34: Chapter 34 Father-in-law, don't worry, I'm simply transferring yang energy to her.

Inside Listening to Rain Pavilion, the curtains hung low.

The sound of wind and rain outside seemed to be blocked by that layer of isolation array; only two breathing sounds remained in the room—one hurried and flustered, the other steady and long.

Xu Chen sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze unceremoniously admiring the jade-like body before him, which had turned a faint pink from shame. Although Jiang Liuli was still wearing her last piece of inner clothing, this half-hidden haziness was more lethal than meeting in total nakedness.

"Miss Jiang, don't tremble."

Xu Chen reached out, his fingertips lightly brushing across her exquisite, butterfly-wing-like collarbones. Feeling the tremor of the skin beneath his fingers, a wicked smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"In a healer's eyes, there is no distinction between male and female. If you are this nervous, it will cause your meridians to constrict, and it will hurt quite a bit when I perform the needle treatment later."

Jiang Liuli kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to look at Xu Chen at all. Although she suffered from a terminal illness and lived in seclusion, it didn't mean she was stupid.

What 'no distinction between male and female in a healer's eyes'?

These were clearly the hands of an aggressive man!

"Young Master... Young Master Xu..."

Jiang Liuli's voice trembled, carrying a hint of a sob. "Do I... do I really have to strip completely?"

"Must it be like this?"

This was her final struggle, and her last bit of dignity.

Looking at her pitiful appearance, Xu Chen's sense of mischief was greatly satisfied, but at the same time, a strange surge of pity rose within him.

This woman was too fragile.

She was like a small white flower swaying in the cold wind; one couldn't help but want to hold her in their palms and protect her, or... ruthlessly ravage her.

"Liuli."

Xu Chen suddenly changed how he addressed her, his voice becoming gentle and deep.

"You must understand, the reason the Severed Meridian is called the Severed Meridian is that the Innate Qi within the body is completely dead."

"To activate it, one must break it down to rebuild it."

"Although clothing is thin, it is an obstacle to sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. I must use my Pure Yang Qi to pass into your body without any barriers to awaken your sleeping vitality."

While Xu Chen solemnly spouted nonsense, he slowly leaned down, getting close to her ear.

"Besides, since your father has already handed you over to me, you will be mine sooner or later."

"Since we are husband and wife, meeting with total honesty, what is there to be shy about?"

Jiang Liuli's delicate body shuddered.

Husband and wife...

These words were like a stone thrown into her long-dried heart-lake, stirring up ripples.

Although she had never thought of marrying, if it was to save her life, and if she married this man who didn't seem repulsive—and even made her heart flutter a little...

It seemed... not that hard to accept?

Just as Jiang Liuli's psychological defenses were on the verge of collapsing.

Outside the door, the anxious and suppressed voice of the Jiang Family head, Jiang Wudao, suddenly drifted in.

"Worthy... Worthy Nephew!"

Jiang Wudao paced back and forth outside. Although he couldn't see the situation inside through the array, he could sense that his daughter's aura fluctuations were very intense—both ashamed and nervous—which made this old father's heart twist with worry.

"That... Liuli's body is weak; she can't handle too much tossing and turning."

"You... you be gentle with her!"

"If there's anything you need during the treatment, just say the word; I'll go prepare it immediately!"

Hearing his father-in-law's worried voice outside, Xu Chen almost laughed out loud.

He glanced at Jiang Liuli, who was so ashamed she wished she could find a hole to crawl into, then straightened up, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly toward the door:

"Uncle Jiang... oh no, Father-in-law, please rest assured!"

That "Father-in-law" came out so naturally that it directly stunned Jiang Wudao outside and left Jiang Liuli on the bed dazed.

They hadn't even had the wedding ceremony yet; why was he already calling him Father-in-law?

Xu Chen continued to shout with an air of righteousness:

"Although I am young, I know my limits."

"Liuli's current physical condition is indeed not suitable for a 'treatment' that is too intense."

"So tonight, I am simply transmitting Yang Qi to her, helping her clear her meridians and nourish her Dantian."

"I definitely won't mess around!"

"You can put your heart at ease!"

Outside.

Hearing these words, although Jiang Wudao felt the phrase "simply transmitting Yang Qi" sounded a bit strange, he figured that since Xu Chen was the Young Master of the Imperial Clan after all, he shouldn't do anything beastly at such a critical moment of life and death.

Thus, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and barely managed to respond:

"Good... good! Then I'll have to trouble you, Worthy Nephew!"

"As long as you can save Liuli, you will be the great benefactor of my Jiang Family!"

"I'll stay here and guard you both. Within a ten-mile radius, not even a fly will be able to get in!"

After saying that, Jiang Wudao really did sit cross-legged in the courtyard of Listening to Rain Pavilion like a door god, releasing his Great Power-level divine sense to maintain a strict watch.

Inside the room.

Xu Chen turned his head, looked at Jiang Liuli, and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hear that?"

"Father-in-law has already agreed."

"And... he is very supportive of us."

Jiang Liuli was now so ashamed that even her neck had turned red.

What did he mean by "simply transmitting Yang Qi"?

Such words could only deceive that old father outside, whose concern had clouded his judgment.

"You... you rogue..."

Jiang Liuli bit her lip, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes; she looked truly pitiable.

"Rogue?"

Xu Chen gave a light laugh and reached out to untie the spiritual energy threads on her wrists.

"If I were truly a rogue, I would have already devoured you completely. Why would I bother talking to you so much?"

Having regained her freedom, Jiang Liuli did not run away, nor did she resist.

Because she knew that, just as Xu Chen said, she had no way back.

Moreover, as Xu Chen drew closer, she could clearly feel the Pure Yang aura emanating from him, which was like a magnet, deeply attracting the icy cold Qi within her body.

That was the thirst for life.

It was an instinctive attraction.

"Alright, I'm done teasing you."

Xu Chen put away his playful smile, and his expression became serious.

He took a golden needle from his system space; it was a divine object accompanying the [Ancient Medical Classic], named the "Creation Golden Needle."

"Liuli, the next process might be a bit hot, and a bit... strange."

"You have to endure it."

"Trust me, after tonight, you will gain a new life."

Xu Chen's voice seemed to carry a certain magic, causing Jiang Liuli's originally flustered heart to gradually settle down.

She looked into Xu Chen's deep and focused eyes and, as if possessed, nodded her head.

"Mm..."

"I... I trust you."

Having obtained the beauty's consent, Xu Chen no longer hesitated.

He reached out and slowly pulled open the ties of that last piece of inner clothing.

In that instant.

It was as if a beam of light had illuminated the dim Listening to Rain Pavilion.

Though thin due to illness, Jiang Liuli's figure possessed a breathtaking sense of beauty. It was a combination of extreme slenderness and softness; her skin was whiter than snow and crystal clear, as if carved from the finest mutton-fat white jade.

Especially that slender waist that could be held in one hand, along with those graceful curves trembling slightly from shyness, was enough to move the heart of any saint.

Xu Chen's breath hitched, and a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.

The system did not deceive me!

This 95-point sickly goddess is indeed the finest of the fine!

"Whew..."

Xu Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the heat in his heart, and began to circulate the Hongmeng Creation Technique.

The current Jiang Liuli was too weak, like an oil lamp about to go out. If he really just "forced himself on her," he was afraid that before he could even finish enjoying himself, this girl would have withered away.

He had to use gentle means first to help her hold onto her life and build a good foundation.

As for other things...

There would be plenty of time in the future.

"I'm going to begin."

Holding the golden needle, Xu Chen's gaze focused on the "Shanzhong Point" on her chest.

That was where the Qi Sea was located, and also the core where the Cold Poison congregated.

*Ssh!*

The golden needle descended with precise accuracy.

As the golden needle pierced in, the vast Pure Yang spiritual power within Xu Chen's body followed the end of the needle like a thin golden thread, slowly drilling into Jiang Liuli's body.

"Ngh!"

Jiang Liuli's delicate body gave a violent shudder, and she let out a suppressed low moan.

It hurt!

But it was also hot!

That feeling was like a spark falling into an ice cellar. Her originally dead and cold meridians actually sent waves of tingling pain under the impact of this heat flow.

But this was not painful torture; it was a... long-lost sensation.

"Don't be afraid, follow my spiritual power."

While Xu Chen applied the needle with one hand, his other hand was not idle.

His warm palm pressed against Jiang Liuli's lower abdomen, gently massaging it to help her dissolve that sudden surge of heat.

"Your Severed Meridian has been blocked for too long, just like a dried-up riverbed."

"I am now diverting water for irrigation."

"It might feel a bit bloated and sore, but that's normal."

Xu Chen's voice was incredibly gentle, and his hand movements were even softer.

Under his soothing, Jiang Liuli's originally tense body relaxed bit by bit.

She felt that large palm was like a branding iron; wherever it passed, the cold Qi retreated, replaced by a warm and comfortable sensation.

That warmth seeped from the skin into the blood, then flowed toward her limbs and bones.

"Hot..."

Jiang Liuli's eyes were glazed, and she murmured unconsciously.

An abnormal flush rose to her face, and fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead, wetting the hair at her temples and causing it to stick to her cheeks, adding a bit of disheveled, tragic beauty.

"It's right to feel hot."

Looking at her "ready to be plucked" appearance, Xu Chen's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He leaned down, his nose lightly brushing against her burning cheek, and whispered in her ear:

"This is the reaction of Yang Qi entering the body."

"Liuli, your body... likes me very much."

Jiang Liuli was so ashamed she wanted to cover her face, but she found her hands had no strength at all and could only hang limply at her sides.

She indeed felt it.

When the originally rampant Cold Poison within her body encountered Xu Chen's Yang Qi, it actually seemed to be cheering and jumping for joy, impatient to merge with it.

That thirst from the depths of her soul made her unable to resist wanting to get closer to this man, wanting to take more.

"Hus... Husband..."

Perhaps her head was muddled by that surge of Yang Qi, or perhaps it was a subconscious acknowledgment.

Jiang Liuli actually called out that title at this moment.

Her voice was soft and waxy, carrying a hint of pleading.

"I... feel uncomfortable..."

"I want..."

Xu Chen's eyes darkened.

This was simply a blatant temptation!

If it weren't for concerns about her body, he really wanted to establish the "rules" right now.

"Don't be in a hurry."

Xu Chen endured the impulse and took out several more golden needles, piercing them into her lower abdomen, the small of her back, and several major acupoints on her legs.

"Right now, you can't handle all of me yet."

"Let this surge of Yang Qi circulate through your body once first to help you reshape your foundation."

"Wait until tomorrow night..."

A wicked smile curled at the corner of Xu Chen's mouth, and his finger drew a circle on her flat lower abdomen.

"Then, I'll let you know what true 'transmitting Yang Qi' means."

As the last golden needle descended.

Jiang Liuli only felt an unprecedented warm current instantly sweep through her entire body.

That feeling was like a lonely boat that had drifted for a long time finally finding a harbor, like being drawn into a warm embrace in the middle of a freezing winter.

It was so comfortable she wanted to cry.

Her breathing gradually became steady, and her originally pale face gained a hint of color.

Those eyes that had been tightly shut slowly opened, and in her originally dull pupils, there was now a flicker of spirit.

That was the hope of life.

She looked at Xu Chen, who was close at hand, and at the fine beads of sweat on his forehead; an unspeakable feeling of touched emotion welled up in her heart.

He really is saving me.

And he is using his source power to save me.

"Thank you..."

Jiang Liuli reached out and somewhat tremblingly touched Xu Chen's face.

"Silly girl."

Xu Chen caught her hand and kissed her palm.

"I'm your man."

"Saving my own wife is only natural."

"Go to sleep."

Xu Chen gently patted her back, as if coaxing a frightened child.

"I'll stay here and watch over you tonight."

"Even if king yama comes, he'll have to beat it back."

Wrapped in the aura of security provided by Xu Chen, Jiang Liuli finally let go of all her defenses and fears.

She closed her eyes tiredly, a faint smile hanging at the corner of her mouth, and fell into a deep sleep.

This was the most peaceful and warmest sleep she had had in eighteen years.

As for Xu Chen, he sat cross-legged by the bed, looking at the sleeping beauty with a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

The first step of "nourishing" was complete.

Tomorrow would be the time for the real "ice-breaking."