Feelings

The bright moon hung high in the sky, while thin Spiritual Energy drilled out from cracks in the earth and drifted slowly through the air.

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged atop a boulder at the edge of a cliff, his hands forming seals over his dantian as he slowly breathed in and out. Threads of extremely faint Spiritual Energy entered his body through the crown of his head. A moist red radiance flickered vaguely within him, and an indistinct haze of heat drifted within three yards around him, scorching several little plants beside the boulder until they had yellowed and withered.

Having obtained the True Fire Art and received a Three Flavors Leaving Fire Pill from Dan Fusheng to assist him, Lin Xiao spent seven days and seven nights finally converting all the Evergreen Art true qi within his body into Leaving Fire True Qi. Nearly thirty percent of the Evergreen Art true qi had been lost in the conversion, yet after it was entirely transformed into Leaving Fire True Qi, Lin Xiao did not feel that his cultivation had declined in the slightest. Instead, he felt ever more vigorous and powerful, as though a casual breath could unleash an explosive force from within him.

Sure enough, cultivating a technique suited to one's Five Elements attributes was the most beneficial.

And the Evergreen Art truly deserved to be Spring Return Valley's foundational technique. Its nature was incomparably mild; during the conversion of his true qi, Lin Xiao had not suffered the slightest pain, and all the true qi in his body had already been fully converted.

"Whew~~~" Lin Xiao exhaled a breath of turbid air. A faint red glow shot several feet away, setting several withered plants at the cliff's edge ablaze. He finished his cultivation and rose to his feet. Feeling the warm, blazing true qi in his body, then recalling the marvelous sensation he had felt while sensing the changes in the furnace flames when brewing medicine at Spring Return Hall, he could not help thinking, Perhaps being a Fire Worker Daoist suits me best? Hmm, for Martial Uncle Sect Master and Master to make such arrangements, they truly were farsighted and wise and mighty.

"Hey, hey, Junior Brother~" While Lin Xiao was lost in thought, Yao'er's low call suddenly came from behind a boulder.

Whirling around, Lin Xiao saw, in astonishment, that the dust-covered Yao'er was holding four mountain chickens and peeking out from behind a boulder, waving at him. Instinctively looking around, Lin Xiao hurried over to her side, crouched behind the boulder as she did, and asked in a lowered voice, "Senior Sister Yao'er, what are you doing?"

Yao'er pursed her lips, tilted her head, and said unhappily, "You've been cultivating for seven whole days. I'm starving to death."

"Th-this..." Lin Xiao gave a bitter smile. "The valley kitchen..."

Yao'er's little face darkened as she said fiercely, "Martial Uncle Sect Master told everyone to enter seclusion and cultivate, saying that everyone had to wholeheartedly reflect upon the insights they gained from pill refining over the past five years. The kitchen hasn't lit a fire for days. Where am I supposed to find food?" She angrily waved her arms. "The worst part is that they didn't even leave behind a single steamed bun in the kitchen. Hmph!"

Drooping his head, Lin Xiao resignedly said, "Senior Sister, say no more. I understand. Mm, let's find somewhere secluded, and I'll roast the mountain chickens for you. As for those Grain Abstinence Pills..."

Yao'er looked at Lin Xiao in astonishment, then said unhappily, "Grain Abstinence Pills? Could they possibly taste better than roasted chicken? Better than steamed buns? Why should I eat Grain Abstinence Pills?"

"Er, right." Lin Xiao bitterly laughed and accepted the four mountain chickens from her hands.

Yao'er happily clapped her hands, then vigorously patted Lin Xiao's shoulder. "Junior Brother, from now on, Senior Sister's belly is in your hands."

Those words sounded unspeakably strange. Lin Xiao could neither laugh nor help feeling the urge to cry. Yet when Yao'er patted his shoulder, he saw that her palm was covered in fine but deep cuts, crisscrossing in every direction. For no reason at all, a faint pain pricked his heart. Instinctively, he grabbed Yao'er's hand and asked softly, "Senior Sister, what happened?"

Looking mournfully at her palm, covered in wounds and caked with dust, Yao'er's tears came as soon as she wished. As teardrops fell, she looked at Lin Xiao in grievance. "Wuwu, those mountain chickens were awful. I used Palm Lightning to strike them, but then they couldn't be eaten. So I could only catch them with my hands, but they kept burrowing into those short bamboo thickets. Wuwu, it hurt so much."

Two streams of tears hung from her fair little face, her large eyes were full of moisture, and her rosy little lips trembled in a pout. Lin Xiao's heart seemed to rise and float away. He repeatedly warned himself that he should not be moved, that he should not go on like this. Yet he could not stop himself from dropping the mountain chickens, taking both of Yao'er's hands in his, and gently blowing on them. "Mm, it's nothing serious. Apply some salve for external injuries, and in one day, they'll scab over."

Lin Xiao comforted Yao'er gently, just as—just as his mother had once comforted Lin Xiao after he accidentally fell and scraped his palm.

A warm, soft liquid seemed to soak his heart. The hand holding Yao'er's little hand unconsciously tightened slightly. Her smooth, boneless palm made Lin Xiao instinctively recall how Yao'er had fed him that miraculous Lotus Root and saved his life. Those rosy lips, that sweet breath... Lin Xiao's heart began pounding violently. Rushes of hot blood surged toward his head, making his vision darken, making his young heart ache in waves, panic in waves, and become utterly lost in waves.

Lin Xiao howled inwardly, Heavens, what is wrong with me?

Yet Yao'er saw the tenderness on Lin Xiao's face, a tenderness that made her own heart race. She also saw the hesitation and fear behind it. She did not understand what Lin Xiao feared, but straightforwardly wiped away her tears and pinched Lin Xiao's fair cheek hard with her dirty little hand. "Mm, Senior Sister knows you're very good at catching mountain chickens, so from now on, all of Senior Sister's food will be left to you! Mm, mm, Master said that I'm to pass on the introductory techniques to you, so you must behave!"

"Ah? Er! No way, right?" Lin Xiao's scalp went numb, and the short hairs at his temples stood up one by one. Yao'er was going to teach him the introductory techniques? How reliable could that be?

Before the dumbstruck Lin Xiao could offer any opinion on Dan Fusheng's arrangement, Yao'er had already risen to her feet. She carried the four mountain chickens in her left hand and Lin Xiao in her right, then ran laughing and chattering toward the back mountains of Spring Return Valley. Before long, a plume of green smoke rose from a secluded valley in the back mountains, and a mouthwatering fragrance drifted on the breeze. Immediately afterward came Yao'er's cries as hot chicken fat scalded her.

"Wow~ I'm so full!" Yao'er contentedly licked the grease from her fingers until they were clean, patted her belly comfortably, and sprawled on the ground without the slightest regard for her appearance. She even crossed one leg over the other, lightly swaying her foot while humming some unknown folk tune. Her large eyes blankly watched a flock of wild geese flying high across the sky.

As he buried the campfire, Lin Xiao quietly watched Yao'er. This muddleheaded, absentminded Senior Sister gave him an unprecedented sense of peace and warmth. It felt as though a missing piece of his heart had suddenly been filled. Lin Xiao had originally believed himself utterly alone in this world. Even toward Daoist Danling and Dan Fusheng, he had not felt much. But Yao'er's appearance made him feel that someone in this world still cared for him and cherished him.

Though Yao'er had never said so, Lin Xiao knew that after he chose that tall stone by the cliff to cultivate upon, Yao'er had constantly appeared around that cliffside these past few days. Powder to repel snakes and insects had been scattered all around him. Though she had scattered rather too much, covering the ground around him with half an inch of medicinal powder, Lin Xiao could clearly feel Yao'er's concern. It was concern untouched by any other feeling, concern born purely because she cared for Lin Xiao.

Other than his mother and father, Lin Xiao had never felt such care from anyone else. Hu Zhutie and Mr. Wei did not truly care about him either; they merely held expectations for him, hoping he could take over Spring Return Hall and replace Lin Yao, that debauched young master. Lin Xiao, sensitive from childhood, could clearly distinguish such subtle differences.

His mother and father were both dead. In this world, perhaps Yao'er alone could still care for him in such an almost instinctive manner.

Daoist Danling and Dan Fusheng had accepted him into the Great Luo Pill Dao not because they held any favorable feelings toward Lin Xiao. Perhaps it was merely the Great Luo Pill Dao's sense of responsibility toward an outer disciple.

After washing his hands in the nearby stream, Lin Xiao sat beside Yao'er. At some point, she had plucked a long blade of grass and held its stem between her lips, flicking it with her tongue so that the long leaf danced cheerfully. Yao'er amused herself with that blade of grass, while Lin Xiao amused himself watching Yao'er.

After a long while, Yao'er finally came back to herself. She stared blankly at Lin Xiao and asked, "Why are you staring at me like an idiot? Didn't you eat enough just now? I only..." Rarely, Yao'er's little face reddened slightly. She muttered, "I only ate three and a half roasted chickens! At worst, I'll leave one for you next time?"

"Er, I'm not hungry." Lin Xiao was momentarily stunned. After cultivating the True Fire Art, he had suddenly discovered that his need for food had greatly decreased. He had only managed to force down half a roasted chicken with great difficulty. Yet Yao'er's cultivation was so much higher than his—why was she still such a glutton? Could it be that people without a care in the world were simply better at eating?

Lin Xiao stared blankly at Yao'er, and Yao'er stared blankly at Lin Xiao.

The two watched each other for a while. Lin Xiao suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly turned away, his fair face already flushed red.

Yao'er suddenly giggled. Leaping up, she sat down pressed tightly against Lin Xiao. She gave his arm a hard twist and asked excitedly, "Junior Brother, you should have fully converted your true qi these past few days, right? Mm, did you ever learn any spells before? Do you know any practical spells?"

"Spells?" Lin Xiao's ears immediately perked up. He shook his head again and again. "Spells? I don't!" His heart was both nervous and expectant. Spells were things of legend. Though he had already joined the Great Luo Pill Dao and had even been struck by Yao'er's Palm Lightning, Lin Xiao still felt that spells were as illusory and unfathomable as ever. Every boy dreamed of flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth, and Lin Xiao was no exception. Yao'er's words seized his mind completely.

"Hehe!" Yao'er blinked and vigorously patted Lin Xiao's shoulder. "Master said that he could only teach you some most basic spells once all your true qi had transformed into true essence. But Senior Sister will teach you one move early, in consideration of all those roasted chickens just now."

After lowering her head to ponder for a while, Yao'er shook her head. "You have a pure fire constitution, so there are many spells you can't use. Mm, I don't know any pure fire spells either. But pure fire true essence, just like pure wood true essence, is best at bringing out the might of lightning arts. Mm, I'd better teach you Palm Lightning." Yao'er puffed out her chest and smiled proudly. "My Palm Lightning is famous throughout all of Spring Return Valley!"

Lin Xiao's gaze was drawn to Yao'er's chest-puffing posture and involuntarily fell upon her chest. But in an instant, he recalled Lin Shan's teaching: "Do not look upon what is improper." He desperately twisted his head away, but used too much force. His neck gave a sharp crack, startling Yao'er so badly that she hurriedly grabbed his neck and demanded to know whether he had been possessed.

Lin Xiao's face reddened. He hastily changed the subject, forcing out a dry laugh. "Senior Sister's Palm Lightning must be incomparably powerful, which is why it is famous throughout the valley, right?"

"Er~" Yao'er's little face crumpled up. She glared at Lin Xiao somewhat angrily and snapped, "Incomparably powerful? Powerful, my foot! Senior Sister's Palm Lightning..."

Yao'er's lips twitched fiercely. She seemed to recall something infuriating, then angrily jumped up and launched a barrage of fists and palms at Lin Xiao's head. Beaten until he could not raise his head, Lin Xiao hurriedly hugged his head and curled up on the ground, shouting, "Senior Sister Yao'er, stop! It hurts~~~"

"Hmph!" Yao'er angrily hammered Lin Xiao's head several times and said furiously, "Senior Sister's Five Elements attributes are extremely balanced—not a fraction more, not a fraction less—so I can cultivate every kind of spell. But..." Her expression became incomparably gloomy. She sat weakly on the ground and said in distress, "Because they're too balanced, no matter what spell I use, its power is less than thirty percent of what others can achieve. Sigh~~~"

Lin Xiao blinked. Seeing Yao'er's sorrowful appearance, his heart turned sour. Yet he did not know how to comfort her. He was a complete outsider when it came to Five Elements attributes, spell power, and such things. What sensible words could he possibly offer to console her?

Still, after half a year together, Lin Xiao had grown accustomed to Yao'er's temperament—her sudden joy, sudden sadness, sudden anger, and sudden muddleheadedness. He hurriedly tugged at a lock of her long hair and smiled. "Senior Sister, you still haven't taught me the incantation for Palm Lightning."

"Oh? That's right!" Yao'er wiped the tears from her face and suddenly became spirited again. She sprang to her feet, vigorously patted the dust from her clothes, clasped her hands behind her back with a smile, and circled Lin Xiao twice. Lin Xiao looked at her in confusion, only to see Yao'er shake her head and recite, "Junior Brother, regarding Daoist arts, there is that saying about the heart of Heaven... Er, how did Master lecture me back then? Let me think, let me think?" Yao'er had just put on airs to lecture Lin Xiao, only to suddenly forget her words, and began smacking her own head in irritation.

"Er, Senior Sister, rest assured. Even after I learn Daoist arts, I won't commit evil deeds." Seeing Yao'er strike her own head hard again and again, Lin Xiao hastily tried to persuade her.

"Oh, right!" Yao'er said as if suddenly enlightened. "Master said back then that Daoist arts are too powerful and absolutely cannot be used to commit evil, otherwise the sect will certainly not spare you. Mm, that's right, that was what he said. Mm, listen carefully now. I'll give you a lightning seed for cultivating Palm Lightning. Then you can slowly follow the Palm Lightning incantation, communicate with the thunderous power between Heaven and Earth, and release Palm Lightning."

Yao'er's expression became incomparably solemn. She formed a sword finger with her right hand, and a streak of violet-blue lightning flickered faintly at its tip. With a muffled grunt, Yao'er stabbed her sword finger fiercely into Lin Xiao's brow.

A force of lightning thundered into Lin Xiao's body. Every hair on his body stood on end. That lightning force made every part of him tremble violently, numb yet incomparably comfortable.

The Great Luo Pill Dao was not famed for Daoist arts. Compared with certain cultivators who specialized in the Mystical Dao—cultivators who could refine their own cultivation into invincible heavenly lightning and blast it from their bodies—the various techniques of the Great Luo Pill Dao did not possess such formidable power. The Great Luo Pill Dao's lightning arts relied more upon borrowed external force. Elders of the sect gave juniors a seed of power, which served as the means to communicate with external energy. Using one's own true essence as the driving force, that seed communicated with the great powers of Heaven and Earth outside, transforming them into various attacks. This was the core principle behind the Great Luo Pill Dao's offensive Daoist arts.

This method of attack actually accorded with the Daoist principle of unity between Heaven and humanity, drawing upon the power of Heaven and Earth for one's own use. Yet the Great Luo Pill Dao's methods were somewhat neither fish nor fowl. The power of Heaven and Earth they borrowed was much weaker than the Daoist arts through which other cultivators borrowed such power.

In short, the Great Luo Pill Dao's offensive Daoist arts could only be considered barely satisfactory. But to Lin Xiao, they were already more than miraculous enough.

Lin Xiao's comprehension had always been good. With his pure fire constitution and his newly completed Leaving Fire True Qi, using pure yang true qi to drive the power of lightning was like adding wings to a tiger.

Following the hand seals and mental formula Yao'er had taught him, Lin Xiao flipped his hands. The true qi within his body surged, driving that lightning seed through a Lesser Celestial Circuit within him. At once, Lin Xiao felt threads of extremely fine power, enough to numb his entire body, swiftly rushing toward him. An invisible force gathered ever more densely in his palm, while at the same time the true qi in his body was rapidly depleted. In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiao felt his dantian become completely empty, as though all his true qi had become formless, as though even the flesh and blood within him were about to be hollowed out and drained dry by that force.

Just as he sensed that something was wrong, the energy in his palm had already grown beyond his control.

"Ah-tai!" With a loud shout, Lin Xiao opened his mouth and spat blood. A blue bolt of lightning as thick as a chopstick and barely a foot long shot from his palm, blasting a boulder several feet across, a hundred yards ahead, into powder.

The tremendous explosion made the valley rumble and echo. Countless fragments of rock sprayed in every direction. Yao'er clapped and laughed delightedly. "Junior Brother, well done! Mm, Senior Sister needed half a month back then before I could strike my first—er, Junior Brother? Junior Brother? Little Junior Brother?"

Poor Lin Xiao had spat blood and fainted on the ground, his entire body still twitching without end, like a skinned frog that continued convulsing. His cultivation was simply insufficient to support the use of even such a rudimentary spell as Palm Lightning. That single bolt had exhausted all his essence, qi, and spirit.

Yao'er leaped up in fright and hurriedly threw herself atop Lin Xiao, vigorously slapping his cheeks as tears began falling again.

"Little Junior Brother~~~ Wuwu, it was Senior Sister's fault~~~ Senior Sister forgot Master said that before true qi transforms into true essence, wuwu, you can't endure it~~~ Senior Sister forgot~~~ Don't blame Senior Sister~~~" Yao'er slapped Lin Xiao's cheeks until they swelled high, muttering, "Wake up, wake up?"

After a barrage of slaps had made blood spill from the corner of Lin Xiao's mouth, Yao'er suddenly smacked her forehead.

"Hehe, how muddleheaded. If someone's hurt, just feed them pills. What's there to make a fuss about?"

Laughing, Yao'er pulled handful after handful of pills from her sleeve. After carefully examining the various pills for a while, tears suddenly appeared again on the face that had just been smiling.

"Wuwu, why isn't there a single healing pill? I remember, these past few days..." Tilting her head and thinking for a long while, Yao'er finally sighed with a mournful face. "I'm done for. These days I've been busy refining powder to repel snakes and insects. As for healing pills, I wasn't good at them to begin with."

"Yao'er!" A voice as gentle as water came from the side. "Use this Return Origin Pill." A slender, fair hand extended a pale golden pill toward her.

"Oh! A Return Origin Pill? Just the right remedy!" Yao'er foolishly did not even look to see who had handed her the pill. She grabbed it, forcibly pried open Lin Xiao's mouth, and tossed the pill inside.

Lin Xiao's lightning strike had completely drained the essence and qi within his body. There was not a drop of saliva in his mouth. Though the pill had been thrown into his mouth for some time, it remained firmly on the tip of his tongue, unable to be swallowed. Yao'er frowned, naturally reached in and took the pill out, placed it in her own mouth, and used her saliva to dissolve it into a fragrant medicinal liquid before feeding it to Lin Xiao mouth to mouth.

"Er~" The person who had given Yao'er the Return Origin Pill was a dignified and beautiful Daoist nun with a snow-white complexion. Wearing a light violet Daoist robe, she stared blankly at Yao'er's utterly natural action, and her beautiful face twitched sharply several times. The horsetail whisk in her hand trembled lightly; clearly, waves were churning in her heart as well.

"Yao'er!" the Daoist nun called again.

"Er?" Yao'er blinked blankly and turned to look at the Daoist nun. Her tear-streaked face suddenly blossomed into a brilliant smile. She sprang up and threw herself into the Daoist nun's arms, planting a hard kiss on her cheek. "Martial Mother~ You've come out of seclusion? Wuwu, Yao'er missed you to death~~~ Master even punished Yao'er a while ago and forbade Yao'er from refining pills!"

The Daoist nun's face stiffened. It seemed that Yao'er's lips still carried Lin Xiao's saliva. The Daoist nun truly could not describe what she was feeling now.

"Er!" Lin Xiao softly groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

The medicinal power of the Return Origin Pill was swiftly replenishing Lin Xiao's depleted strength. His vision swam; he blinked hard before finally seeing the Daoist nun and Yao'er, who was clinging to her embrace.

Seeing Lin Xiao wake, Yao'er hurriedly called out, "Little Junior Brother, this is our Martial Mother Dan... Dan what was it again? Martial Mother, what is your Daoist name?"

Lin Xiao fell silent. The Daoist nun fell silent. After a long while, the two sighed softly at the same time.

Under Yao'er's innocent, bewildered gaze, the Daoist nun smiled and nodded slightly at Lin Xiao. "This humble Daoist is Danxia. Lin Xiao, you may call me Martial Mother from now on as well."

Gently rubbing Yao'er's messy hair, Danxia smiled. "Your true qi has already been fully transformed into Leaving Fire True Qi. Tomorrow, you may go to the pill chamber and take up your duties."

Lin Xiao hurriedly bowed to Danxia and respectfully answered, "Yes!"

Yao'er rolled her eyes in Danxia's arms and slowly blew a saliva bubble from the corner of her mouth.