Zhang Yong was momentarily dazzled by her smile that revealed dimples he never knew she had. Her laugh was pleasing to his ears as well. He found himself wanting to hear it again. Just as he thought about that, she resumed her cold polite face to look at him. "Let's find out the results of the experiment now."

She pushed herself up and walked off to prepare their meal using the herbs from their experiment. Zhang Yong hoped that the day would come again when he would get to witness her smile and laugh. 

Both of them took a bite of the one Xinyi nourished. They felt the same effect as usual. It was cleansing for her while only rejuvenating for Zhang Yong. Next, they took a bite of the one Zhang Yong nourished and the both of them exclaimed in shock, "Mm!" 

Xinyi felt like her body was not only cleansed but it was almost like a purifying feeling. It was so intense that she closed her eyes to feel the energy coursing through her body. This helped her stabilise her power within the high level Sky realm after she had just broken through not long ago. This is crazy. 

Zhang Yong could finally understand what Xinyi meant by the feeling of being cleansed. His energy felt a little purer and stronger, while the flow of it improved too. It worked like the refinement of one's spiritual energy. This is impressive.

"Xinyi." He waited for her to look at him before he continued. "Thank you for making me privy in this experiment and knowledge. The results could create a new sensation in the world." He thanked her sincerely from the bottom of his heart. This would be helpful for him and possibly speed up his progress of breaking through to high level Heaven realm. 

Xinyi nodded in response. "I don't mind. But please keep it to yourself. This is like my trump card to make myself more powerful than others. If everyone else learns it too... I'm just going to end up regressing back into trash quality."

Zhang Yong had known that without the need for her to explain, but he simply nodded. 

After they finished their meal and was about to part ways, Xinyi formally bowed to him. Zhang Yong was taken aback. What's with her today?

"I formally and sincerely thank you for everything you've helped me with. Although you wronged me that day, you've more than made up for it by returning that day which gave me the chance to reveal the true culprit, and for all the subsequent days following that. It's thanks to you that I managed to advance so quickly and learn so much in just 1 and a half year." Only after she finished speaking did she stand straight up again.

Zhang Yong knew he should be feeling happy since she was expressing her forgiveness and gratitude. However, he could not find it him to be happy. He felt bugged by her behaviour. It was as if this was a final goodbye. 

"It's a fair trade between us. We learnt valuable things from each other. There's no need for thanks." Normally, he would have left after saying that. But now, he simply looked at her in silence for awhile. "I'll see you again." He decided to leave her with this sentence on purpose.

Xinyi smiled politely at him and stood there until he went away.

BaoBao appeared. "He's gone. Shall we start?" Xinyi nodded. 

They destroyed the stove and the pulley system of the well. She dug up all her herbs and returned the garden plot into a spot for bushes to grow. She kept pots, pans, and gardening tools in the shed. She bundled up everything that had to be thrown in the grey curtain drapery that she had used for her bed and room, then left it to BaoBao to dispose of it over the wall and out of the estate. He was already able to fly that far away from her. She then took a bath, packed her things, then took a final look around the courtyard. It was as if no one lived here before. Satisfied with the result, she jumped over the wall with some effort and left the estate behind.

They took the route they have long planned to take and proceeded to the border that was under Zhang Yong's protection. It was the safest border of all other border thanks to his family's capabilities. Thanks to BaoBao's scouting by flying, they had found a place that Zhang Yong had not told her about. It was highly possible that he did not know of the place. In other words, it should be the safest spot from humans. 

Along their route, they had to pass through a busy red light district. Xinyi! Isn't that...

Xinyi looked towards the direction BaoBao told her to look. SiLiang? She looked at him entering the brothel with two beauties, one in each arm. Xinyi was not surprised. There must be something wrong with the marriage or the husband for the original soul to be so upset. 

Suddenly, BaoBao made a disgusted face. BaoBao rested on her shoulder to rub his face on her. He was in a tiny physical form right now so that he could help her get things if she needed help. However, they talked telepathically in case someone might hear them. Let's get out of here, he's horrible. When he saw Xinyi raise one eyebrow, he explained. He has a sick taste. He's a sadist. You won't believe the things he's doing to the girls in his room. 

BaoBao has full awareness of everything that goes on in the radius of his surveillance whether he liked it or not. It was only whether he chose to turn a blind eye to it or not and whether his attention was occupied by something else at the moment.

Xinyi lightly frowned. Did the original soul die by his hands in such a sick way? She left the place with disgust.

The next day, Zhang Yong finally received the full report on Si Liang. The more he read the darker his expression became. It was not uncommon for girls at brothels to die at his hands with his sick taste. However, thanks to his affluence, no news traveled around and families of those girls are always compensated generously. He crumpled the report in his hand. There is no way I would let such a filthy person lay a hand on my treasure. I have to warn her. He made the impromptu decision to make today one of the days he would visit her for training for the week. 

Unfortunately, he was instantly devastated when he landed in her empty courtyard and was greeted with the scene of an untouched courtyard. The things he had built for her was gone. The garden she had for herself was gone. He rushed into the room. The curtain draperies was yellow and not grey. There were no freesias either. All the vases were empty. His hands that were holding onto the doors now hung limply by his sides. She really left. Like she never existed. 

He left the courtyard and entered the estate properly through the main entrance, asking to see Hui Shan. When he saw her, he immediately went straight to the point. "Do you know where Xinyi is? I have to apologise to her properly for the misunderstanding a long time ago." 

"Xinyi?" Hui Shan looked confused.

"Your er jie. One year older than you. Daughter of the second concubine?" He clarified. 

Hui Shan finally recalled her. She was not close nor familiar with Xinyi so needed some prompting to link a face to the name. She brought him to the courtyard only to find it deserted like no one has ever lived there before. "Dear me, I remember that this was her courtyard. Was it not...?" Her memories of Xinyi was very vague. She started doubting herself and got worried, so she went to find the rest of her family. Her father received news of a missing family member and rushed home from the palace. 

Everyone was now gathered at the empty courtyard. 

"Who used to live here?" Official Chen asked once more.

"Xinyi jiejie ah." Hui Shan repeated. 

"Strange... Why can't I remember how she looks like?"

"Concubine Liu, you're Xinyi jiejie's mother, you should remember right? Can't you get someone to draw a missing poster of her?" Hui Shan changed the target of question to Xinyi's mother.

"I... I have been focusing on my son. Besides, she is so sickly and quiet, she doesn't make that strong of an impression on anyone with that face of hers even if I'm her mother." She replied timidly and shakily.

"This is a problem..." Hui Shan mumbled.

"Xinyi was the girl who was wrongly accused by me and was flogged." Zhang Yong suddenly spoke up.

"The one who was flogged was Mei Ruo. Who else got flogged? Unless you're saying that Mei Ruo was mistakenly flogged?" Official Chen has clean forgotten about having Xinyi flogged after handling the matters regarding it. After all, nobody would have reminded them of her existence in the original story. She would simply be quietly married off without a care.

"No!" Zhang Yong started feeling anxious. What's going on?

Suddenly, a servant came bearing the news that the dowry for Xinyi xiaojie has arrived. Her parents began feeling troubled. The mistress was missing and they could not make a poster of her because no one could clearly remember how she looked like. 

Just as Official Chen started fretting about how provide an answer to the man's family, Zhang Yong volunteered to have the missing poster produced and told them to reject the proposal. "Just give the excuse that you would not want them to wait for her who may never be found. They'll definitely not have the patience." With that, Zhang Yong left. News of the dowry reassured him that she existed.

He went to get an artist to draw several portraits of Xinyi and had people paste it on different noticeboards around town. By the time he returned to the camp, it was almost midnight. While he was resting in his tent with thoughts of Xinyi swirling in his head, a soldier came to report a delivery for him. Delivery? This is a first. "Enter."

"Did you check if it is anything dangerous?" Zhang Yong asked the moment the soldier entered with the delivery.

"The person who delivered it said that you'd know what it is the moment you saw it. There is also a note sent with it."

Zhang Yong frowned. "Bring it to me." When he received a jar of salve that has a refreshing scent, he had an odd sense of familiarity. He read the note. "Grow herbs for making healing salves the same way you grew the edible ones. With this, we are really even. Goodbye."

Zhang Yong yelled at his soldier with red eyes. "Who sent this?!"

The soldier was frightened and paled a little. Did I make a mistake? "A- A- A girl..."

"Where is she?!"

"She- She left around an hour before you returned."

Zhang Yong raced to his horse and jumped onto it. He rode out to the safest areas under his territory. He finally understood her sudden interest in war, conflicts, and politics. She has been finding her safe haven. He knew that the border he protected was the safest so she had to be somewhere around. 

He spent the entire night searching until dawn broke. He was only done with a small part of his territory. He stopped for his horse to rest while he laid against a tree trunk. 

He looked at her note that he carried along with him. The times I had with you can never be erased, your existence was real at least for me. This and the knowledge you gave me will serve as my reminder. He rested his head against the tree, closed his eyes, and pressed her note against his chest. I'll never stop searching for you. 

Meanwhile, Xinyi was already making her newfound home comfy for herself. The place she was staying at was around 4 hours away from Zhang Yong's camp. He did not manage to catch up to her even though he went in the right direction because BaoBao was carrying her. BaoBao's flying shortened the time taken to travel by two times. Zhang Yong would never find her because her spot was beyond an unassuming steep and treacherous mountain that not many people would think of climbing.

"Why would you risk being found by him to give him that salve?" BaoBao asked.

"I'm confident that I won't be found by him. And I gave him that because helping me scale my abilities so quickly is life-changing, only with the salve that heals wounds around two times faster could it be considered life-changing for him. He is already a prodigy in the cultivation area, the edible herbs would not have benefited him as much as it benefits me. With this, I have officially cut off all ties I have with the main plot. We can live life for original soul in our way from now on."

BaoBao finally understood her reasoning and continued to help her with the new garden she was making. The garden this time was much bigger and there were wild plants mixed in to fool the rare people who would pass by into thinking that it was nothing more than a patch of wild plants.