Chapter 109: Hangover Relief Soup

“Senior Sister!”

Gantang cried out in alarm, so frightened her soul seemed to flee her body. She rushed forward to check what was happening.

“Hmm?”

Xuanya frowned, the calm in her eyes instantly shattered.

What was going on?

This wine contained spiritual essence, but its nature was gentle as spring water, its spiritual energy mild and steady. Even if a mortal woman drank a whole pot, she might not get drunk.

With her disciple’s Nascent Soul cultivation, how could she possibly be knocked out by a single cup?

“Gantang, go crush this Jiejiudan and dissolve it in water for your Senior Sister to drink.”

Xuanya waved her over, motioning for Gantang to take the pill from her hand.

“Oh, oh, yes, Master.”

Gantang nodded repeatedly, stepping forward to grasp the pill in her palm.

While Gantang was preparing the Jiejiutang, Lu Qiancha, who had collapsed on the ground, slowly struggled to her feet.

Yet she still felt dizzy and lightheaded, unable to properly control her spiritual power within.

“Hmm?”

Xuanya gazed at the figure of Lu Qiancha—smoke-like, flickering, seemingly on the verge of dispersing at any moment—her willow brows suddenly tightening.

Her fingertips moved with lightning speed, forming a seal. She intoned a deep incantation: “Tiandi Wuji! Qiankun Jie Fa—Reveal!”

With a muffled sound, the spiritual power fueling Lu Qiancha’s Mirage Art suddenly collapsed.

And in the instant the fragments of spiritual light scattered and faded away,

All that was left in place was a small, dark-blue Wolf Demon cub, eyes spinning with golden stars, staggering in circles like a tiny spinning top.

“Ugh…the, the house is flying…..”

Lu Qiancha tried hard to stand firm, but her two legs seemed to be going in different directions.

Her Master and Gantang before her turned into several overlapping shadows.

The world in her eyes twisted into a swirling, colorful mire…

“Jiejiutang is…….here……eh?”

Gantang came running with a steaming bowl of medicinal soup.

But when she saw the little blue ball wobbling about, drunkenly throwing punches, her expression froze in shock. Her hands shook so hard the soup nearly spilled.

“Gantang, give this Jiejiutang to the Wolf Demon.”

Xuanya’s voice was calm and without ripple. She paused, gently biting her crimson lower lip, then continued, “I have questions to ask her.”

“Oh, yes, Master.”

Gantang didn’t dare delay. She knelt, holding the bowl cautiously to Lu Qiancha’s swaying head.

“Gulp, gulp…”

A few mouthfuls of warm medicinal liquid were forced down.

A spicy, choking heat shot up to Lu Qiancha’s crown, squeezing a few tears from her eyes.

But the effect was instantaneous.

“Pf—cough, cough, cough!!!”

Lu Qiancha’s gaze snapped halfway clear.

“Cough, cough, Gantang…”

Struggling to catch her breath, Lu Qiancha grabbed the cold tea from the table and gulped it down to wash away the aftertaste.

She wiped away the tears stung by the spice with her paw, complaining irritably, “What did you give me to drink? It’s so spicy!” “Senior Sister, cough, cough, Senior Sister…”

Gantang didn’t answer, but softly called to her twice, all the while shooting glances at Xuanya.

“Why are you coughing? Is your throat sore? Are you sick or something?”

Seeing her cough until her face reddened, the little Wolf Demon tilted her head in confusion, rubbing her own head.

She rummaged through her storage pouch and fished out a bottle of medicine that looked like milk, handing it to Gantang. “Here, hurry and drink this.”

Gantang:

She didn’t take it, only looked at Lu Qiancha with anxious eyes.

“So, you are Lu Qiancha?”

Xuanya’s gaze locked firmly onto the Wolf Demon’s dark blue eyes. Her voice was soft, slow and deliberate.

Lu Qiancha: “?”

Xuanya’s question left her momentarily dazed—if she wasn’t Lu Qiancha, who else could she be?

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly realized her Mirage Art disguise had failed at some point.

Lu Qiancha froze mid-mouth, stunned for a moment. Under Xuanya’s knife-sharp gaze, she finally squeezed out a word from deep in her throat: “Yes……”

“……Mm, I know now.”

Xuanya nodded almost imperceptibly, a flash of surprise quickly vanishing from her eyes.

“When did you become like this? Or was this your original form before coming up the mountain?”

Xuanya asked calmly.

“About…a bit more than half a year ago.”

Lu Qiancha answered hesitantly, squirming a little.

Curling up.

“Mm.”

Xuanya nodded, then spoke, “From now on, stop burrowing into the snow. It’s bad for your health.”

…That she really couldn’t help.

Lu Qiancha’s little paws twisted together—whenever she saw a pile of snow now, she just wanted to dive in.

It was like seeing a heap of rice when cooking, impossible to resist sticking her hands in.

Who could refuse that icy, cool sensation?

Lu Qiancha truly couldn’t.

Xuanya didn’t say more, just looked at the little creature in front of her.

“Come here.”

Xuanya beckoned to Lu Qiancha.

“Yes, Master.”

Lu Qiancha drooped her head, even her pointed ears wilted, and trudged forward with heavy steps.

“Give me your hand.”

Lu Qiancha obeyed, turning her soft pink paw pad up.

“When did Gantang find out about this?”

Xuanya’s fingertip gently tapped Lu Qiancha’s outstretched paw, but her eyes flicked sharply to Gantang, who was trying her hardest to shrink her presence.

“Uh…also a bit over half a year ago.”

Gantang, startled by the look, shivered and pressed her fingers together nervously over her chest.

“So you two—Senior Sister and Junior Sister—conspired to keep this from your Master for over half a year?”

Xuanya’s lips curled coldly.

“Y-yes, that’s right…”

Lu Qiancha’s voice was now thin as a thread, sounding utterly meek.

“Heh.”

Xuanya laughed.

In the next instant,

The handle of Xuanya’s HanyuFuchen swept through the moonlight in a graceful arc.

“—Pa!!”

It landed firmly in the very center of Lu Qiancha’s soft pink paw pad.

It hurt.

A searing pain shot through Lu Qiancha’s paw, making her yank it back like she’d been burnt, clutching it tightly to her chest. Her small body trembled from the sharp pain.

Her freshly cleared blue eyes instantly filled with fat, uncontrollable tears that rolled down her cheeks.

But still, she shakily extended her paw once more toward Xuanya.

Looking at the little bundle radiating “Master is so scary” and “It hurts, I want to cry”, Xuanya felt a strange sense of absurdity.

Was this really her careful, composed, calculating disciple, Lu Qiancha?

Putting aside the thought for now, she merely sighed, softly and a little wearily, flicked her wide sleeve, and said to Lu Qiancha, “Enough…step back.”

Then she turned to Gantang, “Gantang, come here.”

“Oh.”

Head drooping, Gantang dragged her feet over to Xuanya, unconsciously hiding her hands behind her back.

Xuanya would not let her dodge.

She seized Gantang’s tightly clenched right hand and turned it palm up.

The cold HanyuFuchen rose again without mercy, coming down hard.

“Pa!” First strike—her palm turned red.

“Pa!” Second strike—the red deepened.

“Pa! Pa!” Two crisp cracks in quick succession.

“Hiss, Master…that hurts.”

Tears brimmed in Gantang’s eyes as she cradled her hand.

“You know it hurts, yet you still dared to make mischief with your Senior Sister?”

Xuanya’s face remained expressionless, but her voice was as cold as ice. “Do you not trust your Master?”

She raised the handle of the duster, pointing at the blue-furred little bundle silently weeping and clutching her paw. “If someone else discovered Lu Qiancha’s true form, what would you do?”

Xuanya’s voice suddenly turned sharp. “At that time! Who could protect her?”

“With your pitiful cultivation? Or with her tiny Wolf Demon body?!”

Xuanya lowered the duster, her gaze passing deeply over Gantang’s dodging eyes. “Because I know, I can maneuver and hide her tracks, suppress her aura—”

“But what if I didn’t know?”

Xuanya asked in return.