Chapter 202: Vigor-Boosting Pill

B-But…

Huo Huo was scolded into pulling their neck back, but they were still terribly frightened, tears swirling in their eyes.

That laughter was too real, and the thing actually appeared…

If it wasn't a ghost, then what? Something even scarier?

"That's nonsense! Get up! Look at what that thing is!"

Weiba Daye urged, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Under Weiba Daye's "overwhelming authority", Huo Huo trembled and barely got up.

She scanned the room inch by inch—doors and windows were shut tight, there was no sign of intrusion, the earlier laughter never returned, as if it had truly been just her illusion.

But the brocade pouch on the table was undeniably real.

She moved toward the table edge as cautiously as if defusing a bomb, extended trembling fingers, and tapped the pouch.

It was cool, soft, and showed nothing abnormal.

The moment her fingertip brushed the silk surface of the pouch—

A clear message surfaced directly in her mind:

Product Name: Vigor-Boosting Pill

Description: Not for oral use. Simply keep it nearby. May grant you a bit more courage to face your heart when confronting crucial choices. Shelf life: Depends on the user's mental state.

Source: An enthusiastic individual who wishes to remain anonymous.

Huo Huo: "…?"

Huo Huo squeezed the dark‑red pouch, and their light‑blue Fox Ears twitched in confusion.

The name that sprang to mind was far… more unexpected than anything.

(Vigor—Vigor-Boosting Pill?! This… this can't be right?! Why—why give me this?!)

She shook her head frantically, trying to shake off the absurd name, but the message was imprinted with crystal clarity.

After wavering repeatedly, she used trembling fingers to carefully untie the pouch's delicate silk seal.

Inside there was no further explanation, only a single pill the size of a longan, entirely jet‑black.

The pill emitted no scent, felt slightly cool to the fingertip, and was hard in texture.

"What is this thing?"

A clump of teal‑green, seemingly alive flame burst from the tip of Huo Huo's bristling tail with a "whoosh", coalescing into an impatient face—none other than Weiba Daye.

It circled Huo Huo's hand half a turn, its eyes narrowing on the black pill.

"It… looks like… a Vigor-Boosting Pill."

Huo Huo whispered back, cheeks flushing a bit; the name was just too awkward to utter.

"Huh?!"

Weiba Daye's flame leapt upward sharply, his voice brimming with disbelief, "Vigor-Boosting Pill?! Where does it say that? The packaging? The manual? From which hidden corner did you conjure that name?!"

"No, it's not the packaging…"

Huo Huo hurriedly explained, voice even softer, "It… it was when I touched it that the name just popped into my head. Really!"

Weiba Daye's flame silhouette froze for a moment, seeming to scrutinize Huo Huo's expression.

That little face was filled with earnestness and embarrassment, not the ramblings of someone half‑asleep.

"Hey—?"

Weiba Daye elongated his tone, flame flickering, exuding keen interest, "Now that's truly odd. Stuffing a name straight into someone's mind?"

He leaned in again toward the black pill, the teal flame nearly licking its surface, "This thing… is kind of interesting. But the name is terrible—'Vigor'? Hah, which quack or scoundrel came up with that?"

Huo Huo held the pill, at a loss.

Eat it? Definitely wouldn't dare.

Throw it away? Yet the description in her mind—'simply keep it nearby, may grant you a bit more courage when facing crucial choices'—made her hesitate.

Maybe… the name is just oddly coined?

"Hold onto it for now, you little coward."

Weiba Daye finally hummed, "Don't eat it recklessly, and don't toss it carelessly. Keep it under your very eyes, and I'll see what tricks this damn 'Vigor-Boosting Pill' can play. If it dares to cause trouble, I'll scorch it with a single flame!"

After speaking, with a "swoosh" it slipped back into Huo Huo's tail, leaving an impatient mutter, "Hurry and tidy up that Resignation Letter, you dawdler…"

Huo Huo stared at the black pill in her palm, then at the Resignation Application, and finally, very carefully, placed the pill back into the pouch, tightened the opening, and set it in a corner of the desk—a spot she could see when she looked up, yet wouldn't easily touch.

The light‑blue Fox Ears twitched slightly, and she furtively glanced at the pouch, unable to name the feeling inside.

Fear hadn't faded, confusion lingered, yet perhaps… there truly was a faint, indescribable sense of steadiness that, with the pouch's placement, quietly settled in her heart.

Almost at the exact moment Sai Fei Er flicked a golden coin and vanished from Bai Hang's courtyard, Jing Liu happened to step onto the final stone step leading to the small courtyard entrance.

Her steps were feather‑light.

Just as she was about to set foot on the last step, her gaze already level with the tightly shut courtyard gate—

Bang!!!

The wooden door of the small courtyard was ripped open from the inside without warning!

Simultaneously, a brief yet crisp sound of air tearing, like the finest violin string snapping, brushed past Jing Liu's ears and flank!

Jing Liu's pupils, veiled by black gauze, snapped shut!

Her perception surged to its peak within a thousandth of a second.

That wasn't wind!

It was an object, a humanoid shape, moving at a terrifying speed she had never witnessed, bursting out of the door and brushing past her!

She couldn't even see clearly, only catching in her over‑charged perception a vague silhouette wrapped in golden glimmer!

(What is that?!)

Jing Liu's heart missed a beat, not from fear but from surprise.

That speed had already surpassed the realm of ordinary footwork, certainly not any technique known to Xianzhou!

She snapped her head around, looking toward the alley where the golden afterimage had vanished.

It was empty there.

Jing Liu furrowed her brows, and the fingers gripping the erhu's body tightened slightly.

In this courtyard of "Bai Xing", indeed lay an extraordinary secret!

This speed, this aura… friend or foe?

What relation does it have with "Bai Xing"?

She forced down the urge to pursue immediately, deciding to first accomplish her original goal—investigate the courtyard and locate "Bai Xing" himself.

She turned again, facing the courtyard gate that still swayed slightly, ready to step inside.

However, at the very Shana she lifted her foot—

That familiar whooshing sound surged again, drawing nearer!

The speed was no slower than before, and because it returned from behind, it carried an even stronger purpose!

(Returned?!)

Jing Liu's inner alarm rang loudly!

This time, she hesitated not a moment!

As the golden figure was about to sweep past her again and dash into the courtyard gate in a flash, Jing Liu's empty left hand, index finger like a sword, lightly tapped the empty space beside her!

A highly refined Senhan Sword Intent mixed with low temperature, centered on her, unfolded instantly like an invisible Cold Domain!

The range was small, covering only three feet around her and the courtyard gate entrance, yet the effect was overwhelmingly dominant!

"Ka…kacha…"

The moisture in the air was instantly seized and condensed!

The ground, walls, doorframe, and even the sparse foliage along the courtyard wall were, in a Shana, covered with a layer of crystal-clear white frost exuding biting cold!

The temperature plummeted, and even the light seemed to freeze under this extreme cold!

This move was not a killing technique, but a seal.

Jing Liu's purpose was clear: regardless of who came, that speed was too threatening and had to be forced to stop or at least reveal a trace!

"Aiyo!"

A crisp, painfully startled girl's cry rang at the edge of the Frost Domain!

Effective!

But Jing Liu immediately sensed that the golden figure, when disturbed by the cold and its speed visibly stalled, with an incomprehensible suppleness forcibly altered its direction, like a fish slipping through a crack in the ice, narrowly skimming the densest part of the frost, and with an astonishingly slight arc, darted into the still‑swaying courtyard gate!

Only a brief shout echoed in the cold air.

Jing Liu slowly withdrew her fingers, and the surrounding cold gradually dissipated.

She watched the few streaks of frost on the doorframe melt quickly, and heard the faint "Aiyo" from within the courtyard followed by someone seemingly inhaling sharply and shouting "Cold cold cold," while her black Eye Mask subtly turned, Locking onto the courtyard.

The speed was disrupted, the person entered, and… it seemed the cold she emitted brushed them, causing a slight loss?

She no longer hesitated, stepped forward, treading over the melting white frost on the doorframe, and walked straight into Bai Hang's small courtyard.