84 - Little Peasant Wife

Jing Ao Xue, in a haze of pain, instinctively opened her eyes. Her wood-based abilities, driven by her last conscious thought, resolutely protected the fragile spiritual root within her dantian. Xiao Hui transformed into a ball of flame and charged entirely into Jing Ao Xue’s dantian. The dantian, as it's called, is a mysterious and profound space within the body, akin to a unique dimensional pocket. Upon entering, Xiao Hui immediately noticed the fierce blue-green flames of Li Mu Wen Huo. Sensing its aura, the flames surged even higher. Liu Er, hearing Jing Ao Xue's cries of pain, couldn't help but lean in to comfort her: "Mother, don't be afraid. It will be over soon." Semi-conscious, Jing Ao Xue mumbled, "Liu Er?" Liu Er wiped away her tears, saying, "Mother, it's me, Liu Er. Don't be afraid." Seeing her mother in such a state made her wish she could take the pain herself. Despite her mother’s past mistakes, she had changed for the better. She now spoiled Liu Er with delicious food, red envelopes, carried her around, and even taught her to read. Importantly, she knew how to make Liu Er's other mother happy. Liu Er cherished this new version of her mother and couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, like she had lost her sister Meng Qiu's mother—never waking up once her eyes were closed. So she silently prayed, "Xiao Hui, please, hurry." Connected to her thoughts, Xiao Hui rolled its eyes and sneered at the more formidable flames before it: “My servant is earnestly pleading with me, so I must do my best. Will you dissipate on your own, or submit and recognize the owner of this body as your master?” Li Mu Wen Huo, faintly understanding the message, roared and lunged at it. Xiao Hui sneered, "Overestimating yourself! A mere strange flame dares to challenge a phoenix!" In an instant, it transformed into fiery red flames, intertwining with the blue-green exotic fire inside Jing Ao Xue's dantian. Liu Er felt an encompassing heat with a slight sting, but it wasn't severe. She steeled herself, knowing Xiao Hui had said she would feel even more pain than her mother, maybe worse than today's peck from Xiao Hui. But... Despite her expectations, she barely felt any pain, just some mild tingling. Time seemed to blur. Inside Jing Ao Xue's dantian, the red flames had dimmed significantly, but they were still in a better state than the blue-green ones. Xiao Hui reverted to its original form, spitting blood with a cold chuckle: “Well, do you want to continue? I've already consumed half your power. If you go on, I won't hold back!” Frightened, Li Mu Wen Huo retreated. Xiao Hui pressed on, demanding, “Submit as a servant!” Utterly subdued, Li Mu Wen Huo flickered meekly and inscribed its mark onto Jing Ao Xue's soul, cementing its submission. From now on, whenever Jing Ao Xue willed it, she could command it effortlessly. Now bound together, they shared a symbiotic relationship: they flourished together, suffered together. A mere disciple from the Qi Refinement stage had bound it, one of the world's top ten strange flames—what an embarrassment to its kind. Crushed, Li Mu Wen Huo reduced itself to a small flickering flame at the edge of the dantian, indulging in self-pity. Xiao Hui couldn't help but vomit a few more mouthfuls of blood, grievously injured this time. It could not easily resume its form and could only recover within Liu Er’s body. It emerged from Jing Ao Xue's dantian, bloodied, collapsing onto Liu Er’s chest. Concerned, she asked with a frown, “Are you alright?” Xiao Hui rolled its eyes, answering, "The pain you feel is mine too. What do you think?" Liu Er was momentarily stunned, her face scrunched up, "But I'm not in pain." Hearing this, Xiao Hui sprang up, narrowing its bright red eyes, scrutinizing her closely. Noticing she was unscathed, it became perplexed. Usually, as Liu Er’s master, their relationship mirrored that of Jing Ao Xue and Li Mu Wen Huo, shared both fortune and pain. Yet now, while it was struggling to maintain its shape due to injuries, Liu Er was perfectly fine. Was there a problem with the contract? Xiao Hui had no time to ponder further as it shakily hovered to Liu Er’s forehead, embedding a portion of its knowledge into her mind. It then vanished into red mist. Liu Er blinked in confusion, wondering about the sudden influx of techniques in her mind. Xiao Hui had instructed her to cultivate according to these methods, as her strength would expedite its recovery. She frowned, admitting she didn’t favor Xiao Hui, but acknowledged its injury was on her behalf. She couldn’t repay kindness with ingratitude, so she resolved to cultivate diligently. Yet the urgency could wait; she leaned over to check on Jing Ao Xue. Before she could speak, Shen Lü Man rushed in through the window, hurrying over in concern, “Jing Ao Xue, what happened to you?” Chapter Fifty-Two: Qi Refinement Shen Lü Man hadn’t expected that in the short time she was away, Jing Ao Xue had become such a sight—covered in blood and nearly unconscious, hardly better than when she'd been injured in the mountains before. If she hadn’t suddenly sensed a great demon’s aura emanating from their home while up on the mountain, she would have already gone deeper into the ranges to confront the White Horse Priest. In her worry, she had dropped her hunted prey without a second thought and hurriedly returned home with a pale face. Despite rushing back, she was still too late. Jing Ao Xue... Trembling, Shen Lü Man approached, wanting to touch her, but Jing Ao Xue was covered in blood and lined with numerous tiny cracks, leaving no place for her to start. Afraid that touching her might exacerbate the wounds, she hesitated. Seeing this, Liu Er quickly comforted her, "Mother, she’s alright." With red-rimmed eyes, Shen Lü Man couldn't believe her, striving to stay calm as she fetched medicine from the pharmacy. Liu Er understood what she intended, promptly pouring cool boiled water. Sitting beside the bed, Shen Lü Man carefully lifted the unconscious Jing Ao Xue, feeding her the medicinal pills, and helped her sip water to wash them down. Afterward, she asked Liu Er, “Were you at home before this happened? Do you know what happened to your mother?” Liu Er’s eyes were swollen from crying. She wanted to tell her mother about the phoenix, but an unknown force held her back. Mustering all her strength, she managed to utter “strange flame” before falling silent. Seeing her struggle, Shen Lü Man assumed Liu Er didn’t know either and said, “Alright, go rest in your room. I’ll look after your mother.” Liu Er nodded obediently and left. Shen Lü Man closed the window, sensing that the great demon’s aura had vanished before she could reach home—now there was not a trace remaining. She hoped it had truly gone. Glancing at Jing Ao Xue, she saw her skin healing rapidly yet still looking like she'd been dragged from a pool of blood. Grabbing a basin of cold water from the well, she returned to Jing Ao Xue’s room. Using flames created from her fire spirit energy, Shen Lü Man warmed the water, took one of Jing Ao Xue’s usual cloths from the shelf, and began methodically cleaning the blood from her skin. Jing Ao Xue’s injuries were indeed more severe than those from the mountain. However, perhaps it was Shen Lü Man's imagination, but the pills seemed to be speeding up the healing significantly. After cleaning the blood from Jing Ao Xue’s face, she noticed the cracked lines rapidly fading. Once she carefully removed Jing Ao Xue's clothes to clean her thoroughly, her alabaster skin appeared perfectly restored. Shen Lü Man was startled but more concerned for Jing Ao Xue’s wellbeing to dwell on it. After cleaning off the traces of blood, Shen Lü Man tidied the bed as best as she could, then closed her eyes and channeled her wood spirit energy into Jing Ao Xue’s body. Not long after, Jing Ao Xue woke up. Fully healed, Jing Ao Xue felt an unprecedented sense of comfort, almost as if she could lift off. Despite physical exhaustion, she noticed a blue-green flame flaring in her mind and, curiously, moved her thoughts toward it. Instantly, the flame responded. Startled, she heard Shen Lü Man’s worried voice beside her, “Are you alright?” Seeing her red eyes and pale face, Jing Ao Xue smiled, “I feel so comfortable.” “But what about the strange flame?" Shen Lü Man asked, still uneasy. Reminded of it, Jing Ao Xue looked inward, surprised to see the once fierce flame now docilely settled in the dantian’s corner. Her wood spirit root was securely shielded by her wood abilities. Experimenting, Jing Ao Xue willed the flame in her mind, and it conjured a blue-green fireball in her palm. Shen Lü Man, initially startled, reached out to touch it and pulled back quickly, feeling its searing heat. “What is this…” “It’s the strange flame inside me,” Jing Ao Xue explained. “Not long after you left, it went wild, wanting to incinerate me. All I could do was shield my dantian’s spiritual root before the pain made me pass out.” She frowned, “But now it seems it has tamed, even recognizing me as its master. It’s no longer a threat but an asset. It’s peculiar…” Shen Lü Man agreed it was unusual. Earlier, she’d sensed the presence of a great demon, but upon her return, there had only been Jing Ao Xue and Liu Er at home. Regardless, things hadn’t turned out badly. She scrutinized Jing Ao Xue, “Are you sure you’ve fully recovered?” Jing Ao Xue nodded, “My meridians are still sore, but a few herbal baths will fix that. Increasing the dosage should have even greater effects; I feel as light as a feather now. Maybe the bath will work wonders.” With her assurance, Shen Lü Man assisted her entirely. Jing Ao Xue soaked in the medicinal baths for three consecutive days, using superior herbs and crafting more complex pills and bath solutions. By the end of it, Jing Ao Xue not only felt invigorated but her wood abilities unexpectedly advanced to the third level, vastly increasing her power. After breakfast, Liu Er went to play with friends at the Wu family, while Jing Ao Xue and Shen Lü Man ventured into the deep mountains. At the site of the previous Spirit Gathering Array, Shen Lü Man replaced the array stones with new jade stones she had brought from her pouch.