TDSDE 35

35. Heart’s Blood, Love-Cleansing Elixir

In the Azure Dragon Hall, Ye Nanxun flipped through several ancient tomes in front of him, his brows tightly furrowed for over an hour without easing.

Bai Yuanxiu yawned lazily. “Divine Doctor Ye, how much longer are you going to take?”

Ye Nanxun clicked his tongue. “Easy for you to say when you’re not the one doing the work.”

He shot a glance at Bai Yuanxiu, who was lounging half-reclined on the bed with his head resting on his hand, casually munching on dried fruit. The sight only made Ye Nanxun more irritated.

He slammed a thick stack of handwritten papers down in front of Bai Yuanxiu, his expression unusually serious. “Are you sure about this?”

Bai Yuanxiu carefully looked over the contents of the pages. Since he had already mentally prepared himself, there was no surprise in his eyes. He merely nodded. “I’m sure.”

Ye Nanxun didn’t try to persuade him again. He glanced at Bai Yuanxiu’s nonchalant face, considered the cost of this endeavor, and decided to send him away for now. “Go back and don’t move around. Come back at midnight, three days from now.”

Usually mischievous, Bai Yuanxiu dared not disobey this time. He obediently stayed in bed for three days, not setting foot off it unless absolutely necessary.

By midday of the third day, Bai Yuanxiu lay flat in his quiet, empty room, his complexion pale as paper. The pain that burrowed into his very bones left him thankful that Xiao Qing happened to be away for once.

A few hours later, the Azure Dragon Hall was filled with an unusually intense medicinal scent, so thick it sent the birds and beasts in the surrounding forest scattering in all directions.

When the time came, Ye Nanxun helped the barely conscious Bai Yuanxiu out of the medicinal bath and laid him on a stone bed carved with grooves. Then he picked up a sharp knife he had prepared earlier and, without hesitation, plunged it straight into Bai Yuanxiu’s chest!

The instinctive reaction to the threat of death caused Bai Yuanxiu to struggle, but almost at the same moment, he used the last of his willpower to suppress the movement himself.

Ye Nanxun gritted his teeth and twisted the knife, tearing the already gruesome wound even wider.

The searing pain nearly knocked Bai Yuanxiu unconscious. He gasped like a fish out of water, each breath shallow and desperate. After a long moment, he rasped out in a voice barely above air, “Did it work?”

Sweat poured down Ye Nanxun’s forehead. One mistake and Bai Yuanxiu would be on his way to meet the King of Hell.

When Bai Yuanxiu didn’t hear a reply, he understood the wound still wasn’t deep enough. Curling his lips into a smirk, he muttered, “What’s wrong? Our divine physician losing his nerve?”

“Shut up,” Ye Nanxun snapped, shooting him a vicious glare. “Save your strength. You have to survive this.”

Bai Yuanxiu said nothing more—he could hardly even breathe, let alone speak.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Bai Yuanxiu didn’t even remember how he managed to hang on. All he knew was that when Ye Nanxun finally said “It’s done,” everything before his eyes went black, and he lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, the glaring light stabbed at his vision. He reflexively tried to raise a hand to block it, but the movement tugged at the wound in his chest, making him hiss in pain.

The sound startled someone in the room awake. Bai Yuanxiu felt a cool hand against his own, and when he turned his head, he locked eyes with a pair of bloodshot eyes.

“You…” He tried to speak, but his throat was so dry that he broke into a cough, which tugged at the wound again, making his eyes water instantly.

—It hurt.

While he drank the water offered to his lips, he noticed the hand holding the cup was trembling. Looking closer, he suddenly smiled. “Hey, I’m the one who almost died, and I’m not even crying.”

Xiao Qing said nothing. He just lowered his head, silent, letting tears fall one by one onto the bedding, soaking it with dark blotches.

Ignoring the pain, Bai Yuanxiu reached up to touch his face, as expected finding it wet with tears.

He didn’t have much strength left, but Xiao Qing leaned closer with even that slight tug, moving right to the edge of the bed.

Bai Yuanxiu gently cradled Xiao Qing’s face, drawing him in until their foreheads touched.

Feeling the cool temperature of his forehead, Bai Yuanxiu sighed softly. “Idiot.”

The Jade Bone Scripture was destroyed long ago—not only because its cultivation was cruel beyond measure, but also for another reason.

The technique used poisonous insects and medicinal baths to rebuild the bones and sinews of the body. To say it transformed someone entirely would not be an exaggeration. Those who mastered it were said to be free from illness and suffering for life.

Because of this, once-powerful nobles tried to seize the scripture for themselves, shattering the balance between the imperial court and the martial world. Countless lives were lost in the chaos.

To prevent such a tragedy from recurring, the court and the martial sects agreed to erase the Jade Bone Scripture from existence.

No one knows exactly what the woman who created the technique or her successor, Du Gujue, went through—but Bai Yuanxiu couldn’t care less.

All he remembered was that the cult leader mentioned it in passing, and later, from Zhou Xiaoxiao’s mouth, he learned the truth. In that moment, it felt like all the blood in his body turned to ice.

It was said that practitioners of the Jade Bone Scripture would never again suffer illness—but he remembered clearly how Xiao Qing had fallen sick again and again. The worst time, he had nearly died before Bai Yuanxiu’s very eyes.

Those who practice the Jade Bone Scripture must never fall in love.

If they do, there is only one ending: death.

So, that unfortunate Zhou Xiaoxiao was tortured a few more times until he spilled every last secret he’d sworn to take to the grave.

But nothing in this world is absolute—not even the “death sentence” of the Jade Bone Scripture.

There is a cure—but only one person can bear the price.

The person whom the practitioner loves most.

It only takes one drop—one drop of heart’s blood from a person who has also endured the poisonous insects’ bite, yet remains unwavering in their love.

Perhaps the woman who created the technique hadn’t given up on love completely. Though tormented by it all her life, she still left behind a way out—hidden deep within the Scripture.

Only those who had truly practiced the technique would know this secret. Had Xiao Qing chosen not to reveal it, it would have remained a secret forever.

But fate had it otherwise—because Bai Yuanxiu met Zhou Xiaoxiao.

Bai Yuanxiu remembered him saying that the drop of heart’s blood would be an exquisite, vivid crimson, like a ruby under sunlight.

He had been curious at the time about what “gem-like blood” would look like, but he’d been in such unbearable pain and had lost so much blood that he passed out before he could catch a glimpse.

Now, the curiosity lingered, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask Xiao Qing. He simply thought to ask Ye Nanxun about it when the chance arose.

Before he could speak, though, Xiao Qing spoke up on his own. “I drank the medicine. It was really, really bitter.”

The tone, tinged with complaint, caught Bai Yuanxiu off guard for a second. He immediately responded, “Did it work?”

Xiao Qing just stared straight at him, not answering.

Bai Yuanxiu was confused, until he felt a sudden weight on his shoulder. Following the silent instruction, he lay down properly—and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he felt a coldness on his lips.

Xiao Qing straightened up and growled through clenched teeth, “It worked. Perfectly.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out, leaving Bai Yuanxiu lying there utterly bewildered.

Moments later, a slightly strange-sounding set of footsteps echoed at the door. Bai Yuanxiu turned his head and saw Ye Nanxun floating in like a ghost from some old tale, with dark shadows under his eyes.

Bai Yuanxiu blinked. “How long was I out?”

Ye Nanxun glared at him like a wronged spirit. “A month.”

Standing beside the bed, he stared dead into Bai Yuanxiu’s face. “Honestly, if you hadn’t woken up soon, I think the Left Protector would’ve torn my entire medicine hall to the ground.”

Bai Yuanxiu was stunned. “No way…”

Xiao Qing had always been the picture of propriety. Especially with someone like Ye Nanxun—respected within the cult and someone who’d saved his life—there’s no way he’d act out.

Seeing the disbelief on Bai Yuanxiu’s face, Ye Nanxun merely sneered. In the middle of summer, that one look made Bai Yuanxiu feel a chill down his spine.

He quickly changed the subject and asked more about Xiao Qing’s condition. After Ye Nanxun confirmed everything was fine, Bai Yuanxiu finally relaxed.

“Really, thank you,” he said sincerely. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t even dare imagine what would’ve happened.”

Ye Nanxun’s expression softened slightly, but then he dramatically rubbed his arms. “Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. Gives me goosebumps.”

Bai Yuanxiu gave him a helpless look and let out a big yawn.

Ye Nanxun didn’t comment further. He just brought over scissors and medicine, checked the wound, and prepared a fresh poultice.

By the time he was done, Bai Yuanxiu had already drifted back into a deep sleep.

Ye Nanxun walked out with the now-empty bottle, but as he turned around, a pale figure appeared right in front of him.

He nearly dropped everything in fright, clutching at his chest in exasperation. “Can the two of you stop sneaking around like ghosts?!”

Xiao Qing murmured an apology. Ye Nanxun didn’t stand on ceremony, just gave a curt nod.

He knew the apology wasn’t just for the scare—it was also for losing his temper at him earlier.

But such things were understandable. Ye Nanxun didn’t take it to heart.

Just as he was about to pick up his brush to write a new prescription, Xiao Qing, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke: “Brother Ye, about that matter from before…”

Ye Nanxun turned to face him and lowered his voice as well. “Don’t worry. Even if it’s no longer needed, I gave you my word that I wouldn’t speak of it—and I still won’t.”

Xiao Qing let out a long breath and thanked him once more.

After he left, Ye Nanxun turned back and saw a large ink blot staining the page he’d just prepared. With a sigh, he set it aside and dipped his brush again. As the tip touched paper, he finally felt a weight lift from his chest.

This was a secret known only to him and Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing had known that falling for Bai Yuanxiu would kill him. He had long since accepted that fate.

A year ago, realizing his days were numbered, he asked Ye Nanxun to prepare a medicine—one that could interfere with memory.

Once he was gone, Bai Yuanxiu would forget he had ever existed. He would go on being the same carefree, mischievous man he had always been.

And everyone around him would help keep that secret—including his own family.

That summer, when Bai Yuanxiu rescued a girl sold off by her own brother, a note found its way into Xiao Qing’s hands outside the carriage.

The pigeon that brought it had colorful feathers—it was released by Ye Nanxun. The note carried only a few words, but each one rang with cold despair.

But of these things—Bai Yuanxiu would never know.