"Wow! It’s so beautiful!"

"Where is this?"

"This is Aunt Wang’s garden." The little girl led them to a secluded courtyard in a corner of the city. "Aunt Wang lives alone and grows a lot of flowers in her yard. She gives us some from time to time so we can sell them for money."

The little girl was also from a poor family and lived nearby. She usually helped her parents, and during festival markets, she would pick some wildflowers to sell on the street.

According to the girl, this Aunt Wang was a widow with no children. After her husband died over a decade ago, she had been living alone, making a living by doing laundry and mending clothes.

She was skilled at growing flowers and plants, and her courtyard was filled with them. Aside from the ones she carefully cultivated, she allowed a few of the neighborhood children to pick flowers around her yard to sell, but she never sold any herself.

Seeing that Gu Zhao was a generous spender, the little girl wanted Aunt Wang to earn some money too, so she led the group to Aunt Wang’s small courtyard.

"Aunt Wang!" The little girl pushed open the main gate. "Some customers want to buy flowers from you! They said your flowers are so beautiful!"

The next moment, a figure lifted the door curtain and walked out. "Deng Nan’Er, you’re back. Why did you bring guests?"

The woman looked up at them, discreetly wiped her hands on her dress, and said with a gentle smile, "I just grow these flowers and plants for fun in my spare time. If you like any of them, please, feel free to pick some."

Gu Zhao looked at the woman. Although her face was a little weary and she had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, he could still see traces of her youthful grace and beauty. Even though she had aged, her figure was still slender and she retained a certain charm.

She wore a simple set of clothes that, while free of patches, looked a bit old. Her hair was simply tied up with a pin, with a few loose strands of her bangs falling at her temples.

Her gaze was calm and her expression gentle. The look she gave the little girl was tender, but as her eyes turned to Gu Zhao’s group, a hidden wariness was masked by a friendly demeanor.

Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song exchanged a look.

Gu Zhao nodded. Taoist Yan Song stepped forward and said with a smile, "My family is planning to build a new courtyard and we’d like to plant some flowers and plants. Seeing this little girl able to sell fresh flowers even in summer and autumn, I knew there must be a hidden expert here. So, I’ve come to ask for some advice and perhaps buy some flowers."

"You flatter me. I just shelter them from the wind and give them some water, that’s all. There’s nothing special to it." Aunt Wang rubbed her hands, her eyes darting around. "Perhaps because my place is in a corner of the city, sheltered from the wind, more wildflowers can grow. Actually, plenty of flowers and plants grow in the surrounding courtyards too."

The little girl nodded beside them. "Yes, yes, but none of them grow as well as the ones in Aunt Wang’s yard!"

Gu Zhao nodded, took a couple of steps into the yard, and bent down to pick up a pinch of soil. He rubbed it between his fingers. "I thought it might be because of the quality of your fertilizer, Aunt Wang."

Aunt Wang’s eyes flashed, and she couldn’t help but gulp.

Gu Zhao glanced around. Aunt Wang’s courtyard was small, with only a main bedroom and an adjoining room, along with a side room that served as a kitchen and a place to store junk.

He couldn’t see what was inside the house, but the small yard was filled with flowers and plants: some planted in the ground, some in pots, some blooming around a wooden frame, and others growing up against the wall.

Then, Gu Zhao noticed a small, inconspicuous Orchid growing under the eaves by the main bedroom’s window, its roots set in the cracks between the stone bricks.

"Deng Nan’Er, it’s getting late. Your parents should be home making dinner. You should head back now," Aunt Wang said suddenly. "As for this gentleman wanting to buy flowers, I’ll talk to him myself."

"Okay!" The little girl nodded, then said as she walked out the door, "You don’t have to make dinner tonight. Mom said we’re having boiled fish, and I’ll bring you a bowl later!"

Without waiting for Aunt Wang’s reply, the little girl giggled and left.

Watching the little girl leave, Aunt Wang took a deep breath and regained her composure. "Which flowers would you like to buy?"

Gu Zhao smiled faintly and pointed to the small Orchid. "How about that one?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Orchid swayed slightly, and a fragrance suddenly filled the yard.

Aunt Wang’s expression changed dramatically. She subconsciously took a step back, clenched her fists, and held them to her chest. In a trembling voice, she said, "I... The people I killed weren’t good people... If you’re here to arrest someone, just take me. It has nothing to do with her!"

The Orchid’s leaves waved, then suddenly drooped a little, and much of the fragrance dissipated.

Gu Zhao, "..."

’I haven’t even asked anything, and you’ve already confessed to everything?’

Seeing the expressions on Aunt Wang’s and Gu Zhao’s faces, Zhuo Qingyan more or less understood that the woman before them was not a bad person.

"Don’t be afraid. We’re not here to arrest you. We just noticed a faint scent of blood on the flowers the little girl picked from your yard, so we came to have a look."

Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song were men, which would naturally make her nervous, and the Silk Embroideress was too young. So, Zhuo Qingyan took it upon herself to step forward and comfort her. "If the people you killed were bad," she said, "then you have nothing to fear."

"They were bad people! Bad people!" Aunt Wang nodded repeatedly, sighing in relief. She glanced at Zhuo Qingyan and Gu Zhao, a little embarrassed, but to prove her innocence, she explained, "They... They were all city ruffians. They were all after me..."

"Huh?" The group was taken aback.

’City ruffians trying to mess with a Mage? Do they have a death wish?’

Gu Zhao glanced at the soil beneath his feet. It seemed they really did.

...

As Aunt Wang recounted her story, the group came to understand the whole affair.

Aunt Wang’s real name was Wang Yue. Her parents had passed away, she remained childless for years, her husband had died young, and her own family wouldn’t take her in. So, she moved back to her own small courtyard to live alone. She loved to grow flowers and plants. One spring day, she went into the mountains, hoping to find some fresh flowers to decorate her yard, and that’s when she met Xiaolan.

Xiaolan was the Orchid under the eaves of the main bedroom.

According to Xiaolan, their Divine Souls were a perfect match, making them ideal partners for Cultivation in Harmony. And so, a bewildered Wang Yue transplanted Xiaolan into her own courtyard and began her journey of Cultivation.

However, Wang Yue was an honest and unassuming person. She never revealed her Cultivation, and even made her living by doing laundry and mending clothes. But she still had to go out from time to time, so she would inevitably encounter strangers.

A widow living alone, still possessing a lingering charm...

She didn’t pay mind to the rumors, and the local thugs who came to cause trouble during the day would be driven off by her neighbors. But she couldn’t stop the truly brazen ones who dared to show up at her door at night.

And those men became fertilizer for her garden.

Zhuo Qingyan asked softly, "Did you not try to scare them away?"

Wang Yue looked aggrieved. "I didn’t want to kill anyone at first, but they called me a Fairy and said I had secretly murdered my husband. They were going to report me to the authorities and have me arrested. I was scared..."

The group was speechless once again.

’No wonder,’ Gu Zhao thought. ’The fragrance of the flowers in the yard clearly carried the scent of blood, yet Wang Yue herself had no Evil Qi about her. Since she wasn’t proactively committing evil, of course no Evil Qi would cling to her.’

Taoist Yan Song shook his head. "To dare and threaten a Mage to her face... what on earth were they thinking?"

Zhuo Qingyan looked at Wang Yue and took her hand, finding it quite easy to understand. "It’s because Aunt Wang is normally so gentle and kind that they lost all sense of reverence."

Taoist Yan Song could naturally figure that out as well, and could only lament, "No amount of good advice can save a fool from his fate."