Ling Wanbai stood upright in front of Xun Xue, both arms wrapped around a stack of damp, potion-soaked clothes.
Her eyes were calm as still water, yet they conveyed a silent accusation: your little one made this mess, you have to take responsibility.
“Ahem, give me the clothes. I’ll send someone to wash them.”
Xun Xue cleared her throat, feeling a bit guilty as she rubbed the tip of her nose, and hurriedly took the pile of clothes.
With practiced hands, she handed over two strings of glistening crystal-clear candied hawthorns.
Ling Wanbai’s expression remained unmoved, but her hand shot out without hesitation to accept the candied hawthorn.
Then, Xun Xue turned to Lu Qiancha, a sudden realization rising in her heart: after getting beaten and experiencing the harshness of the world, her family’s little one seemed to have grown even more aggressive.
On second thought, it wasn’t a bad thing. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about her getting bullied outside.
As she was thinking, Ling Wanbai, who had been quietly nibbling her candied hawthorn, silently shuffled over to sit right next to Lu Qiancha.
“Hmph, I’m ignoring you, bad Shrine Attendant.”
Lu Qiancha tossed her little head, and her fluffy, deep blue wolf tail gave a sharp “pa-ta” as it struck Ling Wanbai’s arm.
Ling Wanbai was silent for three seconds, then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she held out the uneaten candied hawthorn she still had in her hand to Lu Qiancha’s little face, her voice flat and even: “I’ll share a string of candied hawthorn with you.”
“Mm?” Lu Qiancha’s little ears instantly perked up, blue eyes darting quickly to the enticing, glossy candied hawthorn right before her.
The next second—
Lu Qiancha’s pink little tongue darted out with a “whoosh,” taking a huge lick from the biggest, roundest hawthorn.
The little wolf cub declared righteously, “I already ate it! No taking it back now.”
“No take-backs. It’s yours.”
Ling Wanbai’s voice was as calm as ever.
“…Thank you.”
Only then did Lu Qiancha accept it, her face slightly flushed, her voice as soft as a mosquito: “I forgive you now.”
As she spoke, Lu Qiancha took the initiative to nuzzle her little head closer to Ling Wanbai, the tips of her soft ears brushing Ling Wanbai’s cool cheek: “You can touch my ears.”
“Okay.”
Ling Wanbai complied without hesitation, using the hand not holding the candied hawthorn to gently rub Lu Qiancha’s head.
“Fuu fuu~”
Lu Qiancha immediately squinted in comfort, clearly enjoying it.
In fact, when Ling Wanbai tentatively tried to withdraw her hand, Lu Qiancha unconsciously lifted her little head a bit, chasing after that lingering, cool touch.
Xun Xue leaned back slightly.
Becoming more aggressive was good, but now she seemed easier to coax—and easier to trick…
It felt like she was even more likely to be led away by someone now.
Xun Xue felt her worries returning.
“Ahem,” Xun Xue cleared her throat, forcibly suppressing her swirling thoughts, then instructed the two, “I’ll send someone to take care of these clothes.”
“You two…”
Her gaze swept over the two little ones sitting close together. “If you want any snacks or treats, just go to the front courtyard and tell the palace maids on duty—they’ll arrange it for you.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Lu Qiancha nodded obediently with a mouthful of candied hawthorn, her cheeks bulging.
Ling Wanbai also nodded expressionlessly.
Once Xun Xue’s figure disappeared from the doorway—
Lu Qiancha immediately pulled out the Ice Wolf statue, gave a “pa-ta,” and shoved it into Ling Wanbai’s arms. “I want to recharge it.”
“Twenty incense offerings.”
Ling Wanbai didn’t even lift her eyelids, her voice utterly unruffled.
Lu Qiancha traced her claw-tip through the air, and twenty streams of incense power, shimmering with purple-gold starlight and brimming with lunar fortune, instantly flowed into an unremarkable Wolf-head Jade Talisman at Ling Wanbai’s waist.
Ling Wanbai accepted the statue and, from who-knows-where, produced a palm-sized, ancient and weathered Wolf-head Bronze Incense Burner.
Her demeanor became incomparably devout and solemn. With eyes closed in silent prayer, spiritual power flowed at her fingertips, outlining arcane sigils above the incense burner.
After a moment, a soft light flashed from the burner, and she handed the newly “recharged” statue back to Lu Qiancha.
Ling Wanbai’s voice remained calm: “The Grand Spirit Venerable decrees—the Dao seed within this statue has already flowered and borne fruit.”
“Huh?” Lu Qiancha was a bit surprised. So even the killing done in that illusion could trigger a Dao seed’s growth?
She already had the Killing Dao Aura, but if devouring this could strengthen that spear, all the better.
No harm in trying.
She accepted the statue, cautiously probing inside with her spiritual sense.
Sure enough, at the statue’s core, a Dao Aura fruit had formed—solid and dark red like a crystal, radiating pure destructive energy.
Lu Qiancha manipulated her cube, slowly guiding that Dao Aura crystal out, then drawing it toward the cube.
“Buzz.”
With a resonant hum, the cube spun and transformed into five cards with brownish-yellow backgrounds.
Lu Qiancha curiously picked one up and peered at it, her expression instantly solemn.
In the center of the card was a domineering, wild-looking gray-black mushroom.
The mushroom cap was massive, with a blood-red, lightning-shaped scar slashing right through the middle.
It looked like serious trouble.
Below the image, a row of scrawled small characters read—
[Destruction Mushroom]
[Explodes when planted; sleeps during the day.]
The other four cards were variants of the Destruction Mushroom: three “Mini Destruction Mushrooms,” each with a slightly smaller cap and a lighter scar.
And one “Frost Destruction Mushroom,” its whole body coated in ghostly blue ice crystals, exuding a bone-chilling aura.
Lu Qiancha:
Lu Qiancha glanced up at Ling Wanbai. So this Grand Spirit Venerable granted a Destruction Dao, not a Killing Dao.
A simple mistake.
Grinning to herself, she stored the whole set of mushroom cards back in the cube, tucked it into her storage pouch, switched to her cool, young boy disguise, and headed out the door.
“Where are you going?”
Ling Wanbai reached out to catch a corner of Lu Qiancha’s robe, asking.
“To refine pills.”
Lu Qiancha replied, the materials for the Illusory Pill were ready—best to act before things changed.
Upon hearing this, Ling Wanbai immediately let go and sat back down, expressionlessly munching down the unfinished, licked candied hawthorn that Lu Qiancha had left.
Lu Qiancha moved like the wind, soon arriving at the palace’s dedicated alchemy area. After a brief greeting to the Dan Attendant at the gate, she slipped skillfully into an unused alchemy room.
“Clatter!”
All the carefully prepared spiritual materials were arranged neatly on the jade platform. Lu Qiancha recalled the recipe from memory.
She held her breath and focused, spiritual power flowing from her fingertips like threads, precisely controlling each movement.
Following the steps she had practiced countless times in her mind, she added each ingredient into the Red Copper Alchemy Furnace, its earthen fire blazing steadily.
The furnace burned smoothly, the fragrance of medicine gradually spreading.
No mishaps like last time.
After a while, the fire faded.
Lu Qiancha carefully lifted the scalding furnace lid—a wave of strange, invigorating medicinal aroma instantly filled the alchemy room.
At the bottom of the furnace lay a single, flawless, perfectly round Illusory Pill, its surface traced by three clear and mysterious alchemic patterns.
“Only one pill per batch?” Lu Qiancha raised an eyebrow. The yield was kind of touching…
Still, she didn’t mind much—as long as her purpose was fulfilled. She immediately dropped her disguise, grabbed the still-warm pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The medicinal power melted instantly like a gentle, warm current.
She guided most of the energy into her front paws.
The pair of wolf paws, covered in fine, soft fur, slowly stretched and transformed within a gentle white light, finally becoming a pair of exquisitely sculpted, jade-like human hands.
A small bit of medicinal power remained. With a thought, she directed it to her tail, enlarging it.
Her old tail had been far too small—at night, she still had to curl up just to hug it while sleeping.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.