Chapter 182: I Just Can’t Bring Myself to Do It
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“Your weakened condition isn’t an illness, but rather caused by your innate constitution. Even if your sister managed to gather enough money to hire a physician for treatment, there would be no way to cure it completely.”
Lin Muyu stared at the pale-faced Su Xingmian, speaking in a hesitant tone.
What surprised Lin Muyu quite a bit was that upon hearing this, not only did the Su sisters’ faces show no trace of shock,
They instead revealed expressions of understanding, as if they had already known this fact all along.
“You… already knew?”
Seeing this, Lin Muyu couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes.”
Su Xinghe held her sister’s shoulder, her voice carrying a hint of choking emotion as she said dejectedly.
“Back when our parents were still alive, they took Mianmian everywhere seeking medical treatment, but not a single physician could explain what this condition actually was, and no one knew why Mianmian would be born so weak.”
At this point, her throat caught, and she paused for a moment before forcing herself to continue despite her reddening eyes.
“The only thing those physicians all agreed on was… with Mianmian’s current constitution, she probably won’t live past 18 years old…”
“Sister, don’t be sad.”
Su Xingmian leaned gently against Su Xinghe’s embrace, her voice soft but carrying a gentleness beyond her years as she comforted her instead.
“I think things are just fine as they are. I’ve already lived this long, there’s really no need to waste more effort worrying about me.”
At this moment, her eyes were clear and resolute, making her seem more like the older sister than the emotional Su Xinghe.
“How can that be acceptable!”
Su Xinghe suddenly raised her head, her eyes red-rimmed, yet her face full of stubbornness.
“You’re my only family left now. Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, I’ll definitely find a way to save you!”
This obsession had long taken root in her heart, and she refused to give up no matter what.
Standing to the side, Lin Muyu watched this scene of sisterly devotion, momentarily infected by the emotions and feeling somewhat at a loss.
She then calmed herself down, her gaze focused on the Insight before her eyes, where information about Su Xingmian’s constitution was being rapidly analyzed. After hesitating for a few seconds, she slowly spoke.
“Um… perhaps, I have a way to solve this problem.”
“Fairy Lin, you don’t need to console me, I really… wait, what did you just say?”
Su Xinghe was still immersed in anxiety and didn’t catch it at first. After processing what was said, she suddenly turned her head, and together with Su Xingmian, they both looked at Lin Muyu. Their eyes immediately lit up like seeing a faint light in darkness.
Although they didn’t know whether Lin Muyu’s method was reliable, or even if she was just trying to comfort them, as long as there was the slightest hope, they couldn’t miss it!
“Don’t rush, let me think about the specific solution.”
As Lin Muyu spoke, she returned her attention to the analysis content in the Insight.
The Su sisters immediately held their breath, watching her expectantly.
【Analysis of lifespan extension methods: 4 methods total, prioritized as Best Strategy, Good Strategy, Moderate Strategy, and Inferior Strategy】
“Oh, there are actually 4 methods?”
Lin Muyu looked at the content on the interface and couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice, somewhat surprised.
Those strange conditions that even experienced physicians were helpless against had been easily analyzed with solutions. Could it be that she, Lin Muyu, actually had a talent for running a medical clinic?
But was that really the case?
Lin Muyu instinctively looked at the Best Strategy first. After all, just from the name, this was clearly the optimal solution.
【Best Strategy: Relying on Master’s (Lin Muyu) constitutional advantages, dual cultivation can be performed with Su Xingmian. A single session can extend her lifespan by approximately 2 years.】
【Advantages: Simple operation, requires no additional materials, the process provides feedback benefits, a win-win solution, highly recommended.】
【Disadvantages: None】
Lin Muyu stared at these lines of text, feeling her vision go dark. What in the world was this?
If she didn’t clearly know that this Insight wasn’t controlled by Xiaotao but was constructed by the Bead of Shattering Delusions borrowing part of Xiaotao’s intelligence, she would really think this was a prank deliberately created by Xiaotao.
Seeing Lin Muyu staring blankly at the air, Su Xingmian asked softly.
“Um… Big Sister Lin, did you encounter some problem?”
“It’s nothing.”
Lin Muyu quickly snapped back to attention, covering her forehead with one hand, her tone full of exasperation.
“I just discovered that one of the treatment methods is a bit unsuitable, that’s all.”
If she really used this method, forget about whether Su Xinghe would fight her to the death, even if Su Xingmian agreed to it, she herself would never be able to clear her name even by jumping into the Yellow River.
Suppressing her internal complaints, Lin Muyu looked at the Good Strategy on the Insight.
【Good Strategy: Feed Su Xingmian with Master’s own blood rich in life force, which can gradually nourish her body’s foundation and thereby extend her lifespan.】
【Advantages: Only requires blood as a material, operation is relatively simple, fairly recommended.】
【Disadvantages: Master’s blood has side effects, and once Su Xingmian begins receiving blood nourishment, she cannot break free and will require long-term dependence.】
“…”
Lin Muyu looked at this analysis and was completely speechless.
So this Insight had calculated her constitution and come up with solutions that all involved exploiting her?
Only now did she finally understand why her original self had been treated as cultivation material by others.
With a constitution like hers that was a walking treasure trove, to others, she was basically a human great supplement pill.
As for the side effects of the blood, Lin Muyu already knew about them. Both Su Wanqing and Lin Xiaoyun had tried it before, and their reactions were almost no different from being afflicted with charm poison. It simply couldn’t be used carelessly.
Shaking her head helplessly, she rejected this plan again and silently prayed in her heart, hoping the Moderate Strategy would be more reliable.
【Moderate Strategy: Sign a dao companion contract or master-servant contract with Su Xingmian. Through the contract’s power, life force can be shared. Due to Su Xingmian’s “Red Beauty Life-Devouring Physique,” the dao companion contract’s lifespan exchange ratio is approximately 5:1 (the user sacrifices 5 years of lifespan, Su Xingmian gains 1 year of lifespan), while the master-servant contract exchange ratio is 10:1.】
【Advantages: Expands treatment options, provides contract-based solutions.】
【Disadvantages: Contract signing requires voluntary agreement from both parties, and due to constitutional limitations, the lifespan exchange ratio is extremely unreasonable. This plan is not recommended.】
After reading this, Lin Muyu’s mouth twitched. What more could be said?
She could only steel herself and continue looking at the last option, the Inferior Strategy.
【Inferior Strategy: Have Su Xingmian consume a Supreme Longevity Pill. Ordinary longevity pills contain life force that is too impure and cannot sustain the “Red Beauty Life-Devouring Physique.” Only the Supreme Longevity Pill contains pure and universal life force that can achieve life-extending effects.】
【Advantages: None】
【Disadvantages: The Supreme Longevity Pill’s value is comparable to an entire spirit vein, the refinement cost is extremely high, and the pill formula has long been lost. It is essentially impossible to find in the modern world. The cost-effectiveness is extremely low, not recommended.】
……
Lin Muyu stared at the analysis on the Insight, completely losing her composure.
After looking it over repeatedly, she discovered that among these 4 plans, aside from the Good Strategy’s blood feeding and the Moderate Strategy’s master-servant contract which were barely feasible, the remaining 2 were either unusable or completely impossible to achieve.
Although from the Insight’s rational analysis, the Best Strategy benefited both parties and was theoretically the optimal choice,
This world never operated purely on logic. Moral constraints and emotional considerations were existences that couldn’t be ignored.
Moreover, even though Su Xingmian was already considered an adult in this world, in Lin Muyu’s eyes, she was still a child. How could she possibly bring herself to do it?