Time passed slowly, and the red threads in the golden droplet of blood were finally completely removed by Kurumi.
The surrounding red blood avoided it, making the gold and red appear incompatible.
Kurumi opened her eyes and looked at the sky through the wooden window. The stars, millions of light-years away, still radiated light and heat. Kurumi rested for a while before focusing her mental energy back inside her body.
The golden droplet of blood quietly flowed in her veins, not moving with the current. Kurumi couldn't explain it and assumed it was due to their different densities.
Summoning the thick Dou Qi left in her body by her father was a troublesome task, making Kurumi's already weak mental energy even more exhausted.
After restoring Dou Qi to normalcy, her bone marrow stopped absorbing the medicinal energy to produce blood.
Kurumi roughly calculated that just refining a rice-sized drop of divine-grade blood had consumed most of the medicinal energy in her body.
This energy came from the rare materials she had consumed, not to mention the Dou Qi and mental energy expended.
Perhaps her low current strength made refining the bloodline so difficult, but the massive amount of rare materials needed for refining the bloodline remained a challenge.
Although the silver-robed Dou Saint's spatial ring contained many rare materials, her refining speed couldn't keep up with the medicinal energy supply!
Kurumi had no choice. She had many tasks ahead. After the first wave of origin transmission, she still needed to recover from her injuries.
Only after the second wave could Kurumi help Xun'er strengthen her foundation.
While a true divine-grade bloodline was precious, refining all her blood into gold would require an unknown amount of rare materials.
The only certainty was that it would be astronomical.
She heard that high-level pill refining sometimes resulted in a rain of pills. Kurumi, frustrated, rubbed her face. Would she have to take pills like Zi Yan all the time?
Kurumi stopped her wandering thoughts. She needed rest. Sleep was often the best remedy for mental fatigue.
The next morning, Xun'er woke up early, tiptoeing to Kurumi's bed.
Carefully, she climbed onto Kurumi's wooden bed, lifted the thin blanket, and quickly snuggled in.
The scent of her sister filled her nostrils, and Xun'er proudly wiggled closer.
This movement woke Kurumi!
A small hand rested on her abdomen, and a small head nestled against her side.
"Xun'er!"
"Ah!" Xun'er lifted her head, her big eyes blinking. "Sister, you're awake!"
Kurumi threw off the blanket, revealing two dark circles under her eyes, clearly from not sleeping well the night before.
She grumpily pushed Xun'er off the bed and sat up, her drowsy eyes heavy, and immediately fell into a trance while sitting on the bed!
"Sister? Sister?"
Xun'er waved her hand in front of Kurumi's face. Kurumi tiredly opened her eyes, her red eyes veined with blood, making her look exhausted.
Worried, Xun'er whispered, "Sister? Are you okay?"
Kurumi shook her head, laid back down, and with all her strength, wrapped herself in the blanket. "Xun'er, I... I need to sleep a bit more. Wake me up at lunchtime."
Seeing Kurumi's request, Xun'er's face showed hesitation, but soon, her face filled with determination like a soldier following orders.
She tucked Kurumi in, patted her cheeks, quickly dressed, washed up, and sat quietly on the bed, playing with toys while waiting for Kurumi to wake up.
"Knock, knock, knock~"
There was a knock on the door. Xun'er climbed off the bed and asked cautiously, "Who is it?"
The knocking paused, and a female voice came from outside.
"Is it the young mistress? The clan leader sent me to assist you with dressing and washing."
Xun'er relaxed and called out, "No need, my sister and I can take care of ourselves!"
"But..."
"No need!"
The female voice paused. "Then I'll wait outside for you, young mistress."
Just as Xun'er sighed in relief, thinking she had accomplished something significant, the female voice spoke again!
"By the way, when do you plan to have breakfast?"
Xun'er instantly thought of her malt candy!
After a moment's hesitation, she ran to the wooden door and opened it.
Outside stood a young girl in her early teens, wearing a gray maid's dress, clearly from a commoner's family.
The girl's eyes lit up upon seeing Xun'er, obviously charmed by the cute little girl.
"Um... does breakfast include malt candy?"
"Malt candy?" The girl with a kind smile froze, confirming, "Malt candy?"
"Yes." Xun'er nodded, "It's the kind that makes the porridge very sweet."
The girl's face showed embarrassment as she hurriedly bowed. "I'm sorry, young mistress. I haven't heard of such food. But I can ask the kitchen for you."
"Really?"
Disappointment flashed across Xun'er's face. Although she was prepared not to have malt candy before coming here, she still felt a bit sad when it happened.
Their conversation was overheard by Xiao Yan, who was just about to leave his room.
'Malt candy? I'm all too familiar with that!'
'What should I do? Should I test her now?'
Xiao Yan's face showed a hint of hesitation as he opened his door, drawing the attention of the two at the other door.
The gray-dressed girl quickly bowed, "Good morning, young master Yan."
"Mm."
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, clearly used to this scene. "I'll take them to the kitchen later. You can go do other tasks."
The girl's face showed confusion. "Young master Yan, the clan leader instructed me to take care of the young mistresses from now on."
"I... I'll fetch some water for cleaning."
Seeing Xiao Yan wave her off, the gray-dressed girl bowed again and left. Xun'er put on a wary expression!
Xiao Yan took a few steps forward, showing a smile with white teeth. Seeing the nervous expression on the little girl, Xiao Yan found it amusing.
"Cousin Xun'er, did you sleep well last night?"
"Wh-who is your cousin?!"
"This is your current identity!" Xiao Yan said with a smile. After a night of the swelling going down, his delicate face had mostly recovered.
"You and your sister are my sisters in name~," Xiao Yan said each word slowly, leaving Xun'er unsure how to respond.
Her little head retracted further, her hand ready to close the wooden door.
"Th-thank you for your concern, cousin. Xun'er slept very well last night."