361: Chapter 361 Body, Mind

After living on The Ark for a few weeks, Murong Wan's body had mostly recovered.

Her wounds had healed, her spiritual energy had returned, and her complexion was much better.

Dr. Han said she could get out of bed and walk around, but she could not engage in strenuous exercise or overuse her Spiritual Qi.

Murong Wan nodded and, following Dr. Han's requirements, walked in the corridor every day, from one end to the other and back again.

Qin Lin went to see her every day.

It wasn't Murong Xue who told him to go; he went on his own.

He found a reason for himself.

Checking on her Recovery.

He was the owner of The Ark, so it was only right to be concerned about the passengers' health.

This reason was very reasonable, so reasonable that Dr. Han just glanced at him without saying anything.

Murong Wan sat on a chair by the window, watching the starry sky outside.

Her hair was loose, and she was wearing white loungewear that Han Qing had bought for her.

Her profile was very soft under the starlight, with long eyelashes and a high nose bridge.

Qin Lin walked over and sat down opposite her, holding a medical scanner in his hand.

"Auntie Wan, Dr. Han asked me to come and give you a check-up."

Qin Lin turned on the scanner, and lines of data popped up on the screen.

He didn't actually know how to use it very well, but Han Qing had taught him a few times, so he knew the basic operations.

Murong Wan looked at him, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

"Dr. Han just checked me yesterday; do you need to check again today?"

Qin Lin's fingers paused on the scanner, his expression unchanged.

"Mm."

Murong Wan didn't speak and extended her arm.

Qin Lin placed the scanner against her wrist, and the data on the screen began to jump.

Body temperature normal, heart rate normal, Spiritual Qi fluctuations steady; everything was fine.

He should have left, but he didn't. He placed the scanner on the table and looked at her.

"Auntie Wan, how have you been feeling lately?"

Murong Wan retracted her arm and leaned back against the chair.

"Very well. I can eat and sleep, walk and move. Your Dr. Han said that after recuperating for a while longer, I will be fully recovered."

Qin Lin nodded and didn't ask further.

The two were silent for a while. The nebulae outside the window drifted slowly by, and a pale purple light shone on Murong Wan's face.

Her skin had an indescribable texture under the light—not the tight, elastic texture of a young girl, but a mature, soft, silk-like texture.

Murong Wan sensed his gaze and turned her head to look at him.

"What are you looking at?"

Qin Lin didn't look away.

"Looking at you."

Murong Wan was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"What is there to look at? I'm old."

Qin Lin shook his head.

"Not old. You are better looking than everyone else on The Ark."

Murong Wan looked at him, was silent for a while, then said, "Qin Lin, did you not wake up properly today?"

Qin Lin laughed.

He didn't say anything else, stood up, picked up the scanner, and left.

Murong Wan watched his back disappear around the corner of the corridor, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

She lowered her head and looked at her hands. Her fingers were slender, her nails were neatly trimmed, and she wasn't wearing any nail polish.

She hadn't worn any since the apocalypse.

The next day, Qin Lin came again.

This time he didn't bring the scanner; he was holding a cup of hot milk.

He walked into Murong Wan's room and placed the milk on the table next to her.

"Auntie Wan, drink some milk."

Murong Wan looked at the glass of milk, then at Qin Lin.

"Doesn't The Ark have kitchen robots? Why did you deliver it yourself?"

Qin Lin sat down opposite her.

"I was on my way."

Murong Wan picked up the milk, took a sip, and put it down.

"You live on the Third Floor, and the kitchen is on the first floor; it's not on your way."

Qin Lin remained calm.

"I happened to be going downstairs."

Murong Wan looked at him and didn't expose him.

The two were silent for a while again.

Qin Lin spoke up: "Auntie Wan, when you were in the Murong Family before, what did you usually do?"

Murong Wan thought for a moment: "Cultivating, managing Family affairs, occasionally attending some gatherings of aristocratic families, and drinking tea, chatting, and exchanging news with other matriarchs."

Qin Lin looked at her. There was a light in her eyes—not nostalgia, but calmness.

She had no attachment to her past life and no dissatisfaction with her current life.

She was just living; as long as she was alive, that was enough.

"Auntie Wan."

"Mm."

"If the apocalypse hadn't happened, how would you have spent your life?"

Murong Wan looked at him and was silent for a long time. "Within the high walls of the Murong Family: Cultivating, managing the Family, watching Xue'er get married, watching Qingshu start a Family, watching the grandchildren grow up. Then, growing old and dying. Just like the matriarchs of the Murong Family through the generations, being buried in the Murong Family's ancestral grave."

Qin Lin didn't speak.

Murong Wan picked up the milk, took another sip, and put the cup down.

"The apocalypse came, and everything was gone. The high walls collapsed, the Family scattered, and the ancestral grave was gone too. But I don't want to die, because Xue'er is still alive, and Qingshu might still be alive too. As long as they are alive, I will live."

Qin Lin looked at her; her eyes were very bright.

He stood up and nodded at her.

"Rest well."

He left.

Murong Wan looked at the half-drunk glass of milk and extended her finger to gently trace a circle along the rim of the cup.

She remembered the look in Qin Lin's eyes just now; that kind of look was not unfamiliar to her.

When she was in the Murong Family, many men had looked at her with that kind of gaze.

But she had rejected those men because she didn't need them. Now she had nothing left.

The third day, Qin Lin came again.

This time he didn't use Dr. Han as a pretext and pushed the door open directly. Murong Wan was sitting by the window watching the starry sky and didn't turn around when she heard the footsteps.

"Here for a check-up again today?" Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of a smile.

Qin Lin sat down beside her: "Mm."

Murong Wan turned around to look at him, extended her hand, and pulled up her sleeve, revealing her wrist.

"Check it then."

"You are recovering very well."

This time he also brought a Cultivation Technique classic in the common language of the Cultivation World, saying he bought it from the System Store, couldn't understand it, and asked her to help translate it.

Murong Wan took the book, flipped through a few pages, and looked up at him.

"You can't understand it?"

Qin Lin nodded.

Murong Wan looked at him; his expression was very serious, not like he was lying.

There were indeed many books from the Cultivation World on The Ark, and the System would automatically translate them into Chinese, but the one in his hand was an original copy that hadn't been translated by the System.

She didn't know where he got it, but she didn't ask and opened the first page to start translating.

"This is a book about cultivating spiritual plants, not a Cultivation Technique."

She read a few paragraphs, and Qin Lin listened very carefully, asking a few questions from time to time.

"What is the difference between spiritual plants and ordinary plants?"

"Spiritual plants have Spiritual Qi; they can be used in medicine, for Alchemy, or for setting up arrays. Ordinary plants have no Spiritual Qi and can only be eaten."

Qin Lin nodded and asked again: "Are spiritual plants hard to raise?"

Murong Wan thought for a moment: "Not hard, but it requires patience. The growth cycle of spiritual plants is very long; some take years or even decades to mature. It requires enough patience and care."

Qin Lin looked at her. Her profile was very soft under the light, with long eyelashes and a high nose bridge.

Her lips moved slightly when she spoke, and her voice was soft but very pleasant to hear.

It wasn't the crisp voice of a young girl, but a calm, textured, reassuring voice.