Three months later.
In the distance, a vast sea of purple flowers filled the air with a gentle fragrance. Nearby, a waterfall thundered down hundreds of feet, spectacular and wild. Alongside the purple blooms stretched lush green meadows, where butterflies circled in pairs, fluttering their wings together like lovers—ridiculously romantic. Scattered across the grass were rabbits and squirrels in white, gray, black, and every color you could imagine.
This place was like a hidden peach blossom paradise. If you looked past the flower fields, you’d spot a little forest, and tucked inside was a small house with its own courtyard. Anyone who didn’t know better would swear it was home to immortals!
Inside the courtyard stood a lone cottage, topped with something like a tiny chimney, constantly puffing out smoke. But instead of the smell of food, it was the scent of medicinal herbs.
“Living Buddha Sage, is this medicine actually working or not?” grumbled a boy dressed like a page, waving a bamboo fan in frustration.
“Maybe, possibly, I guess?” The old man busied himself with herbs at the window—none other than the legendary Living Buddha Sage.
“Yeah right! She’s been taking your medicine for three months and still hasn’t woken up. Just give up already! Brewing this stuff every day is driving me nuts!” The young man pouted, clearly annoyed.
“Yeah yeah yeah, where’d you learn to talk like that?” Living Buddha Sage shot back, not pleased with Aiden’s whining.
“Ugh, it’s so annoying! Every single day I have to brew medicine until I’m half suffocated by these herbs. And she’s just lying there, half dead, making it impossible for me to go out and catch wild pheasants! Seriously, Young Master hasn’t had wild pheasant soup in ages, right?”
“Catch wild pheasants? You’re such a little kid, Aiden! You’re eighteen now, but you’re still not mature at all. Admit it, you just want to eat pheasant, you greedy little cat!” Living Buddha Sage replied, not bothering to turn around.
Aiden grumbled, “Eighteen, so what? I’m still the youngest here! Grandpa Sage, you haven’t left the valley in forever, and I haven’t tasted real food from outside in ages. You promised to bring me candied hawthorn last time!” Even though he was eighteen, years at the bottom of the valley with no outsiders kept him childish at heart.
“Eat, eat, eat—that’s all you think about! By the way, the medicine’s almost ready, so stop fanning around. Take that bowl on the table and bring it to Eli Crane—our Young Master.” Living Buddha Sage turned to Aiden, still fiddling with herbs.
Aiden hurried to the window and glanced at the sky. “Young Master’s practicing guqin right now. I’d better not interrupt. I’ll wait another half a stick of incense before I go!”
Living Buddha Sage glanced over and chuckled, “You can even keep track of your Young Master’s schedule down to the minute now?”
“Of course! There’s only three of us down here, plus some animals. I’ve got nothing better to do than study this stuff. And honestly, I just don’t want Young Master to get upset.” Aiden finished with a sincere smile.
“Not bad,” Living Buddha Sage praised, then moved to the medicine pot, pinched the lid open, and sniffed. “Hmm, still missing something!” It just didn’t smell quite right.
“Living Buddha Sage, do you think that girl’s already dead? She hasn’t moved at all. I bet she’s ninety percent gone!” Aiden started gossiping—after all, with only three people here and Eli Crane so quiet, he had to bug the Sage for conversation.
“Nonsense!” Living Buddha Sage snapped. “I’m the Living Buddha Sage—there’s no one I can’t save! I love tackling weird, hopeless cases. If it was easy, I wouldn’t bother. Listen, the heavens don’t want that girl dead. Otherwise, her heart wouldn’t be on the right side!” He spoke with mysterious authority.
“Her heart’s on the right side?” Aiden blinked, stunned.
“Exactly! If that dagger had stabbed as deep as it did, she’d be dead for sure—especially since it was coated in poison. If she hadn’t met me, she’d be long gone. But… why hasn’t she woken up?” Three months had passed and the girl still hadn’t stirred. If not for her breathing, she’d look just like a corpse.
“Oh, please! Living Buddha Sage, you’re just bragging. If you’re that amazing, how come you still haven’t cured Young Master Eli Crane’s illness?” Aiden pouted, making it clear he thought the Sage was full of hot air.
“You brat, want a beating?” Living Buddha Sage spun around, ready to swat him. Eli Crane’s illness really was tough… but he’d never give up!
Aiden suddenly got serious. “I’ve been thinking—this girl can’t die!”
“What, you got a crush on her now?” Living Buddha Sage put the lid back on and kept fussing with his herbs.
“No way!”
“Then why are you suddenly so concerned about her?”
Aiden fell in step behind Grandpa Sage, waving his bamboo fan and thinking hard. “She fell from way up high, and if Young Master’s white crane hadn’t saved her, she’d be dead for sure. But the crane got badly hurt, too! You know how important the spirit crane is—Young Master needs it to get around since he can’t walk much. And she’s so heavy, she nearly killed it! So she has to live, just to pay them back!”
“Eli Crane’s spirit crane only listens to him. If fate made it save her, that’s destiny—not some payback! Stop reading those silly storybooks about repaying kindness.” The Living Buddha Sage grumbled about Aiden’s obsession with marketplace tales, but the kid just loved those comics.
“Come on, Living Buddha Sage, whose side are you on? You know how much Young Master Eli Crane needs his spirit crane—he can barely walk, always in a wheelchair, and only gets out by flying on the crane. She’s so heavy she nearly squashed it!”
This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page for more fun!
“If the crane really died, so be it! Eli Crane wanted it to—could you have stopped him?” Living Buddha Sage glanced at Aiden, stroked his beard, and teased, “Honestly, you’re just jealous that she got to ride Eli Crane’s spirit crane. What, you want a turn? Well, you’ll have to lose some weight first!”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Aiden protested, clearly offended by the ‘lose weight’ jab. “I don’t want to ride it anyway—it’s just a white crane, and I’d be scared to sit on it! I’m just… worried about Young Master, you know? He’s so thin, so light… sometimes I think a strong wind could blow him away. Poor Young Master, why’s his life so hard!” With that, he burst into noisy tears.
Living Buddha Sage shook his head. “Enough, enough, you’re so noisy! I’m still working on a way to heal Eli Crane’s legs, and anyway, he can walk a little now. Just take the medicine to him, I need to check on that girl.” He grabbed a rag, picked up the medicine, and headed for the side room, eager to escape Aiden’s endless chatter.
Left with no choice, Aiden pouted, grabbed the medicine, and trudged off toward the Purple Bamboo Grove.
All along the path, mysterious birds chirped cheerful songs. The rabbits just kept munching grass, totally unbothered by Aiden’s approach—clearly, these animals knew he’d never hurt them!
From a distance, Aiden heard beautiful music drifting from the Purple Bamboo Grove. He didn’t know much about guqin, but every time Young Master played, even he—a total rookie—was enchanted. Carrying the medicine, he hadn’t walked far before the music stopped. Aiden grinned, thinking, Perfect timing!
He always timed his medicine delivery perfectly. As much as he loved hearing Young Master play, he never wanted to interrupt, so he made sure to arrive at just the right moment.
Soon enough, Aiden spotted a familiar figure—white robes fluttering in the breeze, seated in a wheelchair. On the stone table before him sat a centuries-old guqin, and beside it, a delicate ceramic incense burner sent wisps of fragrant white smoke curling into the air…
Aiden beamed and called out loudly, “Young Master—!”
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PS: I’ve always said Old Seven isn’t a perfect person—nobody’s perfect! Maybe some of you are disappointed, but that’s how I designed him. I don’t want to change him just to please everyone. He’s got flaws, but he’s still wonderful. And whoever keeps throwing rotten eggs at me every day, at least tell me why! Rotten eggs are expensive, you know—pffft~~~~!