Baishe gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on Bai Xifeng as she mirrored his expression, her jaw locked in a desperate struggle to withstand the agony. He knew this specific brand of suffering all too well, the memory of similar trials from his own past lingered in the back of his mind like a phantom ache.
He had harbored doubts about her at first. Since she had only recently begun her cultivation journey, he assumed her mental fortitude would be fragile, perhaps even brittle. He had been prepared for her to break, to beg for it to stop. But he was wrong. This girl possessed a terrifying level of internal strength. She endured the internal war within her veins without letting out a single cry or plea for mercy. Only the rapid fluttering of her eyelids and the pale, strained lines of her face betrayed the hell she was walking through.
There was nothing he could do to alleviate her burden. The antidote was currently hunting the toxins in her blood, and any outside interference would only disrupt the delicate balance of the purge. The poison was fighting back, and she was the battlefield.
Finally, after five grueling hours of silent warfare, the searing pain began to ebb away. As the last traces of the first layer of poison were neutralized, Bai Xifeng felt a strange, newfound lightness in her limbs. Her ragged breathing finally stabilized into a deep, rhythmic pattern. Exhausted to the very marrow of her bones, she slipped into a heavy, dreamless sleep before the pain had even fully vanished.
Baishe let out a long breath of relief, the tension leaving his spirit. Seeing her finally at peace, he took a silk handkerchief, dampened it with cool water, and gently wiped the beads of cold sweat from her forehead.
"Congratulations." Baishe whispered to the empty room. "You have survived the first gate. But remember, the more potent the poison, the more agonizing the cure. I can only hope your spirit remains strong enough to endure the trials yet to come." With a heavy sigh, he shimmered and faded, returning to his inconspicuous form as a simple earring.
As the first light of dawn began to bleed through the horizon, Xiao Li stirred from her sleep. She glanced toward her Young Miss's chambers, noting the absolute silence coming from within. Assuming her mistress was simply exhausted from her "walk" the night before, the maid decided to start her morning chores quietly.
She gathered the laundry first. Ordinarily, this was a task for the specialized laundry maids of the estate, but Xiao Li did not trust them. She knew they would likely "accidentally" tear or stain Xifeng's garments out of spite. It was far safer to scrub them herself.
After hanging the clothes to dry under the pale morning sun, she made her way toward the main kitchen to secure fresh ingredients. She hoped to cook something nourishing in their small courtyard kitchen to help her mistress recover her strength. However, as she passed through the servant corridors, the hushed whispers of the other maids reached her ears, stopping her in her tracks.
"I heard the rumors are true... the Third Young Miss has been possessed by something truly unclean." One maid whispered, leaning in close to her companion.
"What? Are you certain? A demonic possession?" The other gasped, her eyes wide with fear.
"Think about it! Doesn't she behave like a completely different person lately? The old Third Young Miss would never have dared to raise her voice, let alone her hand."
"You're right... I heard she even had the audacity to kick the Fourth Young Miss! A girl with no cultivation doing something like that? It's not natural."
"Everyone is talking about it. The news is spreading like wildfire through the city."
"How could a 'thing' like her ever become our Crown Princess? It's a disgrace. The Second Young Miss is the only one fit for the throne. Even His Highness the Crown Prince clearly prefers her beauty and talent."
"I agree completely. If that 'monster' stays in this house, she will bring a curse down on all of us."
"The Old Mistress and the Second Madam need to handle the Third Young Miss properly, and soon. Otherwise, our lives won't be worth a copper coin."
***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. It breaks my heart when someone steals my hard work. Can you consider reading it on the original website for those who read my novel on another website besides w e b n o v e l .c o m, as your support to me? Thank you, from, your shameless author, ZerahNeko***
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