Blue Cloud City, the residence of the Ye Family.
Snowflakes drifted through the sky as icy winds swept through the streets outside.
Yet inside the room, the warmth was reminiscent of spring, and the air was filled with a rich, refreshing medicinal fragrance.
Ji Lin…please be a little gentler.
A faint blush spread across Xiao Yun’s delicate face, and a trace of embarrassment appeared on her mature features.
Her eyes shimmered as though tears might spill from them at any moment.
Her back was completely exposed for the treatment, and beneath the room’s soft light, her smooth skin appeared as pale as snow.
Madam Xiao Yun, the treatment for your cold can no longer be delayed.
This massage technique can effectively relieve the symptoms, so you will need to endure it for a little longer.
Ji Lin smiled faintly, but his hands continued their steady movements without pause.
His fingers pressed against specific points on her silky back, following the energy pathways that had been invaded by the cold poison.
Madam, please endure it for one more moment.
I will do my best.
Ji Lin suddenly tightened his fingers and applied carefully measured pressure to one of her vital acupoints.
Ah!
Xiao Yun raised her snow-white neck, and her body trembled slightly as a faint flush spread across her cheeks.
The two of them were so close that the young man’s warm breath and vigorous youthful aura continued to surround her, causing her heart to beat faster despite her attempts to remain calm.
Ji…Ji Lin, do we truly need to go this far?
Her voice trembled slightly as her pale fingers clenched the blanket placed in front of her.
Ji Lin was one of her son Ye Fang’s followers, as well as a renowned physician throughout Blue Cloud City.
Although he lacked talent in cultivation, her son held him in high regard.
Even her own condition, after she had suffered from severe cold poisoning, had improved considerably thanks to the treatment he had given her previously.
As Xiao Yun felt his large, powerful hands pressing against her back, the blush on her face deepened, and her fingers slowly curled into her palms.
She was deeply grateful to Ji Lin, yet receiving treatment from him was never easy for her.
Each time, she had to expose the affected area completely and allow him to touch her body directly so that he could expel the cold poison that had penetrated deep inside her.
For a woman who had been widowed for more than ten years and had rarely interacted closely with men during that time, every treatment session became an exhausting psychological struggle.
Nevertheless, there was one thing that reassured her.
Ji Lin was a true gentleman.
Xiao Yun glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
His expression remained calm and upright, and she could not detect the slightest trace of improper thoughts in his gaze.
Only then did she breathe a quiet sigh of relief and nod gently.
Had he not been so principled, she truly would not have known how to face a young man the same age as her son standing so close to her.
Madam, there is no need to worry.
A physician must treat every patient with compassion and fairness.
In a physician’s eyes, there is neither man nor woman.
There is only a patient in need of treatment.
Ji Lin slowly moved his fingers beneath her shoulder blades before pressing several points along both sides of her spine.
After finishing the treatment of the area corresponding to her lungs, his hands gradually moved lower along her back until they stopped at either side of her waist.
The cold poison has penetrated deeply into your lungs and then spread through your energy pathways into your internal organs.
It must be broken down gradually, beginning from the upper back and continuing toward the lower abdomen.
Otherwise, it will continue spreading throughout your body.
Ji Lin possessed the appearance of a noble and virtuous man.
Throughout the treatment, he maintained a calm expression and a straightforward gaze that revealed no improper thoughts.
Even so, Xiao Yun’s body felt softer and more supple beneath his hands than he had expected.
As the physical contact continued for an extended period, his breathing gradually became slightly heavier despite his efforts to keep his movements steady and controlled.
It was true that Xiao Yun had given birth to her son while she was already in her thirties, but this fantastical world was nothing like his previous one.
Even ordinary people here could easily live for more than two hundred years, while some could reach the age of three hundred.
For that reason, despite her true age, Xiao Yun’s appearance was hardly different from that of an eighteen-year-old girl.
Had anyone from his previous life seen her, they would undoubtedly have assumed that she was a beautiful young woman no older than eighteen.
The problem was that she was the mother of his sworn elder brother.
When that fact crossed his mind, his eyebrows twitched slightly.
He released a quiet breath and shook his head helplessly.
For the moment, he had no choice but to suppress the disturbance rising within his heart and focus entirely on the treatment.
A full month had passed since he transmigrated into this fantastical world, a world where the path to power revolved around one’s Soul Companion.
In this world, a Soul Companion was not merely a cultivation partner or a means of gaining strength.
They were a true spouse who shared their partner’s soul, body, and future.
When a person reached the age of eighteen, Companion Seats would awaken within their Sea of Soul, after which they would have to choose the individual with whom they wished to form a Lifebond Covenant.
A companion did not necessarily have to be human.
They could be a spirit beast that had assumed human form, a sword spirit, the spirit of an ancient tower, or any other being possessing independent consciousness and free will.
However, once the covenant was completed, the two parties became spouses bound together by an oath founded not merely on mutual benefit, but also on trust, genuine acceptance, and the shared decision to spend their lives together.
A man usually possessed more than one Companion Seat, with the exact number depending on his talent, bloodline, and physical constitution.
A woman, however, possessed only a single seat.
Her choice was therefore far more decisive, for her soul contained a place for only one man.
Nevertheless, a woman was not required to choose a companion immediately after reaching the age of eighteen.
As long as she preserved the purity of her origin and possessed exceptional talent, a powerful bloodline, or a rare physical constitution, she could continue cultivating alone and reach extremely high realms.
However, every breakthrough she achieved without a companion forced her to endure twice the usual pain, tearing at both her body and soul simultaneously.
For that reason, only women with exceptionally resolute wills were capable of walking such a path.
Over the course of that month, Ji Lin gradually absorbed the memories of the body he had taken over and came to understand the situation in which he now found himself.
Among all the people around him, his sworn elder brother, Ye Fang, was by far the most remarkable—and the most suspicious.
Ye Fang had begun his life from a humble position, yet his journey was nothing like that of an ordinary person.
From the memories of this body, Ji Lin could tell that Ye Fang was most likely the chosen one of this world, and perhaps even the true protagonist of its future.
He was destined to possess extraordinary luck, discover countless opportunities, and defeat one powerful enemy after another as he rose to prominence.
Afterward, he would gather numerous women around him, establish his own influence, and eventually ascend to the rank of emperor, becoming one of the most powerful beings in the entire world.
Without a doubt, this was the familiar pattern of a chosen one protected by the world’s destiny.