Journey to the Imperial Capital (Eighteen): Xiao's Kidney Crisis (Middle)

Unaware that a major operation involving him was quietly brewing between his bedmate and his sleeping partner, Xiao Ling was fast asleep.

"... Stop squeezing me, Sister Fox, I can't take it anymore..."

Oh well, it seems this poor child is being brutally exploited by Heartfox in his sleep again.

Inside the kitchen.

Yangyang was humming "Hear the Wind Sing" as she personally cooked a nourishing soup for Xiao Ling at the stove. Turtle, bullfrog, free-range chicken, and ginseng were all carefully combined in the pot, and the delicious aroma of the meat soup quickly attracted a certain little glutton.

What are they cooking?

Suddenly, a familiar girl's voice came from the kitchen. Yangyang turned her head to look at the source of the voice. A Honey Peach was standing next to her, looking at the pot of nourishing soup on the stove, and occasionally smacking its lips.

After thinking for a moment, Yangyang ladled a bowl of thick soup from the pot, picked up a piece of cooked chicken leg as a side dish, and then handed it to Dania's mouth.

"For me?" Dania's eyes lit up, seemingly flattered.

"Hmm, you seem quite envious." Yangyang smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I was just thinking of finding someone to try it out for me."

Everyone had witnessed Yangyang's culinary skills, so Dania didn't need to worry about being used as a guinea pig to test for poison. After thanking her, she picked up the broth and took a sip.

"This is so delicious! And it makes me feel all warm and cozy after drinking it!" Dania nodded repeatedly in approval of the soup. "By the way Yangyang, why did you suddenly start making soup?"

"Because I feel that Xiao Yu's health hasn't been very good lately," Yangyang said softly, her voice filled with undisguised worry. "He not only looks pale, but he's also very sleepy, like he's weak, so I thought I'd make some nourishing soup for Xiao Yu to help him recover."

After listening to Yangyang's explanation, Dania stared at the bowl of hot soup in her hand, lost in thought.

"Um... I'd also like to make some nourishing meals for Ling, could you teach me?"

"Sure," Yangyang smiled gently. "But I remember you don't have any cooking experience, Xiao Ya. So, I'll go over the important points with you and then start teaching you from the simplest dishes, shall we?"

"Just as you suspected, my lord and I have indeed formed an unspeakable intimate relationship," Cantarella replied with a smile to Roccia, who had come to question her.

Roccia quite surprised by Cantarella's frankness; she had thought she might have to use some tricks to pry the secret out of her.

I thought you'd at least offer some excuses.

"What's the point?" Cantarella denied. "Since it's already been discovered, we might as well tell the truth. Weak excuses will only create a rift between us."

"A good consideration." Roccia with Cantarella's statement.

"Let's get back to the point. I don't think Miss Roccia came all this way just to gossip about this, did she?" Cantarella gestured for Roccia get straight to the point.

"You must have seen Xiao Ling's recent health condition, right?" Roccia asked in a calm tone.

"I am well aware of my lord's physical condition," Cantarella nodded, "And I have already begun to address this issue."

"Could it be... that Miss Roccia believes I'm somehow involved in this?"

"That's right."

"That's a huge misunderstanding," Cantarella shook her head in denial. "Given my lord's current physical condition, he can easily handle the combined attacks of all of you. How could he become so weak just because of one more person like me?"

"Moreover, in my observation, my lord's fatigue is not merely physical, but rather a manifestation of mental exhaustion in his physical state."

"The physical manifestations of mental fatigue..." Roccia mused, "Where to begin?"

"As the head of the Fell Family, I have also treated many patients suffering from insomnia and nightmares. When they sought my help, they were in the same state as my lord is now, as if their life force had been drained."

"But that little rascal has always slept well, so what could be causing his mental fatigue..." Roccia pondered.

"Perhaps, among us, there is a Resonator who can manipulate dreams?" Cantarella said meaningfully.

"Little Ai, did you get the answer?" As soon as Aemeath came out of Xiao Ling's room, Chisa and Sigrika came up to her and asked.

"A-Yu was half-asleep, so I couldn't get anything out of him," Little Ai, shaking her head from side to side. "But I did hear him muttering something about 'fox sister' while he was sleeping..."

"Wait? A fox...?"

Suddenly, Aemeath thought of something and pulled the two of them to move to a different location.

"Little Ai? You have a lead?" Seeing her eager expression, Chisa immediately understood.

"Yes!" Aemeath exclaimed with a beaming smile, "Speaking of foxes, she's probably the only one who comes to mind, isn't she?"

In the backyard of the courtyard house, in Qingxiao's room.

"So, you think my poor condition is because of this little fox?" Qingxiao asked Aemeath and the other two after lifting the struggling Heartfox onto the table.

The fox involved had absolutely no awareness of being a criminal suspect; it simply kept licking its paws with its pink tongue, pretending to be harmless.

"After all, when A-Yu is asleep, he keeps calling her 'Sister Fox,' and we only have this one fox in our family," Aemeath said matter-of-factly.

"The speculation is reasonable, but the logic is flawed." Qingxiao shook her head calmly, disagreeing with the conclusion. "You lack crucial evidence."

"What kind of key evidence?" Chisa asked seriously.

"It's very simple. For example, does the fox sister that my disciple mentioned have the same or extremely similar characteristics as this fox? Appearance, smell, color, etc., are all acceptable," Qingxiao explained calmly.

"I have absolutely no clue..." Sigrika shook her head repeatedly, the clue she had finally found was about to disappear again...

"No need to rush. I know you are all concerned about my disciple's health. If things really get out of control, I will take action." Qingxiao gave a reassuring smile. "After all, he is my disciple, and I will not stand by and watch him grow increasingly haggard."

"As for the time being, everyone should intensify their search for clues and find that shady character hiding in the shadows as soon as possible."

"Yes, we'll do our best. Thank you, Sister Qingxiao. I'm so sorry to have disturbed your meditation!" After asking her question Aemeath didn't forget to apologize for her abrupt interruption.

"It's alright, I wish you all the best."

After seeing Aemeath and her group off, Qingxiao rolled her eyes at Heartfox sitting on the table, and after a long while said, "I told you long ago, you would be found out sooner or later for doing this kind of thing, Xin."

"I had no other choice. Even I didn't expect that the charioteer's yang energy could actually break through the restrictions within my body."

Golden light flowed across Heartfox's body, and with a blinding flash of light, she transformed into a tall, curvaceous, long-legged mature woman with fox ears and a fox tail.

She leaned on the table, drawing circles on it with her slender fingers, and said casually, "But I didn't know this would have such a big impact on the Charioteer. Well, let's just consider it a small punishment for him. After all, he was so rude to me back then."

(She's quite vengeful.)

Qingxiao stared at the Sentinel Dreamland for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

"Fine, when the truth comes out, I won't speak up for you."

"It's alright, I'll explain everything to those girls then," Xin said with a charming smile. "And while I'm at it, I'll also tell them how I felt back then."