Snow fell silently outside the window.
Shen Hui sat on the edge of the bed, turning the Wood Nurturing Chapter over and over in the light of the flame hovering in midair.
The Silk Scroll said that the Wood Nurturing Technique could prolong one's life.
He had noticed that the first time he read it. After all, who didn't want to live a few years longer?
But the further he read, the more he felt this spell wasn't so simple.
"Wood governs growth, so it can spur vitality; wood governs wind, so it can stir the air; wood governs thunder, so it can wield thunder arts."
He stared at those words, his brow gradually furrowing.
Were these three different paths, or three stages that built upon one another?
Spurring vitality meant nourishing oneself and prolonging one's life.
Stirring the air meant summoning wind and influencing the world outside.
Wielding thunder arts... that was a means of attack. Unlike fire arts, thunder was made for striking things down.
If he could truly master all three, the value of this Wood Nurturing Technique would be far greater than he had imagined.
He tried following the method described in the Silk Scroll. Closing his eyes, he looked inward and sensed that wisp of "Wood Qi."
The flame in his chest was still just a flame, warm and steady.
But what was "Wood Qi" supposed to feel like?
The Silk Scroll said, "like a spring breeze brushing the face, like a tender shoot breaking through the earth." Shen Hui pondered it for a long while, but could only think that a spring breeze was a spring breeze and a tender shoot was a tender shoot. Neither had anything to do with him.
He opened his eyes and sighed.
Talent really couldn't be faked.
He had been able to figure out the fire arts on his own because he naturally resonated with the idea of "Nature Fire."
But this wood art... He was an outsider who had crossed over from another world, and in his past life he couldn't even keep a succulent alive. Where would he get a "nature of growth"?
He tried all night.
Outside the window, the snow stopped and started again, then stopped and started once more.
He couldn't sense even a trace of that "Wood Qi." At most, the flame in his chest would occasionally flicker, as if mocking him.
By the time dawn neared, he finally gave up.
"Fine."
He muttered, "Save where I can, spend where I must."
With a thought, he summoned the Parchment Interface.
[Spend 100 Dao Xing points to learn Lesser Five Elements Art: Wood Nurturing Chapter (Beginner)?]
A clear current sprang into being from nowhere.
It was nothing like the fire art's steaming warmth. Instead, a cool, lingering stream poured slowly down from the crown of his head.
The clear current flowed into his limbs and bones, into every inch of flesh and every bone.
Shen Hui closed his eyes, immersed in that cool sensation.
He didn't know how long passed before he opened his eyes. His whole body felt light, and even his breathing seemed smoother than before.
He instinctively looked toward the interface. The Wood Nurturing Technique entry had lit up, and a dense string of small characters had appeared beneath it.
[Wood Nurturing Technique (Beginner)]
[Notes]: Practicing this art requires growing out one's hair. Do not shave it too short, in keeping with Wood Qi's image of growth.
[Effects]:
First: Preserve youth and prolong life.
Beginner: Gives the complexion a healthy glow and leaves one looking radiant.
Minor Mastery: Turns white hair black and makes loose teeth firm again.
Great Mastery: Regrows lost teeth and adds a full sixty years to one's life.
Second: Summon wind.
Beginner: Within ten paces, a clear breeze comes of its own accord, stirring one's sleeves and turning the pages of a book.
Minor Mastery: Within a hundred paces, leaves whirl through the air; the wind moves with one's thoughts, driving off miasma and clearing fog.
Great Mastery: With the right conditions, one can command clouds and rain, changing the weather over an entire region.
Third: Wield thunder and spread its power.
At Great Mastery in Wood Nurturing, one can summon Jia Wood Azure Thunder.
Jia Wood Azure Thunder: Azure-green in color, it rumbles like a muffled drum. When it hits the ground, it bursts without shattering. Those struck by it are left numb all over.
Evil spirits are scorched by the vitality within the thunder, as if engulfed in flames; living people merely faint and wake feeling refreshed and clearheaded.
This thunder can hasten the growth of plants.
One bolt can ripen crops within a ten-pace radius overnight, while wild grasses grow so tall they reach a person's height.
It can also rouse withered trees, making old trees that have been dead for years sprout fresh shoots again.
This is the image of "Spring Thunder Awakening," unique to Wood Thunder.
Shen Hui stared at the dense lines of text, his eyes widening more and more.
Preserving youth and prolonging life, summoning wind and rain, commanding thunder and lightning!
Was this really the "support spell" he had imagined?
It seemed that what he gained by pouring in Dao Xing points was indeed worlds apart from what he could slowly comprehend on his own.
He scrolled down again, wanting to see how many points Minor Mastery required.
[Wood Nurturing Technique (Minor Mastery) requires 1000 Dao Xing points; current amount insufficient]
A thousand.
Shen Hui gave a wry smile and closed the interface.
Just as he'd expected.
The fire art had cost the same: one hundred for Beginner, one thousand for Minor Mastery.
At this rate, Great Mastery would probably cost ten thousand.
He stood and went to the window, pushing it open a crack.
Morning light had begun to seep through the clouds, shining on the snow so brightly that it almost hurt to look at.
A few sparrows were sleeping out in the open on the bare branches of the old locust tree in the courtyard, occasionally shaking the snow from their wings.
Shen Hui's thoughts stirred. He formed the Wind-Borne Art with his hands.
A clear breeze appeared from nowhere, soft and gentle as it blew toward the old locust tree.
The branches swayed. The sparrows, startled from their sleep out in the open, flapped into the air and flew a lap around the courtyard before settling back where they had been.
He lowered his hands, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Within ten paces, a clear breeze came of its own accord.
For now, he could only stir leaves and turn pages. But what about later?
Once he reached Minor Mastery, leaves would whirl within a hundred paces; once he reached Great Mastery, he could command clouds and rain, wield thunder and lightning.
When wind and fire worked together...
An image rose in his mind: fierce winds sweeping flames across the sky, wind feeding fire and fire riding the wind's might, leaving not a blade of grass alive in their wake.
Boiling the sea wasn't realistic, but burning down a mountain... should be no problem.
Shen Hui stood by the window, gazing at the old locust tree, and suddenly laughed aloud.
Having a cheat was great!
At some point, the snow outside had stopped again. The stars were beginning to fade, and the courtyard was bright.
He turned back to the bed and sat down cross-legged.
There was still plenty to do today. He would go to the hot spring, soak, and cultivate. For now, he needed to take a good look at this Silk Scroll.
It was still dark when Shen Hui left.
The winter dawn was bitterly cold. He wrapped his robe tightly around himself and trudged through the snow, one deep step at a time.
The snow reached over his ankles. Each step crunched loudly, carrying far through the silent mountain forest.
He didn't use a spell to clear the way. He simply kept walking.
Snow had blanketed the mountain path so thoroughly that the familiar trail had vanished. He could only feel his way forward by memory and the lay of the land.
Every now and then, he stepped into a hollow, his body tilting as a spray of snow splashed onto his robe. He didn't mind; he brushed it off and kept going.
As he walked, he suddenly stopped.
The pine trees by the roadside were laden with snow, their branches bent low like open white umbrellas.
In the distance, mountain ridges overlapped in layer upon layer, fading from dark blue-green nearby to pale gray-white farther away. The most distant peaks were lost in the clouds and mist, leaving only vague outlines.
Shen Hui stood there, gazing for a long time.
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He remembered the snow he had seen in his previous life.
Snow in the city melted as soon as it fell, turning into black sludge. The little that did pile up was crushed under car tires and trampled by pedestrians until it was filthy.
He had never known snow could be so clean, so untouched, so quiet it felt like a dream.
He continued onward, walking more slowly than before.
Sometimes he took only a few steps before stopping beneath a tree to look up at the icicles.
Sometimes he crouched and brushed away the snow with his hand, peering at the moss still green beneath it.
Sometimes he had no reason at all. He simply stood there, gazing at the snow-covered mountains in the distance, his eyes unfocused.
When the red sun peeked over the eastern ridge, he was standing on a sunlit hillside.
At first, the light was only a faint smear of golden red, creeping slowly upward along the ridge.
Gradually it grew brighter and richer, then suddenly leapt over the mountaintop, bathing the entire forest in warm orange-red light.
Shen Hui stood there, utterly still.
The light fell across his face, moving inch by inch from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, then from his nose to his chin.
He closed his eyes and felt the warmth spread across his skin, as if someone were gently stroking him with a warm palm.
Only after a long while did he open his eyes.
The mountain had awakened.
Birdsong rang through the forest, first a few calls, then a whole chorus.
Snow sifted from the branches, falling onto the thicker drifts below with faint, muffled thumps.
A long animal cry sounded in the distance. Whatever creature it was, it was beginning to stretch its limbs in the morning light.
Shen Hui simply sat down cross-legged in the snow.
He thought about nothing at all. He just sat there.
He watched the red sun climb higher inch by inch, the light and shadows shifting slowly across the hillside, and a flock of sparrows flying from tree to tree, chirping and chattering without pause.
A squirrel leapt down from a pine and landed in the snow, leaving only its fluffy tail sticking out.
It dug around in the snow for a while, then pulled out a pinecone. In a few quick bounds, it climbed onto a rock beside Shen Hui, hopped over his legs, and finally scrambled onto his shoulder.
Shen Hui didn't move.
The squirrel stood on his shoulder, holding the pinecone in its front paws. Its little mouth worked rapidly, cracking out a pine nut, which it stuffed into its mouth and chewed with bulging cheeks.
As it chewed, it looked around, its two glossy black eyes darting back and forth.
Perhaps it thought this "rock" was quite steady. It cracked one pine nut, then another, chewing each in turn, eating with utter concentration.
Shen Hui could feel its tiny paws stepping lightly on his shoulder, and the soft fur of its tail occasionally brushing his ear as it flicked.
He didn't disturb the little creature.
A long while passed.
"Crack."
A branch snapped nearby, probably broken under the weight of the snow.
The squirrel jumped in fright. The pinecone slipped from its paws and fell into the snow.
It sprang off Shen Hui's shoulder, bounded twice, and darted behind a pine tree, vanishing from sight.
Only then did Shen Hui move his stiffened neck a little and look down at the fallen pinecone.
He reached out, picked it up, pried a pine nut from between its scales, peeled it, and popped it into his mouth.
It was fragrant, with a faintly oily taste as he chewed.
Just then, the same squirrel poked its head out of the snow again.
At some point it had crept back out. It clutched something in its front paws and stared blankly at Shen Hui.
Shen Hui looked down. It was holding another pinecone, even bigger than the last.
The squirrel stood there, bewildered, as if wondering: Why did the rock move?
Watching its dazed expression, Shen Hui's mouth curved into a smile.
"Thank you for the pine nut, my good fellow."
With that, he stood, brushed the snow from his robe, and continued up the mountain.
Shen Hui continued upward.
The deeper he went into the mountains, the thicker the snow became. In some places it reached above his calves, and he had to put in some effort to pull his feet free.
As he rounded a ridge, a splash of fiery red suddenly appeared before him.
It was a wild hawthorn tree, growing on a sheltered slope. Its branches were laden with fruit, each one bright red and striking against the white snow.
Some had been pecked by birds, exposing their pale yellow flesh; others were still whole, covered in a thin layer of frost that glimmered in the morning light.
Shen Hui walked over and picked one.
The fruit was icy cold and hard in his hand.
He took a bite.
Its flesh was soft, and its sweet-and-sour taste melted across his tongue, carrying the distinctive fresh scent of the mountains.
"Mm."
He took another bite, ate the whole thing, and spat out a few tiny seeds.
Then he lifted his head, looked at the tree laden with red fruit, and began picking.
For the high ones, he went up on his toes; for the low ones, he bent down.
He picked them one by one, gathering them into the hem of his robe until it bulged into a heavy bundle.
For the ones he couldn't reach, he shook the branches, letting the fruit fall into the snow, then bent to pick them up.
After picking for nearly half an hour, he'd taken almost half the hawthorn berries from the tree.
Shen Hui looked down at the bundle of red fruit in his arms. It seemed like enough for several people, so he stopped picking and continued uphill.
The mountain gradually came to life.
Paw prints covered the snow, some large, some small, some deep, some shallow, densely overlapping, as if a lively gathering had been held there.
A few pheasants scratched through the snow in the distant woods, their long tails dragging trails behind them.
Farther away, an animal that looked like a cat but was bigger crouched on a tree branch. Its fur was tawny, with tufts of black hair on the tips of its ears. It stared motionlessly at the pheasants scratching through the snow.
A lynx.
Shen Hui recognized it.
He didn't approach. The lynx glanced at him, then stayed still, continuing to watch its prey.
There were others he couldn't identify.
One animal, smaller than a deer but similar in appearance, had gray-brown fur and bounced across the snow;
something that looked like a wild boar, but with a shorter snout, rooted around beneath a tree, searching for something;
and a bird, white all over except for a streak of black on the tips of its wings, flew overhead and gave a clear, bright chirp, like a tiny bell being struck.
Most were ordinary birds and beasts.
Every now and then, he sensed a faint trace of spiritual energy, so slight he could barely detect it.
Shen Hui knew these were creatures that had only just absorbed a little of heaven and earth's spiritual energy. They hadn't gained intelligence yet, so they didn't count as demons.
He continued on.
The hot spring was almost there.
As he rounded the last bend, the familiar mist billowed toward him.
Milky-white steam rose from the surface of the pool, roiling in the frigid air and shrouding the surrounding pines and strange rocks in a hazy veil.
Shen Hui approached the pool but didn't hurry to take off his clothes. Instead, he looked around first.
The dozen or so Spirit Nourishing Grass plants were not far from the water, each protected by a rough stone enclosure.
He crouched down to examine them carefully. Every plant looked much healthier than it had in its pot.
The leaves spread out, their color a lush green. The two lowest leaves had grown to about the length of his little finger, glimmering faintly.
He counted them.
One, two, three, four...
When he reached thirteen, Shen Hui frowned, straightened up, and muttered:
"Thirteen plants?"
He shook his head and didn't think much more of it. Then he began to undress.
He draped his robe over a clean rock, folded his underpants and placed them on top, then set the bundle of hawthorn berries beside the rock.
He walked naked into the water. The warm pool rose past his waist, his chest, and his shoulders.
He rested his head on a smooth stone and leaned back, sinking into the water until only his head showed.
Mist billowed around him, hiding the distant mountains and woods, and the path he'd taken to get there.
Shen Hui closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
Bliss.