The storage room was still dark when Ning Zhen returned.
She closed the door, careful not to let the old hinges make too much noise.
After making sure everything remained quiet, she walked toward the corner where she had rested earlier and sat down on the cold wooden floor.
The moment her body stopped moving, the remaining warmth from the Fire Tuber gradually faded.
Even so, a small change had already taken place.
Although this body was still weak, something within it felt more stable than before.
At the very least, her breathing no longer felt like a candle flame that could go out at any moment.
Ning Zhen closed her eyes.
She guided the last traces of heat from the Fire Tuber toward her heart, allowing the thin energy to flow through the cracked meridian pathways.
The process was slow and painful.
Some parts of her body felt like they were being pierced by fine needles as the qi tried to pass through channels blocked by years of poison.
Compared to what she had survived before, this pain was nothing.
Time passed slowly.
When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside the small window had shifted from darkness to a pale blue.
Dawn was coming.
Ning Zhen tilted her head slightly and looked around the room.
The small storage room was filled with shadows and cold air.
Old wooden shelves stood against the wall, with worn boxes stacked on top.
In one corner, furniture covers had faded with dust and age.
The small window near the ceiling was covered in strands of cobweb that swayed faintly in the air.
Qingyu’s memories explained this place.
This storage room had not always been used for storage.
It had once been a small cabin in the backyard, built by Qingyu’s mother as a place to rest after tending to the greenhouse and medicinal plants in the garden.
From the vague fragments of memory, Ning Zhen saw a woman in a simple dress sitting by the window while cleaning herbal leaves.
The soft afternoon sunlight fell across her face as little Qingyu slept in her lap.
The warmth Qingyu remembered was long gone.
Ning Zhen’s gaze then stopped on a white box attached to the wall.
It gave off a quiet hum while blowing dry, cold air throughout the room.
Ning Zhen frowned.
She did not fully understand the objects of this world yet, but Qingyu knew it as an air conditioner.
Still, it felt strange.
How could a small box produce such cold air without an ice formation or spiritual stones?
She observed it for a few more seconds before finally looking away.
This room was truly pitiful as a place for a young girl to live.
Especially for someone who had once lived among dragon palaces and spiritual mountains.
But Ning Zhen did not feel angry or humiliated.
It was just a place.
Not long after, footsteps sounded outside.
The storage room door opened.
Lady Su stood at the doorway in neat clothes, her face already covered with morning makeup.
A soft perfume drifted in with the air from outside.
The shock in her eyes when she saw Qingyu still alive appeared for only the briefest instant before it was quickly hidden.
In its place, a perfectly crafted expression of motherly concern appeared.
Lin Xue stood behind her with her arms crossed over her chest.
Her eyes were filled with curiosity, like someone watching an interesting show.
“You’re awake, then?” Lady Su’s voice was calm.
“Your father will blame me later if he sees you looking like this.”
Her tone sounded gentle on the surface, but Ning Zhen could sense something else beneath it.
Lady Su was checking her condition.
Ning Zhen opened her eyes.
Her gaze no longer held the fear Lin Qingyu once had.
What remained now was the long exhaustion of a body that had survived for too long, mixed with the calm of someone who had seen far more than ordinary humans ever would.
“I’m… dizzy.”
She was not trying to act.
This body truly was dizzy.
Lady Su’s eyes narrowed.
Something felt different.
Usually, Qingyu would lower her head nervously the moment they appeared.
The girl almost always looked like a frightened little deer, afraid of being touched.
But now, the feeling around her had changed.
She was too unreadable, or perhaps simply too exhausted to be afraid.
Last night, Qingyu had looked like someone who would not survive until morning.
“You’re always so dramatic, Qingyu,” Lin Xue said with a mocking laugh.
Ning Zhen turned her head.
Her glance was brief, without any emotion, but it was enough to make Lin Xue’s laughter stop.
For some reason, Lin Xue’s chest tightened slightly.
Even Lin Xue herself did not understand why.
She only felt like she had been looked at by someone far older than her.
Ning Zhen lowered her gaze before speaking again.
“Why am I in the storage room?
Was it Mother who told the servants to move me here?”
The question made Lady Su fall silent for a fraction of a second.
Qingyu never asked questions like this.
She was too used to accepting everything in silence.
“You had a high fever last night,” Lady Su answered quickly.
“We were worried it might be contagious.”
The excuse sounded reasonable, but the truth between them remained unchanged.
Ning Zhen looked at her calmly without arguing.
The atmosphere suddenly fell quiet.
Lady Su felt uncomfortable without understanding why.
Qingyu’s eyes were far too difficult to read today.
She quickly cut through the silence.
“Your father will return in three days.
You need to look better and clean yourself up.
Don’t embarrass the family.”
“If you want Father to think I’m getting better, I need to eat,” Ning Zhen replied quietly.
The sentence was simple and reasonable, and precisely because of that, Lady Su had no room to attack her without appearing cruel.
The woman’s expression stiffened a little.
She wanted Qingyu to remain weak and easy to control, but she could not go too far with her husband’s return approaching.
“You may have breakfast this morning,” she finally said.
“There is still food in the kitchen.”
Ning Zhen nodded.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Lady Su felt an odd chill crawl up her back.
That tone was too calm and too steady.
None of Qingyu’s usual fear was there.
She did not know why, but for the first time, she felt as if she were speaking to someone who could no longer be easily pressured.
That feeling made her want to leave this cramped storage room immediately.
She took Lin Xue’s hand and walked out without another word.
Once the door closed, Ning Zhen let out a breath.
This body felt weak again.
Hunger became clearer now that the Fire Tuber’s energy was fading.
She stood up carefully, supporting herself against the wooden wall.
The kitchen was not far.
But for Lin Qingyu’s current body, even ordinary walking felt like lifting a heavy burden.
When she arrived at the kitchen, the smell of food greeted her.
On the table was a plate of food that looked unfamiliar to Ning Zhen.
Qingyu’s memories recognized it at once.
Bread, sausages, scrambled eggs on a white plate, and a glass of warm milk.
Ning Zhen went silent for a moment.
Food like this was rarely given to Qingyu when her father was not home.
Usually, she only received bland porridge or cold, hard bread.
She gently looked up.
Auntie Yue stood not far away, holding a kitchen cloth.
The middle-aged woman did not say much, but her eyes were filled with genuine worry.
Another fragment of memory surfaced.
Auntie Yue secretly bringing food to Qingyu’s room.
Sometimes slipping her fruit or warm soup when Lady Su had gone out.
In another time, she was pretending not to notice when Qingyu saved extra food for the night.
Ning Zhen understood everything in silence.
There was still someone in this house who had truly cared for Qingyu.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
Auntie Yue only gave a small nod before returning to her work as usual.
Ning Zhen sat down and began eating without rushing.
The first bite felt unfamiliar, but interesting.
The sausage reminded her of smoked meat hunters often used in Azura during long winters.
It contain enough energy to help a human body survive.
While she was eating, Lin Xue passed by the kitchen with an expensive phone in her hand.
She stopped when she saw Qingyu.
Her gaze immediately turned mocking.
“You look like a beggar,” she said, holding back a laugh.
“Dirty and smelly.
You shouldn’t even be living in this house.”
Ning Zhen continued eating calmly before answering.
“I can keep sleeping in the storage room… if you want Father to ask who moved me there.”
Lin Xue instantly fell silent.
Auntie Yue, who was cleaning the table, paused as well.
Qingyu’s sentence was simple, but it struck precisely where it hurt.
Their father was easily suspicious when it came to Qingyu.
And Lin Xue knew very well that they could not afford any mistakes before his return.
She couldn’t snap back, or find a safe reply.
In the end, she left while stomping her foot in anger.
Auntie Yue looked at Qingyu a little longer than before.
As though she, too, had begun to realize that something had changed in the girl.
Lady Su appeared a few minutes later, just as Ning Zhen was almost finished eating.
She pretended to inspect the kitchen before saying,
“You may return to your room.
Rest properly.” Her tone sounded more careful now.
“Your father must not see you like this.”
Ning Zhen understood what she truly meant.
Lady Su needed time to make sure Qingyu looked “normal” by the time her husband returned.
They were afraid of the possibility that Qingyu had finally begun thinking of resisting.
Lady Su controlled this household whenever her husband was away.
Even so, she still had to maintain her image in front of the servants.
Lady Su still had to be careful around the older servants.
Some of them remained loyal to Qingyu’s father.
And Auntie Yue was among the most loyal.
Fortunately for Lady Su, Auntie Yue had been away on family matters two days earlier.
That was why they had felt safe enough to do what happened last night.
Ning Zhen carefully went up to the second floor.
The stairs felt painfully heavy for her body.
Halfway up, her breathing grew tight.
She had to hold the railing several times to keep her balance.
After a long struggle, she finally reached Lin Qingyu’s room.
The room was exactly as Qingyu remembered it, clean and tidy.
But it felt empty.
There was no warmth to show that this was the room of someone who had been loved.
Ning Zhen walked to the bed and sat at its edge.
Her mind began arranging many things.
The first information she needed was a clear understanding of this house.
She needed to understand who truly held power in this household, who could be useful, and who deserved caution.
But all of that could only be done if she had strength.
Strength that could not be trampled on so easily.
Ning Zhen looked at the morning light beginning to enter through the bedroom window.
She was still weak, and everything around her remained unfamiliar.
She had once begun again from a ruin far worse than this.
For now, one thing was enough.
Survive first, win later.