Jade Forging Art

When Shi Feng entered, Shi Lan was already eating.

Seeing Shi Feng come in, Shi Lan set down her chopsticks. "Have you eaten? Join me?"

The words Shi Feng had prepared on the way caught in his throat. Somewhat helplessly, he declined, "Thank you, Eldest Young Master, but this subordinate isn't hungry."

Shi Lan did not mind. She had only said it casually to begin with. The medicinal meal Zique had delivered did not even seem quite enough for her alone. It was merely a habit, empty politeness.

"You came looking for me at this hour. Is there something?"

Shi Feng stepped forward and handed over the wooden box in his hand. "This subordinate happened to obtain a century-old Blood Ginseng. It is quite effective at replenishing vitality and nourishing qi. Eldest Young Master has only just begun practicing martial arts and needs proper nourishment."

Shi Lan's eyes lit up. She took the wooden box and opened it directly. Inside lay a Blood Ginseng nearly a foot long, its roots luxuriant and dense, giving off a strange fragrance.

Blood Ginseng's primary effect was nourishing the blood and calming the mind. Shi Lan was happy because she had once heard in her previous life that Blood Ginseng seemed to have miraculous effects on menstrual pain.

After her excitement faded, Shi Lan closed the box and coughed twice. Shi Feng was being so thoughtful that she felt a little embarrassed.

"Eldest Young Master, while this Blood Ginseng is not especially old, its medicinal efficacy is not weak. It can be considered a spiritual ingredient. Since you have only just begun martial training, it is best not to take more than half a qian at a time."

"I'll accept this generous gift. From now on, don't call me Eldest Young Master. Call me brother!"

"Ah?"

Brother?

Shi Feng's expression turned strange. He was four years older than Shi Lan—how was he supposed to call her brother? Besides, how could Shi Lan be his brother?

The moment the words left her mouth, Shi Lan realized something was wrong as well. Knowing she had gotten carried away, she said awkwardly, "You can pretend you didn't hear that just now..."

After saying that, Shi Lan sat down and buried her head in her medicinal meal again.

Shi Feng responded with silence, not knowing what to say. A trace of worry arose in his heart. Could it be that Shi Lan had pretended to be a man for too long and something had gone wrong with her mind?

Only the sound of Shi Lan eating remained in the room.

"Is there anything else?"

Shi Lan quickly finished the medicinal meal. Seeing Shi Feng still standing to the side, she could not help feeling puzzled.

"No... nothing else. Eldest Young Master, please rest early."

After Shi Feng left the room and closed the door behind him, he leaped up soundlessly onto the roof. Familiar with the route, he found a comfortable corner and lay down.

Watching the familiar, resplendent starry sky before him, Shi Feng's thoughts gradually emptied.

He had come to Shi Mansion fourteen years ago. This was now his fifteenth year.

After entering Shi Mansion, hunger and cold had been completely cut out of his life. All that remained was martial training and the tasks Shi Tianlu assigned him.

He had thought his life would pass this way, until he met Shi Lan.

Shi Lan—five years ago, he had only heard that name from other guards and servants. Born with a useless body, weak-tempered, worthless. In any case, there had been no words of praise.

Shi Lan had little presence in Shi Mansion, and he had always regarded her as someone entirely unrelated to himself.

Until five years ago, when Shi Tianlu ordered him to become Shi Lan's shadow guard, and the Eldest Young Master became the Eldest Young Lady.

When he first heard this news, Shi Feng had been somewhat startled, but he quickly calmed down. It was merely an ordinary assignment.

As he spent more time around Shi Lan, Shi Feng discovered things in her that were different: innocence, gentleness, kindness, and a forbearance ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

Whenever Shi Lan looked at the maids in the manor, her eyes carried a deeply suppressed envy. Jade hairpins, ornamental pins, red makeup, plain skirts—such ordinary things were extravagant dreams beyond Shi Lan's reach.

Shi Lan had lived this way for nearly twenty years.

Gradually, Shi Feng seemed to have grown fond of watching Shi Lan from the shadows. As long as he watched her, his heart would calm, and he could cast all the bloody storms encountered during his missions behind him.

But today, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that feeling in his heart had vanished. It was as if a heavenly chasm stood between him and Shi Lan, an uncrossable chasm.

Shi Lan sat on her bed and summoned the Empress Cultivation System panel. The system had taken one level of her cultivation, but as compensation, it had given her a chance to draw a prize. Today's task had not been for nothing.

Looking at the roulette wheel on the draw screen, Shi Lan said without hesitation, "Draw."

The wheel spun rapidly, then came to an abrupt stop after several breaths.

[Congratulations, Host, for drawing the three-star skill: Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique.]

Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique...

Wave after wave of vast information flooded into Shi Lan's mind.

It took Shi Lan nearly two hours to barely digest all that information.

"What an incredible Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique!"

Shi Lan opened her eyes, which were filled with astonishment.

The Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique could survey feng shui formations, probe the course of the earth's dragon veins, and observe the height, depth, and length of a person's fortune.

Though it offered little help in combat, Shi Lan knew clearly that the Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique's supporting functions were absolutely not to be underestimated.

Remembering the reward from the earlier novice task, Shi Lan opened the system's temporary storage. Besides the Body Tempering Pill and the White Crane Skirt, there was now a small booklet with a blue cover.

Shi Lan took out the Jade Forging Art and began reading. Half a quarter-hour later, she closed the booklet, looking thoughtful.

The Jade Forging Art was divided into nine levels. Those in the Body Tempering Realm could only practice the first through third levels, while levels six through nine required cultivation at the Xiantian Realm or above.

Once the Jade Forging Art was cultivated to great mastery, one could condense a Glazed Jade Body. The body would be like glazed crystal, supple as soft jade, and ordinary magical treasures would struggle to harm it.

According to Su Lanyue, the martial arts techniques of this world were divided into four grades: inferior, middle, superior, and the legendary supreme arts. The Vajra Divine Fist she practiced was a superior technique within the Body Tempering Realm.

Shi Lan did not know what level the Jade Forging Art belonged to.

Shi Lan sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began circulating the first-level mantra of the Jade Forging Art.

Who knew how much time passed before a thread of airflow was born within Shi Lan's body? It traveled through her entire body, beginning to temper her sinews, bones, skin, and flesh.

That thread of airflow was far too weak. It barely completed one circuit through her body before vanishing without a trace.

After it disappeared, a terrifying hunger surged up within her. The hunger made Shi Lan feel as though her stomach had begun to cramp.

Shi Lan opened her eyes, jumped off the bed, and pulled out the bundle of dry rations from the wardrobe. She wolfed them down, but the hunger in her belly still did not fade.

Glancing at the pitch-black night outside, Shi Lan hesitated, then shifted her gaze to the wooden box containing the Blood Ginseng on the desk.

"Seems like I can't eat too much at once..."

Shi Lan opened the wooden box, hesitating. How much was half a qian again?

The hunger in her belly kept surging up. Shi Lan's eyes turned green, and she could not care about that anymore. She would eat first and deal with it later.

Shi Lan grabbed the Blood Ginseng and took a huge bite from it as if she were biting into a radish.

It tasted slightly bitter, with a hint of sweetness.