Aurora Yates turned back and forth in front of the mirror, unable to hide her delight. She praised, "You really are a Grand Archmage, a master of the highest order—there's not a single flaw!"
"Wait a moment!"
Quinn Shepherd hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Don't move! When you smile, there's a faint little wrinkle at the corner of your eye—let me smooth it out for you, elder sister."
Aurora Yates immediately froze in place. Quinn leaned in, his fingertips bursting with tiny runes that activated the skin at the corner of her phoenix eyes, smoothing out the wrinkle and leaving her skin fine and pale.
Aurora blinked, lifted the mirror, and checked herself a few more times. She smiled at her reflection, discovering that the little wrinkle at the corner of her eye was indeed gone, and felt a surge of joy.
Quinn praised, "Elder sister, you really are beautiful."
Aurora was overjoyed, with a hint of shy pride.
"With all these fake medicines, it's not Apothecary who's about to be out of a job."
Deaf walked up to Apothecary, wiggled his ears, and said, "It's you who's about to be out of work. From now on, you'll only be able to sell fake medicine—you can't make a living off your face anymore."
Apothecary sighed and gave a bitter smile. "Teach your disciple too well, and the master starves. Quinn is about to become number one in the world. Luckily, this kid is still innocent and not obsessed with romance—otherwise, with that mouth of his, who knows how much trouble he'd stir up."
Deaf chuckled and said, "That's because we taught him well. Always keep your words sweet, but remember—all women are fox spirits. This kid never forgets, so even though he's polite and charming, he always keeps his guard up around every girl. That's why he never gets tangled up in your endless obsessions."
Apothecary steadied the bronze mask on his face and muttered, "Quinn's not a little kid anymore. Did we go too far teaching him that? What if he ends up too wary of women to ever get close to one? What if he never dares to take the next step with any girl—then what?"
Deaf fell silent.
Apothecary pressed again, but Deaf still said nothing.
Apothecary burst out laughing. "Your earlobes are already this long—stop pretending to be a sage! I'm talking to you, Deaf. Think of a solution, or I'll poison you until you spill!"
Deaf sighed. "I don't know either. Back then, I taught him to be gentle and upright, to treat women with respect. You all taught him that every woman is a fox spirit. But the Saint's Canon never said what to do in a situation like this. Maybe you should just give him some medicine to make him fall in love?"
Apothecary scoffed, "As my disciple, needing medicine to fall in love? That'd be a real embarrassment to the Jade-Faced Poison King. Besides, his medical skills are as good as mine—any drug I use, he could counter in a heartbeat. If I'd known, I would've kept a trick or two up my sleeve..."
...
The people of Lily Prefecture woke up, dazed and confused, with no idea what had happened overnight. Most just chalked it up to a strange dream and went about their business. A few cultivators sensed something big had happened, but no one could say exactly what.
But in the villages and towns, strange things started happening. Some people woke up and found their personalities completely changed—insisting they weren't women at all, but men from some faraway place, only to discover they'd become women overnight.
Cultivators in neighboring villages started investigating. When they questioned these people about their homes and families, the answers were crystal clear. But when they checked those places, sure enough, the families existed—except the person swore they weren’t a man, but a woman, just in the wrong body.
There were hundreds, maybe thousands of such cases—causing a total uproar.
"Most of them just ended up in the wrong bodies when their souls came back," someone explained.
Quinn heard the rumors and quickly deduced, "It's because the Woodcutter Sage's Soul-Calling Rite isn't quite perfected yet. When he sent the souls back to their bodies, a few slipped into the wrong ones. It's all because he doesn't fully grasp the Youdu language."
The Woodcutter Sage's face darkened. "If you're so capable, why don't you do it yourself?"
Quinn replied honestly, "I thought you had it covered, Master, but it turns out you were just a hair off. If you truly understood the essence and nuance of the Youdu language, the Soul-Calling Rite would work perfectly, and there'd be no mistakes."
The Woodcutter Sage was speechless, fuming in silence.
Apothecary and Deaf looked smugly satisfied. Deaf praised, "Quinn speaks sweetly and always with respect—no wonder, after all our hard work raising him. He's almost too polite! Saying the Sage is just a hair short of perfection, when really, the gap is huge!"
He stretched his arms wide to show just how big the gap was.
Apothecary joined in, pleased with himself. "That's our teaching! Since he was little, we taught him that there's always someone better out there, always a higher sky. Told him to stay humble and cautious—even if he meets someone less skilled, never say it outright. Just tell them, 'You're only a tiny bit below me.' That's why Quinn's never been beaten to death."