Chapter 237: A Cup of Forget-Love Water… But It’s Expired

Jiang Li had no intention of interfering from start to finish.

With Qin Luan’s experience, how could he not tell that Lin Ruling was deliberately trying to provoke him? He just kept refusing to take the bait, forcing Lin Ruling to issue a direct challenge.

But Qin Luan wasn’t sure what Xi Zhi’s stance was. If Xi Zhi didn’t allow combat here, then any fighting due to verbal sparring would definitely displease her.

But once Lin Ruling clearly declared a challenge, that changed the situation.

The guy basically pointed a finger at him to fight—how could he not respond? Xi Zhi would have no grounds to stop it.

Qin Luan’s goal was to be “in the right.”

His combat strength shocked everyone. Lin Ruling, who was said to be able to go toe-to-toe with a Nascent Soul cultivator, was taken out with a single hit. Even if there had been exaggeration about Lin Ruling’s abilities, this was still enough to show how powerful Qin Luan really was.

“Let’s go. The troublemaker’s gone, we can focus on finding some real treasures.” Lin Ruling’s antics were nothing more than a ripple to Qin Luan. Ever since reaching the late Gold Core stage, all his opponents had been Nascent Soul level.

His sights were no longer on the Gold Core stage.

“We can ask Jiang the Human Sovereign for help,” Aguna suggested. With Jiang Li’s help, there’d be no treasure they couldn’t find.

Qin Luan shook his head. “This is a test of personal ability. Mr. Jiang wouldn’t get involved in something like this.”

Qin Luan always held himself to the standards of a Human Sovereign candidate. If even something like this required Jiang Li’s help, what right would he have to be considered for that title?

Being a candidate wasn’t something you could get by pulling strings.

Aguna didn’t understand Qin Luan’s stubbornness, but she didn’t press the issue.

“Little White, where are you going?” Qin Luan noticed the fox on his head had leapt off and was now sniffing around a withered tree bearing a milky-white fruit.

“A Soul-Nourishing Fruit? Are you sure this one’s real?” Qin Luan was surprised. He knew Little White had a talent for finding rare herbs, but didn’t expect it to work even in a realm created by an immortal.

The little fox nodded vigorously and picked the fruit.

Having been severely injured, it was forced to use its reincarnation ability, losing all its cultivation. The Soul-Nourishing Fruit would strengthen its soul and speed up recovery.

“You’ve passed the trial, little fox. Do you want to head to the next stage now, or stay with the others?” Xi Zhi’s voice floated out.

Of course, the little white fox chose to stay with Qin Luan.

“Then you’re not allowed to help anyone else. If you do, both you and the person you help will be disqualified,” Xi Zhi warned.

The little fox nodded obediently.

“What about this Evergreen Bamboo? Do you think it’s real?” Aguna pointed at a black bamboo. Evergreen Bamboo made excellent weapon handles.

“Probably fake. Look at the spacing between segments—too short. That’s not how Evergreen Bamboo grows,” Qin Luan replied. He might not be a great artist, but his eye was sharp.

“How about this one?” Aguna was getting into it, pointing at everything.

“Fake too.”

“And this?”

“Eighty percent fake.”

“This?”

“That one’s real.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re pointing at Mr. Jiang.”

Qin Luan sighed helplessly. Aguna hadn’t even looked before pointing.

“Yep, I’m real,” Jiang Li grinned. “What’s the matter? Can’t find anything real?”

Qin Luan scratched his head awkwardly. “I found a few things that might be real, but I’m not sure.”

He crouched down. “Like this patch of grass. Looks like weeds, but the blade curvature is a bit narrower than usual, and there’s a faint black line in the middle. Could be Breakthrough Grass. But there are more than ten stalks here—no way they’re all the real thing. I can’t tell which is which.”

“Song Ying, what do you think?” Jiang Li didn’t answer himself. Instead, he asked the quietly observant Song Ying.

“Me?” Song Ying pointed at herself, shocked that Jiang Li had called on her. She felt flattered.

Jiang Li nodded, encouraging her.

Qin Luan nodded too. You heard right—Mr. Jiang’s talking to you.

“It’s this one,” Song Ying pointed at a stalk hesitantly. “Out of the bunch, this one feels most authentic to me.”

Qin Luan examined it closely. It looked identical to the others.

“Why do you think so?”

“Just… a feeling,” Song Ying said, unsure. That was why she lacked confidence—intuition was such a vague thing.

“Why not trust it? You might be right.”

Song Ying hesitated, then shook her head. “But if I’m wrong…”

Qin Luan yanked up the stalk before she could finish.

“What is wrong with you?! What if I was wrong—you’d be kicked out early!” Song Ying stomped her foot, annoyed.

Qin Luan just grinned. “I trust your gut.”

He didn’t trust it blindly—on their travels, Song Ying’s intuition had saved them from danger and led them to treasure more than once. She just never realized it, or maybe she didn’t dare believe her instincts were that good.

She always thought it was luck.

The weed lost its ink coating and turned into a green Breakthrough Grass.

“See? It’s real. You should try trusting yourself more—your intuition’s spot on.” Qin Luan looked into her eyes, sincere.

“O-okay, I’ll try…” Song Ying’s heart fluttered.

“What real treasure did you find, Jiang the Human Sovereign?” Aguna asked curiously.

Jiang Li chuckled and pulled out a cup of clear liquid. “Two kilometers south of here, there’s a lake. I scooped up a cup from it.”

“What is it?” Aguna couldn’t see anything special about it.

“That lake is the Forget-Love Lake, filled with Forget-Love Water.”

“Forget-Love Water? But isn’t that supposed to be green?” Aguna was confused.

“Don’t forget—this is a painted world. All the other treasures—rocks, fruit, whatever—grow and renew. But that lake? It’s just dead water. Forget-Love Water loses potency if left in the open too long. It’s been exposed for tens of thousands of years. Its medicinal effect is long gone.”

“This is a cup of expired Forget-Love Water.”

“…” Aguna was speechless.

“That Evergreen Bamboo from earlier—I can’t shake the feeling something’s off about it,” Song Ying returned to where they started. She’d been uneasy about the bamboo before, but hadn’t spoken up since Qin Luan sounded so confident. Now that she’d been encouraged, she voiced her intuition.

“Of course it’s off. Its growth pattern’s irregular. It’s fake,” Qin Luan said matter-of-factly.

“That’s not what I mean, it’s… I don’t know how to explain.” Song Ying, struggling to express herself, walked quickly up to the bamboo.

“You—you should know what’s happening outside. Please show your true form.”

Soft rain began to fall, a light drizzle carrying the fresh scent of earth. A gentle light shimmered. The Evergreen Bamboo morphed into the graceful figure of a young woman in elegant traditional robes, holding an oil-paper umbrella. She stood faintly visible in the mist, like a girl from the river towns of Jiangnan.

“Didn’t expect someone would actually find me… and not by luck, either.”

Xi Zhi had said she was in the second trial’s world—and she really was here.