"Is Shopkeeper Mo in?" the woman asked, looking at the stunned Wu Siqi. Her voice was like a warbler's trill, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, melodious and clear, crisp yet lingering.
Before Wu Siqi could react, Shui Ling, also behind the counter, said with hostility, "What do you want him for?"
At first glance, she felt a sense of familiarity with this woman, but she couldn't recall where she had seen her. She racked her brain but couldn't remember.
Wu Siqi pointed behind him, "He's upstairs."
The woman glanced at Shui Ling, ignored her, and headed directly to the back with two maids, followed by the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs.
Shui Ling glared at Wu Siqi, "Why did you tell her? Do you know her?"
Wu Siqi paused, looking somewhat innocent, "I don't know her, but it's normal for such a beautiful girl to look for our martial uncle. In the Nine Divine Realms, they are everywhere. I was worried that if I accidentally offended any of our martial uncle's wives, I wouldn't be able to bear the consequences."
"What? Everywhere?" Shui Ling exclaimed in surprise, "Are there that many?"
Mo Qi was in his room upstairs, refining pills. Seeing the door closed, the woman didn't disturb him and climbed directly to the attic. From there, she had a clear view of the trees, mountains, and rivers. A gentle breeze blew, bringing a sense of comfort to her body and mind.
The woman then sat in the attic, holding a book, engrossed in reading. Her two maids stood behind her. She looked back and said, "Xiao Cui, Xiao Hong, why don't you sit down and read too?"
Xiao Cui and Xiao Hong shook their heads like rattles, "We don't want to read, reading is tiring!"
Mo Qi finished refining his pills and came out of his room. He heard movement in the attic and felt someone was upstairs, which he found very strange. Wu Siqi and Shui Ling were both downstairs, so who could be upstairs?
Mo Qi climbed to the attic and was met by three women, one sitting and reading, two maids attending behind her. However, these three were all unfamiliar faces. Mo Qi thought he had gone to the wrong place, "Is this... is this my home?"
At this moment, the white-clothed woman sitting down saw Mo Qi and immediately stood up, walking towards him.
She wore a white dress with plum blossoms embroidered on it, a pale pink silk bodice underneath, and a narrow belt at her waist, making her appear slender, graceful, and elegant, as if she had stepped out of a painting.
Mo Qi was instantly captivated. The woman walked up to Mo Qi, bowed, and said, "This humble girl, Xue Ying, greets Shopkeeper Mo. Your great kindness is unforgettable."
"Xue, Xue Ying?" Mo Qi was utterly shocked. He couldn't connect this celestial being before him with the woman who had looked like a withered old person three months ago.
At the same time, his nose felt a sting, and his eyes instantly welled up. He quickly turned away and gently wiped his eyes. Then, he turned back with a smile, "Miss Xue, there's no need for such formalities. I am truly overjoyed to see you are well."
At that moment, it was as if an eagle watched its chick endure a storm, its eyes filled with a mother's smile.
"I have made Shopkeeper Mo worry. This humble girl apologizes here," Xue Ying said, lowering her head and bowing.
This was too polite.
As the saying goes, politeness is never amiss. Mo Qi could only repeatedly say, "No need for formalities, no need for formalities."
"My illness hasn't completely healed, so I've come to find Shopkeeper Mo for further treatment. I may need to trouble you here for some time. Is it convenient for you, Shopkeeper Mo?" Xue Ying asked.
"Convenient, convenient, of course, it's convenient!" Mo Qi replied.
As soon as Mo Qi finished speaking, Xue Ying instructed, "Xiao Cui, Xiao Hong, I've decided to stay here for a while. Please tidy up a room for me."
Xiao Cui and Xiao Hong replied in unison, "Yes, Miss."
Then they both went downstairs. They found a room, swept the floor, wiped the windows, tidied the bedding, arranged furniture, and placed vases, all busily.
Mo Qi, however, was still pondering Xue Ying's words, his expression suddenly becoming a little serious. He looked at Xue Ying, "Not completely healed? Is there still discomfort anywhere?"
"It's just that there are a few days each month when my stomach hurts a little," Xue Ying said.
"Uh, this," Mo Qi said with an awkward expression, "This might be normal." He had to thank Sima Shan for this. Sima Shan was exceptionally knowledgeable, knowing everything under the sun, especially about physiology.
Sima Shan had been very open with Mo Qi, answering any question without reservation, especially about matters between men and women, sharing every detail. Mo Qi had naturally learned a lot from him.
"How can it be normal?" Xue Ying looked at him with confusion.
Mo Qi hesitated for a moment, then turned around and went downstairs, "I'll find someone to explain it to you." Xue Ying also followed him down to the second floor.
Mo Qi went into the shop and called Shui Ling upstairs, saying that Xue Ying had a question. Shui Ling now knew that this girl was Xue Ren Kui's daughter. She didn't care about that and intentionally wanted to tease her. As soon as she came up, she bowed to Xue Ying, "Greetings, Miss."
Xue Ying was startled and quickly stepped forward to help her, "What are you doing? How can you perform such a grand ceremony? Get up quickly, get up."
Why didn't it work? Shui Ling felt strange. She broke free from Xue Ying's hand and bowed again, "You must bow, you must bow."
Xue Ying still didn't fall. She bent down to help Shui Ling. Shui Ling, not knowing what went wrong, stood up in confusion.
Mo Qi watched all this from behind, puzzled by Xue Ying's unwavering stance. At the same time, he was disgusted by Shui Ling's hidden malice. He was about to reprimand Shui Ling, thinking how could she attack a weak woman who had no special abilities.
Suddenly, without any warning, Shui Ling turned around and bowed to him. Mo Qi stumbled down the stairs.
"It's still effective, what's going on?" Shui Ling was even more confused.
"Are you the Shui Ling who makes whoever you bow to fall?" Xue Ying suddenly realized, stood up straight, and looked at Shui Ling with confusion, "Were you trying to make me fall just now? But we don't have any grudges, do we?"
Shui Ling giggled foolishly, "No grudges. I was just trying to create a little bit of a grudge, but it didn't work. How high is your cultivation?"
Xue Ying shook her head, "I don't have any cultivation yet, but I've started practicing. I hope Miss Shui can guide me more."
Shui Ling was stunned for a moment, then cheerfully patted her chest, "No problem."
Then, as if remembering something, she said, "Didn't Shopkeeper Mo say you had a question for me just now?"
"Uh, you understand medical principles? It's like this, I..." Xue Ying was about to voice her confusion when Mo Qi suddenly reappeared at the top of the stairs, saying, "You two should go to the room to discuss these matters. Doctor Shui, take Miss Xue to the room to talk."
Shui Ling glanced at him, "Why are you being so sarcastic?"
Xue Ying saw that Xiao Cui and Xiao Hong had already tidied the room. She took Shui Ling's hand, "Let's go to my room to talk. I'll also ask you for advice on cultivation."
"Your room?" Shui Ling felt a pang of unease, but she involuntarily followed Xue Ying into the room.
A moment later, both women emerged with flushed faces. Shui Ling glared at Mo Qi, "I thought it was something important. Next time, you can answer these things yourself. You're utterly unreasonable." With that, she stomped downstairs.
Xue Ying lowered her head shyly, "Shopkeeper Mo, according to Miss Shui, my body should be normal. But now, look, the bed is made, all the daily necessities are in place, and Xiao Cui and Xiao Hong worked hard. And the environment here is good, I really like this place..."
Mo Qi replied almost without hesitation, "If you want to stay here, then stay. My place is spacious enough, and Shui Ling and I can't occupy all the rooms." Mo Qi also felt that keeping her by his side would be beneficial for her. If her condition relapsed, he could refine pills to help her in time. Even if it didn't relapse, refining some conditioning pills based on her actual situation would be beneficial.
Xue Ying was overjoyed and bowed again before going into the room. A while later, she brought out a few books and went to the attic herself.
Meanwhile, Shui Ling was still dwelling on the matter of "everywhere." Since there were no customers at the moment, she began to inquire about the details from Wu Siqi at the counter.
Wu Siqi, of course, held nothing back. He recounted how Mo Qi had "flirted with flowers and grass" in the Nine Divine Realms, how he was "fickle as water," and how he was "inconstant." The most famous incidents were the "Shura Mountain's Mercy Plea" and the "Divine Mist Sect Beauty Contest." Wu Siqi described them in great detail, even adding embellishments and exaggerations.
Shui Ling listened, furious, "This is outrageous, worse than an animal, utterly insane!"
Xie Yucai, who happened to slip into the shop, overheard their conversation and was overjoyed. His chance to become a disciple was now within reach!
He immediately returned home and found his three sisters. One was his full sister, Xie Yuzhu, and the other two were his half-sisters, Xie Yuhuan and Xie Yuchan. He told them he was taking them to Mo's Pharmacy to buy pills for permanent beauty. The three sisters naturally agreed. Mo's Pharmacy was now spreading like a plague in Lexi City and even the entire Northern Territory. The three sisters had also benefited greatly from it. Especially since the Mo family had partnered with the Wang, Xie, and Cui families, the sisters could obtain Mo's pills at their own shops. Having frequently taken various Mo's pills, they were deeply impressed by their miraculous effects.
Among the young women in the Xie family, the three sisters were particularly outstanding in appearance. Xie Yucai chose these three with ulterior motives.
On the way, Xie Yucai told the three sisters, "These pills are not sold at the counter. You need to get them directly from Shopkeeper Mo. I've already spoken to Shopkeeper Mo. You just need to go upstairs and find him. He has a subordinate who looks all smiles and a bit smug. He'll claim to be Shopkeeper Mo, but he's actually trying to stop you from bothering Shopkeeper Mo. You need to tell him you're there to meet Shopkeeper Mo for a marriage proposal, and then he'll let you in. Otherwise, no matter what reason you give, he won't pay attention to you."
Xie Yuzhu hesitated, "Isn't this a bit demeaning to ourselves?"
"It's fine. You just need to tell him the truth when you meet Shopkeeper Mo. You're not actually proposing, so what are you afraid of?" Xie Yucai said.
"Why don't we wait downstairs, and you go upstairs to get them for us?" Xie Yuhuan suggested.
Xie Yucai cried out in frustration. It seemed these three sisters were not easy to fool.
"I'll be honest with you. Shopkeeper Mo does have a few permanent beauty pills. He refined them with great effort and cherishes them dearly. He believes that only those who are exceptionally beautiful and captivating are worthy of permanent beauty, otherwise, it's a waste of the pills. So, first, I can't get them. Second, although I think my sisters are beautiful, they are still a distance from being captivating enough to topple a city. I think your chances of success after going in are not high. Perhaps we should just go back." Xie Yucai said.
Xie Yuzhu's eyes widened, "You're telling us this after we've walked so far? Are you playing a trick on us?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying we're not pretty enough?" Xie Yuchan said indignantly.
Xie Yucai lowered his head, acting like a dead pig.
Xie Yuhuan, however, said hesitantly, "Why don't we just go back?"
Xie Yuchan glanced at her, then took out a bronze mirror to fix her hair, "If you want to go back, you go. I have the beauty to topple a city, and I'm not afraid." Among the three sisters, Xie Yuchan was the youngest and the most fiery.
Xie Yuhuan was the second youngest, with a gentle and introverted personality. Xie Yuzhu was steady and had the most ideas.
"Why don't we go to his shop first and see the situation?" Xie Yuzhu suggested.
Xie Yuchan naturally agreed, and Xie Yuhuan, after some thought, also agreed.
Xie Yucai secretly rejoiced. Success was near! He then warned them, "There's a wicked woman at the counter. She didn't get the permanent beauty pills and won't allow others to get them. So, try to ignore her as much as possible and don't get entangled with her."
The group walked into Mo's Pharmacy as if no one else was there, bypassed the counter, and headed to the back. With Xie Yucai leading the way, Wu Siqi merely glanced at them and paid them no mind.
Xie Yucai was now a frequent visitor here, coming every few days. As soon as he arrived, he would go straight upstairs, claiming to discuss matters with Mo Qi. Wu Siqi dared not stop him.
Shui Ling kept a respectful distance from Xie Yucai and generally didn't interfere. However, seeing Xie Yucai followed by three beautiful girls, and having just heard about Mo Qi's many past "romantic affairs," she became uneasy and immediately followed them.