Chapter 261 - 260: The Goat Source Qi Appears (1)

The energy was nothing like ordinary yin qi. It carried a quality that was still and gentle, like the weight of deep, solid earth.

Warm and substantial—like a slow current of heat rising from somewhere far beneath the ground.

Yang Xun’s hands went still. He sank his consciousness deep into his dantian and carefully felt his way through that unusual presence.

A moment later, his eyes flew open, a flash of undisguised shock crossing his face.

Zodiac source qi!

Zhao Linglong actually had zodiac source qi inside her!

A roar went through his mind—followed immediately by a surge of wild excitement.

He’d been quietly frustrated with himself. After all this time, he’d only absorbed one type—rabbit source qi—and the others had all been dead ends. He hadn’t expected that on top of the Crimson Flame Lingzhi, he’d stumble into something like this.

"Linglong, what’s your zodiac sign?"

"I’m a Goat."

Zhao Linglong came back to herself and answered with a shy murmur.

Of course.

Yang Xun’s excitement sharpened. He closed his eyes at once, plunged his consciousness inward, and rapidly skimmed through the relevant passages in the Rejuvenating Medical Canon—the entries on all twelve zodiac source qis.

He found the Goat entry quickly.

"Goat source qi—its nature belongs to yin earth. It lies coiled deep in the central palace of the body. The goat is by nature a creature of passage. Those who carry goat source qi are born with yin-yang sight: they can perceive the forms of the shadowed realm, sense the thoughts of the departed, and read the shifting currents of feng shui."

Yang Xun’s fingertips traced slowly over the words. So that was it—the goat source qi was what had given Zhao Linglong her yin-yang eyes.

He read on, his expression growing more and more intent.

"The sharpness of its spiritual perception—its sensitivity to yin-afflicted cause and effect—far exceeds that of an ordinary person by a hundredfold. Yet yin earth by nature is heavy and settling; it is inclined to accumulate filth. Left ungoverned, the qi throughout the body becomes like a shadowed grave—drawing wandering spirits and lingering obsessions from all directions, as moths are drawn to a flame, flooding in without end."

"The result: cold so deep it penetrates the bone; illusions that cloud the mind; the spirit thrown into chaos. Day and night alike feel like being submerged in a frozen abyss, with no peace to be found."*

Yang Xun’s brow furrowed. Wasn’t that exactly where Zhao Linglong was right now?

"Goat source qi governs ’entanglement.’ It empathizes with the obsessions of the dead with extraordinary ease. Should the will be insufficient, the self gradually becomes assimilated by outside spirits, and the carrier drifts into becoming a lost wanderer stranded between the living world and the dead."

His gaze stayed on that passage for a long time. Something complicated moved through him.

The reason that dark shadow had latched onto Zhao Linglong. The reason she could sense so acutely the pain and lingering will of those five bodies. All of it came back to this single thread of goat source qi working inside her.

She had been born a bridge between worlds.

But for her, that gift was closer to a curse.

Her body was too fragile. Her nerves were too delicate. She simply couldn’t bear the weight of what kept coming through from the other side. Every time she *saw* something, it cost her—a small act of destruction carried out on herself.

To cure her yin-yang eyes completely, there was only one path: extract the goat source qi from her body.

But before that could happen, the yin-afflicted energy inside her had to be fully purged, and her physical condition had to return to a genuinely healthy state.

Force the extraction without those conditions in place, and her body simply wouldn’t hold together. It would break.

"Dr. Yang—are you okay?"

Zhao Linglong looked at him with puzzled eyes, not quite understanding why he’d suddenly gone somewhere far away.

"Linglong, I know now why you have yin-yang eyes." Yang Xun gently drew her into his arms. "There’s a specific kind of energy inside you. Once we extract it, you won’t see those shadows anymore."

"Can you take it out?"

Zhao Linglong gazed up at him, her beautiful eyes full of hope.

"Yes—but not yet. First we need to find out who killed that family of five. After their remains are properly laid to rest, your body will need some adjustment before the extraction can begin. And the method of extraction is..." He paused, something held back in his expression.

"What method?"

She tilted her head, curious.

Yang Xun drew a slow breath and said, with complete seriousness, "We need to be intimate. I’ll draw the energy out from you that way."

"Oh..."

Zhao Linglong sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

She’d never been in a relationship, and the details of what passed between men and women were still hazy to her—but she understood what *being intimate* meant. That was something for couples, for husbands and wives. How could they possibly—

Her thoughts tangled into a knot. And yet, strangely, she found no revulsion in any of it.

"That has to be the strangest treatment method I’ve ever heard."

"I’m not lying to you. If you choose not to treat it, the yin-yang eyes stay with you forever. Spirits will haunt you for the rest of your life—unless you find somewhere saturated with yang energy and never leave."

Yang Xun said it with such gravity that there was no room for it to sound like a joke. Zhao Linglong needed to understand how serious this was.

If she refused to have the goat source qi extracted, what was waiting for her might well be death.

"Take your time thinking it over. We’ll revisit it once we’ve found the killer."

He understood that a girl like her wouldn’t easily give away something so precious. He touched her face gently.

Then, just as he finished speaking, she looked up. Her gaze was steady and clear.

"If that person is you—I’m willing."

Yang Xun’s heart slammed against his ribs. He cupped the back of her head and kissed her again.

He was tall, and he pulled the small and slender Zhao Linglong tightly into him, the kiss deep and all-consuming.

After a while, his burning hands couldn’t help themselves—they began to wander.

"Linglong," he said, his breathing uneven, his voice edged with coaxing warmth, "take your clothes off and let me give you another massage. Think of it as preparation for later."

Zhao Linglong’s cheeks flushed a deep rose, but she gave a quiet, obedient nod.

She tossed the thin nightgown aside and burrowed under the blanket until only her head was showing.

Yang Xun’s mouth curved into a wicked grin. He slipped in under the covers.

...

The next morning.

Yang Xun pulled the door open and had barely taken two steps when he walked straight into Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan had clearly not been up long. He was in a casual grey t-shirt, a cup of hot coffee in hand, looking perfectly rested.

When he saw the direction Yang Xun was coming from—Zhao Linglong’s room—his eyes went wide. The hand holding the coffee paused, just slightly. Then a slow, knowing look spread across his face.

"Mr. Yang. Morning. Sleep well?"

There was a definite edge of amusement in his voice.

Yang Xun didn’t miss a beat. "Fine."

"Fine?"

Zhou Yuan leaned in a little, dropping his voice. "Miss Zhao had a nightmare last night. Don’t tell me you actually... went and kept her company in her room?"

"A physician’s duty of care," Yang Xun replied evenly. "I stayed by her bedside in case anything happened."

"Just staying by her bedside?"

Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting pointedly to the slightly rumpled collar of Yang Xun’s shirt. "Then how’d your shirt end up in that state? You sat by her bed all night and somehow managed to wrinkle your collar?"

Yang Xun glanced down. The collar was, admittedly, a little dishevelled—Zhao Linglong had grabbed it last night. He smoothed it out without hurry, his voice unchanged. "Sat in one spot all night. Of course things get wrinkled. What’s strange about that?"

Zhou Yuan let out a low chuckle, clearly not entirely convinced, but he didn’t push it any further.

"Mr. Yang, Miss Zhao is absolutely stunning, and the Zhao family has serious money. Marrying into that would be hitting the jackpot!"