Inside the heated presidential suite of the Imperial Jade Peninsula Hotel, Dr. Gu Qinghe pressed three slender golden needles into the acupoints along Little Guo’er’s right forearm.
Beside the bed, Lin Mo rested his warm palm over the six-year-old girl’s small hand, sending a steady stream of Rank 3 Peak Golden Benevolence Qi into her meridians.
Under the combined warmth of the golden needles and Lin Mo’s pure qi, the three jagged black frost-veins on Little Guo’er’s wrist slowly receded beneath her skin. Her shivering stopped, and her breathing grew even again as she fell asleep holding Grandma Chen’s thumb.
Grandma Chen let out a long breath, wiping her eyes with her apron corner. “Dr. Gu, what were those black lines on Guo’er’s arm? In Tianhai, her spirit root only felt warm.”
Dr. Gu Qinghe (Goodness: 96/100) carefully withdrew his golden needles and adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses, his expression solemn.
“Chairman Lin, Auntie Chen, remember what we diagnosed in Tianhai,” Dr. Gu explained quietly. “Little Guo’er’s Innate Pure-Lotus Spirit Root carries an unawakened lotus fire that we suppressed with the thirty-ton Kunlun Cold-Jade array. Here in Yanjing, however, the minus-ten-degree winter air and dry high-rise radiators combined with the residual Kunlun Cold-Jade Yin aura to over-suppress her lotus fire into a Yin-Cold Frost Backlash.”
