The soul was nearly scattered; for a physical body, there was nothing that couldn’t be given away. The Blood Red Dragon Fish was very pleased that Qin Liuxi would consult it first, and imdiately agreed.
It reluctantly glanced at the Jade Bottle containing the small fish, gathered its thoughts, with a thought, retracted the curse, then nodded and bowed to Qin Liuxi. The soul body soon dissipated into specks of ashes in the sunlight.
Mr. Su and Madam Su felt a bitter taste in their hearts upon seeing this; their hearts felt heavy.
"Madam, the young lady has awakened," a servant rushed to report.
The group then moved to Su Zhihe’s courtyard.
Su Zhihe was indeed awake. This ti, the n like Mr. Su did not enter; Madam Su and Qin Liuxi went in and looked at her back.
"It’s gone, truly gone. Zhihe, how do you feel now? Is it still itchy?"
Su Zhihe frowned and shook her head, "It’s not itchy anymore, but it’s very painful; my back is burning with pain." As she spoke, she shyly looked towards Qin Liuxi, "Mother, why did you bring a man inside?"
Madam Su was stunned for a mont and then chuckled, "Silly girl, this is the Junior Temple Master, invited by the Third Prince to look at your itching disease. She is a female."
Su Zhihe was surprised.
It turned out to be a girl.
"Junior Temple Master, how does my daughter look now, her back, you see..."
Qin Liuxi looked over. The curse had vanished, and those dense fish mouths were already gone, but her back that had been scratched aggressively due to the itchiness was genuinely damaged; the delicate girl now had a back covered in torn skin and wounds, no wonder it hurt.
"These are superficial wounds, just apply so ointnt and take care of it slowly." Qin Liuxi stepped forward, took her wrist, fingers tapping on it, "There’s also so wind evil surging up, take a couple of doses of dicine, and get so sun."
"Can this ointnt heal it? Will it leave scars?" Madam Su sorrowfully looked at the back.
"Just get so better scar-removal and anti-swelling ointnt; I believe it isn’t hard for you to find. Jade Snow Skin will heal even faster."
The Su family also had a concubine position, and it would be easier for them to obtain such fine dicine than others, and they also had the backing of the Third Prince.
"Jade Snow Skin is very rare." Madam Su knew that Jade Snow Skin was an excellent commodity, but such a precious and invaluable beauty dicine was not even available to Princess Consort Hui in the Palace.
"If you can’t get it, go for the next best thing. Changsheng Hall also has a good scar-removing ointnt."
Madam Su acknowledged it.
Su Zhihe then asked, "Mother, you just said my back is clear, what exactly is gone?"
Madam Su’s expression tensed, she looked towards Qin Liuxi, uncertain whether to disclose it or not, the matter was too shocking; she feared it would cause psychological trauma to her daughter, she herself felt she might have nightmares about it.
"Better to release than to block," Qin Liuxi said, "The girl has grown up; it’s alright for her to know, she should understand what happened because of a mont’s whim, she needs to take responsibility. Moreover, she is soon to be discussed for marriage; keeping everything from her might not be for the best."
Madam Su shivered and responded, "You are right." She turned to Su Zhihe and said, "Mother asks you, the Lotus Pond was alright all this ti, why did you suddenly insist on filling it to plant peonies? Do you realize what a close call you had?"
Su Zhihe slightly startled, her gaze sowhat confused, "I, your daughter, don’t know either. Just before filling the pond, I had a dream, and in the dream, soone told to fill the pond, saying that growing lotus doesn’t match my na, and if not filled, it would bring great misfortune. Standing by that pond, the voice kept echoing in my ears, so I just... Mother, what big trouble did I cause?"
Madam Su gasped and looked towards Qin Liuxi.
Qin Liuxi’s eyes also narrowed as she said, "Relax, close your eyes and recall that dream, let have a look."
After her words finished, she quietly began to sing a Zhu You Song, her voice low and murmuring, almost echoing by the ear, relaxing the whole body.
Su Zhihe was very obedient, she closed her eyes as she listened to the chanting, her consciousness sinking, slowly recalling that dream.
Qin Liuxi pinched a spell with one hand, and a thread of her thoughts had already entered into her Sea of Consciousness, falling into her mory.
She dispersed the heavy miasma, heard that voice, and then saw that intangible yet utterly malevolent black figure. Upon seeing Qin Liuxi, the black mist swept away instantly.
Qin Liuxi opened her eyes and said to Madam Su, "It’s a nightmare."
Seeing their confused expressions, Qin Liuxi further explained, "That is, the nightmare spirit. It is dark and evil, particularly fond of playing tricks in dreams, disturbing people’s minds and even seducing them to commit evil."
"Do you an to say that Zhihe was possessed by the nightmare, and that’s why she acted like that?" Madam Su exclaid, "How could it suddenly possess her? This child is naive and has never committed any evil deeds."
Qin Liuxi replied, "Nightmares invading dreams don’t necessarily require dark thoughts to invade. They also favor those with pure souls. If they can seduce such a person to commit evil, it gives them a particular sense of accomplishnt."
Corrupting a pure soul is indeed a great joy and accomplishnt for malicious nightmares.
She paused, then added, "It could also be because of external objects."
Su Zhihe beca more bewildered and asked, "Mother, what are you talking about?"
Madam Su then fully explained her daughter’s bizarre illness. Qin Liuxi was right, better to clarify than to block. Even if her daughter was unaware, she had given the order that led to the death of a Dragon Fish with Great Cultivation. This was the karmic cause tied to her, it’s wrong to remain ignorant.
That beautiful Dragon Fish, it truly was a pity.
Upon hearing this, Su Zhihe’s face turned paler by the minute until she was completely white, her eyes quickly reddening, tears rolling down as she asked in a trembling voice, "Mother, did I really kill a fish?"
Madam Su nodded her head.
Su Zhihe covered her mouth, she did not know there was such a fish in the pond, let alone, a sentient one?
Curiosity, guilt, and self-reproach surged all at once, causing her entire body to tremble.
How could this be?
Qin Liuxi held a sachet as she walked over, "Whose is this?"
"It’s mine," Su Zhihe said with a choked voice, "My second sister made it for , said it was to repel mosquitoes."
Madam Su’s heart suddenly thudded. Qin Liuxi wouldn’t inquire about a sachet for no reason; could there be sothing wrong with it?
"Junior Temple Master, is there sothing bad in here?"
Qin Liuxi placed a handkerchief on the table, opened the sachet, poured the contents onto the handkerchief, and wiggled a tool through the spices, singling out one, "This is lilac. I see that the lady’s room contains orchids, all with a strong scent. Particularly at night when it’s cooler, inhaling it for long periods can lead to irritability, restlessness, and insomnia, no wonder it let the nightmare seize the opportunity to invade the dreams. Of course, the ladies of your residence are good, perhaps it was a misunderstanding."
Su Zhihe’s eyes widened, was this implying her second sister intentionally hard her?
Madam Su’s face was full of anger.
Misunderstanding, my foot, could it be that hearing about Princess Consort Hui’s intention for marrying one of the daughters to the Third Prince stirred so malicious thoughts?
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