That evening.
At Moon Perching Pavilion.
"Xu Taiping, what's wrong?"
"Xu Taiping, are you all right?"
No sooner had Xu Taiping returned to Moon Perching Pavilion than he began shivering uncontrollably from the cold, his qi and blood and true qi draining away at tremendous speed.
Bai Yu and Ping'an, who had noticed this long before, questioned him anxiously.
"You two, give me a moment."
With trembling arms, Xu Taiping opened the Azure Gourd and let them out.
As he spoke, he took out the wine gourd containing the diluted Dragon Gall Wine, tipped back his head, and gulped down all the strong liquor that remained-just under half a gourd.
Although it had been diluted many times over, the Dragon Gall Wine still retained its medicinal potency, so Xu Taiping ordinarily drank no more than half a gourd a day. Any more would leave him groggy.
But now, even after drinking just under half a gourd of diluted Dragon Gall Wine, he barely felt any warmer.
"Hiss..."
After a shudder, Xu Taiping let out a long breath.
Although his qi and blood were still draining away, he had at least recovered a little.
What had just happened to him was precisely the drawback of the Three-Talents Ghost-Sealing Talisman that Sister Lingyue had mentioned in her letter.
Yet even though he had been mentally prepared, he had still underestimated the harm this side effect would do to his body.
At first, while he was still at Hundred Herbs Hall, he had merely felt a little weak, so he had planned to get Eldest Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother settled, then leave a message for Senior Sister Linglong and the others before returning to Moon Perching Pavilion.
As a result, he had lingered at Hundred Herbs Hall for half an incense