After dinner, Miao Ruolan got to the point and told him that the hardest stage of this technique was actually producing true qi. It could not be taught; one could only calm one's mind and comprehend it alone.
She had started practicing as a child. It took her a full thirteen years before she accidentally triggered it one spring night, catching that ethereal sensation of qi and generating her first wisp of true qi.
Afterward, that wisp of true qi traveled through several major meridians in her body, gradually growing stronger.
She had not even been particularly slow. She was three years faster than her father. It had taken him a full sixteen years to produce that wisp of true qi, and he had even wondered halfway through whether their ancestors had been fooling them. So when that disciple betrayed him back then, the old man had only felt depressed and had not beaten him up, because he could understand the disappointment of working hard for five years and gaining nothing...
So, facing Lin Xiaosu, she voiced her true thoughts. He should not be impatient for quick success. In modern society, almost nobody knew martial arts anyway, yet people still lived just fine, didn't they? He could take the book back and even make a copy. He only needed to return the original to her after some time.
In response to her reasonable suggestion, Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered. "There's no need to take it. I've already read it."
He returned the book to her right there.
Miao Ruolan felt a little relieved and a little disappointed.
She was relieved because he knew when to back down instead of stubbornly charging ahead.
But she was disappointed because, in the end, she had not been able to help him.
However, Miao Ruolan had no idea what his next sentence meant...
Lin Xiaosu said, "I've memorized it anyway. I'll give it a try..."
Then he sat cross-legged and did not move again.
Miao Ruolan cleared the dishes, washed them, and even washed the bedsheets she had not had time to wash yesterday. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was already past four in the afternoon...
Her gaze drifted toward the backyard, and her thoughts began to wander.
Lin Xiaosu was sitting in the backyard, still completely motionless.
It was almost five. Wasn't he going home?
She truly did not mean to chase him away. She even hoped he would stay the night, but if he really did not leave, she was still a little afraid. Having never kept a man overnight before, she did not even have a concept of such a thing in her mind. She felt a little scared, a little shy, and a little conflicted...
Lin Xiaosu showed no intention of leaving at all.
Five o'clock passed, then six...
Miao Ruolan finally let go of the conflict in her heart.
It seemed he was definitely staying the night.
The sky had already turned dark.
In fact, Lin Xiaosu should have had the same concerns as she did.
Could a single man and single woman who had only met for the first time today stay overnight together?
Under normal circumstances, absolutely not.
But today was a special case.
Lin Xiaosu had completely forgotten the passage of time. His entire focus was locked in a struggle with this technique.
Wasn't Humanity Orchid Heart supposed to be the greatest comprehension talent?
And didn't a technique require comprehension more than anything else?
If I can't even get started on one technique, then what the hell kind of comprehension talent am I talking about?
I have to defend the dignity of Humanity Orchid Heart!
He was filled with defiance, but unfortunately, this technique seemed tailor-made to deal with stubborn people like him. One whole morning and one whole afternoon later, he had not even touched the edge of a qi sensation...
Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind.
It was as though a silver fish had stirred up ripples.
Lin Xiaosu saw a new direction.
That silver fish in his mind!
What was this silver fish?
A consciousness form.
A consciousness form was itself ethereal and intangible, but after acquiring Humanity Orchid Heart, that intangible consciousness form seemed to have come alive and become something real.
At that point, the sensation of qi could not be born.
I'll try pulling this silver fish there...
With a single thought, the silver fish arrived at that mysterious "Spring Return Origin"...
After one rotation, Lin Xiaosu's whole body shook violently as he caught an invisible ripple spreading outward...
After two rotations, a wisp of qi sensation was born.
After three rotations, that wisp of qi sensation flowed downward from the origin point, and waves of piercing pain surged through his dantian.
The sensation of true qi stimulation became even more obvious.
But the pain also became more pronounced. The silver fish was like a plow in his hand, carving through virgin soil and opening up new land...
At some point, Lin Xiaosu became drenched in sweat, bean-sized droplets trembling on his forehead.
Finally, there was a deafening boom inside his body, as though a great door sealed for decades had been thrown open. True qi transformed into a trickling stream and flowed through his two main meridians, the twelve regular meridians, and the eight extraordinary meridians...
At the small backyard gate, Miao Ruolan stood holding a tray. She let out a soft cry of disbelief, nearly overturning it, but she gripped it so tightly that the stainless-steel tray warped in her hands.
Lin Xiaosu slowly opened his eyes, wearing the expression of someone who had carried a burden for hours and had finally set it down, utterly relaxed and content.
Suddenly, he raised his hand and stared in shock at the layer of grime on his arm. Then he touched his butt and cursed inwardly, Holy shit!
His clothes were slick with filth, as though the impurities in his body had all been expelled at once.
"You succeeded! You actually succeeded!" Miao Ruolan's face was flushed red, and the dishes on her tray clattered loudly...
"I need to take a shower..." Lin Xiaosu said.
"Go ahead!"
Lin Xiaosu spent a long time washing up in the bathroom.
Miao Ruolan hung her father's clothes on the doorknob and stood in the yard for a long time.
Her chest rose and fell lightly as she calmed the turmoil in her heart.
After mastering the Spring Return Skill, one would cleanse the tendons and marrow, expelling impurities from the body. She had never mentioned this to him.
Because in her understanding, even if his mind were truly as still as water, even if he were truly a genius, it would still take years before he had even the faintest possibility of reaching that stage. This was not the time to mention the effects of the technique.
Yet in only half a day, he had broken through directly.
He had passed the hardest entry stage!
Was this his miracle?
A miracle of the technique itself?
Or a miracle that she and he had created together?
The bathroom door opened, and Lin Xiaosu walked out wearing her father's pajamas. Miao Ruolan suddenly felt that the person approaching her was a little handsome!
It was not an illusion.
It was the truth. Success in practicing the Spring Return Skill expelled bodily impurities and optimized physical functions. Beauty enhancement was naturally part of it.
Why did Miao Ruolan think she had managed to persist for thirteen years?
Her most fundamental goal had been beauty.
Why had she failed to achieve it?
Honestly, it was enough to bring tears to her eyes—she had succeeded!
At first, she had been ugly. After mastering the Spring Return Skill, she had become ordinary. Wasn't that success?
She could not blame her mother for passing the worst parts of her face down to her, nor could she blame her ancestors' technique for lacking the power to completely transform her. She could only blame her starting point for being far too low. Even after rising by a huge margin, she was still below average...
"I think I made it!" Lin Xiaosu said with a soft smile.
"Not 'think'!" Miao Ruolan gathered her tangled thoughts and smiled radiantly.
"I feel like I might be able to create a spectacle like you did!"
"Like me?" Miao Ruolan was slightly stunned. "You're talking nonsense again. What spectacle could I possibly create?"
Lin Xiaosu walked over to the small table and picked up a pebble...
Whoosh!
The pebble shot out like lightning and embedded itself in the exact center of the large flower opposite him, as if he had added a single dot to its heart.
Miao Ruolan's eyes lit up. "You saw long ago that the pebbles embedded in that stone were set in using this method?"
"Mm!"
"Is this your detective skill?"
Lin Xiaosu smiled. "That's why our detective agency definitely won't be short on business!"
"I... I already told you, I... I really don't know how to do detective work. If you partner with me, you'll just be supporting an idler."
"As if! Do you really think you'll be idle? Opening a detective agency requires a mountain of paperwork. Just thinking about it gives me a headache!"
"Then why do you insist on opening one?"
"Because... because of money. It's impossible to get anywhere in this society without money. My older brother isn't married yet. Whenever my mom brings up the two of us getting married, she worries herself sick. My dad works at a construction site outside every day, getting dark from the sun and drenched in sweat. I plan to free him from that life with my own hands first."
"Then I have to free my dad too!" Miao Ruolan said. "And my brother. My mom said that if my brother wants to get a girlfriend, he'll probably have to go to Southeast Asia and throw money around to buy one."
"Has your brother mastered this Spring Return Skill?" Lin Xiaosu asked.
"He's too restless and impatient. How could he practice it? Back then, he said something that nearly angered my dad to death... He said that after practicing for ten years, he hadn't felt any qi sensation in his body except for farts... Still, it was fortunate he never mastered it. If he had martial arts skills with his temper of throwing hands whenever someone disagreed with him, no amount of family savings would cover everyone's medical bills..."
After dinner, Miao Ruolan immediately grabbed the clothes he had changed out of and went to wash them.
Once she started washing them, Lin Xiaosu stopped agonizing over whether he should go home.
Going home in the middle of the night wearing her father's pajamas did not seem appropriate either.
Staying here for one night did not seem like much of a problem. After all, they were business partners now, and barring any surprises, they would live together at the detective agency in the county seat in the future.
He went to wash the dishes.
In the backyard, the solar lamp was on, its soft light shining down. He washed dishes while Miao Ruolan washed clothes. It was rather harmonious.
As they chatted, they gradually began to feel more familiar with each other.
Maybe it was because they had both mastered the Spring Return Skill and become the same kind of people. Maybe Miao Ruolan herself was simply a gentle and intelligent woman. In any case, Lin Xiaosu found talking with her particularly comfortable, and their topics grew more relaxed. By late night, they truly felt like old friends who had worked together for years.
That night, Lin Xiaosu slept in the guest room.
A cool breeze drifted in through the window. Water rippled faintly below it. Dogs barked a few times in the mountain village before settling down. The sky was filled with stars, only for dark clouds to cover them again...
He slept soundly. Perhaps that was the wonder of the Spring Return Skill—it could make one's state of mind exceptionally peaceful.
If he were placed in a team like Chang Ye and Number 88's again, then at least when it came to sleeping, he could synchronize with them. He could sleep whenever he wanted.
What about his combat ability?
Could he synchronize with them in that regard too?
Lin Xiaosu did not know, but that was not important.
What mattered was that his greatest shortcoming was already being addressed, and there were signs that the future held promise.
Genetic experts erupted suddenly in battle; they reached their peak the moment they stepped off the operating table.
Ancient martial arts practitioners were different. Their cultivation could continue to grow. That was the source of Lin Xiaosu's confidence...
Before you continue