Chapter 163: Li Longling wants a family

The sun had ascended directly overhead, and the quiet courtyard gained the addition of a cicada’s chirping.

Cicadas, cicadas—

Li Longling lay on the couch with dewy sweat droplets on her rosy skin. Her hair and white dress were soaked with sweat, resembling a ripe autumn peach exuding a delightful fragrance. She had no idea how much time had passed. Vaguely, she remembered fainting several times midway through the process, only to be forcibly awakened by Senior Ye pinching her acupuncture point.

A bewildering sensation enveloped her entire body. She felt utterly weak, unable even to lift her hand. Yet, strangely, she also felt exceptionally content, as if nestled within cotton. Recalling Senior Ye’s healing process, it seemed both lengthy and brief at the same time. She reminisced about her initial feelings—nervousness and fear. However, under Senior Ye’s reassurance, these emotions gradually dissipated.

What followed was a progressively intensifying pain so unbearable that she couldn’t help but scream. During this pain, she could feel Senior Ye’s consciousness moving within her body—an intense and foreign sensation.

Amid agony, her sense of time within her consciousness stretched infinitely. However, just when she was on the verge of collapse, a sudden shift occurred. It was as if her body adapted to the intense pain, transforming it into a soothing warmth and comfort.

Regrettably, this last comfort didn’t last long before she lost consciousness. As her awareness returned, she found herself inexplicably enthralled. Even her heart longed to experience the previous sensation again.

Summing it up in three words, “I still want.”

Compared to the comforting feeling at the end of the treatment process, the preceding pain seemed negligible.

Suddenly, a feminine teenage voice, gentle as a light knock on the door, sounded in her ear,

“Awake! Come, take the elixir.”

Seeing her stir, Ye Anping returned to the bed, retrieved a spirit-gathering elixir, and inserted it into her mouth. Startled, she instinctively recoiled, but after realizing it, she relaxed and swallowed the elixir.

“Gudu—”

Subsequently, Ye Anping helped her sit up, sat beside her, and, lifting her left wrist, examined her pulse. After confirming no issues, he explained how to activate the “eye-moving talisman” within her body.

“Inwardly focus your consciousness, gather spiritual energy in your eyes, and infuse it into the Jingming point, Tianyin point, and Taibai point, respectively, in you…”

Ye Anping used his fingers to indicate the locations of the acupuncture points. Li Longling listened attentively but simultaneously felt something peculiar.

The oddity wasn’t about her eyes, but she sensed familiarity in the arm supporting her to sit up. The skin was smooth yet firm. Simply, it was identical to Senior Sister Xiao’s.

A few days ago, when soaking in the spirit pool with Xiao Yunluo, the arm she relied on was precisely the same as the one supporting her now.

Could it be that she wasn’t leaning on Senior Sister Xiao’s shoulder at that time but on Senior Ye’s shoulder, and Senior Ye didn’t say a word, so she didn’t recognize it?

If that was the case, didn’t she bathe naked with Senior Ye and rely on each other?

Why didn’t Senior Sister Xiao tell her at that time? Or was it that Senior Sister Xiao’s figure was very similar to Senior Ye’s, and she was mistaken?

“Young Master Li!”

“Ah…” Ye Anping’s voice made Li Longling return to her senses, “What’s wrong?”

“What I said, do you remember?”

“Um…”

“Then try it.”

Li Longling cast aside her wandering thoughts, thinking she might have made a mistake. Following Ye Anping’s instructions, she calmed down and infused spiritual energy into the acupuncture points around her eyes.

Instantly, a faint light appeared in the boundless darkness that enveloped her. Though dim, it was somewhat dazzling.

“Okay, slowly open your eyes and get used to it.”

The rough but warm touch on the back of her hand and the plain and warm voice encouraged her to open her eyelids. Two symmetrical eye-moving symbols adorned two faint glows in her turbid gray eyes.

She could see the silk-embroidered screen engraved with dragon patterns in front of her, the beams supporting the palace roof, her hands, and the big hand holding her left hand…

So the screen was so exquisite…

So the palace dome was so vast…

So the totem of Chilong Mansion was so majestic…

Father and maids had described these things to her since she was a child, and they were so different from her impression…

Li Longling’s lips and teeth were slightly open as if something was stuck in her throat. Suddenly, a burst of soreness came to her heart, and the tip of her nose twitched slightly.

—”Suck–“

Sitting next to her, Ye Anping also breathed a sigh of relief at this moment. He stretched out his right index finger, signaling the young phoenix on his shoulder to jump onto his index finger, then onto Li Longling’s shoulder, and said,

“Young Master Li, the young phoenix on your shoulder is your eyes. You see from its eyes. In the future, you can also collect more spiritual pets. If you put on the eye-moving talisman, it can be your eyes.”

“…”

“The sects in the Western Region specializing in beast control are many. From now on, you can take the law and the way of beast control as your deep practice. Although it differs from the sword cultivation like your father, it is the most suitable for you.”

“…”

“Moreover, this eye-moving talisman is not a complete cure but a compromise method that should last thirty years. In other words, you must come to me every thirty years and let me carve the talisman for you again.”

…

Ye Anping, on his own, was like a doctor after recovery, explaining some precautions for Li Longling in the future, ways to care for her eyes, and addressing potential problems. Li Longling had no listening mind at the moment. Through the eyes of the young phoenix on her shoulder, she scrutinized the handsome young man beside her.

This person was the first person she saw in her life. Although not blood-related, having only met a few times, he treated her tenderly. She had said she wanted to marry Ye Anping, but that was a feeling. She felt that Ye Anping was a kind-hearted person.

At this moment, this was still not a feeling or a guess. It was a fact.

“Huh!” Li Longling covered her chest, lowered her eyes, and was silent for a while. When Ye Anping was still discussing the precautions, she took a deep breath and interrupted, “Senior Ye…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I want a family.”

“…”

She gently grabbed Ye Anping’s hand, turned her head to face him, narrowed her eyes, and smiled,

“You have me, and I have a home.”

…