Seeing that the two guests readily accepted her invitation, Fujin was delighted, her smile widening. She happily led the way, using her adeptal power to carry Coppelia and Columbina, easily flying over the wide river and landing gracefully on the opposite bank.
Not far along the riverbank, they found a clear stream. The stream water was crystal clear, its sound like shattered jade. The three followed the stream toward a valley and soon arrived before a stone tablet.
The characters on the upper half of the stone tablet were covered by numerous deep scratches, making it barely possible to discern a few warning-filled fragments like "Mortals enter without permission… Thunder punishes…"
The lower half, however, was engraved with a slightly gentler admonition:
"Mortals, if unnecessary, please stay away from this place; if you must come, please do not disturb the tranquility of the cave dwelling."
Seeing this, Fujin quickly explained, "Ahead is Changsheng's cave dwelling. She prefers quiet and usually doesn't like people disturbing her dwelling. But if someone truly seeks her out, she actually won't forcefully drive them away."
Speaking of her friend, her tone softened, "Her heart is extremely kind; she often helps the local people with illnesses and injuries. Over the years, I don't know how many patients she has healed…"
"Oh dear, look at me, I start rambling endlessly when I talk about my friend, I almost forgot the main business, distinguished guests, follow me."
She smiled brightly and continued to lead the two along the stream.
After another seventy or eighty steps, the terrain abruptly dropped, and the stream formed a small waterfall about a dozen meters high, plunging into the pool below.
Standing at the top of the waterfall and looking down, the valley's scenery was fully visible.
By the pool directly below, there was a flat clearing with a set of ancient stone tables and stools.
Around the clearing, and even on the distant hillsides and rocks, large and small, oddly shaped medicine furnaces were scattered everywhere.
Most of these medicine furnaces were covered in cracks, clearly long since broken. Now, their interiors were filled with soil, planting exotic flowers and herbs of deep purple, emerald green, silver-white, and crimson.
There were several naturally formed cave entrances at the bottom of the valley, connected by simple yet sturdy wooden bridges. Beside one of the cave entrances, an unusually thick, ancient tree root, like a coiling dragon, was entwined. On the clearing by the bridge, these "repurposed" medicine furnace flowerpots were also placed, with thriving herbs planted inside.
Fujin once again performed her adeptal art, gently carrying Coppelia and Columbina to the stone tables and stools below.
"Distinguished guests, please sit here for a moment; I will go call Changsheng over." Fujin said, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Coppelia's face, adding, "…And also let her look at the wound on your face."
With that, without waiting for Coppelia's response, Fujin quickly walked along the path toward the depths of the valley.
"Wound?" Coppelia was slightly startled, then realized.
She raised her right hand, her fingertips gently touching her right cheek. She felt the cold, rough sensation of a scar, a mark left long ago after being affected by the light arrow of Amos's Bow. The "skin" around the wound had long lost all sensation.
If not for Fujin mentioning it, she would have almost forgotten the existence of this scar.
"Wait, Fujin…" She was about to call out to remind the other party that her mechanical body was not something ordinary medical techniques could handle, but looking up, the carp immortal's figure had already disappeared into the lush herb thicket.
She reluctantly withdrew her gaze and sat on a cool stone stool, only then realizing that Columbina was not by her side.
She looked around and saw the white-clad girl standing not far away in front of a broken medicine furnace, bending over, her head slightly tilted, bringing her face close to the cluster of small pale purple flowers in the furnace, seemingly concentrating on sniffing the scent emanating from them.
Coppelia also couldn't help but take a deep breath. The air in the valley was refreshing, filled with an extremely faint, yet rich and layered, herbal fragrance. It was a scent blended from countless herbs, carrying the coolness of mint, the mellow sweetness of earth, and a faint, subtle bitter medicinal aroma.
Before long, Fujin led a woman out of the cave dwelling in the depths, crossed the wooden bridge, ascended the dirt slope, and came before them.
The woman Fujin was leading wore a simple white dress, with subtle snake-scale-like patterns on the fabric, shimmering faintly with her movements. She had a cascade of raven-black hair, a clear and exceptionally beautiful face, and most strikingly, a pair of unusual golden vertical pupils, exuding a non-human tranquility.
"Ladies, this is Changsheng." Fujin introduced with a smile.
Changsheng's gaze first fell on Columbina, who had just straightened up, then turned to Coppelia, who had also risen. Coppelia gave a simple bow.
She approached, carefully examining the scar on Coppelia's face, and a hint of confusion soon appeared on her delicate face.
She could sense Coppelia's elemental flow, which was distinctly different from a flesh-and-blood body.
"Truly… marvelous." Fujin was astonished, saying to Coppelia with apology and surprise, "Cloud Retainer might get along very well with you… By the way, what kind of things can you 'eat'? I'll prepare some for you…"
Coppelia shook her head: "No need to trouble yourself, just prepare more for her."
Fujin said to Changsheng, "You entertain the distinguished guests for me first, I'll go prepare some refreshments."
With that, she was about to turn.
But Changsheng gently pulled Fujin's sleeve.
"This guest has a mechanical body," Changsheng spoke, her voice surprisingly clear and crisp like a child's, a curious contrast to her mature appearance, "My medical skills are of no use."
"Ah?" Fujin was momentarily stunned, then she concentrated and carefully sensed Coppelia's elemental flow, which was distinctly different from a flesh-and-blood body.
"Truly… marvelous." Fujin was astonished, saying to Coppelia with apology and surprise, "Cloud Retainer might get along very well with you… By the way, what kind of things can you 'eat'? I'll prepare some for you…"
Coppelia shook her head: "No need to trouble yourself, just prepare more for her."
"Mm." She gestured toward Columbina beside her.
Fujin understood, and laughed, "Haha, alright, I'll go prepare it now."
Changsheng, standing nearby, added to Fujin in her unique childlike voice, "Bring all those pastries you've been reluctant to eat, all at once. Lest they spoil again."
Hearing this, Fujin turned back somewhat sheepishly, defending herself, "It's not like I deliberately let them spoil! Those were, after all, given by the villagers out of gratitude, with sincere hearts… I always thought of treasuring them, but sometimes I just forget the time…"
She spoke halfway, then became embarrassed herself, "Oh dear, why am I chatting again… You two chat, I'm off!" With that, she truly hurried away this time.
Changsheng watched Fujin walk away, then came to the stone table, elegantly gesturing for the two in front of her to sit, then she herself sat on the stone stool opposite them, her posture graceful.
"Do you like the scent of these herbs?" Changsheng's gaze fell on Columbina, and she asked softly.
"It smells very good." Columbina nodded. Although her body still trembled slightly from hunger and the earlier fright, and her breathing was a little shorter than usual, she was indeed attracted by the tranquility and herbal fragrance of the valley.
A hint of understanding flashed in Changsheng's golden vertical pupils, and she nodded slightly: "I have something even more fragrant here."
With that, she leaned down and took out a palm-sized, ancient-looking, three-legged purple copper incense burner from her medicine box. The burner's body was covered in intricate cloud patterns, exuding a warm luster.
She then took out a porcelain jar, and with a matching jade spoon, scooped out a small amount of dark-colored incense powder with fine particles from the jar, gently pouring it into the belly of the incense burner.
Next, she took out a small, deep black wooden stick, lit one corner with adeptal power, and buried it in the incense powder. Afterward, she closed the intricately carved lid, and a wisp of extremely fine, almost invisible, blue smoke slowly wafted out.
Before long, an indescribably clear and profound fragrance diffused from the incense burner. It was not an overpowering scent, but carried a hint of cool dampness, mixed with the essence of some aged herbs, the source of the fragrance difficult to pinpoint.
Changsheng gently pushed the purple copper incense burner forward an inch, her voice calm: "Take a shallow breath, don't take too much. This incense isn't the choking smoke from burning wood; it's the true essence slowly distilled from herbs and minerals."
Columbina, as instructed, carefully took a shallow breath.
The peculiar fragrance flowed in with her breath, like a gentle, clear stream washing over her heart. The nerves that had been tense from the high-altitude fright quietly relaxed, and the shadow of fear lingering in her heart seemed to fade and dissipate with it. Even the unbearable hunger in her stomach strangely became less pressing; instead, a warmth and soothing sensation spread from within, relaxing her entire body.
Changsheng observed her expression and softly asked, "Do you feel that the lump of unscattered 'qi' in your chest has smoothed out a bit? Or that your mind has become clearer?"
Although Columbina didn't quite understand what "qi" was, she nodded honestly, a comfortable expression on her blindfolded face: "Mm, it feels very comfortable."
Coppelia also smelled the elegant fragrance, but for her mechanical body, beyond the olfactory information reception, it did not produce any special physiological or psychological sensations.
She just watched quietly, guarding Columbina's side.
Within the valley, it was as if a world unto itself. Although the stone tables and stools were set outdoors, it was daytime, but the sunlight, filtered through the gentle moisture and spiritual energy of the valley, removed all the heat, leaving only a perfectly warm embrace that gently caressed the skin.
Columbina seemed completely captivated by this comfort, like a cat, softly lying on the stone tabletop, her chin resting on her folded right arm, her left hand idly suspended, her fingertips gently stirring the almost invisible wisps of clear smoke emanating from the incense burner, watching the formless aura entwine and dissipate between her fingers.
Seeing the atmosphere relax, Coppelia took the opportunity to bring up the main topic with Changsheng, describing in detail the phenomenon of the "meteor" falling and the characteristics of the "moonlight stones."
Changsheng listened quietly, a look of recollection flashing in her golden vertical pupils.
"I did… pick up such peculiar stones," she said slowly, "Please wait, I'll go get them."
Changsheng then rose, walking silently toward a cave dwelling half-hidden by tree roots. A moment later, she returned, holding a seemingly ordinary ceramic medicine jar.
Just as Changsheng approached the stone table with the jar, Columbina, who had been lazily lying down, suddenly straightened up, facing Changsheng, her gaze from behind the blindfold seemingly piercing through the ceramic jar, tightly locking onto its contents.
Seeing Columbina's reaction, Coppelia thought: It's settled. She hadn't expected the clue to present itself so soon after arriving in Chenyu Vale.
Changsheng gently placed the ceramic jar in the center of the stone table and removed the lid.
"Are these the peculiar stones you are looking for?"
Before she finished speaking, Columbina had already stood up, her hands cupped virtually above the jar's opening.
The few seemingly unremarkable grayish-white rocks inside the jar seemed to be summoned, floating up on their own, drifting out of the jar, and circling between Columbina's cupped hands.
"Yes," Columbina confirmed softly.
Almost at the instant her words fell, the surface of those grayish-white stones suddenly exuded deep azure and warm ginger-red light. Even in the sunlight, though not dazzling, it was clearly visible.
The light, like living threads, pulled away from the stones, eagerly drilling into Columbina's palm.
At the same time, the stones, having lost their light, rapidly shrank and turned to sand, finally transforming into a small handful of lifeless ashes in her palm.
To avoid dirtying the tabletop, Columbina used the residual power to mold the ashes into a small ball, casually tossing it onto the nearby ground, then calmly sat back on the stone stool, as if she had just done something insignificant.
Changsheng watched this scene quietly, and only after everything was over did she speak: "I was also troubled by how to deal with these stones."
She paused slightly, as if recalling the discomfort of touching these stones: "The power within the stones, I have never seen. When I touch them, the adeptal power in my body becomes uncontrollably chaotic. Wherever these stones fall, the surrounding vegetation inexplicably withers. Ordinary containers cannot hold them either; they always become corroded with holes after a short time, and even with adeptal power reinforcement, this strange 'burning' cannot be stopped."
Coppelia nodded gravely: "The power within them indeed should not appear in this place."
She pressed further: "By the way, is this all you found?"
Changsheng shook her head, covered the now empty jar, and leaned down to place it on the ground beneath the table: "No, but I gave the rest to my Lord."
"Is it the Archon you serve?"
"Mm." Changsheng straightened up, confirming this. A hint of complex emotion showed in her golden vertical pupils, "For a while, my Lord… seemed to suddenly become anxious, irritable, impulsive, and prone to anger; her state was very unstable. When I brought these stones to my Lord, strangely, these symptoms seemed to be relieved, even temporarily disappearing."
Coppelia frowned slightly upon hearing this: "Hm? That's strange. The power within the stones is quite primitive, sharing the same origin as many current powers but difficult to reconcile. So it can cause your adeptal power to become chaotic and make vegetation wither. Logically, it shouldn't have a healing effect; instead, it should be more destructive, right?"
Changsheng sighed softly, her childlike voice carrying a hint of confusion: "Although I can cure chronic illnesses in mortals, it is difficult for me to diagnose what kind of 'illness' the Archon suffers from. But the appearance of those stones did indeed significantly alleviate my Lord's anxiety. I don't understand the reason, but their effect is beyond doubt."
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