When Jiang Chen's eyes met Meng Qingxue's, it felt as though the crowd and the noise faded away.
Her gaze was sharp as a blade—cold, distant, carrying a quiet authority that made others instinctively lower their heads.
And then she moved.
With a gentle step, her white figure descended from the stone lion. Her movement was so light, so ethereal, it was as if she was floating, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing directly in front of Jiang Chen.
"You are Jiang Chen?"
Her voice was cold and cutting, echoing through the square."The Jiang Chen who hurt my brother, Meng Dongxing?"
The crowd erupted instantly.
"Holy—she was waiting for him!"
"Makes sense now. Meng Qingxue is infamous for caring about her brother. This kid beat Meng Dongxing this morning—no wonder she came herself."
"Ha! She's ranked second on the Lingyun List. He's done for. Jiang Chen is dead meat!"
All eyes turned toward Jiang Chen—some gloating, some pitying, others waiting for the coming storm.
But Jiang Chen?
He didn't answer her accusation.
Instead, his gaze swept across Meng Qingxue—serious, almost pitying—before he said something that made everyone's jaw drop:
"Beauty, you're sick. You need to be cured."
Silence.
The entire crowd froze, like their brains couldn't process what they'd just heard.
Did… did he just say what I think he said?
"He's crazy. He's actually crazy."
"Facing Meng Qingxue, he dares say that?! That's beyond reckless—that's suicide!"
Meng Qingxue's frosty expression didn't crack, but the temperature around her seemed to plummet. Her eyes glimmered with killing intent.
"Say that again."
Her words were soft, but the murderous aura behind them was suffocating.
But Jiang Chen… just smiled.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of students, he stepped closer—close enough that only she could hear—and whispered:
"Tell me, were you born on the first day of the seventh lunar month? And since birth, every year on that day… you've fallen into a coma?"
Meng Qingxue's hand, which had been ready to strike, froze mid-air.
Her eyes widened ever so slightly.
"…How do you know that?"
Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with the unease of someone hearing their most guarded secret laid bare.
That wasn't something anyone outside her family should know. In Lingyun Wufu, there were fewer than three people who even suspected her condition.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, his tone casual yet confident:"I know more than you think. For example, that ever since you turned sixteen… you've been fainting on the first day of every month."
Her lips parted slightly in shock.Even Yan Qingxuan, the great alchemy master she'd sought out for answers, hadn't been this precise.
"Do you know why?" she asked, her voice quieter now.
"Of course," Jiang Chen said simply.
His next words, though softly spoken, struck her like thunder.
"You possess the Taiyin Destiny Body—a rare constitution so coveted that even the heavens grow jealous.It grants you unparalleled cultivation potential… yet bears a fatal curse.Those with this physique rarely live beyond seventeen.On the eve of your seventeenth birthday, when that destined coma claims you… you will never awaken."
Meng Qingxue's heart skipped a beat.
This… this boy had spoken the truth that even Yan Qingxuan had only speculated about.And he gave it a name—Taiyin Destiny Body.
Jiang Chen continued, his tone steady as if he were merely stating facts:"The only way to resolve it… is with the Ancient Xuanyang Pill. But that pill recipe has been lost for generations. Even in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, there's likely no one who can refine it."
Meng Qingxue's frosty mask wavered for the first time. Her eyes—usually as calm as an untouched lake—were now rippling with shock and confusion.
"…What do you want?" she asked finally, her tone measured, hiding her unease.
Jiang Chen tilted his head slightly, lips curling into a faint smile.
"I don't want money. I don't want favors."
His voice was calm, yet carried an authority that silenced even the murmurs of the crowd.
"I'm short one maid. Agree to stay by my side… and I'll save your life."