Rebirth: Dominator of the Multiverse

Chapter 7

The Twin Snow Lotuses

"Xiang Nu, stop. Young Master Fan isn't a bad man," Ming Na said in a low voice.

Only then did Xiang Nu shift her body aside, though her eyes remained sharp with wariness.

At that moment, Ming Na turned to face Fan Xue Li. A flush crept across her cheeks, and she spoke with a trace of embarrassment. "Young Master Fan, my apologies. It's just that my mother suffers from yin deficiency and needs spiritual herbs to nourish her body. I had hoped to take a drop of heart's blood from that Nine-Spirit Fox, but I was too hasty."

She had just heard Fan Xue Li's open-hearted views on all living things, and a spark of kinship had stirred within her.

Seeing this, Fan Xue Li felt a subtle shift in his chest. Princess Ming Na before him carried an extraordinary grace, her nature pure and kind. Her willingness to defend him like this stirred a quiet affection in his heart. And most crucially, he was striving to protect his own loved ones, while this princess had braved perilous journeys for her mother's illness—through every hazard and hidden danger. It kindled in him a profound sense of shared sorrow.

"If your mother's condition is yin deficiency, then I'll lend you a hand," he said. With that, Fan Xue Li turned and made his way back toward the spot where the Thousand Mountains Snow Lotus had bloomed.

For an instant, a luminous warmth flickered in Ming Na's eyes. This young master was willing to help her?

Xiang Nu's brows knit even tighter. She had seen countless suitors fawn over the princess with feigned mysticism and hollow tricks. Yet this youth's cultivation was utterly ordinary—far from a match for her. How could he possibly treat such an elusive affliction as yin deficiency? As long as he didn't make things worse, that would be enough.

By now, Fan Xue Li had reached the place of the earlier Thousand Mountains Snow Lotus. He knelt to the ground, his gaze fixed intently on the intricate patterns etched in the ice and snow. Then he began to probe the area around it.

A gust of wind swept through, scattering flecks of snow that dusted his face. Fan Xue Li paid them no mind, his movements growing ever more deliberate, silent as a shadow.

In the next breath, his hand darted out—swift as lightning, impossible to evade—and plunged into the snow. He unearthed a Thousand Mountains Snow Lotus in a single grasp.

This bloom was twice the size of the previous female lotus, its petals vivid and commanding, brimming with potent medicinal essence. It was unmistakably a male snow lotus!

Ming Na's face lit with uncontainable joy. "Young Master Fan, how did you know there was a male snow lotus here?" She looked at him squarely now, her exquisite features alight with earnest innocence, like flawless jade untouched by flaw.

Fan Xue Li offered a faint smile. "It's simple enough. Male and female snow lotuses always grow in pairs—the male larger, the female smaller. But they never bloom side by side; they're always a couple of zhang apart. The male is cunning and alert; to harvest it, one must move without a whisper of sound. The slightest disturbance, and it vanishes into the snow without a trace."

For him, these twin snow lotuses were nothing more than the barest fundamentals of becoming a pill-refining grandmaster.

Xiang Nu's heart clenched in quiet astonishment. She hadn't expected Fan Xue Li to have such skill after all. Could this youth truly be some hidden master?

Fan Xue Li approached Ming Na and extended the male snow lotus to her, his voice steady and grave. "A yin-deficient constitution often stems from the womb itself. If not properly tended, it worsens with time. Most people reach for the male snow lotus to replenish yin, unaware that yin deficiency takes many forms. While it offers relief, it's no panacea—it must be administered with precision."

As a pill-refining grandmaster, such afflictions held no mystery for him.

Ming Na's eyes shimmered with crystalline light. To think this Young Master Fan was so versed in medicine. Unable to contain herself, she asked, "What do you mean, then? How should the male snow lotus be taken?" She hadn't anticipated such a windfall; in her delight, she drew closer to Fan Xue Li, almost brushing against him.

Fan Xue Li smiled softly. "Three parts mountain lily, two parts heavenly ninegrass, one part yellow ginseng—blended together to steady the male snow lotus's essence, allowing the patient to absorb it fully."

This was the optimal method for treating yin deficiencies and kindred ailments, a formula he had refined through relentless trials in his previous life.

"Thank you, Young Master Fan. Ming Na is endlessly grateful." She committed the herbs and their measures to memory, her eyes brimming with elation. After all her trials and tribulations, her heart's desire was finally within reach!

"Even without the male snow lotus, your mother would heal just knowing the depth of your devotion." Fan Xue Li could see the toll this quest had taken on Ming Na—the dust of the road still clinging to her. His own mother lay gravely ill; he understood that gnawing anxiety all too well.

"You're truly a good man," Ming Na said sweetly, her natural fragrance growing richer, warmer. In her gaze toward Fan Xue Li, a thread of fondness had quietly woven itself.

By now, even Xiang Nu set aside her earlier disdain. Her eyes fixed on Fan Xue Li, a thrill of surprise rippling through her. She had misjudged him entirely—this man possessed knowledge beyond the ordinary. He was no simple soul.