A new warm liquid quietly slid down the inside of her thigh.
“Plop…”
It dripped onto the cold floor, spreading into a bright red bloodstain.
“Wuwu~”
Lu Qiancha’s tears fell helplessly like beads strung on a broken thread, rolling down in heavy drops.
The pain was unbearable—true agony that made her very soul tremble.
It hurt so much she could hardly form a complete sentence.
Biting her teeth, Lu Qiancha tried to push herself up from the floor to stand, but her body refused to obey; she had no strength at all.
She desperately channeled her spiritual energy, frantically inspecting herself internally, trying to find the source of the pain.
Meridians? Perfectly intact!
Dantian? Rock solid!
Organs? No abnormalities at all…
She tried using her cultivation technique to suppress the pain, but her spiritual energy sank like a stone into the sea, only resulting in a faint prickling sensation in her dantian.
Why was this happening?
Lu Qiancha felt at a loss.
Am I going to die?
Despair, cold and dark like rising tides, quickly engulfed her consciousness.
Weakly lying on the floor, her silent sobs turned into broken, crying wails.
Using the last bit of clarity she had left, she fumbled for her Jade Token, trembling as she sent a very brief, almost like a dying message, to Gantang and Xunxue.
As for Master…… She bit her lip and forced a reason: “Master, your disciple has reached a bottleneck in cultivation and wishes to travel for experience. I fear I will be gone for a long time.”
The moment the message was sent—
“Bang——!!!”
The door was violently thrown open by a wild force.
Xunxue and Gantang’s figures rushed in one after another like two gusts of wind, panic nearly twisting their faces out of shape.
Their gazes immediately locked on the curled-up figure on the floor—pale-faced, with a glaring red haze beneath her—the little wolf girl.
Mother, junior sister…
Lu Qiancha’s scattered blue eyes struggled to focus, a flash of attachment flickering in them.
Her lips parted, trying to say goodbye, but the pain was too intense to form a full sentence.
“Senior Brother!!
Seeing Lu Qiancha and the blood beneath her, Gantang’s heart clenched sharply; her voice became so sharp it nearly cracked: “Senior Brother, hang on! I’ll take you to find a doctor!”
At that moment, a long, strong hand firmly pressed on her shoulder.
“Don’t panic!” Xunxue’s voice was calm.
“Auntie!” Gantang almost ground her teeth in anxiety, her eyes filled with panic: “Senior Brother is bleeding so much! Let me take her to Yao Ding Ge to find a doctor.”
“Listen carefully.”
Xunxue’s gaze was sharp as a blade, her speech quick but clear: “You go to the Chufang, boil a pot of water. Chop this piece of Hongtang Jiang Tang, peel two slices of Heated Ginger, shred them, add a spoonful of water, and boil for ten minutes. Bring me a bowl of the Hongtang Jiang Tang.”
As she spoke, Xunxue pressed a dark red crystallized sugar block and a small piece of thick-skinned ginger into Gantang’s hands.
“Oh, oh, oh, yes, Auntie!”
Although Gantang’s mind was in chaos, Xunxue’s unquestionable command was like clutching a single straw; she had no doubt or delay.
Her figure shot off like an arrow, rushing toward the Chufang with the sound of wind cutting through the air.
Almost simultaneously, Xunxue stepped forward, gently scooped up Lu Qiancha, wrapped her tightly in a thick, soft tanbu, and laid her back on a warm bed.
Incidentally, Xunxue also replaced the bloodied tanbu with a fresh one.
Feeling the familiar warmth wrap around her, Lu Qiancha could only emit helpless, cub-like whimpers, tears silently slipping from the corners of her eyes.
“Don’t be afraid. You’ll be fine.”
Xunxue sat by the bed, tightly wrapping Lu Qiancha’s icy small paws in her warm hands, repeatedly and gently rubbing the pressure points in her slightly chilled palms with her fingertips.
After a moment.
“Here, here!”
Gantang returned with a bowl of ginger sugar water, handing it to Xunxue.
With a flow of immortal energy, Xunxue instantly cooled the boiling ginger sugar water to a pleasantly warm temperature.
“Here……” She helped the weak Lu Qiancha, barely able to sit upright, to lean back against her embrace.
Steadying the bowl, she brought the strongly fragrant, spicy-sweet soup to Lu Qiancha’s lips. “Open your mouth… drink it down…”
“Gulp gulp.”
Lu Qiancha sipped steadily but continuously, drinking the warm ginger sugar water into her stomach.
The effect was immediate.
A gentle warmth with a spicy tingle rose from her stomach, slowly dissolving the ice-needle-like, bone-piercing pain lurking deep in her lower abdomen, soothing it layer by layer.
Lu Qiancha exhaled a long breath as if unloading a heavy boulder.
Though she was still very weak, the pain had diminished to a bearable level.
“Thank you……”
Turning her body, Lu Qiancha threw herself completely into Xunxue’s arms.
Her two small paws used all the strength they could muster to tightly clutch Xunxue’s waist.
“Mother.”
She buried her face deep in Xunxue’s frost-scented embrace, her voice muffled, thick with a nasal tone mixed with gratitude, fear, grievance, and an unprecedented deep trust.
If not for Xunxue, she probably would have silently died in her little room today.
If there really was such a thing as affection points in this world, Lu Qiancha’s head would be shining with a golden “Xunxue Affection +∞” halo, and a “Gantang Affection +10” beside it.
Gantang’s heart, which had nearly leapt out of her throat, now “thudded” back into place.
She finally managed to ask the question that had been gnawing at her: “Au………..Auntie……” Her voice still trembling, “Senior Brother, what exactly is going on? She’s bleeding so much.”
“It’s Tian Kui.”
Xunxue glanced at Gantang and said softly.
“Ah…oh.”
Gantang felt as if a bucket of warm water had been poured over her head, her racing heart instantly calming.
She exhaled in relief. So it was just her monthly period—the blood on the floor had scared her half to death.
Eh……wait.
Gantang sneaked a glance at Lu Qiancha. If Senior Brother had Tian Kui, wouldn’t that mean……she was already able to have little babies?
Gantang shook her head hard, forcibly crushing that dangerously risky thought before it could sprout.
She quickly composed herself, pulled out a soft, thick Cotton Sanitary Cloth from her storage pouch—noticeably fluffy cotton inside—and handed it to Xunxue: “Auntie, use this.”
Xunxue nodded slightly and neatly took the layered cloth, placing it within easy reach on the bedside.
Then her fingertips reached toward the elastic waistband of Lu Qiancha’s underwear.
Before starting, Xunxue instructed Gantang beside her: “Gantang, take this tanbu and wash it.”
Gantang froze.
She knew very well that this was clearly an excuse to send her away.
Even gentlemen must be cautious?
Really.
Pouting, Gantang eventually took the bloodstained tanbu to the backyard to wash.
Her figure disappeared outside the door.
Lu Qiancha watched Xunxue’s movements, shyly covering her eyes with her paws.
She tilted her little face up, watching Xunxue’s finger preparing to move downward.
A flicker of shyness instinctively crossed her blue eyes.
She raised both paws and tightly covered her eyes.
“Lift your leg.”
Though she wasn’t quite sure what Xunxue intended, her complete trust in her left no room for resistance.
Her body even cooperated, slightly raising her hips.
Xunxue took out a new set of pajamas and helped Lu Qiancha change.
The blood-stained nightgown was thrown into the wicker basket to be washed later.
Then Xunxue carefully and neatly placed the specially made thick cotton cloth exactly where it belonged.
A snug, secure sensation spread through Lu Qiancha’s mind.