After I Failed to Reform the Female Lead of a Tragic Novel - Chapter 6

Through their conversation, Gong Dongling learned that the Library Pavilion master’s surname was Shen, and he only asked her to call him Old Shen.

Seeing Old Shen bring Gong Dongling to the table, Xie Yu knew the old man liked dragging others into drinking with him. But perhaps afraid that Gong Dongling would misunderstand something, she said stiffly, “The pavilion master invited you. Not me. Don’t think you can use this to get close to me.”

Then she glared at Old Shen. “You drunk old man. Drinking by yourself isn’t enough, so now you have to drag someone else into it too!”

The nickname “drunk old man” had its own origin. According to Old Shen, when the two of them first met, he had been even more disheveled than he was now. Xie Yu had sneaked into the Library Pavilion and happened to run into him. She thought he was a wandering drunkard who lived there, and kept calling him “drunk old man.” Later, even after learning he was the pavilion master, she had already grown used to it and never changed the way she addressed him.

Old Shen had a Schrödinger’s kind of forgetfulness. Sometimes he could remember events from ages ago all the way to the present, chattering to Gong Dongling about them one by one. Other times, he would forget what he had just said in the very next moment.

Xie Yu had already placed the dishes on the small wooden table beneath the willow tree. There were three plates: stir-fried shepherd’s purse, tofu with scallions, and a small plate of sliced beef to go with wine.

The green vegetables and tofu were interwoven with green and pale white, their colors clear and glossy with a faint sheen of oil. The beef was marbled with fat and lean meat, soaked in braising sauce, and its fragrance immediately stirred the appetite.

Ever since Gong Dongling had transmigrated into the cultivation world, she had not eaten a proper meal. Usually, since she did not feel hungry and never thought about it, she did not find it a big deal. But now, with several dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious placed right before her eyes, her defenses broke.

In truth, these were only the most ordinary home-cooked dishes. There were no seasonings, and they did not look as refined as modern food. But compared with the pills cultivators used as meals, they were simply delicacies from the mountains and seas!

The three of them sat down. Xie Yu and Old Shen both had bowls and chopsticks in front of them, but in front of Gong Dongling, there was only a small silver cup for drinking wine.

Gong Dongling was unbearably tempted. She looked at Xie Yu pitifully. “A-Yu… why don’t I have a bowl and chopsticks?”

“Don’t talk to me…” Xie Yu’s expression suddenly turned shocked. “Wait. You eat these too?”

“What? Can’t I eat them?” Now Gong Dongling was confused too. She had heard that eating these things was bad for cultivators, but wasn’t there a kind of fasting pill that could absorb impurities?

It was no wonder Xie Yu was shocked. In her impression, aside from the unkempt, wine-loving Pavilion Master Shen, no cultivator would eat these things.

Cultivators were very particular about food. They believed it would only become impurities inside the body and bring hundreds of harms with no benefits to cultivation. So even disciples who had not yet achieved inedia would use pills to replace grains.

But not everyone could afford those pills, and Xie Yu was naturally the representative of those who could not.

Not only did cultivators refuse to eat ordinary food, they looked down on it with great disdain. When they went to the mortal realm to train, it was as though even brushing against the smoke and fire of ordinary life would stain their pure immortal bodies.

Ironically, wine, which was also produced abundantly in the mortal world, was wildly popular throughout the cultivation world. Their double standard was perfectly clear.

Xie Yu had been a mortal since childhood. More than that, she had been a mortal who depended on her grandmother for survival and fled from famine. What were grains and livestock to her? She had even eaten weeds and tree bark before. She had never cared about such things, nor did she have the luxury to care.

She had yet to reach Foundation Establishment, so naturally, she had not cultivated the art of inedia.

When she first arrived at the sect, she had only picked fruits she recognized to stave off hunger. But after cultivation drained her strength, fainting from hunger and exhaustion became common. It was only after she began coming here to warm wine for Old Shen that she could conveniently get some meals as well.

In her understanding, Gong Dongling was different from her. Gong Dongling had grown up in an immortal sect, doted on by her master and senior brothers. Of course she had never touched such “coarse food.”

But Gong Dongling was not the original owner. After eating delicious food for over twenty years, how could she possibly be strict with herself about meals? She strongly suspected that most fasting cultivators had cut off food so decisively only because they had never experienced the beauty of good food.

Unexpectedly, Old Shen thought the same as her. “Those juniors, every last one of them with cultivation that isn’t even impressive, yet they all put on airs. The moment food is mentioned, they act as if they’ve encountered some terrible flood or beast. Our young friend Gong is much more genuine.”

Xie Yu brought tableware for Gong Dongling, her expression strange. She still did not believe Gong Dongling would eat something she had made.

But in the next second, she saw Gong Dongling pick up some food with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. Gong Dongling’s eyes narrowed unconsciously in satisfaction, like the lazy, contented cat in front of the house.

As Xie Yu watched her, for some reason, even these simple dishes she had long been used to eating seemed to become more flavorful.

Influenced by the chef at home, Gong Dongling had always been rather picky. In truth, she often found it hard to get used to other people’s cooking. In her previous life, she had spent a great deal of time in hospitals, and her life assistant would often bring her vegetables, tofu, and porridge. Yet even though they were the same vegetables and tofu, Xie Yu’s cooking was somehow even better than the chef’s.

“It’s delicious!” Although Xie Yu ignored her, Gong Dongling was not stingy with her praise.

Xie Yu did not answer. She only turned her head away. But if one looked closely, they could see the tip of her ear peeking out beneath her loose hair, flushed a deep red.

After the meal, Old Shen picked up his wine flask and staggered out for a walk. Only Xie Yu and Gong Dongling were left at the table. Each had something on her mind, and both were still thinking about the Xuanji Grass. Yet neither of them spoke, as though each were waiting for the other to reveal an opening first.

Gong Dongling stood and cast a cleaning spell over the things on the table. Not only did the porcelain plates and bowls become clean, even the table holding the dishes looked brand new. She said to Xie Yu with interest, “Cleaning spells really are convenient. If there were spells for cooking, then no one would have to cook by hand. Just move a finger, and a meal would be done instantly.”

Xie Yu finally lost her patience and also stood up. “Don’t change the subject. What did you mean earlier when you mentioned the Xuanji Grass?”

“…That’s right. I’m looking for the Xuanji Grass. You must have also received the news that the Xuanji Grass has reappeared in the Ruoxu Illusion Realm, haven’t you?” Gong Dongling continued stacking the porcelain plates, speaking slowly and calmly.

“Who was it? Who told you the news?!” Xie Yu sounded somewhat anxious. She wanted too badly to know who the mysterious person who kept sending her letters was, and she could not help losing her composure.

After finishing with the plates, Gong Dongling braced three fingers against the table and bent slightly, leaning closer to Xie Yu across from her, looking straight at her on the same level. “Want to know? Guess why I need the Xuanji Grass. If you guess correctly, I’ll tell you.”

Xie Yu instinctively pressed down on the Records of Xuanji Grass in her arms and remembered a phrase that had caught her attention earlier when Gong Dongling had held up the book and read aloud: mild in nature.

Generally speaking, only herbs mild in nature could be used in medicines that treated cold and heat poisons. As a spirit herb that appeared once every hundred years and gathered the essence of heaven and earth, the Xuanji Grass would only have even greater uses…

“It’s the cold energy,” Xie Yu finally answered.

Gong Dongling also confessed that it was Eldest Senior Brother Qiu Yan. In any case, Xie Yu would sooner or later learn the mysterious person’s identity, so Gong Dongling might as well make his exposure happen sooner.

Only once Qiu Yan’s identity was exposed could he be forced to choose a side. Xie Yu needed his help, especially when facing certain problems left over from the past.

When she heard the name Qiu Yan, Xie Yu also frowned. She was not familiar at all with this eldest senior brother who spent years traveling outside the sect. They had only met a few times, so when she had previously tried to figure out who the mysterious person was, she had never once thought of him.

“Although I don’t know why you need the Xuanji Grass, since Qiu Yan shared this information with both of us at the same time, his purpose must be to make the two of us fight over it.”

Gong Dongling smiled faintly and said no more.

Xie Yu’s eyes darkened as well. Suddenly, she understood the meaning behind Gong Dongling telling her all this. It seemed many people wanted to throw more dry wood onto the blazing fire between the two of them, wishing only for the flames to burn even higher.

But then she thought about it again. Gong Dongling did not seem like a good person either. Why had she instinctively believed her words? Her heart turned cold.

“I don’t believe you. I can only know the truth after I confirm that person’s identity myself.”

Gong Dongling knew Xie Yu did not trust her. She spread her hands and smiled helplessly. “I’ll be going to the Ruoxu Illusion Realm in the next few days to take a look. Junior Sister can travel with me. If you truly need it, I won’t fight you for it.”

Whenever the Ruoxu Illusion Realm and the Xuanji Grass were mentioned, Xie Yu became much more guarded. She lifted her head, her pure black, ink-like eyes staring tightly at Gong Dongling. “Isn’t it very painful to have cold energy enter the body? Why would you give the Xuanji Grass to me?”

“You won’t believe me even if I say it, but I really did come only for you. I hope to help you become a better Xie Yu. At this moment, that is more important than my own matters. That’s all.”

Yes. Gong Dongling had already made her decision. She would leave the Xuanji Grass to Xie Yu so that Xie Yu could reshape her spiritual root.

From then on, Xie Yu would be able to cultivate normally with the ice spiritual root she had always hoped for, entering the immortal path openly and honorably, rather than having her spiritual root destroyed, being abandoned by everyone, and being forced to fall into demonic cultivation because she had nowhere else to go.

As for herself, so what if she could not cultivate? She was only a passing visitor on Xie Yu’s long road to immortality. Once the mission was complete, she would return to her own world.

Since she had come to protect Xie Yu, then at least in this world inside the book, Gong Dongling ought to fulfill her wish.

Gong Dongling’s words were vague and without context, purely an expression of the feelings in her heart. But unexpectedly, after a long silence, Xie Yu suddenly said, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you.”

Xie Yu brought Gong Dongling back to the sea of books in the Library Pavilion’s main hall. She lightly closed her eyes. Her lips moved, as if she silently recited something, and the entire bookshelf began to move again.

“How do you know Old Shen’s method for finding books too?” Gong Dongling vaguely felt that the old man had fooled her.

“As long as your mind connects with the bookshelf and you tell it the book’s title, that’s enough. The pavilion master was purely tricking people. I’ve been beside him for two or three years, and I’ve never once seen him use even the slightest bit of magic.” She was finally willing to communicate with Gong Dongling, though her tone was still rather stiff.

As they spoke, a book stopped steadily in front of Xie Yu. She directly took it down. “I once saw a pill formula in this book that can suppress cold energy. But the materials are rare, the pill is difficult to make, and it has to be taken long-term. Figure out what to do with it yourself.”

After hesitating for a moment, her voice softened a little. “The pill can’t cure it completely. It can only suppress it. There’s no such thing as letting someone have the Xuanji Grass. We’ll each rely on our own abilities. Whoever gets it first, it belongs to them.”

Gong Dongling had not expected that the thing Xie Yu wanted to give her would be this. She took the book, but for a long while, she could not say anything.

A scene from the original novel replayed in her mind.