11. Murdering one's wife (Part 8)

No wonder, no wonder, no wonder.

The four who had woken up went into the inner room together to check the situation, while Ran Qinghe lagged behind slowly, finally leaning casually against the doorway.

On the bed, Lou Tinglan, perhaps due to his overly strong self-healing ability, had his chest wound, which had been aggravated, stopped by spiritual energy. His reddened eyes looked past the four people in front of him and accurately locked onto Ran Qinghe at the door.

He breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought she was gone.

But then he frowned and thought. If she had left, he would have simply followed orders to capture her again. Why was he feeling relieved? Probably because if she had escaped, he would have had to go through the trouble of chasing her again. In short, he felt ashamed of the secret joy he felt in his heart.

Ran Qinghe gave him a cold glance, but only clenched the hand that he had just sucked, resisting the urge to slap the other half of his face as well.

But upon closer inspection, she noticed that the red mole on Lou Tinglan's forehead had inexplicably disappeared.

Xi Qi, who was standing to the side, had obviously noticed this as well. His face showed displeasure but also concern. He asked, "Fellow Daoist Lou, is your wound serious? How about I help you replenish your spiritual power? Although my spiritual power is weak, I can still do my best."

Lou Tinglan said, "No need." Since the other party's spiritual power was weak, how could he borrow his spiritual power?

Xi Qi said, "Fellow Daoist Lou, there's no need to be so polite. I see that you've lost all your spiritual power, and even the tribulation mark on your forehead seems to have disappeared as a result. Why don't you let me replenish some of your spiritual power?" His words appeared to be helping, but in reality, they were a test.

Lou Tinglan was horrified. He picked up the bronze mirror from the dressing table beside the bed. The person in the mirror was so pale that he was almost transparent, and the bright color that had once graced his forehead had clearly disappeared. He quickly and forcefully circulated his spiritual power, sensing the presence of the tribulation seal within his spiritual platform.

However, his body, which was on the verge of exhaustion, vomited another pool of blood because of this action.

He wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. Fortunately, the calamity mark was still there. It was probably because, as Xi Qi said, his spiritual power was exhausted, so it could not be displayed.

But suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his face turned ashen and he became extremely ugly.

Lingyu asked, puzzled, "What is this calamity seal? And what is that?"

Seeing Lou Tinglan's reaction, Xi Qi felt relieved and began to patiently explain, "It's the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal. Those who cultivate the Dao of Ruthlessness within the realm will plant this tribulation seal on their spiritual platform to eliminate external distractions. However, Fellow Daoist Lou's spiritual power is exhausted, so the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal on your forehead has no spiritual energy to support it and has temporarily disappeared."

“At this moment, cultivators are extremely prone to having distracting thoughts, and in severe cases, their Dao heart may be shattered, leading to cultivation deviation and demonic possession.”

"But Fellow Daoist Lou's Dao heart is firm, so he should be fine. As long as he recovers his spiritual energy later, the Tribulation Seal can be restored to normal."

“There are very few practitioners of the Path of Ruthlessness within this realm, so it is perfectly normal that you do not know about it.”

The male and female cultivators of the Xuan Shui Sect exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with gossip. It was no wonder they were speculating. Their sect leader also possessed this Dao Heart Tribulation Seal, so they had specifically researched it extensively before joining the sect.

There is another possibility that the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal disappears: that is, the mind is moved by desires and complex thoughts, which will temporarily cover the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal until the mind is clear and it can reappear.

Of course, if a couple engages in dual cultivation, the Dao Heart Tribulation Seal on the spiritual platform will completely disappear when Yin and Yang unite.

Now, the bedding on the bed is in disarray and in a mess, and the calamity seal of this fellow Daoist has coincidentally "temporarily" disappeared, which makes one wonder.

Ran Qinghe watched coldly. What did she think it was? His mind was impure, and he could only rely on this tribulation seal to suppress his distracting thoughts. No wonder his cultivation was slightly better than hers. If it weren't for this tribulation seal, his cultivation might have already stagnated. How could he compare to her?

Ran Qinghe's mood improved as she thought about it, and her tone became more cheerful: "Now that you're awake, get up quickly and go to the Discipline Hall to report." She also wanted to get away from the lifeless Discipline Hall and the extremely boring Tower of Babel prison as soon as possible.

Lou Tinglan avoided her gaze: "...Mm."

He slowly lifted the blankets, and a pile of longan shells and pits fell to the ground, causing everyone to look on in surprise.

Seeing that Lou Tinglan was also taken aback, she teased maliciously, "Fellow Daoist Lou, you're just shirking your duties and pretending to be sick so you can eat these mortal snacks? I seem to remember you saying before that Golden Core cultivators have already abstained from grains?"

"If you love to eat it, why hide and eat it secretly?"

Lou Tinglan wanted to refute, but in his blood-filled mouth, he actually tasted a hint of longan pulp and a touch of sweetness at the back of his tongue. He tried desperately to recall, but had no recollection whatsoever.

Therefore, he could only keep a straight face, but in the eyes of others, this reaction seemed to be a silent admission of guilt.

*

The group returned along the bamboo path, with Ran Qinghe still leading the way. Ling Yu would occasionally approach her to chat, but she remained indifferent, preferring to keep her distance from Qingxiao's people and affairs.

However, she was always perceptive. Behind her, there seemed to be two gazes, subtly and indistinctly following her. She knew without a doubt that one was Xi Qi. As for the other, she suddenly turned around and saw Lou Tinglan, looking sickly, walking slowly with her head down at the end of her line of sight.

Was it just her imagination? She turned her head, but her gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, lifted up again.

Lou Tinglan focused his gaze on her back again. What had she done? Why did his Dao Heart Tribulation Seal disappear for a short time?

He drew half of the sword from the ground and used the reflection to shine it on his forehead again. The red mole had disappeared, leaving his forehead empty, as was his heart...

He understood that the so-called depletion of spiritual energy was just an excuse. Since his chest was slowly healing, it meant that his spiritual energy was not completely exhausted. Besides that, another possibility was that he was moved by love. Just thinking about this possibility made his breathing quicken.

"Fellow Daoist Ran!" Yuan Yao stood not far ahead with an old man. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw them.

The bamboo at his feet had been cut into pieces and lay on the ground, with only one Xiangfei bamboo still standing in the center.

Seeing Lou Tinglan struggling to walk up behind her, Yuan Yao couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He hadn't expected to get lost again...

He led the healer around the deep valley for half a day, only remembering the one and only ochre-colored Xiangfei bamboo, and circled around it for a long time.

He hurriedly asked, "Fellow Daoist Lou, how are you feeling now? I have invited a medical practitioner from our sect. Why don't we rest and recuperate here for a while?"

Lou Tinglan said in a hoarse voice, "It's acceptable."

The physician said, "But Young Master Lou's complexion doesn't look quite right. Let me help you regulate your breathing on the spot."

The two Xuan Shui Sect disciples took their leave and returned to their sect. With the matter of the vengeful spirit in Tianhai Valley resolved, Xi Qi and Ling Yu had no reason to stay any longer. Before leaving, Xi Qi gave Ran Qinghe a deep look, while Ling Yu, taking advantage of Ran Qinghe's inattention, forcibly stuffed her spirit leaf into her bosom.

In the empty valley and bamboo grove, only Ran Qinghe, Lou Tinglan, Yuan Yao, and the physician remained.

Ran Qinghe stood aside with her arms crossed, observing coldly, while Yuan Yao approached with great curiosity to watch the physician take her pulse. This old man was not a cultivator from their Xuan Shui Sect, but came from the Bai Xu Sect in the extremely cold north. The Bai Xu Sect was famous for its medical skills, and its sect leader was quite benevolent. To assist other sects, he would regularly send his own physicians to treat their disciples.

The old man frowned, shook his head, and began to hiss. Yuan Yao watched from the side, her heart pounding with anxiety.

He prayed silently that nothing went wrong, otherwise the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall would be injured so badly within the territory of his Xuan Shui Sect, which might affect the harmony between the two factions.

The old man retrieved the spiritual thread he used to probe the pulse, stroked his beard, and said, "Young Master Lou's heart meridian is severely damaged, and in addition, there is residual resentment from vengeful spirits at the wound site, so his spiritual power is exhausted and he cannot heal on his own."

Yuan Yao's heart leaped into her throat. "Fortunately, someone came to our aid in time, restoring Young Master Lou's spirit and drawing away the remaining resentment. So, Young Master Lou's heart meridian is slowly recovering. With the help of medicine, I believe he will be fully healed soon."

Yuan Yao was overjoyed. After thanking him, Lou Tinglan asked in surprise, "Someone has restored my spirit?"

Replenishing spirit energy is an extremely energy-consuming practice. If the spiritual energies of the two parties are incompatible, the person replenishing the spirit energy needs to expend a full ten percent of their spiritual energy to barely replenish one ten percent of the other party's energy.

Not to mention, this person not only continued the spirit's life but also attracted resentment.

Yuan Yao looked at Ran Qinghe standing to the side and said with great joy, "Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Ran." Although Fellow Daoist Ran always liked to make jokes, he was still willing to lend a helping hand at crucial moments. Now, he no longer had to worry about being held accountable by the Discipline Hall.

Ran Qinghe said coldly, "What does it have to do with me?" Did she seem like such a kind person? To repay evil with good? She glanced at Lou Tinglan indifferently.

But the old doctor said strangely, "That's not right. I see that the residual spiritual power on Young Master Lou is indeed from the same source as this Fellow Daoist Ran. Although I have cultivated for many years and have not reached a very high level, I can still distinguish the spiritual power on different cultivators."

The doctor spoke with such certainty that Ran Qinghe's face darkened, but her thoughts flashed back to the wedding bed in the bamboo hut.

She was born with a spiritual body; to put it bluntly, even the strands of her hair were imbued with spiritual energy. No wonder Lou Tinglan bit her finger and wouldn't let go; he was absorbing her spiritual energy.

This person is really... shameless.

She examined her dantian again and, sure enough, found a trace of residual resentment mixed in. So, this person had not only absorbed her spiritual energy but also transferred their resentment to her. She extracted and dispersed the resentment from her dantian, her face turning extremely pale.

Her change in expression, in Lou Tinglan's eyes, meant that she had already admitted it. He concealed the undercurrent in the depths of his eyes, carefully following the clues to get to the bottom of things, recalling the things that had happened between the two of them before.

No wonder, when they were tied together in the bamboo hut, she joked with him about being willing to give herself to him, never imagining that it was a joke hiding her true feelings.

No wonder, even though he followed the rules of the temple and chose to stand by and let her get hurt, she still continued his spirit and drew away his resentment.

No wonder he left a pile of longan shells on the ground when he got up. He remembered that she was the only one in the bamboo hut who loved to eat longan, so it was she who stayed by his side when he was injured.

His heart was in turmoil. He had no idea when she had developed feelings for him and that she would go to such lengths for him.