Lu Mo was kept in the Life Pavilion—the Life Department’s sub-hall—for several days of observation.
In reality, most of her injuries were superficial and could have been healed with minimal treatment. However, the Dean refused to take any risks.
A freshman who could go toe-to-toe with the top student in her year immediately upon entering the academy—and even emerge victorious—was undoubtedly the finest prospect the Ice Orchid Institute had seen in decades!
The future Hundred Academy Battle and the Battle of the Realms would all depend on Lu Mo. For such a genius, even the slightest lingering injury would be a monumental loss for the academy.
Elia was equally worried about Lu Mo.
Even though the staff at the Life Pavilion took excellent care of her, Elia insisted on visiting every single day. She brought Lu Mo three meals a day and even prepared homemade soup.
Elia was actually not a very good cook.
When Lu Mo looked down at the girl’s hands, she noticed several new Band-Aids. Sensing Lu Mo’s gaze, Elia quickly hid her hands behind her back like a thief caught in the act.
“Lady Lu Mo, are you feeling better?” Elia would ask every time she delivered a meal.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Lu Mo would always reply with a smile.
After their brief exchanges, Elia would hug her insulated bag and stay by Lu Mo’s side. She would only leave reluctantly when Lu Mo urged her to go to class.
As soon as school was over, Elia would immediately rush back to Lu Mo’s side, staying there quietly and motionless. She only agreed to go home when the teachers at the Life Pavilion urged her to leave late at night, citing the need for the patient to rest.
Then, early the next morning, she would appear again with breakfast.
A few days later, Lu Mo was finally discharged.
Naturally, the person happiest about this was Elia.
As soon as Lu Mo returned, Elia flew to the door to welcome her home. There was almost the faint image of a phantom tail wagging frantically behind her.
“Lady Lu Mo, would you like to eat first or take a bath?” Elia asked.
Lu Mo gave a somewhat mysterious smile. “Come into the room with me first. And then… take off your clothes.”
‘Take… take off my clothes?!’
Lu Mo’s words caused Elia’s mind to stall on the spot.
‘Why do I have to take off my clothes? Is Lady Lu Mo… going to… eat me?’
She tried to decline politely, but she found that Lu Mo’s attitude was firm. Left with no choice, she agreed.
In truth, she didn’t feel any real resistance in her heart.
Once inside the room, she took off her outer coat, leaving only her cute undergarments. Meanwhile, after setting up an array in the room, Lu Mo took a crystalline box out of her spatial ring.
Lu Mo opened the box, revealing a length of translucent, marrow-like ice crystal. An ancient and powerful frost intent began to diffuse from the crystal.
“Frost… Frost Haze Essence!” Elia recognized the object.
“Do you like it?” Lu Mo smiled. “It’s for you.”
Elia was already shocked just to see the Frost Haze Essence with her own eyes. After hearing Lu Mo’s words, her entire body trembled.
‘For… for me? A treasure like this, given to me without even a moment’s hesitation? Am I worthy?’
Yes. She wasn’t worthy. She couldn’t accept it.
Elia waved her hands frantically, her speech becoming incoherent. “No, no, no, Lady Lu Mo, I… you…”
“Take it. Once the seal is broken, the power of the Frost Haze will only continue to leak away. We can’t let it go to waste, can we?” Lu Mo motioned for Elia to sit down. “I’ll help you refine it.”
“But… but…”
“If you keep acting like this, I’m going to get angry.”
“Lady Lu Mo, I…”
Ultimately, Elia was unable to win the argument against Lu Mo.
Wearing only her undergarments, she sat down. Her small face was flushed red, the heat reaching all the way to the tips of her ears.
“It’s about to start. It might hurt a little, so try to bear with it.”
As Lu Mo spoke, she activated the Frost Haze Essence. The marrow-like ice crystal slowly melted, turning into pure energy that flowed toward Elia’s back and permeated her body.
Elia grit her teeth and endured the pain. She could feel a certain power within her body that seemed to be waking up.
She was suddenly overcome with excitement.
‘If I successfully absorb the Frost Haze Essence, will my strength jump significantly? Will I no longer be at the bottom of the class?’
‘If I successfully absorb it, is it possible I’ll awaken a powerful ice talent and be able to cultivate faster?’
‘When that time comes, will I be able to slowly become strong and eventually take revenge on those assassins and the mastermind behind them?’
‘When that time comes, will I be able to repay Lady Lu Mo and thank her for everything she’s done for me?’
‘Is it…’
*Hum—*
With a soft vibration, she broke through.
But she had only broken through by a single stage.
Then, everything stopped.
She felt the cold sensation on her back rapidly disappearing. That power that had seemed on the verge of waking up vanished in an instant, as if it had only been an illusion.
Even someone with the poorest talent should have been able to raise their strength by two or three stages by absorbing Frost Haze Essence at a low level. But for her, it had only provided one stage.
The way the Frost Haze Essence merged into her body was as if…
“Eh?”
‘It’s a lie, right?’
Elia couldn’t believe it, nor did she want to. She snapped her eyes open and turned her head to look at the crystal box beside her. The Frost Haze Essence inside had already disappeared.
She forgot for a moment that her face was still wearing a smile full of hope.
“I… I…”
A flood of emotions surged from the depths of her heart. Disappointment, sadness, despair, self-loathing, and disgust…
She had messed up. Once again… she had messed up.
Her breathing became rapid, and her body began to shake. She looked up at Lu Mo. She wanted Lu Mo to scold her, to punish her, to trample on her as she pleased. Perhaps then, her guilt would be lessened.
But even so, the girl was still smiling. Her eyes were clear and gentle as water. Just like… her smile under the sunlight that day.
It’s okay…
But that was the final straw that broke Elia.
“I messed up.”
Elia’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “I failed… I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed!”
She suddenly turned and threw herself onto the ground, prostrating herself before Lu Mo.
“Lady Lu Mo… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry!”
She apologized. She apologized over and over. She was always failing Lu Mo. Aside from apologizing, she could do nothing.
She didn’t deserve to be treated so gently by Lu Mo. She should have died in that fire, buried in those pitch-black ruins. If she had, then none of these stories that disappointed Lu Mo would have happened.
At that moment, she felt her head being lifted by a pair of warm hands. Then, her head was gently placed onto a pair of soft, delicate thighs, giving her a place to rest.
A faint fragrance filled her nostrils, bringing a sudden sense of calm to her broken and grieving heart. Those hands gently stroked her hair.
Lu Mo leaned down and pulled her into a soft embrace. Beyond that, she said nothing.
Elia clung to Lu Mo and began to wail. She cried recklessly, losing herself in her sorrow. She let out every emotion without reservation, pouring it all toward the light shining through the cracks of her scarred heart.