90: A strange cold illness

Inside Feiyan Pavilion, the atmosphere was somewhat quiet.

The middle-aged man, Ding Zhen, was sitting on a chair, feeling restless and uneasy, glancing from time to time at the well-behaved, quiet little girl beside him.

As for the little girl named Ding Xiaoxue, she blinked her large eyes, curiously observing the lazy, mountain-like black Dragon coiled behind the counter.

She did not seem afraid.

In order to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere and to pass the long waiting time, Mysterious Ink's magnetic voice slowly resonated.

"You two are quite strange."

Hearing this, Ding Zhen was stunned for a moment. He quickly stood up and asked respectfully, "Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by that?"

Mysterious Ink's dragon pupils swept back and forth over the two of them.

"Looking at your bone age, you are at least sixty or seventy years old. Yet this little girl is only seven or eight."

"With such a vast age gap, you look more like father and daughter."

"Why do you address each other as siblings?"

Upon hearing this, a trace of bitter reminiscence appeared on Ding Zhen's honest face.

He gently patted Ding Xiaoxue's head and explained softly, "Fellow Daoist, you may not know, but Xiaoxue is not my biological sister."

"Oh?" A flash of understanding crossed Mysterious Ink's eyes.

"That was five years ago," Ding Zhen said slowly. "I was only in the Qi Refining Realm at the time. Once, I went to the outskirts of the Tianyun Mountain Range to hunt Yao Beasts in exchange for Spirit Stones."

"It was then that I discovered Xiaoxue, still an infant, in a hidden cave."

"At that time, she had no family beside her, only a jade pendant that was still warm. Fearing she would be snatched away by Yao Beasts and unable to bear it, I brought her back to Three Seas City and have raised her ever since."

So that was it. Mysterious Ink nodded in realization.

A foundling, huh... This path feels somewhat familiar.

His majestic dragon pupils fell upon Ding Xiaoxue once again.

On the surface, apart from her pale complexion and frail build, this little girl didn't seem to have any major illness. She looked more like she was suffering from malnutrition.

"Tell me about her condition," Mysterious Ink asked. "What exactly are the symptoms of the serious illness you spoke of?"

Mentioning this, Ding Zhen's expression instantly turned heavy. He let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with endless heartache and helplessness.

"Sigh! It started when Xiaoxue was three years old."

"On the night of the full moon every month, an extremely chilling energy would erupt from within her body without warning!"

"Once that cold energy flares up, it instantly sweeps through her limbs and bones! It makes her feel as if she has fallen into an ice cave, causing extreme pain!"

"Every time I see her being tortured by that cold affliction, my… my heart feels like it's being cut with a knife!"

Ding Zhen's voice was already choked with sobs. "All these years, I have taken her to find famous doctors inside and outside Three Seas City, but no one could figure out the cause!"

"Finally, by a stroke of luck, I discovered that the Grade 2 'blazing flame pill' seems to have a suppressive effect on her cold affliction."

"Every time her cold affliction flares up and she is in unbearable pain, as long as she takes a blazing flame pill, that chilling energy is quickly suppressed. Her pain is also reduced significantly."

"Therefore, all these years, I have relied on hunting Yao Beasts to exchange for Spirit Stones to buy blazing flame pills to keep her alive."

"But…" Speaking of this, the expression on his face became increasingly desperate. "In the past year, the frequency of her cold affliction flare-ups has become higher and higher! From once a month before, it has now become twice a month! The effect of the blazing flame pill also seems to be getting weaker and weaker!"

"I… I really have no other choice!"

"Some time ago, I heard that the Feiyan Pavilion Master is a Grade 3 Alchemy Great Master, whose Alchemy skills are extraordinary and saintly! That is why I thought of coming here to try my luck!"

After hearing this, Mysterious Ink's heart was filled with even greater surprise. A blazing flame pill? He was extremely familiar with this Medicinal Pill.

It was sold on the shelves of Feiyan Pavilion. This was a genuine Grade 2 Medicinal Pill, containing violent fire-attribute Spiritual Qi, specifically used by Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators who practiced fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques to enhance their cultivation.

Ding Xiaoxue, a little Mortal girl only eight years old, with no cultivation at all… How could she possibly withstand the massive Spiritual Qi contained within that blazing flame pill?!

This was illogical! Theoretically, the moment the Medicinal Pill entered her mouth, she should have been exploded by that violent Spiritual Qi!

"Are you sure she can consume the blazing flame pill?" Mysterious Ink's doubtful thoughts slowly came through.

"It is absolutely true!" Ding Zhen nodded quickly and said affirmatively, "It is precisely because the extremely Yang and rigid fire-attribute Spiritual Qi contained in the blazing flame pill happens to be able to counteract the chilling power within Xiaoxue's body!"

"That is why she is safe and sound!" Hearing this, Mysterious Ink nodded in realization.

He took another deep look at Ding Xiaoxue, who was sitting quietly on the chair, swinging her two small legs.

A foundling… born with a bizarre illness… This path… Why, the more he looked, the more she seemed like the legendary Child of Destiny?

Time flowed slowly in this quiet wait, until the sun set behind the mountains and the sky grew late.

A white stream of light, filled with supreme sharpness and harmonious aura, finally flashed from the horizon! Ye Feiyan had returned!

"Fairy!" Seeing this, Ding Zhen quickly stepped forward, bowing and saluting with great excitement.

Mysterious Ink also immediately recounted the origins of this pair of "siblings" and Ding Xiaoxue's bizarre condition to Ye Feiyan in the most concise language.

After listening, a flash of surprise crossed Ye Feiyan's cold phoenix eyes. A Mortal body, actually able to consume a Grade 2 Medicinal Pill? This was truly a strange tale.

"I understand." She nodded indifferently, then walked slowly to the front of Ding Xiaoxue.

She extended a slender, crystal-clear finger, like mutton-fat jade, and gently tapped it on Ding Xiaoxue's smooth forehead.

Ding Zhen, standing by, held his breath, nervously waiting for the final "verdict."

Hum—! An incomparably pure and vast Divine Sense, belonging to the Golden Core Peak, instantly surged from Ye Feiyan's fingertip into Ding Xiaoxue's body!

In an instant, Ding Xiaoxue's body, inside and out—whether it was her Meridians, Dantian, Sea of Consciousness, or Divine Soul—everything was laid bare under Ye Feiyan's terrifying Divine Sense investigation!

However… a moment later, when Ye Feiyan slowly withdrew her finger, on her beautiful face that was usually as calm as an ancient well, there appeared, without warning, a trace of unprecedented… deep shock!