Many children, many blessings: Stealing the offspring of powerful figures to cultivate immortality.

"Did you see that clearly? The woman who beat the Zhang family to a pulp on the stage is the one I, Lou Xiaotian, have my eye on!"

Lou Xiaotian's shout echoed throughout most of the arena, even making Zhang Kuang, who had just been carried out, cough up blood in anger.

Jiang Yining looked up at the figure waving the spirit herb on the high platform, her expression unusually helpless.

Fan Chenxin stood on the sidelines holding the five treasures, but his expression was even more somber than that of the Zhang family.

Wu Bao perched on his shoulder, clapping her little hands: "Uncle Planting Flowers is so loud, like a rooster!"

Fan Chenxin whispered, "If he shouts again, your mother will throw him into the arena too."

"No, it's nothing." Jiang Yining approached and took the five treasures. "Young Master Lou has given our Spirit Beast Garden a lot of help, and today he's also overseeing things for the Barbarian Stone Tribe. To exaggerate a bit, it's not a big deal."

Fan Chenxin looked at her and said, "You spoil him."

"I just know what's important." Jiang Yining raised her hand to wipe the sugar crumbs off Wu Bao's nose. "Besides, no matter how exaggerated he is, it's not as exaggerated as you forcing someone to carry manure."

Fan Chenxin didn't refute, but simply took the small wound on her wrist, caused by the wolf's claws, into her palm.

"The wound needs to be treated."

"This little injury isn't worth making that face."

"You bled, but it was worth it."

Jiang Yining looked at his tense jaw and ultimately didn't pull her hand back.

As night deepened, the top floor of Yunhe Inn fell silent.

The daytime clamor of the arena was kept out by the thick paper windows, with only the occasional clang of the night patrolman's clapper echoing through the long street. Jiang Yining sat at the table, marking the warriors, beasts, and array patterns that had appeared that day on animal hides.

Fan Chenxin sat by the door sharpening her bone-grinding knife, while Wu Bao lay on the soft couch playing with her fox tail.

"The Zhang family lost face today, but they might not necessarily take direct action tomorrow." Jiang Yining tapped her fingertips on the table. "Although Zhang Kuang is foolish, the Zhang family elders behind him are not brainless. If they want revenge, they will choose the moment when we are most relaxed."

Fan Chenxin stopped what she was doing: "I won't sleep tonight."

"You stayed up half the night last night and then went to the stadium during the day." Jiang Yining looked up. "Go to bed and rest. There are police lines I've set up outside."

"The police line cannot stop ambush."

"So you think you can stop it just by guarding it?"

Fan Chenxin looked at her and said in a low voice, "We'll block as much as we can."

Wu Bao rolled over, clutching her little pillow: "Uncle Chenxin, you won't sleep in April either. You can help Mommy watch the door."

Jiang Yining went over and covered her with a light blanket.

"You're in charge of sleeping. The more soundly you sleep, the more at ease your mother will be."

"But we're hungry in April."

Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door.

"I'll bring the esteemed guest some supper."

A waiter stood at the door carrying a wooden tray with three dishes of pastries, a pot of warm animal milk, and a small bowl of sliced ​​candied fruit.

The waiter smiled respectfully: "This was ordered by the young master of the building to be made by the kitchen. He said that the young lady was frightened during the day and should eat something sweet at night to calm her nerves."

Wu Bao's eyes lit up, and the fox tail immediately popped out from under the blanket.

"Mother, it's sweet flower cake."

Fan Chenxin stood up first and blocked the wooden tray.

"Lou Xiaotian wouldn't have someone deliver things in the middle of the night. If he really had instructions, he would have said them himself long ago."

The waiter's face turned pale, and he quickly explained, "Sir, you've misunderstood. The young master did indeed give instructions at the front desk this evening, and I dared not neglect them."

Jiang Yining didn't speak, but simply reached out and gently brushed her fingertips along the edge of one of the flower cakes.

The pastries were snow-white and soft, sprinkled with fine powdered sugar, and looked perfectly normal. But the moment her fingertips touched the powdered sugar, the Myriad Spirit Divine Tree, dormant deep within her dantian, trembled slightly.

That wasn't a fluctuation of spiritual energy.

It was an extremely subtle, chilling, corrosive odor.

Jiang Yining's gaze darkened slightly.

Bone-Dissolving Powder is colorless and odorless. After entering the body, it first erodes the blood and qi, then damages the bones and muscles. It may not be fatal to ordinary people in the Qi and Blood Realm, but the Five Treasures Bloodline is special. If the poison triggers the remaining divine aura within the body, the consequences are unpredictable.

She looked up at the waiter.

"Young man, who gave you these pastries?"

The waiter instinctively stepped back: "The kitchen... it's the kitchen manager."

"Which one is in charge?"

"I...I don't remember my name."

Fan Chenxin had already grasped the bone knife.

Jiang Yining reached out and pressed down on the back of his hand, giving the waiter a faint smile.

"It's alright, you can go now. Please thank Young Master Lou for me."

The waiter felt as if he had been granted a pardon, bowing repeatedly as he retreated, his steps as swift as if he were fleeing for his life.

After the door closed, Fan Chenxin stared at the pastries on the table.

"poisonous."

"Um."

"I'll go catch him."

"If we try to catch them now, we'll only catch one errand boy." Jiang Yining pulled Wubao onto her lap. "April, how about playing a game with Mommy tonight?"

Wu Bao blinked: "What game?"

"In a little while, Mother will be lying on the ground and will vomit some black blood. You can't eat cake, and you can't be afraid. If someone comes in through the window, hide behind the screen, hug the little wooden puppet, and don't make a sound."

Wu Bao's little face immediately turned serious: "Are bad guys coming?"

"Yes."

"Can I bite him in April?"

Jiang Yining thought for a moment: "If he touches you, you can bite him. But give him to Uncle Chenxin first."

Fan Chenxin squatted down in front of Wu Bao and reached out to rub her hair.

"Your mother is right. Just hide it well, and I'll take care of the rest."

Wu Bao nodded earnestly, then asked softly, "Will it hurt, Mother?"

Jiang Yining kissed her on the forehead.

"No, Mother is lying to bad people."

She took out a thin needle, pricked her fingertip, and picked up a strand of the sugar frosting stained with the bone-dissolving powder. The Myriad Spirits Divine Wood quickly absorbed most of the poison, leaving only a trace of chill that rose to the corner of her lips along her meridians.

She coughed, and black blood slowly seeped from the corner of her lips.

Fan Chenxin's pupils contracted sharply.

"Ning'er!"

Jiang Yining leaned against the corner of the table and quickly mouthed two words to him.

Don't move.

Then, she fell heavily to the ground, her hand sweeping across the wooden plate, shattering the pastries and porcelain dishes all over the floor.

Wu Bao hugged the puppet and shrank behind the screen. Its little fox tail trembled violently, but it never made a sound.

Fan Chenxin stood rooted to the spot, his hand gripping the bone knife so tightly it turned white. He understood Jiang Yining's meaning, but seeing the glaring black blood at the corner of her lips, it felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his chest.

The window paper rustled softly in the night breeze.

The next moment, the window bolt broke silently.

A figure tumbled into the house, landing and aggravating his injuries, letting out a suppressed gasp.

It's arrogance.

His chest was wrapped in thick bandages, his face was ashen, but he gripped a short blade in his right hand. When he saw Jiang Yining fall to the ground, he was stunned for a moment, then his eyes flashed with an almost manic pleasure.

"You've finally met your match."

Jiang Yining kept her eyes closed and didn't move.

Zhang Kuang squatted down and used the tip of his knife to lift her chin.

"Weren't you so impressive during the day? You could punch a wolf and kick a man. Now you're lying here like a dead fish?"

Jiang Yining's breathing was weak, and her voice was broken: "Zhang...kuang..."

"Don't be in such a hurry to call my name." Zhang Kuang laughed sinisterly. "Once you're dead, I'll bring your little fox cub back to the Zhang family. Isn't she a big eater? It'll be perfect for my Zhang family's pharmacist to take a good look at what use her flesh and blood really is."

A very faint gasp came from behind the screen.

Zhang Kuang looked up arrogantly: "Is there anyone else inside?"

Jiang Yining's fingers twitched, as if she wanted to stop him.

This action made Zhang Kuang even more excited.

"So you can be afraid too." He raised the dagger and pressed it against her chest. "Then I'll send you on your way first, and then go find your daughter."

The door panel shattered in that instant.

Fan Chenxin burst in from outside, his dark golden aura almost solidified. He didn't shout, nor did he draw his sword; his face was only a terrifyingly pale white.

Zhang Kuang turned around, and just as he raised his short blade, his wrist was grabbed by Fan Chenxin.

"You dare touch her."

Fan Chenxin's voice was very soft, so soft it sounded like it was being ground out from between her teeth.

Zhang Kuang struggled in terror, shouting, "Let me go! I am the young master of the Zhang family! If you kill me, the Zhang family will never let you get away with it!"

"If anything happens to her, don't even mention the Zhang family." Fan Chenxin's fingers suddenly tightened. "There's no need for her to stay in this Desolate City."

A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out.

Zhang Kuang screamed in agony, trying to beg for mercy, but Fan Chenxin didn't give him a second chance to say a word. He broke Zhang Kuang's limbs and dragged him to the broken window.

Zhang Kuang finally lost his voice in fear: "I was wrong! I just wanted to scare her. I'll give you the antidote, I'll give you the antidote!"

Fan Chenxin looked down at Jiang Yining on the ground.

"It's too late."

He let go.

Zhang Kuang fell from the high-rise building, and only a muffled thud could be heard in the night.

Fan Chenxin turned and rushed back to Jiang Yining's side, picking her up in her arms. Jiang Yining was about to open her eyes to explain when another trickle of black blood, forced out by the divine tree, spilled from the corner of her lips.

Fan Chenxin's breathing became completely disordered.

"You've been poisoned."

"I only had a tiny bit, the sacred tree can..."

"Don't speak." He carried her to the bed, pulled down the heavy curtains, and placed his palm over her chest. "The bone-dissolving powder first erodes your qi and blood; you can't delay any longer."

"Fan Chenxin, I'm really alright."

"You vomited blood."

"I did that on purpose..."

"I saw it." Fan Chenxin's eyes reddened, her voice extremely low. "I saw you fall, I saw him pointing a knife at you. Ning'er, how can I believe you're alright?"

Jiang Yining reached out to touch his face, but he grabbed her wrist first.

He unbuttoned his outer robe, revealing old wounds and new battle scars on his chest, and pressed his palm against hers. Dark golden blood flowed slowly along the point where their hands touched, carrying a scorching heat.

"This is the most damaging method to your very essence." Jiang Yining struggled a bit. "You just had your qi and blood circulated during the day; you can't continue like this."

"I can manage."

"It's not a question of whether we can hold on or not."

"What's the problem?" Fan Chenxin leaned down to look at her, sweat trickling down his forehead. "Do you want me to sit here and watch you slowly grow cold?"

Jiang Yining was taken aback by his question.

The curtains blocked out the outside wind, leaving only the two of them breathing rapidly on the bed. Fan Chenxin held her breath very carefully, afraid of damaging her meridians which had not yet fully recovered, but the more she restrained herself, the paler her face became.

Jiang Yining finally stopped struggling.

"Okay." She grasped his hand in return, "But listen to me, only 30% is allowed, not even a little more."

Fan Chenxin did not agree immediately.

"The Heart of the Brahma".

I will try my best.

"Not as much as possible."

He closed his eyes and whispered, "Okay, thirty percent."

The warmth from the mingling of Qi and blood gradually suppressed the poison. The Myriad Spirits Divine Tree quietly stretched deep within Jiang Yining's dantian, absorbing the remaining Bone-Melting Powder into its roots. She should have regained consciousness quickly, but she realized that Fan Chenxin had not yet stopped.

His palms were burning hot, and his forehead pressed against hers, as if he was afraid that if he let go, she would really disappear.

"That's enough." Jiang Yining took a breath. "The poison has dissipated."

"Wait a little longer."

"The Heart of the Brahma".

"Let me confirm one more time."

The tremor in his voice was unmistakable. Jiang Yining raised her hand to wipe the sweat from the side of his face, and the slight reproach in her heart suddenly dissipated.

"I will not die."

"You always say that."

"Because I'm always alive and well."

"But I dare not gamble." Fan Chenxin gripped her hand tightly, his eyes filled with lingering fear after losing control.