Chapter 118 - The Lie That Became A Legend
"Actually… I made it myself."
Bai Xia spoke softly, but her words dropped into the room like a thunderbolt.
Fu Jian's brows shot up instantly. His eyes narrowed, sharp and probing, scanning her face as if trying to peel away every layer of truth she had. "Bai Xia," he said slowly, voice laced with disbelief, "you're not even twenty yet. You've never left Shanghai. So—" his tone hardened, "—how did you make such a powerful pill?"
Bai Xia choked on air.
Her fingers twitched. For a moment, she forgot she was sitting on his lap. She turned her head to glare at him, suspicion rising in her eyes. "Fu Jian… did you investigate me?"
The moment she said those words, Fu Jian looked away very briefly—a small action, but enough.
Guilt.
He cleared his throat. "I did," he admitted, "but… that's not what's important right now."
Of course it wasn't important to him—now that something more mysterious had caught his attention. Bai Xia stared at him speechlessly. She wanted to smack him for casually invading her privacy, but right now she had a bigger problem.
She could not tell him about her space.
That secret was too heaven-defying. Too life-changing. Too dangerous for anyone to know.
So she lowered her head, drew a slow, trembling breath, and deliberately allowed sorrow to color her expression. When she spoke again, her voice was soft—gentle, almost fragile.
"Well… there was an old man who moved to the mountains before." She paused, blinking as if holding back memories. "He taught me medicine for more than ten years. But… he died before I ever got the chance to take proper care of him."
Fu Jian reacted instantly.
He sat up so suddenly that Bai Xia, who was still perched on his lap, almost fell off. He caught her quickly, hands tightening around her shoulders as if she were something fragile and precious.
"Bai Xia," he said urgently, eyes searching hers, "this old man—he was a doctor too, right? What did he look like?"
Her heart skipped.
She hadn't expected him to latch onto the lie like this. She just meant to distract him a little, push him off the trail. She didn't expect him to turn into a hound ready to tear down mountains for a clue.
And now he wanted a description?
Bai Xia felt sweat gather at the back of her neck.
She could only rely on the half-truth she did know.
"There was… an old doctor in the mountains near our village," she began carefully. "He didn't treat many people—he lived quietly, almost like a hermit. He looked…" She pretended to think deeply. "He had a thin, weathered face, with deep smile lines here—" she pointed to her cheeks. "His eyebrows were long and white, and he kept his hair tied in a loose topknot. He always wore those old grey robes, the kind herbalists used to wear, and he carried the faint smell of medicinal herbs everywhere he went. His hands were rough but steady, and he walked with a bamboo staff decorated with carved symbols."
Fu Jian's grip tightened.
She felt the shift in his breathing. The growing intensity.
Why was he acting like this?
The truth—the real truth—was that the old man had never taught her medicine at all.
Her grandmother used to send the young Bai Xia up the mountain with food in exchange for favors. The old man barely spoke and didn't accept disciples. The only connection between them was that he secretly bought chopped wood from Bai Yan to have some spending money.
A simple, lonely man.
Nothing extraordinary… right?
But now Fu Jian looked like someone who had just unearthed a national treasure.
When she finished her description, he suddenly let out a shaky breath. Excitement lit his eyes so vividly it made Bai Xia instinctively lean back.
"Bai Xia," he said, voice trembling slightly, "do you know… who that man is?"
"No—no, I don't," she stuttered, heart thumping hard. "How would I know?"
Fu Jian's expression turned solemn, almost reverent, as if he were speaking of a legend.
"He is the Life Doctor of China."
"…Eh?"
Bai Xia blinked at him, completely dumbfounded.
Fu Jian continued, voice filled with awe, "A few years ago, he suddenly decided to retire and vanish from the medical world. No one ever found out where he went. Then, years later, we heard news that he had passed away, and his family took his body for burial."
Bai Xia stared at him blankly.
Fu Jian kept going, gripping her shoulders as if afraid she'd disappear. "He came from a long line of imperial physicians. His ancestors served emperors—real emperors, Bai Xia—as their personal doctors. And he himself… he was a master of life-saving techniques. Countless people sought him as a teacher, but he rejected every one of them. Said they were unworthy."
He swallowed, eyes burning with excitement.
"And yet—you… he taught you for over ten years."
"…?"
"…??"
"…?????"
Bai Xia wanted to scream.
If only he knew—
She had told a casual lie.
Just a tiny half-truth to cover a giant secret!
And now that tiny lie had turned into a legend-level identity???
Her eye twitched.
Fu Jian continued speaking earnestly, completely unaware of the mental breakdown she was having.
"Bai Xia, do you understand what this means?" His voice dropped low, full of emotion. "You're the only disciple he ever accepted. The only one he judged worthy. That means you inherited his legacy… his teachings… his medical foundation. You… you might be the successor of an imperial medical lineage."
Bai Xia:
(눈‸눈)
She wanted to cry.
She wanted to laugh.
She wanted to bang her head on the table.
All she'd done was try to protect her secret space, and suddenly the universe was promoting her to "heavenly chosen successor of miracle doctors."
How… how did lying become this dangerous??
Fu Jian pulled her closer, voice softening, tone full of respect she had definitely not earned through her lie.
"Bai Xia… I knew you were extraordinary, but I didn't know you were this extraordinary."
Bai Xia:
"…I… I also didn't know."
She really didn't.
He looked at her with even more admiration, eyes warm, almost shining. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I'll help you honor his legacy. I'll support you. You're not alone."
Bai Xia swallowed hard.
Now she was not only a fake genius…
But also the heir of a legendary doctor lineage.
Her life was getting harder and harder.
(눈‸눈)