CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 171: HEALING LIGHT

She froze. Her jaw clenched. Her soul left her body.

Inside her mind, a thunderous vow echoed:

’I swear... once I get enough power... I WILL make this damned crow wear a bikini and walk around like a supermodel.’

But for now, she was too weak to even hold the bear outfit properly.

Her arms trembled as if made of jelly; even lifting the zipper felt like lifting a mountain.

Mr. Crow floated in with the pride of a king presenting royal garments and used his psychic energy to guide her limbs into the fluffy costume.

The oversized bear hood swallowed half her head, the fabric brushed warm and soft around her cheek, and she felt absurdly round.

Then, very carefully, Mr. Crow used his psychic power to tug away the towel that remained underneath, leaving Lana covered at every second.

He respected her boundaries in a way few humans ever did.

Not once did he attempt to look beyond what was proper.

Once Lana was fully inside the bear outfit, he lifted her with little nudges of psychic force and placed her gently onto the big, soft bed.

The mattress dipped beneath her like a warm cloud. Lana stared at the ceiling blankly, her lips a thin line of suffering.

"Is this my life now..." she muttered weakly.

Mr. Crow cackled again... deep, wheezing, delighted sounds that made Lana want to throw pillows at him.

Instead, he floated her phone over with psychic energy and...click! Took a photo.

Lana jerked in horror, her eyes widening.

"MR. CROW! Don’t you DARE!"

He was unbothered, his beak lifting smugly.

"This is the first time I’ve seen you so weak. How can I not take advantage? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle."

Lana gritted her teeth.

"When I get my strength back, I’m deleting that photo."

Mr. Crow ignored her entirely.

He tapped through her gallery, explored her videos, hummed happily, and finally hid the incriminating bear outfit photos in a folder so deep even God wouldn’t find it.

Then he handed back her phone with an eerie smile that looked even creepier because of his tiny body.

"I saved them somewhere you’ll never find. Even if you want to delete them, you can’t."

Lana’s blue eyes flared dangerously. She looked ready to explode into flames... until she remembered something.

When she woke earlier, her eyes had felt strangely cool, almost airy.

She had realized her lenses were gone. Lucian must have removed them when she fainted and he carried her to bed.

Her eyes had itched badly, and she’d felt irritated with herself for forgetting to take them off before eating the herbs.

Now her eyes blinked rapidly, attempting to soothe the itch.

Mr. Crow immediately fluttered closer, his tone shifting to worried.

"What happened? Why are you blinking like that?"

Lana sighed.

"My eyes itch. I wore lenses too long... they’re irritating my eyes."

Mr. Crow’s feathers rustled in alarm.

"Channel a little of your mystical energy into your eyes."

Lana blinked.

"Why? Would that help?"

Mr. Crow nodded firmly.

"Your mystical energy changed from blue to yellow. That shift indicates purification. Some mystic cultivators gain healing properties after this transformation. It’s rare, but given how absurd your energy is... I’d bet on it."

Curiosity flickered inside Lana.

She inhaled slowly, focused inward, and guided a strand of warm, golden-yellow mystical energy straight toward her eyes.

Instant relief washed over her.

The sharp itch dissolved.

Her breath hitched in amazement.

"It’s gone! Completely gone!"

Mr. Crow stared at her as if she had sprouted golden wings.

"Gone? Already?"

Lana nodded.

He slapped his wing against his tiny forehead.

"Two seconds. TWO SECONDS! Are you kidding me?!"

Lana froze.

"It only took... two seconds?"

Mr. Crow exhaled in disbelief, his feathers trembling.

But Lana wasn’t done experimenting.

She channeled mystical energy through her entire body, feeling its warmth flow like molten light through her veins. She tried lifting a finger.

Nothing. Not even a twitch. Her heart fell.

Mr. Crow chuckled softly.

"That weakness won’t vanish with healing light."

Lana frowned.

"Why?"

Mr. Crow explained patiently:

"Healing light repairs cells and physical wounds. But your problem... is deeper. Your body and soul were shaken apart by the herbs. The pain, the burning, the freezing... every wave of it shattered your synchronization. Until your soul aligns with your body again, you won’t move properly. No healing technique can fix that. Only rest."

Lana quietly absorbed his words.

’So there’s a science to this after all...’

At the same time, admiration for Mr. Crow rose quietly inside her.

He may look ridiculous, but he knew more about cultivation than most humans ever would.

Time passed, and Lana lay on the bed staring at the ceiling with a bored, empty expression.

Her bear outfit hood drooped sadly over her forehead.

Then suddenly...

Her whole body stiffened.

’Oh no... bathroom.’

Her soul left her body again.

She closed her eyes in sheer misery.

"Mr. Crow... please take me to the toilet."

Mr. Crow hesitated, his wings pausing midair.

Then he sighed deeply and obeyed, lifting her gently with psychic force and placing her on the water closet with extreme, awkward care.

When Lana returned, exhausted and humiliated beyond belief, Mr. Crow’s psychic energy was nearly depleted from assisting her every movement.

Even though Mr. Crow had advanced, using his psychic power without pause took a massive toll on him.

His tiny body trembled from the strain, and faint sparks of exhaustion fluttered off his feathers like dim fireflies.

He could only help Lana again after at least an hour of cooldown.

’If she asks me one more time right now, I’ll collapse first,’ he thought weakly.

Thankfully, Lana had fallen asleep, completely drained, wrapped in the ridiculous bear outfit like an exhausted child, and didn’t ask him for help again.

When she finally woke, it was already the next day.

Her eyelids fluttered open sluggishly, her throat dry, and her stomach growling so loudly she wondered if the entire mansion could hear it.

She blinked.

Her blue eyes, brilliant like frosted sapphires, collided with another pair of stunning ocean-blue eyes.

She jerked slightly in surprise.