Girl by the Lake

He looked forward to his first leap in strength, but worried about the practical matter of obtaining a Spirit Ring.

He had no offensive or defensive abilities whatsoever.

Entering a Soul Beast habitat alone to hunt Soul Beasts was no different from seeking death.

He had to rely on others for help.

In theory, Spirit Academy would help students who had reached a bottleneck obtain Spirit Rings. Usually, a teacher would lead a group of students to the Soul Hunting Forest.

Sigh, being weak means being constrained at every turn.

Jiang Bai sighed silently to himself.

It did not feel good to entrust his safety to someone else's arrangements, but he had no choice.

Growing stronger took time, and before he possessed sufficient strength, he had to learn to make use of his environment and the rules.

Besides, he was an auxiliary-type Soul Master.

He rose and stretched his somewhat stiff limbs, his bones giving a faint series of cracks.

Meditation was highly effective, but after sitting for too long, his body needed stretching too.

Looking at the sky, he saw that it was already evening. It was time to head to the cafeteria for dinner.

Jiang Bai followed the small path he had taken earlier back the way he came.

The road from the back mountain to the main campus passed a small natural lake. Its waters were clear, willows drooped along its banks, and beneath the setting sun, ripples shimmered across the surface. The scenery was quite beautiful.

However, because it was relatively secluded, few people came here aside from the occasional student or young couple taking a stroll.

Just as Jiang Bai was admiring the lakeside scenery, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a figure by the shore.

It was a small figure squatting by the bank, curled up in gray academy robes.

Long golden hair fell loose around her, stirring gently in the evening breeze and glowing softly beneath the sunset.

Judging by her build, she was a girl.

What made Jiang Bai slow his steps was that he seemed to hear an extremely faint, suppressed sobbing sound. It came and went, almost impossible to notice unless one listened carefully.

The girl's shoulders seemed to be trembling faintly.

Could she be... thinking of doing something drastic?

The thought flashed through Jiang Bai's mind.

Jiang Bai frowned slightly.

He softened his footsteps and carefully approached the figure.

He stopped several steps away from the girl, close enough for her to hear him but not so close as to startle her.

He cleared his throat and asked softly in the gentlest tone he could manage, without any hint of pressure.

"Um... fellow student, are you all right?"

His voice was not loud, but it sounded exceptionally clear beside the silent lake.

The crouching girl seemed to stiffen slightly, and her sobs abruptly stopped.

She slowly turned her head, somewhat hesitantly.

When that face, still streaked with tears, entered Jiang Bai's sight, he could not help but freeze for a moment.

The girl's features were exquisitely delicate, even describable as perfect.

Her skin was so fair it was nearly translucent. Tiny tears still clung to her long lashes like dewdrops on butterfly wings at dawn.

Her violet eyes, moistened by tears, seemed exceptionally clear and bright, yet they carried deep confusion, sorrow, and a trace of fragility that was hard to detect.

Her nose was elegant, her lips pressed tightly together, and several strands of golden hair clung to her damp cheeks, making her look all the more pitiful.

Though she appeared young, the air of nobility, vulnerability, and alarm mingled around her was not something an ordinary family could have cultivated.

The girl also seemed not to have expected to encounter anyone here, especially a stranger.

A flash of panic crossed her eyes. She quickly wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and tried to stand. Perhaps because she had squatted for too long, her legs had gone numb, and she staggered.

Jiang Bai instinctively stepped forward half a pace and reached out as if to support her, but then felt that it would be too abrupt. His hand halted in midair.

The girl steadied herself on her own, lowered her head to avoid Jiang Bai's gaze, and spoke in a thick nasal voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.

"I... I'm fine."

Jiang Bai took a clean handkerchief from his wristband and offered it to her, his tone still calm.

"Would you like to wipe your face...?"

The girl looked at the plain handkerchief held before her, then looked up at Jiang Bai.

The boy before her had clear eyes. There was none of the scrutiny, curiosity, or pity she was used to seeing—only simple concern born of kindness.

She hesitated for a moment, but eventually accepted the handkerchief and murmured, "...Thank you."

She gently wiped her cheeks and the corners of her eyes with Jiang Bai's handkerchief, her movements somewhat restrained.

For a moment, the atmosphere was quiet, with only the sound of lake water lapping softly against the shore.

Jiang Bai did not ask why she was crying, nor did he deliberately try to comfort her.

He simply stood quietly to one side, gazing at the shimmering lake and giving the girl some space and time to compose herself.

After a while, the girl seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

She held the handkerchief in her hands, raised her head again, looked at Jiang Bai with those violet eyes, and asked.

"You... tell me, if a woman has a child studying at an academy... and one day, she comes to the academy... what would she be there for?"

Her voice carried a heavy nasal tone, along with a tremble and anticipation that she tried desperately to suppress but could not completely hide.

The question came rather abruptly. Jiang Bai barely had to think before answering based on the simplest understanding.

"Of course she'd be there to see her child!"

The instant the words left his mouth, the girl's slender body trembled violently, as if struck by an invisible arrow.

The head she had just raised slightly dropped deeply again. She wrapped both arms tightly around her knees and buried her face in the crook of her arms.

Then, even more suppressed yet far more violent sobbing spilled out. It was a nearly despairing, heartbroken whimper, and her small shoulders shook fiercely.

"..."

Jiang Bai froze, momentarily at a loss.

Did I say something wrong? Seeing her child... wasn't that the most normal answer possible?

Golden hair, violet eyes, extraordinary bearing, and she had broken down crying because her mother had come to the academy but not to see her...

Could this be Qian Renxue?!

At the same time, a chill shot up from his tailbone without warning, making him shudder.

Qian Daoliu... wouldn't he be watching nearby, would he?

Jiang Bai's scalp tingled.

I didn't say anything I shouldn't have just now... right?

Would he think I saw his granddaughter in such an embarrassing state and then... casually chop me into mince?

Jiang Bai had actually guessed half of it right!

At that moment, within the shadow of a lush canopy atop an ancient tree not far from the lake, a figure nearly blended into the twilight stood silently.

He wore a simple white robe, his long hair flowing over his shoulders. He appeared to be only thirty or forty years old, handsome and imposing.

Yet within those deep eyes lay endless vicissitudes and wisdom.

He was none other than Spirit Hall's Grand Worshipper, the rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, Qian Daoliu.

He had originally been secretly following Qian Renxue. Seeing his precious granddaughter curled up by the lake, crying alone, had made his heart ache. Just as he was about to reveal himself and comfort her, he saw another little boy in academy robes approach first.

Qian Daoliu temporarily gave up the thought of revealing himself.

He wanted to see how this little fellow who had stumbled upon her by chance would handle the situation. Would he approach with ulterior motives, or would he possess... a trace of kindness?

When he heard Jiang Bai blurt out, "Of course she'd be there to see her child," followed by Qian Renxue's even more devastated reaction, a complicated, indescribable flicker of heartache and helplessness passed through Qian Daoliu's eyes.

At this time, Qian Renxue's crying eased slightly, though her sobs still came intermittently.

With her face buried in her arms, she spoke in a muffled voice, filled with endless grievance and confusion.

"No... she didn't... go see her daughter... she went to see her... her disciple..."

"..."

That confirmed it. It really was you, Qian Renxue!

Qian Renxue seemed immersed in her own world of sorrow and continued speaking through choked sobs.

"Waaah... I obviously... didn't do anything wrong... why does Mom... hate me so much..."