The wind that night came without warning.
At first, it was just a few uneasy whimpers outside the window.
Soon, those whimpers turned into a roar, carrying bean-sized raindrops, lashing crazily against the doors and windows with a dense “pa pa” sound.
There was no light in Xiao Liuli’s room.
She sat cross-legged on the bed in silence, letting the occasional lightning from outside cast arcs of pale, icy light across her black iron mask.
The cold did not seep in through the window cracks, but spread outward from deep within her bones, inch by inch.
The onset of the “Nine Nether Frost Poison” always resonated with the yin and chill of heaven and earth.
Tonight’s storm was undoubtedly its perfect accomplice.
In the past, when the cold poison flared, it was like needles stabbing bone—painful, yet she could endure it by sheer force of will.
But tonight, the chill had transformed into countless icy venomous snakes, raging through her meridians, biting and tearing, nearly freezing her Dan Tian into a block of stubborn ice.
Her breathing grew weak and rapid.
Every inhalation felt like shards of ice flooding her lungs.
Her body trembled violently out of control; only by clenching her jaw tightly did she keep a single groan of pain from escaping her lips.
Beneath the mask, her face had long turned as pale as paper.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, instantly freezing into fine frost.
Her consciousness was being swallowed by darkness.
She even began to hallucinate, imagining herself becoming a lifeless ice sculpture in this boundless cold and pain.
At that moment, a faint, hurried knocking struggled through the storm’s roar and reached her ears.
“Tok, tok, tok.”
The sound was soft, tinged with hesitation and fear.
Xiao Liuli’s tense nerves seemed to flicker.
She forced her eyes to the door.
Who would come at this hour?
Outside, a maid’s small voice, broken by the wind, called out:
“Xiao… Miss Xiao, have you gone to bed? The… Young Master, he…”
Young Master?
Ye Chen?
Xiao Liuli’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
In a moment where even breathing felt extravagant, she had no energy to deal with anyone—least of all that so-called fiancé.
She remained silent, hoping the person outside would give up and leave.
However, the little voice grew stubborn, sounding again:
“Miss Xiao, the Young Master said the wind is strong tonight and you might be uncomfortable. He… he brewed a bowl of medicine and asked me to bring it to you.”
Medicine?
Those two words brushed across Xiao Liuli’s frozen heart like a powerless feather, stirring no ripple.
How many wondrous elixirs had she tasted?
Even the Elder of the Xiao Family could do nothing about this strange poison—what could a mediocre branch member of the Ye family know?
Just idle gossip and foolish meddling.
She kept silent, her refusal clear.
Outside, the maid seemed flustered, her voice rising.
“Miss Xiao, please open the door! The Young Master brewed this medicine with herbs picked from the mountain this afternoon. He said… he said it might warm your body… you…”
Perhaps it was those four words—“warm your body”—or perhaps the raging cold inside her, but her last thread of reason began to fray.
A thought flashed through Xiao Liuli’s mind, as if possessed.
——At this point, could things get any worse?
She gathered all her strength and forced out a single hoarse word through clenched teeth.
“…Come in.”
The door swung open.
A gust of rain-laden wind rushed in, making Xiao Liuli shudder anew.
The maid, Xiaoxiao, hurried in with a tray, closing the door behind her.
She placed a coarse porcelain bowl before Xiao Liuli.
Inside was half a bowl of dark brown medicine, steaming lightly and giving off a faintly bitter herbal scent.
“Miss Xiao, please drink it while it’s hot.”
Xiaoxiao’s face was filled with worry.
Xiao Liuli’s gaze fell on the ordinary-looking medicine.
It appeared plain, with no hint of spiritual energy, like a country doctor’s herbal brew.
She hesitated, then extended her trembling, frostbitten hand to take the bowl.
The warmth of the porcelain seeped into her fingers—a feeling long forgotten.
Without further hesitation, she raised the bowl under her mask and drank the warm liquid in one gulp.
The medicine was even more bitter than it smelled, sliding down her throat to her stomach.
At first, there was no special sensation.
Xiao Liuli’s heart sank.
As expected… she’d been too hopeful.
But as she prepared to return the bowl to Xiaoxiao, a sudden change occurred.
A gentle heat arose in her lower abdomen, without warning.
It was unlike the explosive power of Fire Attribute Dan Medicine she’d taken before.
Instead, it flowed like a spring stream—steady, precise, and gentle—penetrating her nearly frozen meridians.
The rampaging cold within her recoiled at the touch of this warmth, retreating as if meeting its nemesis.
Their assault weakened, and the ripping pain faded like receding waves.
Though the root of the frost poison remained, the force dragging her toward death was abruptly restrained by this warmth.
The pain dropped from a ten to a tolerable three or four—just cold, no longer agony.
Xiao Liuli froze.
She sat unmoving, clutching the now-empty bowl, as lightning flickered on her mask.
The storm raged outside, but for the first time, a different sound entered her world.
Slowly, she looked up, her gaze drifting past Xiaoxiao toward the direction of Ye Chen’s room.
In the darkness, she saw nothing.
But for the first time, a clear image of that quiet, slender youth formed in her mind.
Even the Xiao Family elders were helpless against the “Nine Nether Frost Poison”—yet he… seemed to know a way to manage it?
Was it a coincidence?
Or… a folk remedy from some Guji?
Countless thoughts raced through Xiao Liuli’s mind.
But soon, she forced the chaos down.
Now was not the time for such questions.
She spoke softly to Xiaoxiao.
“Thank you. You may go.”
Then, she closed her eyes, guiding the rare warmth within to stabilize her nearly shattered Dan Tian and meridians.
Only this time, her heart could no longer remain the still, dead water it once was.