The Imperial Capital, the Xia Family estate.
As the foremost of the Four Great Families, the Xia Family occupied the heart of the Imperial Capital's Eastern District. Its estate sprawled across hundreds of acres, with pavilions, terraces, artificial hills, and flowing streams, every corner exuding the heritage and prestige of an ancient family.
Yet at that moment, a bone-piercing chill filled the house deepest within the estate.
It was not the chill of the weather, but cold air pouring endlessly from inside, cold enough to freeze the marrow.
Even the courtyard lawn was coated in a thin layer of frost.
Outside the door, two servants stood in the cold with their necks hunched into their shoulders. Their lips had turned purple, but neither dared move a step away.
"The young lady's condition is acting up again..." one servant whispered.
"Shh! Watch your mouth. If the family head hears you, we'll both be in serious trouble!" the other hastily warned.
The two exchanged a glance and fell silent in unspoken agreement.
Inside the room.
Xia Qingran sat cross-legged on the bed, her long, ice-blue hair spilling over her shoulders. Her face was as pale as paper, her lips devoid of color.
A thin layer of ice crystals covered her body, and even her eyelashes were rimed with frost.
Cold air surged wildly from within her. Though she had deliberately suppressed it, a considerable amount still escaped.
"Whew..."
Only after a while did she finally bring the cold under control.
Xia Qingran opened her eyes and slowly exhaled. Her breath condensed into a cloud of white mist that lingered in the air.
The erosion caused by her ice spirit body was growing increasingly severe.
Though it had not quite gone out of control, signs of instability appeared every few days, forcing her