Chapter 11: Qi Eating Spirit (6)

Changsheng shook his head. “Changsheng doesn’t know.”

Shen Jibai said, “His Majesty’s wind illness may have flared up.”

Zhou Xin: “?”

Oh, right.

It was currently the fifth year of Xianqing, the very year when Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, suffered repeated attacks of wind illness so severe that he could not see and had to hand state affairs over to Empress Wu.

But what use was there in seeking out Perfected Linghe? Could they be asking him to refine pills and treat the illness?

“Did Perfected Linghe say when he would return?”

Changsheng shook his head. “He didn’t.”

Shen Jibai said, “In that case, why don’t we wait in the quiet room first?”

“That works,” Zhou Xin said. “We can also search through the library and see if there are any related records.”

After saying this, she lowered her head. “Junior Brother, coming with us?”

Changsheng shook his head. “Changsheng still has to attend morning lessons, so I won’t go with Senior Sister.”

“All right then.”

After parting from Changsheng, the two went to the quiet room together, passed through the hall, and headed straight for the library in the back. One stood on each side, searching through the bookshelves.

After flipping through several books and finding only summaries of scriptures, Zhou Xin walked to the row behind. Suddenly, she heard the sound of something heavy falling behind her.

Following the sound, she looked over and saw Shen Jibai supporting his stomach with one hand and covering his mouth and nose with the other, as though he were suffering from morning sickness again.

Because he had taken off the fox-fur cloak as soon as he entered the room, he was only wearing a thin, loose lanshan robe underneath. His stomach had stretched the fabric over his abdomen so tightly that there was not a single crease, so at this moment, she could clearly see the round, swollen belly bulging outward from time to time.

It looked like... a child inside his belly was pounding against it. Each strike made a bump rise from the skin.

This was the first time she had ever seen such an eerie situation. She froze for a moment before walking toward him, placing two fingers over the protruding bump.

Before she could examine anything, Shen Jibai swept her hand away and took a step back, putting distance between them.

“What are you doing?”

Following his movement, the protruding bump shrank back in, and his stomach became round and smooth like a balloon again, with no further sign of anything unusual.

His expression also returned to its usual cold sternness, as though everything just now had been an illusion.

Zhou Xin frowned. “...I think Chao knows what it is.”

Shen Jibai: “?”

She lowered her eyes and looked at the round, swollen belly. In just this short while, it had grown several sizes again, now looking like that of a woman about to give birth.

“It seems to be the black qi of the qi-eating spirit.”

The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. She nodded repeatedly. “That also fits its vengeful nature.”

Shen Jibai said, “It is indeed a mass of black qi. As for whether it belongs to the qi-eating spirit, that remains uncertain.”

“Why is Court Minister Shen so certain it is black qi?” she asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Of course because I saw—” Shen Jibai frowned and asked in return, “Lord Lingyun can’t see it?”

“You can see it?” Zhou Xin’s eyes widened slightly in shock, and a strange feeling instantly rose in her heart. “Opening the Heavenly Eye has a time limit. A whole night has passed, and even Chao can no longer see it. How can Court Minister Shen still see it?”

Shen Jibai shook his head. “I don’t know.”

She bit open the injured finger again and opened her Heavenly Eye. Sure enough, she saw a mass of black qi hidden inside Shen Jibai’s abdomen.

Now this was strange.

A mortal body was most vulnerable to black qi invading it. The three fires would inevitably weaken; in mild cases, one would be bedridden like Tannu, while in severe cases, one could lose one’s life.

Yet aside from slight discomfort when he retched, Shen Jibai looked completely normal the rest of the time, without the slightest sign of illness.

Her gaze gradually moved upward to his shoulders, then to his forehead. Zhou Xin narrowed her eyes slightly.

This person had no three fires.

No wonder the qi-eating spirit’s black qi could not harm him at all after invading his body and could only gather in his abdomen to cause trouble. No wonder he could enter and leave the main room without being tainted by even the slightest bit of black qi.

He was not human at all.

But there was no demonic aura around him, and in every other way he was no different from an ordinary person. Then what exactly was he?

Zhou Xin could not help but frown.

“How is it? Did you see something?” Seeing her solemn expression, Shen Jibai could not help asking.

“Court Minister Shen, what are your birth characters? Chao still needs to calculate them before knowing how to deal with this.”

Hearing this, Shen Jibai’s expression changed slightly, and he looked at her with great vigilance.

“Does investigating an evil spirit require reading my birth characters?”

“Of course!” Zhou Xin bluffed without changing expression.

“Shen has been immersed in the Court of Judicial Review for many years. I am not so easily deceived.”

After saying this, he took a book from the shelf, lowered his head, and began flipping through it, clearly with no intention of speaking further.

Zhou Xin put on an act and sighed. “Why does Court Minister Shen refuse to believe Chao?”

Shen Jibai turned his head over, his lips moving as though he was about to say something. But in the next moment, he covered his mouth and retched several times.

Zhou Xin immediately lowered her gaze. As expected, she saw another protruding bump.

“If it is the qi-eating spirit’s black qi causing trouble inside the body, Chao does have a way to resolve it.”

Shen Jibai looked over at her with some suspicion.

Zhou Xin shrugged, wearing an expression that said whether he believed her or not was up to him. “The black qi inside Tannu’s body was expelled by Chao. But Chao won’t force you. Court Minister Shen may decide for yourself.”

With that, she returned to the row of antique shelves from earlier and resumed looking through the books, showing no intention of paying him any attention.

Shen Jibai silently endured for a while, then also continued flipping through books and said nothing more.

The whole room fell silent. It was so quiet that only the sound of turning pages could be heard, unexpectedly suiting the name of this courtyard perfectly.

A short while later, another bout of retching came from ahead. Zhou Xin shook her head slightly and thought, There’s clearly a way to treat it, yet you refuse to believe me. You insist on holding out and suffering there.

What a difficult personality.

The book in her hands was about some uncommon, lesser-known spirits and monsters. It was quite interesting. She sat cross-legged on the floor, reading intently, when footsteps sounded in the room. The sound came closer and closer, finally stopping in front of her.

She raised her head and saw Shen Jibai clenching his jaw. His face was somewhat pale, and his voice had deepened. “May I ask what method Lord Lingyun has?”

Can’t hold out anymore, can you?

Zhou Xin thought this to herself.

“First, let me make this clear. Chao will need to draw an evil-expelling talisman on Court Minister Shen’s chest, so... it won’t be very convenient with clothes on.”

Hearing this, Shen Jibai was slightly dazed. He suddenly remembered what she had said in front of the bed that morning.

So she had not been lying.

He pursed his thin lips, seeming hesitant.

Zhou Xin said nothing more and continued lowering her head to read, looking as though how to proceed was entirely up to him.

A long silence passed. Shen Jibai still did not speak, but he did not leave either. He simply stood there quietly, his eyes lowered, his fingers clenching and loosening from time to time.

Only when the sound of retching came again did Zhou Xin’s patience run out. She snapped the book shut with a slap, stood, and walked outside.

“Where is Lord Lingyun going?”

Zhou Xin did not stop walking. “To get props!”

Shen Jibai: “Props?”

Shen Jibai: “What are those?”

＊

After placing a bowl of cinnabar, a bowl of glutinous rice, and a bowl of clear water in front of Shen Jibai, Zhou Xin said, “These are evil-expelling props.”

Shen Jibai still half understood and half did not. “?”

She dipped the brush in cinnabar and finished drawing a healing talisman. Then she put down the brush, raised her eyes, and said, “Everything is ready. You may undress now.”

Shen Jibai: “...”

A lone man and woman, sharing a room, loosening robes and removing clothes—no matter how one listened to it, it easily led the imagination astray.

He struggled for a moment, but a violent pain came from his abdomen again. This time, it was stronger than any previous bout. The pain was so intense that he could no longer restrain himself. His fingers clenched tightly around his sleeves, his fingertips turning pale as fish belly, while most of the color drained from his face.

“It’s just removing your clothes so I can draw a talisman. It’s not like we’re doing anything. Is it really necessary to react like this?”

Shen Jibai gritted his teeth. “That mass of black qi is inside my body... fighting.”

Zhou Xin raised her brows slightly, pretending not to understand. “Fighting? A fight requires two sides. Who is it fighting? Your internal organs?”

Shen Jibai lifted his eyes. “Good. Now we’re even.”

Zhou Xin: “?”

Perhaps he truly felt terrible. He leaned back against the wall, closed his eyes slightly, and tilted his head up. His clear jawline outlined an exceptionally beautiful curve, and his fair neck was covered in fine beads of sweat. He looked extremely sensual, and yet extremely abstinent.

Zhou Xin stared at his Adam’s apple as it rolled up and down once. She took a deep breath and thought, That spot must be very nice to bite.

After zoning out for a moment, she suddenly heard him say, “Lord Lingyun also does not believe what Shen says.”

“No, Chao believes you,” she said. “So, Court Minister Shen, forgive the offense.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she tugged off the fastener at Shen Jibai’s waist, pulled open his collar, and froze slightly at the sight of the exposed chest muscles.

Tsk. Not bad at all.

“What are you doing!” Shen Jibai suddenly grabbed her wrist.

“Court Minister Shen, if we don’t expel the evil now, I fear this black qi will break out of its shell soon.” She pointed at his stomach with her other hand.

Shen Jibai lowered his eyes and saw a bump bulging out from his stomach, moving back and forth beneath the skin as though trying to find an exit and burrow out.

He let go, turned his head away in embarrassment, and said nothing more.

Zhou Xin took that as tacit permission and immediately bit open the still-unhealed wound on her fingertip. Dipping it in cinnabar, she drew an evil-expelling talisman on his stomach.

The talisman glowed with a faint golden light, sank into his skin, and turned into a cinnabar tattoo.

She held a yellow talisman between two fingers and silently recited the healing talisman incantation. The yellow talisman suddenly ignited by itself.

She stuffed the talisman paper into the bowl of well water, lifted the porcelain bowl to Shen Jibai’s lips, and suddenly smiled.

No matter how she looked at this scene, it felt like she was a vicious supporting female character taking advantage of the male lead’s weakness to pour poison down his throat.

Shen Jibai had seen Tannu drink talisman water before, so he did not refuse. He took it and drank it all in one go.

After placing the bowl on a nearby bookshelf, he suddenly frowned slightly and asked suspiciously, “What is Lord Lingyun smiling about?”

“Did Chao smile? No!”

His voice cooled, sounding chilly. “Why doesn’t Lord Lingyun look in a mirror?”

Zhou Xin knew that this was not a suitable time to smile, since it would easily be misunderstood as taking pleasure in his misfortune.

She tried to press down the corners of her mouth, but no matter what she did, they would not go down. She could only stiffen her neck and continue denying it. “Ah, Court Minister Shen must have seen wrong!”

Turning around, she picked up the bowl of glutinous rice and moved it in front of Shen Jibai. She reminded him, “The black qi had invaded Tannu’s entire body, so he wouldn’t feel pain when Chao struck his stomach. But with Court Minister Shen’s situation, Chao can’t be sure. If it hurts, bear with it for now.”

Her serious manner made Shen Jibai feel a little more at ease, but his whole body was still uncomfortable. He turned his head away again and urged, “Then finish it quickly.”

Her sword fingers lightly tapped his forehead, then gradually moved downward to his philtrum. She then tapped the Bingfeng acupoints on his left and right shoulders before finally striking Shen Jibai’s stomach with her palm.

He immediately lowered his head and retched.

The bowl of glutinous rice in front of him instantly turned black, like grains of ink.

His swollen, woman-like belly gradually shrank back down like a deflating balloon.

Zhou Xin collected the props one by one onto the tray. Holding the tray in one hand, when she turned around, her fingertips seemed to brush lightly and almost imperceptibly across his chest.

Shen Jibai frowned slightly and looked over, only to see her back already walking out of the passageway.

“Lord Lingyun.”

Shen Jibai’s voice came from behind her.

Zhou Xin’s heart instantly panicked. She quickly sped up, pretending not to hear.

“Lord Lingyun, please wait.”

Wasn’t it just one little touch!

She stopped and explained, sounding guilty despite herself, “Chao’s hand slipped just now, haha. Court Minister Shen, please don’t take it to heart.”

There was a moment of silence behind her before he said, “...Not that.”

Then what?

Could he have noticed that she had been secretly peeking at his chest while drawing the talisman?

He already took his clothes off. Was she not allowed to look?

Shen Jibai said, “...There is still a swelling in my abdomen.”

Zhou Xin: “?”

She hurriedly turned around. Sure enough, the stomach that had just deflated had now swelled up again, like that of a newly pregnant woman three months along.

Zhou Xin: “??”

What was going on?

Twins?