Lin Wuyue rolled her eyes, but she still wanted to live, so she nodded.
The boy was quite satisfied with that response. This girl must be terrified; I'll use her to betray the Feng brothers and hand over the resurrection fluid from the poisonous cocoons. That fluid can greatly boost cultivation, even by seven levels. It's a very valuable medicine, but obtaining it is extremely difficult. If I sweet-talk her and seduce her, perhaps she'll fall in love and volunteer. She's just a child; they're easier to deceive from a young age, the teenager thought to himself. He removed the scarf from his face and rested his head on his right palm as he sat cross-legged.
His face was quite attractive, but to Lin Wuyue—who in her previous life had been far more handsome than any of those brats—it didn't impress her at all. To her, it was simply a forgettable face.
"Your medicine was quite effective; none of those brothers were seriously injured," the teenager said with a smile. He had pink lips and white teeth; his long hair fell from his shoulders to his waist. Dressed in black, his fair skin stood out even more.
Seeing that the girl didn't react at all and just stared at him like he was an idiot, he became even more interested.
"How much do you know about medicine?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I only know the basics," Lin Wuyue replied, crossing her arms, reluctant to say more.
"Oh? That medicine is made with fairly simple ingredients, but many doctors don't know how to prepare it. Most would think that, being a simple formula, it's not very useful. But it's not just for healing: it can repel beasts in a critical moment. That recipe was lost long ago. Your teacher must be a great doctor and alchemist to call a beast repellent 'basic,'" the boy said, smiling more broadly. "So, who is your teacher, baby?"
Lin Wuyue narrowed her eyes; she had a feeling that this teenager wasn't as simple as he seemed. She sighed: the more complicated the situation, the more calm enveloped her—both in her past life and in this one.
He still wanted to live, so he told the truth. "My master wasn't a simple man. He was strange, very interested in medicine; he studied all kinds of medicinal plants, even the simplest ones. Anyway, he's been dead for a long time. Saying his name won't do any good." He wasn't lying: his master had died after passing on all his knowledge to Jin Shao.
The teenager looked her up and down; he knew she wouldn't say anything more, so he changed the subject.
"So, if you know anything about medicine, you know what 'resurrection fluid for poisonous cocoons' is, right?"
Upon hearing that, Lin Wuyue's eyes lit up. With that, she could cultivate, even advance significantly, and no longer have to put herself in ridiculous situations. In that world, strength was valued: if she didn't want to marry a pervert, become a concubine, or be sold to a brothel, she needed power. She knew, even though she hadn't yet seen herself in a mirror, that her face was about 80% similar to her previous one; she was, of course, a beauty.
She stared at the teenager in front of her. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.
He looked at her with sparkling eyes and laughed heartily. The girl was clever; she hadn't expected him to offer so quickly; she thought he did it because she had fallen in love with him. If Lin Wuyue knew what the boy was really thinking when he offered, she would probably get sick.
Your medical knowledge is promising. You lack spiritual energy and are still too young to be my wife, he said. How about this? Those Feng brothers came to this forest to steal the resurrection fluid; we've had it under surveillance for some months now.
You can imagine why we can't let them take him. The sect has invested heavily in keeping him under surveillance. —She paused—. You will steal him for me, and I will have you trained to be a concubine.
Lin Wuyue ignored everything else; all her attention was on the resurrection fluid. Were Linyuan and Feng Wu after that fluid? Were they crazy? She imagined they needed the poisonous cocoons for some medicine; she hadn't thought they'd be so ambitious, but it was true: it was a marvelous fluid.
"How's the deal?" the teenager proposed. "You'll walk towards them shouting that you got lost because a wolf was chasing you."
"Do you think they're that stupid?" she retorted sullenly. "They'll suspect me. And steal it? How could I steal it if they're capable, at least for me, who has no spiritual energy?"
"Have you forgotten about me?" the teenager said, pointing at himself and smiling. "What kind of person do you think I am? Of course I'll help you."
Lin Wuyue looked at him closely. It was true that the boy seemed capable. What she didn't know was that he had misinterpreted her gaze; his pretty face turned red and he coughed twice into the palm of his hand.
"How will we do it?" Lin Wuyue asked, eager to get the liquid as soon as possible.
The teenager tossed her a bag.
"What is this?" she asked, with a question mark in her head.
It's a bag; don't open it. It contains a gas that renders cultivators unconscious. It won't affect you because you have no spiritual energy. When they have the liquid in their hands, spray them with it, and they'll become unconscious. Inside are also two bottles: one contains a toxic liquid, and the other is empty. You'll fill one bottle and spray them with the toxic liquid; their cultivation levels are quite decent, so they'll wake up in no time. If they catch you, needless to say, you'll be in trouble.
Lin Wuyue frowned at the sight of the bag. The teenager reassured her:
"Don't worry. It won't kill them; it will only make them dizzy and unconscious long enough for you to run."