Chapter 57: The candlelight reflects the snow, eavesdropping is shocking
When the Medicine Demon was secretly summoned once again to the inner chamber of Lotus Tower, where a faint medicinal fragrance and warmth lingered, he already had a vague sense of foreboding. The room was silent, save for the faint whimpering of the cold wind across the withered branches outside the window. Li Lianhua, wrapped in a thick snow fox fur coat, reclined on the soft couch by the window. Her face was a nearly transparent paleness, her lips pale. Only her eyes, now bright and clear, gazed calmly, with the indifference of someone who had seen through the world.
"Master." Yao Mo bowed and his voice sounded more cautious than usual.
"Please, sir, take my pulse again." Li Lianhua stretched out her thin wrist and placed it on the pulse pillow. Her voice was gentle, but it revealed a trace of imperceptible fatigue.
The Medicine Demon held his breath, concentrating, and placed three fingers on the slightly cool wrist pulse. As time slipped by, his brow furrowed ever deeper, a fine layer of sweat dripping from his forehead, and his fingertips even trembled imperceptibly. This pulse... was even more ominous than the last time he examined it! A deep-seated illness, like a stubborn rock, lodged deep within him. His meridians were withered like cracks in a dry field. His internal energy was empty, and the once vast Yangzhou slow internal energy was completely gone. Only a faint ray of hope remained, like a candle in the wind, flickering unsteadily, as if it would be extinguished completely in the next moment...
He abruptly withdrew his hand, fell to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling with despair and sadness: "Master! You... your body... has been depleted for too long, your essence is exhausted, your meridians are damaged... your internal strength... is beyond recovery... I'm... I'm... I'm..."
The following words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't bear to say them anymore.
Li Lianhua's expression remained unchanged. She slowly withdrew her hand, tucking it into her sleeve. She cast her gaze towards the gray sky outside the window. After a moment of silence, she spoke softly, her voice so calm it made one's heart ache: "...How much time do we have left?"
The Medicine Demon bowed his head to the ground, tears streaming down his face. "If...if I take good care of it, using all the rare treasures in the world...perhaps I can...sustain through the cold winter...but when spring arrives next year...I'm afraid...my energy will run out..."
The room fell into deathly silence.
After a long moment, Li Lianhua sighed softly, as soft as a falling snowflake. "That's enough. It's good to be able to get through this winter and see the snow."
He looked at the Medicine Demon who was kneeling on the ground, with a hint of pleading in his eyes: "There is no need to tell Your Majesty about this."
The Medicine Demon suddenly raised his head: "Master! No! Your Majesty..."
"Telling him won't help, it'll only add to his worries." Li Lianhua interrupted him, a faint, tired smile on her lips. "He's impatient... If he knew, I'm afraid he'd turn the whole martial arts world upside down in search of a way to prolong his life... Why bother? Let me live out these last days in peace and quiet."
The Medicine Demon burst into tears and could only kowtow heavily.
… …
He didn't notice that behind the mica screen separating the inner and outer rooms, a tall figure stood frozen in place as if frozen, with his five fingers digging deep into his palms. Blood dripped silently through his fingers, leaving dark red marks on the expensive carpet.
Di Feisheng originally came to deliver the newly acquired warm jade hand warmer, but he was caught off guard and heard every word of the whispers in the room.
“…the oil is running out…”
“…next year, when spring comes and flowers bloom…”
“…No need to tell Your Majesty…”
"...spend your last days in peace and quiet..."
Every word was like a poisoned ice pick, piercing his heart and stirring it repeatedly! It brought a suffocating pain and devastating panic!
He almost wanted to rush in immediately, grab the man and question him! Crushing him in his arms! Using any means to keep him!
But in the end, he clenched his teeth tightly, the taste of rust spreading in his mouth, and forced himself to retreat quietly, turn around, and disappear into the depths of the corridor like a ghost.
His face was terribly gloomy, and the chill emanating from his body was more biting than the north wind outside the window, but his eyes were filled with a terrifying scarlet and an almost crazy paranoia.
Don't tell him?
Just spend it quietly?
Running out of fuel?
Don’t even think about it!
He would never allow it!
From that day on, Di Feisheng seemed like a different person. He continued to accompany Li Lianhua every day, feeding her medicine and meals, embracing her for naps, warming her hands... Everything was normal, even more gentle and patient, as if the conversation behind the screen that day had never happened.
But deep within his eyes, a frightening fire clung. Under the pretext of handling alliance affairs, he locked himself in his study for longer and longer periods of time. His desk was no longer piled with ordinary files, but with countless difficult, ancient, and even ominous Nanyin mystical tomes, cult medical texts, and bizarre legends concerning various forbidden life-extending techniques.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he often stayed awake all night, his fingertips turning the yellowed and fragile pages, his eyes as sharp as a hawk, not missing a single possible clue. He mobilized all the power he could, even making deals with certain hidden, ancient families, both good and evil, in exchange for taboo knowledge.
Countless late nights, Li Lianhua slept peacefully in the next room, her breathing shallow but weak. Di Feisheng sat beneath the lamp, reading the inscriptions of various evil spells that involved exchanging lives for lives, defying fate, and even requiring blood sacrifices. His face flickered in the flickering candlelight, his eyes struggling and painful, but he never once thought of giving up.
Finally, at the end of an ancient leather scroll written in some dark brown, almost black pigment and with severely damaged edges, he saw a record hidden by an encrypted spell!
About Nan Yin’s most precious treasure – the Rama Cauldron.
Rumor has it that this cauldron isn't simply for killing and ruling. Its most crucial secret, deliberately obliterated by successive guardians, is this: once completed, using secret techniques, it can draw upon the fundamental power of heaven and earth, possessing miraculous powers like "reviving the dead, turning bones into flesh, and bringing spring back to dead trees"! It can even reshape meridians and re-gather internal energy!
"A dead tree comes back to life with spring!"
These four words, like thunder, exploded in Di Feisheng's mind which was almost swallowed by despair!
He stood up suddenly, his heart pounding, his blood rushing. A huge, unbelievable ecstasy instantly swept away the fatigue and gloom of the past few days! A terrifying gleam burst out of his eyes!
Found it!
He finally found it!
Regardless of whether this record is true or false, no matter what the price is, no matter what kind of bloody storm it will cause... this is the only light in the darkness!
He clenched the scroll tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise up, but the smile was filled with a kind of desperate madness and a fierce determination to win.
Lotus...you are saved.
This time, even if he has to defy fate and fall into hell, he will never let go.
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