Yi Shuyuan did not take Stoneborn straight to Longwind Lake after picking him up. Instead, he stayed another half day in Fishmulberry Village.
Only after giving Zhuo Qing a few reminders did he depart on the wind with Qi Zhongbin and Stoneborn.
Leaning against a pillar of the wooden veranda, Zhuo Qing watched the three figures recede into the sky and drew a deep breath. The reluctance in her expression turned into anticipation and resolve. Rather than growing excited, she gradually settled into calm.
"When the heart has an anchor, it seeks nothing more. I enter the immortal Dao, not for eternal life!"
Zhuo Qing murmured to herself and looked at her hands. The rough scars and calluses left by four years of work were visibly fading. A faint smile appeared on her face, and she turned back into the house.
Up in the sky, Yi Shuyuan did not leave immediately with Qi Zhongbin and Stoneborn either. They lingered above the clouds for a while before flying toward Tea Province.
Cultivation could sometimes be a deeply private matter, because what each person saw and heard along the way gave rise to a different "meaning" within their heart.
As the saying went, the master led you through the door, but cultivation rested with the individual. Beyond guiding someone onto the path, a master's role lay in fostering the right understanding of cultivation and offering insight at crucial moments. To Yi Shuyuan, this, too, embodied the principle that the Dao followed nature.
In this respect, Yi Shuyuan would not need to worry about Qi Zhongbin for quite some time.
Zhuo Qing had endured her share of worldly suffering. Though she looked like a delicate woman, she was far from fragile, and her heart already had its own direction.
Only Stoneborn was still