The wrong reaction

The atmosphere in the room was a little awkward, and a little tense.

Ye Zi was anxious, afraid Luo Yang would offend Liu Youshui and bring trouble down on himself, but she could hardly say so in front of him.

Liu Youshui suddenly gave a dry laugh, breaking the silence. "Doctor Luo, whatever else you might say, I did do you a favor. Isn't this a little inappropriate?"

"I told you before, I'm not the sort of doctor who treats anyone who registers for an appointment," Luo Yang said. "If you want me to treat you, you have to follow my rules. I only treat one patient a day. I've already made an exception today."

Jiang Yue suppressed her anger. "Can't you make another exception?"

Luo Yang shook his head slightly.

Jiang Yue was about to say more, but a look from Liu Youshui stopped her.

"I didn't expect Doctor Luo to be such a man of principle. Very well, I'll come back tomorrow." There was a clear note of displeasure in Liu Youshui's voice.

Jiang Yue gave Luo Yang a cold look, then pushed the wheelchair toward the door.

Ye Zi was frantic. She had finally managed to invite him over, but before they could discuss the actual matter, Luo Yang had sent him away. Several times, she wanted to ask him to stay, but in the end, she never said the words.

Just then, Luo Yang spoke again. "Mr. Liu, bring that video you mentioned when you come tomorrow. I'd like to see it."

Ye Zi immediately understood his intention.

Luo Yang was protecting her. He was keeping her from making any deal with Liu Youshui so she wouldn't end up inviting a wolf into her home. He had taken on something she should have handled herself. To help her resolve her trouble with the Song Family, he was even willing to offend someone like Liu Youshui!

Liu Youshui looked back, a cold gleam flashing through his half-narrowed eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" Luo Yang asked mildly. "If so, pretend I never said anything."

Liu Youshui suddenly smiled. "Not at all. Since you've asked, Doctor Luo, I'll bring it tomorrow."

He raised his hand slightly, and Jiang Yue pushed him out the door.

"Luo Yang, you offended someone like Liu Youshui for my sake. I..." Deeply moved, Ye Zi wanted to thank him, but suddenly felt that mere thanks were nowhere near enough.

Luo Yang smiled. "We're in the same boat now. No need to be so polite."

Ye Zi smiled too, her natural beauty alluring.

Just as they smiled at each other, Song Meiqi, who was sitting on the sofa, suddenly spoke. "Mommy, Uncle Luo, when did you two get into the same bed?"

Both adults' smiles froze on their faces.

"Which of you is going to answer my question?" Song Meiqi looked at the two adults innocently.

Mortified, Ye Zi blushed all the way to her ears. She hurried to correct her little darling's disastrous mistake. "Boat, not bed. B-o-a-t, boat."

Song Meiqi said in her babyish voice, "B-o-a-t, bed."

Luo Yang: "..."

Ye Zi covered her forehead.

Then Song Meiqi added, "Mommy, if you and Uncle Luo sleep in the same bed, where will I sleep? Can I sleep between you?"

This conversation had veered into dangerous territory at full speed, and the doors were welded shut. Luo Yang couldn't escape even if he wanted to.

But she was only four! What on earth was going on inside that little head of hers?

The awkward silence was deathly. Three seconds later, Ye Zi suddenly scooped Song Meiqi up and hurried away.

That wretched embarrassment left her unable to face the man three years her junior.

A bright moon hung in the western sky, amid an endless expanse of inky blue and countless stars.

In a room with its door and windows tightly shut, Luo Yang sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed.

The Ancestral Shaman Qi Refining Art refined essence into qi, and qi into spiritual energy.

The secret art his grandfather Qin Sihai had taught him actually used his vital essence as fuel to cultivate his spirit body. This was also the secret behind how he had retained his boy's body despite living with Liang Hong for a year. Whenever desire stirred, he would sit down and practice the Ancestral Shaman Qi Refining Art. With all that fuel diverted into nourishing his spirit body, he naturally settled down.

But this time was a little different.

Halfway through his cultivation session, Luo Yang suddenly detected a trace of energy from outside. It was already spiritual energy, too. He barely needed to refine it in his dantian; with a little processing, he could absorb it and make it part of his spirit body.

Is this natural spiritual energy? That seems unlikely. How could spiritual energy exist in this concrete jungle? Luo Yang wasn't quite sure.

Suddenly, his cultivation aura caught another wisp of spiritual energy.

This time, it was especially clear. In his heightened sensory state, he could even pinpoint the direction it had drifted from.

I understand now. I've already formed the ancestral witch spirit body. By practicing the Ancestral Shaman Qi Refining Art with my spirit body, I can capture spiritual energy from outside. Luo Yang was thrilled, and curious about what was releasing the spiritual energy. He clearly couldn't continue cultivating in this state. He got up, left the room, and headed in the direction he had identified.

At the end of the corridor was a staircase, leading both up and down.

Luo Yang headed down the stairs.

At the bottom was a basement room with its door closed.

Suddenly, he heard sobbing from behind the door.

"Sniff... sniff..."

It was Ye Zi's voice.

Luo Yang hesitated, then reached out and knocked.

The sobbing stopped. Almost a minute later, the basement door opened.

Ye Zi stood in the doorway, traces of tears still lingering at the corners of her eyes.

She looked at Luo Yang without speaking.

Luo Yang felt a little awkward instead. "I heard you crying and was worried, so I came to check on you."

Ye Zi instinctively glanced at the door beside her. It was a heavy metal door with excellent soundproofing, yet Luo Yang said he had heard her crying. That puzzled her a little.

In those few moments, Luo Yang glanced into the basement behind her.

It was a collection room, holding quite a few collectibles: porcelain, paintings and calligraphy, some antique furniture, and oddly shaped stones.

Luo Yang's gaze swept over the pieces before finally settling on a metal mask hanging on the wall.

The mask was covered in green patina, though a few patches were gold. It bore some resemblance to the bronze masks of Sanxingdui, with two protruding eyes and a somewhat square overall shape. Its straight, angular lines gave it a distinctly rugged look.

A "△" symbol was engraved on its forehead. Inside were traces of engravings that appeared to be writing, but they were too blurred to decipher.

It was the source of the spiritual energy.

"I... wasn't crying." Ye Zi broke the silence between them.

Luo Yang withdrew his gaze and said gently, "There are still tears at the corners of your eyes. Wipe them away."

A little embarrassed, Ye Zi turned away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, changing the subject as she did. "This is my husband's collection room. Come in and have a look. He liked collecting things with history when he was alive. Almost all of them are here."

Luo Yang walked in and noticed a framed photograph of a man on a table. The man looked young, only in his thirties, with handsome features and a distinguished air.

"The man in the photograph is my husband. Whenever I see his picture, I..." As she spoke, Ye Zi's lips suddenly crumpled, and two more tears rolled from her eyes. She bit her lip, keeping her sobs silent.

Something in Luo Yang's heart stirred, filling him with sympathy. He couldn't help reaching out to pat her shoulder. "Ye Zi, if you want to cry, let it out. Don't bottle it up. If you make yourself sick, what will Meiqi do?"

Ye Zi suddenly turned and threw herself into Luo Yang's arms, resting against his shoulder as she burst into tears.

Luo Yang froze, unsure what to do.

"It hurts so much... I've already lost my husband, but they... they still want to take my daughter away... sob..." Ye Zi cried her heart out, laying bare her sensitivity and vulnerability before Luo Yang.

Luo Yang gently patted her back. "Don't be upset. I'm here. I won't let them get their way."

Ye Zi suddenly wrapped her arms around Luo Yang's waist and nestled fully into his embrace.

Luo Yang's body instantly tensed. He was nervous beyond belief.

Although Ye Zi had leaned into his arms earlier, her elbows had been braced against his chest, keeping certain important parts from touching him. Now that she had suddenly hugged his waist, it was like she had pressed two land mines into his arms. He didn't dare move.

But the virgin body he had guarded for twenty-five years wasn't nearly so obedient. On top of that, the awakening of his ancestral witch spirit body had made his senses exceptionally acute, so...

Ye Zi seemed to feel something. She hurriedly released Luo Yang and cast a sideways glance downward, a complicated, peculiar expression on her face.

Luo Yang was so embarrassed and ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to hide in.

The atmosphere froze solid.

"Y-you can look around. I'll go check on Meiqi. She likes kicking off her blanket." Unable to stay any longer, Ye Zi turned and left in a slight fluster.

Luo Yang's lips moved as he tried to explain, but even after Ye Zi disappeared through the doorway, he still hadn't managed to say anything.

She had only wanted a shoulder to lean on, yet his ancestral witch spirit body had wanted to stab her right in the front.

How was he supposed to explain that?

Luo Yang withdrew his gaze, only for the framed photograph to enter his field of vision again. Song Dongshan stared straight at him from the picture, his expression looking almost angry.

"Well, I don't have those kinds of intentions toward your wife. Don't misunderstand." Luo Yang reached out and laid the frame facedown on the table.

He meant nothing else by it. He just felt guilty.

Luo Yang walked over to the wall and took down the mask.

The mask was heavy. Its material looked a little like bronze, but bronze wasn't gold in color. Yet if it was gold, it wouldn't develop green patina. He couldn't identify it right away.

Luo Yang sat cross-legged, placed the mask between his legs, and held his right index and middle fingers together. Channeling his spiritual power, he inscribed a mark on the mask without leaving any physical trace.

This mark was also shaped like a "△" and somewhat resembled the ancestral shaman life seal passed down through the Witch Ruins. But it wasn't the ancestral shaman life seal. It was the Spirit Infusion Seal of the Ancestral Shaman Spirit Infusion Art, used to imbue objects with spirits.

This was shamanic sorcery.

The ancestral shaman's medical arts required no seals, but shamanic sorcery did. So far, however, Luo Yang had mastered only this one Spirit Infusion Seal.

Once he finished drawing the seal, Luo Yang guided a wisp of spiritual power into the mask. The previously invisible Spirit Infusion Seal suddenly emitted a dim green glow, making every symbol and pattern clearly visible.

Soon, a subtle connection emerged.