Chapter 27: Checking the Black Goat

After drinking this bowl of meat soup, Li Feifei slowly placed his head on the pillow, watched Li Qingxuan lie down and fall asleep, then took the bowl and walked out.

Li Feifei went to the bathroom to wash the bowl, sat at the study chair, opened the private chat, and started talking with them; after some exchange, she obtained a lot of supplies.

After working busily until seven in the evening, Li Feifei looked up and saw Li Qingxuan open the door and walk out.

He leaned against the doorframe, his complexion still pale, his lips chapped, but his eyes shone with vigor.

His eyes were bloodshot, exhausted, yet finally they revealed his own clear gaze, staring unblinkingly at Li Feifei sitting at the desk.

He wore only thin undergarments; his tall frame now seemed somewhat hunched, obviously just standing straight had already consumed a great deal of energy.

Li Feifei almost sprang up from her chair instantly, and the private chat interface on her hand closed instantly.

"Qingxuan!" she exclaimed, rushing over to support him, "How did you get up? How do you feel? Does your head still hurt?"

Li Qingxuan did not answer immediately, merely shaking his head slightly, his movement appearing somewhat sluggish.

He took a deep breath, his gaze lingering on Li Feifei's face for a moment.

"Much better, my body's fine, just my spirit is severely overdrawn; I just need to rest more." He finally spoke, his voice still dry and hoarse.

"Water! Water!" Li Feifei replied urgently, supporting his cold arm, carefully helping him walk to the wooden table in the study.

After he slowly sat down, she quickly turned to fetch water, moving swiftly, fearing that if he didn't get water he would immediately fall back into unconsciousness.

She brought the wooden cup filled with clean water to his lips, Li Feifei watched him anxiously.

Li Qingxuan took the cup and drank carefully.

The icy clean water slid down his throat; Li Qingxuan's Adam's apple moved with difficulty a few times, and he let out a satisfied sigh.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again after a moment.

"You've also been tired all day; rest first, then you can get busy later!" He looked at Li Feifei with a gentle gaze.

Then his gaze turned to the tightly closed fortress gate, his voice carrying a hint of inquiry and confirmation: "Nothing happened today, right?"

"It has been guarding outside, nothing happened, and this afternoon has been very quiet." Li Feifei immediately understood he was asking about the Black Goat, and she answered softly while carefully observing his reaction: "I've looked out the window several times; it's lying not far from the gate, like a small hill."

Li Qingxuan gave a slight nod, a barely perceptible relaxation flickering in the depths of his eyes.

He tried to move his shoulders, but his brows instantly furrowed from the pain at the wound, and he let out a low groan.

"Don't move recklessly!" Li Feifei's heart clenched, "Your body is still very weak; the damage to your organs and spirit won't heal that quickly."

She looked at his slightly whitening face and the fine cold sweat on his forehead, her tone revealing unquestionable anxiety: "You need to go back and lie down! I'll help you back first, then go make dinner."

Li Qingxuan did not immediately retort; he lowered his eyelids, as if sensing the condition inside his body.

"I can go back on my own; these few steps are still fine." Li Qingxuan said, cracking a smile.

"Alright, then I'll go cook." Saying that, Li Feifei walked downstairs.

After Li Feifei left, Li Qingxuan returned to the bedroom and went to the window, leaning against the frame. "Now, if any weird creature appears, we'll have to rely on the Black Goat."

Li Qingxuan looked at the Black Goat, seeing its hind legs mostly healed, and sighed, "Native creatures really do recover quickly."

The Black Goat raised its head to look this way, stood up and walked over slowly; Li Qingxuan reached out and stroked its rough, icy mane, which felt like steel needles soaked in night dew.

Li Qingxuan's fingertips slid over, and he could clearly feel the knotted muscles beneath the mane trembling slightly, harboring a ferocious power like a volcanic eruption.

That huge, pitch-black skull, as dark as charcoal, lowered gently, resting against the windowsill, nearly level with the window frame.

Those pitch-black, deep eyes now rippled with a gentle wave; last night's ferocity had quietly receded, turning into two pools of dark, deep water that reflected Li Qingxuan's pale, weak face.

"You've worked hard." Li Qingxuan's voice remained hoarse, like sand rubbing together; each word consumed the energy he had just gathered.

His fingers rested on the Black Goat's forehead bone, hard as rock, and he gently stroked it.

A faint yet clear spiritual pulse quietly transmitted, no longer a stiff command but pure comfort and acknowledgment.

The Black Goat's response was a low, drawn-out "Muu—"; this sound was no longer like suppressed thunder, but like wind echoing in a deep valley, carrying a strange frequency that calmed the mind.

Its massive body moved forward again, exhaling warm breath mixed with the scent of grass and soil onto Li Qingxuan's arm resting on the window frame.

Li Qingxuan could sense the violent weird energy within it, now turned into a calm lake surface, slowly flowing under the weak pull of his spiritual power, bringing a peculiar restorative warmth that seeped through his fingertips into his exhausted meridians.

This warmth was not the comfort of human body temperature; it was more like a vital energy from the abyss, intertwining with the residual potency of his spirit recovery elixir and the heat from food, slowly nourishing his severely damaged foundation.

He closed his eyes, feeling this strange connection, a symbiotic bond deepening in silence.

The Black Goat's hind leg muscles twitched slightly within his sight; the wound that once exposed bone, its charred edges contracting at a visible speed, new dark‑red buds of flesh wriggling stubbornly beneath the scab, emitting a faint, bloody‑sweet dark glow.

The recovery power of weird creatures truly far surpasses that of humans.

At that moment, faint yet clear footsteps came from downstairs, accompanied by the crisp clatter of a spatula hitting the pot, and a rich aroma of meat mixed with fresh plant sweetness wafted upward.

This human world's smoky aroma formed a strange contrast with the vast, eerie, silent guard by the window.

Li Qingxuan leaned against the window frame, breathing fresh air; his sense of weakness seemed to be gradually lessening.

Spiritual fatigue was like an invisible tide, constantly washing against his tense will, making him only want to sink into deep sleep and fall into dreamless darkness.

However, the steady, powerful pulse beneath his fingertips from the Black Goat, like a lighthouse in the dark night, weakly yet firmly anchored his wavering consciousness.

He drew a deep breath; the mixed scent of grass, food aroma, and dust surged into his lungs, bringing a sense of having survived a disaster.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze once again falling on the Black Goat's deep green eyes; in the depths of his weary gaze, a faint spark named "control" and "future" struggled to reignite.

He withdrew his hand, his body slowly sliding down the cold wooden window frame, both arms clasped in front of the window, his weight resting on the window, silently gazing at the weird world outside dyed by night, and beside him, this silent guardian as mute as a mountain range.

In the silence inside and outside the fortress, only his heavy breathing and the Black Goat's long, low breaths remained, intertwined.

(PS: Free of charge, I'm sending a little love-powered electricity; this way the author gets more motivation, please please)