… A Whole Day

The next day, Huan Meirong decided to not venture into the other concubines' backyards and to better wait until she had everything prepared. She reviewed the recipes again but this time she focused on the pill formulas and liquids that will aid her cultivation; she did the same the following two days, only stopping to have a break when the meals were sent.

At long last, the fourth day, she woke up early, astounding Zhi'er; she was on time to have the morning meal with him. And as usual, after finishing the meal, she asked to not be disrupted; though, this time, just like the last time she had refined, she added that he was forbidden from crossing the division screen no matter what because she was going to refine the Shrouded Shame Liquid inside the space of the marquis-shaped black stone.

Her entrance into the space was perfect again as she landed without any slip in the pavilion right before the black pill furnace; it seemed that she had already mastered her entering to the black stone.

Shortly after, she took out the herbs she needed and warmed up the pill furnace.

The warming went smoothly despite that the temperature the pill furnace had to have for this refinement had to be higher than with the previous refining. On the other hand, the refining process of the Shrouded Shame Liquid took a toll on her; however, she successfully obtained the desired product after more than half a day of time.

"Haa-ah…" She lay on the pavilion's cold floor just after she had placed the refined liquid in a jade bottle. She was so tired that this was the first time she had retrieved completely her soul sense and was as blind as the outside. Yet, with her head also spinning from dizziness, she still thought of going out before falling asleep.

She slept soundly once she felt her bed, and she didn't wake up after a whole day had passed. Her eyelashes trembled before slowly raising up her heavy eyelids. As she regained notion of what was happening around her, she could clearly hear noisy footsteps walking from left to right again and again behind the division screen; she didn't need to be in her five senses to recognize those worried footsteps, if they didn't belong to Zhi'er to who else would they belong?

Even so, despite having guessed what the little kid should be thinking and what his nerves were going through, she didn't call out nor made any brusque movements and just rubbed her temples; her head felt heavy.

At length, after a quarter of an hour or so, she called out as she sat on the bed, "Zhi'er, bring me some water."

Zhi'ers heart jolted at the call, making his steps come to an abrupt stop. The little kid's sleepless face brimmed with a smile before replying as he rushed to get the water, "Aye."

'With how depleted and strained my soul force was left, it will take about four days for it to totally recover…' she thought as she checked her condition while waiting for the water.

*Sigh* She sighed deeply; the refinement of her cultivation resources seemed so far away. Her mood fell whenever she felt this weak. Nevertheless, she will calm her urge of rushing things after a while.

"Eldest miss, I have brought the water." Zhi'er came to the bedside and gave her the water. He had the word concern written all over his tired face as he looked at his miss drink the water, 'Haah, the eldest miss is all right.' He did well in "patiently" waiting at the other side of the division screen. Only he knew how distressed his heart had been when he hadn't heard any movement from his miss after such a long period of time.

"How long has passed since I told you to not pass from the division screen?" she asked out of nowhere.

"Ah, a bit more of a day and a half," Zhi'er replied.

"…" She went quiet, thinking, 'Really?!! Then, I slept a whole day, which means that I have to make an adjustment to the estimation I made for the recovery time of my soul strength! Geez, it will take more than five days, then.

Urghh…'

*Sigh*

"Zhi'er must have been really worried. Meirong won't do it again," she said. Aside from not being good make a little kid a sea of nerves, it was what she hoped as sleeping that much was outrageous.