The night air in Lu Shaohua's chamber was quiet, save for the faint sound of soft cloth brushing against skin.

The moonlight poured through the wooden lattice window, painting Wei Ji's tired face in silver. His eyes were distant, unfocused, as if trapped somewhere deep inside his own thoughts.

Lu Shaohua sat before him, silent, her hands steady as she wrapped fresh white bandages around his palms. The burns and gashes ran deep, seared by the violent backlash of his failed spell. The faint smell of medicine filled the air.

Wei Ji's gaze was fixed on his own trembling fingers. His breathing was calm, but his mind was far from it.

"How could I fail?" he whispered under his breath, almost not realizing he had spoken aloud. His voice was low, rough, almost hollow. "The pattern was perfect. My meridian flow was balanced. The formula followed every principle of Qi resonance… so where did I go wrong?"

Lu Shaohua looked up for a moment, her brows furrowed in quiet worry, she couldn't hear his murmur clearly, so she said nothing. She knew he wasn't speaking to her.

Wei Ji stared at the flickering oil lamp on the small table beside them. Its flame wavered gently, reflecting in his dark eyes. "It doesn't make sense," he muttered. "I've copied techniques from gods, devils, saints. I've seen heavenly formations crumble at my touch and rebuilt them in minutes. I learned forbidden sword arts with one glance. And yet… this simple set of mortal techniques…"

His voice trembled slightly. "They reject me."

He clenched his bandaged fists, pain shooting through his hands. "No. It's not rejection. It's something else."

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. The room faded. His mind went inward.

He could see it again—the pattern of the Spirit Root Binding Technique, every symbol, every Qi thread, every glowing vein of spiritual energy. His mind replayed the moment over and over, slowing it down, dissecting each step.

"I aligned the core energy flow clockwise… no, maybe it was supposed to be reverse spiral?" he murmured. "No, that would disrupt the root formation. Then was it the incantation tone? No. I've used perfect spiritual resonance… The energy collapsed not from excess, but from refusal. It refused to accept my Qi. Why?"

He frowned, his heart pounding faster.

"Qi doesn't have a will. It obeys. Always. Then how can it reject me?" His mind spiraled deeper, his voice barely a whisper now. "Unless… unless the world itself recognizes something wrong in me. Or maybe it's because this world—this timeline—isn't made for my kind of Qi."

He lifted his gaze slowly, staring blankly at the ceiling. His thoughts tangled and twisted. Every possibility led to more questions. His mind raced. His pride screamed. His logic resisted.

"I have never failed a technique in my life," he whispered, half laughing. "Never. Even when I fought the Celestial Demon Queen herself, I could mirror her moves after one exchange. But this… this childish formation created by a girl…"

His voice broke. He shut his eyes tightly, breathing through his teeth. "What is wrong with me?"

Lu Shaohua paused her wrapping, sensing the storm brewing inside him. "Young master Han Ji…" she said softly, but he didn't respond.

He was lost in his own world, spiraling further. "Maybe it's my Qi structure. Maybe this body is too weak. No, the flow was stable. The foundation was fine. Could it be the materials? The soil? No. No, it was reacting properly. Then what…"

He stopped mid-thought. His eyes widened slightly as something clicked inside his mind.

"Mortal body…" he muttered, almost to himself. "Mortal Qi… Lu Shaohua succeeded because she…"

He blinked, realization dawning in his gaze.

He straightened suddenly, the faint shock in his eyes slowly shifting into a kind of strange calm. "That's it," he whispered.

Lu Shaohua flinched slightly at his sudden movement. "Young master Han Ji?"

Wei Ji turned toward her, his voice low but filled with an odd certainty. "I'll try again."

She looked startled. "No!" she said quickly, almost dropping the bandage roll. "You can't move yet. Your body is still frail. You may be a cultivator, but right now, you're still mortal. You could injure yourself even more."

Wei Ji just looked at her quietly. Her tone was firm, but her eyes trembled with worry.

He smiled faintly. "Is that the answer I was searching for?" he murmured softly, almost as if the words were not meant for her to hear.

Lu Shaohua froze, confused. "Answer?"

Wei Ji leaned back slowly, resting against the wooden post behind him. The tension in his shoulders eased. His eyes softened. "Yes," he said quietly. "You did it because you're not bound by the same limits I am. You're the Celes—I mean… special. Even without cultivation, your soul is extraordinary. This world accepts your Qi naturally. Mine… it doesn't belong here."

He let out a small breath and chuckled. "So that's all it was. My ego couldn't accept that truth."

Lu Shaohua blinked, unsure what to say. She finished wrapping his last wound and tied the bandage carefully. "You shouldn't blame yourself," she said softly. "You only wanted to understand."

Wei Ji nodded faintly. "Understanding and pride often walk together. I let pride lead this time."

For a while, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the crackle of the oil lamp and the quiet hum of night insects outside.

Then, Wei Ji felt something warm pressing against his injured hand. He glanced down. Lu Shaohua had placed her palm over his.

A faint green light shimmered softly between their hands. It wasn't Qi—at least not in the traditional sense. It was gentler, like the warmth of spring sunlight. The pain in his hands dulled almost immediately.

He blinked in surprise. "You…"

Lu Shaohua smiled a little. "You shouldn't move. I can at least help ease the pain."

He stared at her quietly for a moment. The warmth spreading from her touch was real, yet he could feel no fluctuation of spiritual energy. "You're not using Immortal Qi," he said softly. "How… are you doing this?"

Lu Shaohua hesitated. "I don't know," she admitted. "It just… happens when I focus."

Wei Ji's eyes softened. "You don't have to do this."

She shook her head quickly. "No. It's my fault you got hurt. If I hadn't filled the courtyard with so many flowers, you wouldn't have tried so hard to imitate me."

He smiled faintly and shook his head. "No. It's my fault. My pride was wounded, and I acted recklessly."

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

The silence that followed was calm, almost peaceful. Then Wei Ji's voice broke it again, quiet but curious. "You said before you studied medicine. How did you learn it?"

Her expression softened. "It wasn't easy. In the Shen Flame Kingdom, I didn't have many friends. People didn't like me much." She smiled faintly, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Animals were the only ones that stayed close. Sometimes, they'd get hurt. Sometimes, people would hurt them on purpose just to make me sad."

Her fingers paused on the bandage for a moment before continuing gently. "So, I used to sneak into the royal library. I read every book about medicine and herbs I could find. I memorized them in secret and practiced on the animals I saved."

Wei Ji watched her quietly, his gaze softening as she spoke.

"I got caught a few times," she said with a small laugh. "The palace guards would scold me and take the books away. But I'd always find a way back in. Over time, I learned how to make my own ointments and salves. I even learned how to read pulse flow from scrolls meant for court physicians."

Her tone turned shy, almost embarrassed. "I never thought it would actually help anyone else."

Wei Ji leaned back, still watching her. "And yet here you are, healing me."

Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she didn't respond.

He smiled faintly, then suddenly straightened. "That's enough. Thank you, Shaohua."

She blinked. "Young master Han, you shouldn't stand yet—"

But before she could finish, Wei Ji had already stood up. His robes rustled softly as he raised one hand and began forming a simple incantation.

"Wait—what are you doing?" she asked in alarm.

Wei Ji didn't answer. He whispered softly, his voice steady. The air around him shimmered faintly. From the wooden floor beneath them, thin green vines began to sprout. Within seconds, tiny trees rose from the ground, their branches spreading out gently.

Lu Shaohua's eyes widened. "You're—"

The trees blossomed into radiant flowers, glowing faintly under the moonlight. They released a soft mist of green spores, scattering around Wei Ji like drifting light.

The air grew warm. The spores clung to his skin, melting into faint streams of energy. His wounds began to knit together slowly, the bruises fading as the light wrapped around him.

Wei Ji exhaled deeply, closing his eyes as the healing spread through his body.

When he opened them again, his expression was calm. "Seems I finally learned something after all," he said quietly.

The flowers continued to glow, their soft light filling the chamber like a dream.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.