Chapter 12: Absorbing Spirit Source

Hearing that sudden prompt sound in her mind, Qingyun’s heart gave a violent leap, and she nearly failed to keep hold of the Heavenly Fragrance Flower in her hand.

She forcibly suppressed the surge of emotion within her, but none of it showed on her face. She still wore the same expression of earnest concentration as she continued identifying herbs, though the corner of her eye could not help drifting once more toward those few inconspicuous green blades of grass.

Azure Spirit Grass? Eight to ten years old? So this was the sort of herb the system meant when it spoke of containing “Spirit Source”? It looked no different from an ordinary medicinal herb.

When Huzi gathered an armful of sorted herbs and turned to store them in the medicine cabinets on the other side, Qingyun knew her chance had come.

She swiftly picked up the Heavenly Fragrance Flower she had already identified, drew a steadying breath, and decisively thought in her mind, “Absorb!”

The instant the command was given, a strange sensation arose.

From the palm holding the flower came an extremely faint feeling, as though something were being lightly “drawn out” of it.

Immediately afterward, Qingyun saw with her own eyes that the blossom in her palm, which had just been fresh and vibrant and filled with that cool fragrance, seemed to have its moisture and essence drained away in an instant.

Its petals visibly lost their luster, dimmed, curled inward, and finally crumbled into a little heap of dry fragments.

At the same time, a thread of pale white light, finer than a strand of hair and almost impossible to detect, flashed from her fingertips and swiftly merged into her body.

The sensation was somewhat similar to the cool warmth she had felt when absorbing the sparse spiritual qi in the air last night, but it seemed slightly more substantial.

It worked!

Qingyun’s heart pounded wildly, filled with both the excitement of a successful experiment and the guilty nervousness of a thief.

She immediately called out in her mind, “Open the status panel.”

The screen of light appeared in response.

【Name: Qingyun (ordinary-looking)】

【Bone Age: 14】

【Cultivation Realm: Mortal (initial qi-guiding)】

【Spirit Root Aptitude: Mutated dual ice-lightning attribute】

【Innate Foundation and Comprehension: Outstanding natural talent; soul strength far beyond the ordinary】

【Cultivation Method: Longevity Art (initiated)】

【Owned Magic Treasure: None】

【Spirit Source: 2】

As expected, a new line of data had appeared at the bottom of the panel: 【Spirit Source: 2】.

And the note behind 【Cultivation Method】had also changed from “not yet initiated” to “initiated,” while her cultivation description had become “initial qi-guiding.”

“So that is how it is...”

Qingyun suddenly understood. The heart that had sunk into despair earlier because she could not open the shop module was instantly lifted again, beating even faster than before.

“These aged herbs must have absorbed some kind of essence from heaven and earth while growing. Although the energy inside them may be extremely faint, the system really can identify it and convert it into ‘Spirit Source’!”

This was like being handed a pillow just as sleep overtook her. Although cultivating by absorbing the drifting spiritual qi in the air was the proper path, the speed was obviously far too slow.

But these herbs were right in front of her.

Naturally, she could not simply steal them outright. The rules of the Bai Residence dispensary and its security were not for show.

But... what if she merely absorbed some of the essence contained inside a portion of the herbs?

Qingyun had already observed carefully that not every one of the herbs delivered here was in perfect condition. Quite a few were inferior specimens, some with damaged leaves, others with thin and undersized roots and stems.

If she controlled herself carefully and selected only those poorer-quality specimens, quietly absorbing away their essence, then so long as she did not reduce them on the spot to withered ash the way she had just done with that Heavenly Fragrance Flower during her trial—

And if all that happened was that they looked a little poorer in quality, a little less fresh, then mixed among such a large heap of medicinal herbs, they might not attract particular notice at all.

After all, in the eyes of the Bai Residence, these were merely medicinal herbs for treating illness. Who would stare closely at the freshness of every single stalk? And who could ever imagine that someone might be able to draw out the inner essence of a medicinal herb from thin air?

Once the thought arose, it spread like wild grass.

Qingyun felt the palms of her hands grow faintly hot.

She quickly began calculating, her gaze once more sweeping over the busy dispensary.

Huzi had already returned after putting away the herbs.

At once, Qingyun composed herself and took the initiative to assure him, “Huzi, I truly have remembered the characteristics and storage places of these herbs clearly. I will not mix them up. You should go attend to your own work. I can start sorting here.”

Seeing how confident she looked, and remembering the astonishing memory she had just displayed, Huzi nodded and honestly cautioned her,

“All right, then start with this bundle first. Be careful and do not mix anything up. Steward Liu inspects very strictly. I am going over there to help carry the newly delivered crates.”

“All right. Do not worry,” Qingyun replied.

Watching Huzi head toward the other side of the courtyard, Qingyun let out a quiet breath of relief.

Without drawing attention, she quickly swept her gaze around with the corner of her eye. At that moment there were roughly seven or eight people busy in the dispensary. Some were slicing herbs, some weighing them, and some arranging the medicine cabinets.

Everyone was focused on the task in front of them. No one was paying any special attention to her, the newly arrived little maid.

As for Steward Liu, he was seated behind a nearby table.

Before him lay an account book and an abacus. His brows were tightly furrowed, his fingers flicking rapidly over the beads, and his lips moved constantly under his breath. Plainly, he was in the middle of checking the accounts and had even less time to bother with what was happening here.

It was no wonder they were not on guard.

In the Bai Residence’s understanding, what the dispensary stored were only ordinary medicines for treating illness and saving lives—or at most, assisting martial artists in cultivation, in the case of certain special materials. Some might be rather valuable, but in the end, they were still merely mortal things.

The residence had rules within, high walls and guards without, and there were even two broad-shouldered guard retainers standing at the dispensary entrance.

Who would set their sights on a few stalks of grass in broad daylight and under so many eyes? And even if someone really wanted to steal them, how could they possibly smuggle them out?

That very fixed way of thinking was precisely what gave Qingyun room to act.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Qingyun steadied her nerves and officially began the sorting work.

She crouched before the large sack of herbs and first quickly and accurately separated several stalks of different varieties into different small baskets.

In order not to appear odd, after sorting four or five perfectly normal herbs—

she would casually pick up one inferior specimen, perhaps with slightly yellowing leaves or somewhat scrawnier roots and stems, hold it in her palm as if examining it with particular care, and in truth silently think in her heart, “Absorb!”

This time, she had experience. She deliberately controlled both the “strength” and speed of the absorption.

The draining sensation in her palm was still there, but she intentionally slowed it down.

The herb in her hand lost a little of its luster at a speed almost impossible to detect with the naked eye. The faint yellowing at the edges of its leaves deepened by only the slightest degree, and overall it merely looked as though its quality had worsened somewhat. It did not instantly wither into crumbs the way that Heavenly Fragrance Flower had.

Unless someone picked it up and compared it closely with another intact herb of the same kind, it would be very hard to spot anything unusual at a glance.

To outside eyes, this new little maid simply seemed extremely conscientious in her work. Every time she picked up a medicinal herb, she would study it carefully for a moment before placing it into the correct basket.

In a place like the dispensary, such caution could even be considered a virtue.

Good. She had aroused no suspicion at all.

Qingyun’s heart settled, and her courage gradually grew.

After all, she was merely holding the herbs in her hands to “look” at them. She was not doing anything outwardly strange.

At last she stopped over-concealing herself and began deliberately selecting those slightly inferior herbs, quietly drawing in thread after thread of faint Spirit Source while continuing to sort and classify them.

She could feel that with each herb she absorbed, however slight the energy contained within, the number beside 【Spirit Source】on the panel would twitch upward by the tiniest amount, adding another negligible fragment to the total.

That solid sense of “gain” was so real that she almost forgot the passage of time.

Throughout the entire afternoon, Qingyun remained immersed in this peculiar state of “working while cultivating.”

Her movements grew increasingly skillful. Her sorting speed was not slow, and at the same time she was able to “digest” quite a number of those poorer-quality herbs.

The others in the dispensary were all busy with their own tasks. Steward Liu’s abacus clicked sharply without pause. From time to time Huzi would glance up at her, but seeing that she was sorting everything in orderly fashion, he would lower his head again and return to his own work.

The afterglow of the setting sun began to filter through the lattice windows, falling across the piled medicinal herbs and Qingyun’s busy figure.

And the “Spirit Source reserve” hidden within her was, without her even noticing, gradually accumulating into a number that filled her with secret delight.