After dealing with that trace of seemingly demonic energy outside the mountain gate—which turned out to be merely residual aura from a certain yin-attribute demon beast passing through—Tang Xiaoqi's heartconcerned Aunt Su. Declining Third Sister Liu Yun's subsequent discussion about further strengthening border patrols, he hurried back to the Dark Ice Cave Dwelling. The cold within the cave remained, as if his absence of just over an hour had been merely a finger snap. Hequicklystepsgoreachedbeside the ice platform, his gaze Chapterintotime falling on Aunt Su's face, habitually checking her breathing and the spiritual power consumption of the replacement jade pendant beside her pillow.
Everything seemed the same as when he left. However, as he prepared to sit and meditate, recovering the spirit and blood he had consumed, his gaze suddenly froze! On Aunt Su's pale, nearly transparent cheek, near hertemple, there was an extremely faint moisture mark, almost blending with the surrounding frost. The trace was very light.
Had Tang Xiaoqi's eyesight not been extraordinary, combined with his extreme attention to Aunt Su's condition, it would have been nearly impossible to detect. It extended from her tightly closed eye corner, winding a short, almost negligible path, finally disappearing into the frost among her hair. Was that. a tear mark? Tang Xiaoqi's heart suddenly skipped a beat!
He almost thought he was hallucinating from exhaustion. He held his breath, leaned closer, his spiritual sense like the finest tentacle, carefully probing. Indeed! That faint moisture mark retained an extremely weak strand of Aunt Su's own soul fluctuation, mixed with unnameable emotional fragments of sadness intertwined with relief!
This absolutely could not be explained by frost melting! She had shed tears! After three years of slumber, after countless spiritual pills and origin nourishment showed minimal effect, after his day-after-day calls through bloodline and kinship, during his brief absence. she shed tears! Enormous joy crashed against Tang Xiaoqi's spirit like tides, momentarily leaving him at a loss.
He suppressed the impulse to immediately probe with spiritual sense again, fearing any hasty action might disturb this hard-won sign. He merely stared intently at Aunt Su's face, eyes unblinking, even his breathing made extremely light. Time flowed slowly in silence, each breath seeming especially long. Just as Tang Xiaoqi was about to contain himself no longer, he clearly saw Aunt Su's finger beside her body, which had been stiff as jade, its fingertip extremely slightly. curl inward!
That movement's amplitude was almost negligible, more like an unconscious reflex. But in Tang Xiaoqi's eyes, it was no less than a thunderclap! Her hand moved—her finger moved! This was no hallucination! The tear mark was not hallucination, the finger's slight movement was not hallucination! Aunt Su's dormant soul truly began reacting to the outside world, or rather, to the emotions touched deep within her heart!
"Third Sister! Quick! Please come quickly! No—I'll go personally!" Tang Xiaoqi abruptly stood, his voice carrying an unnoticeable tremor from excitement. He didn't even have time for a communication jade slip. His form flashed, and he rushed from the cave like an arrow, heading directly toward the Law Enforcement Hall.
At this moment, he needed someone absolutely trusted to jointly confirm and share this hope's light breaking through the long darkness! A moment later, Tang Xiaoqi practically dragged Liu Yun's arm, sweeping back into the Dark Ice Cave Dwelling like a gust of wind. "Xiao Qi! Slow down! What's wrong?" Liu Yun was startled by his uncharacteristic behavior, stabilizing herself while frowning and asking.
She had just stepped away from an interrogation, still carrying a trace of cold stern aura. "Sister! Look! Look at Aunt Su!" Tang Xiaoqi pointed to the ice platform, voice still carrying excitement: "She just shed tears! Her finger moved too!" Hearing this, Liu Yun's usually cold face instantly showed shock.
Shequicklystepsgoreachedice platformpained, her sharp gaze sweeping Aunt Su's face and fingers. She too saw that faint tear mark, though nearly dried, the residual trace and that wisp of weak soul fluctuation could not be faked. She extended two fingers, lightly pressing on Aunt Su's wrist, injecting an extremely gentle probing spiritual power. After a moment, she raised her head, looking at the anxiously waiting Tang Xiaoqi.
Even her eyes couldn't hide shock and a trace of joy: "Soul fluctuation. is much more active than before! Though still chaotic and faint, it's no longer stagnant water! Xiao Qi, you. how did you do this?" For three years, she and various sect elders tried every means, yet none could improve Aunt Su's condition even slightly. Tang Xiaoqi's day-and-night guarding actually created a miracle?
"It was the bloodline call, and also. unraveling her heart knot." Tang Xiaoqi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm, briefly explaining the memory fragments he had probed earlier and his deductions. Liu Yun listened, then fell silent for a moment. Looking at that tear mark on the ice platform, her gaze was complex. She had not much interaction with Aunt Su, even harboring reservations due to her Shadow Snake Pavilion identity.
But now, hearing that past filled with struggle and helplessness, seeing this tear symbolizing consciousness's return, that grudge couldn't help but dissipate somewhat. "Heart knot. so that's it." Liu Yun sighed lightly: "It seems you've taken the correct path." The two guarded the ice platform, observing carefully for a long while. Aunt Su did not shed tears again afterward, nor did her fingers move again, as if the earlier events were merely fleeting. But the aura around her, that originally dead-silent feeling like withered wood, truly subtly changed.
A trace of extremely faint "living" energy appeared, no longer complete slumber. "This is merely the beginning, Xiao Qi." Liu Yun looked at Tang Xiaoqi's face showing undeniable exhaustion yet amazingly bright eyes, her tone recovered usual composure yet carrying an unnoticeable concern: "Her soul was damaged too severely, and heart knots cannot be resolved in a day. Having this start is good, but subsequent treatment will likely require long periods, and. may become even more difficult, needing to guide her to face those painful memories directly. You must prepare yourself mentally, and pay attention to your own consumption.
Don't exhaust yourself saving Aunt Su only to collapse." Tang Xiaoqi nodded heavily, his gaze returning to Aunt Su's face. Looking at that tear mark, though dried, carrying extraordinary significance, his tone was extremely resolute: "I know, Sister. But as long as there's a sliver of hope, as long as she's responding, however difficult, I will certainly persist." This single clear tear, like the first wisp of light piercing darkness after an endless night, though faint, truly indicated that beneath the frozen soul sea, that dormant consciousness was struggling to break through heavy shackles, return to reality. This hope was enough to support Tang Xiaoqi continuing forward.
The cave's cold air seemed also diminished by this tear and this resolute guardianship's chill.