Feelings

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and thin Spiritual Energy seeped out from cracks in the earth, drifting lazily in the air.

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on a mountain rock overlooking the cliff. He formed a hand seal and placed it on his dantian, slowly inhaling and exhaling. Wisps of faint Spiritual Energy entered his body through the crown of his head. A soft red glow emanated from within him, and a subtle warmth wafted around him within a three-foot radius, scorching the small grass by the rocks until it turned yellow and withered.

Having obtained the True Fire Art and been gifted a Three Flavors Leaving Fire Pill by Dan Fusheng to aid him, Lin Xiao had spent seven days and seven nights finally converting all the Evergreen Art True Qi in his body into Leaving Fire True Qi. During the conversion, about thirty percent of the Evergreen Art True Qi was lost. However, after all the True Qi was converted to Leaving Fire True Qi, Lin Xiao not only didn't feel his cultivation had regressed but instead felt his energy becoming more vigorous and his strength growing, as if a single breath could unleash explosive power from his body.

Indeed, practicing a cultivation technique that matched one's five-elemental attribute was the most beneficial.

The Evergreen Art also lived up to its reputation as the foundational cultivation technique of Spring Return Valley. Its nature was extremely gentle, and Lin Xiao experienced no pain whatsoever during the True Qi conversion; his entire True Qi had been completely transformed.

"Hoo~~" He exhaled a breath of turbid air, and a faint red light shot out several feet, igniting the withered grass by the cliff edge. Lin Xiao ended his practice and stood up, feeling the warm, comforting True Qi within him. He recalled the wondrous feeling of the furnace fire changing when he was boiling medicine at Spring Return Hall and mused, "Perhaps the Fire Worker Daoist is the most suitable for me? Hmm, for the Sect Leader Uncle-Master and Master to make this arrangement, it can only be described as 'foresighted' and 'wise and mighty'."

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

Turning abruptly, Lin Xiao was stunned to see Yao'er, covered in dust, holding four pheasants and peeking out from behind a rock, beckoning him. Lin Xiao instinctively glanced around, then hurried a few steps to Yao'er's side. Mimicking her, he crouched behind the rock and lowered his voice, asking, "Senior Sister Yao'er, what are you doing?"

Yao'er pouted and tilted her head, saying unhappily, "You've been practicing for seven days, and I'm starving."

"This~~~" Lin Xiao said with a wry smile, "The valley's kitchen~~~"

Yao'er's face darkened, and she said fiercely, "Sect Leader Uncle-Master ordered everyone to go into seclusion to meditate on their insights from the past five years of pill refinement. The kitchen hasn't had a fire going for days. Where am I supposed to find food?" She angrily waved her arms and fumed, "What's even more outrageous is that there isn't even a single steamed bun left in the kitchen, hmph!"

Dropping his head, Lin Xiao resigned himself, "Senior Sister, no need to say more, I understand. Hmm, let's find a quiet place, and I'll roast these pheasants for you. Uh, this Grain Abstinence Pill~~~"

Yao'er looked at Lin Xiao in astonishment. She said unhappily, "Grain Abstinence Pill? Is it as delicious as roast chicken? Is it as delicious as steamed buns? Why would I eat a Grain Abstinence Pill?"

"Uh, yes!" Lin Xiao gave a wry smile and took the four pheasants from Yao'er.

Yao'er clapped her hands with joy, then patted Lin Xiao's shoulder forcefully, "Junior Brother, from now on, Senior Sister's stomach is in your hands."

The words were spoken with a strange implication, and Lin Xiao couldn't bring himself to laugh, feeling more like crying. However, when Yao'er patted his shoulder, he noticed that her palms were covered in numerous fine but deep scratches. For no reason, Lin Xiao felt a slight pang in his heart. He instinctively grabbed Yao'er's hands and asked softly, "Senior Sister, what happened?"

Looking at her dusty, wounded palms with a troubled expression, Yao'er's tears came instantly. While shedding tears, she looked at Lin Xiao aggrievedly and said, "Wuwu, these pheasants are so hateful. I tried to strike them with Palm Lightning, but they were all ruined. I could only grab them with my hands, but they always ran into those short bamboo bushes, wuwu, it hurt so much."

Tears streamed down her fair face, her large eyes glistening with moisture, her rosy little mouth pouting. Lin Xiao's heart fluttered uncontrollably. He kept telling himself he shouldn't be moved, shouldn't continue like this. But he couldn't help but drop the pheasants, take Yao'er's hands in his, and gently blow on her small hands. "Hmm, it's not a big deal. Just put on some wound ointment, and it'll scab over in a day."

Lin Xiao gently comforted Yao'er, just as... just as his mother had comforted him when he accidentally fell and cut his hand years ago.

A warm, soft liquid seemed to soak into Lin Xiao's heart. He tightened his grip on Yao'er's small hand. Her smooth, seemingly boneless palm instinctively reminded him of the time Yao'er fed him that miraculous lotus root to save his life. Her flushed lips, her sweet breath, Lin Xiao's heart pounded violently, hot blood rushing to his head, making his vision blur, making his young heart ache, fill with fear, and feel utterly lost.

Lin Xiao cried out inwardly, "Heavens, what's happening to me?"

Yao'er, however, saw the tenderness on Lin Xiao's face that made her heart flutter too, and even more so, she saw the hesitation and fear behind that tenderness. She didn't understand what Lin Xiao was afraid of, but she straightforwardly wiped away her tears and squeezed Lin Xiao's fair cheek with her dirty little hand. "Hmm, Senior Sister knows you're good at catching pheasants, so from now on, Senior Sister's food will all be handled by you! Hmm, hmm, Master said that the introductory cultivation techniques and such will be taught by me, so you have to listen!"

"Ah? Uh! No way?" Lin Xiao's scalp tingled, and the short hairs on his temples stood on end. For Yao'er to teach him introductory cultivation techniques? How reliable could that be?

Before the dumbfounded Lin Xiao could offer any opinion on Dan Fusheng's arrangement, Yao'er stood up, carrying the four pheasants in her left hand and Lin Xiao in her right. She skipped and ran towards the back of Spring Return Valley. A while later, in a deep valley in the back of Spring Return Valley, a column of green smoke rose, a fragrant aroma drifted with the wind, followed by Yao'er's cries of pain as the oil from the roasted chicken scalded her.

"Waa~ I'm so full!" Yao'er contentedly licked the grease from her fingers, patted her belly with satisfaction, and lay on the ground again without any pretense. She even crossed her legs, her toes wiggling gently, humming some folk songs and ditties while her large eyes stared blankly at the flocks of geese flying high in the sky.

Lin Xiao, while burying the campfire, quietly watched Yao'er. This muddled, confused senior sister gave him Lin Xiao a sense of peace and warmth he had never experienced before. It felt as if a missing piece of his heart had suddenly been filled. Lin Xiao had felt like he was all alone in this world; even Dan Ling Daoist and Dan Fusheng didn't evoke much feeling in him. But Yao'er's appearance made Lin Xiao feel that he was still cared for and loved in this world.

Although Yao'er hadn't said anything, Lin Xiao knew that since he chose to cultivate on the high rock by the cliff, Yao'er had been appearing around that cliff edge for the past few days. Lin Xiao's surroundings were sprinkled with insect repellent powder, and although a bit too much was used, covering the ground around him with half an inch of powder, Lin Xiao could truly feel Yao'er's thoughtfulness. This was a care that was unadulterated by any other emotion, stemming purely from her concern for Lin Xiao.

Besides his mother and father, Lin Xiao had never felt such care from anyone else. Hu Zhutie and Mr. Wei, their actions towards Lin Xiao weren't care, but merely an expectation, an expectation that he would take over Spring Return Hall and replace Lin Yao, that prodigal son. Lin Xiao, sensitive since childhood, could clearly distinguish these subtle differences.

His mother and father were dead. In this world, the only one who cared for him almost instinctively was probably Yao'er now?

Dan Ling Daoist and Dan Fusheng had accepted him into the Great Luo Pill Dao not out of any fondness for Lin Xiao, but perhaps purely out of the Great Luo Pill Dao's responsibility towards outer disciples?

After washing his hands in the nearby stream, Lin Xiao sat beside Yao'er. Yao'er had plucked a long blade of grass at some point and was holding it in her mouth, her tongue moving the stem, making the long grass blade dance merrily. Yao'er played with the grass blade contentedly, and Lin Xiao watched her contentedly.

After a long while, Yao'er came back to her senses. She looked at Lin Xiao blankly and asked, "Why are you staring at me like an idiot? Didn't you eat enough just now? I only..." Unusually, Yao'er's face flushed slightly, and she mumbled, "I only ate three and a half roast chickens! At worst, I'll save one for you next time?"

"Uh, I, I'm not hungry." Lin Xiao was stunned. After cultivating the True Fire Art, Lin Xiao suddenly found that his need for food had greatly diminished. He had barely managed to stuff half a roast chicken into his stomach earlier. Yet Yao'er, whose cultivation was so much higher than his, was still so gluttonous? Could it be that people with carefree hearts ate better?

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

They looked at each other for a while, and Lin Xiao suddenly came to his senses. He quickly turned his head, his fair face now flushed red.

Yao'er suddenly chuckled, leaped up, and sat down right next to Lin Xiao. She pinched Lin Xiao's arm forcefully and asked excitedly, "Junior Brother, you should have finished converting your True Qi these past few days, right? Hmm, have you learned any magic spells before? Do you know any practical spells?"

'Magic spells'? Lin Xiao's ears perked up. He shook his head repeatedly, "Magic spells? I don't know!" Lin Xiao felt a surge of nervousness, and at the same time, anticipation. 'Magic spells' were things of legend. Even though he had joined the Great Luo Pill Dao and had even been struck by Yao'er's Palm Lightning, Lin Xiao still felt that 'magic spells' were elusive and intangible. Every boy had a dream of flying through the sky and burrowing through the earth, and Lin Xiao was no exception. Yao'er's words captivated Lin Xiao's mind.

"Hehe!" Yao'er blinked and patted Lin Xiao's shoulder forcefully, "Master said that you can only be taught some basic magic spells after your True Qi has been fully converted into True Essence. However, seeing as you gave me those roast chickens just now, Senior Sister will teach you one in advance."

After pondering for a moment, Yao'er shook her head, "You have a pure fire constitution, so you can't cast many magic spells. Hmm, I don't know any pure fire spells either. However, pure fire True Essence, like pure wood True Essence, is best at unleashing the power of lightning spells. Hmm, I'll teach you Palm Lightning." Yao'er puffed out her chest and said proudly, "My Palm Lightning is famous throughout the entire Spring Return Valley!"

Lin Xiao was attracted by Yao'er's posture of puffing out her chest, and his gaze involuntarily fell on her chest. But in an instant, he remembered Lin Shan's admonition of "do not look at what is improper." He desperately turned his head away, but in doing so, he exerted too much force, and there was a loud 'crack' from his neck, startling Yao'er. She quickly grabbed Lin Xiao's neck and asked him if he was possessed.

Lin Xiao blushed, quickly changed the subject, and said with a dry laugh, "Senior Sister's Palm Lightning must be incredibly powerful, which is why it's famous in the valley, right?"

"Uh~" Yao'er's face scrunched up. She looked at Lin Xiao somewhat angrily and said, "Incredibly powerful? Your head! Senior Sister's Palm Lightning~"

Her lips twitched fiercely. Yao'er seemed to have thought of something infuriating and angrily jumped up, punching and slapping Lin Xiao's head. Lin Xiao couldn't lift his head, and quickly curled up on the ground, covering his head, shouting, "Senior Sister Yao'er, stop, it hurts~~~"

"Hmph!" Yao'er angrily hammered Lin Xiao's head a few times and said furiously, "My five-elemental attributes are extremely balanced, not one bit more, not one bit less, so Senior Sister can cultivate all magic spells. But~" Yao'er's expression became extremely dejected. She sat on the ground weakly, troubled, "Because they are too balanced, no matter what magic spell Senior Sister casts, the power is less than thirty percent of others. Sigh~~~"

Lin Xiao blinked. Seeing Yao'er looking dejected, Lin Xiao felt a pang of sadness. But he didn't know how to comfort her. He was completely ignorant about five-elemental attributes and magic spell power, so what sensible words could he say to comfort her?

However, after half a year of interaction, Lin Xiao had become accustomed to Yao'er's sudden joy, sudden sadness, sudden anger, and sudden confusion. He quickly tugged at a strand of Yao'er's long hair and smiled, "Senior Sister, you haven't taught me the incantation for Palm Lightning yet?"

"Oh? That's right!" Yao'er wiped the tears from her face and suddenly became spirited again. She scrambled to her feet, patted the dust off her clothes, and walked around Lin Xiao with her hands behind her back, smiling. Lin Xiao watched Yao'er inexplicably, only to see her shaking her head and mumbling, "Junior Brother, this Dao technique, what is it called, Heaven's Heart something? Uh, how did Master teach me back then? Let me think, let me think." Yao'er had just struck a pose to lecture Lin Xiao but suddenly forgot her words, and in her frustration, she began to pat her own head.

"Uh, Senior Sister, don't worry. Even if Junior Brother learns Dao techniques, he won't act recklessly," Lin Xiao said, seeing Yao'er hitting her head forcefully with her palm.

"Oh, yes!" Yao'er said as if suddenly enlightened, "Master said back then that the power of Dao techniques is too great, and it absolutely cannot be used for evil deeds, otherwise, the sect will never forgive you. Hmm, that's right, that's what he said. Hmm, listen carefully now. I will give you a lightning guide for cultivating Palm Lightning, and then you can slowly follow the incantation of Palm Lightning to communicate with the power of thunder between heaven and earth and unleash Palm Lightning."

Yao'er's expression became extremely serious. She formed her right hand into a sword finger, and a faint purple-blue electric light flickered at its tip. Yao'er grunted and forcefully pointed her finger at Lin Xiao's glabella.

A bolt of lightning power struck directly into Lin Xiao's body. Lin Xiao felt his hair stand on end. The lightning force made every part of his body tremble violently, a tingling yet incredibly comfortable sensation.

The Great Luo Pill Dao was not renowned for its Daoist arts. Compared to cultivators who specialized in profound Dao, those cultivators could refine their cultivation into an invincible Heavenly Lightning to blast out of their bodies. The Great Luo Pill Dao's various techniques did not possess such formidable power. The Great Luo Pill Dao's lightning techniques mostly borrowed external power. The sect elders would give juniors a seed of power, which was used to communicate with external energy. Using one's own True Essence as a driver, this seed would communicate with the great power of heaven and earth outside, transforming into various attacks. This was the core principle of the Great Luo Pill Dao's offensive Daoist arts.

This method of attack actually aligned with the Daoist principle of "unity of heaven and man," drawing upon the power of heaven and earth for one's own use. However, the Great Luo Pill Dao's methods were somewhat unorthodox. The heavenly and earthly power they borrowed was much weaker than the Daoist arts of other cultivators who borrowed from heaven and earth.

In short, the Great Luo Pill Dao's offensive Daoist arts could only be considered mediocre, but for Lin Xiao, it was already magical enough.

Lin Xiao's comprehension was originally quite good. With his pure fire constitution and the recently fully converted Leaving Fire True Qi, propelling the lightning force with pure Yang True Qi was even more complementary.

Following the hand seals and mental cultivation method taught by Yao'er, Lin Xiao flipped his hands. His True Qi surged within him, propelling the spark of lightning to circulate a small cycle within his body. Instantly, Lin Xiao felt wisps of extremely fine power that made his whole body tingle rapidly surge towards him. An invisible force gathered more and more in his palm. At the same time, his True Qi was rapidly being consumed. In the blink of an eye, Lin Xiao felt his Dantian become empty, as if all his True Qi had vanished. His flesh and blood seemed to be drained and dried up by that power!

Just as he felt something was wrong, the mass of energy in his palm had become too powerful for Lin Xiao to control.

"Ah!" With a loud shout, Lin Xiao opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. A blue electric light, as thick as a chopstick and only about a foot long, shot out from his palm, pulverizing a rock several feet in diameter a hundred yards in front of him.

The deafening roar echoed through the valley. The giant rock exploded into countless fragments that sprayed everywhere. Yao'er clapped her hands excitedly and laughed, "Junior Brother, well done! Hmm, it took me half a month to unleash my first strike back then~~~ Uh, Junior Brother? Junior Brother? Junior Brother?"

Poor Lin Xiao, spitting blood and fainted on the ground, his body still twitching uncontrollably, like a toad still wriggling after being skinned. His cultivation was utterly insufficient to support him in unleashing such a basic spell as Palm Lightning. One bolt of lightning had exhausted all his essence, energy, and spirit.

Yao'er jumped up in fright and rushed to Lin Xiao's side, patting his face vigorously. Tears began to fall again.

"Junior Brother~~~ Woo woo, it's my fault~~~ Senior Sister forgot, Master said that True Qi hasn't converted to True Essence yet, woo woo, you can't sustain it~~~ Senior Sister forgot~~~ Don't blame Senior Sister~~~" Yao'er slapped Lin Xiao's cheeks until they were swollen, muttering, "Wake up, wake up?"

After a round of slaps that made Lin Xiao's mouth bleed, Yao'er suddenly slapped her own forehead.

"Hehe, I'm so confused. If he's injured, just give him medicine. What's there to be so flustered about?"

Laughing, Yao'er took out handfuls of pills from her sleeve. After carefully examining the various pills, the smile on Yao'er's face immediately turned to tears again.

"Boo hoo, why aren't there any healing pills? I remember, these past few days~" She tilted her head, thinking for a long time, then sighed with a dejected face, "It's over. These past few days, I've been busy refining medicinal powder to drive away snakes and insects. As for healing medicine, I'm not good at it anyway?"

"Yao'er!" A gentle voice like flowing water came from the side. "Use this 'Return Origin Pill'." A slender, white hand offered a pale golden pill.

"Oh! Return Origin Pill? That's exactly what he needs!" Yao'er, dazed, didn't even look at who handed her the pill. She casually grabbed it, violently pried open Lin Xiao's mouth, and dropped the pill in.

Lin Xiao had unleashed the lightning strike, completely depleting his internal essence and energy. He had no saliva in his mouth. The pill had been in his mouth for a long time, yet it still rested steadily on his tongue, unable to be swallowed. Yao'er frowned, naturally reached out, took the pill, placed it in her own mouth, and dissolved it with saliva into a fragrant spiritual liquid. She then fed it to Lin Xiao mouth-to-mouth.

"Ugh~" The one who handed Yao'er the Return Origin Pill was a beautiful and dignified Daoist nun with a pale complexion. Wearing a light purple Daoist robe, she stared blankly at Yao'er's natural action. The beautiful face of the nun twitched violently a few times. The whisk in the nun's hand trembled slightly, clearly indicating the turmoil in her heart.

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

"Huh?" Yao'er blinked blankly and turned to look at the nun. A brilliant smile suddenly bloomed on her tear-streaked face. She leaped up and threw herself into the nun's arms, planting a forceful kiss on the nun's cheek. "Shiniang~ You're out of seclusion? Woo woo, I missed you so much~~~ Master even punished me recently, forbidding me from refining pills!"

The nun's face stiffened. It seemed that Lin Xiao's saliva was still on Yao'er's lips. The nun couldn't quite describe her feelings at the moment.

"Ugh!" With a soft groan, Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes.

The medicinal power of the Return Origin Pill was rapidly replenishing Lin Xiao's depleted energy. His vision blurred, and he blinked hard before he could clearly see the Daoist nun and Yao'er, who was clinging to the nun.

Seeing Lin Xiao wake up, Yao'er quickly exclaimed, "Junior Brother, this is our Shiniang Dan~~~ Dan what was it again? Shiniang, what is your Daoist name?"

Lin Xiao was silent. The nun was silent. After a long while, they both sighed softly at the same time.

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

Gently stroking Yao'er's messy hair, Danxia smiled, "Your True Qi has all been converted to Leaving Fire True Qi. You can go to the Pill Room to take up your duties tomorrow."

Lin Xiao quickly bowed to Danxia and respectfully replied, "Yes!"

Yao'er, meanwhile, was rolling her eyes in Danxia's embrace, slowly letting a bubble of saliva escape from the corner of her mouth. (To be continued)