Chapter 18 Wu Jiangxue's Past: In the end, it was still Gu Xiaozhu who truly loved her...

In the end, Gu Xiaozhu personally carried the Spirit Rabbit and, together with Cui Lingling, returned it to its original location.

Of course, Jiang Zhihe followed along as well.

Upon arrival, the Spirit Rabbit lingered for a long time before reluctantly leaving Gu Xiaozhu's embrace.

Cui Lingling was also amazed: "It's amazing that the Spirit Rabbit likes you so much!"

Gu Xiaozhu: "I'm not quite sure either..."

"Host, in my opinion, it's probably due to your constitution," the system said at this moment.

[Didn't that phantom demon say you smelled good? Maybe this rabbit thinks so too.]

Gu Xiaozhu's body stiffened.

You mean...this rabbit wants to eat me?

The system quickly replied: "No, no, it's a spirit beast! It probably just thinks your 'scent' is very pleasant, so it wants to get closer to you."

Gu Xiaozhu breathed a sigh of relief.

After this little incident, Gu Xiaozhu and Jiang Zhihe said goodbye to Cui Lingling and returned to their own courtyard.

However, that very night, Jiang Zhihe seemed to be summoned away by a last-minute message, and had to leave the Valley of the Immortal Physicians for a while.

Before leaving, he gave Gu Xiaozhu a lot of instructions, such as remembering to eat breakfast, being careful while walking, and not staying out too late.

He reluctantly left only after his communication jade pendant started vibrating again.

The next day, when Gu Xiaozhu woke up in the morning, she found an unfamiliar disciple standing in front of the courtyard gate.

Gu Xiaozhu: "You are...?"

The disciple scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed: "Um... hello. I... I heard from Senior Sister Cui that you're very popular with spirit beasts..."

Gu Xiaozhu: "...?"

"My pet spirit beasts have been very noisy during mealtime today, so... so could you please help me? Maybe they'll behave better so I can feed them."

Gu Xiaozhu hesitated for a moment, genuinely unsure where the news of her being "very popular with spirit beasts" came from.

So far, only the Spirit Rabbit seems to like her a lot?

[Host, based on my deduction, your constitution is effective against these spirit beasts and demon beasts.]

After hearing the system's words and seeing the expectant look on the disciple's face, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

She sighed inwardly, then said, "Okay, but I'm not sure if I can help you."

The disciple was immediately overjoyed: "No problem at all! I'm already very grateful that you're willing to go and give it a try!"

She then followed the disciple to the place where he kept his spirit beasts.

And as it turned out, the system was right.

The spirit beast enclosure, which used to be chaotic during mealtimes, was surprisingly well-behaved this time.

Gu Xiaozhu simply stood there, and they would all gather around her and lie down quietly.

The disciple was overjoyed and wept tears of joy. He had never experienced such a smooth feeding process before! When he fed them before, the spirit beasts would either jump over his head or kick him several times for no reason.

This time, however, he was completely unharmed! He was even a little dazed after being fed.

Finally, when he sent Gu Xiaozhu back, he also gave her several bottles of healing pills as a token of his gratitude.

At first, she refused to accept it, since she really hadn't done anything; she had just stood there and waited for the disciple to finish feeding the spirit beast. But the disciple was so enthusiastic that she eventually couldn't refuse and had to accept it.

After this incident, the news that the mortal girl brought back by the eldest disciple could make spirit beasts very obedient quickly spread throughout the Immortal Healer Valley. As a result, many disciples would come to Gu Xiaozhu for help, and she never refused.

After all, being able to help others always makes her happy and allows her to experience her own value.

Thus, Gu Xiaozhu's life in the Valley of the Immortal Physician changed from being leisurely at the beginning to being quite busy later on.

… …

“Actually, you don’t have to help everyone who comes to you,” Wu Jiangxue said.

It was already late, and she had left her duties of teaching her junior brothers and sisters to come to Gu Xiaozhu's courtyard.

During this time, she naturally heard that Gu Xiaozhu was very popular with spirit beasts. At first, she didn't care, but later she could always see Gu Xiaozhu in various places in the Valley of the Immortal Healer.

She seems very busy.

But why is she so busy?

She then inquired with the other disciples and discovered that Gu Xiaozhu never refused anyone who came to her for help.

The two sat side by side at the stone table in the courtyard, on which sat osmanthus cakes that Wu Jiangxue had brought.

Gu Xiaozhu asked, puzzled, "Why? Wouldn't it be good if I could help them?"

Looking at the girl's face, Wu Jiangxue sighed softly, "Helping others is certainly good, but you are too soft-hearted."

Gu Xiaozhu was taken aback: "Too...soft-hearted?"

Wu Jiangxue lowered her eyes slightly, a hint of reminiscence flashing in them, but it was quickly concealed: "Xiaozhu, being too soft-hearted is not a good thing, sometimes it can even harm you."

She turned her head, looked into the girl's eyes, and smiled: "You need to learn to say no to others."

"You are not obligated to help others just because they ask for your help. It is not your duty, so you don't need to compromise yourself to help others."

Gu Xiaozhu looked at the woman in white opposite her. The smile on her face seemed no different from usual, but she felt that... Wu Jiangxue's emotions were a little strange.

She thought about it for a moment, then decided to ask anyway:

"Sister Wu, are you... alright?"

Wu Jiangxue was slightly taken aback, then chuckled, "What could possibly be wrong with me? Why would you ask that?"

Gu Xiaozhu hesitated before speaking, "I have a feeling... you don't seem to be in a good mood."

"Are you... thinking of something unpleasant?"

It was only then that Wu Jiangxue realized that the girl in front of her had an absurdly high level of perception of other people's emotions.

It was the same last time outside the gates of Lingyong City, and it will be the same this time.

She can always sense changes in the emotions of those around her.

"If you'd like, perhaps you could talk to me about it? After all, talking about it would probably make you feel much better, right?"

"Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to; that's your freedom."

And provide care and... assistance.

Wu Jiangxue remained silent for a long time, so long that Gu Xiaozhu kept asking the system in her mind if she had said something wrong, if she shouldn't have said it, if she had been too presumptuous, if she had reopened someone's wounds, and so on.

"What should I do? Why isn't Sister Wu saying anything? I shouldn't have said that..."

The system reassured: [Don't worry, host, you didn't say anything wrong at all. Perhaps Wu Jiangxue was... well, thinking?]

But Gu Xiaozhu was still somewhat uneasy: "Coco...does it really take this long to think about this?"

"Oh my god, if I remembered the plot and Sister Wu's past, maybe I could have a better idea!"

[Actually, host, even if you remember, it probably won't be of much use.]

Gu Xiaozhu: "Huh?"

Because I remember the plot, and I remember the characters' pasts! But...

But as you know, the plot has become somewhat out of sync; even the male lead's identity has changed, so it's not surprising that the other supporting characters have also undergone some changes, is it?

[Furthermore, based on my memory, Wu Jiangxue's life story in the original plot was quite normal, and she was also very kind. She would save people with all her heart, and by all accounts, she was a truly good person.]

Gu Xiaozhu sensed something was wrong: "Saving people...saving them with all your heart?"

[Um, this is the original plot, is there a problem?]

Gu Xiaozhu: "But... I've seen Sister Wu saving people during my time at the Valley of Healers. She... usually gives a few instructions after the rescue and then leaves. It's not like what you're saying..."

"Put your heart out?"

The system was bewildered: [Huh?]

[Coco... In the original story, Wu Jiangxue was a kind and soft-hearted person. If she discovered other problems while saving people, she would treat them as well. And sometimes she wouldn't charge a fee, and she would often travel to the mortal realm to practice medicine...]

The more the system spoke, the softer its voice became.

Clearly, He also noticed something was wrong.

Gu Xiaozhu: "During the time we've been here, we haven't seen Sister Wu go to the mortal realm to practice medicine. Moreover, she always charges a fee when treating her fellow disciples."

She thought for a moment and then added, "Well...except for those we're very close to."

The system's electronic voice carried a hint of surprise: "So... while Wu Jiangxue's identity hasn't changed, some of her past experiences must have altered her?"

Gu Xiaozhu: "Should...?"

“A long time ago… when I was still in the Qi Refining stage, I was very young and not very tall, only about my waist now. I used to go down the mountain with my senior sister to practice medicine.” Wu Jiangxue suddenly spoke.

Gu Xiaozhu also snapped out of her daze and began to listen attentively to Wu Jiangxue's words.

Wu Jiangxue glanced at the girl in front of her. Although she didn't want to admit it, but...

For some reason, it was this girl, who was even younger than her, who made her feel a sense of peace from the bottom of her heart.

“My senior sister is very kind. She took me with her and treated people in the mortal world who couldn’t afford medical care for free. I helped her at the time.”

"To be honest, after receiving those heartfelt thanks, I felt a great sense of accomplishment, which further strengthened my determination to pursue a career in medical training."

She placed her hands on the stone table, clasped them together, lowered her eyelids, and fell into reminiscence.

“During my time practicing medicine, I felt really happy. I felt that being able to become a healer and help these people was a really good and meaningful thing.”

"but……"

Her tone lowered: "But I never thought that I would hurt my senior sister because of a moment of soft-heartedness."

Gu Xiaozhu was taken aback, but Wu Jiangxue continued speaking.

"The weather was sunny that day, and my senior sister was seeing patients in order as usual. There were so many people that there was a long queue."

"Just as I was going out to help my senior sister with her things, an old woman grabbed the hem of my clothes."

Gu Xiaozhu noticed that her hand, which was resting on the table, suddenly tightened its grip.

Wu Jiangxue slightly parted her lips and said softly, "She said that her grandson is dying, and all the doctors outside say that her grandson is beyond saving. She asked me if I could save her grandson."

"At that time... seeing how sincere she was, and seeing that the boy she was holding had a flushed face and was breathing very weakly, I agreed."

She took a deep breath and continued, "Later I found out that her grandson had contracted a very troublesome infectious disease. I prescribed medicine for them and got the medicine, and told them to take it strictly according to the dosage."

Gu Xiaozhu: "Then...that child recovered?"

Wu Jiangxue paused, not answering, but instead gave a bitter smile: "The next day, that old woman came to the clinic where my senior sister and I were, holding her grandson, crying and saying that I had killed her grandson. Later, we found out that after she went home, in order to make her grandson get better faster, she actually gave him three times the usual dose of medicine at once!"

At this moment, the system in his mind clicked its tongue: "[Damn, doesn't she deserve it? She clearly killed her own grandson, yet she insists on blaming Wu Jiangxue.]"

Wu Jiangxue: "My senior sister wasn't there at the time, and I panicked a bit. I immediately went to check on the child and found that the child wasn't actually dead, but his breathing was very weak and he was on the verge of death."

"As soon as I said there was still hope, the old woman's face immediately changed, and she pitifully begged me to save her grandson."

"As a medical cultivator, I really couldn't just sit idly by, even though I really disliked that old woman. But I made a mistake again."

"My senior sister told me long ago before I went down the mountain that if I were to treat them for free, I absolutely could not use cultivator methods, but must use mortal medical skills."

"But the situation was urgent, and I didn't think too much before I gave the child a Rejuvenation Pill."

"Naturally, the child recovered immediately."

System: [I bet there'll be a plot twist where kindness is repaid with enmity later on!]

As expected.

"When the old woman saw this, instead of thanking me, she grabbed my hand and questioned me, asking why I didn't cure her grandson in the first place when I clearly had this ability."

Wu Jiangxue's back was slightly bent:

"That was the first time I began to question whether becoming a medical cultivator and saving lives was truly the right thing to do."