Chapter 165: The Great Awakening of Magic

When Sang Chu and Sang Jingwen finally opened their eyes, the cold had already faded.

Looking at herself soaking in a pool of blood, Sang Chu instinctively covered her nose against the stench, only to realize her hands were also covered in blood, smearing it all over her face.

Sang Chu: "".........""

Granny Xiang, seeing Sang Chu’s blood begin to recede, hurried over to wipe it away, but Nana had already rushed over.

""Sang Sang, are you alright?""

A soft handkerchief gently wiped Sang Chu’s face.

Facing Nana, Sang Chu tried to open her mouth, but her throat felt sticky and her lips wouldn’t part—she couldn’t utter a single word.

At that moment, she saw Sang Jingwen in another pool, staring blankly with wide eyes. Worried something had happened to him, she tried her best to call out, but her voice was hoarse and low, barely making a sound.

""My... brother... what happened to him?""

Jing, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t help but smile faintly when she saw Sang Chu awake. Though her words were a bit slurred, at least her mind was clear.

""He risked his life to save you and was almost frozen solid. Luckily, his willpower is strong, so he doesn’t need a blood bath to recover. Once he regains consciousness, he should be fine.""

""Okay.""

Sang Chu nodded, suddenly remembering Tu You. She immediately looked around, but saw nothing. ""Tu—Tuzi? (Rabbit?)""

""I’m right here, Ah Chu. Why are you always so careless?""

Tu You, wearing a mask, floated in mid-air. Jing, startled by the sudden appearance of a flying rabbit mage, instinctively raised her guard, gripping her bow tightly.

Tu You glanced at her, then looked at Sang Chu, neither close nor distant. ""You look much better now. I was too reckless this time. If you hadn’t suddenly joined Sang Jingwen in the fight, I really would have died out there.""

Sang Chu also felt a lingering fear. She had rushed to her brother purely out of a deep sense of unease—she didn’t know why, but she felt she had to get to him, and only after stepping in did Sang Jingwen wake up.

In that critical moment, she trusted only her brother. Thankfully, he was there, and now he was awake too.

Sang Chu tried to get up with Nana’s help, but her whole body was so stiff she couldn’t move. Granny Xiang pressed her back down by the shoulders, keeping her in the blood pool.

""Master, you can’t get out yet. You need to soak for at least three days. Even though the cold has faded, your body still carries traces of the ice. If you leave the blood pool now, when the cold returns at night, the ice will reappear in your body, and by then, not even a blood bath can save you.""

Hearing this, Sang Chu frowned. ""This cold can enter my body directly?""

Granny Xiang had long suspected Sang Chu wasn’t from this world. Though she didn’t know how she got here, all the signs pointed to her being unfamiliar with the dangers of the magical world.

""Master, once this cold enters your body, it’s like a curse. No matter where you run, as soon as night falls and the cold returns, it will find you and invade you again. Anything cursed this way, even if hiding within a magical barrier, will still be eroded. It’s just not as fast as outside, but over the years, the constant erosion will eventually kill you—and it’s a painful process.""

Nana, seeing Sang Chu’s confusion, gently explained, ""Actually, the magic barrier here is meant to block the Snow Demon King who hides in the ice and snow. The Snow Demon King feeds by this method—once you’re infected, even a tiny bit, you’re cursed and marked, and it’s very dangerous.""

""What about my brother?""

Granny Xiang smiled, ""Your brother doesn’t have any ice inside him, so he hasn’t been cursed. He was just frozen and his body entered a protective state. A soak in the hot spring will cure him. I don’t know how he avoided the curse, but he’s fine, so you don’t need to worry.""

Hearing this, Sang Chu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, Yi Ping, who had rushed over, said, ""Sang Sang, you’re finally awake! You really scared your brother and me this time. Don’t ever do something so reckless again!""

""Yi-ge...""

""Hey, calling me ‘ge’ won’t help! You were way too reckless. Here, drink some soup to warm up.""

Yi Ping handed her a bowl of soup. Sang Chu blinked, not sure how to react.

The smell of blood was overwhelming—she felt like she’d throw up if she ate anything here!

Yi Ping noticed her expression and couldn’t help but laugh, ""Haha, now you know fear, huh? Granny Xiang said you need to eat something good, but you can’t leave the blood pool, so this is the best we can do. Come on, don’t dawdle, I spent a long time making this!""

Granny Xiang, seeing Sang Chu hesitate, lifted her old hand and tapped her on the nose, ""Don’t worry, it doesn’t smell now, does it?""

Sang Chu sniffed—seemed like the smell was gone. ""Yeah, I don’t really notice it anymore.""

Yi Ping smiled and handed her the spoon, ""Alright, then eat up.""

Her hands could barely move, so stiff and clumsy that she couldn’t even hold the spoon properly.

Yi Ping couldn’t stand it anymore and took the spoon himself, ""Forget it, I’ll feed you. Open up!""

""Cough, cough!""

This Yi Ping was going to be the death of her!

He just poured the soup straight into her mouth, making her cough and spill it everywhere. Nana couldn’t watch anymore and took the bowl, ""Let me do it, you go check on the other one!""

Yi Ping shrugged, ""Alright, I’ll go check on the lonely bachelor Sang Jingwen.""

At this point, Sang Jingwen was technically awake, but still mostly unconscious. Yi Ping glanced at him—he didn’t even blink—then turned and left, still simmering soup for when Sang Jingwen woke up.

With the cold gone, everyone’s spirits lifted.

Meanwhile, back at the base, Lu Minlang was getting anxious since Sang Jingwen and Yi Ping had been gone so long and weren’t replying to his messages.

[Yi-ge? Wen-ge? Why aren’t either of you answering?]

He’d been messaging Sang Jingwen, but after getting no reply, he tried Yi Ping—only to find he was out of contact too!

Finally, when Yi Ping saw the message, he took a long time before replying:

[I went to find Sang Sang because Wen-ge was worried about her. I originally planned to search near you, but he kept messaging Sang Chu and got no reply, so he insisted on going to check. Luckily, I went with him!]

[What happened?]

Yi Ping: [I don’t really know what happened to Sang Sang—she was lying in the snow, nearly dead. Now she’s soaking in a blood pool. The person who saved her said she can’t leave for at least three days!]

Lu Minlang jumped up when he read this: [Is she okay??]

[Yeah, she’s fine. Anyway, I’ll talk later. Wait for me at the base. I’m going to make some soup for Wen-ge—he almost froze to death too.]

[Alright, got it. Go ahead.]