Chapter 18

Xia Qinyue's cultivation level, whether it was at the tenth level of the Initial Profound Realm, Xiao Che was very clear about, but Xiao Yulong, of course, had no idea. Xia Qinyue was truly angry; the previous strike had used at least seven-tenths of her Profound Power. Looking at the fallen Xiao Yulong, she retracted her palm and said indifferently, "It seems that Young Master Xiao is not very good at sparring. Please return."

Xiao Yulong, who was lying on the ground, was completely stunned... He had thought that with his third-level Profound Power, teasing Xia Qinyue would be a piece of cake. He never expected that in just one exchange, before he could even react to what had happened, he was already lying on the ground in a wretched state. He opened his eyes wide and saw two bloody front teeth lying on the ground in front of him.

Xiao Yulong quickly stood up from the ground, his face twitching. He knew how wretched he looked. With his identity as the young master of the Xiao family, he had never been so wretched in his life... and it was in front of the woman he most admired and desired. However, Xiao Yulong was still Xiao Yulong. He swallowed the salty blood in his mouth and actually managed to put on a rather gentle and elegant smile: "Miss Xia's tenth-level Profound Power in the Initial Profound Realm is indeed well-deserved. I underestimated you with my casual test just now. This time, Miss Xia should be more careful."

With two front teeth missing, Xiao Yulong's speech was full of whistling sounds. After speaking, he raised both hands and mobilized all his Profound Power... He naively believed that the reason he suffered such a great loss just now was entirely because he acted casually, while Xia Qinyue had used her full strength without mercy. How could a third-level Profound Power practitioner like him not be able to deal with a tenth-level Initial Profound Realm practitioner like Xia Qinyue!

Xiao Yulong took a step forward, and after three quick steps, he extended both hands, aiming to entangle Xia Qinyue's arms. His actions made Xia Qinyue not only feel disgusted but also lose all patience. She suddenly swung her right arm, and with the flutter of her red sleeve, a Profound Power with a slight cold sensation fiercely swept across Xiao Yulong's face.

This Profound Power did not carry the Ice Cloud Technique, but it was certainly not something Xiao Yulong could withstand.

With a "bang," Xiao Yulong's right cheek caved in, and he flew backward, spinning in the air at least seven or eight times like a spinning top, then landed heavily outside the courtyard. Three bloody teeth fell from his mouth, two of which directly hit his face.

"The sparring is over. I won't see you off," Xia Qinyue said, her eyes cold and her voice icy.

Xiao Yulong's entire right face was red, as if stained with blood. Now, even if he were a fool, he should have realized that his third-level Profound Power was not enough to deal with Xia Qinyue. He held his aching right cheek and stood up, looking at Xia Qinyue with some fear, panting heavily, and without saying another word, stumbled away.

Xiao Yulong made his way to the medicine room. Just as he was about to enter, he saw Xiao Che coming out, holding a medicine pot in his left hand and a package in his right. As soon as he saw Xiao Yulong, Xiao Che immediately greeted him warmly: "Brother Yulong, why are you here? Oh! Brother Yulong, your face... What... What happened?"

Seeing Xiao Che, Xiao Yulong gritted his teeth and coldly snorted, then directly rushed into the medicine room. A moment later, the shocked and flustered voice of Xiao Gu, the chief pharmacist of the Xiao family, came from inside: "Young Master... Who... Who had the audacity to do this to you!"

"It's nothing... I accidentally fell while practicing on the back mountain..." Xiao Yulong's voice was filled with obvious pain. He certainly couldn't admit that his current state was due to teasing Xia Qinyue and being taught a lesson by her.

"This is nothing!? Your cheekbone is significantly fractured, five teeth are missing, and three more are at least half broken... These can't grow back..."

Xiao Che had not walked too far, and the voice that reached his ears made his back feel cold.

This woman... Her hand is too damn ruthless!

The Heart-Killing Powder that killed him was most likely from Xiao Yulong. He had originally intended to use Xia Qinyue's hands to give him a small lesson... But this, what a lesson? It was almost a death blow!

Thinking about how he had used his grandfather as a shield to hold her hand that morning, Xiao Che involuntarily shivered.

When he returned to his small courtyard, Xia Qinyue was standing quietly in the yard. Seeing him return, she said indifferently, "Xiao Yulong came."

"Ah, yes, I know. I just saw him at the medicine room." Xiao Che cautiously looked at Xia Qinyue's expression and spoke very carefully.

Xia Qinyue did not pay him any more attention, slightly closing her eyes, with a layer of cold aura surrounding her body.

"Qinyue, can I ask you a question?" Xiao Che took a small step forward and said.

"?" Xia Qinyue remained motionless.

"What level is your Profound Power?" To be able to beat Xiao Yulong into such a wretched state, she must be at least a fifth-level Profound Power practitioner! At sixteen, being a fifth-level Profound Power practitioner... If this were to spread, Lianyun City would be in an uproar.

Xia Qinyue still did not respond, showing no signs of answering.

Xiao Che, feeling ignored, looked depressed. From the look of it, Xia Qinyue was silently cultivating the Ice Cloud Technique, the unique Profound Skill of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. He did not speak, put down the things in his hands, leaned back, crossed his arms, and watched Xia Qinyue in silence.

This went on for a full quarter of an hour.

Xia Qinyue usually stayed in her room, and when cultivating the Ice Cloud Technique, only her master would occasionally guide her. No one else would disturb her... let alone be stared at by a man.

Although she was standing with her eyes closed, focusing her mind, the Ice Cloud Technique flowing through her body, she could still feel Xiao Che standing there, staring at her, and staring continuously... His gaze never left her. His piercing gaze swept over every part of her body, making it impossible for her to completely calm down, and she felt extremely uncomfortable... After all, she was still a sixteen-year-old girl, and it was too much to expect her to be completely calm.

For a full quarter of an hour, Xiao Che still stood there, staring at her. Xia Qinyue finally could not bear it any longer, opened her beautiful eyes, and turned to him, saying coldly, "Why are you staring at me!"

"I'm waiting for you to speak to me." Xiao Che said with an innocent look.

"..." Xia Qinyue suddenly had the urge to kill someone.

"Cough, actually, I have something very important to tell you. I was afraid of disturbing your cultivation just now, so I had to wait." Xiao Che straightened up, his face full of sincerity.

"..." Xia Qinyue suppressed her anger and asked, "What is it?"

"Um, it's like this." Xiao Che's expression became serious. He took a few steps forward, stood in front of Xia Qinyue, and said earnestly, "When I held your hand this morning... Hey! No, no, no touching! I'm talking about something serious, serious!" Seeing the sudden murderous intent in Xia Qinyue's eyes, Xiao Che quickly took several steps back, his expression becoming cautious... The miserable state of Xiao Yulong was a bloody lesson... Fortunately, Xia Qinyue did not really attack him. Xiao Che let out a small sigh of relief and continued, "When I held your hand, I also checked your pulse and found some serious problems."

His words did not cause the slightest ripple in Xia Qinyue's eyes... She simply did not believe him.

Although she had indeed felt him secretly touching her wrist when he held her hand that morning, he was a well-known weakling of the Xiao family in Lianyun City, and he knew nothing about pulse diagnosis.

But the next words from Xiao Che made Xia Qinyue's heart tremble slightly.

"Do you wake up from your sleep every day at three in the morning? And for the next two hours, your body feels cold, and your limbs ache."

Xia Qinyue's eyes flickered, and she subconsciously asked, "How do you know?"

Xiao Che continued, "Also, since you started cultivating the Ice Cloud Technique, every time your Profound Power breaks through, for the next two to three days, do you feel cold all over, your limbs ache, you can't eat, and you can't sleep well?"

Xia Qinyue's eyes flickered violently... Because what Xiao Che said was exactly right!

"Also..." Xiao Che moved his steps, walking all the way to the courtyard gate, and only when half of his body was outside the gate did he say with a serious face, "The last... um... ah... period, was it about seven or eight days late?"

Xia Qinyue: "!@#￥%……"

Not sensing any murderous intent from Xia Qinyue, Xiao Che cautiously walked back from outside the gate: "Do you believe me now?"

"How do you know?" Xia Qinyue frowned slightly.

"Pulse!"

"You know how to read pulses?"

"Do you believe me if I say I'm a divine doctor?" Xiao Che said with a sincere look.

"If you want to joke, go find your aunt." Xia Qinyue turned her gaze away, her face expressionless.

Xiao Che, of course, did not expect Xia Qinyue to believe him. If she really believed him, that would be strange: "These are all serious symptoms. Don't you want to know how to treat them?"

"No need." Xia Qinyue said coldly, "The Ice Cloud Technique is a unique Profound Skill of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace, with endless mysteries. When one first cultivates the Ice Cloud Technique, the body has difficulty adapting to the cold, and certain negative reactions will occur. This is common knowledge in the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. All the sisters, even the masters and grandmasters, have experienced this. When the Ice Cloud Technique reaches a certain level, these negative reactions will naturally disappear."

"Um, what you said is correct," Xiao Che nodded in agreement, then said with a smile, "But I also understand why one must abstain from sexual desires upon entering the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace... Because even if the women of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace have men, they cannot bear children. If this were to be known, it would damage the reputation of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace. It's better to cut off the path of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace disciples finding men, thus keeping this rather shameful secret."

Xia Qinyue's eyebrows suddenly arched, her gaze turning cold. For the first time, she felt genuine anger toward Xiao Che: "Shut up! I can tolerate your nonsense... but I will not allow you to insult my sect! If you say another word like that, I will not forgive you!"

Xiao Che, who had been cautious and timid before, now showed no sign of fear. He smiled faintly and said calmly, "I know very well whether I am wrong. I can also tell you... the stronger the Profound Power, the longer the lifespan. But from your pulse, I can be absolutely certain that at the same level of Profound Power, the lifespan of the people of the Ice Cloud Immortal Palace is nearly one-third shorter, or even more!"

"Am I right, or am I wrong?"

Xiao Che's words were like a thunderclap in Xia Qinyue's ear, making her beautiful eyes contract for a moment.

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