The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"Half an incense stick's worth is enough."

Tang Xixue spoke calmly as she began to roll up her plain white sleeves, revealing a section of her wrist that was as white as snow.

"Would you be willing to help, senior brother?"

She raised her eyes and looked at the Ghost Doctor through the light veil.

"Tell me, what medicine do you need? I'll go prepare it."

The Ghost Doctor was straightforward.

He knew that his junior sister possessed profound medical skills, especially in the art of applying acupuncture points with golden needles and reconnecting meridians to prolong life.

What he needed to prepare were simply auxiliary medicinal materials.

"Here, the prescription."

Tang Xixue seemed to have been prepared, and took out a neatly folded piece of plain paper from her other sleeve and handed it over.

The Ghost Doctor's herbal hut is a veritable treasure trove of medicinal herbs across the Nine Provinces.

Many exotic flowers and plants that have disappeared from the outside world and only exist in legends can probably be found here.

The Ghost Doctor took the plain paper and unfolded it.

The handwriting above is elegant and graceful, yet powerful enough to penetrate the paper, listing the names of more than a dozen medicinal herbs.

His gaze swept over them, his deep blue eyes flickering slightly:

"Three ounces of Ice Soul Jade Marrow, one mace of Thousand-Year Blood Spirit Mushroom Powder, three drops of Dragon Transformation Grass Juice, and five fen of Jade Moon Flower Stamen Powder..."

He looked up, his tone somewhat amused.

"Junior Sister, you really are... not being polite with your senior brother at all. There are probably no more than three places in the whole world where you can gather all these medicinal herbs."

He traveled extensively throughout the treacherous and remote regions of China, even venturing into ancient ruins to collect all sorts of rare treasures.

These are really hard to find elsewhere.

"My senior brother said, 'Should we let you take advantage of this?'"

Tang Xixue reached out and began skillfully untying Si Xingxuan's sash.

Her movements were fluid and natural, and her fingertips were steady; it was clear she was no novice.

The Ghost Doctor watched her deft movements, raised an eyebrow, and let out a low, enigmatic chuckle from beneath his mask:

"Heh. Junior sister, only you dare to take advantage of me so brazenly."

"Anyone who gets within three zhang of me trembles with fear, afraid that I might release some deadly little thing at any moment."

As if to prove his words, his wide, dark sleeves trembled slightly, and a slender, icy blue shadow darted out and landed on the ground.

It was a small snake, only as thick as a thumb, covered in crystal-clear scales, with eyes like the purest deep blue sapphires.

At this moment, it is curiously raising its head, flicking out its pale blue tongue.

Most amazingly, it has a pair of crystal-clear, ice-sculpted horns on its head.

Under the light, her body appeared as if woven from silver threads in its white parts and solidified from ice-blue in its icy blue parts, so beautiful it was almost illusory.

It was Bingyou, the Gu King whom the Ghost Doctor had nurtured with countless Gu and painstaking effort.

After landing, Bingyou did not show any ferocity. Instead, it twisted its slender body and quickly swam to Tangxi Xue's feet.

He tilted his little head up, his big, deep blue eyes looking at her.

The tip of its tail swayed gently, revealing a hint of affection and dependence.

"Should we release Little Ice Ghost?"

Tang Xixue glanced down at the little guy at her feet, and the corners of her lips under her veil seemed to turn up slightly.

She didn't even stop unbuttoning her clothes, but simply opened her palm gently towards Bingyou with one free hand.

The little ice snake immediately slithered up her skirt and curled up in her warm palm, rubbing its cool little head against her fingers.

Where was even a trace of the ferocity of the King of Ten Thousand Gu? He was as docile as a pet seeking affection.

"Little traitor."

The Ghost Doctor glanced at Bing You, his tone unreadable, neither annoyed nor helpless.

This is the Gu King, which he has devoted countless efforts to creating, and whose ferocity is enough to make all Gu subdue and all beasts flee.

Whenever he sees his junior sister, he hides all his fangs and venom, leaving only an innocent and harmless cute look.

He couldn't be bothered with it anymore. He shook his head, took the prescription, and turned to walk towards the alchemy room next door: "Wait here."

Tangxi Xue put Xiao Bingyou back into its little nest.

With nimble fingers, he untied Si Xingxuan's outer robe and inner garment one by one.

It revealed pale skin and clearly visible, slightly thinner bone structure due to illness.

As his clothes were removed and he sensed the touch of the outside world, Si Xingxuan's eyelashes began to tremble slightly, like butterfly wings in the wind, even in his deep sleep.

Her fair, jade-like skin gradually took on a thin layer of light pink, resembling the first blossoms of peach petals in March, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"You woke up so quickly?"

His drug resistance is indeed extremely strong.

The Ghost Doctor's Soul-Stabilizing Incense rendered him unable to move or open his eyes, and his consciousness sank into darkness, but some vague senses were not completely shut off.

He knew he was in the Bamboo Garden, knew his junior uncle was beside him, and knew... what was happening.

Reason told him this was treatment, but he couldn't control his body's most instinctive reactions.

A mix of nervousness and an indescribable sense of embarrassment caused my heartbeat to completely spiral out of control.

"I've used the calming incense, so why is my pulse still so restless?"

Tang Xixue reached out and gently placed three slender fingers on Si Xingxuan's bare wrist.

The pulse under my fingertips was pounding rapidly and heavily, like a trapped little animal desperately pounding against its cage.

She muttered to herself with some confusion.

The whispers, though entering Si Xingxuan's hazy senses, seemed to carry a strange, comforting power, and felt incredibly familiar, as if they had echoed repeatedly in the deepest recesses of his memory.

He couldn't hear the specific words clearly, but he felt that the voice was clear and pleasant, which made him instinctively want to get closer, but he felt even more embarrassed because of the exposure of his body.

"Thump thump—thump thump thump—"

His heart pounded violently in his thin chest cavity, so loudly that he almost thought it would be heard.

His remaining consciousness no longer tried to struggle to wake up; instead, like an ostrich, he curled up even deeper into the warm darkness, wanting only to hide himself away.

Tangxi Xue no longer hesitated.

She took out a row of gold needles of varying lengths and as thin as cow hair from the jade box she carried with her.

The needles are made using a special secret method, and they shimmer with a faint golden light.

She calmed herself down, and her gaze became incredibly focused and clear.

With a gentle lift of her delicate hand, she picked up the first golden needle with her fingertips.

The needle tip, illuminated by the cool, snowy light filtering through the bamboo window, gleamed with a sharp, dazzling glint.

The process of weaving life vessels begins at this moment.

As the first golden needle gently pierced Si Xingxuan's chest near the Tanzhong acupoint, the fine needle tip seemed to stir up some unseen ripples.

Then came the second and third injections...

Tangxi Xue's hands flew swiftly, her movements fluid and graceful. Every needle she placed was precise, with the depth, angle, and force all perfectly executed.

The gold needles, whether thrusting straight in, prying at an angle, or gently twisting, seemed to come alive at her fingertips.

Transforming into flowing golden trails, they gradually laid out a mysterious and intricate net on Si Xingxuan's pale, paper-white chest and vital acupoints.

This net is not a constraint, but a guide, a guide, and a weave.

A wondrous change ensued.

Si Xingxuan's life force, which was originally as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, seemed to be quietly ignited by an invisible spark at the acupuncture point where the golden needle was inserted.

A faint warmth spread from under the needle, initially like a firefly, then slowly but firmly connecting into a line, and then weaving into a patch.

His skin, which had been cold for who knows how long, gradually began to show a very faint hue.

Although still pale, it was no longer that chilling, deathly white.

Instead, it has a subtle, warm luster like jade.

Her breathing, which was almost imperceptible before, became a little deeper and longer.

Like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain, it weaves the threads of destiny.

These techniques are no ordinary medical methods; they are almost divine skills that rival the creation of heaven and earth.

Even the Ghost Doctor, who was observing quietly from the sidelines and was confident in his mastery of both poisons and gu, as well as his extensive knowledge, couldn't help but let a faint hint of appreciation flash across his deep blue eyes.

Junior Sister's medical skills have truly reached a state of perfection.

"Junior Sister, here are the supplementary medicines you requested."

The Ghost Doctor gently placed a translucent jade bowl on the bamboo table beside him.

The bowl contained half a bowl of clear, bright green medicinal juice, thick as honey, yet without any trace of the murky smell of herbs.

Instead, it exudes a cool, refreshing fragrance, like dew on pine needles after a snowfall.

He put down the medicine bowl, and as he looked up, a gust of wind happened to pass by, gently lifting the light veil at the edge of Tangxi Xue's hat.

Just that fleeting glimpse—

The Ghost Doctor froze, even his breathing paused slightly.

He saw a face.

In his memory, his junior sister was still the girl who followed behind him, her eyes as bright as the Milky Way, calling him "senior brother" in a soft and sweet voice, with a touch of childishness.

But the face in front of me...

Shedding all its youthful naiveté, it resembles a beautiful jade meticulously sculpted over the years, every contour so perfect it takes your breath away.