The days following his injury became a blur.
Tian remained bedridden, body ravaged. Each breath pulled pain from cracked ribs, every movement seared wounds. For a lesser youth, infection would have claimed them. Yet his fragile Frost Crystal martial spirit pulsed faintly, its purity knitting frost into his blood flow, staving rot with chilling aura.
And day by day, Yuexin was always there.
Feeding him porridge spoon by spoon, changing poultices, wiping sweat from his trembling frame. Even as villagers whispered, pitying the girl for tying herself to a cripple, she only smiled softly.
At night, she would lean close and whisper encouragement as he meditated brokenly.
"Your frost will heal you."
"Even ice cracked by storms can freeze whole lakes again."
Her words were like fire beside frost — the warmth he never thought he'd be given.
---
### Struggle to Rise
Weeks stretched into months. Tian tried to rise with each dawn, stumbling, collapsing, forcing his fragile spirit veins to circulate. His cultivation progress had frozen. Rank stuck, injuries draining every cycle.
But he persevered. Crawling at times, kneeling at times, never stopping.
Finally, one dusk, he managed to stand under aurora once more. Yuexin clapped tearfully, pride glowing in her eyes.
"You see?" she whispered. "The boy they called useless still rises."
Tian looked skyward, whispering hoarsely: "I will not stop. If this body fails, my bloodline will not. My descendants… will surpass all scorn."
For the first time, Yuexin heard his dream of clan spoken aloud. Her lips trembled; she leaned into his side.
And she whispered in answer, firm and clear:
"Then I will help you build it."
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🔥 End of Chapter 12
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