Through the crack in the door, Si Qing watched as Chen Yin carefully brushed the dust from Yu Ling’s dress, his movents gentle and precise, his gaze focused and attentive.
Yu Ling stood there obediently, her body slightly stiff, as if she was uncomfortable with his closeness.
Si Qing turned away. She had seen enough.
That last glimpse had revealed more than she wanted to know.
She had seen the tenderness in Chen Yin’s eyes, a gentleness she had never seen before, a gentleness that was different from the playful affection he showed her.
And she had seen the way Yu Ling’s gaze lingered on him, then quickly darted away, a shy and hesitant look that Si Qing knew all too well.
She had looked at him that way countless tis.
Images flashed through her mind.
Fantasies and hopes, now shattered like fragile bubbles.
“…What if it works? Then Big Sister will finally have soone to keep her in check!”
“Stop dreaming! Big Sister is the leader of the Yu Alliance! She’s too busy for a ten-year-old boy!”
Inside the hut, Luo Xiaoxiao and Feng Xiangling were arguing, each trying to convince the other.
The others were either cheering them on or just enjoying the show.
Only Hua Yulian noticed Si Qing’s quiet return.
“What’s wrong?” she asked gently.
Si Qing didn’t answer, just bit her lip, her eyes red-rimd, her hair slightly disheveled.
“…Sister Hua,”
“I can’t let go,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Hua Yulian sighed and gently stroked her hair.
“You have to be more carefree.”
“Love doesn’t always last forever.”
Si Qing looked at her, her nose still red.
“But… what if I want to be with him?”
“You are with him now.”
Hua Yulian smiled. “Isn’t this enough?”
Si Qing nodded and sniffled slightly.
“You’re all still so naive… Hey, Qingqing!”
Feng Xiangling, noticing Si Qing, said excitedly, “You agree with , right?”
Everyone looked at her.
Si Qing was silent for a long mont, then she suddenly smiled.
“I agree with Xiao Luo.”
Feng Xiangling’s face fell, and Luo Xiaoxiao, after a mont of stunned silence, cheered triumphantly.
“Haha! Qingqing is a girl! She understands these things better than us!”
“Even Qingqing agrees! What do you have to say now, Feng Xiangling?”
Feng Xiangling lowered his head silently.
The boys cheered, while Si Qing just stared out the window, lost in thought.
“A-alright,”
Yu Ling said, her cheeks flushing slightly as Chen Yin carefully brushed the dust from her dress, his touch gentle and attentive.
“It’s just a dress… I can change into another one. Do you have any suggestions?”
“I… whatever,” Yu Ling mumbled, flustered by his closeness.
Chen Yin, seeing her discomfort, finished quickly and asked casually,
“Who are you fighting this ti?”
“I heard there’s a fox demon in the north, hailed as a prodigy. She just erged from seclusion a few months ago.”
Yu Ling’s eyes lit up with excitent. “Fox demons are much more durable than humans. And she’s around my age. This ti, I’ll have a good fight!”
A fox demon? Chen Yin paused.
…He had a pretty good idea who she was talking about.
“Alright. Be back soon.”
He adjusted her hair and smiled.
Yu Ling, although still slightly flustered, had grown accustod to his presence and even his occasional fussing over her.
She had even started to miss him when he wasn’t around.
“Be careful, don’t get beaten up too badly.”
“No way!” Yu Ling stuck her tongue out at him playfully and left.
After she was gone, Chen Yin returned to his room and entered Epheral Mountain.
It was always spring in Epheral Mountain, the scenery eternally beautiful.
The Immortal Venerable was sitting cross-legged in the plaza, studying a formation.
“Hey, you’re just in ti!”
He grabbed Chen Yin’s hand excitedly. “Take a look at this formation! Do you think it will be helpful?”
“What kind of formation is it?” Chen Yin asked curiously, leaning closer.
“It projects images and scenes into your mind, to help you regain your focus if you start losing yourself in the Dao.”
That sounded ridiculous. Chen Yin looked at him skeptically.
“What kind of crazy invention is this? What do pictures have to do with the Dao? Are you trying to torture again?”
He had been the victim of the Immortal Venerable’s experints many tis before.
“But it’s lewd pictures!”
“I think this formation is very useful,” Chen Yin said seriously.
Birds flew overhead, and the clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
After another round of bizarre and unconventional training thods, Chen Yin lay on the ground, staring up at the sky.
“What were cultivators like in your ti, Immortal Venerable?”
“In my ti,” the Immortal Venerable chuckled, “cultivators were rare. It was the ancient era. Humanity was struggling to survive against the elents, against wild beasts and monstrous creatures. Only the strongest and most talented could cultivate. Reaching the Boundless Realm was a great achievent. My sect only had four mbers: my Master, my Senior Brother, my Junior Sister, and .”
“I’ve never heard of your sect before,” Chen Yin said, his curiosity piqued.
The Immortal Venerable’s smile faded.
He shook his head sadly. “…They’re gone. Everyone eventually leaves. There’s no point in dwelling on the past.”
He slapped his thigh and stood up, stretching.
“Alright, break ti’s over! Let’s continue our training!”
We only rested for half an hour! Chen Yin groaned inwardly.
He was starting to think this Immortal Venerable was using him as an excuse to vent his frustrations.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it.
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