Tap, tap, tap...
Zhe Yunli hurried through the woods around the island's edge. When she reached the immense canopy that blotted out the sky, wonder welled up in her eyes.
The solitary Bamboo Fence Garden stood directly beneath it. A light burned in the Main House, and a silhouette was visible inside, but the doors and windows were shut.
Though astonished by the tree's enormous size, Zhe Yunli still remembered the rules of respecting her master. Discovering that her master was in the courtyard, she hurried toward the Bamboo Fence Garden, calling along the way:
"Master, this tree is so huge..."
Inside the Main House, Xue Baijin had already rinsed herself off, but the lingering bliss of soaring into the clouds had yet to fade. Hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly pulled her robe closed. Without even time to tie up her hair, she sat cross-legged on the bed and assumed the appearance of someone earnestly cultivating.
Creak~
When Zhe Yunli arrived, she pushed open the door and peered inside. Seeing her master sitting bolt upright on the plank bed in a white robe, seemingly cultivating, she reined in her whirlwind manner and whispered:
"Master?"
Even now, Xue Baijin's White Jade Tiger still ached and tingled, and she hardly dared face Yunli. But with her already there, Xue Baijin could only assume the composed bearing of a stern elder. She slowly raised her hands to conclude her cultivation, then opened her eyes with a faint smile:
"Yunli, why are you here? Didn't I tell you to wait in Shuofeng City?"
"Hehe~"
Zhe Yunli entered and plopped onto the plank bed, swinging her dangling legs as she explained:
"We were supposed to wait in the city, but Uncle Qiu was worried you might be in danger, so we followed to the coast