Leaving

"Shi Feng?" Shi Lan asked tentatively.

Silence fell outside the door.

After waiting a long while without hearing a reply, Shi Lan began wiping the dirty blood from her body. Beneath it, her skin had become much fairer and more delicate than before.

Aside from the changes to her skin, Shi Lan also felt much lighter, as though she had shed a shackle. A sense of clarity seemed to well up from within her.

After changing the water in the tub several times and cleaning herself up, Shi Lan carefully stepped out of the bath.

Fortunately, because she practiced martial arts, Shi Lan sometimes bathed three or four times a day, so the bathroom was always stocked with clean clothes.

Once dressed, and after confirming that nothing seemed amiss, Shi Lan opened the bathroom door and walked out.

There was no one in the room, and the door was shut tight. The bloodstains on the floor had already been cleaned up.

Shi Lan relaxed. After stretching her limbs, she lazily flopped onto the bed and let out a contented sigh.

By chance, she glanced at the mirror across from the bed. Shi Lan froze, then scrambled up and hurried over to it.

Shi Lan was nearly twenty, but the person in the mirror looked no older than eighteen. Her skin had changed even more noticeably, gleaming with a translucent sheen.

Most importantly, though the person in the mirror was wearing men's clothes, there was something distinctly feminine about her.

"Why do I look so girly..."

Shi Lan frowned in discomfort and lightly patted her cheeks, forcing her expression to look more stern. Only then did some of the femininity fade.

[Main quest issued: The host has safely passed the novice period and should no longer remain content in one place. Leave Tenglong City within three days.]

[Quest reward: One basic draw. Quest failure: Random punishment.]

Shi Lan began to waver.

She was somewhat reluctant to leave. Tenglong City was such a nice place: there was food and drink, and people to protect her. It was the perfect place to grow stronger.

Keep a low profile and grow stronger, then go wild once she was powerful enough. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

But Shi Feng's arrival today had sounded a warning bell. This was, after all, Shi Mansion, with people coming and going everywhere. A mere wooden door could hardly keep a martial artist out. She could be found out at any moment. Perhaps leaving was the better choice.

"What does random punishment mean?" Shi Lan asked silently.

[The host's unwillingness to leave Tenglong City indicates a severe lack of ambition and an immature mind. More training is required. The specific punishment will depend on the circumstances.]

Shi Lan was speechless. If she could, she really would have preferred to hole up in one place until she was strong enough to protect herself, then go out and experience all the wonders of the Lingyang Realm. Unfortunately, the system wasn't giving her that chance.

Shi Lan had no desire to find out what punishments a system that threatened to kill her at the drop of a hat might have in store.

Shi Lan pulled open the door and walked out. Perhaps it really was time to leave.

Shi Feng was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, glancing up at the sky from time to time.

"Shi Feng."

At the sound of her voice, Shi Feng turned around. Seeing that Shi Lan was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After looking her over carefully, Shi Feng suddenly seemed flustered and shifted his gaze away. The tips of his ears turned red.

"What's wrong?" Shi Lan asked, puzzled by his strange expression.

"N-nothing. As long as you're unharmed, young master, I'll take my leave." With that, Shi Feng hurried out of the courtyard.

Watching Shi Feng's retreating figure, Shi Lan fell into thought. She was still under house arrest, and even if she weren't, she would surely have to go out accompanied by a whole group of guards. Slipping away alone would be difficult.

If she wanted to leave Shi Mansion, she would have to plan carefully.

Taking the Purification Pill hadn't taken long, so by evening Shi Lan was hungry. But she had already turned down the medicinal meal prepared for dinner, so she had to go to the kitchen herself and ask for an ordinary meal.

Once she had eaten her fill, Shi Lan lay down, pulled up the covers, and drifted off to sleep. She didn't enter the virtual space that night.

For the past month, Shi Lan had constantly forced herself to practice, and she was mentally exhausted. Today, the Purification Pill's effects had put her through another ordeal. All she wanted now was a good rest.

The next day, Shi Lan got up early.

As soon as she was up, Shi Lan began wandering around Shi Mansion, from the outer walls to the inner courtyard, then from the back gate to the front gate.

She spent the entire morning touring Shi Mansion twice. Once she had a general sense of the layout, she returned to her residence.

Now that she had the lay of the land, Shi Lan decided she would leave Shi Mansion that very night.

If she waited any longer, she wouldn't be able to leave the Violetstar Seven-Pointed Halberd in the system's temporary storage. Just imagining running away while carrying nearly three hundred pounds of gear made Shi Lan tired.

In the afternoon, Shi Lan went to Su Lanyue's courtyard. She was about to leave Shi Mansion, and she felt it wouldn't be right to go without paying her respects first.

"What brings you here all of a sudden?" Su Lanyue dismissed her attendants, then looked Shi Lan over curiously. She sensed that Shi Lan had changed a great deal, but couldn't quite put her finger on what was different.

"It's been a long time since I paid my respects. I've been thinking of you."

"You needn't worry about me. How about you? How is your practice of the Vajra Divine Fist coming along?" Though Su Lanyue said this, the smile in her eyes showed that she was quite pleased by Shi Lan's visit.

"I've made some progress."

"That's good." Su Lanyue took Shi Lan's words to mean that she had gained something, not that she had truly reached the minor mastery stage.

After all, Shi Lan had taken the Vajra Divine Fist manual only a little over a month ago. Making some progress in such a short time was already quite good.

After chatting for a while, Shi Lan took the Vajra Divine Fist manual from her robes and placed it in front of Su Lanyue. Judging from Su Lanyue's attitude that day, the manual was quite precious. Now that Shi Lan was leaving, it was better to return it.

"What do you mean by this?" A trace of disappointment flickered in Su Lanyue's eyes. She assumed Shi Lan no longer wanted to continue practicing.

"I've memorized the Vajra Divine Fist. The Martial Intent it contains isn't of much use to me anymore, so it would be safer for Mother to keep it."

"That's fine."

Su Lanyue thought it over, then nodded and accepted the manual.

Shi Lan sat for a while before rising to take her leave.

"Mother, please take care of yourself."

As she reached the door, Shi Lan couldn't hide the complicated feelings in her heart and turned back to say this.

Shi Lan's feelings toward Shi Tianlu and Su Lanyue had always been complicated. Although she had accepted Shi Lan's memories of the past and felt a child's affection for them, a barrier still remained between them, making it hard for her to open her heart.

"Don't worry about me. Take good care of yourself."

Watching Shi Lan leave, Su Lanyue shook her head with a smile. That child...

That evening, Shi Lan first went to the kitchen and asked them to prepare some dry rations for her. Only then did she return to her room.