The next morning, a scream jolted Xiao Yun awake.
He had barely sat up in bed, his eyes not yet fully open, when the door to the Inner Chamber flew open. A figure rushed out and threw herself at him.
Before he could see who it was, she pushed him back onto the bed. The back of his head struck the pillow.
He instinctively reached out to push her away, but she clung tightly to his waist, her face buried against his chest. Her shoulders trembled slightly. She made no sound, but her breathing was quick.
Xiao Yun stopped trying to push her away and gently patted her back. Only when her breathing had steadied did he lower his head and get a good look at her.
Ling'er no longer looked like the slight young girl she had been last night.
She had grown nearly a head taller. Her figure was well-proportioned, her shoulders and neck graceful, and her skin fair and smooth. Her once-round face had become a defined oval, with a brightness in her eyes that fell somewhere between girlhood and adulthood. The old clothes she wore had stretched out of shape. The sleeves and collar had loosened, and the hem had ridden up, exposing her waist.
She still held him as if she had yet to calm down from her excitement.
"What happened?" Xiao Yun asked.
Ling'er lifted her head and looked at him with shining eyes. She spoke quickly, too excited to slow down. "There are fifteen divine weapons inside me! Do you know what that means? Among the Weapon Tribe, most people are considered remarkable if they have even one divine weapon in their entire lives. Even the most gifted have two or three at most. I have fifteen! Fifteen whole weapons. More than any