After getting to know Ye Lingling, Qian Renyue naturally became acquainted with Dugu Yan as well. The three of them attended classes and ate together during this time. Qian Renyue had wanted to move into Dugu Yan's dorm, but Meng Shenji kept refusing, so she could only give up on the idea.
During her few months at Spirit Hall, Qian Renyue's health had improved considerably under Guang Ling's care. But compared with Soul Masters of the same rank who had cultivated since childhood, her physical fitness still fell far short.
Xue Qinghe had seized on precisely this point. When he sparred with Qian Renyue, he had indeed felt that her strength was respectable, but that was all. He had no idea what she had been doing in previous years for her foundations to be weaker than even an eight-year-old child's. She was a classic case of having an arsenal of powerful Soul Skills and nothing else. In a battle of endurance, she would not last long.
Over the past few days, Meng Shenji had personally supervised Qian Renyue as she completed the academy's specially tailored "hellish training." Qian Renyue complained endlessly, but remembering that she had insisted on coming here, she knew she had to see it through, even if she had to crawl on her knees.
On another day with the sun blazing overhead, Ye Lingling and the others went to rest beneath a shady tree after finishing a hundred laps. Everyone in Class A followed the normal training routine except Qian Renyue, who had extra training. As a result, theory lessons were the only classes she genuinely liked so far.
"Yueyue's been doing extra training for a month already. Isn't it over yet?"
Beneath the scorching sun, Qian Renyue jogged slowly in her blue school uniform. Her face had been baked bright red, and she panted heavily, beads of sweat streaming from her forehead, temples, and chin. Her clothes were soaked through, and irritation welled up inside her. In her mind, she had already cursed twenty generations of Meng Shenji's ancestors and twenty generations of his descendants.
Meng Shenji sneezed several times beneath the large tree. Did I catch a chill last night?
"Her physical fitness isn't that good, and she joined halfway through. If she wants to catch up, she'll probably need another half month of special training."
Beside Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, who carried herself with a mature, commanding air, took a tissue from her Soul Tool and wiped the sweat from her face. From the first day she met Qian Renyue, she had kept track of her special training regimen. It consisted entirely of exercises they had done before. If her guess was right, Qian Renyue would have to finish all of them before she could keep pace with the others.
Another half month of special training?
Ye Lingling lowered her gaze and sighed softly without saying anything.
She looked at Qian Renyue, feeling genuine sympathy for this girl who was seven or eight years younger than them. Perhaps because of the age gap, Dugu Yan was especially gentle with Qian Renyue. Even Yu Tianheng, who was usually cold toward outsiders, showed much more warmth when dealing with her. He truly seemed to regard Qian Renyue as a younger sister.
A day packed with special training dragged on endlessly. Ye Lingling and the others had originally planned to wait for Yueyue, but theory class was about to begin, and Meng Shenji would not let them stay. They could only wave to Qian Renyue, signaling that they would come find her after class. Qian Renyue understood and answered with a gesture. When the bell rang, she was the only person left on the field.
She sighed as she ran, convinced that Meng Shenji was deliberately tormenting her. Yesterday had been so pleasantly cool, yet he had refused to schedule the double training then and insisted on choosing a day with such fierce sunshine. The field was like a steaming basket. Even through her heeled shoes, she could feel the soles of her feet burning.
Still, the sunlight did benefit her. The Flame Mark on her hand had been left by the God of Kindness, and it needed to absorb sunlight to ease the scorching heat inside her body.
The weather had been fairly good these past few days, with sunshine every few days, so Qian Renyue had not felt especially hot when sleeping at night. But if she always had to absorb sunlight to suppress this flame, she felt that would be far too troublesome.
At that thought, Qian Renyue could not help recalling the octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Of these two immortal herbs, one possessed ultimate ice, while the other contained top-grade fire poison. In a sense, they should be able to suppress the magical treasure's side effects for her-or rather, neutralize them.
The academy's vacation would begin in another month. When the time came, she would have to find an excuse to go home with Dugu Yan. Given Dugu Bo's eccentric temperament, she could hardly guarantee that she would get along with the old man. Besides, she had never studied medicine and could not cure his poison.
After completing four hundred laps around the field, Qian Renyue headed straight for the grass and collapsed beneath a large, shady tree.
"Hah, hah, hah..."
She gulped down air, her chest heaving. Her beautiful eyes were so full of mist that everything looked hazy and indistinct.
Just then, a dark shadow fell over her head. She pressed her lips together and could not help rolling her eyes.
"You can leave school early today. Get some proper rest." With his supervision brought to a tidy close, Meng Shenji also showed some concern for Qian Renyue. What he did not know was that she had already cursed him countless times in her mind.
Although she disliked Meng Shenji intensely, Qian Renyue still gave a perfunctory wave and said, "Got it. Thank you, Teacher!"
"Mm."
Meng Shenji nodded. Then this hapless scapegoat, whom Qian Renxue had used to draw Qian Renyue's resentment, disappeared from the field.
The steaming field was deserted. Once Qian Renyue had rested enough, she let out a heavy sigh and suddenly found herself missing Guang Ling a little.
In all of Spirit Hall, he was actually the person she got along with best, even though he was always finding things for her to do for no reason.
As she thought about him, a sudden coolness brushed past her ear.
Her eyes shifted, and she instinctively looked toward the source of that coolness.
The moment she turned her head, that familiar face appeared in her sight.
"Grandpa Guang Ling!"
Qian Renyue was pleasantly surprised.
How had he appeared just as I was thinking about him?
"Ah, my little Yueyue!" Guang Ling had intended to surprise Qian Renyue, but he had not expected her to detect his silent arrival. It seemed the special training the young master had arranged for her lately was quite effective after all!
Flying down from above, Guang Ling pulled Qian Renyue up from the grass. "Little Yueyue, how have you been lately?"
He looked at her with a cheerful grin. Before she could answer, he took her chin and turned her face this way and that. Seeing that she seemed to have lost weight, Guang Ling immediately dropped his smile. His brows furrowed slightly, and he pouted. "What's going on? Why have you gotten thinner? Has this lousy academy been mistreating you?"
The sweat on Qian Renyue's face had yet to evaporate, but Guang Ling, who was usually fastidious about cleanliness, did not mind at all that she was practically drenched in sweat. Qian Renyue, however, instinctively drew her face back out of his palm. "It would be stranger if I hadn't lost weight."
"They give me extra training every day, and I don't even have an appetite. If I didn't lose weight from that, wouldn't it defy the laws of heaven?"
Extra training every day?
No appetite?
Guang Ling pressed his lips together. "Then how about I take you out for Spicy Rabbit Head?"
He had specifically spoken to Qian Renxue before coming today. That was also why Meng Shenji had let Qian Renyue leave school early.
At the mention of rabbit head, Qian Renyue's mouth twisted. "I actually don't like eating rabbit head that much."
"Oh, I see." Guang Ling nodded, immediately tearing up the little mental notebook in which he had jotted down Spicy Rabbit Head. He looked at Qian Renyue. "Then what do you like to eat? I'll take you out for it."
What did she like to eat?
Qian Renyue thought for a moment.
"Fragrant, stinky luosifen!"
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