Volume 3, Chapter 153 – She Is My Food

Mu Ruoyi could endure no longer. She frantically withdrew her divine sense, her body’s wood-attribute true qi nearly depleted. Without even explaining, she clutched her head and crouched down, her delicate frame trembling violently as if plunged into an icy abyss.

Qi Huang was startled and immediately rushed over to check on her, hurriedly wiping the fragrant sweat from her forehead.

Cheng Hongling followed, her beautiful face revealing a trace of guilt. Initially, she had thought the other party was lying to haggle, never expecting the backlash to be this severe.

“I’m fine! Just… give me a moment to recover!” Mu Ruoyi took a deep breath, then lifted her pale face and forced a smile.

Hearing this, Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling could only wait patiently.

After about a quarter of an hour, some color returned to Mu Ruoyi’s cheeks. Leaning on Qi Huang for support, she barely managed to stand and finally recounted what she had seen.

“Huff! Thank goodness Father is unharmed!” Qi Huang exhaled deeply in relief.

“Such audacity! Not only did they harm Father, but they also plan to extort me. If I find out who they are, I’ll make them wish they were dead!” Cheng Hongling clenched her delicate fists tightly.

“I’m sorry, Hongling. In the vision I saw, those two didn’t reveal their identities. All I know is that they are master and disciple,” Mu Ruoyi said apologetically.

“It’s fine. You did your best,” Cheng Hongling reassured her—a rare gesture. Her exterior was cold, but her blood was not.

“Alright, let’s hurry to the Haomeng Inn in the prefecture capital. If we delay, it’ll be too late,” Mu Ruoyi said, forcing herself to rally.

“But you…” Cheng Hongling’s face showed a hint of concern.

“It’s fine. I’ll carry her,” Qi Huang reassured her main body. She released her divine sense, immediately sweeping up Mu Ruoyi’s voluptuous figure as they soared into the sky, heading toward the prefecture capital.

Slightly relieved, Cheng Hongling activated her movement technique and followed.

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Before long, the three women arrived at the Haomeng Inn in the prefecture capital. To avoid alerting their targets, they decided to first scout the area with their divine senses.

Qi Huang, possessing the strongest divine sense, scanned the area but found neither the suspects nor her father. Her heart sank—clearly, the other party had already left the inn.

“It’s been seven or eight days. There’s no way they’d still be holed up here with Father,” Cheng Hongling said, as if she had anticipated this outcome.

“Then we’re in trouble! This place isn’t like deep mountains or old forests—there are no trees to make use of,” Qi Huang muttered worriedly as she glanced around.

“There are.”

Mu Ruoyi suddenly spoke up.

“Where?” Qi Huang looked around in confusion.

“Haven’t you noticed? Every guest room in this inn has potted plants on the windowsills. If we can find out which room they stayed in, we might uncover more clues,” Mu Ruoyi pointed out with a slender finger.

“Potted plants? Oh, right!” Qi Huang observed carefully before asking doubtfully, “But can those tiny plants even be useful?”

“Whether plants can communicate depends on their age, not their size,” Mu Ruoyi explained further.

“I see!” Qi Huang nodded in understanding. Looking back at the inn, she noticed that while the potted plants weren’t as large as trees, they did seem rather old.

“Then let’s hurry!” Cheng Hongling urged impatiently.

“I’m sorry, but I just used Wood Exquisite Art. My soul is injured, and it’ll take at least ten days to half a month to recover,” Mu Ruoyi said with an apologetic expression, her face still pale.

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“What?! Ten days to half a month?! By then, it’ll be too late to save Father!” Qi Huang was stunned.

“Is there any way to speed up the recovery?” Cheng Hongling asked after a moment of thought.

“There is. You two must quickly master Water Exquisite Art,” Mu Ruoyi replied calmly.

“How does that help you?” Cheng Hongling asked, puzzled.

“Of course it does. Water Exquisite Art and Wood Exquisite Art complement each other,” Mu Ruoyi explained.

“How?” Cheng Hongling’s curiosity remained unquenched.

“Ah, I’ll explain after you’ve learned it.”

Mu Ruoyi’s expression suddenly became unnatural. Her previously pale cheeks flushed with an unusual tinge of red.

Qi Huang and Cheng Hongling exchanged glances, their faces mirroring identical confusion.

“Fine. Let’s check into the inn first. We can cultivate Water Exquisite Art while gathering information,” Cheng Hongling decided.

Thus, the three women entered the inn. Each was stunningly beautiful, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, they all wore veils to conceal their faces. Even so, they attracted countless heated gazes.

The middle-aged innkeeper was deeply awed when he received them, but his face soon showed concern. “Young mistresses, if you’re without male attendants, it’s best not to go out at night. While there are no demons or ghosts in the prefecture capital, there are plenty of wicked men.”

“Thank you for the warning, innkeeper,” Mu Ruoyi replied politely. As the Holy Maiden of Shuiyu Valley, she had been raised with strict etiquette and was naturally well-mannered.

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“By the way, innkeeper, may I ask you something?” Cheng Hongling cut in eagerly. “About ten days ago, two men stayed here. One was fair-skinned and clean-shaven, scholarly in appearance, wearing a moon-white robe with golden trim. He always carried a folding fan embroidered with plum blossoms. His companion was a short, stout man—they referred to each other as master and disciple. Do you remember them?”

“Fair-skinned… golden-trimmed robe… folding fan?” The innkeeper fell into thought. After a moment, the confusion on his face faded, but he still said, “My apologies, miss. I don’t recall. This inn sees countless guests daily—how could I possibly remember someone from over ten days ago?”

“Is that so?” Cheng Hongling’s expression darkened.

Qi Huang also felt disheartened. If they couldn’t confirm which room the suspects had stayed in, what use was Wood Exquisite Art? They couldn’t possibly test every room—Mu Ruoyi’s “husband” would be drained before they even married.

“Let’s go upstairs first,” Mu Ruoyi said calmly.

Qi Huang and her main body exchanged glances. With no better options, they could only follow Mu Ruoyi’s lead for now.

To facilitate their plans, the three women booked only one room. Once inside, they began strategizing.

“What now? If the innkeeper truly doesn’t know, we’ve hit a dead end,” Cheng Hongling paced restlessly.

“You two… though immensely talented, are still too young. You oversimplify things,” Mu Ruoyi said with a hint of exasperation.

“What do you mean?” Cheng Hongling stopped and glared.

“The innkeeper may not be as clueless as he claims,” Mu Ruoyi replied meaningfully.

“But he just told us he didn’t remember,” Cheng Hongling argued.

“Oh, my dear wife, how can you be so naïve? The main hall was packed with patrons, all staring at us. If you were the innkeeper, would you casually reveal a guest’s information? He’d lose all credibility—who would stay here then?” Mu Ruoyi said, half-amused, half-exasperated.

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Qi Huang and her main body exchanged glances again, suddenly enlightened.

“First, cultivate Water Exquisite Art. When the crowd thins tonight, we’ll question him again. We’ll surely learn something then,” Mu Ruoyi suggested, her confident smile making her look like a brilliant strategist.

Seeing the logic in her words, Cheng Hongling and Qi Huang agreed.

Cheng Hongling sat cross-legged on the bed, preparing to cultivate Water Exquisite Art.

“I have a small question,” Qi Huang suddenly raised her hand. “As a doppelgänger, do I even need to cultivate this?”

“You can’t learn it even if you wanted to. This technique requires at least Unity Realm cultivation. See now why I always urged you to train harder?” Cheng Hongling said coldly.

‘My dear sister, even if I trained day and night, there’s no way I’d reach Unity Realm so quickly!’ Qi Huang grumbled inwardly, a little anxious. Would she have to bleed her main body to grow ghost tomatoes? That would get her killed for sure.

“Don’t worry. Once the main body masters Water Exquisite Art, she can recall your soul to her sea of consciousness. Your body will temporarily merge with her flesh and blood. When you separate, you’ll inherit the effects of Water Exquisite Art,” Mu Ruoyi explained.

“That’s perfect!” Qi Huang beamed. She wouldn’t have to cultivate but would still reap the benefits. What wasn’t to love?

Ignoring her doppelgänger, Cheng Hongling focused on studying Water Exquisite Art.

Mu Ruoyi watched nervously. She understood her mother’s carefully laid plans—success or failure hinged on this moment. If this girl could master Water Exquisite Art, she would have an endless supply of “food” in the future.

Qi Huang’s heart also pounded. Whether ghost tomatoes could yield three or four harvests a year now depended entirely on her main body’s talent.