The servants brought hot water and clean cloths.

Ye Qingling quickly wrung out the hot towel.

They carefully wiped away the blood from Yan Ning's mouth and chin.

Sun Wuji gently pried open Yan Ning's tightly clenched hand.

My palms were ice-cold and covered in sweat.

Yan Ning lay on the soft couch.

His breathing was weak but relatively steady.

Long eyelashes covered her eyelids, and her brows were slightly furrowed.

It felt like I was still battling that fox demon in a dream.

Her face remained deathly pale.

But that deathly aura seemed to have faded a little.

"The doctor is here! The doctor is here!"

A servant dragged a panting old man in.

Without saying a word, the old man quickly took Yan Ning's pulse.

His brows furrowed and relaxed at times.

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh of relief and wiped away his sweat.

"Thank goodness! Although the young lady's pulse is weak, she shows no signs of poisoning or disorder."

"This...this is a severe depletion of vital energy and excessive exhaustion of mental energy! Exhausted to this extent, even spitting out blood is something my body can't hold on to."

"He needs rest and plenty of nourishment! He absolutely cannot overexert himself!"

Hearing the doctor's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The servants immediately sent Yan Ning back to her room to rest.

---

Yan Ning's head was spinning.

It felt like falling into a thick fog.

In a hazy dream, she had a dream.

I dreamt of Qingshan Temple.

I dreamt of my master.

Master was still the same as always, sitting on that familiar stone bench, slowly sipping his tea.

He saw Yan Ning and said with a smile:

"Xiao Ning, thanks to you, my grave was bustling with activity right after the last press conference. The offerings were piled up like a small mountain! We couldn't possibly eat them all."

He clicked his tongue and said, "A bunch of young people come over and bring all sorts of colorful snacks. You know, I don't like that kind of thing."

"Tell those kind people that they appreciate the sentiment, but they shouldn't send any gifts. Leaving them for too long will attract ants."

Yan Ning stepped forward and sat down next to her master.

The stone bench was cold.

She lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "Master, I'm so tired."

"Now every day... there are endless ghosts to fight, countless evil spirits to catch, and countless crime scenes to run around in. My bones are about to fall apart."

Her voice was filled with exhaustion and grievance, "I really miss the days when I was in the temple, learning to draw talismans and chant scriptures with you. How peaceful and carefree those days were."

Master patted her on the back with a smile, just like when she was a child.

"Silly girl."

His eyes held a compassionate gaze that seemed to see through everything. “You are the eldest disciple of our Qingshan Temple! It’s only right that you bear a heavy burden and work hard.”

"Now, even if Master wanted to help you, he couldn't do anything about it."

Yan Ning remained silent for a moment.

My cheeks seem a little hot.

She hesitated, her voice even lower, almost a mosquito's hum: "Master... there's something else."

She paused, then mustered her courage, "What does it feel like to like...like someone?"

"oh?"

The master was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, his beard trembling.

"Hahaha! Our little blockhead has finally come to his senses? Asking about this now?"

He smiled, his eyes crinkling, as he stroked his beard.

"I like it..."

Master's voice softened, "It's just... I always think about that person, I think he's good in every way, and he's pleasing to the eye no matter how I look at him."

"When he's not around, you'll miss him; when he's hurt, you'll feel sorry for him; when you see him smile, your heart will feel lighter."

"This is what love is, one of the most beautiful things in the world."

He looked at Yan Ning earnestly: "Girl, if you really meet someone like that, you'd better hurry up and not miss the chance."

"Once fate slips away, it's hard to get it back."

Yan Ning nodded vigorously.

Her mind was a jumble of emotions, yet also filled with a sweet sense of relief and clarity.

"Yes, Master, I understand."

The master stood up and gently waved his old palm-leaf fan.

Okay, okay.

His figure began to become somewhat transparent. "It's getting late, girl. There are still people outside who are thinking about you."

"Master! I..."

Yan Ning wanted to reach out and grab that blurry shadow.

I still have a lot to say.

But the master's shadow vanished like smoke in an instant.

"call…"

Yan Ning took a deep breath.

My eyelids twitched heavily a few times.

The glaring light made her instinctively want to close her eyes.

The blurry vision gradually cleared.

A face was right in front of me.

It was Xie Huaiye.

His face was very pale, and his lips were almost bloodless.

His eyes were dark and bluish-black. He had clearly been working long hours.

But those deep eyes were fixed on her at that moment.

It was filled with an overwhelming sense of worry and tension.

There was also a hint of ecstatic joy at having something lost and then regained.

"Yan Ning?"

His voice was terribly hoarse, with a barely perceptible tremor.

A warm breath brushed against her forehead.

Yan Ning was still a little confused.

I had just pulled myself out of that dream when this handsome face appeared before me, way too close.

It made her heart skip a beat.

"Thank... Thank you, Huaiye?" Her throat was dry and her voice was weak.

"Yes, it's me."

Xie Huaiye's taut jawline seemed to have loosened a little.

He carefully reached out his hand, wanting to touch her forehead to check her temperature.

Fearing to be abrupt, he paused his finger in mid-air.

In the end, he simply used his fingertips to gently brush away the stray hairs on her forehead that were stuck together with cold sweat.

The touch on my fingertips was slightly cool.

But it sent a slight shiver down Yan Ning's spine.

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