New Techniques

Night fell.

After returning to the camp, Lu Qiancha immediately dove into her tent, and the moment the flap fell closed—

“Poof!”

A shimmer of spiritual energy flashed, and the meticulously maintained illusion of a young man dissipated like a mist.

In his place was only a small wolf girl, wrapped tightly in a thick silken quilt, her body curled into a deep blue, fluffy ball.

She lay on her side facing inward, her small face buried deep in the cool silk pillow, leaving only a fluffy tail that seemed to glow faintly in the darkness, resting defensively on the edge of the quilt.

All was silent, save for the gentle breathing of the waves from afar.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Rustle—

The tent flap was lifted open a tiny crack by a long, slender finger, extremely lightly and slowly.

“Are you asleep?”

Xun Xue spoke softly, as if asking, yet also confirming.

“…”

Lu Qiancha kept her eyes closed, her paws tightening their grip on the quilt.

Xun Xue noticed these small movements.
She slowly bent down, lying on her side next to Lu Qiancha, and spoke gently, “Mama was wrong.
I shouldn’t have teased you just now.
Will you forgive Mama?”

“…”

The silence lasted for several breaths.

Finally, the little wolf girl in the quilt slowly opened her eyes, which shimmered with a faint blue light in the darkness.

She did not immediately turn around.

She simply gazed at the dark shadows on the tent wall, her eyes swirling with complex, unreadable emotions—lingering annoyance, the sting of being wronged, and even a trace of bewilderment and confusion that was foreign even to herself.

“I’m… not angry.” Lu Qiancha finally spoke, her voice low and raspy as if she had just woken up, yet exceptionally clear.

She paused, as if chewing on the answer, her tone becoming somewhat ethereal.
“I just…” ‘I just feel a little strange.’

‘When did I become so easily agitated? So unstable?’

‘Is this new demon clan body affecting me? Or is it the restlessness of my bloodline? Or perhaps the work of my heart demon?’

Countless thoughts rose like tiny bubbles, only to burst.

In the end, she let out a long, faint sigh.

The breath seemed to carry weight, expelling the pent-up emotions in her chest along with it.

With that sigh, she once again stubbornly turned her face deeper into the bedding.

The fluffy tail behind her, however, seemed to make a silent compromise, relaxing slightly.
As if surrendering, it drooped softly onto the thin quilt between them.

“Then…” Xun Xue’s voice was as light as a whisper in the night wind, carrying a careful, probing tone.
“Little Qiancha, have you forgiven Mama?”

“…Mm.”

Lu Qiancha’s muffled voice came from deep within the quilt, as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze.

“Then why is little Qiancha still so unhappy?”

Xun Xue’s fingertip touched the slightly drooping fluffy ear tip with extreme lightness, causing the sensitive little ear to tremble.
Her warm body also moved closer, her warm breath carrying the scent of frost and herbs across the nape of Lu Qiancha’s neck.

“How about…”

Xun Xue’s voice softened even more, carrying a hint of coaxing.
“…I give you a massage? To relax your muscles and bones? This time, I’ve learned a new, special technique~”

“A-a tail massage…?”

Lu Qiancha’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Those words brought back memories from a few months ago…

It was truly comfortable, truly relaxing…

Moreover, after the massage, the width of her meridians would increase, and her efficiency in absorbing spiritual energy would also improve.

But… that feeling of shyness, like an electric current running through her… also welled up clearly.

Recalling that feeling of being soaked in warm milk, Lu Qiancha subconsciously buried her little face even deeper.

The tip of her nose rubbed against the smooth silk of the quilt, as if resisting that tempting memory.

“You don’t want it?”

Xun Xue waited for a moment, a hint of imperceptible disappointment in her voice.
Her fingertips curled slightly, almost withdrawing from the warm, fluffy tail…

“I do!”

A response, thick with a nasal tone and almost completely swallowed by the quilt, burst out from the depths of the bedding, urgent and clear.

“Alright then!”

The smile on Xun Xue’s face bloomed instantly, bright with the joy of getting her wish, all her earlier caution swept away.

And her nimble fingers, carrying a warm strength, had already landed back on Lu Qiancha’s tail, their tips precisely finding an acupoint.

“Tss~”

With a barely audible sound, the pad of her finger pressed down with a perfectly controlled rotation of immortal energy.
Like setting a vortex in motion, a wisp of warm, mellow, golden immortal energy was gently injected into Lu Qiancha’s meridians along with the soft, rotating force of her fingertip.

“Wuu~” Lu Qiancha’s body suddenly flinched, and a sweet yet slightly pained whimper was squeezed from her throat.

Xun Xue’s own, distinct immortal energy circulated through her meridians for a full great heavenly cycle before being slowly guided out.

At the beginning, the flow of this foreign power through her meridians did not bring comfort, but a subtle stagnation and a needle-like sense of rejection.

“…M-Mother… G-gentler, please…” Lu Qiancha’s voice trembled with a hint of grievance, and her wolf ears flattened back in a similarly aggrieved manner.

“Mm, okay…” Xun Xue’s voice immediately softened, carrying a soothing tone.

The force applied by her fingertips eased as quietly as melting spring snow, becoming as light as a feather’s touch.

At the same time, the rate at which she injected immortal energy instantly became like a gentle, trickling stream, slow and mild.

“Is that better?” The pad of her finger moved smoothly to the next acupoint.
This time, the rhythm of her kneading was gentle and regular.

“Guwu~”

As Xun Xue’s technique turned gentle, Lu Qiancha’s initial discomfort receded like the tide, replaced by an indescribable tingling numbness.

That quivering, itching sensation, like ivy, crept up her nerves, winding its way up to gently crawl over her heart.

“Ngh…”

Lu Qiancha’s body, curled in the quilt, began to tremble uncontrollably.

A faint, delicate, and charming moan, carrying a strange tremor, finally rolled from her throat like a falling dewdrop.

A familiar warm current, following the circulation of immortal energy, spread gently yet forcefully to the depths of every meridian, washing away the fatigue and stagnation of the past few days.

Her consciousness felt as if it were soaked in warm milk.
Lu Qiancha felt as if she were floating among the clouds, dizzy and light.

“Ngh… it doesn’t hurt anymore…”

After a good while, as if she had just struggled free from a sweet illusion, Lu Qiancha’s hazy blue eyes were half-closed as she answered Xun Xue’s earlier question in a soft, sticky voice.
Her voice was thick with an inseparable laziness and contentment.

The corners of Xun Xue’s eyes and brows completely relaxed.
The movements of her hands gradually quickened, sometimes using the heel of her palm to apply a steady, warm pressure at the base of the tail.

Sometimes she would put force into the heel of her palm, applying a steady and deep pressure at the base of the fluffy tail.

Other times, her palm would become fingers, the nimble pads precisely tracing the natural channels of the tailbone, like a spring breeze combing through willow branches, meticulously grooming every single strand of tense fur.

The warm, mellow immortal energy, like an inexhaustible spring, slowly flowed into Lu Qiancha’s meridians with every press and every knead.

“Ngh-ying~”

Lu Qiancha completely succumbed, letting out a sigh of contentment.

The unique resonance of their connected bloodlines also flowed silently through this meticulous comfort.

That sense of solidity and security, originating from the very depths of her being, brought about by the gentle care of a close relative, was like the most intoxicating warm wine, completely enveloping the little wolf girl.

Her shyness was gradually drowned out by this purely warm feeling.

Lu Qiancha’s tense body, like soft clay, relaxed bit by bit, returning to its most comfortable state.

Her little head, which had been filled with all sorts of messy thoughts, was now left with only the intoxicating warmth transmitted from those fingertips.

Her consciousness was like a small boat floating on a calm, warm ocean.

Bobbing gently, she sank into a deep, peaceful sleep in the unparalleled comfort of the embrace brought by her bloodline.

“Huu…” The sound of fine, even breathing came steadily from the quilt.

“…She’s asleep.” A supremely soft curve formed on Xun Xue’s lips.
With the utmost gentleness, she gathered the completely relaxed little wolf cub into her own soft embrace.

Xun Xue slowly closed her eyes, her chin gently resting on her daughter’s slightly curled, deep blue hair.
In the boundless silence, she uttered a very gentle phrase: “Goodnight, little Qiancha.”

With that, her lips lightly touched the tip of Lu Qiancha’s little ear, which smelled faintly of vanilla.

The tent gradually returned to silence.