27. Confession or Showdown

Ning Xuan shook the vial in her hand before sealing it securely. Elderberry potion, provided it reaches a purity of over 80%, can knit fractured bones back together within three days; the higher the purity, the faster the healing process.

It was already dinnertime. Having persevered for so long, Ning Xuan felt mentally exhausted. She stood up, stretched her limbs to work out her stiff joints, and then shut the door to head downstairs.

The groceries she had ordered on the StarNet that morning had just arrived. Chen Nan was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Seeing a white bag piled in the corner of the living room, Ning Xuan walked over and opened it. Inside were oval-shaped brown objects, each the size of a human head and covered in fine, dense hairs. She lifted one to weigh it; while it looked like it might be four or five pounds, it was actually over a dozen pounds heavy.

These had been sent by mercenaries who posted on the StarNet about discovering peculiar plants. Their team specialized in foraging for edible seeds, fruits, and medicinal herbs in the wild. Seeing these underground tubers, Ning Xuan was reminded of sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes, yams, and radishes from Earth, as well as medicinal roots like ginseng and rehmannia. Many plant tubers were not only edible but highly valuable.

In this era, wild exploration and resource gathering were limited to surface vegetation; no one had ever studied the roots and tubers buried underground. In reality, as far as she knew, many of the most high-yielding and delicious crops were root vegetables.

Chen Nan had finished cooking dinner and, seeing Ning Xuan rummaging through the white bag, walked over to her. "Mistress, is this what you were looking for?" He looked curiously at the hairy, brown tubers in the bag; he had never seen such things before.

"Yes. Someone posted on the StarNet claiming these were plants never seen before. They looked rather strange, so I bought some to study," Ning Xuan said, observing Chen Nan. He seemed a bit odd.

Ning Xuan’s frank, unabashed scrutiny made Chen Nan, who was already nervous, grow even more tense. His body stiffened. "Mistress, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You look guilty. Have you done something wrong, or are you planning to?" Although Ning Xuan could not yet fully recover her former strength, her spiritual perception remained razor-sharp. Ever since Ning Chuchu appeared at her door and mentioned the Bai family, Chen Nan’s reactions had been suspicious.

Chen Nan stepped back twice, then, as if resigning himself to his fate, sat down next to Ning Xuan. "Mistress, let’s eat first. We can talk after dinner." Initially, he had intended to coax Ning Xuan into relying solely on him, hoping to hide away with her from his family’s pursuit and live a life bound only by their contract.

However, after spending this time with her, he realized that Ning Xuan possessed potential, ambition, and resolve far beyond his control. She would forge her own path at her own pace; she was not the type to live a life of hiding.

Noticing Chen Nan suddenly dropping his facade, he no longer stood around with his usual servile, affected air. It was as if that practiced, pretentious manner had vanished in an instant.

Ning Xuan smiled. Was he going to show his cards so soon? It was a pity; she had actually quite enjoyed the rigorous, polite persona he had put on before.

Chen Nan had prepared the high-grade beast meat using the method Ning Xuan taught him, marinating it before pan-searing. The re-marinated meat was tender, the gamey odor replaced by a faint, refreshing fragrance. He cut the meat into small pieces and served them to her—his service was impeccable and beyond reproach.

Ning Xuan took the plate and began to eat. Ever since the signs of her companion spirit awakening appeared and the Ghost-Faced Red Vine stirred, her appetite had increased significantly. She now ate two or even three times her previous portion. Chen Nan’s culinary talent was mediocre at best, so she could only teach him simple methods like this.

After dinner, Chen Nan didn't waste any time; he showed Ning Xuan the letters his father had sent over the past month.

Ning Xuan read through them one by one. After finishing, she looked back at Chen Nan and scoffed, "So what is this? The rebellious son of a wealthy family, the young master who fled to avoid an arranged marriage?"

"Mistress, I’m being honest with you because I don't want you to step into danger. As long as you don't go to the Light Capital, there’s nothing they can do to us! I can protect you!" Chen Nan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. He knew his family had brought trouble upon her, but this was a match mandated by the Mainframe—it was impossible to refuse. He had no say in his own family, but being by Ning Xuan’s side to protect her was the only thing he could do.

"Why wouldn't I go? Let go!" With the matters of the Bai family still unresolved and now learning that Chen Nan’s family wanted her dead, Ning Xuan was not in a forgiving mood. She couldn't help but vent her anger on him.

At the same time, she felt a deeper sense of insecurity. She hadn't been matched by the Mainframe to just Chen Nan; there were four others. If they also required advantageous marriages or needed soothing from a high-level controller, would they also find her a nuisance and seek ways to make her disappear?

Ning Xuan returned to the upstairs laboratory. Chen Nan followed but was barred from entering, leaving him no choice but to return to his own room.

Ning Xuan reached out, and over a dozen vines sprouted from her palms. These vines were filled with fine, thread-like filaments, their outer skin covered in sharp thorns. She had brought up a dozen more bundles of Blue Flame Grass from downstairs. An hour later, the glass rack held ten vials of pure, luminous blue potion. With the vines assisting her, it was as if she had a dozen extra hands, increasing her efficiency several times over.

Looking at the potions, Ning Xuan smiled faintly. These were money. Even if her strength couldn't be regained overnight, with enough money, she could hire mercenaries to protect her. The more she earned, the more powerful the bodyguards she could afford.

With this realization, she continued refining the elderberry potion. She noticed that through the constant process of refinement, her precise control over her spiritual power had become more proficient than ever before.

Six hours later, it was deep into the night. The elderberry potion, which had only filled a third of the vial, was finally full. Ning Xuan sealed it, took a picture, and sent it to Dean Wang, explaining that she had purchased the materials herself and intended to sell this batch on the StarNet.

She left the laboratory, planning to head to her bedroom to sleep. As she reached her door, she suddenly stopped. There was someone in her room—and it wasn't Chen Nan.

An uninvited guest is inevitably a hostile one. If she turned and left now, she would surely alert the intruder.