Chapter 8

He closed his eyes, focusing on the flow of energy within his body. In the darkness, he felt a small, cold hand press against his shoulder.

The small hand gradually warmed, and a faint heat flowed from his shoulder into his body.

As the heat moved slowly through Qiancao's body, he felt as if he could see his own figure sitting cross-legged before his eyes, though there was nothing there.

As the warmth spread throughout his entire body, the meridians on the figure in front of Qiancao began to glow.

He attempted to guide the energy in his mind into those meridians, and the spiritual energy grew stronger as it flowed through them.

When the energy reached his feet, Qiancao opened his eyes and saw that his own feet were glowing just like Wuming's.

Excited, Qiancao started to stand up, but Wuming stopped him. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Wuming explained, "It's hard to control." She then picked him up directly from the bed and placed him carefully on the ground.

With chakra coating the soles of his feet, Qiancao took two cautious steps forward. He could feel as if he had gained an extra layer of skin that he could control.

Qiancao mimicked Wuming and stepped onto the wall, and sure enough, he felt a suction force pulling at his feet.

Am I actually a genius? he thought. Just as he went to lift his other foot, the suction vanished completely, and he tumbled backward.

Wuming, who was nearby, quickly caught Qiancao, preventing him from hitting the floor.

"How is it?" Wuming asked him. "Have you grasped the basics?"

Without answering immediately, Qiancao repeated the process, concentrating chakra into his hand and punching the wall.

The cloud of dust he had imagined never appeared; instead, the punch left his hand throbbing with pain. He winced and grimaced at Wuming.

"Why... does it feel... wrong?"

For once, Wuming smiled at his comical behavior and pulled back his shirt.

A strange pattern was drawn above Qiancao's navel. Wuming pointed to it and explained, "This is a seal the Uchiha Clan places on their prisoners. Anyone with this seal can only draw upon ten percent of their total chakra."

"With this seal in place, it's perfectly normal for a beginner like you to struggle with controlling your body's chakra."

Qiancao stared blankly at the seal on his stomach. When he first discovered it a few days ago, he had assumed it was a remote-controlled bomb planted by the Uchiha.

Wuming comforted him, "Having this seal is actually a good thing. It helps you train for precise chakra control, which will allow you to master many complex ninjutsu quickly in the future."

Qiancao thought about it and realized she was right. He stopped worrying and began to focus intently on his training.

Having taught his mentor, Wuming felt a slight tinge of regret.

A few days ago, Qiancao had nothing to do and would pester her all day. Although she would complain that he was a nuisance, she found herself growing happier, enjoying the time they spent talking.

Now that Qiancao had learned to refine chakra, he spent his entire day focused on his training, leaving little time to interact with Wuming.

Although Wuming didn't find it boring to watch Qiancao train, she really did want to talk to him more.

Furthermore, what hurt Wuming was that every time she returned from a battle these past few days, Qiancao would avoid her gaze, as if he were hiding something from her.

Ninjutsu or whatever, it's really not a good thing! Wuming thought viciously as she lay in the arms of the sleeping Qiancao, though she didn't dwell on it too much and soon drifted off to sleep.

Qiancao wasn't intentionally distancing himself from Wuming; he was simply preparing a surprise for her.

Based on the number of meal deliveries, Qiancao estimated that half a month had passed since he arrived in this world.

That day, Shiri took Wuming away early, and they didn't return until dinner time.

Upon returning to the cell, Wuming greeted Qiancao and sat in the corner, lost in thought. Because she didn't want to disturb his training, Wuming had rarely initiated conversation with him these past few days.

Of course, even in the days prior, it was always Qiancao who started the conversations.

However, instead of settling into his usual meditation to refine chakra, Qiancao approached Wuming with a mysterious air.

Watching Qiancao look around furtively, Wuming couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

Qiancao mysteriously pulled something from behind his back, shoved it into Wuming's arms, and whispered, "See if this fits? If not, I can fix it."

Wuming looked down to find a pair of handmade straw sandals, woven from the thatch in the cell.

Although the style was old-fashioned and the two shoes weren't perfectly symmetrical, they looked sturdy and had clearly been made with care.

As it turned out, based on Qiancao's observations—accidental observations, of course, he wasn't particularly interested in Wuming's small feet—he had noticed something.

While Wuming usually protected her feet with chakra when she went out, she would often be too exhausted after intense battles to maintain that protection on the way back.

There had been a few times when she returned with her feet covered in tiny cuts, which had pained Qiancao deeply.

This reminded him of the handicraft club he had joined in his past life. Back then, he was young and arrogant, foolishly hoping that his craft skills would help him find a girlfriend.

Unfortunately, even after winning a silver medal in a handicraft competition, he still couldn't find a girlfriend, and he could only stubbornly claim that video games were his best girlfriend and that he would spend the rest of his life with his 2D waifus.

However, the basket-weaving techniques he had learned back then finally came in handy, allowing him to barely manage these straw sandals.

Wuming stared blankly at the "boy" before her. This was the first time she had ever received a gift from someone, and she didn't know what to do.

Seeing Wuming staring, Qiancao assumed his weaving skills were so poor that she couldn't even tell they were sandals.

He sat on the ground, took Wuming's small feet in his hands, and gently wiped away the dust.

Except for a thin layer of calluses on the soles from walking barefoot for so long, her small feet were crystal clear and adorable.

Whether from shyness or ticklishness, her five toes curled together, a sight that made Qiancao's own heart itch.

Resisting the urge to continue playing with them, Qiancao picked up a straw sandal from Wuming's lap and gently slipped it onto her foot.

Although those snowy, jade-like feet looked somewhat wasted in such rough straw sandals, they at least provided a layer of protection.

After putting the other sandal on her, Qiancao stood up and took Wuming's hands, signaling for her to rise:

"Stand up and walk a bit, see if it's comfortable?"

Instead of walking, Wuming stood up and threw herself directly into Qiancao's arms, burying her head in his shoulder as she choked out, "Thank you, thank you..."

Stroking Wuming's head and smoothing out her messy hair, Qiancao smiled and said, "You taught me how to speak and taught me ninjutsu; I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Wuming hugged him even tighter, to the point where Qiancao could barely catch his breath: "But what am I? To think you would be so good to me..."

Pulling Wuming away from his shoulder and wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Qiancao continued with a smile: "You are my very first friend!"