The woman eagerly leaned forward, her eyes filled with urgency.
Looking at the woman before her, Feng Ninghe bit her lip. "Your daughter's condition is rather tricky. Send her to the Medicine Valley first, and I will examine her more closely."
The woman did not dare to delay, quickly supporting the young girl.
The medicine boy also rushed to assist.
Feng Ninghe subtly observed the girl.
The girl's eyelids had not blinked from beginning to end, her expression vacant, her gaze fixed on some unknown point.
It would not be an exaggeration to describe the girl as a walking corpse.
At this moment, Si Jianye walked over from the side. His indifferent gaze fell upon the girl, and his low, husky voice slowly stated, "Her soul has left her body, which is why she has become this way."
"Soul leaving the body?"
Feng Ninghe's features creased tightly as she placed her hand on the girl.
There was no soul within the girl's body.
It was because her soul had left her body that she had become this lifeless shell.
Logically, even if a soul left the body, not all of it could depart. Losing one or two souls was normal.
The woman's eyes widened, her gaze fixed on Si Jianye. She quickly asked, "Young master, I know what a soul is, but how could a soul leave the body for no reason? Do you have a way to save my poor daughter?"
Si Jianye's cold eyes casually swept over the woman. His noble face exuded a chilling aura.
A single glance made people recoil.
The woman involuntarily shifted a few steps to the side, creating distance between herself and Si Jianye, and cautiously said, "She is my only daughter. If she is gone, I do not wish to live either..."
As if recalling a painful memory, the woman sobbed softly.
In just a moment, her cheeks were streaked with tears.
Si Jianye withdrew his gaze, his expression as cold as ever. "If one is lucky when the soul leaves the body, a soul-summoning ritual can be performed. If one is unlucky and cannot retrieve the soul, she will remain in this state for the rest of her life."
"Then what is to be done?"
The woman instantly became anxious, her eyes red as she shook her head desperately. "My poor daughter has been fatherless since childhood, bullied by others. I cannot even protect her well..."
Seeing the woman's anxious state, Feng Ninghe gently comforted her, "Don't worry. Ancient texts have recorded methods for soul summoning. Let's try and see if it works."
Coincidentally, the upper part of the secret manual given by Gongyi Yuan contained descriptions of soul summoning.
Although she had never attempted soul summoning before, she could try her best.
Upon hearing there was hope of saving her daughter, the woman fell to her knees with a thud. "Then I beg you, young lady, to lend a hand and help! She is my only daughter in this world, and we depend on each other!"
Feng Ninghe quickly helped the woman up, her voice softening slightly. "I am not sure if I can save her yet. Let me try first. Everything else can be discussed later."
The woman then stood up, her eyes pleading as she looked at Feng Ninghe. "Young lady, as long as you can wake up my Xiao Ya, I am willing to be your servant, even work like an ox or horse!"
Feng Ninghe merely smiled and did not take these words to heart.
She already had enough people around her; she did not need another.
The original intention of establishing the Medicine Valley was to do good deeds and accumulate merit.
She did not seek any reward for helping ordinary people.
Soon, the medicine boy helped the woman onto the bed.
Feng Ninghe extended a wisp of her spiritual sense to the girl, allowing her to sense the fluctuations within the girl's body.
She lit a soul-summoning candle and gently shook the spatial jade bracelet.
The crisp bell sound slowly faded.
Si Jianye crossed his arms, leaning to the side, his indifferent eyes calmly observing everything.
Soul summoning required powerful willpower and concentration.
If one's mind was not calm and one could not maintain composure, soul summoning could not be completed.
The soul-summoning candle seemed to sense something and swayed violently. The woman lying on the bed writhed in pain, her brow furrowed tightly.
"Xiao Ya!"
"My Xiao Ya, what is happening to you?"
The woman's heart leaped with anxiety, and she wanted to step forward but was stopped by Si Jianye.
The man's expression was calm, without a ripple. His cold male voice slowly stated, "You must not disturb the ritual until the soul summoning is complete. If anything untoward happens, you will be responsible."
The chilling voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, forcing the woman's anxiety to cool considerably.
The woman could only suppress her urgency and pace anxiously in place.
*Clang!*
The soul-summoning candle extinguished.
The woman, who had been struggling on the bed, also became calm at this moment, closing her eyes.
"This..."
Feng Ninghe was slightly taken aback and quickly focused her gaze on the soul-summoning candle before her. "I could sense her soul struggling desperately within her body. It seemed as if something was restraining it, preventing it from being recalled."
The moment she learned that the soul could not be recalled, the woman's eyes widened, and tears quickly streamed down her face. "Soul summoning failed? Why did it fail? What is wrong with my daughter?"
Facing the question, Feng Ninghe gently shook her head, put away the soul-summoning candle, and carefully examined the girl before her.
The girl appeared unharmed, but she simply could not awaken.
The woman instantly collapsed onto the ground, muttering, "If even the Medicine Valley cannot cure my daughter, what then?"
The Medicine Valley was renowned throughout the Li Kingdom.
In order to cure her daughter, the woman had traveled to many places, seeking out numerous famous doctors, and finally arrived at the Medicine Valley.
Si Jianye walked to Feng Ninghe's side and slowly uttered a few words. "Tell me, what else did you sense?"
Feng Ninghe looked up at the man standing beside her.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the man's chiseled face. His eyes, as deep as ink, were unfathomable, and he exuded an innate regal aura.
Looking at his flawless face, her heart inexplicably tightened.
Feng Ninghe subtly withdrew her gaze and quickly shifted her attention back to the woman on the bed. "Her soul was sensing me. If it were a normal lost soul, it could be recalled. But her soul cannot be recalled."
"Her soul might be trapped," Si Jianye stated, his indifferent voice slowly falling.
The woman seemed to see a glimmer of hope and eagerly leaned forward. "If she is trapped, how can she be rescued?"
Facing the question, Si Jianye calmly replied, "Only by finding her soul can we understand why it is trapped. A soul does not disappear without reason; there must be a cause."
Feng Ninghe looked at the woman. "Since she became this way, has she been anywhere specific? Or do you suspect anything?"
When asked, the woman's gaze flickered. "She... was chosen as a bride by the Great Priest. After she escaped back, she became like this..."
"Great Priest?"
Feng Ninghe raised an eyebrow and instinctively exchanged a glance with Si Jianye.
The woman deliberated for a moment, then seemed to make a decision, gritting her teeth as she explained in a low voice, "The Great Priest forbade us from speaking of this matter, or he would take my life. I am revealing all of this only to save my daughter. I can no longer afford to be so cautious!"