The spiritual essence altered by the Yang attribute within the Tianzong acupuncture point and the Yin attribute within the Bingfeng acupuncture slowly began to traverse towards the vast channel of her Governing Vessel.
Conforming to the young girl's worries, the thread of spiritual essence began to flicker and fluctuate rapidly the instant it left the safe confides of the acupuncture points.
By the time the thread had travelled half of the distance required to enter the Governing Vessel, the threads of spiritual essence unexpectedly dissolved into nothing.
"Ah…"
Her consciousness forcibly jolted from the sea of perception, An Fei gazed towards the ceiling with a blank stare.
For several minutes, a fine blank resounded within the girl's mind, only to recover after her head drooped onto her shoulders.
"Just like I thought, I don't have enough spiritual essence…" the girl groaned, her cheeks puffing with air as her bottom lip curled outward into a pout.
"I was too impatient… I should have waited a little long – woah!?"
An Fei's pupils constricted in surprise, the words trailing off in her surprise.
The girl clutched at her heart with her fingers, her chest heaving from the sudden shock.
Just as she began bemoaning regarding her insufficient reserves of spiritual essence and her impatience, the Sanctum reacted.
The crystalline walls and floor released a brilliant golden light, dying the originally cozy and sleepy atmosphere to be overwhelmed by a torrent of golden rain.
Tiny, miniscule threads disengaged from the golden radiance, streamlining towards An Fei. As the streams of light contacted the girl's body, they burrowed straight towards the heart, filling up the vacated region within a matter of seconds.
An Fei doubled up as the unexpected surge of heat washed throughout her entire body.
Losing control over her muscles, the young girl nearly entered into a harsh embrace with the crystalline floor, spared only by the wooden drawing table.
Not that a polished wooden surface was any more comfortable to collide with than the sky-blue crystal floor of the Sanctum.
The girl closed her eyes shut, her body quivering as it quickly began to adjust itself to the uninvited, but comfortable surge of heat.
Her consciousness having dared to return to the sea of perception, An Fei found another thread of golden light swimming around her heart, wrapping around in a delicate embrace.
The thread of spiritual essence was the same thickness, no more than a hair's width. However, its length had doubled to that of two centimeters, perplexing the girl and dampening her mood.
She could clearly perceive the sea of golden light hovering near her body, and could easily guess its purpose and objective with a single glance.
Perhaps, when she fully expended the reserves of spiritual essence once more, the golden light would torrent into her body to replace the expenditure.
…but was it that necessary for the Sanctum to thoroughly stamp on her uplifting mood before offering help?
–
"Hah~… Ah…"
A massive yawn exploded from within the bedcurtains, a pair of delicate and slender hands reaching out to grasp the curtains. Within a matter of moments, a young girl's face jutted out from the gap, glancing at the interior of the study, or more perhaps, the two other occupants.
One was a cold, handsome youth, the aura of rejection radiating from his body without regard for conscience or companionship.
The other was a dignified man in his thirties, dressed in an official's gown and cap.
The metal plate of 'Yong' glared at the young girl with an imposing and unstoppable might, causing her to squint her eyes.
The youth's glacial stare of indifference caused An Fei to hide behind the bedcurtains; the minister's calm and bemused gaze forced her to recede completely from the study, her hands closing the bedcurtains.
"The both of you had a good time's nap whilst your Father was suffering in court, ah?" Wei Xuan growled, his countenance dim and haggard.
"And you! You've slept since morning, how much longer are you going to sleep, ah!? Father won't complain if you sleep longer than Yue'er or Yan'er, but twenty hours a day is a little too much, don't you think?"
The minister furrowed his brow in disapproval, his eyes radiating the determination to withhold any leniency.
Marching towards the bed, Wei Xuan grasped the bedcurtains with his powerful hands, rendering any form of struggle from the young girl's weak body completely useless.
"Come! Eat your fill," the minister grasped An Fei by one hand and Wei Chang Feng by the other, dragging them towards a nearby table.
"And don't sleep anymore!"
Dragged across the interior of the study, the young girl's nose caught onto a fragrant aroma, her brows arching into a joyous and expectant arc.
Unfortunately, a resounding growl emanated from her stomach, dying An Fei's countenance a deep scarlet.
A similar growl soon roared from within the Eldest Young Master's body, which diluted her embarrassment by a considerable margin.
However, when she caught sight of Wei Xuan's chastising glare, the young girl decided to lower her head and keep her mouth shut.
And for good reason, might she add. The minister's countenance was nothing pleasing to gaze at for the moment.
The wooden table was covered by a sea of dishes to the extent that the original wooden surface was not visible. Plate after plate of food were placed neatly on the table, forming a dense array of irresistible fragrance.
Chow mein, braised pork, sweet and sour chicken, stir-fried vegetable and seafood assortment, pork baozi…
To the utterly famished Fourth Young Miss and Eldest Young Master, the food before their eyes was a true godsend from the heavens.
Without even waiting for Wei Xuan to pick up his chopsticks, the two youths were already devouring everything before their eyes.
"Eat slower, don't make yourself regret!" Wei Xuan scowled with a discontent tone, though his chopsticks never failed to stack food onto the young girl's plate.
An Fei nodded, rapidly slowing down her pace as to avoid choking on her food.
However, the young girl gradually realized that both Wei Xuan and Wei Chang Feng had taken advantage of her slower pace to eradicate the plate of twice-fried, sour chicken, causing her to puff her cheeks in discontent.
She hadn't even gotten the opportunity to eat a single bite! And what were they thinking, trying to eat all of the braised pork before her eyes!?
Back away!
"Chang Feng, ah, why didn't you go outside and buy food during the day?" the minister agilely parried a young girl's chopsticks, snatching a scrumptious piece of braised pork.
Combining the meat with rice and wrapping them with a tantalizing strip of sweet and sour bamboo sprout, the Wei Xuan closed his eyes in bliss as he chewed.
"You definitely don't have the mental character to look after your siblings' wellbeing if you can help it, but you didn't even go out to buy food for yourself?"
"The streets were filled by members of the Taiyi Sect," the Eldest Young Master replied after swallowing a mouthful of rice and clearing his throat.
"Chang Feng did not wish to cause further trouble for Father and the family by encountering one of their members…"
"Oh…" Wei Xuan mouthed, his lips dripping mock contempt over his words the minister drawled.
"So… by the reasonable excuse of avoiding your secondary family members the Taiyi Sect… you took a nap that lasted over eight hours?"
Wei Chang Feng replied with a dutiful, deadpan nod, whilst spearing a delicious piece of meat from underneath the minister's nose.
Fuming as he watched his target vanish into the youth's stomach, Wei Xuan turned his attention towards the young girl who had regrettably resigned to eating the majority of the noodle dishes.
"Fei'er, what did you do during the day?"
"Me…?" An Fei paused, her countenance displaying a blank stare at the sudden question. Before the minister's eyebrows could descend into a frown, the young girl tapped her chin with a slender index finger.
"I… I worked on father's calligraphy assignment… and tried to cultivate again."
"Then that's good, you shouldn't be sleeping all day even if your recovering from an illness," Wei Xuan nodded with agreement, gently patting the girl's head with his free hand.
"Taking a breath of fresh air would do wonders for your health, especially for your condition… hold on. What did you say? Calligraphy assignment?"
The minister froze, his eyes staring at An Fei in utter bewilderment.
A moment later, the Eldest Young Master witnessed the same confusion mirrored within the young girl's scarlet irises as she stared at the thirty-odd year-old man, her lips parting to speak.
"Father, didn't you give me a calligraphy assignment to do for the day? The Treatise on the Healthy Mindfulness and Spirit by the great scholar Tie, wasn't that what it was called?"