Chapter 25: Backlash

The first to notice something was Shen Qingci; she had been staying close to her older sister, so she was the first to detect her abnormality.

The sound of her voice immediately drew the others.

Ning Shi also immediately sensed her daughter's pallor, rushed forward, and saw her daughter's face ghostly white, brows tightly knit, as if enduring severe pain.

She was terrified, grabbed her in a hug and said, "Qinger, Qinger, what's wrong with you?"

"Mother… I'm fine, in a moment… it'll be okay… don't tell Grandmother… or Father…"

After speaking, her consciousness fell into chaos.

She had forgotten that when the system level is low, frequent consciousness entries into the system severely damage her Spiritual Power. Today she kept entering and exiting the system, which must have drained too much, causing her head pain.

As expected, Gold Coins aren't that easy to earn.

Before Choubao awakens, continuous all‑day planting is basically impossible. At present, her limit seems to be thirty to forty times. Although each stay inside the system is brief, the back‑and‑forth inevitably drains the mind and spirit.

If she doesn't want another splitting headache, it's safest to keep daily system entries under thirty.

The duration of each stay should not exceed three hours.

Realizing this, she sighed; it seems she must wait until her level rises. She remembers that higher levels boost Spiritual Power, so later there will be no restriction.

Shen Qingquan didn't let mother tell their father, only said she needed a rest.

After about half an hour, the pain in her head finally eased, she opened her eyes and found a crowd of people gathered before her.

Father, mother, younger brother, Sixth Sister, and even Grandmother had awakened.

Seeing her wake, he grabbed her hand, tears instantly falling, and said, "Little one, you almost scared Grandmother to death…"

"Grandmother, what's wrong… I'm fine, really, you see I'm perfectly fine?"

"You child, what's really going on? Why the sudden headache?"

Shen Junchen happened to arrive at that moment, and was shocked to the point of losing his spirit; his daughter's pallor was so dreadful, as if something terrible would happen the next instant…

He was about to call Doctor Huang, but Ning Shi stopped him.

Ning Shi recalled the words her daughter said before fainting, hesitated for a long time, and finally decided to believe her.

She formed a conjecture in her mind, "Qinger, you told mother, did you use Divine Power again?"

"Mother, I…"

Seeing her expression, Ning Shi was certain.

"Indeed, using this Divine Power comes at a price! Qinger, we won't use it; if that power harms you, mother would rather endure hunger and cold than lose you…"

She suddenly hugged her and began to cry; she should have known that nothing in the world is that good—unlimited Divine Power to obtain whatever one wants, the treasures of immortals, using them inevitably demands a price.

Even if she wanted to return to the way things were before, she could never allow her Qinger to face any danger, however slight!

"Qinger, is what your mother said true?"

"Father, mother, don't get worked up, listen to me first."

Shen Qingquan felt both moved and amused, knowing that this incident truly frightened them.

Seeing her younger brother and Younger Sister's nervous, frightened faces, she felt warmth in her heart, yet still thought she needed to explain clearly to them.

Coincidentally, Grandmother was also present.

She thought that this matter would inevitably be uncovered by the elderly lady, and moreover, since she would need to produce more items later, Grandmother's wisdom would surely not miss any discrepancy.

"Father, mother, Grandmother, listen to me. This time, it truly was my overuse of ability that caused this. I only wanted to know where my limits lie, so it would be convenient for future use. Through this experiment I finally reached a conclusion; with this lesson, I will be far more cautious when using Divine Power in the future."

Ning Shi was about to say something, but she stopped her: "Mother, rest assured, this kind of situation will definitely not happen again; I will be careful and will never let myself get hurt again."

"

"I swear."

As she spoke, she extended three fingers, her face earnest.

"What you said… is it true?" Ning Shi still felt uneasy.

"It's true! Mother, when have I ever lied to you?"

Ning Shi frowned, "But mother still feels uneasy…"

"Then, if I get injured again in the future, I will stop using Divine Power; I will keep my word… that way, mother, you should finally be at ease."

Having said that, how could Ning Shi still oppose?

She and Shen Junchen exchanged a glance, and finally compromised, "Then you must remember the promise you made to us: never push yourself in the future, understand? If you feel unwell again… you must immediately tell mother and father, never hide it from us!"

Her expression was more serious than ever before.

Seeing this, Shen Qingquan hurriedly said, "I swear, I will never hide anything from you!"

Only then did the two relax, and at that moment, the silent elderly lady beside them spoke, "You all go out first; I have something to say to the little one."

If it has come to this and the elderly lady still hasn't noticed anything, then she isn't the wise, clever ancestor of the Shen family.

"Mother…"

"Go out."

Shen Junchen was about to speak, but the elderly lady swept a glance at him; that look instantly made him dare not say another word, and soon, except for her and Shen Qingquan, everyone else left.

Only when the room was left with just the two of them did the elderly lady begin to 'raise accusations.'

"Speak up, what really happened? What have you hidden from this old lady?"

In fact, ever since the broken shed, the elderly lady sensed something amiss. After arriving here, she could always produce all sorts of items, including that pot of charcoal from the afternoon.

That thing couldn't have been carried all the way by them, could it? Saying they exchanged it in the city is even more impossible; in such a short time, where could they have gone to trade? After a great flood, everything was submerged—where did they obtain dry charcoal?

All these doubts told her that her granddaughter had undergone an incredible change.

But she remained silent; since they hadn't told the elderly lady, there must be a reason.

Until the little one suddenly fell ill…

"Grandmother, I didn't intend to hide from you…"

Seeing her with a strained face, Shen Qingquan quickly acted coquettishly.

The old lady jabbed her forehead with a finger, but the force was feeble: "Don't think you can pull a fast one on me."

She shamelessly pressed herself into her arms and, without hiding anything, told her about the Divine Power.

Including what happened in the Broken Temple.? This book was first released on 17K Novel Network; view the official content immediately!