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

Jiang Yining pressed her knees against the edge of the bed, not letting him force her back. Instead, she raised her hand and pressed down on Fan Chenxin's old wound on his chest, which had not yet healed.

"I never asked you to go crazy for me. If you really want to protect me, then first control your emotions."

Fan Chenxin's breathing suddenly became heavier. He raised his hand, grabbed her wrists, and pressed her into the soft brocade quilt.

Dark gold blood surged into her meridians through her palm, instantly sealing off the purple-gold blood that she had just condensed.

"You can always speak so calmly because the one who is hurt is not someone else, but yourself."

Jiang Yining tried to move her wrists, but found that although he was pressing down hard, he always avoided the ruptured meridians.

"The Myriad Spirits Divine Tree has already absorbed the Gu poison, and I only have a little damage left from the breakthrough. Sealing my Qi and blood now will only make me feel worse."

"If I don't seal your qi and blood first, you'll hide your pain while I'm examining your injuries."

You can worry about me, but you can't use that worry to overstep my rules.

After saying this, Fan Chenxin finally loosened his grip a little.

He looked down at his slender wrists, which he had pinned to the brocade quilt, and the darkness in his eyes slowly faded.

"I won't force you to accept anything, but at least let me confirm that there are no residual toxins in your heart meridian."

"Then take my hands off first, and then ask me properly if I'm willing."

Fan Chenxin remained silent for a moment before finally releasing her wrist.

He stepped back half a step, his hands hanging at his sides, but his fingertips still trembled slightly from restraint.

"Jiang Yining, I want to examine the ruptured heart meridian for you and expel all the remaining cold energy. If you don't want me to touch you, I will go and ask the physician from Tianhuang City to come over."

Jiang Yining rubbed her reddened wrist and sat up to look at him.

"The doctors in the city can't detect the Myriad Spirits Divine Wood, nor can they suppress the Yin energy left by the Pulse-Locking Gu. You can heal me, but when I say stop, you must stop immediately."

"I will obey your rules as long as you let me near."

"There's one more thing: you can't treat healing as punishment, and you're not allowed to deliberately leave wounds on me."

Fan Chenxin's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not immediately agree to the last half of the sentence.

"I will only examine the meridians through which the poison has passed; it will not harm your body."

Jiang Yining sensed the room for maneuver in his words and reached out to tug at his sleeve.

"You'd better not play word games with me, or you'll be keeping the Fire Falcon company in the yard tonight."

"As long as you're alright, I don't mind barking like a dog to accompany it."

He sat back down on the edge of the couch, his movements much gentler than before.

Jiang Yining unbuttoned the top two buttons of her high-necked robe and pulled the collar slightly to the side.

A faint black line floated below the snow-white collarbone, which was the yin mark left when the meridian-locking gu came into contact with the meridians.

Although the black line did not penetrate deep into her heart, it rose and fell slowly with her breathing, clearly indicating that it had not yet been completely dispelled by her qi and blood.

Fan Chenxin's expression immediately turned ugly when she saw the black line.

"You told me from below the arena that the poison had completely disappeared, so what is this yin mark?"

"The Myriad Spirits Divine Tree devoured the Gu worm's true form, but the residual cold energy hasn't been refined yet. At most, it will make me uncomfortable for one night, but it won't endanger my life."

"What you mean by 'not endangering your life' is allowing your meridians to split open and allowing yin energy to approach your heart?"

Jiang Yining pressed down on his hand, which was trying to continue probing.

"Fan Chenxin, if you're going to bring up the past again, then you don't need to heal my wounds today."

"I won't bring up the past anymore, but you can't hide your pain any longer."

He placed his burning palm on the area below her collarbone, and dark gold energy slowly seeped into her through his fingers.

The aura left behind after the Buddha's bones shattered was no longer pure and gentle, but carried an extremely strong suppressive force. As soon as it came into contact with the black yin mark, it firmly trapped that wisp of cold air.

Jiang Yining's shoulders and back suddenly tensed, and her breathing stopped for a moment.

"Your Qi and blood are too strong, so reduce your strength by 30% first."

Fan Chenxin immediately withdrew some of her strength and used her other hand to support her back.

"Can I still withstand this force? If it's still uncomfortable, I'll continue to slow down."

"Guide it downwards along the main vein, don't strike it directly at the heart."

"I know how your meridians work, you don't need to force yourself to direct me at this time."

"If I hadn't been watching over it personally, you would have completely sealed off my life force."

Fan Chenxin did not refute, but simply pulled her closer to her.

The two streams of energy converged near the heart meridian, and the Myriad Spirits Divine Tree also shone with a faint jade-colored light from its silence, gradually drawing the remaining cold energy into its roots.

The dark gold Buddhist aura and the purple-gold wood energy intertwined, and the temperature continued to rise along the skin.

Jiang Yining's forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the fabric of his shoulder.

Fan Chenxin looked down at her face, which was so close to his.

"If it hurts a lot, just tell me. Don't bite your lip and try to bear it."

"This pain is still within my tolerance range. Just focus on stabilizing your blood and qi."

"Every time you say you can endure it, I find it even harder to believe you."

As the last wisp of coldness was forced out of her heart by her blood and qi, Jiang Yining's chest jolted, and an unbearable gasp escaped from her lips.

Before she could even catch her breath, Fan Chenxin's hand on her back tightened suddenly.

Their eyes met half a foot apart, and the candlelight in the room dimmed considerably due to the pressure.

Jiang Yining saw the desire surging in his eyes and pressed her palm against his chest.

"The residual poison in your heart meridian has been completely eliminated; you should release me now."

Fan Chenxin did not move any closer, but simply pressed his forehead against hers, his breath hot and disordered.

"I can let you go, but can you tell me first, when you were standing under the ring today, did you ever think I might be afraid?"

"Of course I knew you would be scared, which is why I used gestures to remind you not to act impulsively before you went on stage."

"Your gesture only tells me that the plan is still ongoing, but it can't guarantee that you'll come back safely."

Jiang Yining looked at the lingering redness in his eyes and slowly loosened his collar with her fingertips.

"Fan Chenxin, if I ever use myself as bait again, I will tell you all my arrangements in advance. This assurance should be enough to put your mind at ease."

"If you're just trying to appease me, you'll forget all about it tomorrow."

"I, Jiang Yining, never easily go back on my word."

Fan Chenxin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as his gaze fell on her lips, which were flushed red from his own blood and energy.

"Can I hold you for a little while longer, until your blood and energy have completely calmed down before I let go?"

Jiang Yining did not answer immediately, but instead raised her hand to grab his loose collar and pulled him a little closer.

"You may hold me, but you must not disturb April outside, nor take this opportunity to torment your Buddha relics."

This sentence was like removing the last restraint.

Fan Chenxin lowered his head and kissed her. At first, he remembered to control his strength, but after a moment his breathing became completely disordered.

Jiang Yining's back sank into the brocade quilt, her fingers gripping his shoulders tightly.

She could feel his restraint and subsequent concessions, and she could also feel the fear that had been suppressed for so long being released little by little during their kisses.

Fan Chenxin stepped back slightly before she could catch her breath, his forehead still pressed against her brow.

"If you don't like this approach, you can ask me to stop now."

Jiang Yining's breathing was still unsteady as she raised her hand to stroke his tense jaw.

"If you keep asking questions with an obvious answer, I'll really make you stop."

The darkness in Fan Chen's heart suddenly brightened, and he lowered his head to kiss her again.

This time, he didn't leave any room for questions, but kept his hand under her neck to prevent her from hitting the hard bed rails.

Suddenly, Wu Bao's incoherent sleep talking came from outside.

"Mother, don't pluck the big red chicken's feathers. It can already bark and guard the door."

Jiang Yining stiffened and immediately pushed Fan Chenxin's shoulder.

"Stop for a moment, it seems like things have turned around in April."

Fan Chenxin listened intently for a moment, and soon only even breathing could be heard outside.

The soundproof barrier remained stable; Wu Bao simply changed his position while holding the little wooden tiger, but did not actually wake up.

She was still fast asleep and didn't hear anything coming from inside.

"Even if she doesn't wake up, you must keep your voice down."

Fan Chenxin lowered his head and buried his face in her neck, his breath falling on her snow-white skin.

"I haven't argued with you all day, nor have I rushed into the ring to kill for you. Ning'er, you should give me something I can truly hold onto."

"I'll stay right here with you. What else do you want to hold onto?"

"I want to know that I'm not someone who can be easily replaced in your heart."

Jiang Yining remained silent for a moment, then raised her hand to wrap her arms around his shoulders and back.

"No one can replace what you've done for me and April. But if you try to prove your place with evidence, it means you still don't truly believe in me."

Fan Chenxin raised her head, her eyes filled with a mixture of stubbornness and bitterness.

"I will slowly learn to believe, but at least let me leave a trace today. When I see it, I will be sure you didn't push me away."

Jiang Yining looked at him for a moment, then finally raised her hand to brush aside the long hair that was scattered beside her collarbone.

"It may only remain in a place that can be covered by the collar, and it may not break the skin."

Fan Chenxin leaned down and pressed his face against her collarbone, leaving a dark gold-red mark on her snow-white skin.

He didn't actually bite through the skin, but his blood and qi seeped into his lips and teeth, condensing into a faint lotus petal.

Jiang Yining felt a heat on the side of her neck again and immediately grabbed his long hair.

"I only allowed you to leave one mark, why did you add another one to your neck?"

"That spot was to suppress the remaining cold air; this spot is the trace I want to leave."

"Fan Chenxin, you're playing word games with me again."

He chuckled softly and pulled her, along with the quilt, into his arms.

The dark gold energy subsided, leaving only a warm aura to protect her newly repaired meridians.

"Ning'er, can you promise me that you'll rely on me first if you encounter danger in the future, and never risk your life to test the enemy alone again?"

"I can promise to discuss it with you first, and I can promise not to hide it from you when danger comes, but I cannot promise to rely on you alone."

Fan Chenxin tightened her grip slightly, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little.

"Because you still have Gu Qinghan and the others, and also because Lou Xiaotian can now give you more?"

"Because I still have children by my side, and many people who are willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. I will not abandon them to appease you, nor will I leave you in the Martial Spirit Realm because of them."

He remained silent for a long time before burying his face in her loose, long hair.

"If you're willing to take me with you when you go back, I'll learn to accept their existence."

"Then from today onwards you must learn to control your jealousy, at least not to want to draw your sword whenever you see Lou Xiaotian."

"I may not draw my sword, but if he calls you Ning'er in public again, I may not be able to respond with a smile."

"No one is asking you to greet him with a smile; as long as you don't hurt your own people, that's enough."

Fan Chenxin helped her straighten her clothes, but her fingertips lingered on the dark gold and red mark for a moment.

"Ning'er, don't let yourself get hurt."