CHAPTER 17: CHAPTER 17: QI DEVIATION

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

"Yue Zhao, wake up!"

In a moment of crisis, the only thing Gu Qingqing could think of was to use her Word Spirit Technique.

As the mysterious voice faded, Yue Zhao’s movements were suddenly Fixed in place. Gu Qingqing quickly retreated a dozen steps, distancing herself from Yue Zhao.

Due to Gu Qingqing’s Word Spirit, the bloodlust in Yue Zhao’s eyes receded slightly. His expression showed some hesitation, and the runes on his body flickered in and out of visibility, causing Gu Qingqing to feel very tense.

Thankfully, every time the runes appeared, their color grew fainter. Otherwise, Gu Qingqing felt she might really meet her end here today.

She sensed the remaining Spiritual Power within her, hesitated as she looked at Yue Zhao.

After a moment, Gu Qingqing gritted her teeth and spoke again.

"Second Brother, wake up!"

The mysterious voice flowed from Gu Qingqing’s mouth once more. A white light, visible only to her, fell upon Yue Zhao. Ignoring the throbbing of her meridians due to her Spiritual Power being depleted, she anxiously watched for a change in Yue Zhao’s expression.

...

Yue Zhao didn’t know when he formed the habit of having a small drink at the cliff’s edge on the second peak. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would come to the cliff, drink a pot of wine, then practice the zither, letting the wind on the cliff blow. Those things that usually troubled him seemed to vanish, making him feel at ease.

Today was no different. He brought a pot of his favorite Peach Blossom Drunk to the edge of the cliff. After drinking it, he took out his zither and began to play.

However, perhaps because Gu Qingqing chose that particular zither today, when he played, those sealed memories surfaced, and his emotions fluctuated more and more, triggering the suppressed poison within him, causing him to nearly fall into madness.

As his consciousness began to blur, he sensed something approaching, but with a scarlet haze before his eyes, he couldn’t see it clearly and instinctively attacked, wanting to protect himself.

In his daze, he seemed to glimpse Gu Qingqing’s face, but only for an instant, as the next moment it was replaced by the scarlet red.

Just when his suppressed violent urges inside surged, wanting to kill the person in front of him, a mysterious voice suddenly sounded in his ears. He couldn’t hear it clearly, so he instinctively stopped, wanting to listen intently, but his current state was too poor to control his body.

Just as he was about to fall back into chaos, the mysterious voice echoed again, and this time he heard it clearly.

"Second Brother, wake up!"

It was Gu Qingqing’s voice, the newly accepted Closed-door Disciple of his master, the Spirit Fox Saint Master. He remembered that her talent lay in the Word Spirit Technique. Previously, he’d only heard of its power, but now he experienced it firsthand.

At the moment he heard her voice, his uncontrollable thoughts suddenly cleared, the red before his eyes faded, and he saw Gu Qingqing’s ghostly pale yet worried face looking at him. In that instant, it was like a beam of light shone into his heart, and he remembered her face.

He wanted to tell her not to worry, that he was alright, but his vision went black, and he fainted.

...

When Gu Qingqing saw the bloodlust disappear from Yue Zhao’s eyes, she was sincerely relieved. Seeing Yue Zhao’s mouth move, she was about to step forward to hear him when Yue Zhao suddenly fell forward. Instinctively, she rushed to support him, forgetting her own small frame and weakened body, and was knocked out as well.

When Rong Ye arrived, he saw Yue Zhao lying on Gu Qingqing, with both of them unconscious.

Startled, he hurried over.

First, he moved Yue Zhao off of Gu Qingqing, checked Yue Zhao’s state, and found his Spiritual Power was unexpectedly active and somewhat chaotic. Quickly withdrawing his own Spiritual Power, he checked Yue Zhao again, furrowing his brows, then proceeded to examine Gu Qingqing’s state.

Gu Qingqing’s condition wasn’t much better than Yue Zhao’s, her Spiritual Power was depleted, and even her meridians were slightly damaged.

Looking around and seeing no signs of a fight, he suppressed his doubts and called upon a puppet to carry Yue Zhao, while he carried Gu Qingqing, and headed to Mu Chen’s fourth peak.

It was already midnight, but Mu Chen had recently obtained a new prescription and was experimenting with new Elixirs, so he wasn’t resting. As Rong Ye brought Gu Qingqing and Yue Zhao over, Mu Chen had just finished crafting a batch of Elixirs and was about to rest for a while.

"What happened to Little Qingqing and Second Brother? Did someone infiltrate Spirit Hidden Mountain?" Even as calm as Mu Chen was, upon seeing Yue Zhao and Gu Qingqing in such a state, he couldn’t help but ask.

"How should I know?" Placing Gu Qingqing on the bed, Rong Ye finally couldn’t hold back his complaint, "I was just Cultivating, when I felt Little Qingqing crush the talisman I gave her. I sensed it was at the second peak and dared not delay, so I rushed there. Only to find Old Second pinning Little Qingqing beneath him, both of them unconscious."

Mu Chen raised his brow, first approaching Yue Zhao to diagnose him. When he sensed the violent Spiritual Power within Yue Zhao, he was startled, "Old Second nearly went into a state of inner turmoil? His Spiritual Power is so chaotic?"

"Inner turmoil?" Rong Ye was shocked, "Wasn’t Old Second peacefully staying on the second peak? How could he fall into turmoil? Besides, with Old Second’s temperament, it seems impossible for him to do so!"

Thinking about the methods Yue Zhao used on others, Rong Ye shuddered. He had great admiration and fear for the eldest, but for Old Second, it was sheer terror, having been scarred by him!

Mu Chen nodded in agreement, "Let’s wait until Second Brother wakes up to ask him."

He fed Yue Zhao an Elixir of gentle Spiritual Power, then turned to check on Gu Qingqing.

"Little Qingqing is okay, just exhausted in terms of Spiritual Power, with slightly damaged meridians, a day’s rest will suffice." Saying so, Mu Chen administered an Elixir to nurture her meridians.

Hearing this, Rong Ye finally sighed in relief.

"I’ll leave them here for now; I’ll rest nearby for a bit." Glancing at the moon outside, Rong Ye sighed, adjusted Gu Qingqing’s blanket, said a few words to Mu Chen, and left.

Mu Chen also glanced at Gu Qingqing and Yue Zhao, then turned and left the room.

...

Before dawn, Yue Zhao woke first.

Seeing the unfamiliar ceiling, he paused, and soon, everything from the day before replayed in his mind. Thinking of Gu Qingqing’s ghostly pale face at that time, he quickly sat up.

Noticing Gu Qingqing still lying in bed, yet to wake, he paused again, his gaze falling on her face.

Before today, Yue Zhao had been cold towards Gu Qingqing, only teaching her as instructed by Wen Guiyun. Even when Gu Qingqing chose the zither he used in his early days, he hadn’t thought much of it. But he never imagined that when he almost fell into turmoil, it would be Gu Qingqing, a little girl not yet five, who bravely awakened him!

Though his consciousness was muddled, he retained his memory. He knew that at the time, he had intended to kill Gu Qingqing. If not for the Defensive Magical Artifact on her and her quick wits, she would have undoubtedly been harmed by him!

At this moment, Yue Zhao internally accepted this little junior sister, even valuing her position in his heart more than Rong Ye and the others!

Having decided in his heart to treat Gu Qingqing well, Yue Zhao closed his eyes and began to regulate his body. The Elixir Mu Chen fed him could only calm his Spiritual Power, but to stabilize it completely, he had to act himself.

...

Gu Qingqing woke up after the sun rose. Her head was still a bit dazed upon waking, and as she lifted it, she saw Yue Zhao looking at her with concern. She paused, her memory returned, and recalling Yue Zhao’s situation last night, she quickly looked at him with concern.