Chapter 28 Detoxification (3)

Extreme fatigue is like the softest tide, rising layer by layer, gently dragging the consciousness into the quiet deep sea.

Li Lianhua collapsed in Di Feisheng's arms, his fingertips languid with a limp, unable to move. His breaths were long and steady, carrying a softness of complete relaxation he hadn't felt in a long time. His meridians flowed freely, his internal energy flowing like a warm ocean, nourishing every once-depleted and cracked corner. The chill and stinging pain that had gnawed at his bones, day and night, vanished without a trace, as if a long, brutal nightmare had finally come to an end.

The body was incredibly light, like a lotus petal that had finally broken free from the mud and was able to float on the warm water, rising and falling only slightly with the other person's breathing and heartbeat.

Di Feisheng's arms still held him tightly, but the force was no longer a harsh restraint, but a deep, almost ingrained protection. His palm rested on Li Lianhua's smooth back, and his warm internal energy flowed like a trickle, continuously and patiently soothing the last traces of fatigue and discomfort.

The spring water was warm and the mist was thick, enveloping the two figures pressed tightly together in a hazy tranquility.

After a long moment, Li Lianhua's eyelashes twitched ever so slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry at first, then gradually focused on Di Feisheng's clavicle, which lay just a few feet away. A shallow old scar there now appeared incredibly clear. He moved his fingers slightly, as if they didn't belong to him. Extremely slowly, he raised his hand, which felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, and groped, finally gently touching Di Feisheng's heart.

Beneath the palm, the heart beats steadily and powerfully, transmitting a reassuring vitality through the warm and moist fabric.

His touch was light, but it made Di Feisheng's entire body tremble slightly. The arms around him tightened, as if wanting to completely embrace him.

"Li Lianhua." Di Feisheng's voice was extremely low and hoarse, and every word seemed to be ground out from the deepest part of his chest, with a roughness of relief and an almost unbelievable cautiousness.

Li Lianhua didn't answer immediately. He simply felt it. He felt an unprecedented sense of ease and fullness within him, and the feeling that the green tea poison that had plagued him for ten years, that had almost transformed him into a different person, had truly dissipated completely. A huge, indescribable emotion suddenly rushed to his eyes, a sharp pain.

He took a deep breath, and the air no longer had the faint smell of blood and bitterness of the past, only the steam from the hot spring and the cool yet warm breath of the people around him.

He raised his head very slowly and met Di Feisheng's gaze.

Those eyes, which were always sharp and cold like stars, were now as deep as the bottomless night sky, with too many complex and indistinguishable emotions surging in them - there was the lingering scarlet desire, the aftermath of forced restraint, and bottomless fatigue, but more of it was an almost heavy, lost and regained concentration, and a deep-seated tenderness that he himself had not even noticed.

Drops of water dripped from the ends of Di Feisheng's hair, which were soaked by the sound of the flute, and landed on Li Lianhua's face. It was slightly cool, but it didn't cause any chill at all.

Li Lianhua looked at him for a long, long time. Then, very slowly and with some effort, he raised his other hand and gently touched the corner of Di Feisheng's tightly pursed, slightly pale lips with his fingertips.

A subtle smile, filled with endless fatigue yet extremely clear, finally spread slowly across his pale but revitalized face like spring water breaking through the ice.

"The sound of the flute..." His voice was as soft as a dream, but every word was clear, "...It's done."

It was all right. The poison was gone. Even the love poison was removed. Life was saved. The sword that had hung over my head for ten years, ready to fall at any moment, was gone.

Di Feisheng's Adam's apple rolled violently. He suddenly closed his eyes, then opened them again. The last taut string in his eyes seemed to finally snap, leaving only bottomless fatigue and a kind of relaxation that was almost exhausted. He lowered his head and gently rested his forehead against Li Lianhua's. Their moist breaths mingled, warm and moist.

"Yeah." He responded, his voice hoarse but with an unprecedented sense of stability, "Okay."

The Wangchuan Flower entered Li Lianhua's body through his internal force and carried his essence.

All the thrills, all the torment and struggle, all the strength and surrender, are all melted in this warm spring water and silent embrace.

Exhausted, but connected.

The poison of the green tea has been eliminated, but something deeper has already been silently planted and quietly taken root and sprouted in these repeated encounters of life and death, skin-to-skin contact, and internal force fusion.

The spring water still gently surrounds them, washing away the dust and pain, leaving only their embracing reflections, swaying gently in the waves, lingering together.

Although the poison in the green tea root had been removed, the Medicine King twisted his beard and said to Li Lianhua with a serious face, "Although the remaining poison in the sect leader's body has been cleared, the meridians have just begun to heal, like a long-drought land finally receiving a downpour. They need to be nourished and consolidated day and night with special methods, otherwise there is a risk of repeated atrophy."

Li Lianhua leaned on the couch. Although her face was still a little pale, her brows had regained their former clarity. Upon hearing this, she frowned slightly. "Special method? Please let Medicine King know."

The Medicine King coughed lightly, his eyes half-asked as he glanced at Di Feisheng, who stood expressionless with his arms folded beside him. Then, he lowered his voice and said, "You need to use the purest and most yang internal energy, through... uh... skin-to-skin contact and the blending of qi, to slowly transfer it into your meridians. It's best... it's best to practice every night for 49 consecutive days without interruption."

Li Lianhua: "..."

The corner of his eye twitched, feeling that something was amiss with the words, especially the phrase "skin to skin, breath to breath," which instantly brought back those blushing, exhausting moments in the hot spring valley. He subconsciously glanced at Di Feisheng.

Alliance Leader Di remained calm, not even a frown twitching. He simply spoke in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Since it's the Medicine King's order, we'll do as he orders."

Thus, this "night healing" became a routine.

In the first few days, Li Lianhua was still skeptical. Every time the sound of the flute came over her, she couldn't help but push it away twice, and asked with an unsteady breath, "...Is it really... necessary?"

Di Feisheng's answers were always crisp and clear, and his actions were unambiguous: "Detoxification." His words were concise and to the point, and he then blocked all his unfinished words with a deeper "fusion".

The internal energy was truly flowing in, and the warm current was indeed beneficial to his newly healed meridians. But…but this process was truly too…too grueling. Di Feisheng seemed tireless, "probing" him thoroughly every night, inside and out, turning him over and over, euphemistically claiming to "ensure the medicinal power reaches every tiny meridian." It left his eyes red and his voice hoarse, until he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger, and could only drift off into sleep in her sweat-soaked embrace.

With such revelry every night... no, it was "detoxification" every night. Although Li Lianhua felt physically and mentally exhausted, his meridians and qi sea were indeed becoming fuller and smoother day by day, and his complexion was becoming more rosy. He gradually suppressed his doubts and just thought that this detoxification method was indeed special.

Until one afternoon, he accidentally heard the child of the Medicine King's apprentice muttering: "Master said that the leader is really something. The remaining poison has been cleared long ago, but he still insisted on asking such questions, forcing Master to make up lies..."

Li Lianhua paused, and the faint smile on her face slowly froze.

That night, Di Feisheng walked into the room as usual, but saw Li Lianhua sitting at the table in neat clothes, pouring two cups of tea slowly and leisurely.

"You're here?" Li Lianhua raised her eyes, her smile a little too gentle. "How does Alliance Leader Di plan to 'detoxify' me today?"

Di Feisheng paused slightly, sensing something strange, but still walked closer without changing his expression: "Old rules."

"Oh? The old rules?" Li Lianhua pushed a cup of tea in front of him and said softly, "I wonder if it was the old rules set by the Medicine King, or by you, Alliance Leader Flute... yourself?"

Di Feisheng's eyes flashed, he took the teacup without saying a word.

Li Lianhua looked at him, the smile on her face gradually fading. She put down her teacup and stood up. "Di Feisheng, do you know the price of deceiving me?"

Di Feisheng finally spoke: "It will be beneficial to your health and will not cause any harm."

"So it's true?" Li Lianhua laughed in anger. "What about the residual poison not being cleared, and the day and night nourishment? You asked the Medicine King to make that up to trick me?"

"Yes." Di Feisheng admitted it straightforwardly.

Li Lianhua was silent for a moment, then nodded, her voice unrecognizable as to whether she was happy or angry: "Okay, very good."

He turned and walked towards the inner room, saying calmly, "There's no need for 'detoxification' tonight. Alliance Leader Di, please return. You don't need to come again in the future."

After saying that, he actually didn't even look at Di Feisheng again and turned off the lights.

Di Feisheng stood there, looking at the tightly closed door, his brows finally slowly furrowed.

For the next three days, Li Lianhua's door was never opened again for Di Feisheng. Whether Di Feisheng came early in the morning, in the afternoon, or late at night, he was met with silence or the servant's cautious words, "Master Li said he needs to rest. Please ask the leader to return."

Li Lianhua wasn't really angry, she just felt a bit ashamed - she actually believed that nonsense, was coaxed into partying every night, and foolishly thought it was healing! This tone had to be smoothed over no matter what.

On the morning of the fourth day, Di Feisheng finally stopped standing there. He pushed open the door that was not actually locked.

Li Lianhua was sitting by the window reading a book and didn't even raise her head when she heard the voice.

Di Feisheng walked up to him, was silent for a moment, and then said, "It's my fault."

Li Lianhua turned a page of the book without responding.

"What do you want?" Di Feisheng asked.

Li Lianhua then slowly raised her eyes, looked at him for a moment, and suddenly smiled softly. She handed the medical book to Di Feisheng and pointed at a line. "Oh? I saw in this book that excessive indulgence in sexual activity can also harm the body. Alliance Leader Di, for the sake of my health, I think it would be better if we just put this 'detoxification' thing aside."

Di Feisheng glanced at the book, then looked at the rare cunning and provocative light in Li Lianhua's eyes. He suddenly reached out, picked her up from the chair, and locked her tightly in his arms.

"Give it up?" He whispered in his ear, his breath hot. "Don't even think about it."

"You...!" Li Lianhua was caught off guard and the book fell to the ground.

"What the Medicine King said is false," Di Feisheng lowered his head and kissed the tip of his red ear. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, and an unshakable strength. "But what I want from you is true."

Li Lianhua stopped struggling and her ears turned completely red.

It seems that the road to "detoxification" is still long.