Qin Leyan had been unconscious for over a month, yet she still had not awakened. Ruan Siyao came to see her every day. At first, she had patiently waited for her daughter to wake up, but as time passed, she grew more and more irritable.
"She's been asleep for over a month. Why isn't she awake yet?"
It was not only Ruan Siyao who worried. Qin Che and Qin Xiaoran were worried as well. They sought out Song Junning, Qu Lanxin, and Zheng Zefang, asking the three of them to examine her together.
Zheng Zefang was a proper medical cultivator. Compared with Song Junning and Qu Lanxin, his medical skills were better.
After carefully examining her, he said there was no problem. Her soul, worn down by years of exhaustion, simply wanted to rest properly. Still, she could not be allowed to sleep forever. Every few days, he came to administer acupuncture to Qin Leyan, stimulating her soul to adapt to her body more quickly.
After his treatments, Qin Leyan still had not awakened, but her body had begun to respond. Sometimes her fingers twitched, and her eyes rolled beneath her eyelids.
Only when Ruan Siyao saw genuine signs that she was about to awaken did she finally set her mind at ease. At last, she had the mood to deal with Ling Ji, who had harmed their family.
Yan Ke knew the fury in her heart, so when Ling Ji was tortured until she begged him for help, he pretended not to know anything.
He allowed Ruan Siyao to torment her. Either she was dragged beneath a waterfall and left to be scoured by its powerful torrent, or she was kicked into an icy cave. Every time Ruan Siyao sent Ling Ji back, Ling Ji's soul was a little fainter.
Yet Ling Ji cultivated illusion arts, and naturally had her own methods for cultivating spiritual power and repairing her soul.
Thus, the two of them began a tug-of-war—one desperately tormenting, the other gritting her teeth and holding on long enough to return and recuperate.
In any case, it was a matter between the two of them. Even knowing about it, the others had no intention of interfering. Everyone felt Ling Ji deserved it, so naturally no one pleaded for her.
A century-old begonia tree stood before Qin Xiaoran's Peaceful Residence. As the setting sun slanted westward, golden afterglow spilled over the flowering tree, leaving mottled shadows behind.
A clear wind brushed past. The blossoms swayed, the shadows swayed, and a faint fragrance rode the breeze, circling beneath their noses before drifting away.
The scenery was beautiful, but the two people wolfing down food beneath the flowering tree were somewhat of a blight on it.
"Eldest Senior Brother, did you prepare enough food? Why do I feel that if those two keep eating, we won't get any?"
Meng Hongying's words drew agreement from Shen Ziheng and Feng Wuhen. Qin Xiaoran was also speechless as he watched the way those two ate beneath the begonia tree.
Both had already abstained from food and had lived for a hundred years. What delicacies had they not tasted? Yet today, they were actually competing with several teenagers for food.
Fortunately, he had prepared extra. He had originally intended for them to take it with them when they left, but now it seemed he could only bring it out early.
"Don't worry. I prepared plenty today. I originally meant for you to take it back and eat it later. But now, it seems you'll have to eat it here."
Feng Wuhen and the others were hungry as well. They walked over, sat down on the stone stools, and picked up the pastries and roasted meat to eat.
Feng Wuhen held a pink pastry in his hand as he ate. Sitting beside Bing Ling, he watched him gnaw on a drumstick bigger than his head and reminded him, "Lingling, eat more slowly. Look at all that oil on your face. You're filthy."
Hearing this, Bing Ling raised his hand to wipe his face with his sleeve. Feng Wuhen hurriedly caught his hand and handed him a clean handkerchief.
"Use this. If you like that outfit so much, don't get it dirty."
Bing Ling wiped his mouth with the handkerchief Feng Wuhen handed him. "It's fine. Even if it gets dirty, there's the Dust-Cleansing Formula. Just form a hand seal, and all the grime on your body will be gone.
"But Little Fengfeng is right. You should cherish the things you like a little more."
Once Feng Wuhen saw that the oil around his mouth had been wiped clean, he poured him a cup of tea to settle his stomach.
Meng Hongying bit into a piece of fruit as she watched them. "The two of you really have such a good relationship!"
At those words, Bing Ling lifted his chin high, looking extremely pleased with himself. "Of course. We're martial brothers. He only has me as his senior brother, and I only have him as my junior brother. Naturally, we're close."
Seeing him show off in front of her, Meng Hongying could not resist boasting as well. "My senior brothers and sisters are very good to me too. Since I'm the youngest, they all treat me like a little sister.
"They bring me delicious pastries, and my senior sisters even comb my hair into beautiful styles. Look, my hair today was done by Senior Sister."
Seeing that the two were about to start comparing, Feng Wuhen spoke up to interrupt them. "Lingling, didn't you say yesterday that you were bringing us a surprise? Hurry up and take it out for us to see. I've been curious all night!"
If Feng Wuhen had not reminded him, Bing Ling would have nearly forgotten about it. "Right, right, right! For today's feast, I even went to the back mountain and dug it out."
Several wine jars appeared in Bing Ling's hands. He removed the seal from one of them, and a rich aroma of wine rushed toward Feng Wuhen and the others.
The moment Shen Ziheng smelled it, he immediately identified what it had been brewed from. "Is this wine brewed from Red Yeast Fruit?"
Bing Ling conjured cups and poured one for each of them. "Your nose is really sharp. This was brewed with Red Yeast Fruit, Evening Primrose, Honey-Scented Flower, and several other ingredients.
"Momo brought it back long ago. I hid some and buried it in the back mountain. I heard that wine tastes better after being cellared for a long time.
"From the time I buried this wine to the time I dug it out, it had been buried for over twenty years. It should taste even better than before."
Bing Ling was actually not entirely sure. After pouring the wine, he raised his own cup and tasted it first.
"Mmm, it really is quite good. It's sweet, and the taste is very smooth. Compared to the wine Elder Guo drinks all day, it tastes far better."
Qin Xiaoran lifted a cup and tasted it. It was just as Bing Ling had described—sweet and mellow upon entering the mouth, so gentle that it hardly seemed like wine.
As for Elder Guo, whom Bing Ling had mentioned, he was Mount Grand Mystery's famous wine-madman. Wine never left his hand, and most of what he drank was fierce and burning. The small portion that was not so strong still had a powerful kick afterward.
The elders and peak masters of Mount Grand Mystery all disliked drinking with him, because they simply could not outdrink him. Only his few disciples had accompanied him in drinking since childhood. Their alcohol tolerance was somewhat better, enough to drink several jars with him.
Although Feng Wuhen felt that drinking at their age did not seem quite right, they were cultivators after all. Drinking some wine should be fine. Thus, he raised the cup before him and drained it in one gulp.
It really tasted wonderful—very sweet, without the slightest taste of alcohol.
Feng Wuhen liked it quite a bit, so he asked Bing Ling to pour him several more cups. Shen Ziheng watched him down two cups in succession and reach for a third, then stretched out a hand to cover his cup.
"This wine tastes sweet, but its aftereffects are not mild, especially since it has been cellared for more than twenty years.
"Wait a while first. If you don't feel unwell later, it won't be too late to drink more."
Feng Wuhen listened to him and did not continue drinking. Instead, he watched Bing Ling and Xiaoyu'er compete in drinking, while Meng Hongying joined in with her cup raised. The three of them drank cup after cup, as though they were drinking water rather than wine.
As he watched, Feng Wuhen began to feel his head grow dizzy, and the scene before him started to blur.
He blinked rapidly, wanting to wake himself up a little, but aside from making his eyelids more tired, it was of no use.
Seeing his behavior, Shen Ziheng knew he was drunk.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Wuhen has had too much. Is there somewhere he can rest?"
Qin Leyan was still lying inside Qin Xiaoran's Peaceful Residence, so naturally Feng Wuhen could not sleep there. Shen Ziheng asked because he wanted to know whether Qin Xiaoran had a couch or reclining chair where Feng Wuhen could rest.
Qin Xiaoran remembered that there was a reclining chair in his room, so he went to carry it out. Shen Ziheng supported Feng Wuhen and helped him lie down on it, then found a blanket to cover him.
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