A Shared Bath Called "Healing," a Contest Beneath the Mist

At the border of the Land of Rivers stood a secret waystation—Cold Smoke Pavilion.

The luxurious carriage, lined inside with top-grade cloud sable fur, came to a steady stop before a courtyard screened by lush bamboo.

The air here was damp and sweet. Steam bubbled from cracks in the ground not far away. This was the region's most famous natural medicinal spring, said to revive the dead and regrow flesh on bones. Yet in Ye Tian's eyes, it was merely a barely adequate gathering spot for Spiritual Energy.

"We're here. Get out."

Tsunade lifted the carriage curtain, her amber eyes sweeping over the youth sprawled "weakly" across the soft couch.

She had already changed out of her cumbersome ceremonial robe and wore only a thin dark-green bathrobe. At its collar, the lines of her collarbones showed faintly, slightly taut from days of strain.

"Cough... cough cough. Lady Tsunade, these old legs of mine... seem to have lost all feeling."

Ye Tian cracked his eyes open. His face was as pale as water-soaked rice paper, and his voice carried the bleakness of someone arranging his final affairs. He extended a pallid hand, his fingertips trembling as though searching for something to support himself.

"No feeling?" Tsunade's heart tightened, her suspicions instantly crushed beneath the weight of something called guilt.

Biting her red lip, she strode forward and scooped Ye Tian out of the sable furs, cradling him in her arms with rough yet careful movements.

"Hiss—" Ye Tian sucked in a pained breath, his old face landing with uncanny "precision" in that soft warmth, which had taken on astonishing tension under the pressure.

He whistled wildly in his heart. "Tsk, the shock absorption of this Primordial Era Sacred Body really is top-tier across the whole server. Look at this texture, look