Taking Flight

Six Envy Teahouse.

Jianxin sat upright at a tea table, waiting, her fitted Daoist robe outlining her graceful curves.

When she spotted Ling An, she couldn't help rising to her feet and exclaiming, "Ling An!"

Ling An lazily hopped onto the tea table and settled down as naturally as could be.

He had no reason to feel awkward around Jianxin. Tide Sis and the others were still searching for leads on the Black Shores anyway, so he was happy to take it easy.

Still, he and Jianxin had only spent a brief time together outside the city. He had no idea why she wanted to see him now.

"You wanted to see me?" Ling An pressed the switch.

Jianxin nodded, her face full of anticipation. "Yes! I asked Patroller Chixia about you. I never expected you would actually come!"

"Thank you for last time," she said sincerely.

"Last time?"

Ling An tilted his head back in thought. Jianxin must have meant that incident outside the city, when the Exiles had been dismantling the surveillance tower.

But that hadn't really had anything to do with him. He looked at Jianxin in confusion.

Jianxin explained, "After I left the military camp, I met that red-haired young lady on my way back."

"Danjin," Ling An supplied.

"Yes, Miss Danjin. It was only after speaking with her that I learned you knew each other. Thinking back, she may have agreed to help escort the Exiles back to Jinzhou because of you."

Ling An considered this. Put that way, it did seem plausible.

But even if Jianxin hadn't asked Danjin for help, Danjin would have "helped" anyway if she'd spotted those Exiles.

Danjin had probably taken care of those Exiles afterward, hadn't she?

Curious, Ling An looked at Jianxin and asked, "What happened afterward?"

Jianxin smiled. "I asked Miss Danjin about them. She said she'd sent all the Exiles home. They should be living happily now!"

"Uh..." Looking at Jianxin's smile, Ling An wasn't sure whether he should tell her the truth.

After thinking it over for a long while, he still couldn't bring himself to say it.

Those Exiles were probably pretty happy now. They'd all started fresh accounts.

They'd better not become Exiles in their next lives. Even if they did, they'd better not run into Danjin.

"So why did you want to see me this time?" Ling An got to the point. If she only wanted to thank him, there was no need to go out of her way to ask Chixia where he was.

Sure enough, Jianxin stood straight, brought her hands together in a formal bow, and said solemnly:

"Patroller Ling An, I sought you out because I wish to learn from you!"

"Learn from me?" Ling An looked puzzled. Did Jianxin want to spar with him?

He glanced around the teahouse. If they really started fighting, this place wouldn't withstand his demolition.

"Yes. Over the past few days, I've heard of your great reputation. Since coming down from the mountain, I've experienced the mortal world, yet I haven't made the slightest progress. I hoped to learn from your experience and gain something from it. I hope I'm not troubling you."

Oh, she just wanted advice. Ling An relaxed.

That made sense. Jianxin didn't look like such a violent person.

He pressed the switch. "I'm just a cat."

Jianxin shook her head, her expression solemn. "Before I left the mountain, my master told me that all things have spirits. Humanity alone is not exceptional. A cloud or a blade of grass can be our teacher."

She looked at Ling An with unwavering eyes. "And that is all the more true of you, Patroller Ling An!"

Ling An met her gaze. Her eyes held absolute resolve.

After a moment's thought, Ling An nodded in agreement.

He couldn't help it. Jianxin wanted to improve so badly.

"Thank you." Delight lit up Jianxin's face as she bowed.

She led Ling An to an open space behind the teahouse, where rows of wooden posts stood.

"I specialize in unarmed combat. Normally, the force of one punch can knock down six posts."

As she spoke, she circulated her qi through a full circuit, then threw a punch, sending a surge of force forward.

It knocked down six posts in a straight line before stopping.

Jianxin drew in her qi and looked at Ling An.

Looking at the posts in the training area, Ling An thought Jianxin's method was indeed quite good.

There was some distance between each row of posts. Her force not only had to reach far enough, but also had to knock the posts down.

It trained both power and control.

Ling An looked at her. "I'm not very good at teaching."

He was telling the truth. Judging by the technique Jianxin had just demonstrated, her fundamentals were solid. All she lacked was sufficient power.

But Ling An couldn't exactly transfer his own power to her.

Jianxin clasped her hands. "That's all right. I only wanted to hear your opinion."

At that, Ling An fell into thought.

Since Jianxin had asked him to do this, he would have to try a different approach.

"Do you have any other special abilities?"

"Special abilities?" Jianxin asked curiously. "Does this count?"

She reached up, pulled down an exceptionally long stray lock of hair from the top of her head, and actually began playing a tune on it.

Ling An stared in bewilderment, then hurriedly said, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

That wasn't what he'd meant.

Jianxin's face flushed a little. In her spare time, she'd learned to play tunes with her stray lock of hair, and she'd thought that was what Ling An wanted to hear.

Ling An sighed helplessly. Then inspiration suddenly struck.

He said seriously, "I've figured it out. Your problem is confidence!"

"Confidence?" Confusion appeared on Jianxin's face.

"Exactly," Ling An said with certainty.

Jianxin had descended the mountain to gain experience, but she was too simple and humble by nature, so she always placed herself beneath others.

That was no good.

The strong had to be confident!

Every powerful person he knew had absolute confidence in their own strength.

Jianxin was a Daoist cultivator. From Ling An's perspective and experience, cultivating the Dao meant cultivating the heart. How could she unleash her full strength without a firm heart?

Hearing this, Jianxin quickly asked, "Then how can I make up for the confidence I lack?"

Ling An grinned. Recalling what Jianxin had just done, he had an idea.

"Some Resonators have their own battle lines. That's how sound helps them! It's an expression of strength and confidence!"

"Wait here. I'll get something ready for you." With that, Ling An slipped into the alley beside the Six Envy Teahouse.

Jianxin remained where she was, looking curious, unsure what he was tinkering with.

Before long, Ling An returned with a confident look.

The Gourd's audio module wasn't limited to playback. Recording audio in real time was another important function.

He leaped onto Jianxin's shoulder and said, "Next, keep circulating your qi. Follow my instructions and coordinate with my voice."

Jianxin nodded firmly. "All right."

She began circulating her qi again, sweeping her palms before her and stirring currents of energy.

Ling An tapped the Gourd's audio switch with the tip of a claw.

Powerful music immediately rang out:

"A thousand cups of wine couldn't make me drunk... let alone the autumn wind and rain..."

Jianxin had already closed her eyes, sensing the flow of sound and qi.

The next second, Ling An's instruction reached her ears. "I'll send you flying!"

Jianxin cried out softly, positioning one hand above the other. "Fly!"

A surge of force roared forward, knocking down one post after another.

Even after toppling the sixth post, it kept going, rushing toward the seventh.

Crack!

The force dissipated, leaving a crack in the seventh post.

Overjoyed, Jianxin turned to look at Ling An.

"Huh?" Ling An had vanished from her shoulder.

Just as she was puzzling over it, Ling An appeared on the roof of the Six Envy Teahouse.

"Damn, why did I go flying too?"