Calming Tea and the Mortal Drifting Towards the Corner

"This generation of mortals... they certainly have guts."

Ling Ye's barely audible chuckle, laced with a hint of amusement, rippled through Su Wanqing's taut nerves like a pebble dropped into a deep pond. She held the refilled Zisha teapot, her fingers still trembling slightly. Her gaze darted between the now-tranquil forest outside the window, the shriveled steamed bun kicked into the corner's shadow, and finally, the man leisurely sipping tea on the sofa.

They have guts? Is he talking about those... intruders who were instantly killed by the teapot? Or... something else?

Su Wanqing felt her mind completely overwhelmed. Fear, awe, and a sense of the absurd mingled with the surging, new power within her, making her feel like she was walking on clouds, on the verge of falling at any moment.

Ling Ye didn't seem inclined to explain. He slowly finished his tea and set down the mug. His gaze swept over Su Wanqing's still pale face, dark circles under her eyes (her body had been purified, but the mental shock remained), and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Noisy," he stated concisely, the single word leaving Su Wanqing unsure if he was referring to the commotion outside or her own chaotic heartbeat and breathing.

Then, under Su Wanqing's bewildered and tense gaze, Ling Ye picked up the Zisha teapot again. This time, instead of pouring into his mug, he casually... aimed the spout at a clean glass cup on the coffee table, one adorned with a cartoon cat.

That was Su Wanqing's usual juice glass.

Ling Ye tilted his wrist, and the clear, translucent tea, shimmering with amber starlight, poured into the cartoon glass with a swish. The aroma was warm, mellow, and rich, instantly filling the air with a soul-soothing power.

After pouring more than half the cup, Ling Ye set down the teapot, nudged the cartoon glass with his chin, and instructed Su Wanqing, "Drink it."

His tone was flat, yet left no room for doubt.

Su Wanqing blinked. He wants me to drink it? This... this is the Chaos Spirit Tea, the one that can bring the dead back to life, curse people from afar, and resonate with the earth's meridians? And he's just... pouring it into my juice glass for me to drink? Is this... a perk? Or... a new test?

A wave of overwhelming gratitude and a hint of fear washed over her. She looked at the amber liquid, which seemed strangely out of place against the cartoon cat pattern, yet exuded a fatal allure. She swallowed with difficulty.

"I... I should drink it?" she asked, her voice dry and uncertain.

"Mm," Ling Ye responded, not even lifting his eyelids, as if he were merely pouring a glass of water. "It'll calm your nerves."

Calm my nerves?!

Su Wanqing stared at the swirling starlight in the cup, inhaled the soul-cleansing aroma, and thought of the unfortunate soul who had been cursed to death by the teapot just moments ago... This thing calms the nerves? This is clearly a nuclear-level dose of spiritual chicken soup!

But she dared not disobey Ling Ye's command. After everything that had happened, she understood that every seemingly casual action of this powerful being held unfathomable meaning (or perhaps... pure laziness?).

She took a deep breath and, with almost reverent piety, carefully lifted the cartoon glass. The warm glass felt smooth, characteristic of Zisha pottery. Closing her eyes, as if about to drink nectar from the heavens, she tilted her head back—

"Gulp... gulp..."

The warm tea flowed down her throat. There was no explosion of energy as she'd expected, only an indescribable warmth that instantly spread through her limbs! Like the gentlest hand stroking her frayed nerves, all the fear, shock, confusion, and exhaustion from last night until now... all negative emotions and mental strain were dispelled and smoothed away by this warmth, like mist in the sun!

An unprecedented sense of peace, tranquility, and stability filled her soul! Her mind became clear and ethereal, as if thoroughly cleansed by the purest spring water! The new power within her body, guided by the calming tea's essence, became docile and fluid, flowing through her meridians like a stream, nourishing every inch of her flesh and blood.

Comfortable! Utterly comfortable!

It was as if her soul had found its warmest harbor, all clamor and unease shut out.

Su Wanqing couldn't help but let out a long, contented sigh. She felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and even her hands relaxed as she held the cup. She opened her eyes, the panic and exhaustion gone, replaced by a serene and peaceful glow. Her complexion regained a healthy rosy hue, and the dark circles under her eyes vanished without a trace.

This tea... it really calms the nerves! The effect is immediate!

She looked at Ling Ye gratefully, her lips moving, wanting to say thank you. However, before the words of gratitude could leave her mouth, a more bizarre sensation suddenly struck her!

Her body... felt lighter!

Not a feeling, but a physical lightness!

It was as if gravity's pull on her had instantly weakened by more than half! Holding the empty glass, her feet actually... slowly, uncontrollably... left the carpet?!

"Ah?!" Su Wanqing let out a short gasp! She instinctively reached out to grab something to steady herself, but her body was being lifted by an invisible current of air, floating weightlessly! About... half a foot off the ground?!

She was like a clumsy hydrogen balloon, bobbing unsteadily in the center of the living room! The cartoon glass almost slipped from her grasp!

What... what is happening now?! Does the Calming Tea have side effects like this?! She looked at Ling Ye in terror.

Ling Ye also seemed slightly surprised, his brow arching slightly. His gaze fell on Su Wanqing, then swept over the empty cartoon glass in her hand, and finally... he glanced thoughtfully towards the corner of the east wall... that shadow!

Su Wanqing followed his gaze, and her heart leaped!

The corner! That shriveled steamed bun!

Could it be... it?!

The moment she looked at the shriveled bun, a faint but clear attraction emanated from the shadow in the corner where the bun lay! It was as if an invisible vortex was there! The invisible current of air lifting her began to carry her... slowly, steadily... towards the shriveled bun in the corner's shadow... floating over?!

"No! Don't!" Su Wanqing panicked instantly! She hadn't forgotten the terrifying cold, greedy gaze that had swept over the bun earlier! Nor had she forgotten its terrifying ability to suppress the earth's qi! Floating over? Touching it? What will happen?! Will I be decomposed and purified like those impurities?!

She struggled desperately, flailing her arms, trying to grab the edge of the sofa or coffee table. But the air current lifting her was exceptionally flexible and stable. Her struggles were as futile as a fly caught in a spiderweb. Her body continued to float uncontrollably and steadily towards the shadow in the corner, getting closer and closer to the shriveled bun lying quietly on the carpet!

Five meters... three meters... one meter...

Su Wanqing could even clearly see the shriveled texture on the bun's surface, and "feel" the terrifying "constant" power contained beneath its seemingly ordinary appearance, a power capable of crushing the heavens! She closed her eyes in terror, her heart pounding in her throat!

Just as her toes were about to touch the carpet near the edge of the bun—

The air current lifting her, abruptly... disappeared!

"Plop!"

Unprepared, Su Wanqing, like a puppet with its strings cut, fell directly from half a foot high! She landed squarely on her backside... on the soft carpet less than ten centimeters from the shriveled bun!

The anticipated decomposition and purification didn't happen. Only the dull pain of landing on her rear reached her.

Su Wanqing opened her eyes, still shaken, and found that she hadn't touched the terrifying bun, but had fallen next to it. She let out a long sigh of relief, feeling her back drenched in cold sweat again. That was... too intense!

She looked back at the "divine artifact" bun, now within arm's reach, with lingering fear, then looked up at Ling Ye on the sofa.

Ling Ye was looking at her thoughtfully, then glanced at the shriveled bun in the corner, his eyes holding a hint of... understanding? And an imperceptible... disdain?

"Tsk," he pursed his lips, muttering in a low voice with a hint of "just as I thought," "Gravitational imbalance... troublesome." He seemed to have finally found a "scientific" explanation for Su Wanqing's sudden floating (though the explanation still sounded absurd to Su Wanqing). Then, his gaze swept over her somewhat disheveled appearance from the fall, and he added in a flat tone, as if saying "you're in the way":

"You're blocking the path. Move aside."

Su Wanqing: "..."

She looked at the carpet beneath her butt, only ten centimeters from the steamed bun, and then at Ling Ye's expression, which clearly conveyed "you're sitting where I put my feet." A wave of immense grievance and absurdity washed over her again! She had almost been scared to death by that steamed bun and her butt hurt from the fall, only to be told... she was blocking the path?!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, deep within that inconspicuous old building.

In the dimly lit surveillance room, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the dead silence before a storm. On the screens, the energy field curve representing Yunqi Mountain Villa had maintained a stable state exceeding the upper limit after the strange straight line indicating the underground energy source had been erased.

However, just now--

"Beep beep beep--!!!"

The piercing alarm sounded again without warning! On the screen, the curve representing Ling Ye's main body's energy field suddenly jumped upwards violently! Although the amplitude was far less exaggerated than during the previous underground energy burst, it instantly broke through the previous stable peak!

"Report! Target's main body energy field shows abnormal fluctuations! Intensity increased by approximately 15%! Fluctuation pattern... extremely restrained! Suspected... emotional fluctuation?!" The technician's voice was filled with disbelief and absurdity. Emotional fluctuations could cause energy readings to jump by 15%?! What kind of monster was this?!

"Locate the energy source!" Professor Chen's bloodshot eyes stared intently at the screen, his voice hoarse.

"Locating... locked onto... the target's current action!" The technician looked at the simultaneously refreshing, heavily interfered, blurry optical feed. "Target... target is pouring water? Pouring a cup of water for... for Su Wanqing?"

Pouring water?! Emotional fluctuations?!

Professor Chen and his assistant exchanged glances, seeing immense bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Just then, the data stream on the screen began to refresh frantically again!

"Wait! Anomalous gravitational field distortion detected in the target area! Readings... readings are abnormal! Inside the villa... the gravity coefficient is... is weakening?! Magnitude of weakening... 30%... 50%... 70%!!" The technician's voice changed pitch due to sheer horror!

Weakening gravity?! How is that possible?! Altering the local gravitational field?!

Professor Chen lunged towards the screen!

In the blurry image: Su Wanqing was lifting a cup to drink. Immediately after, her entire body... was swaying... and floating up?! Like an astronaut in zero gravity on a space station?!

"Good heavens!!" The assistant couldn't help but exclaim!

"Analyze the source of gravitational distortion!" Professor Chen's heart pounded wildly!

"Analyzing... source locked! It's not the target's main body! It's... it's..." The technician's voice was filled with extreme confusion and disbelief. "It's... the corner?! The east corner of the villa living room! There... there seems to be a... blurry heat source... small object? Energy reading... unresolvable! Exceeds detection limits! But... but its existence... is distorting the gravitational laws of the surrounding space?!"

A small object in the corner?! Distorting gravitational laws?!

Professor Chen felt his worldview being repeatedly ground down! He stared intently at the blurry red dot marked on the screen, representing the "small object" in the corner. An absurd, yet the only explanation for the scene before him, uncontrollably surfaced:

Could it be... that this thing... was what instantly erased the underground energy source just now?!