Chapter Seventeen: She Once Radiated Vibrancy and Grace

Spring Garden, Spring Garden, once again Spring Garden! What exactly is hidden within this Spring Garden? Why does this cursed place always seem to lure her back, day after day?

After being toyed with like a mere plaything by a restless spirit all night, Su Changling’s temper flared fiercely, nearly cleaving the dilapidated courtyard before her with a single stroke.

Fortunate were the rules of Buyunxu and her own sense of reason, which together restrained the surge of impulse in her chest. Otherwise, the pit she had dug on the mountain yesterday might well have been her own grave today.

But speaking of this Spring Garden...

Could it be that the vengeful ghost was the very woman Miss Cheng had mentioned—the one who, a century ago, hanged herself on the day of her late husband’s funeral to accompany him in death?

Yet that woman was clearly a mortal who had married young... How could she be connected to Buyunxu?

Was it a disciple’s bloodline accidentally left behind in the mountains? A family relative?

But Su Changling had heard no whispers of any scandalous affairs among the elders up on the mountain, and mere relatives who lacked the proper fate would hardly be capable of mastering such nearly divine swordsmanship.

No, she must observe carefully for a few more days.

If all else failed, she would return once more to Buyunxu and drag her master down the mountain.

Having resolved this in her mind, Su Changling hurried back to the small courtyard to find Cheng Yingxue.

Since she had already asked her second senior sister for medicine, it was only fitting to continue treating Miss Cheng’s injured foot.

If yesterday’s progress was any indication, then within the next day or two, her eight severed toes might be fully healed.

After that, relearning to walk and run on two whole feet would likely be a major undertaking.

Regrettably, by then, she feared she wouldn’t be able to help any further.

That part would have to be left to Miss Cheng herself—adapting slowly and practicing little by little.

Shaking her head at the thought, Su Changling nimbly crouched atop the roof to listen for a moment, confirming that the girl inside the room was still awake at this hour. She then slipped down and gently tapped on the window.

“Sister Su!” The young girl opened the window with a bright smile, tilting her head up as she beckoned her inside and hurried to fetch the snacks she had specially prepared for Su Changling. “My mother was in the mood to cook yesterday and made two kinds of treats. I tried them and found them quite tasty, so I saved two plates for you.”

“Please try them and see if they suit your taste.”

“...Thank you.” The girl who had climbed through the window hesitated briefly, then carefully picked up a small piece of milk cake from the dish under the eager gaze of the young girl.

The snack was fragrant, smooth, and delicate, filling the mouth with a rich milky aroma while offering a refreshing sweetness that was not cloying.

“Delicious.” Su Changling nodded shyly, giving a simple yet sincere compliment.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yingxue’s bright black eyes sparkled even more, urging her to try the other plate: “Try this one too, Sister Su.”

“Alright.” Su Changling drew her chin in slightly, and as soon as she finished the second snack, she met the young girl’s shining eyes. “How is it?”

“This one’s good too.” The second treat seemed to be made from fruit juice, its flavor bursting with floral and fruity notes, refreshingly sweet and sour—far better than the green tea and pepper with fruit pulp concoction her master had made.

Su Changling nodded in approval. “Madam’s culinary skills surpass even the head chef at the mountain’s dining hall.”

“Hehe! Naturally.” Cheng Yingxue lifted her chin with a proud smile. “After all, my mother studied the art of pastry making carefully!”

“My mother was a sweet-toothed child who always dreamed of running a pastry shop,” she explained. “But since eating too many sweets caused toothaches, my maternal grandparents forbade her from indulging. So she disguised herself as a servant girl and secretly learned various pastry techniques from the household cooks—to satisfy her cravings—and she even tried to improve the recipes herself.”

“It seems Madam was once a lively spirit,” Su Changling sighed softly, involuntarily recalling the current visage of Lady Cheng—gentle and composed, yet tinged with a subtle, lingering melancholy.

Who could fathom what trials and hardships the grand estate’s inner chambers had weathered to transform a once vivacious and mischievous girl into such a reserved, etiquette-bound lady?

Since descending the mountain, Su Changling had noticed that every mortal woman she encountered, including spirits, seemed to be subject to endless societal admonitions.

It was as if everyone was determined to mold all women into a single, uniform pattern—and yet she could not comprehend the meaning behind such conformity.

Would a spring filled with only one type of flower still be called spring?

Puzzled, Su Changling glanced down at the two porcelain plates before her, the snacks still warm from being gently heated on the brazier all night.

Upon hearing the word “lively,” Cheng Yingxue’s eyes darkened for a fleeting moment. “Yes, she truly was once a bright and spirited girl.”

“Unfortunately...” The young girl waved her hand dismissively. “Let’s not talk about that now. Sister Su, how did everything go yesterday?”

“Fairly well, but not entirely smooth.” Su Changling pursed her lips. Cheng Yingxue blinked in surprise. “Ah?”

“That monster is even more troublesome than I imagined.” The girl curled her fingers slightly, voice laced with restrained frustration. “What I found yesterday was useless—it slipped away again.”

“But I now have a clearer and more detailed direction for investigation, so it’s not entirely fruitless.”

At least, she had confirmed the ghost’s extraordinary obsession with Spring Garden.

“Anyway, whatever this thing is... sigh, it doesn’t matter,” Su Changling said, recalling how the spirit had toyed with her like a cat with a mouse, and shrugged as if giving up. “At worst, I’ll go back to the mountain and drag my master down.”

“After all, the current guardians of Buyunxu are him, not me.”

“By the way... Miss Cheng, how is your foot adapting? And have you figured out the accounts at the cosmetics shop?”

She recalled that her uncle had only granted her five days.

The time was tight.

The girl scratched her nose awkwardly and changed the subject. Cheng Yingxue pondered for a moment, then tapped the table with her fingers. “The accounts aren’t quite finished.”

“But we’ve basically uncovered the root cause of the shop’s years of losses.”

“Oh! You’re quite fast then.” Su Changling raised her eyebrows in surprise. The girl smiled modestly. “Not too bad, not too bad.”

“Actually, the problem is quite obvious... My uncle and the others didn’t notice it simply because they never cared about such a small shop—there are at least a hundred like it under the Cheng family’s name.”

“Here, Sister Su.” As she spoke, Cheng Yingxue bent down and brought three small, identical-looking boxes from beneath the table. Opening them revealed three seemingly identical blush powders. “Take a look at these.”

“Can you tell the differences between them?”