Forget Me

Yuanyang Town.

Inside the small town, crowds bustled about. Monster hunters dressed in beast hides wandered the streets, exchanging their spoils of prey and demon cores.

A year ago, during the beast tide, the head of the Hunters' Guild and a large number of its members had tragically perished while resisting the onslaught.

With the exorbitant fees and medical monopoly gone, the hunters operating in Yuanyang Town were visibly better off. Not only did they earn spirit stones, but they could also occasionally afford a meal at an inn or a few cups of wine, and their cultivation had greatly improved as well.

However, even though medical resources were no longer monopolized, the townsfolk of Yuanyang still preferred to visit the Little Fairy Doctor's pharmacy. First, because the Little Fairy Doctor often held free consultations and rarely charged, and second, because her medicine was genuinely more effective than others.

For these men who lived on the blade's edge, even a slight increase in healing potency meant an extra layer of protection for their lives.

So the Little Fairy Doctor's pharmacy business had always been good.

Lately, though, she had taken to standing at the town entrance every morning for a while, though no one knew what she was waiting for.

"Fairy Doctor sister, I'd like a bottle of Qi-Gathering Powder, and warm up some medicinal wine for injuries," a young man said, lifting the curtain and walking in with a simple, honest smile on his face.

As soon as the young man entered, the hunters in the shop started teasing him: "Oh, if it isn't our little hunter? Come to buy medicine again?"

"As I recall, weren't you just here yesterday?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"What's the matter? Yesterday you had your leg chewed off by a beast. What is it today?"

"Where's your injury? I don't see it."

"You're not just saying that to get the Little Fairy Doctor to treat you, are you?"

One hunter widened his eyes, pretending to examine the young man up and down, putting on an exaggerated act and deliberately raising his voice, as if to make sure the Little Fairy Doctor overheard.

The young man's eyes widened as he shot back, "How can you slander my innocence like that? I..."

Then came a string of hard-to-understand excuses.

Something like "I'm stocking up," or "Fairy Doctor sister's medicine is too good—my wounds heal instantly," and "What's wrong with saving up more medicine for hunting?"—all of which sent the crowd into laughter. The shop and its surroundings were suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

As the laughter continued, even the young man joined in.

A group of men in beast hides laughed together, the mood lively and warm.

The Little Fairy Doctor stood behind the counter, a wrapped medicine bundle placed nearby, watching the rough-and-tumble men joke around. She couldn't help but let a small smile curl at the corners of her mouth.

"Hey, kid, kid..."

A hunter waved at the young man, winking and nudging him suggestively. "Be honest with me—are you sweet on the Fairy Doctor?"

"If you just say the word, just open your mouth—"

"Well, I'll go right now and put in a good word for you."

The young man's face instantly turned red, and he waved his hands frantically. "No way, I'm just... just here to buy medicine."

That's what he said.

But his eyes kept drifting toward the counter, and whenever they met hers, he jerked them away like a thief caught in the act. Every thought was written plainly on his face.

The hunters in the shop burst into laughter again.

Beside the counter, an elderly woman watched the scene with a smile, then turned to Xia Hanmo. "Girl, that young Guang seems like a decent person to me—honest and hardworking. You're not getting any younger either, you're at the age for marriage. Don't you have any feelings for him at all?"

Hearing this, the young man's eyes lit up instantly.

The hunters also fell silent, pricking up their ears, afraid to miss a single word.

Seeing everyone's gazes on her, and the hope shining in the young man's eyes, Xia Hanmo shook her head with a gentle smile. "Auntie, there's already someone in my heart."

The young man's eyes dimmed in an instant.

"Oh? Which young man is that?"

The old woman pressed on, her eyes twinkling. "Quiet as a mouse, and yet he's managed to steal away the heart of the dream girl for so many young men in Yuanyang Town."

"Just say his name, and I'll play matchmaker for you."

Xia Hanmo just smiled. "Auntie, he's not from Yuanyang Town."

"Oh?"

The old woman looked a little surprised.

Even the hunters nearby couldn't help but ask, "Little Fairy Doctor, this town is small. We all know each other. We'd notice any outsider who came. How come we don't remember you getting close to any stranger?"

"You didn't just make that up to brush us off, did you?"

"I get it—girls are shy and can't say it outright." They all chimed in, none of them believing her, and the young man's eyes started to brighten again.

Xia Hanmo was at a loss between laughter and tears.

If she mentioned Ye Shu, it wouldn't be quite right either, since their relationship was still rather ambiguous.

But he had kissed her, so that probably counted, right?

Just as she was thinking about how to explain to this group, the curtain at the door was suddenly lifted again.

"Excuse me, is Miss Xia Hanmo here?"

The visitor wore a coarse linen robe, a hood pulled low over their head, revealing only a chin, making their face impossible to see. In their hands, they held a square brocade box.

"I am she."

Xia Hanmo frowned slightly, looking at the newcomer. "As far as I recall, I don't believe I know you."

The hooded figure raised the brocade box respectfully.

"I have come on behalf of another."

With that, they opened the box, revealing a jade-green pill that exuded a faint, refreshing fragrance. Just a single whiff of it cleared the mind and invigorated the spirit.

The hunters around were all stunned.

Even though they didn't know much about alchemy, they could still tell how precious this pill was.

Xia Hanmo's delicate body trembled.

Of course, she knew what it was—a toxin-dissolving pill that could liberate her Calamity Poison Body. The pill bore a pattern of twin fire lines, like a dragon and phoenix in harmony, and one look was enough to tell it was his handiwork.

Yet, faced with this priceless pill, Xia Hanmo didn't take it at once. Instead, she stared at the hooded figure and asked, word by word, "Why didn't he come himself?"

The hooded figure was silent for a moment.

"He can't come."

"Why?"

Xia Hanmo's heart sank heavily, but she persisted in asking.

"He's dead," the hooded figure said.

Those three words floated lightly in the air, but they struck Xia Hanmo like a thunderbolt, leaving her frozen in place.

"Dead... how could he be dead?"

She murmured dazedly, her eyes hollow. She didn't even notice when the hooded figure had left. The hunters in the shop, seeing the Little Fairy Doctor so distressed, quietly filed out, leaving only Xia Hanmo sitting alone behind the counter, staring blankly at the jade-green pill with empty eyes.

"Weren't you the Lord of All Realms?"

"Didn't you promise me you'd be back in a year at most?"

She wanted to cry, but no tears came.

Paper dolls can't cry.

Suddenly, she raised her fist and slammed it hard onto the counter, sobbing hoarsely, "You big liar!!! I hate you!!!"

The violent jolt made the brocade box bounce.

From under the box, a small slip of paper drifted out and landed on the floor.

On it were written only three words.

"Forget me..."

"Forget you?"

Xia Hanmo picked up the note, her expression flickering between foolishness and mad laughter, a wild grin spreading across her face. "Whoever did this," she snarled, "I will make them pay!!!"