Chapter 1417: Female Beauty

Two days later, Wuxin understood what his master had meant.

Two days after that, Yuan Se's disciple Huo Kong, now the Presiding Administrator of Misty Pavilion, also returned to undergo examination.

That meant everyone who needed to be checked had now been checked. Yuan Se once again came to the quarters where the Ghost Doctor and his disciples were staying and asked what the results were.

The Ghost Doctor once more pushed forward three bottles and jars bearing names. "Sacred Venerable may choose whichever of these three you deem appropriate."

Yuan Se read the names on them and frowned. "Still the same three as last time?"

The Ghost Doctor nodded. "Yes. The people who came afterward were not matches. Only these three are somewhat suitable."

Consort Yuan, who had accompanied Yuan Se, secretly clenched her teeth.

Yuan Se asked, "Somewhat suitable? Can they be used?"

"At the very least, they won't affect Sacred Venerable's ordinary sight. There may be some slight discomfort at worst. Even in the worst case, the eye should last several years. A few years ought to be enough time to find a truly suitable match, and it won't be too late to replace it then."

Yuan Se nearly felt his teeth ache listening to him. This was an eye, yet in the Ghost Doctor's mouth it sounded like replacing a worn part from a table or chair. "It can only be used for a few years?"

"Sacred Venerable misunderstands. I said several years only in the worst possible case. Barring an accident, it should be usable for a very long time."

"Isn't there a more reliable method?"

"Sacred Venerable, the principles of most things beneath Heaven are much the same. Only what fits best is truly best. If Sacred Venerable is in no hurry, you can allow this old man to continue searching slowly."

"How long would that take?"

"This..." The Ghost Doctor looked troubled. "No one can say when a suitable match will appear. The matching rate within the Sacred Land is already quite high. Among outsiders, you might not find even one suitable person in ten thousand. A matter like this depends on fortune. We might find someone the moment we go outside, or we might search three or five years without encountering a suitable match."

Yuan Se's single eye slid toward Consort Yuan. "You think she may be the best match?"

Consort Yuan pressed her lips tightly together.

The Ghost Doctor said, "That is only a judgment based on experience and visual inspection. It cannot serve as the final conclusion. She may be the best match, she may be worse than those three, or this old man may simply have judged incorrectly and she may be of no use whatsoever. Whether she is suitable can only be determined after a final examination."

Yuan Se immediately chuckled at Consort Yuan. "Consort Yuan, why not let Hei Li examine you and see just how sharp his eye really is?"

Consort Yuan's expression was not pleasant. "Sacred Venerable, he bears resentment toward me. If I let him examine me, he will certainly say I am suitable."

The Ghost Doctor's voice sank. "Consort Yuan, those words are far too ignorant of medicine. This is not something that becomes suitable merely because I say so. We are treating injury and illness; there can be no falsification in the slightest. Sacred Venerable himself will personally experience the final result of the treatment. Can fraud in a matter like this possibly be concealed? Consort Yuan, this old man has neither grievance nor enmity with you. Why do you keep targeting me?"

Why did she keep targeting him? Yuan Se was no fool. Of course he knew this was not really about hostility toward the Ghost Doctor. Consort Yuan simply did not want to lose an eye.

At the same time, he also found the Ghost Doctor's reasoning convincing. He himself would experience the treatment's result. Whether it was genuine or false, he could judge for himself afterward.

He raised a plump hand and gently stroked Consort Yuan's smooth bare back. "Don't think too much. I only want to see how sharp the famous Ghost Doctor's eye really is. Let him examine you." As he spoke, his hand gave her lower back a casual push.

Consort Yuan stumbled two steps forward. Biting her lip, she dared not disobey. Slowly, she raised a hand and extended one finger. She had already seen how samples were taken from the others.

The Ghost Doctor immediately gestured. His two disciples brought over the necessary tools and carefully cut away a tiny piece of flesh and blood from Consort Yuan's finger.

Once that was done, Yuan Se found an excuse not to disturb them further and took Consort Yuan away.

After leaving the courtyard, Yuan Se immediately summoned Huo Kong. He instructed him to guard the place carefully and permit no one to disturb the Ghost Doctor and his disciples, Consort Yuan included. Huo Kong was to remain there and wait for the Ghost Doctor's results, then report to him the instant there was an answer.

Huo Kong naturally accepted the command.

Less than half a day later, Huo Kong hurried out of the courtyard and went straight to the Sacred Hall. He found Yuan Se and, with Consort Yuan present, bent down to whisper in Yuan Se's ear. "Master, the test results are out. A complete match. She is the best candidate!"

Lying on a reclining chair, Yuan Se immediately perked up. His single eye slid toward Consort Yuan, then he rebuked Huo Kong. "There are no outsiders here. Stop skulking around and say it clearly."

Huo Kong froze, then promptly raised his voice. "Master, the Ghost Doctor's test results for Consort Yuan are out. A complete match. She is the best candidate!"

Consort Yuan's heart lurched, and a chill ran through her.

Yuan Se asked, "There isn't any mistake?"

"The Ghost Doctor was afraid there might be, so he tested and verified it repeatedly. He is certain there is no error."

"It seems that old fellow really does have a discerning eye." Yuan Se waved Huo Kong away, then turned back to Consort Yuan. "My beloved consort, don't worry. This has nothing to do with you. As I said, I only wanted to verify how good the Ghost Doctor's eye was. Now I have rather more confidence in his ability to find a suitable replacement eye."

Only after hearing that did Consort Yuan truly relax.

Yet she soon sensed that the atmosphere around her had changed.

Yuan Se no longer spoke to her about the search for a suitable eye. He handed responsibility for the matter to someone else.

Two personal maidservants appeared beside Yuan Se and remained with him day and night. The place that had once belonged to her no longer seemed to be hers.

Yuan Se's explanation was that he wanted her to cultivate in peace. In addition, Wuliang Garden needed someone trustworthy to oversee it, so he intended to send her there to take charge.

The implication was that she was to surrender the authority in her hands and turn it over to those two personal maidservants.

The winds within Dayuan Sacred Land shifted quickly. Once Yuan Se began elevating those two women, Consort Yuan immediately tasted the fickleness of human favor. As their position rose, their attitude toward her gradually became less respectful.

In only two days, she could no longer even enter the Sacred Hall. When she asked to see Yuan Se, she was stopped outside and told that he was resting and should not be disturbed.

The taste of losing power was bitter. She understood perfectly well that worse still lay ahead. When that time came, whether she could even preserve her life might become uncertain. Some of those wretched women would probably never allow her another chance to rise again.

In the end, Consort Yuan forced her way into the Sacred Hall and insisted on seeing Yuan Se. She took the initiative and said that she was willing to make the sacrifice.

Yuan Se was greatly gratified and immediately ordered Huo Kong to inform the Ghost Doctor and arrange the eye transplant.

...

The transplant procedure took a little less than half a day.

When it was over, Yuan Se and Consort Yuan emerged from the treatment room, each with the left eye wrapped in white cloth.

The Ghost Doctor accompanied them and explained, "If Sacred Venerable takes a Heavenly Succor Pill, your left eye should be fully healed in three days."

"Good. Then we'll wait three days." Yuan Se laughed heartily.

Naturally, there was no chance the Ghost Doctor and his disciples would be allowed to leave during those three days.

After they exited the small courtyard, Yuan Se comforted Consort Yuan as they walked. "My beloved consort, don't worry. I've already instructed Hei Li to do everything possible to find an eye suitable for transplanting into you."

Consort Yuan forced out a smile and thanked him.

Huo Kong, accompanying them at the side, sighed inwardly. He had personally witnessed the entire process by which this woman had been forced to yield. His master had not directly compelled her at all, yet she had obediently softened and cooperated on her own.

After hurrying back to her room, Consort Yuan sat down before her dressing table. Facing the mirror, she removed the cloth over her left eye.

When she saw the black hollow where the eye had been, both hands immediately flew to her face. Her entire body trembled beyond control.

For a woman, especially a beautiful woman, suddenly being reduced to this one-eyed appearance was a blow whose effect scarcely needed explaining.

After covering the hollow of her left eye again, Consort Yuan stared blankly at herself in the mirror. For some reason, the scene of Ding Wei's death suddenly flashed through her mind.

She had told Ding Wei that she was actually Yuan Se's wife, and Ding Wei had looked at her with mocking contempt.

Now she seemed to understand why he had reacted that way.

Yuan Se had lived for several hundred years. How many years had she lived?

And she had actually believed herself to be Yuan Se's wife.

After pulling herself together, the first thing Consort Yuan did was eliminate the two favored maidservants at Yuan Se's side.

Yuan Se quite literally turned a blind eye.

...

In a secret chamber at Maolu Annex, Niu Youdao stood with his hands clasped behind his back before a map, his thoughts heavy.

The Six Sacred Venerables had not been distracted by the various upheavals. They were still steadily advancing the internal investigation within Misty Pavilion. Although wave after wave of disorder repeatedly interrupted the process, they merely adjusted their pace and resumed the investigation.

If things continued this way, the next stage of scrutiny would reach the major sects.

They already had a contingency for avoiding and responding to such an investigation, but unless there was absolutely no alternative, Niu Youdao did not want to take that step. Everyone knew that Zijin Cave stood behind Nanzhou's power. If Zijin Cave fled into concealment, Nanzhou would inevitably be implicated. That was exactly what he had been trying so hard to avoid.

The Six Sacred Venerables' orderly, step-by-step advance placed considerable pressure on him.

Yuan Gang arrived and handed him a translated confidential message.

Yuan Gang had now returned to his original role, handling intelligence from every quarter. The difference was that he had lost his freedom and could no longer go out and meet people.

The confidential message had come from Sha Rulai. It mentioned a rumor recently spreading through the Sacred Realm: Lü Wushuang had died at the hands of the Scorpion Emperor.

Niu Youdao stared at the message for a while, then gave a soft snort. "Looks like Wu Chang has made his move." He turned. "Come. Let's go see our Sacred Venerable Wushuang."

The two left the secret chamber one after another. Passing through a corridor, they entered a downward-sloping side passage and arrived at a room deep underground.

Lü Wushuang sat dressed in white, her head wrapped in white cloth, staring blankly at an oil lamp.

She looked almost as though she had been reborn from a cocoon. With Yun Ji using spiritual power to assist her, new skin had grown over her body and her original appearance was nearly restored. The new skin simply looked unnaturally tender. More precisely, it had not yet fully matured into normal skin, and her hair, eyebrows, and the like had not completely grown back.

"Your complexion looks better again. It shouldn't be long before you're back to normal." Niu Youdao walked to her side with a smile. "At your age, recovering this far after such terrible injuries—Wuliang Fruit really is miraculous. Your cultivation may be gone, but its effect on your physical body remains."

Lü Wushuang ignored him and continued staring absently at the oil lamp.

Niu Youdao held out the intelligence report. "Your people may be in trouble. I'm sure you have a way to contact them. Tell them to hide. I'll help transmit the message."

Lü Wushuang slowly turned her head and looked at him. She accepted the report and read it, then said, "You would be that kindhearted? I think you want them to disappear into hiding so you can use them later."

When she finished speaking, she held the report over the lamp flame. She personally set it alight and watched it burn to ash.

Niu Youdao said, "For now, someone is only spreading rumors to test the waters. If they hide now, there's still time. If they wait..." He paused. "Some of them are your own disciples, aren't they?"

Lü Wushuang replied, "Do you think their lives and deaths still matter to me?"

Niu Youdao said, "As long as you remain useful, I'll let you live. You should understand such a simple principle."

Lü Wushuang stared at him. "I don't want to die without even knowing whose hands I fell into. Take off your false face. Once I've seen your true appearance, I'll contact them. Otherwise, do as you please."

[End of Chapter 1417]