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Chapter 14: Malady of the Nine Hearts · Tears of the Begonia
The infirmary of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was located on the eastern side of the campus—a detached white building that was usually peaceful despite the occasional visitor. However, this afternoon, the atmosphere here was unusually heavy with an air of solemnity.
Mo Bai had just finished guiding Ning Rongrong through her basic training. The young mistress, who had recently undergone the "hot spring baptism" and martial soul evolution, carried a subtle change about her. Her face was flushed, and her legs were still slightly weak as she followed half a step behind him. Her eyes darted toward him frequently before quickly flitting away, a mixture of shyness, dependence, and a newfound docility swirling within them.
Just then, Dugu Yan walked toward them with hurried steps. Today, she wore a dark green, tight-fitting martial outfit that traced the graceful yet powerful curves of her silhouette. Her emerald eyes held a rare hint of urgency.
"Teacher!" Dugu Yan stood firm in front of Mo Bai. Her gaze swept quickly over Ning Rongrong's reddened cheeks, and a knowing, ambiguous smile flickered at the corners of her mouth before she quickly composed herself. "I apologize for the intrusion. Something has happened that may require your intervention."
"Speak." Mo Bai did not stop, continuing toward his residence with a calm voice.
Dugu Yan kept pace, lowering her voice: "It's Ye Lingling. She collapsed and is in the infirmary. Several of the academy's healing teachers have examined her and are at their wits' end. They say it's a crisis of the Martial Soul Origin, and they dare not interfere lightly."
Ye Lingling. The image of the girl who always stood quietly on the edge of the crowd surfaced in Mo Bai's mind. She usually wore plain white robes and possessed a temperament as cold and clear as the moon. She was the successor of the Nine-Heart Begonia martial soul, a support-system spirit master for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team, with a spirit power level of roughly Rank 35. In the original story, this martial soul suffered from a "single-line succession" restriction; only two possessors of the Nine-Heart Begonia could exist in the world at any given time.
"Specifics," Mo Bai prompted.
"I'm not sure. She didn't show up for class this morning. At noon, her roommate found her collapsed in her dorm, her breath faint, and she wouldn't wake no matter how much they called. After she was brought to the infirmary, her Nine-Heart Begonia manifested automatically, but... the petals turned a withered grayish-white, and her life force is steadily draining away." Dugu Yan spoke rapidly. "My grandfather (Dugu Bo) left notes mentioning the Nine-Heart Begonia, saying it's a cursed martial soul whose successors never live past fifty. But the specific reason and the cure weren't recorded. Teacher, do you..."
Mo Bai stopped in his tracks. Ning Rongrong, listening from the side, felt a chill in her heart. She had heard of the Nine-Heart Begonia; the records of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect noted it as an anomaly among support souls—powerful, yet accompanied by misfortune.
"Lead the way. To the infirmary," Mo Bai turned.
"I'm coming too!" Ning Rongrong blurted out instinctively, then realized she might be overstepping. Her voice dropped. "I... I'm worried about Senior Lingling."
Mo Bai glanced at her but said nothing, which served as silent permission.
The infirmary was filled with the faint scent of herbs and disinfectant. Outside the private ward at the far end stood several academy healing teachers, all at the Soul King or Soul Emperor level. Currently, their brows were knitted in frustration as they conversed in hushed tones, their faces full of helplessness.
Inside the room, Ye Lingling lay quietly on the pristine white hospital bed. She wore a thin white nightgown with a slightly open collar, revealing her slender, fragile collarbones. Her face was pale to the point of being translucent. Her long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath her eyes, and her lips had lost all color. She lay with eyes closed, her breathing so shallow and slow that it seemed it might stop at any moment.
The most striking sight was the illusory begonia flower hovering above her chest. It possessed nine petals, which should have been crystal clear and radiating a warm light of life; instead, they were now an unsettling shade of ashen decay, with the edges of the petals dry and curled. Faint, almost invisible white specks of light were slowly drifting away from the petals—dissipating as if the begonia were silently wilting, taking its master's life force with it.
"Soul Casting Douluo!" Upon seeing Mo Bai enter, the healing teachers bowed in succession. Their expressions were complex—a mix of awe toward a titled Douluo and a glimmer of hope. Perhaps this mysterious Elder had a solution?
Mo Bai nodded slightly and walked straight to the bedside. He did not touch Ye Lingling immediately. Instead, his gaze remained steady as he observed the illusory Nine-Heart Begonia above her chest. Meanwhile, his mental strength extended like the finest silk threads, cautiously making contact with the dissipating specks of life force.
"It's not poison, nor an external injury, nor an ordinary spirit power backlash," an older healing Soul Emperor couldn't help but speak up. "Your Excellency, we tried to stabilize her by injecting spirit power, but no matter how much we send in, it seems to be sucked up by the martial soul and then scattered. We cannot stop the drain. It's as if... as if the martial soul itself is a container with a hole in the bottom, leaking out everything the host possesses."
Mo Bai did not respond. His mental strength had already followed the dissipating life force, penetrating in reverse to attempt contact with Ye Lingling's Martial Soul Origin and deeper soul state.
This process required extremely precise control. The Nine-Heart Begonia was currently in an incredibly unstable state; any crude stimulation could accelerate its collapse.
The ward fell silent, save for Ye Lingling's faint breathing. Standing at the door, Ning Rongrong gripped the hem of her clothes nervously, watching the senior on the bed who looked as if she might vanish at any second. Dugu Yan leaned against the doorframe, her emerald eyes fixed on Mo Bai's movements.
After about half a cup of tea's time, Mo Bai withdrew his mental strength, a look of realization flashing in his eyes.
"The Nine-Heart Begonia's 'single-line succession' is not a curse," he began slowly, his voice ringing clearly in the quiet ward. "Rather, the Martial Soul Origin possesses a congenital defect. The life force of every successor is passively and uncontrollably absorbed by the martial soul to maintain its own 'purity' and 'strength.' It is like a parasitic plant that is never satiated, eventually sucking the host's life dry."
The healing teachers looked at one another. They had never heard this theory, but upon reflection, it perfectly matched the premature aging seen in Nine-Heart Begonia successors.
"Then... Your Excellency, is there a way to save her?" another teacher asked urgently.
Mo Bai looked at Ye Lingling's pale face and said coolly, "A temporary fix would be to seal a portion of the martial soul's activity to slow the loss of life force, but that would greatly weaken her strength and is not a long-term solution. To cure the root..." He paused. "It requires reshaping her Martial Soul Origin, repairing the defect, and even... reversing its 'absorption' characteristic so that it can not only be self-sufficient but also feed back into the host."
"Reshaping the Martial Soul Origin?!" The teachers gasped. This was unheard of! A martial soul is the fundamental essence a spirit master is born with—how could it be reshaped? The risks involved were likely more terrifying than the current situation.
"Teacher, can you do it?" Dugu Yan asked, her eyes filled with absolute trust in Mo Bai's abilities.
Mo Bai did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at the comatose Ye Lingling on the bed: "This requires her own will, as well as... total cooperation and trust. Any hint of resistance could result in total failure or even take her life instantly."