Ye Jinghuai's eyes widened, and he was stunned. He excitedly grabbed her sleeve and confirmed in disbelief, "...What did you say? Ye, Ye Ziling?"
His eyes were a little red, and he trembled as he gripped her sleeve, not caring about his loss of composure.
Perhaps afraid of a name coincidence, Ye Jinghuai confirmed again, "Is your father named Ye Qing?"
Ye Ziling was instantly startled, and her expression quickly mirrored that of the crowd as she pressed, "How do you know my father's name?"
Ye Jinghuai excitedly embraced her, a relieved smile in his eyes, "Good sister, brother has finally found you."
"Wh-what?" Ye Ziling pushed him away, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She did have a paternal uncle with two sons, her two cousins. However, after the massacre, she thought all her clansmen had died at the hands of the three major sects, so she assumed they were all dead.
Ye Ziling was even more excited than the common folk, grabbing his sleeve, not yet recovered from the surprise.
Her uncle had two sons, the elder being Ye Jinghuai and the younger Ye Jingren. After that great massacre, they had each believed the other to be dead, separated by the heavens. They never expected to be reunited.
"That's great! The Saintess has returned!"
"Now our Sacred Medical Clan truly has hope!"
"Welcome back, Saintess!"
The crowd cheered, their faces filled with simple smiles.
...
In the pharmacy, Ye Ziling sat at the desk, leafing through the medicinal herbs. "Bai Zhu tonifies qi and strengthens the spleen, dries dampness, promotes urination, stops sweating, and can calm the fetus."
"Huang Qi tonifies qi and raises yang, benefits the wei and secures the exterior, promotes urination and reduces swelling, generates fluids and nourishes blood."
Shuan Zi, along with several children, sat in the room, holding brushes and writing in their notebooks, their tender faces full of seriousness.
Ye Ziling never expected that some of her clansmen had miraculously survived that great massacre, living in seclusion in Peach Blossom Valley, leading a simple, self-sufficient life.
But the problem was that the Sacred Medical Clan had a long-standing rule: physicians could not practice martial arts or create poisons; they only knew medical skills, making it difficult to protect themselves.
"Saintess sister, your martial arts that day were so powerful, could you teach us?"
"Yes, yes, we want to be like sister, protect our clansmen, and defeat bad guys!" Before the square table, a little dumpling with a rosy face looked up, eagerly raising her hand.
"Mother says there are many bad guys in the outside world, but Valley Master brother says there are delicious sugar figures and tanghulu outside, and all sorts of new and fun things! I really want to go out and see!" The young boy's round eyes were full of anticipation.
Looking at these clear, bright eyes, Ye Ziling put down the booklet and smiled.
She looked at these innocent and lovely children, her heart softening, and said with a smile, "Sister will try her best to teach you cultivation techniques and martial arts so you can see the outside world as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, the little buns cheered and swarmed towards her.
Ye Ziling smiled, looking at this group of enthusiastic children, her eyes and brows soft.
She not only wanted to teach them medical skills but also to rebuild the Sacred Medical Clan and have them participate in the Immortal Examination.
What she needed to do now was to persuade her brother to abolish some useless rules.
That massacre was a lesson. As for the rule that physicians cannot practice martial arts, she, a Saintess, had already broken it, so this rule should be abolished.
As the night deepened, moonlight streamed into the room through the window lattice. A melodious flute sound reached her ears, and Ye Ziling walked towards the sound of the flute.
A full moon hung high in the sky, its radiance like water. A figure was leaning on the eaves, handsome and refined. He held a jade flute, and in the moonlight, he appeared ethereal and detached.
The flute music sounded a little melancholic.
When the flute music stopped, Ye Ziling leaped onto the eaves, a faint smile on her face, and called out, "Brother."
Ye Jinghuai turned around and saw his sister appear behind him without a sound. He placed the jade flute at his waist, his melancholic expression seeming to scatter with the wind, and smiled warmly, "Sister Ziling's Qinggong is remarkable, even brother didn't notice."
Ye Ziling came to his side, looked up at the moon, and asked, "Then, Brother Jinghuai, are you interested in learning cultivation techniques from me? But you have to call me 'Master' a hundred times first to satisfy my whim."
As soon as she was in front of her relatives, Ye Ziling seemed to transform, her tone a little playful, her eyes no longer carrying the former coldness, as if everything had returned to its original state.
Ye Jinghuai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Brother is truly less worldly. How can a brother learn cultivation techniques from a sister? Wouldn't that disrupt the generational order?"
The man teased with a smile, but his gaze was filled with doting. This girl was as mischievous as she was in her childhood.
He didn't know where this girl had studied, but her swordsmanship was so exquisite. Although she had broken the rules, as long as she was safe, everything was fine.
"I remember sister used to love my flute playing the most, always asking me to teach her. Now you've secretly learned cultivation techniques. Tell brother, which sect did you study under? I'll personally visit the elder another day to express my gratitude."
Ye Jinghuai chuckled and picked up the jade flute at his waist again.
Ye Ziling's gaze darkened for a moment, then she smiled at him, "If I say I learned it on my own, brother, would you believe me?"
Ye Jinghuai threw his head back and laughed, his starry eyes rippling. "How come I didn't know my sister had such talent?"
Ye Ziling remembered that when she first arrived in the heavenly court, Qingbai's greatest taboo was letting her learn cultivation techniques. He only raised her, sending immortal physicians to check her body every day.
At first, she thought Qingbai was caring for her, but in reality, he merely wanted to refine her body into a Heaven-Suppressing magic treasure.
Fortunately, she secretly climbed the palace walls every day and practiced, sometimes even innovating on her own, thus developing her own unique cultivation techniques.
Seeing her talent, Qingbai would occasionally teach her a few moves and was even stricter with her.
What she didn't know was that Qingbai did it entirely to maximize her value, to help him seize the throne, and to be a sacrifice under his power.
"There's still a lot brother doesn't know." Ye Ziling lowered her head and smiled slightly, not looking at him, her gaze lost in the moon.
She hadn't had time to tell him that she had almost died from falling three times, practically an unkillable cockroach.
"By the way, Brother, there's something I want to tell you. Those few rules of the Sacred Medical Clan should be abolished."
Ye Ziling's expression turned serious. "Rules are dead, but people are alive."
Ye Jinghuai's eyes deepened.
How he wished he could abolish them. They couldn't hide in the valley forever. And after the incident with the mountain bandits, he knew even more clearly that this rule should be abolished. However, he had to wait for his second brother to return to discuss it; he couldn't make the decision alone.
"I want to abolish the rule about creating poisons as well," Ye Ziling continued.
When poison creation was mentioned, Ye Jinghuai recalled the Bone-Eroding Paste Ye Ziling had developed when she was ten. At that time, when the Holy Lord discovered it, he had covered for her, and they were punished together.
"Creating poisons? Haven't you learned your lesson from that time?" Ye Jinghuai turned to look at her, his gaze lingering, a smile on his lips.
"Brother, how can you still remember that!" This was purely her black history. Because of this incident, she and Ye Jinghuai were locked in the dark room and punished by not being allowed to eat for an entire day, so hungry that she almost gnawed on Ye Jinghuai.
"Alright, alright, brother will agree with you. In a couple of days when your second brother returns to the valley, we'll discuss abolishing the rules. Then, even if you create tens of millions of poisons, I won't care. You're all grown up now, and I can't control you!"
Ye Jinghuai chuckled helplessly. The siblings on the eaves admired the moon, playfully teasing each other, exuding a warm affection.