Chapter 25: For Mother to Eat

Before her rebirth, she had fallen asleep after finishing her daily tally of spirit stones. She remembered that one stone had a rough spot that pricked her finger; the blood had vanished the moment it touched the edge of her warm jade bed.

Exhausted at the time, she hadn't paid it any mind. She simply sucked on her bleeding finger and drifted off to sleep, only to wake up at the moment of her birth. Although Jiaoyue was not a cultivator, she understood the principles of binding magical artifacts. Her warm jade bed must have been one. It was likely at that moment that she had bound herself to it—a soul-bond, it seemed, otherwise it could not have followed her into this new life.

She did not know why her residence and shop had been brought along with her, but this realization gave her a great sense of security. Any single item from her shop was a priceless, one-of-a-kind treasure in this mortal world. Yesterday, she had been too excited to think clearly, but today, she entered the space with a specific purpose: to find a pill to restore her mother’s vitality and health.

The reason she had been able to profit from cultivators in her past life was that she possessed exactly what they needed, and pills were the easiest to come by. Of course, she was referring to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage; for those at higher levels, the items they required were far beyond what her cleverness alone could acquire. That would require true, formidable strength—a level she, as an individual unable to cultivate, could never reach.

Jiaoyue went straight to the storefront and opened the cabinet containing the pills. The pills were stored in cold-jade boxes, which best preserved their potency. She knew her inventory well; her tiny hand reached toward a specific box. It was a blood-replenishing pill that was effective even for cultivators; for her mother, a mortal, a single dose would restore her to her pre-birth state, or perhaps even leave her better than before.

However, she had overestimated herself. Her current hands were far too small. Although her soul was over a decade old and her movements were more agile than those of a normal infant, the physical size was an immutable fact. Jiaoyue simply could not lift the box. She felt dejected. What was she to do?

After struggling for a while and failing to pick up the pill box, she sat down on the floor in frustration. She ended up sprawled on her back, feeling quite awkward—she had forgotten she was an infant. While she could float freely through the jade space to go wherever she wished, she lacked the stability to sit upright once she touched the ground.

She thought to herself, *If only the box could open on its own and the pill could fly into my hand.*

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the box clicked open, and the pill rose into the air and landed in her palm. Jiaoyue’s hand was too small to grasp it, but she could hold it steady on her open palm. The pill, which would have looked small to an adult, now seemed impossible for her tiny hand to contain. Jiaoyue floated up in excitement; it turned out all she needed was a single thought.

She had forgotten that cultivators used their consciousness to retrieve items from their storage bags. In fact, she didn't even need to physically enter the space; she could have retrieved the pill from outside. The same applied to everything else—she could bring anything out with just a thought.

Jiaoyue was overjoyed. With a flicker of her consciousness, she left the space. She had to give the pill to her mother secretly at night; otherwise, how could she explain where it came from? She couldn't speak, and more importantly, what if her mother was afraid to take it?

But Jiaoyue had forgotten one thing: she was a newborn. Once out of the jade space, she couldn't even roll over, let alone feed the pill to her mother. She was truly speechless at her own helpless body. Glancing at the pill in her hand, she turned her head to look at her beautiful mother, who was only inches away. What now?

Just then, the bed curtains were parted, and her father appeared before her. Meng Wenxuan hadn't been sleeping soundly, mostly out of concern that he wouldn't know if his daughter woke up. Sensing her movement, he had woken up immediately and hurried over. The moment he pulled back the curtains, he saw his daughter holding a pill in her palm, looking at her mother with wide eyes. It was clear she wanted her mother to take the medicine, but she was physically unable to do so.

Father and daughter locked eyes, staring at one another. Meng Wenxuan felt he had already reached the limit of what he could understand regarding his daughter today, but seeing the mysterious pill in her hand, he realized his capacity for acceptance still needed more training. He feared that things like this would only continue.

Suppressing his emotions, Meng Wenxuan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He pointed to the pill in her hand and whispered, "Yueya, is this for your mother?"

"Ah." Since her father had discovered it, she didn't need to hide it anymore. It was perfect, as she couldn't feed it to her mother herself. Now, it was just a matter of whether her father trusted her.

"Will it be good for your mother's health if she takes it?" Meng Wenxuan asked again.

"Ah," Jiaoyue replied.

Hearing this, Meng Wenxuan took the pill from his daughter's hand. It wasn't the usual brown color of medicine, but white, crystalline and lustrous, with a sweet, fresh scent. This was definitely no ordinary pill.

If Jiaoyue knew her father's thoughts, she would have told him that it was a pill meant to replenish blood and vitality, which was why it smelled sweet. It was crafted by an alchemist, not concocted by a common herbalist.

"If I give it to your mother just like this, won't she choke?" Meng Wenxuan looked at the size of the pill and then at his wife’s small, cherry-like lips, asking with hesitation.

Jiaoyue was speechless. You've seen it and you trust your daughter, so just wake her up and let her take it! Surely she could figure out how to eat it. Besides, this was a pill; it would melt the moment it touched her tongue. She definitely wouldn't choke. But she couldn't speak to explain, so she just made a sound of affirmation to tell her father she wouldn't choke.

Meng Wenxuan hesitated for a moment before waking his wife. Lin Yuntang, still groggy, struggled to open her eyes. "What is it?"

"A pill your daughter wants to give you," Meng Wenxuan said. "It’s good for your health."

Lin Yuntang was instantly alert. Her daughter wanted to give her a pill? Where would her daughter get such a thing? She looked at her daughter lying beside her and saw the baby’s large, sparkling eyes fixed on her. She glanced at the window; it was pitch black outside. Was she dreaming? She pinched her leg—it hurt. Not a dream. Her gaze shifted to her husband, who was holding a translucent white pill. Was this really medicine? She had never seen medicine this color.

"I asked Yueya," Meng Wenxuan said, "and she said it’s good for your health."

The corners of Lin Yuntang’s mouth twitched. It felt so surreal. Yet, she took the pill; neither her husband nor her daughter would ever harm her. She cast a playful glare at Meng Wenxuan. "It’s such a large pill; at least go get me some water."

Meng Wenxuan realized his mistake and turned to fetch the water, but Jiaoyue let out a sound, successfully stopping him in his tracks.