Quick Transmigration: Only You Are the Desire of My Heart

Under the old locust tree at the entrance of Xiahe Village, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.

A woman dressed in a faded, patched, coarse cloth dress appeared unsteadily on the dirt road leading to the town.

She was slender, her face covered in dust, yet it couldn't conceal her delicate features, especially her almond-shaped eyes that seemed to be filled with tears, conveying a fragile vulnerability that evoked pity.

She leaned against the rough tree trunk, panting heavily, as if she had exhausted all her strength. Finally, she could no longer hold on and collapsed softly into the dust.

"Oh my! Whose daughter is this?" Old Wang, who was collecting manure early in the morning, was startled and quickly went to check.

"Oh dear, he looks unfamiliar, like he's a refugee?"

"What should we do? Go and call the village chief?"

"You forgot, the village chief went to town these past two days and hasn't come back yet."

"Then what should we do? We can't just take in people of unknown origin."

"How about... we go find Master Zhao? He lives close to our Xiahe Village and works for the government, so it's the perfect place to go."

"I think it's a good idea..."

The villagers gathered around, offering their opinions, and soon someone suggested a solution.

Immediately, a nimble young man ran off to call for help.

Soon, Zhao, the clerk, arrived with two constables after receiving the news.

Master Zhao stroked his shiny mustache and squinted at the unconscious woman on the ground.

When his gaze swept over the woman's slightly open collar and caught a glimpse of the edge of a fine, light red silk undergarment that contrasted sharply with her tattered outer garment, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, which was then replaced by a look of deep pity.

"Oh! Poor thing!" Master Zhao squatted down, pretending to check the woman's breathing, and instructed the constable, "She looks like she fainted from hunger and exhaustion. Carry her back to my place. We can't leave a lone woman lying at the village entrance. Once she wakes up, we'll find out where she came from and then make further plans."

The constables responded and together lifted the unconscious woman up.

The woman's long eyelashes trembled slightly in her unconsciousness, almost imperceptibly.

Zhao, the clerk, glanced seemingly unintentionally at a small, well-hidden pouch covered with coarse cloth at her waist, and a sinister smile, unnoticed by anyone, curled at the corner of his mouth.

Master Zhao and his group arrived and left quickly, and the incident did not cause much of a stir in the village.

The girl was placed in a secluded courtyard in Master Zhao's house.

Upon waking, she claimed to be an orphan girl who had fled from a flood in a neighboring county. She said that her parents had died and she had lost all her property. Her words were full of sorrow and grief, and her tears fell like beads from a broken string. Combined with her pitiful face, she easily won the sympathy of several servants in Master Zhao's household.

A few days later, Zhao's household had a new distant "niece" named Liu'er, who was hardworking and gentle, and helped with some light chores such as washing and cleaning.

She always kept her head down and spoke softly. When she occasionally encountered villagers, she was always timid and quickly blended into the daily life of Xiahe Village without attracting any extra attention.

---

"Madam, it's time for your medicine." Qiuyue carried a bowl of steaming brown medicine into the main room and carefully placed it on the small table next to Song Qingyin.

A strong smell of medicine filled the room.

Song Qingyin put down the book in her hand, looked at the familiar bowl of medicine, and instinctively felt a sense of resistance in her stomach.

Since Lu Chenyuan went to town, the unease in her heart seemed to have intensified, and she felt more easily fatigued.

Spring drowsiness and autumn fatigue, coupled with the recent turmoil, probably mean I haven't been getting enough rest.

"Did Old Chen come to have his pulse checked today?" she asked casually, picking up the medicine bowl and gently stirring it with a porcelain spoon.

"I've been here," Qiuyue replied. "Old Chen said that Madam's pulse was weak and floating, indicating insufficient heart qi. Her old illness had not healed and new worries had arisen, causing her to overthink. He specially adjusted the prescription, increasing the dosage of several calming and qi-tonifying herbs."

She paused, then remembered something. "Oh, right, when I was brewing the medicine, I met Miss Liu, the new girl from Master Zhao's household. She said that people in her hometown often gather this kind of calming herb, and she even helped me check the herbs. She said that one of the herbs, 'Thousand-Day Lotus,' seemed to be a bit too young, and its medicinal properties might not be enough. But I thought that medicine personally prepared by Master Chen couldn't be wrong."

"Thousand-day lotus?" Song Qingyin was somewhat unfamiliar with this name of the medicine.

The steam from the medicine bowl wafted across her face, and the bitter smell filled her nostrils.

Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she suppressed the discomfort. Remembering Lu Chenyuan's instructions, she finally closed her eyes, picked up the medicine bowl, held her breath, and drank the thick, bitter medicine in one gulp.

Her health can only be maintained by taking medication day after day.

The medicine tasted the same as usual, bitter with a slightly astringent feeling that made it hard to swallow. After it slid into my stomach, it left a slight numbing sensation, but it wasn't too unbearable.

She put down the empty bowl, dabbed her lips with a handkerchief, and popped a pre-prepared candy into her mouth. The sweet taste washed away the bitterness.

"Madam doesn't look well. Is the medicine too bitter?" Qiuyue asked worriedly.

"It's alright." Song Qingyin waved her hand. The astringency was a little stronger than usual today, perhaps because the medicine was more potent. "Help me to the bed to rest for a while."

She leaned against the soft couch, closed her eyes, and tried to calm herself.

However, the familiar, stagnant feeling in his chest was not relieved by the medicine; instead, it spread slowly and dullly, like stagnant water with a stone thrown in, carrying a hint of hidden malice.

The chill wasn't intense, but it was like a persistent, insidious infection, quietly creeping into her already fragile heart.

In the distance, in the courtyard of Master Zhao's house, Liu'er was sitting by the window, embroidering a handkerchief.

Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her gentle and serene profile. As if sensing something, she raised her eyes, gazing towards the Lu residence, a faint smile playing on her lips.

The fish had already quietly swallowed its first bite of bait.

-

The cool touch of the warm jade hairpin against her temple could no longer suppress the growing heaviness and chill in her heart.

Song Qingyin leaned against the soft couch by the window, the warm afternoon sun of spring shining on her, but she only felt a chill seeping from the depths of her bones, her fingertips icy cold.

After drinking the herbal medicine prescribed by Old Chen for several days, his health not only did not improve, but he became increasingly tired.

"Qingyu," she called out in her mind, her voice much weaker, "scan my body data and see if there are any abnormalities in my body indicators."

"Okay, host. Please wait a moment!" Qingyu jumped onto the control panel and began scanning Song Qingyin's body.

In this era of underdeveloped technology, it is much more difficult for it to acquire large amounts of information, but it can still directly monitor the host's physical condition.

But soon, Qingyu noticed warning red indicators appearing on several of Song Qingyin's health data, and immediately panicked.

"Host," Qingyu's sweet voice carried a hint of panic, "your heart meridian vitality index is continuously decreasing! Your life force is also declining."

"...A strange substance has been detected in your blood. It's like...like a slow-burning ember, eroding the very essence of your heart and...and its activity is increasing."

"That's strange. Just a few days ago, your health was steadily improving. Although it wasn't completely cured, it was maintained in a relatively safe range. How could this happen?"

Qingyu stared at the data on the display panel, completely puzzled.

Under these circumstances, the host's body will soon be exhausted and die. Once the host's body dies, they will be expelled from this world. It is unknown whether the host will be able to complete their mission by then.

After several worlds, it has vaguely figured out some criteria for evaluating missions. Although not very accurate, it can roughly estimate the success rate of missions.

Although the target's attitude towards the host has changed somewhat, it's not enough. If they leave the world now, the mission's success rate will only be around 50%.

Qingyu's words made Song Qingyin's heart sink.

She did indeed have health problems.

But these days, her daily routine has been no different. So when did some "unclean" things appear in her body?

After reviewing everything she had come into contact with over the past few days, Song Qingyin found nothing unusual.

The only change is probably—

Song Qingyin looked up, her eyes flashing with contemplation as she glanced at the empty medicine bowl placed to the side.

She recalled what Qiuyue had said a few days ago—

"That new Miss Liu from Master Zhao's household... specifically checked the medicinal herbs for me, saying that one of the herbs, 'Thousand-Day Lotus,' seemed to be a bit too young..."

Old Chen added several calming herbs to her medicine...

This might be the anomaly.