“But I guess that guy has only had the power of the Demon Sword for a short time, at most less than a month. Because if he had it earlier, the Holy Sword and Demon Sword, two completely opposing forces, would have been fighting each other long ago.”
“Only for a short while?”
Zhu Xiaxia recalled what Zhu Qiu had done before and suddenly thought of someone.
Xiao Hei, the Demon King.
Although that guy had been locked up for a while, she was currently the only person who might have a connection to the Demon Sword.
She had to question her when she got back.
If she dared not talk, then she was as good as dead.
Zhu Xiaxia felt guilty.
It had taken her this long to realize the Demon King was a problem, and it had caused Zhu Qiu to end up like this.
“Okay, that was my oversight.”
“It’s fine. When your daughter wakes up tomorrow, while she’s still conscious, have her try to master these two forces and balance them. Otherwise, the consequences will be endless.”
“I understand. You mean this ‘Ice Crush Heart-Cooler’ has a limited duration, right? Once that time passes, it will lose its effect.”
“Correct, Dragon Queen, you’re very clever. The exact duration is about a week, that is, seven days.”
‘Seven days?’
‘But Zhu Qiu still has two days before school starts. If she can’t handle these two forces in the next two days, what if something happens again when school begins?’
Zhu Xiaxia was a bit worried.
“Then after my daughter wakes up, is there anything I can do to help her?”
She intended to ask everything, since she was relying entirely on Xiao Bing’s help now.
“You can’t help. This depends entirely on her own fate. I believe she can master it.”
“Alright, I’ll take my leave then.”
‘First, take Zhu Qiu home and see if I can guide her to master it in the next two days. After all, I’m the Dragon King of all elements, and I have experience controlling different elements. What Xiao Bing said about the Holy Sword and Demon Sword should be similar.’
“Okay, remember to come visit us often. The neighboring islands miss you too.”
“Got it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Xiaxia took Zhu Qiu and went home.
That night, she held Zhu Qiu in her arms as they slept together.
After her temperature dropped, Zhu Xiaxia’s mood improved a lot.
‘Mm…’
She took a deep sniff.
‘Ah, my daughter still smells so nice~’
She had a dreamless sleep.
The next morning at nine, Zhu Qiu and Zhu Xiaxia woke up almost at the same time.
Zhu Qiu rubbed her head, where a faint pain still lingered.
“Mother, what time is it now?”
“It’s the next morning now.”
“The next day?”
Zhu Qiu could hardly believe her ears.
“You mean I slept for an entire day?”
“If you want to think of it that way, you’re not wrong. How does my precious daughter feel now?”
Zhu Xiaxia asked expectantly.
“I feel pretty much the same as usual, just a little dizzy.”
“That’s fine, that’s normal.”
“Normal? What happened to me yesterday?”
Zhu Qiu sensed something was off, but since she didn’t remember anything from yesterday, she had to ask.
“Yesterday, you had a fever. Mother searched for medical help with no success, then a mysterious iceberg friend gave me a pill that stabilized your condition.”
“Oh, I see. So, because I had a fever, I don’t remember anything from yesterday.”
“Pretty much. But this medicine only lasts a week. After a week, my daughter will have a fever again.”
“Ah! Does that mean I’m going to die?”
Hearing Zhu Qiu’s reply, Zhu Xiaxia rubbed her little head, both amused and pained.
“You won’t die. With Mother here, nothing will happen. The real reason for the fever isn’t illness—it’s because you have an extra power inside you that you can’t control, which caused the fever.”
“What power?”
Zhu Qiu looked confused.
“The power of the Demon Sword.”
“Huh? Mother, don’t joke. I’m the Sword Saint, I only have the Holy Sword—how could I possibly have the Demon Sword?”
Zhu Qiu thought Zhu Xiaxia was joking and didn’t take it seriously.
“I’m serious.”
Zhu Xiaxia’s expression suddenly turned stern.
“If my daughter can’t find a way to balance the two forces, she might really die.”
Her tone didn’t sound like a joke at all.
At that, Zhu Qiu also became serious and believed Zhu Xiaxia’s words.
“But I don’t even know how the Demon Sword’s power got into me, so how am I supposed to balance it?”
“Maybe the Demon Sword has something to do with the Demon King locked downstairs. We’ll go ask her in a bit. Maybe we’ll find a clue.”
“Okay!”
Seeing that there was a solution, Zhu Qiu cheered up immediately.
She scampered from Zhu Xiaxia’s room back to her own and started washing up.
Just as she finished washing and was about to head downstairs for breakfast, an ice-cold, lifeless hand suddenly grabbed her.
‘!’
‘There’s only me in the room. It’s broad daylight, there can’t be ghosts, right?’
‘And the hand is so cold…’
Zhu Qiu forced herself to calm down and slowly turned around.
Seeing the familiar face, she finally let out a long sigh and slumped to the floor.
“Phew… Sword Spirit, you scared me to death. How come you don’t say anything before appearing? Grabbing someone from behind in broad daylight—that’s terrifying, you know!”
After she spoke, she waited a long time, but the Sword Spirit didn’t respond.
‘Huh?’
“Sword Spirit, why won’t you talk? It’s just the two of us here now.”
Zhu Qiu stood up and looked at the Sword Spirit.
She suddenly noticed the Sword Spirit’s entire body had turned blue.
“Sword Spirit… are you okay?”
“Cold…”
The Sword Spirit’s body was trembling, but Zhu Qiu hadn’t noticed before.
“Cold? Should I take you out to sunbathe?”
Zhu Qiu held the ice-cold Sword Spirit and walked to the window where the sun was shining, standing under the sunlight herself.
“How is it? Warmer now?”
“A… a little…”
“Come on, tell me, what did you come to see me about?”
“El… eliminate… de…”
Before the Sword Spirit could finish, she disappeared.
Zhu Qiu scratched her head.
“Strange, what’s wrong with the Sword Spirit today?”
As she scratched, she suddenly seemed to understand why.
‘Mother said there’s an extra power inside me. That power must be fighting with the Sword Spirit.’
‘Danger!’
‘The Sword Spirit is in danger!’
‘But why don’t I feel anything while they’re fighting?’
‘Even with the medicine, it can’t be completely without effect, right?’
Zhu Qiu started to worry.
She quickly went downstairs, planning to first find Xiao Hei to ask.
When she reached the first floor and saw the table full of dishes made by Xiaguang, she couldn’t move.
‘So fragrant~’
‘Maybe I should eat first?’
‘It should be fine, right?’
‘Hehe~’
Soon, Zhu Xiaxia also came down from upstairs.
Seeing Zhu Xiaxia sit down, there was no hesitation—time to chow down!
Zhu Qiu hadn’t eaten anything all day yesterday, so now it was time for a big meal.
After eating, she didn’t forget to give Xiaguang a thumbs-up to show her approval of the food.
“Is my precious daughter full? Now we need to go take care of the Demon King.”