Mornings on Thunderfall Mountain were always wrapped in a thin veil of mist. Sunlight pierced the clouds, scattering a hazy golden glow across the mountaintop, as though draping the whole world in a gauzy veil. Shen Xiu stood in the open space before the cottage, rolling his wrists and neck until a string of crisp pops came from his joints. It had been a long time since he had stretched like this. Decades of slumber had left his muscles and bones somewhat stiff. Though Thunderbolt Power could repair any injury at any time, sometimes what a human body needed was not strength, but a good stretch.
Liu Qingyan poked her head out from the kitchen, holding a rough porcelain bowl filled with steaming porridge. She glanced at Shen Xiu and smiled. "Stop stretching over there and come eat. It won't taste good once it gets cold."
Shen Xiu walked to the cottage entrance, took the bowl, and lowered his head for a sip. Several medicinal herbs had been added to the porridge. It tasted faintly sweet, and warmth spread from his stomach, leaving him much more alert. He looked up at Liu Qingyan. Her hair was black and lustrous, her skin smooth and taut; she looked no older than her early twenties. Thunder's gift had not only purged the sickness from her body, but returned her to her finest years. Yet her eyes held more tranquility and composure than they had in her youth. That was something tempered by time, a gift bestowed upon her by the years.
"Today's porridge tastes better than yesterday's," Shen Xiu said.
Liu Qingyan sat across from him, propping her cheeks in both hands as she watched him drink. "That's because I changed one of the ingredients. After you fell asleep last night, I found