Earlier during their patrol, the two of them had passed by Lu Qing’an’s small courtyard.
Seeing that Lu Qing’an had no intention of heading back, Ji Zhixing understood what was on her mind.
Hearing her request now, Ji Zhixing was not surprised at all. Her expression remained calm, and a soft curve formed at the corners of her mouth as she nodded in agreement.
Lu Qing’an was overjoyed, unable to hide the delight on her face. With light, cheerful steps, she walked over toward the rug.
Ji Zhixing hesitated for a moment before summoning a brand-new blanket from her storage bag.
In terms of both color and quality, this rug was far superior to the one beside her feet.
The cottage Ji Zhixing lived in was spacious enough, with plenty of open floor space, but for a rug this large, suitable spots were still scarce.
Ji Zhixing laid the rug down just a short distance from her bed; it was the only open area available.
“Sleep here for tonight. Tomorrow, I will go find a proper bed for you.”
Ji Zhixing smoothed out the creases in the rug and ran her hands over it carefully to ensure there were no bumps, then waved at Lu Qing’an.
“Come try it out.”
Lu Qing’an obediently laid down. This rug was indeed much softer than the floor beside Ji Zhixing’s bed.
After washing up, Lu Qing’an lay down happily on the new fur rug.
The instant she laid down, she felt as if her entire body were wrapped in an extraordinarily soft, plush fur, almost like resting atop a giant cat.
The long, fine fluff tickled her cheek softly, giving her an indescribably cozy feeling. She was positively bubbling with bliss.
Lu Qing’an rested her head on her arm, using it as a makeshift pillow. With a happy smile on her face, she prepared to fall asleep right then and there.
Ji Zhixing was already on her bed, meditating and resting.
Upon noticing Lu Qing’an’s actions, Ji Zhixing got off the bed and retrieved a pillow from the cabinet.
She had originally intended to hand it directly to her, but her lifted foot paused briefly.
She had used this pillow before.
She looked again at the forearm Lu Qing’an was resting on. If she slept like that for the entire night, her arm would surely be sore and unbearable by tomorrow.
Thinking this, she walked over and handed the pillow to Lu Qing’an anyway.
Lu Qing’an looked at the pillow brought over specifically for her. As she took it into her hands, her eyes curved into sweet crescents.
“Thank you, Senior Sister.”
When she smiled, her eyes sparkled with a clarity so pure that one hardly dared to look a second time.
Ji Zhixing averted her gaze in slight fluster, nodding with exaggerated composure. “Get some sleep early.”
Leaving Lu Qing’an’s side with hurried steps, Ji Zhixing returned to her bed, sat cross-legged, and silently recited the Heart-Clearing Incantation in her mind once more.
Resting her head on the newly acquired pillow, Lu Qing’an felt as though her head sank into a firm yet gentle cushion of cotton. The tension in her neck was completely relieved.
This was far better than using her own arm.
Senior Sister is truly wonderful.
She turned her head sideways to face Ji Zhixing’s direction, looking at her with bright, admiration-filled eyes.
Ji Zhixing sat impeccably upright, surrounded by a faint aura of spiritual energy that made her features appear hazy and obscured.
Perhaps because she had just bathed, Ji Zhixing had changed into a lighter, more comfortable thin robe.
As the spiritual energy oscillated, the hem of her clothes fluttered subtly, and the ends of her hair danced softly.
At some point, Lu Qing’an closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ji Zhixing let out a subtle breath, allowing her rigid back to relax slightly.
After spending several consecutive days immersed in the Library Pavilion, Lu Qing’an finally finished reading all the books Ji Zhixing had selected for her.
Most of them contained dry, foundational theoretical knowledge, making the reading process immensely agonizing for her.
“Now try to draw spiritual energy into your body. I will assist you from the side.”
Lu Qing’an and Ji Zhixing sat facing each other cross-legged.
Listening to Ji Zhixing’s instructions, Lu Qing’an recalled the details described in the books.
Closing her eyes, she carefully sensed the Lightning-element spiritual energy floating around her.
She guided the spiritual energy in through the space between her eyebrows, directing it through her meridians to circulate throughout her entire body.
Lu Qing’an was already able to draw the spiritual energy into the center of her forehead, but when she attempted to push it downward, she encountered a massive resistance.
Her brow furrowed deeply as she summoned all her strength, trying to control the spiritual energy she had just pulled into her body.
Seeing her state, Ji Zhixing released a strand of her divine sense to probe inside Lu Qing’an’s body, only to discover that her qi flow was chaotic and her breathing was becoming increasingly rapid.
Separating a trace of her spiritual power, Ji Zhixing attempted to help smooth out her meridians.
However, the moment her spiritual power entered Lu Qing’an’s body, Ji Zhixing felt the connection to her transmitted power instantly severed. She stared at Lu Qing’an in astonishment.
Unwilling to believe it, she sent another trace of spiritual energy into Lu Qing’an, but it was severed once more.
Frowning, Ji Zhixing spoke up, “Junior Sister, let us stop practicing for today.”
The person opposite her gave no reaction whatsoever, as if she had not heard a word.
At this moment, Lu Qing’an felt as though her entire body were ablaze, with continuous, intense, searing pains exploding inside her.
It felt as though someone had thrown her into a pile of burning firecrackers during the New Year festival.
A continuous crackling and roaring sounded in her ears, burning her mind to the point where she could no longer think.
Large drops of sweat continuously poured from her forehead. Lu Qing’an’s features were contorted in pain, and the spiritual energy surrounding her surged in chaos.
Seeing this, Ji Zhixing immediately scooped her up into her arms and dispatched a message to Qi Manmeng.
Qi Manmeng looked at the anxious Ji Zhixing, then glanced at Lu Qing’an, who was held in her arms.
“What is the big deal? Just send your spiritual energy into her body and draw out the energy she absorbed,” Qi Manmeng said rather casually.
Her fingers twirled a loose strand of hair, her red-tinted nails flashing in and out of sight, while the corners of her eyes and brows exuded an ambiguous sensuality. Although sitting in a chair, she leaned against the armrest as if she were completely boneless.
Ji Zhixing set Lu Qing’an down on the floor, adjusting her into a proper cross-legged position.
“I tried just now, but it didn’t work. The moment my spiritual energy enters her body, my connection to it breaks,” Ji Zhixing said rapidly, attempting it once more as she spoke.
Only then did Qi Manmeng look toward them with a slightly more serious demeanor.
Unlike Ji Zhixing, Qi Manmeng saw the situation with absolute clarity.
Ji Zhixing’s spiritual energy was being forcibly scattered by the spiritual energy inside Lu Qing’an.
“You go outside first,” Qi Manmeng instructed, opening her crimson lips.
Ji Zhixing cast a worried glance over Lu Qing’an, then bowed to Qi Manmeng.
“This disciple takes her leave.”
Once Ji Zhixing left, Qi Manmeng strolled slowly over to Lu Qing’an’s side.
She caught a faint trace of her own scent lingering on the girl; it was extremely faint, almost imperceptible.
She lowered her eyes, gazing at Lu Qing’an’s features, which were twisted in agony, and listening to her suppressed groans of pain.
She remained motionless for a long while.
The light red robe she wore was striking like fire, subtly revealing a touch of charm with her every movement.
Seemingly having had her fill of watching, she stepped behind Lu Qing’an, extended an index finger, hooked it into the back of her collar, and gave a tug, dragging her down to the floor.
Using too much force, her index fingernail left a red scratch on the skin.
Lying on the ground, Lu Qing’an felt a fierce heat accompanied by explosive pain genuinely invading every part of her body.
Clutching her head, she rolled back and forth on the floor in a desperate attempt to stop the agonizing sensations.
Her white robes rolled across the floor without gathering a speck of dust, yet a large portion was soaked by the sweat pouring from her pain.
As she thrashed, her clothing gradually became disheveled, exposing a wide swath of skin.
The corners of Qi Manmeng’s lips curled slightly, resembling a rose blooming in winter; cold yet dangerously vivid.
She crouched down, pressed her finger against Lu Qing’an’s forehead, and funneled her own spiritual energy inward.
Qi Manmeng’s cultivation level was far superior to Ji Zhixing’s.
The Lightning spiritual energy treated Qi Manmeng’s incoming power just as it had treated Ji Zhixing’s.
Sensing that her energy was being attacked, Qi Manmeng twitched her fingertip slightly, ramping up the power output to thirty percent.
With Qi Manmeng’s action, Lu Qing’an felt as though she had been thrown into yet another pile of firecrackers.
Two forces of firecrackers clashed violently inside her body, as if fighting over territory.
“No… don’t…”
The extreme agony forced a low murmur from her lips.
It sounded like the final whimpers of a helpless pup, but Qi Manmeng acted as though she had not heard a thing.
She was set on meeting force with force.
The two spiritual energies entangled, clashed, and sought to annihilate each other inside Lu Qing’an.
Lu Qing’an only had time to cry out a single word, “Hurts!”, before passing out completely.
Qi Manmeng acutely noticed that the momentum of the Lightning spiritual energy inside Lu Qing’an was beginning to weaken.
It started moving downward from the forehead.
Qi Manmeng’s finger followed the path of the Lightning energy from the outside, moving down from the forehead.
The tip of the nose, the lips, the chin.
Gliding down the slender and fragile neck, Qi Manmeng’s gaze lingered for a moment, and she intentionally exerted a bit of force.
Feeling the throb of a young life beneath her fingers, along with the distinct flow of blood, a trace of excitement flared in her eyes.
Applying a little more pressure, the blood vessel beneath her fingertip beat faster and faster, and the skin grew scalding hot.
At the exact moment Lu Qing’an began to suffocate, Qi Manmeng promptly released her grip.
The Lightning spiritual energy slowly retreated downward, finally converging at the heart.
“So you realize you can’t run away anymore?” Qi Manmeng mocked casually.
Bringing her index and middle fingers together, she pressed them against Lu Qing’an’s chest through her clothing.
Frowning in annoyance a moment later, she reached out with her free hand and unfastened Lu Qing’an’s upper garments.
Only when her fingertips made direct contact with the skin did her brow smooth out in satisfaction.
She controlled her spiritual energy, forcibly driving the Lightning spiritual energy into the extraordinary meridians to circulate through the entire body.
After ensuring there were no flaws left, Qi Manmeng withdrew her power and called in Ji Zhixing, who had been guarding outside all along.
Ji Zhixing had been attentively monitoring the room from the outside. Initially, she could hear faint cries of pain from Lu Qing’an, but afterward, all sound ceased. Ji Zhixing had almost rushed inside several times.
Stepping through the door, she saw Lu Qing’an lying disheveled on the floor, her upper clothes unbuttoned.
Ji Zhixing instinctively assumed that Qi Manmeng had done something improper.
She looked at Qi Manmeng and said angrily, “Master, she is a disciple of the Liuyun Sect after all, and she might even become your disciple in the future.”
Qi Manmeng was actually in a rather good mood. Looking at her usually gentle disciple, her red lips curved upward.
“So what?”
A satiated expression showed at the corners of her brow, and the edges of her eyes were slightly flushed.
Ji Zhixing glared at her angrily, opening her mouth to argue further, yet finding herself unsure of what capacity she had to speak.
Qi Manmeng’s eyes swept over the unconscious Lu Qing’an before shifting back to Ji Zhixing’s face.
Unbothered by Ji Zhixing’s attitude, she chided playfully, “I was merely helping her smooth out her spiritual energy. Look at you, speaking as if I did something untoward to her.”
“I am not so desperate as to be interested in a little brat like this.”