Within the Clan's Turmoil Chapter 13: Embracing the Gentle Fragrance and Soft Jade

“Your type?” Mu Wanqing laughed bitterly with anger. “Chu Xing, you’re looking for death!”

Before she finished speaking, her jade-like hand rose, and a powerful surge of primal energy gathered in her palm, striking toward Chu Xing without hesitation!

This palm strike was delivered with full force—ten out of ten—intent on killing!

“Wait!” At the brink of life and death, Chu Xing could no longer hold back and shouted fiercely, “Do you want to know how those seeds came back to life?”

He poured every ounce of strength into that roar.

Sure enough, the jade hand that was about to land stopped abruptly just three inches from Chu Xing’s forehead.

The violent gust of wind from the palm made Chu Xing’s hair whip wildly and stung his cheek.

Mu Wanqing’s face, usually cold as frost, finally showed a trace of emotion. “What did you say?”

Chu Xing looked at her, twisting his features into a smile more painful than tears could express.

“I said I know how to make dying seeds sprout again.”

“Just like that Blue Vein Herb.”

The cave fell into a deathly silence.

Mu Wanqing’s icy gaze locked onto Chu Xing, the murderous intent in her eyes shaken by shock but not diminished in the slightest.

The suspended jade hand remained a death sentence pressing against Chu Xing’s neck.

She did not mention the Blue Vein Herb again, instead shifting her tone coldly. “What about the Dragon’s Blood Herb in the storeroom? What’s the story there?”

She asked instinctively, the question that had tormented her for days spilling out with an urgency even she hadn’t noticed.

A proud prodigy of the sect, she now appeared like a curious child, digging for answers. The sight made Chu Xing chuckle softly to himself.

Of course, the thought was fleeting.

Chu Xing swallowed hard, cold sweat still clinging to his back. He knew this was his only chance to survive—one wrong word and it would mean eternal doom.

Suppressing the wild pounding of his heart, he said, “Senior Sister Mu, the Dragon’s Blood Herb was an accident—I don’t know what happened there. But as for these seeds, I truly brought them back to life.”

“You brought them back?” Mu Wanqing’s gaze grew colder, an invisible pressure instantly enveloping Chu Xing. “You mean these saplings are all your doing?”

Her tone was icy, her eyes like blades—testing and warning him not to deceive her with lies.

Under the immense pressure, Chu Xing calmed down. He realized that constant retreat would only hasten his death.

“What do you expect?” Facing Mu Wanqing’s gaze, the stiff smile on his face finally faded, replaced by a feigned composure.

“Senior Sister Mu, you don’t seriously believe these seeds decided on their own to come back to life, do you?”

He threw the question back to her.

Mu Wanqing was momentarily struck dumb by his retort, a surge of absurdity rising within her.

Of course, seeds wouldn’t just decide to live again.

But because of that very fact, this man’s actions challenged her understanding, stirring a fierce curiosity in her otherwise steadfast heart devoted to the truths of alchemy.

Yet reason told her this man had shattered her greatest secret and could not be spared.

Killing intent and curiosity warred violently within her. In the end, the instinct of an alchemy prodigy temporarily overcame the urge to kill.

“Words are meaningless without proof.”

Mu Wanqing toned down her aura but kept her voice cold.

“Why should I believe you? Prove it to me. If you can’t—or if you try to trick me…”

She left the threat unfinished, but her eyes spoke volumes.

“Proof?” Chu Xing felt a flicker of relief—he knew his gamble had paid off. Yet his heart tightened immediately afterward.

This ability to bring the dead back to life was Chu Xing’s greatest trump card, a secret granted by the black stone pearl, meant to remain buried deep.

Now, to save his life, he had no choice but to reveal a fragment.

His gaze swept the corner of the cave, landing on a pile of discarded waste herbs that Mu Wanqing had thrown aside.

“Simple.”

He walked over, under Mu Wanqing’s scrutinizing gaze, and sifted through the debris until he found a withered herb with yellowing leaves but a still resilient root.

Without starting immediately, he took the dried herb and returned to stand before Mu Wanqing, no more than three feet apart. Given their vast difference in strength, he dared not keep too much distance.

“Senior Sister Mu, watch closely.”

He took a deep breath, his voice unusually solemn.

Mu Wanqing snorted coldly, her beautiful eyes fixed unblinkingly on the withered herb in his palm, missing not a single detail.

Chu Xing slowly closed his eyes, sinking his mind into his dantian, activating the black stone pearl.

A pure, gentle warmth flowed along his meridians, slowly reaching his palm.

This time, Chu Xing controlled the power with utmost care.

Under Mu Wanqing’s sharp gaze, an incredible sight unfolded.

At the center of the half-dead herb, on the withered yellow leaf, a tiny thread of verdant green, thinner than a needle’s tip, began to seep out from within!

That faint green was so subtle, yet so real, it illuminated a faint glimmer of life in the darkness!

“This…”

Mu Wanqing’s pupils suddenly contracted; her breath caught sharply.

This was beyond her comprehension! This was not merely forcing growth with primal energy—it was restoring lost vitality!

She instinctively stepped forward, glancing at Chu Xing, who looked calm and indifferent, as if this scene that defied all logic was nothing more than a casual gesture, unworthy of notice.

It was precisely this composure that shook her deeply—the overwhelming thirst for unknown truths completely overwhelmed the last remnants of her killing intent.

But such intense emotional turmoil was like the final straw, triggering the latent medicinal power within her!

“Ugh…”

Mu Wanqing let out a groan more painful than before; her already pale face turned as white as paper.

Her delicate body swayed violently, darkness filling her vision; a sharp pain like needles stabbing her dantian, and an irresistible weakness instantly drained all her strength.

“This is bad!”

Chu Xing’s expression changed. He had been fully focused on sustaining that fragile life force and had not expected this sudden collapse.

As her body went limp and began to fall to the ground,

Chu Xing reacted without hesitation, rushing forward in a single bound and firmly catching her soft, slippery form in his arms.

Her body was burning hot, as if holding a volcano about to erupt.

Mu Wanqing had completely lost consciousness, collapsing helplessly in his embrace.

Warm, fragrant, and tender in his arms.

Chu Xing froze completely, his mind momentarily blank.

Looking down at her pale, bloodless yet breathtakingly beautiful face, the strange scent of a woman’s fragrance lingering at his nose, only one thought filled his heart:

This is going to be a big problem.