Gu Chen picked up Qianqian and placed her in the bathtub, saying solemnly, "Soak for ten minutes. If you feel unwell, remember to call me immediately."
Qianqian nodded, her expression resolute.
Ten minutes later, beads of sweat covered Qianqian's forehead and body, and her whole body turned red, but she gently gritted her teeth and remained silent.
Li Jing watched with extreme anxiety. The medicinal soup was clearly cold, so why did Qianqian seem so hot and uncomfortable?
Gu Chen calculated the time and felt it was about time, then asked softly, "Are you alright? Can you hold on?"
Qianqian nodded and said, "Okay."
His voice trembled slightly when he spoke.
Gu Chen knew that the medicine had already penetrated into Qianqian's body. Because of her constitution, Qianqian's skin was like a regular person with a minor cut or injury, and applying the medicine to it would inevitably cause her a lot of pain.
To Gu Chen's surprise, the little girl was very strong and hadn't uttered a sound until now.
"What a promising talent." A look of approval flashed in Gu Chen's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Chen slowly placed his hand on Qianqian's back and then gently infused it with his True Qi.
Before long, a layer of white mist rose from Qianqian's back. At first, it was very faint, but as time went by, it became thicker and thicker, and an icy cold aura, like a tide, emanated from her body.
The entire bathroom instantly felt like winter, several times colder than with the air conditioning on!
Li Jing quickly felt the biting cold, as if she were walking naked in the snow. Within five minutes, she was shivering all over, and the pores on her skin stood up.
"If you can't stand it, you can leave now."
Gu Chen's voice came through, and seeing that Li Jing remained motionless, he continued, "Your presence here might distract me."
"Okay." Li Jing nodded, glanced at Qianqian who had her eyes closed, and closed the bathroom door.
The entire treatment process was very slow. Gu Chen first used a medicinal soup to help Qianqian's Nine Yin Qi adapt, then used the medicinal power to invade Qianqian's body, and then used his True Qi to push the cold Qi out of the meridians and out of the Tianmen acupoint on the top of her head.
Half an hour later, a chilling aura finally emanated from above Qianqian's head. This was different from the mist from before; it resembled silver threads, twisting and turning like wisps of smoke.
This is the Nine Yin Qi within the Nine Yin Mystic Physique.
This is also the key reason why Qianqian is so weak.
Gu Chen's face was also covered in sweat, but when he saw these threads, his expression became serious. However, he still opened his mouth, activated the "Heaven and Earth Creation Art," and took a deep breath!
The immense suction from her abdomen drew the airflow that had just drifted over Qianqian's head into Gu Chen's mouth. While this energy affected Qianqian, it had no effect on Gu Chen whatsoever. In fact, he felt that this pure Nine Yin Qi was even more refined than the Cold Spiritual Qi on the Jade Guanyin.
As he activated his cultivation technique, streams of Nine Yin Qi were drawn into Gu Chen's body, and the crimson color on Qianqian's body became even more pronounced.
Finally, upon hearing Qianqian's scream, Gu Chen immediately stopped.
Seeing that Qianqian had collapsed limply into the medicinal soup, Gu Chen quickly stopped his cultivation, helped her up, and asked with concern, "Qianqian, are you alright?"
There was too much cold and yin energy in Qianqian's body. Although Gu Chen tried his best to absorb it, he could only absorb a portion of it. About one-third of it remained in Qianqian's body.
Looking down, the originally dark red medicinal soup in the bath had now turned into clear water.
Qianqian nodded at Gu Chen and said, "I feel so hot."
"It's okay, this is a normal reaction. Go get some sleep," Gu Chen gently comforted Qianqian.
Hearing the noise outside, Li Jing opened the door and came in. Seeing Gu Chen holding Qianqian in his arms, she asked with a worried expression, "What happened to her?"
"It's nothing, she's probably just a little dehydrated from soaking for so long." The methods of cultivators couldn't be explained to Li Jing, so Gu Chen could only say, "But there's no major problem. I checked, and most of the Nine Yin Mystic Qi affecting her life has already disappeared from her body."
Li Jing looked down at Qianqian. Although Qianqian looked very weak, her blood and energy were completely different from her previous cold appearance. When she took Qianqian from Gu Chen's arms, she no longer felt the coldness she had felt before.
"Give Qianqian a bath first, then let her get some sleep. Don't send her to class tomorrow; ask for leave for her, and you should also ask for leave to take care of her," Gu Chen said in a deep voice. "I estimate she'll need to sleep for about a day."
"Okay," Li Jing said gratefully. "Gu Chen, you should go and rest too."
"Okay, I'll sit on the sofa for a while."
The healing process also greatly depleted Gu Chen's True Qi. After all, he was only at the Early Revolving Illumination Realm, and the True Qi stored in his dantian was not yet at a level where he could control it at will. This half-hour treatment felt like fighting a master for several hours, and his True Qi was almost completely depleted.
Following Gu Chen's instructions, Li Jing put Qianqian back in her room and waited until she was sound asleep before coming out. Seeing Gu Chen's tired face, she said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's alright." Seeing Li Jing about to peel fruit, Gu Chen quickly stopped her, saying, "I'll rest for a bit and then leave. It's getting late, and it'll be bad if I stay any longer. Sister Jing, don't bother."
"How can this be?" Li Jing said discontentedly, "You said yourself that you treat me like an older sister, so I'm not an outsider. What does it matter if it's late? You just finished treating Qianqian and you're leaving? Where do you expect me, the host, to put my face?"
Gu Chen could only force a wry smile and said, "Alright."
"Ouch!" Perhaps because she was still worried about Qianqian, Li Jing accidentally cut her finger with the fruit knife and exclaimed in surprise.
"Let me take a look."
Gu Chen grabbed Li Jing's hand, ignoring Li Jing embarrassment, and put her scraped and injured finger in his mouth, sucking on it. Then he took a tissue from the coffee table and covered the bleeding area.
"Do you have any bandages?" Gu Chen asked, not seeing Li Jing's reply for a while. He looked up and saw her staring blankly at him.
Only then did Gu Chen realize that his earlier panic had made his actions seem too frivolous and abrupt.
But he reacted quickly, saying, "Sister Jing, I didn't scare you, did I? I saw you were injured just now, so I..."
"I know." Li Jing's face was as red as a ripe apple. Although she tried her best to act nonchalant, her voice still sounded somewhat unnatural.
She quickly pulled her hand away from Gu Chen's and went to find a band-aid to apply.
Watching Li Jing busy herself, Gu Chen felt a sense of admiration. It was truly remarkable that Li Jing could manage her life so well while raising a daughter on her own.