Gong Qi left Gong San where she was and went to search for Gong Shaojun again.
With no one weighing on her mind this time, she searched far more carefully and truly discovered something unusual.
She headed toward a place where the chill was especially dense.
Gong Qi dug out a tunnel and found Gong Shaojun sitting cross-legged in meditation within a small cavern.
Her complexion... was terribly wrong.
Nor could she smell the Earth Soul's aura anywhere nearby.
Gong Qi did not dare approach rashly. Instead, she called out twice first, "Mother?! Mother?!"
When Gong Shaojun did not respond, she gathered her courage and called again, "Gong Shaojun?!"
Still, no one answered.
Gong Qi sensed that something was wrong. She had barely taken two steps forward when Gong Shaojun opened her eyes.
Meeting those deep, razor-sharp eyes, Gong Qi felt as though every drop of blood in her body had frozen solid in that instant.
Her breathing hitched, and she nearly lost her voice.
Yet Gong Shaojun merely glanced at her and made no other unnecessary move.
Gong Qi asked softly, "What happened to you?"
Gong Shaojun merely kept her eyes open and looked quietly at her.
Just as Gong Qi was about to ask again, Gong Shaojun suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell stiffly into Gong Qi's arms.
Gong Qi felt as if an enormous ice sculpture had crashed into her arms, its bone-chilling cold surging madly into her body.
Still, she did not push Gong Shaojun away.
With a flick of her fingers, she pressed them to Gong Shaojun's pulse.
Gong Qi's eyes widened in shock. She lowered her head in disbelief. "What is going on?"
Gong Shaojun's pulse was a complete mess, even worse than Gong San's when she was injured.
More importantly,