Long Jinyu swept a cold glance over Shadow Fiend, who lay on the ground like a lump of mud. He withdrew his hand and called toward the door, "Mm, I understand."
He picked up the thoroughly crippled Shadow Fiend and pushed open the heavy door of the Heart-Questioning Pavilion.
"My lord."
The Yanhuang Guards waiting outside immediately bowed.
"This man." Long Jinyu tossed Shadow Fiend over like a piece of trash. "He's yours. You can use him as a beast of burden. Give him all the dirty, exhausting work, and keep a close eye on him. Don't let him die too easily."
"Yes! We obey your command, my lord!"
The Yanhuang Guards accepted him without hesitation and hoisted the limp Shadow Fiend up with cold, stern expressions.
Only then did the nurse step forward and say respectfully, "My lord, Doctor Luo Yun is waiting for you in her office. It's about Miss Ma's condition..."
Long Jinyu's heart tightened. He nodded at once. "All right. Lead the way."
Inside the office, a young woman in a white medical robe, with a calm and capable air, was looking down at the examination report in her hands.
She was beautiful, with an air of focus and intelligence between her brows. She was none other than Luo Yun, the Medical Pavilion's leading expert in the spirit system and psychological counseling.
Hearing the commotion, she looked up. When she saw Long Jinyu, she immediately stood. "My lord."
Long Jinyu waved a hand, in no mood for pleasantries. "Doctor Luo, how is Xiaotao really doing?"
Luo Yun gestured for Long Jinyu to sit, then pushed the report toward him. Her voice was clear and professional. "My lord, please don't worry yet. Miss Ma's body and soul origin are both very healthy. In fact, they're even stronger than those of an ordinary Soul Emperor. That's all thanks to the pure life energy you transferred into her earlier."
Long Jinyu's brow remained furrowed. "Then why hasn't she woken up?"
"The problem lies with her heart."
Luo Yun lightly tapped one item on the report with her fingertip.
"That mental shock was extremely insidious. It didn't cause direct damage. Instead, it was like a key, precisely unlocking and detonating every fear and traumatic memory deep within her about 'losing control' and 'hurting others.' To escape that immense psychological pressure, her primary consciousness chose to shut itself away and fall into a deep slumber."
She looked at Long Jinyu, her expression grave. "That's why conventional treatment and energy infusion won't work. What she needs isn't to have her 'injuries' repaired. She needs someone she trusts enough to guide her out of her self-made maze, awaken her, and help her find the courage to fight her inner demons."
Long Jinyu's heart sank. "What exactly do we need to do?"
"The only way is 'Spiritual Resonance Guidance,'" Luo Yun explained. "Someone with a strong and stable spirit must take the initiative to enter the depths of her spiritual world, find her sleeping primary consciousness, and guide it back."
"But the guide must be someone she trusts absolutely, even depends on. Otherwise, she may resist more fiercely on a subconscious level, and the attempt could backfire."
"Of course, this method carries risks. If the practitioner is struck by powerful negative emotions in her spiritual world, their own consciousness may also be damaged."
At Luo Yun's words, Long Jinyu's outstretched hand stalled. His resolve gave way to a complicated hesitation. He slowly drew his hand back and murmured, "Someone she trusts absolutely... Xiaotao and I have only known each other for a few days. The teachers she respects, the friends who've been by her side for years... No matter how I look at it, they come before me."
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. He turned and said decisively, "This is too risky. I can't gamble with her safety. Luo Yun, keep her condition stable here. I'll return to the Sea God Pavilion at once and ask Elder Mu and Dean Yan to come!"
"My lord, please don't act in haste." Luo Yun hurried to stop him, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "I was just about to report this. A moment ago, while checking Miss Ma's spiritual resonance, our healing Soul Power simulated your unique life aura and brought it close to her. Her chaotic mental fluctuations immediately settled considerably."
Long Jinyu froze. "What do you mean?"
Luo Yun smiled. "And while unconscious, Miss Ma has been repeating one name over and over without realizing it."
Long Jinyu immediately pressed her. "Whose? Elder Mu's? Dean Yan's? Or her friends Zhang Lexuan or Han Ruoruo? Surely it isn't Wu Ming? Could it be... Dai Yueheng?!"
Luo Yun looked at her usually far-sighted lord in his current state and couldn't help laughing. She shook her head, then looked at him with a warm, certain gaze.
"My lord, you guessed them all wrong. That person... is far away, yet right before your eyes."
Long Jinyu: "..."
"It's... me?!"
Luo Yun nodded with certainty. "It's you. Miss Ma keeps murmuring your name and... 'brat.' So you're the only one who can be her guide. Please give it a try, my lord."
In an instant, all his hesitation and unease vanished. A resolve both tender and unshakable filled Long Jinyu's chest. He stood up without the slightest hesitation. "What do I need to do?"
"Please come with me."
In the hospital room, Ma Xiaotao still lay quietly, her face pale. Only her faint breathing proved she was alive.
Long Jinyu went to the bedside and gently sat on the edge of the bed. Carefully, he lifted Ma Xiaotao's upper body, letting her cold cheek rest against the warmth of his neck as he held her in his arms, protective and completely at ease with her.
He adjusted his position so she could rest more comfortably.
Then he lowered his head and gently pressed his smooth forehead against the space between her furrowed brows.
Xiaotao, he thought, as his consciousness began to extend across that invisible bridge. Don't be afraid. I'm here.
In the next instant, the light and shadows before his eyes swirled. His consciousness sank into a shattered world of bizarre, shifting scenes.
Ma Xiaotao's spiritual world was filled with dark-red embers and the scent of scorched earth.
Long Jinyu's consciousness searched through the wasteland like a speck of light. At last, in the shadow of a corner piled with charred bricks, he found his target.
She was a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old. Curled up, she hugged her knees tightly and buried her face in them. Her fiery red hair had lost its luster, and her small body trembled with suppressed sobs.
Long Jinyu withdrew all his aura and approached at a slow pace. He crouched in front of her, bringing himself level with her gaze.
"I found you." He spoke softly, in the gentlest voice he had ever used.
The little girl jerked her head up as if startled. Her childish, frightened face looked extremely like Ma Xiaotao's, and her eyes were red from crying. The moment she saw Long Jinyu, she froze. Confusion flickered in her wide eyes, and she timidly shrank back a little before asking in a small voice, "Y-you... who are you? Are... are you a fairy sister?" Looking at Long Jinyu's exquisitely beautiful face and strange eyes, she had made her guess without thinking.
Long Jinyu paused slightly but didn't correct her. He smiled gently, and the smile seemed to dispel all the gloom around them.
"Mm. I'm here to take you away from here and get you some snacks. Do you like red bean cakes?"
"Snacks..."
Little Ma Xiaotao swallowed instinctively, but her eyes quickly dimmed. She shook her head hard and hugged herself tighter. "N-no. I can't go out. I'm a monster... There's a dark, unruly fire inside me. It'll... it'll burn things and make everyone hate me and fear me..."
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, turning into a sob. "Sister, hurry and go. Stay far away from me, or... or your pretty clothes and hair will get burned too."
Long Jinyu's heart clenched painfully. He didn't retreat. Instead, he edged closer and held out a hand, palm up, to Little Ma Xiaotao—a silent invitation.
"A monster?" He tilted his head gently. There wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes, only pure tenderness. "But all I see is a little girl who's terribly scared and lonely, yet still worries she might accidentally hurt someone. You're such a kind girl."
Little Ma Xiaotao stared at him, stunned.
"The power inside you may still refuse to listen, like a mischievous little beast." Long Jinyu's voice was as gentle as a lullaby. "But it isn't a monster. It's part of you, a very, very powerful force. It's just still too young, like you, and doesn't know how to play nicely with others yet."
A fleck of extremely gentle jade-green light, alive with the breath of life, swirled around his fingertips. He lightly touched it to Little Ma Xiaotao's forehead.
"See? I'm not afraid of you. Your fire won't hurt me, either."
The warm fleck of light sank into her. Little Ma Xiaotao felt the burning sensation that had kept her restless and upset ease, strangely enough, and in its place came a comfort like being wrapped in the sunshine of spring.
With a hint of disbelief, she cautiously stretched out her little hand. Trembling, she slowly placed it in Long Jinyu's palm.
Long Jinyu immediately took her little hand, gentle but firm, and helped her up from the dark corner.
"It isn't a monster, and neither are you." He took her hand and led her toward the bright exit from the spiritual world, his voice filled with a smile and a promise. "It just needs a friend to teach it how to be gentle. And you need a friend too, someone to tell you... how sweet and brave you are."
He lowered his head to look at her, his gaze unwavering.
"Come on. First, we'll go eat red bean cakes. Then I'll stay with you and slowly teach that 'little beast' in your heart how to become a phoenix—the most beautiful and powerful guardian of everyone. How does that sound?"
Little Ma Xiaotao lifted her face to look at the gentle "fairy sister" before her, feeling a sense of peace and warmth in her palm unlike anything she'd ever known.
The fear and confusion in her eyes slowly melted away. At last, she nodded hard, then even harder, and made a nasal but unmistakably clear sound:
"Mm!"
Before you continue