Brother—no, Tenth Little Sister—maybe I should pursue you. Don’t give in too easily, now, heh heh…”

His soul rippled with excitement, and Lin Zhan scolded himself internally. “Damn it, what am I thinking?”

He quickly calmed himself. His physical body was on the brink of death—this was no time for such thoughts.

After a moment, only warmth and gratitude remained. Tenth Little Sister had saved his life.

The medicine she’d given him was clearly a healing elixir, and it seemed to be working. His body was slowly recovering.

He could sense, even in his soul-form, that due to the nine-star diagram, his physical wounds were healing in a unique way.

Destruction and creation go hand in hand—only by breaking can one rebuild. Lin Zhan’s disastrous injuries had destroyed his dantian and meridians, but this was also an opportunity.

Though his soul was outside his body, he could tell that, thanks to the nine-star pattern, his body was being rebuilt from the ground up, like clearing away rubble to make way for a new structure.

This process was wondrous, like stepping into a new realm.

Gradually, the second star in the nine-star space turned black, its scant reserves of spiritual power exhausted.

But it didn’t stop there—the first star took over the reconstruction.

The nine-star diagram had always actively refined his body, strengthening his foundation. The results had been remarkable: he’d completed an unconventional Foundation Establishment and reached the late stage of the Mortal Realm.

Yet with his dantian and meridians shattered, his cultivation had plummeted, leaving him utterly powerless. Now, however, his strength was returning, climbing higher and higher.

In the span of a cup of tea, his meridians resumed their flow, his dantian reformed, and everything was better than before.

In other words, Lin Zhan’s body was now a hundred times stronger than it had been—his flesh and blood, now whole and perfect, had undergone a total transformation.

At that moment, his soul was pulled by an irresistible force, slowly returning to his body—and Lin Zhan awoke.

Opening his eyes to see Yun Yin weeping and wailing, nearly at her wit’s end, Lin Zhan’s mind short-circuited. He blurted out,

“Uh… beautiful lady, why are you crying? I’m not dead yet. Also, do we… know each other?”