Chapter 106: A Shift in Mindset

“Senior Brother, I’m sorry.”

Gantang was startled by the shout, quickly handing over a bowl of warm Jiang Tang Shui with Hong Zao and Gouqi.

Lu Qiancha gave a heavy snort through her nose.

The next second, without turning back, her little paw naturally took the bowl.

“Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!” She downed it in a few big mouthfuls. The warm, sweet, and slightly spicy liquid slid down her throat.

She shook Gantang off and walked straight into the Shiting at the foot of the mountain.

With a loud “plop”, she threw herself onto the cold Shideng.

Her two little paws held her cheeks as her empty gaze drifted out to the clouds rolling far away.

Just then, a familiar red figure slowly approached along the path.

“Eh? Little Gancha?!”

Shangguan Yunzhu stopped in her tracks, her eyes full of surprise and delight. “You finished your retreat?!”

“It ended long ago.”

Lu Qiancha replied irritably.

Shangguan Yunzhu’s bright smile froze instantly. Her hands twisted the Sitao on her jade pendant in embarrassment.

Did I say something wrong?

Her face betrayed her confusion without a trace of disguise.

She quickly apologized, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“You know you shouldn’t have asked, yet you’re still standing here? If you want to discuss something, go find my master. She’s up on the mountain right now.”

Lu Qiancha spoke bluntly, her tail agitatedly sweeping the nearby Jixue Caodi.

Fuming.

***

Shangguan Yunzhu was completely dumbfounded, her mind crashing from this sudden hostility.

Her eyes turned to Gantang for help, lowering her voice as she quietly asked, “What’s wrong with your Senior Brother?”

“If you shouldn’t ask, don’t ask.”

Gantang shot her a look. After all, Tian Kui was one of the most private things for a girl. How could she tell others? Besides, this person might even be her love rival.

Shangguan Yunzhu was at a loss for words, her smile turning rather forced.

She bowed helplessly to Lu Qiancha. “Senior Brother Qiancha, I’ll come visit another day.”

“Hurry up, go, go.”

Lu Qiancha waved her paw to shoo her away.

Almost the moment Shangguan Yunzhu’s figure disappeared around the stone steps—

“Swish!”

A flash of icy light, and Xunxue’s figure flitted nimbly from the snow-dusted path.

“How are you feeling?”

She asked gently, her deep blue eyes probing as she looked precisely at the blue-furred ball sitting in the Shiting.

“Mother!”

Lu Qiancha’s impatient little face was instantly lit up with joy when she saw who it was. She opened her paws, her blue eyes filled with unrestrained longing as she looked eagerly at Xunxue.

Off to the side, Gantang felt a pang of jealousy. Damn, I was clearly the first to arrive…

Xunxue let out a soft laugh, picking Lu Qiancha up into her arms.

So comfortable.

The resonance of their bloodline made Lu Qiancha feel utterly at ease; the pain almost completely vanished.

She wrapped her paws around Xunxue’s neck, her little face resting on Xunxue’s shoulder as she slowly closed her eyes.

After this incident, Lu Qiancha no longer resisted the resonance brought by their bloodline.

On the contrary, she now felt a subtle anticipation for the comfort it brought.

The faint but steady sound of breathing came from Xunxue’s shoulder.

“Heh, little sleepyhead.”

Xunxue gently ruffled Lu Qiancha’s hair with affection.

In her sleep, Lu Qiancha seemed to sense the touch, nuzzling unconsciously into Xunxue’s palm.

Beside them—

Gantang stood quietly, her gaze fixed on the big wolf and the little wolf snuggled together, a wave of unspoken envy and sourness rippling through her heart again and again.

No, no, that’s my future mother-in-law—nothing to be jealous of.

Gantang shook her head and followed Xunxue and Lu Qiancha back to the small courtyard.

***

In the middle of the night.

Perhaps because she’d drunk too much Jiang Tang Shui, Lu Qiancha was jolted awake by an urgent need.

She yawned, still groggy, and got out of bed to take care of business.

But not long after crawling back under the covers—

Lu Qiancha frowned. She’d only gone to the latrine, so why was the pain back again…

Forcing herself to endure, Lu Qiancha fumbled for a new fire spirit crystal and slipped it into the Chitong Tangpo, then wrapped herself tightly in the thick blanket.

Warmth gradually spread, but the persistent pain stubbornly refused to subside.

Sleep was out of the question.

Forget it, might as well cultivate.

Lu Qiancha sat cross-legged, calming her mind and trying to circulate her spiritual power.

Outside the window, the night wind suddenly battered the Chuangling.

“Whoooo~~~”

A chill crept in through the crack in the window…

“Ugh~”

Lu Qiancha doubled over in pain. Forget about focusing to cultivate—she couldn’t even sit still.

Her big tail lashed irritably against the bed to vent the pain. “Bang!”

A heavy, muffled sound.

Her tail had struck the Chitong Tangpo next to her.

Lu Qiancha let out a wail, curling up and clutching her tail.

It hurt—so hot.

Trembling, Lu Qiancha forced herself up, fished a bottle of Xunhong instant healing potion from her storage pouch, and gulped down a big mouthful without even looking.

The pain in her tail disappeared instantly, but the icy-cool potion in her stomach—

The cold air inside her surged even more violently, twisting and churning, making her belly ache all over again.

Drive out the wolf through the front door, only for the tiger to come in through the back; now she was blocked from both sides.

“Wuuu~”

Defeated by the pain, Lu Qiancha whimpered helplessly in the silent night.

She clenched her teeth and struggled to prop herself up, hugging the now-rewarmed Chitong Tangpo tightly.

Step by step, she staggered out of the cold room.

***

Meanwhile, Xunxue was reclining on her couch, toying with a shimmering Chuanxun Yu Zhao between her fingers, chatting with an old friend through spiritual sense.

“Dong dong dong.”

A light but stubborn knocking broke the room’s quiet.

“?”

Who could be knocking so late at night?

Xunxue raised an eyebrow. She put on her outer robe, opened the door, and heard a soft, sorrowful cry.

The little wolf girl’s figure was wrapped in the thin moonlight, clutching a Tangpo wrapped in pink-and-white cloth.

Those deep blue eyes, glimmering with unshed tears in the moonlight, were now filled with fragile helplessness and grievance.

“Why are you still awake at this hour?”

Xunxue’s heart melted at the sight, her voice unconsciously gentle as her warm palm touched Lu Qiancha’s cool hair.

“My tummy hurts… I can’t sleep.”

Lu Qiancha’s voice was thick with a stuffy nose as she put the Tangpo away in her storage pouch.

As her words fell, her little body couldn’t help but lean toward Xunxue, burying her nose deep in the cool fabric of Xunxue’s sleeve. The crisp cold fragrance on her mother instantly calmed her restless heart.

“Oh?” A teasing glint flashed in Xunxue’s eyes as her lips curled playfully. “Then, what does little Qiancha want to do?”

“I… I want…” The tips of Lu Qiancha’s ears flushed uncontrollably as her head nearly buried itself in Xunxue’s clothes, her voice tiny as a mosquito, her body squirming: …to sleep with Mother……together…”

“Hmm? The wind is a bit too strong…” Xunxue turned her head, pretending to listen intently, her eyes dancing with undisguised mischief, “…I don’t think I heard clearly? What did little Qiancha just say?”