The Dangerous Prelude

As soon as she stepped into the corridor, she saw Xun Xue with her back to them, elegantly stretching a rope between the pillars and deftly hanging the last clean, white bedsheet, which smelled of fresh soap.

Hearing the footsteps, Xun Xue turned around.

Her gaze landed precisely on her own refreshed little wolf cub, and her deep blue eyes rippled with a soft smile like a spring stream.

A teasing, playful curve formed at the corners of Xun Xue’s lips.
“Little Qiancha~” Her voice was gentle, “Feeling better now?”

“Ngh…” Lu Qiancha’s little face instantly turned scorching hot, as if it had been set on fire.
The shyness she had just suppressed exploded with a roar.

She subconsciously lowered her head, her fluffy little paws tightly clutching the corner of her new little jacket, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz: “Mm… n-not uncomfortable anymore…”

“That’s good.” Xun Xue pretended not to see her daughter’s almost-cooked little face, hung the last clothespin, and clapped her hands with an air of nonchalance.

Her tone was gentle: “Mama has a small pot of spirit-feather chicken soup simmering in the room.”

“Go inside and rest for a while…”

Xun Xue walked to Lu Qiancha’s side, very naturally pried open the little paw that was still clutching the corner of her jacket, and held it in her own warm palm, “…drink a couple more mouthfuls later to replenish yourself.”

“Gulp, gulp, gulp.”

A few mouthfuls of warm chicken soup went down her throat, and a warm current rose from her stomach, quickly spreading to her limbs and bones.
Lu Qiancha’s originally somewhat tired body was injected with new vitality.

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Gan Tang, at the side, also got a few bowls of chicken soup.
She smacked her lips in satisfaction and also took a few big gulps from her small bowl.

Xun Xue put down the celadon bowl, her pair of deep blue eyes turning to Lu Qiancha, who was sitting upright beside her.

A smile played on her lips: “If you have any questions, ask them now.”

Hearing Xun Xue throw out the topic, Lu Qiancha perked up her ears and hurriedly asked, “Mother, what exactly happened to me just now?”

“Does Little Qiancha want to hear a simpler explanation or a more complex one?”

Xun Xue chuckled, her fingers unconsciously playing with the tips of her hair that fell over her chest, her gaze cunning.

“The simpler one.”

Lu Qiancha didn’t hesitate.

“Simply put, it’s a normal physiological reaction.
You don’t need to worry.”

Xun Xue said with a grin.

“…”

‘This explanation is indeed simple, but it doesn’t give any useful information.
It’s no different from saying nothing at all.’

Lu Qiancha pursed her lips and, with a hint of helplessness, continued to ask, “Then what about the more complex explanation?”

“Mm… in more complex terms, this phenomenon is equivalent to a coming-of-age ceremony.”

Xun Xue tilted her head and thought seriously for a moment.
Her fingertips habitually rubbed the top of Lu Qiancha’s head again, causing the little wolf cub to let out a comfortable “ngh-ngh” sound: “It’s a symbol of Little Qiancha becoming a big girl, oh.”

“Coming-of-age ceremony…?”

Lu Qiancha lowered her head in a daze and looked at her small and exquisite body, silent for a long while.

‘So, I could have grown up before.’

‘Forget it, being small is fine.
At least when the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up.’

Shaking off the messy thoughts in her head, she looked at Xun Xue with the most critical worry: “Then, will this situation happen again in the future?”

“It will.”

Xun Xue’s answer was decisive.

Hearing this, Lu Qiancha’s whole body stiffened, and her ears instantly lost all vitality, drooping limply in her hair.
That feeling of powerlessness, loss of control, and scorching heat to the point of blurred consciousness… she really didn’t want to experience it a second time.

“But,”

Xun Xue’s tone changed, her eyes full, “the ‘springs’ after this won’t be as intense as the first time.
At most, you’ll just feel a little irritable and restless.”

Lu Qiancha’s ears shot up again and twitched a couple of times.

‘Happy.’

“Then, how often will this ‘spring’ come to visit?”

The tip of Lu Qiancha’s tail couldn’t help but wag quietly, with a hint of small anticipation.
‘Wouldn’t it be terrible if it was once a month?’

“Mm… probably once a year.”

Xun Xue tapped her chin with her fingertip, as if recalling.

“Mm-hm.”

Lu Qiancha nodded like a pecking chicken, her tail wagging.

‘Very happy.’

At the side, Gan Tang listened silently, her fingers clutching her small bowl tightening slightly.

Her feelings were complicated.

On the one hand, she was happy for her senior brother for getting rid of the pain.

On the other hand, a trace of disappointment flashed deep in her heart.

‘Alas… to see that weak, helpless, and at the mercy of… ahem… helpful senior brother again…’

‘It’s probably a long, long way off…’

After figuring out the whole story, Lu Qiancha walked with light steps and quickly returned to her room.

She continued her seclusion, completely digesting the spiritual energy in her body.
The end of the year was approaching, and she had to hurry up.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

In her dantian’s qi sea, the last wisp of free spiritual energy was finally completely tamed, refined, and made her own.

The mid-stage Void Refining realm was completely stabilized.
There was even a faint tendency to climb towards the late stage.

It could be said that the harvest was abundant.
Lu Qiancha looked inside with her spiritual sense, satisfied.

Her gaze paused slightly when it swept over the suspended demonic sword in her sea of consciousness—

The crisscrossing cracks on it had now all healed, and the sword’s body flowed with an even more restrained and dark luster.

‘It seems to have gained a lot of benefits.’

Lu Qiancha pouted and didn’t pay too much attention.

She looked up at the window.
A new crescent moon hung quietly in the sky, casting a cold, silver light.

The night was deep.

‘Forget it, I’ll sleep.
This past month has been really exhausting.’

Lu Qiancha stretched lazily in a big wolf-style stretch, took off her clothes, and put on her nightgown.
Then she lay on the bed, her breathing becoming even and long, and she fell into a deep dream.

The next morning.

Lu Qiancha groggily opened her eyes in a faintly damp, cold, and sticky discomfort.

“Mm…?”

‘Why does it feel wet and cold under me?’

She moved her paws in a daze, reached into the quilt, and gently touched the mattress under her bottom.
A wet, slightly cold, and sticky feeling came from her fingertips.

‘What is this?’

She abruptly threw off the quilt, and in the faint morning light filtering through the window—

On the snow-white mattress, a glaring patch of dark red, already half-congealed, came into view.

At the same time…

A faint smell of blood quietly entered Lu Qiancha’s nostrils.

“?”

Lu Qiancha’s head went blank.
After a full five or six breaths, a delayed, tearing pain slowly and densely crept up from the depths of her lower abdomen.

“W-what’s going on…?”

Lu Qiancha muttered to herself in a daze, her voice tinged with the confusion of just waking up and an endless bewilderment.

‘Could it be that someone sneaked into my room in the middle of the night and stabbed me?’

The sudden injury made Lu Qiancha’s head a little unable to turn.

‘No, I have to apply some medicinal ointment first.’

Just as the thought arose, Lu Qiancha propped herself up on the bed with both hands, trying to jump off.

“Wuu—ah!!!”

A sharp pain, a thousand times more intense than before, almost tearing her lower abdomen and dantian, instantly made her curl up.
Cold sweat instantly soaked the hair on her forehead.