Chapter 391: Frozen Tear Pill

Mo Jing and Zhu Qingyue promptly settled Mo Cheng flat upon the ground, Mo Jing more gently than Zhu Qingyue, and Zhu Qingyue channelled the rest of the required spiritual energy into Mo Cheng through his stomach rather than his back.

Li Meirong and Mo Jing, meanwhile, had uniformly reached the conclusion that Zhu Qingyue planned to do more harm than good, but neither had the courage to utter their true opinion aloud.

When Zhu Qingyue finally finished his work, he left Mo Cheng where he was and instead went to stand beside Li Meirong.

"Your brother requires a high grade cultivation pill to fully recover," Zhu Qingyue told Mo Jing as he wiped his palms on a handkerchief. "The sooner the better." He kept his sentence short, his words clipped, and skipped any particular detail as to why a cultivation pill would be necessary.

At that moment, Mo Jing was not yet aware that his brother was not his true brother, but a foreign soul in possession of his original brother's body. 

Because Mo Jing was still being kept in the dark on that matter, Li Meirong and Zhu Qingyue had decided to avoid mentioning anything that related to Mo Cheng's transmigration, and simply described his condition as a spiritual affliction that required mending the bond between soul and body.

It would be entirely up to Mo Cheng to decide upon the right time to tell Mo Jing the truth, if ever.

Mo Jing rushed to Mo Cheng's side, the older brother now bruised and battered in the aftermath of Zhu Qingyue's so-called 'help'. He cradled his brother protectively in his arms.

"I do not have such a pill," he said worriedly, "and neither do I know how to concoct one."

The answer he received was a cold glare from Zhu Qingyue. "Surely you do not expect me to provide you with one such pill," He sneered and said, "In addition to the assistance I have already given."

What could Mo Jing say to that? He had indeed hoped that Zhu Qingyue might offer a cultivation pill, and he was desperate enough to grovel for it if need be, but Zhu Qingyue was like a mountain unwilling to bow to the strength of the wind. Mo Jing knew that his pleas would fall upon deaf ears.

"Of course not," he replied instead, bowing his head in Zhu Qingyue's direction. "I am sincerely grateful to Senior Zhu."

Zhu Qingyue grabbed Li Meirong's hand and dragged her towards the gates of the garden. He spoke once more, without turning to look back, to leave one final word of advice with the Mo brothers.

"Junior brother might want to consider joining the tournament for the sake of the prize," he said coolly. "The One Thousand Frozen Tear Pill will suffice to solidify the soul's bond with the body."

With that, Zhu Qingyue considered his matters with the Mo brothers to be completely settled. He hoped that he would see neither of them again, if at all possible.

Li Meirong's eyes were distant and sad, her entire demeanor crestfallen, as she entered her abode. Surprisingly, she did not make a single fuss as Zhu Qingyue sat upon her bed as if he owned the place. She simply stood there in silence, lost in thought.

This whole time, even while she worried for Mo Cheng's life, a new realization had struck her, especially after she saw her once-good friend knocked unconscious. 'Since I have also transmigrated,' she thought worriedly, 'then my soul is also not compatible with my body. Will I suffer the same as he has?'

Mo Cheng's soul had not been compatible with his physical body due to having transmigrated. Didn't that mean she would also suffer from that fate? Would she not suffer the same soul incompatibility, too, since this body was not originally her own?

Li Meirong yelped as she was suddenly pulled into Zhu Qingyue's embrace. She stiffened, startled, as he sat her on his lap and buried his face in her unbound hair. 

She felt his warm breath as he softly laid his lips upon her neck.

Even now, even after realizing her own feelings towards him, Li Meirong still felt nervous while being in his presence. She felt like she had reverted back to her teenage years, being a silly high-school girl who had just discovered her first crush and couldn't keep her cool around him.

Zhu Qingyue, however, was being extremely and unusually gentle with her this time. It almost seemed like he was attempting to comfort her in his own strange way. Could he have somehow sensed her worry?

Whether or not he was purposefully attempting to make Li Meirong feel better, his gentleness with her worked its magic all the same. She relaxed into his arms slowly, leaning on him for comfort as the tension started to seep away. His imposing height and strong build didn't seem all that frightening when he was holding her so carefully.

It was almost like being embraced by a huge teddy bear.

If she were to compare the possessive way he held her while in Mo Cheng and Mo Jing's presence to how he held her now, it could easily be considered the complete opposite. His touch was so very gentle, almost as if he thought she would break if he held her even a tad too tightly.

The softness of his lips on her neck was warm, yet light as a feather. Instead of the passionate affection he had showered her with in the past - which she had felt, at times, to be a little overwhelming - the protective way he held her now was comforting. At this moment, she felt treasured, and even loved.

And, thinking of love… she was sure of her feelings for him, but what of his feelings? What did he think of her? What did he feel for her?

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Preview to the next chapter:

She knew that Zhu Qingyue was a man of few words. He was the type to show what he felt through actions, and although Li Meirong was certain that Zhu Qingyue cared very deeply for her, she would have liked to hear a verbal confession of that, to assure her that what she felt for him was indeed mutual.