After returning from the hospital, the atmosphere inside the Lin family residence felt far calmer than it had that morning.
The servants’ footsteps had returned to normal.
The overly strong scent of room freshener lingering since earlier had begun to fade, replaced by the afternoon air drifting through the large living room windows.
Sunlight slanted across the polished marble floor, forming long, quiet shadows.
Lin Feng entered first while loosening his tie slightly.
From the way he walked, Qingyu could tell he was tired, even though his face remained as composed as ever.
As soon as he reached the living room, he removed his suit jacket and handed it to one of the servants.
“Qingyu.”
Qingyu, who had just entered from the foyer, immediately walked closer.
Without saying much, Lin Feng opened his work bag.
He took out two objects and placed them on the glass table in front of the sofa.
A brand-new black phone with a large screen and slim body.
And a white envelope.
“These are for you,” he said simply.
Qingyu looked at both items for several seconds.
The phone still looked completely new.
The thin protective seal along the edge had not even been fully removed yet.
From Lin Qingyu’s memories, she knew something like this was expensive.
But Qingyu’s attention shifted instead toward the white envelope beside it.
Lin Feng nudged the envelope slightly toward her.
“There’s a bank card inside under your name,” he said.
“It’s already activated.”
Qingyu raised her eyes.
“I’m not always home,” Lin Feng continued in an even tone.
“If you need something, buy it yourself.
Don’t wait for permission.”
Qingyu lowered her gaze briefly toward the envelope.
To her, it was not merely money.
It was freedom.
Lady Su, standing not far from the sofa, smiled gently.
“My husband spoils Qingyu too much,” she said softly.
“The child isn’t used to handling things like this.”
“She’ll get used to it.”
Lin Feng answered without hesitation.
“It’s time Qingyu received the same treatment.”
For the briefest moment, Lady Su’s smile stiffened before becoming perfect again.
Qingyu accepted the phone and envelope with both hands.
“Thank you, Father.”
Lin Feng only gave a small nod.
“Get some rest.”
After saying that, he headed straight toward his study without adding anything else.
Qingyu remained standing for several moments while holding the new phone in her hands.
Behind her, she could feel Lady Su’s gaze linger slightly longer before the woman finally walked away in another direction.
Once inside her room, Qingyu sat at the edge of the bed while examining the thin device in her hand.
It was light and smooth, too small to contain so many functions.
In Azura, long-distance communication required spiritual birds or expensive transmission artifacts.
Even major clans did not possess many of them.
Yet in this world, humans without qi had created something no larger than a palm that seemed capable of almost everything.
Qingyu touched the screen slowly.
The display immediately lit up brightly.
She frowned slightly.
The black screen suddenly filled with colorful symbols and moving images.
“…Is this thing alive?” she muttered.
Xiao Lan, who had been tidying the small table near the window, turned around immediately.
“Miss has never used a phone before?”
Qingyu shook her head honestly.
Xiao Lan froze.
Her eyes widened as though she had just heard something unbearably tragic.
“Poor Miss…” she thought inwardly.
Her expression even looked close to tears.
Qingyu stared at her flatly.
She had only just realized another side of Xiao Lan.
The girl was surprisingly dramatic.
“I-I’ll teach Miss!” Xiao Lan suddenly declared with enthusiasm.
Qingyu glanced back at the phone screen.
“How?”
“You just touch it.”
“….”
Qingyu pressed the screen with one finger.
A video application immediately opened, and loud music exploded through the room.
Qingyu reflexively moved the phone away from her face.
Her brows instantly furrowed.
“There’s sound inside it,” she said seriously.
“Too noisy.”
Xiao Lan held back laughter for several seconds before finally giving up.
“Miss… slowly.”
She hurried closer and pointed at the volume button.
“Like this.
Don’t press too hard.”
Qingyu observed every movement Xiao Lan made with complete focus, as though studying a complicated new cultivation technique.
“If you want to switch pages, swipe like this…”
“And if I want to go back?”
“Press this.”
“And if I want to search for something?”
Xiao Lan immediately pointed at one of the applications.
“If Miss wants to search for something, you can use AI.”
“AI?”
“Mm.
You can ask it almost anything.”
“Anything?”
“News, history, languages, cooking recipes, how to fix things…” Xiao Lan’s voice grew more excited with every word.
“Almost everything!”
Qingyu looked back at the screen in her hand.
Her eyes brightened faintly.
This thing… was interesting.
“So it’s like a library?”
Xiao Lan blinked in confusion.
“A warehouse of knowledge,” Qingyu clarified.
Xiao Lan thought for several seconds before nodding vigorously.
“Yes!
But faster!”
Qingyu fell silent for a moment.
This world truly was strange.
Humans without qi, no active meridians, and without spiritual energy… yet capable of building a civilization that functioned entirely on its own terms.
In Azura, even major sects might have fought wars over an artifact capable of doing so much.
“I understand the general idea now,” she finally said.
Xiao Lan still looked unconvinced.
“Miss really never had a phone before?”
“No.”
“….”
Xiao Lan’s expression became strange again.
The way Miss Qingyu spoke now was different.
Sometimes she sounded like someone seeing the world for the first time.
Yet oddly enough, she did not seem foolish.
Quite the opposite.
She was calm, strange, and difficult to explain.
“In that case…” Xiao Lan said carefully, “I can help again later if Miss wants to learn more.”
“Alright.”
Qingyu placed the phone on the table.
“But not now.
My head is full.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Xiao Lan immediately nodded.
Downstairs, Lady Su entered her bedroom and closed the door softly behind her.
The moment the door shut, the gentle smile vanished completely from her face.
She pulled her phone from her handbag and dialed a number that seemed memorized by heart.
The call connected several seconds later.
“Doctor Li,” she said softly.
A faint voice answered from the other side.
Lady Su walked toward the mirror while continuing the conversation.
“Today’s lab results… there’s no problem?”
She listened for several moments with a calm expression.
“Tomorrow, Doctor Ming requested another examination.”
A short pause.
“Make sure the sensitive parameters don’t create misunderstandings.”
Her tone remained elegant and gentle.
But there was not a trace of warmth within it.
Once the conversation ended, she disconnected immediately.
Her reflection in the mirror looked flawless as always.
Perfectly arranged hair, beautiful makeup, and graceful composure.
Not a single crack through which others could glimpse her thoughts.
She smoothed the fabric over her knee.
“You won’t escape that easily, Qingyu.”
Afternoon slowly faded into night.
The desk lamp near the window glowed dimly, illuminating part of the quiet room.
Qingyu sat alone in her chair while staring at the porcelain teacup before her.
It was Snow Flower Tea.
Auntie Yue had just delivered it several minutes earlier under Lady Su’s instructions.
Thin steam still rose from the surface.
Outwardly, the tea looked flawless.
Clear in color, light and calming in aroma.
The perfect tea for a weak child like Lin Qingyu.
But Qingyu sensed something else.
Something almost impossible to notice because it was hidden so deeply beneath the floral fragrance.
She lifted the cup slowly and inhaled more closely.
Behind the gentle scent of flowers lay another faint layer, the poison.
Qingyu’s gaze shifted slightly.
She touched the liquid with the tip of her finger while circulating a trace of qi.
The liquid showed no visible reaction.
This poison had been crafted with exceptional care.
“Clever,” she murmured softly.
This type of poison did not kill quickly.
It merged gradually with the victim’s body, eroding health little by little until everyone believed the illness was completely natural.
Qingyu opened her desk drawer and took out a small empty bottle that had once contained herbal medicine.
Calmly, she poured a small amount of tea into it, then she sealed the bottle tightly and slid it into the back of the drawer.
Afterward, she looked at the remaining tea inside the cup.
Then she took a sip.
The taste remained soft on her tongue.
Even pleasant.
But several seconds later, a cold sensation began moving slowly through her body.
Thin as mist, trying to creep into her damaged meridians.
Qingyu immediately directed qi to suppress it.
The poison halted before it could spread further.
She placed the empty cup back onto the table and leaned quietly against her chair.
Her gaze drifted toward the new phone beside the small bottle of tea.
A moment later, the phone screen lit up by itself.
The first notification appeared.
Account setup complete.
Beside it lay the black bank card with Lin Qingyu’s name printed neatly across its glossy surface.
Qingyu stared at both objects in silence.
The tools of this world were finally in her hands.
And the poison of this world…
Had finally begun revealing its true face.