The Sect Master's Troubles

"According to Grand Martial Uncle, is this... a type of cultivation method?"
"Food."
"Food? Could it be some unknown heavenly treasure?"
"Plant."
"Plant? Could it be some unknown heavenly treasure?"
"Not like that!"
Yu Yan frowned. Could there be some heavenly treasure he had never heard of?
"It's a drink for women during their menstruation."
Zi Dan's mouth twitched. "Does Grand Martial Uncle mean red sugar boiled into a liquid?"
Yu Yan thought for a moment, then nodded. So, it just needed to be boiled until it dissolved.
"Do you have red sugar?"
"No... No."
Zi Dan coughed a few times, then recovered his composure. What exactly did Grand Martial Uncle come all this way tonight to find?
"However, if Grand Martial Uncle needs it urgently, this disciple can send someone to fetch it... it can be delivered to Grand Martial Uncle tomorrow."
"Mm."
Yu Yan's face remained as cold as ice, expressionless. He casually nodded, agreeing to the other party's suggestion, then left, satisfied. After a few steps, as if remembering something, he turned back again. He asked solemnly:
"Tell me, besides drinking red sugar, what else should a woman pay attention to during menstruation?"
"Ah?!" Zi Dan's leg buckled, almost causing him to stumble. He... he didn't mishear, did he? A woman during menstruation??
"Grand... Grand Martial Uncle... why... why are you asking this?"
"You don't know either?"
Yu Yan narrowed his eyes, glancing indifferently at Zi Dan. His face was still cold, but his expression clearly conveyed: What's the use of you taking so many disciples?
Cold sweat dripped from Zi Dan's forehead. He had no choice but to honestly explain to Grand Martial Uncle: "This... This disciple has not researched this, but... this disciple has heard that during this period, a woman's body is greatly depleted and very tired, and she should not get cold."
Yu Yan nodded, silently committing it to memory. Then he thought for a moment and seriously asked another question: "What kind of fabric is best for that menstrual belt?"
His disciple had a strange expression when he gave her the menstrual belt made of mermaid silk. She probably wasn't very satisfied with the fabric.
"..."
What was wrong with his Grand Martial Uncle today? Why was he asking a man like him about such a private matter for women? Shouldn't it be avoided???
"This disciple... This disciple feels... it should be absorbent... ah, the fabric should be absorbent, for example, thin gauze made of bird feathers and silk."
"Thin gauze??"
Yu Yan was stunned. This kind of fabric seemed to be woven from silk spun by a low-grade spiritual silkworm. He truly didn't have any. So he turned and stared at Zi Dan.
"..."
Zi Dan trembled under his gaze. Frightened, he pulled out all the thin gauze from his storage bag. "This disciple only has this much fabric. If Grand Martial Uncle doesn't mind, you can choose one of them..."
"Mm!"
Yu Yan nodded. Without waiting for him to finish, he waved his hand and collected all of it, not missing a single piece, into his storage ring.
Zi Dan, still holding his storage bag: "..."
He hadn't finished speaking yet! Grand Martial Uncle was too generous. His heart ached as if being cut. Could he shamelessly ask for his things back? He decided to just let it go.
"I wonder why Grand Martial Uncle is asking these things? Is it because?"
For a cultivator who had cultivated for over ten thousand years, to the point of almost becoming an immortal, to suddenly show interest in women's matters—he wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.
Yu Yan replied indifferently: "My disciple has a problem, I'm just taking care of her."
Ah, so it was Grand Martial Uncle's newly accepted junior disciple.
Wait! Could this kind of situation even be "taken care of"?
"Grand... Grand Martial Uncle, Junior Martial Uncle... is a woman!"
Yu Yan gave him a cold glance. Wasn't that redundant?
Zi Dan was speechless and frustrated, hesitating whether to explain to Grand Martial Uncle the differences between men and women in that regard. "This disciple means to say, if you 'care' for Junior Martial Uncle like this... is she... is she alright?"
Yu Yan frowned and replied: "She just fainted."
"..."
"Just a little blood, nothing serious."
He had already given her medicine and cast pain-relieving spells. He always had faith in his spells.
"..."
That's not what he meant! "Grand Martial Uncle also knows what menstruation..."
He coughed and continued, "means to a woman?"
Yu Yan indifferently swept his sleeve. He had gotten what he wanted, he could leave and return now.
Zi Dan continued: "In the mortal world, most girls around twelve years old, when that time approaches, will have..."
He coughed again, then said: "This means that the girl has matured and can... get married."
"You should rest early."
Without waiting for him to finish, Yu Yan could not wait any longer. His figure flickered, and he vanished without a trace.
Just as he was getting to the important part, Zi Dan: "..."
He touched his storage bag, his heart aching even more.
Did Grand Martial Uncle descend tonight just to scheme and seize this thin gauze? Although this thin gauze wasn't rare, it wasn't something ordinary people could wear. Moreover, it had strong water absorption and powerful defensive capabilities, often used to refine water-element weapons. To use such fabric for a menstrual belt made him feel uneasy. Most importantly, Grand Martial Uncle took all his stock, not even leaving him a small piece.
Zi Dan sighed painfully. Who told him that was his Grand Martial Uncle? He could only swallow the bitterness. In his dejected state, Zi Dan looked at the head of his bed. A piece of white fabric shimmered with a soft light, like the gentle moonlight. It must have been left by Grand Martial Uncle. Zi Dan picked it up to examine it, and was so startled he almost couldn't stand still.
This... this... This wasn't mermaid silk?! Nanhai Merfolk's mermaid silk! This was a rare treasure, hard to find in the world, capable of being refined into a high-grade defensive spiritual treasure. Its preciousness stemmed from the fact that merfolk were very fierce. Merfolk were Level Eight Demonic Beasts, equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator, and often traveled in groups. Ordinary people dared not provoke them. Merfolk only had one piece of mermaid silk in their entire lives, valuing it as much as their lives. In other words, to obtain mermaid silk, one had to kill them.
And now, he held a piece in his hand. Zi Dan's face beamed. Stroking the mermaid silk, the heartache he felt moments ago from losing the thin gauze was instantly replaced by boundless joy. He wished he could... give Grand Martial Uncle a few hundred pieces of thin gauze.
However, when he thought about what the other party would use that fabric for, his mood turned sour again.
Wait a minute, Grand Martial Uncle used mermaid silk to exchange with him because he didn't have thin gauze. In other words, he only had mermaid silk. So, the material he previously used for the menstrual belt was...
Zi Dan suddenly felt like throwing up.
While Zi Dan was still in a daze, Yu Yan had already returned to Yulin Peak, preparing to light a lamp and "sew" the menstrual belt. He glanced in his disciple's direction. Her room was completely dark; it seemed she had gone to sleep. He hesitated for a moment, then, feeling uneasy, turned and pushed open the door to her room.
This disciple of his was truly too weak. Most importantly, her mind wasn't very bright. She was in so much pain during the day, yet she refused to tell him the reason. Weak and foolish, what a handful. If he hadn't cleverly investigated a bit, he would truly worry about her. Perhaps her own foolishness would kill her someday.
Inside the room, Zhu Yao was still fast asleep. Yu Yan reached out to check her pulse. Her pulse seemed much more stable than during the day. It seemed she wouldn't suffer such pain in the future. He sighed, then saw his disciple curled up, covered in multiple blankets.
He suddenly remembered Zi Dan's words about women not getting cold during this period. He thought for a moment... then pulled out a dozen more blankets... and piled them on her. Were mortals really so susceptible to colds?
He looked again, still feeling it wasn't quite enough. A dozen blankets might not be sufficient. He silently pulled out another... dozen blankets and piled them on.
He continued to look, still feeling it wasn't quite right. Yu Yan was not a stingy person, so he pulled out yet another... dozen blankets and piled them on her.
He glanced again, still feeling... so he pulled out another dozen... blankets...
Thus, early on the second day after Zhu Yao joined the sect, Zhu Yao fainted from heatstroke.