Lin He opened the door and, sure enough, found Xiao Mei standing there with tears streaming down her face. Her eyes were red and swollen as she anxiously tugged at the hem of his robe and pleaded,
"Senior Lin, my young mistress..."
"Xiao Mei, don't panic. Take your time. What's happened to your young mistress?"
"She... she's fallen ill!"
Lin He already knew what had happened, but he still had to keep up appearances. He immediately asked Xiao Mei to lead the way and followed her to Xin Ruoyin's bedchamber.
Although Xin Ruoyin was only an unaffiliated cultivator, women generally cared about appearances. Her bedchamber was clean and tidy, with a refreshing fragrance lingering in the air. Lin He nodded inwardly at the sight, then approached the bed and carefully examined the unconscious Xin Ruoyin.
Her whole body was burning hot, waves of heat rising from her as though she were engulfed in flames. Lin He tried feeding a thread of spiritual power into her, but it did nothing to help. Instead, it was like pouring oil onto a fire, making the heat even fiercer. Realizing the danger, he immediately stopped, barely preventing Xin Ruoyin from dying on the spot.
Lin He broke out in a cold sweat himself. This dragon chant body really is sinister. It's no easy thing to deal with.
Xiao Mei could not make sense of what he was doing and hurriedly asked, "Senior Lin, could you use your magical power to suppress my young mistress's illness?"
Lin He shook his head and patiently explained, "Your young mistress has made a breakthrough in her cultivation. Did you know that?"
Xiao Mei froze at his words. Only then did she think to use the Heavenly Eye Technique to check. Sure enough, Xin Ruoyin's cultivation had reached the eighth layer of Qi Condensation. She could not help asking, "Isn't a breakthrough a good thing? Why would it make her ill?"
"For other people, it's a good thing. For your young mistress, it isn't." Lin He continued, "Do you know that your young mistress has a dragon chant body?"
When Xiao Mei nodded, Lin He continued, "The dragon chant body is extremely unusual. Any breakthrough can easily stir up the dragon chant qi within her. In other words, her yang energy becomes excessive, and her yin energy cannot restrain it, throwing yin and yang out of balance. If this continues, her entire body will eventually collapse. People with this constitution generally don't live very long."
Xiao Mei panicked at his words and immediately fell to her knees. "Senior Lin, please save my young mistress! I'll do anything you ask, as long as you're willing to save her. I..."
Lin He hurriedly helped her up. "Xiao Mei, the magical power I cultivate is strongly yang in nature. When I fed it into her just now, it actually strengthened the dragon chant qi inside her, so I stopped immediately. I know of only two ways to save your young mistress."
"First, find a cultivator whose magical power is cold and yin in nature, and have them feed it into your young mistress at regular intervals to suppress her dragon chant qi. This cultivator's cultivation cannot be low. Given her current condition, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would probably struggle to manage it. Ideally, you'd need a Core Formation Stage cultivator."
Hearing that a Core Formation Stage cultivator would have to supply cold yin magical power at regular intervals, Xiao Mei shook her head with a bitter smile. This method was completely unrealistic, and she dismissed it without a second thought.
Seeing her shake her head, Lin He began explaining the second method. "The second is to draw on the power of spirit medicine. But given your young mistress's condition, herbs only a few hundred years old probably wouldn't do much. You would need one at least a thousand years old, and it must be a millennium spirit medicine with cold yin properties."
This second method did not surprise Xiao Mei. She hurriedly said, "My young mistress thought of that method too, Senior Lin. She even obtained a prescription, but she's still missing a millennium spirit medicine to serve as the medicinal catalyst, so we've never been able to try it."
Lin He looked at Xiao Mei. Puzzled, she was about to ask why when he suddenly took something out of his Storage Bag. It was the millennium Cold Star Grass he had obtained during the Forbidden Land Trial.
"Xiao Mei, look. What's this?"
"Xiao Mei, look at this!"
Xiao Mei's tongue seemed to tie itself in knots, and she began to stammer. The millennium Cold Star Grass had cold yin properties; the moment Lin He took it out, the entire room seemed to grow noticeably colder. Seeing this, Xiao Mei swallowed hard. "Senior Lin, c-could this be... a millennium spirit medicine?"
"That's right." Lin He nodded. "This spirit medicine is called Cold Star Grass. Its medicinal properties are extremely cold and yin in nature, and it's a full thousand years old. I originally intended to use it to refine pills, but since your young mistress urgently needs it, she can have it."
Xiao Mei was dumbfounded. However slow she might be to catch on, she knew how precious a millennium spirit medicine was. Countless cultivators would fight until their heads split open for something they still might never obtain, yet Lin He had brought it out of his own accord.
"Senior Lin, this millennium spirit medicine is so precious. H-how could we possibly accept it?"
Xiao Mei was torn between joy and worry. On the one hand, she was overjoyed that her young mistress could be saved. On the other, she was deeply worried. A thousand-year-old spiritual herb was far too precious, and this debt of gratitude was so enormous that she had no idea how they could ever repay it.
"Saving a life is like fighting a fire. Your young mistress cannot wait much longer. Xiao Mei, do you really want to watch her suffer until she dies?"
Lin He's tone grew stern. Xiao Mei could only nod. "Senior Lin, I will never forget your great kindness as long as I live. My young mistress already bought all the supporting medicinal ingredients. Now that we have this millennium spirit medicine as the catalyst, everything is ready. I'll go prepare the decoction right away."
Only after Xiao Mei left did Lin He return to the bedside. He was just about to take Xin Ruoyin's pulse and check her condition when her forehead suddenly broke out in sweat and pain flashed across her face. She was clearly enduring inhuman torment.
Who knew where she found the strength, but she reached over and seized Lin He's hand as though clutching a life-saving straw. Her nails dug deep into his flesh.
Lin He felt rather helpless. With Xin Ruoyin gripping him so fiercely, he could only endure it. Yet she seemed to feel that this was not enough. Grimacing in agony, she suddenly grabbed his right hand and bit down hard, as though doing so might ease her suffering.
Fortunately, his willpower was extraordinary, and he managed to bear it. He let her claw and bite him like that for who knew how long before Xiao Mei finally came in carrying a bowl of medicine.
"Young mistress, wake up and drink your medicine!"
The moment she entered, she saw Lin He's miserable plight. This man, who had killed Xu Yan and his companions without so much as a frown, was now steadily losing ground before Xin Ruoyin's sharp teeth.
Perhaps Xiao Mei's voice had awakened her, for Xin Ruoyin slowly came to. She opened her eyes to the sight of a handsome face contorted into a comical grimace of pain. She immediately realized what had happened and hurriedly released her fingers and teeth. Her face flushed crimson, and she apologized in shame,
"I'm sorry, Senior. I... I bit you!"
The moment she released her bite, Lin He breathed a sigh of relief. Trying his best to maintain his composure, he waved his hand grandly. "I'm a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could a bite possibly
injure me? Ahem... Miss Ru Yin, your teeth are far more formidable than a Top-Tier Magical Artifact."
Xin Ruoyin's face turned as red as an apple. She was so ashamed that she wished she could hide.
"Young mistress, it's time to drink your medicine!"
Fortunately, Xiao Mei had not forgotten the matter at hand. Xin Ruoyin, however, asked suspiciously,
"Xiao Mei, what medicine is this?"
"This is..." Naturally, Xiao Mei hid nothing and explained what had happened. When she mentioned the millennium spirit medicine, Xin Ruoyin fell silent for a long while. Then she suddenly said,
"Xiao Mei, step outside for now. I'd like to speak with Senior Lin alone."