Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

10: Chapter 10: The First Bloom of Ice EyesThe lingering warmth of rice porridge and the bitterness of medicinal herbs filled the Woodshed. Liu Qingxuan held the empty bowl, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the rough, chipped rim. Her gaze fell upon the little girl lying on the straw mat who had fallen back into a deep sleep, and she couldn’t look away for a long time. Shopkeeper Sun’s words, ”I fear she will be left disabled” and ”her Lifespan will be damaged,” were like cold, poisonous thorns stabbing deep into her heart. What kind of suffering had this thin, frail body endured? And what of her family? Were they also searching for her in this vast wind and snow?

A heavy sense of pity and responsibility weighed on her chest, nearly suffocating her. She looked down at Lin Mo, who still seemed to be sleeping in her arms. The little fellow’s breathing was steady and long, and in the dim light, his small face possessed a strange, warm luster that a chilled infant should not have. Liu Qingxuan’s heart stirred slightly. She gently lifted a corner of the swaddle and touched Lin Mo’s tiny hand with extreme tenderness. It was warm! That strange warmth was even clearer and more stable than before they slept, passing through like a small heater, dispelling the bone-chilling cold within the Woodshed.

Was it the medicine’s effect? Or... Liu Qingxuan shook her head, suppressing the bizarre thought. It was already a blessing from the heavens that Moer survived the wind and snow; perhaps Shopkeeper Sun’s medicinal powder had worked a miracle. She wrapped the swaddle tightly again and held Lin Mo closer, as if drawing strength from the warmth provided by her son.

The rustling sound of Shopkeeper Sun organizing medicinal herbs came from the outer room. Liu Qingxuan took a deep breath, suppressing her churning emotions. Now was not the time for sorrow! Survival! Letting the two children live! That was the only goal!

She carefully placed Lin Mo in a corner layered with thick, dry straw, then took another careful look at the little girl on the straw mat, whose breathing was weak but stable. Only then did she lightly lift the cloth curtain and walk to the outer room.

Shopkeeper Sun was hunched over, using a small straw cutter to carefully slice a withered brown vine. Hearing footsteps, he looked up, his cloudy gaze sweeping over Liu Qingxuan’s face, which was still pale but clearly looked more spirited.

”Shopkeeper...” Liu Qingxuan’s voice carried a hint of pleading raspiness. She awkwardly rubbed her frostbitten hands, which still throbbed with pain even after applying the Rejuvenation Ointment. ”Do you... do you have any work... that I can do? Chopping wood, carrying water, washing clothes... I can do anything! As long as... as long as you provide a bite to eat... and some medicine for that child...” She lowered her head, not daring to look into Shopkeeper Sun’s eyes, her voice growing lower with deep embarrassment. The three copper coins in her withered pouch felt like red-hot irons, burning her with anxiety.

Shopkeeper Sun put down the straw cutter and looked at the woman before him. Though she was exhausted and dressed in rags, her eyes held a tenacity born of being pushed to a dead end. He remained silent for a moment. His cloudy gaze swept over the messy herbs piled in the corner of the shop that needed sorting, then looked at the water vat outside the back door covered in a thick layer of ice that needed breaking, and finally at the woodpile in the corner that was nearly empty.

”Sigh...” Shopkeeper Sun sighed softly, his voice aged and weary. ”Times are hard for everyone. This shop is small; there isn’t much big work.” He pointed to the pile of herbs in the corner mixed with withered branches, fallen leaves, mud, and grass roots. ”These are ’withered bone vines’ collected a few days ago. The ages are too mixed, and the roots are too muddy. They need careful sorting, cleaning, slicing, and then drying. It’s tedious work that takes time, and the pay... isn’t much.” He paused, his gaze landing on Liu Qingxuan’s frost-cracked hands. ”The ice in the water vat needs breaking, and the firewood needs replenishing. If you can do it, every day... I’ll give you two copper coins and provide two meals of thin porridge for you and that girl. As for the little babe...” He looked toward the Woodshed. ”There will always be some rice water.”

Two copper coins! Two meals of thin porridge! Liu Qingxuan’s eyes instantly lit up! Immense gratitude made her nose tingle. Two copper coins were few, but they would add up! Most importantly, she had a place to stay and a source of food! Moer would have rice water, and the heavily injured child would have medicine! That was enough!

”I can do it! I can do it!” Liu Qingxuan nodded repeatedly, her voice choking with emotion. ”Thank you, Shopkeeper! Thank you! I’ll get to it right away!” As if infused with new strength, she immediately rolled up her tattered sleeves, walked to the pile of withered bone vines smelling of earth and faint bitterness, and squatted down to begin sorting them carefully. Although her movements were clumsy and stiff due to her frostbitten hands, she was extremely earnest.

Shopkeeper Sun silently watched her busy back for a moment, then said no more, picking up the straw cutter again to focus on the medicinal herbs in his hands. Inside the small pharmacy, only the swish of the cutter slicing vines and the rustle of Liu Qingxuan sorting herbs remained.

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Inside the Woodshed, Lin Mo’s consciousness had already settled from the joy of his first success with the Lesser Body Tempering Technique. He ”perceived” his mother’s busy movements in the outer room and her conversation with Shopkeeper Sun, his heart filled with mixed emotions. His mother’s humble pleading and the meager reward of ”two copper coins” were like cold needles piercing his heart. He had to become stronger faster!

The growth progress of the chaos dao body seed remained at 0.33%. The Yang Harmony Qi from the Warm Sun Jade fragment had been completely absorbed by him, turning into nourishment for the seed. At this moment, all his attention was focused on the book deep within his consciousness that was neither metal nor jade—the Lesser Body Tempering Technique (Remnant).

He had already preliminarily mastered the breathing method and mental focus of the Embracing Origin Stance. Although the efficiency of guiding his blood and qi was still low, with every practice, he could feel a faint response from the most primal power deep within his body. He was no longer satisfied with this. His consciousness sank into the book as he began to attempt the second posture—referred to in the book as the Bone Tempering Stance.

This posture was even more difficult and painful than the Embracing Origin Stance! It required the body to be slightly tensed like a bowstring, with all bones and joints maintained at specific minute angles to hold a strange tension. Simultaneously, it required a deeper form of breathing that felt as if it would pull at his internal organs! His intent had to be highly concentrated to guide that weak blood and qi, acting like the smallest of chisels to repeatedly wash over and stimulate the bones and joints throughout his body!

Lin Mo carefully controlled his infant’s soft body, attempting to mimic the posture of the twisted figure in the book. Just adjusting the subtle angles of his spine and limbs made his muscles feel as if they were tearing with soreness! His joints even emitted faint groans of being overburdened! Even more painful was that deep breathing; every inhalation felt like his lungs were being forced to their limit, and every exhalation felt as if his very Soul was being squeezed out! Under the interference of immense physical pain, his intent flickered like a candle in the wind, unstable and swaying.

”Ugh...” The intense sensation of suffocation and the tearing pain in his muscles caused him to let out a muffled groan deep within his consciousness. Sweat instantly soaked his fine hair, and his tiny body trembled violently and uncontrollably within the swaddle, his face turning deathly pale.

But he gritted his gums (though he had no teeth). The faint warm current provided by the chaos dao body seed circulated frantically, repairing the damage brought by the forced practice and supporting his tottering consciousness. Failure! Try again! Another failure! Try again!

Every collapse of his concentrated intent was accompanied by deeper exhaustion; every failure to guide his blood and qi brought stronger backlash and pain. But he was like one possessed, trying again and again! The helplessness of facing the vicious wolves in the desolate forest, the humility of his mother bowing for a living, the unknown fate of the little girl on the straw mat... all of this turned into the most blazing fuel, scorching his will!

After failing countless times, just as Lin Mo felt his spirit was about to collapse and his consciousness was being torn apart by the intense pain—Buzz! An extremely faint, yet sharply stinging warm current, like a red-hot needle, suddenly pierced into his tiny arm bone! ”Ah!” Lin Mo let out a cry of pain deep within his consciousness! That sensation was so clear, so deep that it reached the marrow! But following closely behind was a strange sense of transparency, as if he had been tempered by fire! That small section of arm bone that had been stung seemed to... solidify by an extremely faint sliver? [Ding! ’Lesser Body Tempering Technique’ (Fragment) proficiency +5!] [Ding! Host’s bone strength has increased slightly! Physical Body base strength +0.05%!]

Success! Bone Tempering Stance initiated! A huge sense of accomplishment and the subsequent, even more intense full-body soreness swept over Lin Mo simultaneously! He looked as if he had just been fished out of water, his entire body soaked in sweat, his tiny body slumped on the hay pile, without even the strength to move a finger, only his chest heaving violently. But deep in his consciousness, he was filled with unprecedented fulfillment and joy! This pain was the ladder leading to power!

He panted, guiding the gentle warm current of the chaos dao body seed to flow slowly through his body, soothing his damaged muscles and bones. This active, almost self-mutilating tempering was far more effective than the previous passive nourishment! He could clearly feel that his control over this infant body had improved by a fraction! Although his strength was still negligible, that feeling of ’moving as easily as his own arm’ allowed him to see infinite possibilities.

Just as he was immersed in the fatigue and insight after his cultivation. ”Ugh...” An extremely faint groan, filled with pain and confusion, sounded again, much clearer than before.

Lin Mo immediately restrained his mind, hiding all traces of the Chaos Dao Body’s aura deep within. He ’perceived’ that the little girl on the straw mat had truly woken up this time.

Her long eyelashes trembled violently, like a butterfly about to take flight, and finally, she slowly and completely opened her eyes. They were a pair of pale green eyes! Like the purest lake deep in a forest after the early spring snow melts, crystal clear, yet carrying an indescribable, ethereal quality that seemed not to belong to the mortal world. At this moment, those beautiful eyes were filled with immense confusion, pain, and a bottomless loneliness and fear, as if she had been abandoned by the entire world.

She turned her pale green pupils, looking blankly at this dark, dilapidated, unfamiliar environment permeated with dust and the smell of herbs. Her gaze swept past the drafty wooden walls, the corner piled with hay, and finally landed on the infant lying on the hay pile, who was looking at her with a pair of pure, curious (disguised by Lin Mo) eyes.

Their eyes met. The fear and confusion in the little girl’s eyes seemed to freeze for a moment. She seemed to want to prop up her body, but the sharp pain in her left shoulder and the numbness in her right arm made her let out a suppressed groan of pain, and her small body fell helplessly back onto the straw mat. The violent movement agitated her wound, and the sharp pain caused a layer of mist to instantly cover her pale green eyes, as tears silently slid down her pale little face.

”Wuu... it hurts... Mother... I want Mother...” She finally let out a clear, tearful child’s voice, her voice hoarse and weak, filled with helplessness and longing.

Just then, the cloth curtain of the outer room was lifted, and Liu Qingxuan walked in carrying a bowl of steaming rice soup. Seeing the little girl awake and crying helplessly, she immediately put down the bowl and walked quickly to the straw mat, her face full of heartache.

”Good child! You’re awake! Don’t cry, don’t cry!” Liu Qingxuan sat by the straw mat, using her less-injured hand to extremely gently wipe the tears from the little girl’s face, her voice so tender it could melt ice and snow. ”The wound still hurts, doesn’t it? Endure it, once the medicine is applied, it will slowly get better... Auntie is here, don’t be afraid...”

The little girl seemed to be soothed by this sudden tenderness; she stopped crying and looked timidly at Liu Qingxuan with her pale green eyes, tears still hanging from her long eyelashes. She seemed to be trying to identify this strange yet reassuring woman before her.

”Hungry, aren’t you? Come, have some hot rice soup first.” Liu Qingxuan picked up the bowl of warm rice soup, scooped a bit with a wooden spoon, carefully blew it cool, and held it to the little girl’s mouth.

The aroma of the rice soup drifted into her nose. The little girl hesitated for a moment, her pale green eyes looking at Liu Qingxuan’s gentle and encouraging gaze, and finally opened her dry little mouth to take small sips. The warm liquid slid down her throat, bringing a trace of comfort. She drank in small sips, her gaze still timid and blank, but she no longer cried.

Liu Qingxuan fed her very slowly and patiently. As she fed her, she asked softly, ”Good child, tell Auntie, what is your name? Where is your home? Where are your parents?”

The little girl’s movement of drinking the rice soup suddenly stopped! Her pale green eyes widened instantly, and a flash of intense pain and fear, like being burned by a branding iron, flickered in the depths of her pupils! Her small body began to tremble uncontrollably, and her lips, which had just regained a hint of color, turned deathly pale in an instant!

”Home... Mother... Father...” she murmured, her gaze becoming hollow and chaotic, as if she had fallen into some terrifying whirlpool of memory, ”...fire... a huge fire... bad people... chasing... running... pain...” Her voice was intermittent, filled with immense terror and incoherence, like sleep-talking! She shook her head violently, as if to shake off those terrible images, and her small body curled up, letting out suppressed whimpers.

Amnesia? Or post-traumatic stress? Liu Qingxuan’s heart sank. She quickly put down the rice soup bowl and gently took the little girl’s trembling body into her arms, patting her back to soothe her. ”It’s okay, it’s okay... don’t think about it... don’t think about it... don’t be afraid... Auntie is here... from now on... this will be your home...”

The little girl shivered in Liu Qingxuan’s arms, her pale green eyes filled with lingering fear and deep confusion. She seemed completely unable to remember who she was or where she came from, with only some fragmented, painful, and terrifying memories remaining.

”Home...” She raised her tear-filled little face, looked at Liu Qingxuan, then looked blankly at this dilapidated and drafty Woodshed, and finally, her gaze fell on the infant on the hay pile who was quietly watching her. That pure (disguised) gaze seemed to give her a strange sense of peace.

Just then, the little girl’s body suddenly trembled violently! An indescribable, bone-deep icy chill erupted without warning! This chill did not come from the outside world, but radiated from deep within her body! Instantly, the temperature inside the Woodshed plummeted!

”Cold... so cold...” The little girl’s teeth chattered, her face instantly turned blue-white, and even the breath she exhaled carried a white mist!

Liu Qingxuan was greatly alarmed! She quickly held her tight. ”What’s wrong? Why is it suddenly so cold?” She instinctively reached out to touch the little girl’s forehead, and her hand met a piercing coldness! It felt as if she had touched a block of ice!

What shocked Liu Qingxuan and Lin Mo even more was that a thin layer of white frost was condensing at a visible speed on the walls of the broken ceramic bowl in the little girl’s hand, which still held half a bowl of rice soup! Ice crystals also quickly formed on the surface of the warm rice soup in the bowl!

Escaping cold Qi?! Lin Mo’s heart was filled with turbulent waves! This was definitely not ordinary sensitivity to cold! Inside this little girl’s body... there was something!

Liu Qingxuan was also terrified! She had never seen such a bizarre situation! She hurriedly held the little girl tightly, trying to warm her with her own body temperature, while anxiously shouting toward the outer room, ”Shopkeeper Sun! Shopkeeper Sun! Please come and see this child!”

The cloth curtain was suddenly lifted! Old Sun walked in quickly with a solemn expression. He had clearly also felt the sudden drop in temperature in the Woodshed! When his gaze fell on the little girl’s blue-white face, the frosted ceramic bowl, and the frozen rice soup in that bowl, his cloudy pupils suddenly contracted! The calm on his face from having seen the world was instantly replaced by an unbelievable shock and horror!

”Profound... Profound Yin Qi?!” Old Sun cried out in shock, his withered finger pointing at the frozen rice soup bowl, his voice trembling slightly from extreme shock! He suddenly looked at the shivering little girl curled in Liu Qingxuan’s arms with hollow and confused eyes, his cloudy gaze like a sharp sword piercing through her skin, filled with unprecedented solemnity and inquiry!

”This child... just who is she?!”