Chapter 18: A Blessing in Disguise

News of Xiao Yifeng’s awakening swept through Wuya Hall like a gust of wind.

The first to barge through his door was, unsurprisingly, Su Miaoqing. She looked visibly thinner, her usual vibrancy dimmed by days of worry. The moment she saw Xiao Yifeng sitting up, her eyes rimmed with red, and the tears threatened to spill over again.

“Senior Sister, please,” Xiao Yifeng said, his voice still rasping slightly. “If you keep crying, your eyes will swell up like a raccoon’s. How will you maintain your image as the sect’s beauty then?”

Su Miaoqing’s face flushed. She sniffled, wiping her eyes, and a reluctant smile broke through her tears. “You brat! How dare you laugh at me when you’re lying in bed like that?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Xiao Yifeng chuckled.

They bantered for a moment, the heavy air between them lightening, until a deliberate, loud cough sounded from the doorway.

Su Qianyi and Lin Ziyun stood there. The cough, naturally, had come from the Sect Leader.

“Master, Mistress…” Xiao Yifeng tried to push himself up to salute, but Lin Ziyun was beside him in a flash, pressing him back onto the pillows.

“Lie down,” she commanded gently. “Your meridians are still knitting together.” She shot a sharp glare over her shoulder at her husband.

Su Qianyi, seeing the look, wilted slightly. He grumbled, “Yes, stay down. If you move around and rip your wounds open, you’ll just be wasting my high-grade spirit medicines.”

Lin Ziyun rolled her eyes at him, then took a seat on the stool Yue’er hurriedly provided. She looked at Xiao Yifeng, her expression softening into maternal concern. “How are you feeling, Little Feng?”

“Disciple feels fine,” Xiao Yifeng lied smoothly. “Just a bit weak. Thank you for your concern, Master, Mistress.”

Lin Ziyun sighed, her brow furrowing. “Qing’er told us everything. This entire disaster… it is her fault. If she hadn’t been so headstrong, if she had listened to you and returned for reinforcements, none of this would have happened.”

She paused, her voice turning stern. “I have already reprimanded her. But Yifeng, I know you are sensible. I hope you do not hold a grudge against your Senior Sister. If you feel the punishment is insufficient, I will ground her for three months.”

Su Miaoqing stood in the corner, head bowed, looking like a kicked puppy.

Xiao Yifeng shook his head as much as his neck brace allowed. “Mistress, you worry too much. Senior Sister has always taken care of me. Even in the forest, she stood in front of me to protect me first. I agreed to the investigation myself. Who could have predicted a Foundation Establishment beast in the outer perimeter? It was an accident, not a crime. Please, do not blame her.”

Su Qianyi’s expression relaxed visibly at these words.

Lin Ziyun smiled, a genuine, warm expression. “You are too kind for your own good, Yifeng. Since the victim has pleaded for leniency, we will spare her the confinement. But you… you suffered greatly. We will make it up to you.”

“Master and Mistress treat me with the weight of a mountain,” Xiao Yifeng said seriously. “Senior Sister treats me like family. I failed to protect her, forcing Master to expend heavenly treasures to save my worthless life. That is already my sin. How could I dare ask for compensation?”

Lin Ziyun’s eyes reddened. She reached out, patting his hand firmly.

“Do not belittle yourself,” she scolded, though her voice trembled. “Treasures are dead objects; people are alive. You are our disciple. In our hearts, we view you and your martial siblings as our own flesh and blood. Next time, however… act within your means. Do not be a hero if it means throwing your life away. Do you understand?”

Before Xiao Yifeng could reply, Su Qianyi stood up, his robes fluttering with his sudden movement. He snorted.

“Do you take me for a miser?” Su Qianyi said, his voice gruff but powerful. “If you had been injured while committing crimes or acting wickedly, I wouldn’t spend a single spirit stone on you. But as long as you walk the righteous path… as long as you are my disciple… I, Su Qianyi, will not stand idly by while you die. Even if it bankrupts the hall.”

“Disciple was wrong,” Xiao Yifeng said, nodding heavily. “I will carve Master and Mistress’s teachings into my heart.”

He wasn’t just saying it. Having lived two lives, he knew the truth of their characters. In his past life, despite his failures, this couple had defended him until the bitter end. They truly loved their disciples.

Su Qianyi asked a few brief questions about the combat details. Xiao Yifeng answered truthfully, omitting only the forbidden demonic technique he had used to burn his blood essence.

“Rest now,” Lin Ziyun said, standing up. “Qing’er, come. Let him sleep.”

“Disciple is incapacitated and cannot see you out,” Xiao Yifeng said. “Yue’er, please see Master and Mistress off.”

Su Miaoqing opened her mouth to speak, likely to ask to stay, but Lin Ziyun shot her a look that brooked no argument. The girl wilted and followed her parents out, casting one last longing look at the bed.

Once the room was quiet, Xiao Yifeng turned his gaze inward.

His body was a wreck, but a repairing wreck. The meridians were reconnecting, and the bones were fusing. What shocked him was the sheer volume of residual energy clogging his system. The “heavenly treasures” Master had pumped into him were potent. The medical energy was still rampaging through his veins, thick and unrefined.

No time to waste, he thought.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate his cultivation technique.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yifeng lived the life of an invalid emperor. Yue’er fed him soups made of spirit herbs, and his Senior Brothers visited in shifts.

Xiang Tiange, the Eldest Brother, was particularly distraught. He sat by the bed for hours, blaming himself for “lax supervision” and “failing his duty.” Xiao Yifeng had to spend half a day convincing the man that he didn’t secretly hate him.

Su Miaoqing, however, did not return.

When he asked the others, they chuckled nervously.

“Mistress dragged her to the training grounds,” one Senior Brother whispered. “Apparently, Mistress was furious that a Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator couldn’t even fire a signal flare against a new Foundation Establishment beast. She’s being put through hell right now.”

Xiao Yifeng privately agreed with the punishment. Su Miaoqing had higher stats, but her combat IQ was terrible. If Xiao Yifeng had possessed Level 7 cultivation, he could have danced circles around that snake for hours. Demon Beasts were strong but stupid; Su Miaoqing had panicked and fought stiffly. She needed this wake-up call.

Another half-month passed.

Xiao Yifeng could finally walk. And to his delight, the disaster had brought an unexpected windfall.

He had broken through.

It was a natural progression. The massive amount of healing treasures he had consumed contained terrifying amounts of spiritual energy. A normal cultivator might have shot up two or three levels instantly—and ruined their future in the process.

Xiao Yifeng knew better. He had spent the last two weeks ruthlessly compressing and filtering the energy. He rejected the impurities, venting the chaotic Qi out of his pores rather than letting it settle in his foundation. He chose a single, rock-solid step forward over three shaky ones.

Su Qianyi and the others were surprised he had only gained one level, assuming his aptitude was to blame. They didn’t realize he had built a foundation of steel.

Ironically, the “waste” didn’t go entirely to waste.

Because Xiao Yifeng was constantly venting pure, filtered Qi out of his room, the density of spiritual energy in the small courtyard skyrocketed. Yue’er, who cultivated on the floor below, absorbed the runoff and accidentally broke through one level herself.