Thinking about Ruan Shu’s situation, Ruan Qingran was at a loss for what expression to wear.
“Her body is fine, but her Jingshen had an issue.”
A few pairs of eyes instantly locked onto him.
Ruan Linzhan was particularly tense, clenching his hands tightly. After all, it was because of him that Shushu ended up like this.
“It’s both good news and bad news. Shushu’s Jingshen level has risen on its own.”
The moment Ruan Qingran’s words fell, five seconds of silence stretched as no one reacted.
Finally, Ruan Ling’an, who was completely out of the loop, was the first to snap back, “What did you say?!”
He shot up from his seat, doubting his ears and wondering if he’d misheard.
“Cousin, did you just say something wrong?”
Ruan Qingran nodded firmly. “I’m certain. I checked Shushu’s Jingshen level three times, and the equipment is fully functional. Her Jingshen level has indeed increased.”
“How is that even possible? Did someone feed her a Star Essence Fruit?” Ruan Fengsi mumbled in disbelief.
No one responded, though, because no one had given her any Star Essence Fruit.
Ruan He huffed and puffed, saying, “I would love to find her some Star Essence Fruit, but she has to be at least fifteen to even eat it.”
The Star Essence Fruit could indeed enhance Jingshen, but it had limitations.
The enhancement process through the fruit was painful, so it wasn’t given to young children. It was best to wait until they were fifteen.
Shushu was still so young; even if they had managed to find the Star Essence Fruit, they wouldn’t have given it to her now.
So…
Without consuming the Star Essence Fruit, Ruan Shu’s Jingshen level rose on its own!
Ruan Ling’an was the most shocked. “Without the Star Essence Fruit, her Jingshen level rose by itself? How is that possible? It can’t be!”
But the others, after a brief shock, quickly settled down.
Ruan Ling’an: “???”
Wait, are you all really this calm?
“Her Jingshen level increased on its own, and you all just accept that calmly?”
Ruan Fengsi replied with a blank expression, “What else do you want?”
His tone wasn’t surprised, though there was a hint of annoyance.
After all, he’d only learned three days ago that Shushu could heal Jingshen!
When he saw her healing his brother’s Jingshen back then, he was completely dumbfounded.
Looking around and seeing that only the second-oldest shared his shock and astonishment, while the other three seemed to know everything, he finally understood.
This was huge, and yet he’d been left in the dark. Wasn’t he worthy of knowing?
Since he was worried about his unconscious little sister before, he hadn’t given any thought to the rest of the chaotic matters. But now things were different—now, he wanted to know exactly who was keeping things from him!
First off, he could rule out Shushu. After all, how could his kind and soft-hearted sister possibly hide something from him? That left the other three; they were all suspects!
However, seeing the clueless expression on the third brother’s face, Ruan Fengsi suddenly felt comforted. At least he wasn’t the last one to find out.
At this moment, Ruan Ling’an was speechless.
Was he just overreacting?
“How are you doing?”
Ruan Qingran suddenly changed the subject.
Ruan Ling’an replied, “…I’m okay, got it under control.”
So none of you are actually surprised by the Jingshen upgrade?
“Meow?”
Ruan Shu tilted her head in confusion, looking at them. What was going on with her third brother?
“Let Shushu give it a try. Her Jingshen has increased, and her abilities have strengthened significantly,” Ruan Xiao suggested, looking at the ragdoll cat in his arms. “Can you do it?”
Ruan Shu quickly understood what was happening—it seemed that her third brother’s Jingshen might also have some issues. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked for her help.
Naturally, Ruan Shu cheerfully agreed.
Then, to Ruan Ling’an’s utter bewilderment, Shushu was placed in his arms.
The young man looked down, finding himself in a staring contest with the little creature.
Shushu gave a soft “meow,” placing her tiny paws gently on the back of his hand.
Ruan Ling’an thought, ‘What is she doing? These little paws feel unexpectedly comfortable.:
Ruan Qingran reminded him, “Open your mental sea to receive Shushu’s Jingshen.”
Ruan Ling’an frowned. “Are you kidding me?”
The mental sea isn’t something you can just casually open to accept someone else’s Jingshen!
Ruan Qingran calmly scratched the little cat’s ears, his tone relaxed. “Don’t you want to know how our eldest brother recovered?”
Ruan Ling’an hesitated. He did want to know.
When the insect swarm suddenly erupted, he was there, fighting off the insect race alongside the instructors, not far from his eldest cousin. He had seen with his own eyes as the Zerg King self-destructed, causing his cousin’s Jingshen to spiral out of control after he shielded everyone.
Luckily, his second cousin had arrived just in time, injecting him with five suppressants in a row. Alongside their father, they had disregarded everyone’s objections and taken him back to the Marshal’s residence.
At the time, Ruan Ling’an was severely injured and had been sent to the hospital by the academy. Throughout his recovery, he had been worried that Ruan Linzhan’s Jingshen would completely collapse.
He called back home several times, and it was only after learning that his cousin’s condition was under control that he finally relaxed.
Yet he remained puzzled—how could it truly have been brought under control? Had he somehow misread the situation back then?
Especially after coming home today and seeing his cousin—who should have been suffering from Jingshen instability—sitting there calmly as if nothing had happened, Ruan Ling’an couldn’t help but doubt whether that intense incident really happened. But the injuries on his own body were very real.
So… was there really something hidden here? And from their tone, it seemed this little creature had something to do with it?
The young man frowned at the small, seemingly harmless creature in his arms.
Ruan Shu looked up at him innocently.
Ruan Qingran’s calm voice broke the silence, “Why don’t you try it out yourself?”
In the end, Ruan Ling’an decided to give it a shot.
Ruan Shu rested her chin on her third brother’s hand and closed her eyes.
A faint, milky white glow began to emanate from her, and Ruan Shu’s Jingshen tendrils extended into her third brother’s mental sea.
Perhaps because Ruan Ling’an felt a bit uncomfortable, his mental sea was a little hard to access. But this was no challenge for the two little tendrils.
Somehow, they managed it, poking here and prodding there until they finally slipped in.
It was another unfamiliar mental sea territory. Qiuqiu No. 1 hesitated slightly, while Qiuqiu No. 2 joyfully bounded ahead, beckoning its companion as if to say, “Boss, come on!”
Qiuqiu No. 1: “…”
Having such a lively little sidekick—who knew if it was a blessing or a curse?
Eventually, Qiuqiu No. 1, not wanting to lose face in front of its energetic counterpart, pushed forward.
This mental sea was cleaner than others they’d visited, yet the Jingshen threads within it looked somewhat wilted, as if they were unwell.
Even so, as soon as the strange Jingshen intruders entered, those threads lashed out, attempting to shred the intruders into pieces.
Startled, Qiuqiu No. 1 dashed forward, trying to pull back its overly enthusiastic partner.
But Qiuqiu No. 2 was too fast. Seeing those menacing Jingshen threads about to wrap around Qiuqiu No. 2, Qiuqiu No. 1 rolled forward in a desperate attempt to intervene.