She covered her face with a veil, her appearance indistinguishable.
But her almond-shaped eyes were quite lively, blinking like a fawn’s.
“My good hero, I didn’t see anything.” She quickly waved her hands, stammering an explanation.
Song Qingchao glanced at her dismissively, her palm closing around the Tang saber that still carried the scent of grass.
“Heroine, don’t be rash!”
The young girl quickly covered her mouth and nose, backing away. “I’m infected with the plague, don’t come near me, it’s contagious.”
“Then why aren’t you at a temple, and what are you doing here?” Song Qingchao asked coldly. The girl’s eyes were too clear; she wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately, but if the girl had seen what she’d just done, it would be troublesome.
“Heroine, put down your saber first.” The girl giggled, appearing particularly resilient. “You won’t believe me if I say I saw nothing, and I think your two-sword style is very smooth. Killing me would be too easy.”
She cleared her throat softly. “But you haven’t attacked yet, so I think you must be a kind person.”
Song Qingchao scoffed. “How do you know there aren’t any spirits beneath my blade?”
The girl immediately began to flatter her. “I can tell just by looking at your face!”
She wanted to step forward but stopped herself upon remembering her illness, only able to fret inwardly. “Heroine, I want to live, so I know you won’t believe me if I say I saw nothing.”
“Oh? So, you *did* see something?” Song Qingchao asked, her voice cold as she stepped forward with her saber. “Tell me, what did you see?”
The girl swallowed, her gaze drifting to the saber at Song Qingchao’s neck. “If I tell you, can the heroine spare me?”
Song Qingchao raised her chin. “Spare you? If you can convince me, I might consider it.”
Upon hearing this, the girl immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m relieved you say that.”
She offered a sweet, almost cloying smile. “Firstly, my name is Lin Tingwan, and I…”
“Wait a moment.” Song Qingchao interrupted her, then asked in confusion, “You say your name is Lin Tingwan, are you Miss Lin of the Lin Manor?”
The girl nodded vigorously. “You know me? That’s good, it makes things easier!”
Song Qingchao thought for a moment, but still didn’t lower her saber.
This was a huge problem. If the Lin family found out about these matters, not only she herself would be in danger, but also Xi Yun Pavilion.
Lin Tingwan seemed to sense something. “Heroine, please let me finish.”
She extended her fair, short finger and pointed to the bracelet on Song Qingchao’s wrist. “This of yours, is it a space?”
The saber in Song Qingchao’s hand tightened. “What do you know!”
“Heroine! Don’t get agitated! I transmigrated!” Lin Tingwan closed her eyes and yelled, her face flushing red from lack of oxygen.
This was followed by violent coughing.
“Now you know my secret, and don’t worry, I won’t reveal your affairs.”
Lin Tingwan covered her mouth, trying desperately to stop coughing.
Song Qingchao slightly relaxed her grip on her saber.
She felt a sliver of her guard drop towards this girl named Lin Tingwan. Although she didn't understand what "transmigrated" meant, much like she hadn't understood the efficacy of her space in her previous life, leading to her tragic death.
Once Lin Tingwan felt a little better, she took a step back, clutching her chest. “This illness of mine is contagious, so it’s better if we keep our distance.”
She pointed to the Artemisia annua on the ground. “Your space has so much Artemisia annua, are you perhaps a doctor?”
Song Qingchao grew more suspicious, her saber moving again.
Cold sweat beaded on Lin Tingwan’s forehead. “Heroine, why are you so easily agitated? I was just asking. If you don’t want to say, then don’t. But can you spare me…”
Song Qingchao let out a soft laugh. “Let me ask you, what does it mean to transmigrate?”
This time, it was Lin Tingwan’s turn to be stunned.
However, she quickly recovered and tentatively asked the secret code that all transmigrators knew, “Odd changes even don’t change?”
But Song Qingchao’s response was a gleaming saber.
At this, Lin Tingwan finally became completely honest.
“Since you have a space, you must be able to understand strange things like this. Transmigrating means I am from another world, my soul has taken over this body. I transmigrated early, though. I think I transmigrated around middle school, when this body was only five or six years old.”
She chattered on, telling Song Qingchao many things.
Eventually, Song Qingchao managed to grasp what "transmigration" meant.
She accepted it quickly; after all, she herself was reborn.
In a sense, it was a soul regression, reversing time.
Considering the girl had spoken so much to her, and even wanted to form an alliance,
Song Qingchao felt that this person might be able to survive.
With her presence, things would be easier for Song Qingchao. It wasn't right to keep deceiving Master Lin, it felt wrong to her conscience.
But she didn’t expect the conversation to eventually circle back to the pile of Artemisia annua on the ground.
“Heroine, I also know medicine. Could you spare some of this Artemisia annua for me?” Lin Tingwan cautiously tested Song Qingchao, but dared not get too close.
After all, this heroine was too easily agitated!
Song Qingchao gave her a strange look. “You know medicine?”
Lin Tingwan nodded vigorously, almost shaking off her hairpin.
“Are you also preparing a prescription for the plague?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Lin Tingwan’s eyes sparkled. “I have a lead! I’m just missing this right now!”
After saying that, she mumbled, “My father gave away all the Artemisia annua in the house. When I wanted some, there was none left, so I risked coming to the back mountain to try my luck. I didn’t expect to meet you, heroine.”
Song Qingchao turned her face away, feeling a bit awkward.
She was the one who had cleared out her house… so giving some to Lin Tingwan wasn’t impossible.
Moreover, Lin Tingwan knew medicine.
Perhaps she could help Bai You’an.
With this thought, Song Qingchao quickly composed herself. “Miss Lin, you said you transmigrated and know many things people here don’t, correct?”
“Yes,” Lin Tingwan replied affirmatively. “I know the general prescription, but I lack the dosages and precise herbs. This world and my world have some discrepancies in certain things.”