This session of meditation passed in the blink of half a month.
The accumulation of spiritual energy was overwhelming; even with Lu Qiancha’s utmost effort, she could only absorb a little more than half of it into her Dantian.
That day, a sudden, inexplicable heat of impatience and restlessness surged uncontrollably from her chest, like ignited oil, instantly engulfing her Sea of Consciousness.
“?”
Lu Qiancha furrowed her brows tightly.
Immediately, she formed hand seals and quietly chanted the Qingxin Mantra: “Ice Heart Jade Soul, calm!”
A cool, crystal-clear spiritual current flowed gently like jade nectar, soothing the irritated spirit platform.
Yet the heat only paused briefly before roaring back like an enraged volcano.
Could it be that my cultivation has gone awry?
Has my practice gone astray into demonic possession?
Lu Qiancha’s heart trembled violently. She immediately ceased her cultivation and sent her divine sense to meticulously scan every meridian, the Qi Sea, and the Purple Mansion of the Sea of Consciousness.
But the flow of spiritual power was smooth, the meridians free of any obstruction, the Purple Mansion pure and clear, and the Dantian Qi Sea stable.
Nothing abnormal could be found.
Only that scorching heat remained, gnawing at her mind like a bone-in maggot, and even her limbs began to faintly throb with an odd soreness and weakness.
Lu Qiancha tried the Qingxin Mantra again, but this time it had no effect.
No… this can’t go on…
Lu Qiancha forced herself up, wanting to get some fresh air.
No sooner had her legs lifted from the ground than a wave of overwhelming weakness crashed over her like a tide.
“Plop!” she collapsed weakly onto the floor, her entire body drained of strength.
“This is bad!”
A jolt ran through Lu Qiancha’s heart. She feared she had been poisoned.
She hurriedly swallowed a detox pill and swept her spiritual energy through her body, but the irritation remained as intense as ever.
Could it… be the Witch Curse?
Lu Qiancha gasped weakly, confused.
She hadn’t offended anyone recently, had she?
Biting her lip, she took out her jade talisman to contact Gantang, then deactivated the formation in the room.
“Bang!”
Gantang responded immediately, rushing over in a panic, staring anxiously at Lu Qiancha collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.
“Senior Brother?!”
Gantang’s soul nearly left her body as she scrambled to Lu Qiancha’s side, her voice cracking: “Senior Brother, what’s wrong? What should I do? Is there anything I can do?”
“…I’m fine.”
Lu Qiancha gritted her teeth, squeezing out the words through clenched jaws.
Struggling against the almost consciousness-consuming heat, her trembling hand pointed to the top drawer of the bedside cabinet: “Help me get the bottle of medicine from the top drawer.”
“All right!”
Gantang’s gaze flickered sharply as she hurriedly pulled out a bottle of milky potion from the bedside cabinet. “Is it this one?”
“Yes.”
Lu Qiancha weakly nodded, taking the bottle, but she had no strength to twist off the cap.
Helpless, she said to Gantang, “Open the bottle and feed it to me.”
“Oh, okay, Senior Brother.”
Gantang quickly complied, popping off the cap and carefully bringing the cool bottle mouth to Lu Qiancha’s soft lips.
Like a desert traveler encountering sweet rain, Lu Qiancha forced her mouth open — “Gulp, gulp.”
She drank down more than half the bottle, but the oppressive heat and agitation didn’t lessen. Instead, it grew worse.
What a powerful poison.
Lu Qiancha’s eyes glazed over as her body convulsed uncontrollably, collapsing to the side, gasping heavily.
“Senior Brother!”
Gantang’s scream shattered the silence of the room. Forgetting everything else, she grabbed the deeply unconscious little wolf cub horizontally, then wildly dashed toward Xun Xue’s door.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
“Auntie! Auntie, please open the door! Senior Brother Qiancha is in trouble! Help her!”
Gantang’s tearful cries pounded like a hammer against the door.
Complete silence answered her… the door remained shut.
***
After what felt like an eternity, the door finally slid open inward.
Xun Xue stood there like a serene jade statue, her figure framed by the shadows beyond the threshold, her expression indifferent, tinged with the cold impatience of being disturbed.
“What’s all this noise about?” Her voice was calm and even.
“Auntie, it’s Senior Brother! Senior Brother Qiancha…”
Gantang stammered, trembling as she stepped forward, holding the little wolf cub, her voice cracking with tears, “She’s barely alive. Please, you have to look at her!”
“Little Qiancha is in trouble?”
Xun Xue’s eyebrows twitched faintly. She immediately looked down at the little wolf in Gantang’s arms.
Lu Qiancha’s eyes were glazed, her cheeks flushed, lying listlessly in Gantang’s embrace.
“Give me little Qiancha.”
Her voice suddenly gained an undeniable authority.
“All right, all right.”
Gantang, as if suddenly forgiven, hurriedly and clumsily handed Lu Qiancha into Xun Xue’s gentle arms.
Xun Xue steadied the small body with ease. Her warm, jade-like immortal power flowed like the most precise probe, instantly penetrating Lu Qiancha’s limbs, meridians, and spirit.
Everything was laid bare.
From shallow to deep, from surface to core, every thread of blood and Qi, every subtle pulse of spirit, was under her vast immortal sense.
Xun Xue’s expression shifted slowly from stern to something more subtle.
“Auntie?” Gantang anxiously watched Xun Xue’s inscrutable face and carefully asked, “Senior Brother… what’s wrong with her?”
Xun Xue cradled Lu Qiancha and slowly lifted her gaze, looking past Gantang’s anxious face, seemingly piercing through the heavy courtyard walls, gazing toward the distant mountains…
A faint, helpless smile curled the corners of her lips, tinged with both irony and resignation. She softly uttered four words: “Spring Has Come.”
“Ah?”
Gantang blinked in confusion, her eyes wide and round.
She followed Xun Xue’s gaze toward the window — the cold wind still whipped scattered snowflakes, and it was clearly the freezing depths of winter.
“B-But it’s still winter, Auntie?”
Gantang asked foolishly.
Xun Xue gave her a long, deep look, as if saying: Child, you’re too young.
Then her voice returned to its commanding calm: “Now, immediately, lock all the doors and windows in the house tight.”
Then, Xun Xue added, “Follow me!”
“Oh, okay.”
Though still confused, Gantang’s overwhelming worry for Senior Brother overshadowed all else.
She slammed the doors and windows shut with a clatter, then ran back like a gust of wind, standing nervously before Xun Xue.
Xun Xue nodded and, with steady steps, carried Lu Qiancha toward her own bed.
Gently, she laid the burning little wolf down onto the soft embroidered blanket.
Under Gantang’s stunned gaze—
Xun Xue’s delicate fingers moved swiftly, like unwrapping the most exquisite work of art, expertly and without any hint of familiarity, loosening the cotton jacket on Lu Qiancha’s body, then deftly slipping off the white stockings.
In an instant, the tiny wolf maiden’s small body, faintly flushed pink, with graceful curves yet still tenderly childish, was nearly fully exposed to the warm air of the chamber, save for her undergarments.
Ah?!
“Eh eh eh?”
Gantang’s face flushed bright red as a ripe shrimp, steam practically rising from her head.
She spun around abruptly but couldn’t help sneaking glances through her fingers…
At the same time, an alarm blared in her mind: This is bad! Bad! Bad! If Senior Brother wakes up and finds out I’ve seen everything, will she kill me to keep me quiet?
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