Yixuan thought for a moment and said, "It's just something from long ago."
Master sounds a little weighed down, Xu An thought as he looked at her face.
"When the Old Capital fell, members of Mount Yunkui came down the mountain to help evacuate the refugees. Some of them were relocated here."
Hearing that, Xu An suddenly remembered his previous life on Earth, when invaders from Japan had attacked, and so many Taoists from the temples had done the same.
They descended the mountains in troubled times and returned to seclusion in times of peace.
His master continued, "But after that, we rarely came to Yunkui Summit anymore.
"To think they still remember us after all these years."
Understanding dawned on Belle's face. "Oh~ So that's why... No wonder the boatman wouldn't take our money.
"But why did you stop coming here afterward? Yunkui Summit seems like a pretty comfortable place to live!"
"Ahem! Let's change the subject!" Senior Sister Fufu suddenly coughed.
Xu An gave her a strange look, utterly puzzled.
Pan Yinhu hurried to interrupt as well. "Ah! That's right! Would you like something to eat before investigating the Hollow? I'll go prepare it! Your senior brother can make stir-fried pork intestines!" He even winked at Belle as he spoke.
Their reaction instantly made Belle nervous. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had asked about something serious.
"Ha~ There's no need to be nervous. It's just something from long ago... I'll tell you when we have the chance." Yixuan's expression suddenly softened as she reassured them. "For now, let's focus on the investigation.
"Belle, Xu An, when does that friend who's willing to help plan to take us into the Hollow?"
"We agreed to start early tomorrow morning and meet by the cable car," Xu An replied.
"There were anomalies in the observation data from the Lemnian Hollow. The HDD System needs adjusting before it can analyze things in real time. My brother said he'd come over to handle it.
"For tomorrow, I'll just use Carrot Data to navigate."
"I see... Shiyuan, go pick up Wise tomorrow. Be sure to stay safe on the way."
Ye Shiyuan finally spoke as well. There was no telling what he had been thinking about all this time.
"Mm, leave it to me."
"All right, it's getting late. Everyone should get some rest so we can head into the Hollow early tomorrow."
"Xu An, Belle, come see me later if you have time. I have something to tell you."
"Yes, Master," Xu An and Belle answered.
They soon returned to their respective rooms, all planning to conserve their energy for tomorrow.
"Belle? Isn't Vivian still waiting for you out on the street?" Xu An reminded her.
"OAO, oh, right! I almost forgot. I need to go find her right away. Senior Brother, could you let Master know for me? If she's already told you by the time I get back, you can just fill me in! I'm off to find Vivian! I still have to prepare the Carrot Data for tomorrow when I get back, so I'd better hurry." After rattling all that off, Belle hurried away.
Watching Belle rush off, Xu An couldn't help chuckling for a while.
Master said she had something to tell us. What could it be? Something about the fall of the Old Capital?
Thinking it over, Xu An knocked on Yixuan's door.
"Master? May I come in?" Xu An called.
"Mm, come in," Yixuan replied evenly.
"Where's Belle?" Yixuan looked a little puzzled to see Xu An alone.
"She ran into an old friend during the investigation earlier and promised to go shopping with her. She nearly forgot about her just now, so she's hurried off to meet her," Xu An said a little helplessly.
"Mm, I'll teach her later, then.
"I said before that I would help you uncover your potential and teach you some of Mount Yunkui's arts. Since you happen to be free, let's begin," Yixuan said.
"Oh, okay! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧" Xu An quickly sat cross-legged, waiting for Yixuan to speak.
"Although Mount Yunkui's arts encompass many different methods, their underlying principle is the same. They are all simply applications of Ether.
"To learn their secrets, you must be able to sense Ether frequencies and resonate with them... To do that, you must regulate your breathing through the acupoints throughout your body and ensure your meridians flow freely."
Hearing that, Xu An closed his eyes and directed the Ether energy within him to flow along his meridians.
Watching what Xu An did, Yixuan couldn't help feeling a little amazed.
"Exactly, that's it. It seems your talent really is on par with mine," Yixuan said, unable to stop herself from remembering how she had needed three or four whole days to learn it back then.
But as his master, what I say goes. Hmph, hmph (.-`ω´-).
Still, I remember Mount Yunkui's orthodox records saying that you were supposed to burn incense, bathe, and wait for an auspicious hour to perform the ritual before you could successfully regulate your meridians...
Though the most crucial part was choosing the right time and a suitable location and orientation.
How... did he just succeed so casually?
Forget it. Let's continue.
Yixuan moved behind Xu An and placed her hand on his back. The instant they touched, a gentle warmth began slowly circulating throughout Xu An's body...
Time seemed to stand still, as though everything had stopped at that moment.
"Very good. You've completely mastered it now. The next time we enter the Hollow, I'll teach you Mount Yunkui's arts." Yixuan stroked Xu An's head in satisfaction.
"Of course! Just look at who I am!" Xu An said smugly.
"Hmm?" As Yixuan spoke, the hand that had been rubbing his head moved toward his ear.
"It's all thanks to your teaching, Master! All thanks to your teaching!
"Thank you, Master! My whole body feels different!" Xu An quickly corrected himself, dodging Yixuan's wicked hand in the process.
Afterward, the two quietly adjusted their breathing and remained beside each other, while Xu An continued regulating his breath.
Maybe I could take this chance to chat with Master?
"Master?" Xu An called tentatively.
"Mm?" Yixuan didn't move, merely humming softly in her throat.
"When Belle and Wise arrive, will you help open their meridians and teach them your arts too?"
"That's right. Once they arrive, I'll naturally teach them from the beginning. Speaking of which, they're biological siblings, aren't they? They seem to get along quite well."
"Um, I haven't actually asked, but they probably are. They've always seemed pretty close.
"Though Wise seems to make Belle angry all the time, like by sneaking her pudding. Ever since I moved to Sixth Street and opened my shop, whenever Belle gets upset, she comes over wanting me to make her something tasty to cheer her up.
"Oh, right, Wise also always picks out loads of boring art films when restocking the video store.
"Compared with the calm Wise, Belle's really lively.
"But no matter what pranks Wise pulls, Belle always forgives him. I guess only people with brothers or sisters can truly understand that feeling?" Xu An said.
Inwardly, though, he recalled some things from the past.
"Mm... I understand that feeling," Yixuan said.
"Does that mean you have siblings too, Master? What were they like?" Although he had a rough idea from his memories, he still wanted to hear her say it herself.
A trace of sadness flashed through Yixuan's eyes, as though she had remembered something.
[Ding, Yixuan is sad. Attribute points +30]
Damn system, why are you making so much noise?
Yixuan's voice was tinged with bitterness. "Once... I did. But it's all in the past now."
Xu An fell silent for a while before speaking. "I'm sorry, Master. I shouldn't have asked so carelessly..."
"It's all right. I merely remembered some old matters from the sect.
"Since you've become my disciple, there are things I ought to tell you. But now is not the time.
"It's getting late, and we still have to investigate the Hollow tomorrow. You should go back to your room and rest."
Yixuan said.
After they stood up, Yixuan added, "We'll need to regulate your meridians once more later. I'll come find you then."
"Mm-hmm. You should get some rest too, Master."
With that, Xu An made to leave, but stopped again at the doorway.
Yixuan asked, "What is it (●.●)? Was there a problem with circulating energy through your meridians just now? I..."
Xu An said nothing, only moving closer until he stood in front of Yixuan.
Looking at his master, who was a little shorter than he was, Xu An opened his arms and hugged her.
Whatever Yixuan had been about to say abruptly stopped.
The two held each other like that, silent for a long time.
After a long while, Xu An sighed, then smiled and said, "Good night, Master! Love you (●ơ ₃ ơ)♥"
Then, before Yixuan could react, he hurried out of the room.
She alone remained where she stood.
The embrace on that late-autumn night seemed to have dispelled much of the gloom from Yixuan's expression. At some point, the corners of her lips had curved upward too.
"That boy. Hmph..." Yixuan murmured softly.
Then she waved a hand to close the door Xu An hadn't had time to shut and began her own cultivation.
Meanwhile, Xu An returned to his newly assigned room and took a deep breath.
"Whew, damn, I was nervous as hell," he whispered.
He went over and flopped down spread-eagled.
He recalled the deep sadness and loneliness Yixuan had shown when he brought up siblings earlier.
"Haah." After a long sigh, he began sensing the meridians throughout his body and continued circulating his energy the way Yixuan had taught him.
Feeling the lingering warmth within him, Xu An's lips curved upward as well.
Am I really doing this for attribute points, or for something else?
Xu An asked himself that.
When he had first arrived here, he had indeed interacted with these characters solely to collect attribute points.
But now, they were all living, breathing people standing before him. Although Xu An really wanted to go home, back to the home he once had.
That place without Hollow disasters.
But now, he felt that being here seemed pretty nice too.
There was certainly more danger, but it had the advantage of being interesting. These people, finding ways to survive and enjoy themselves in this dangerous world, had surprisingly good attitudes, and the hope in their hearts never faded.
Why... do they seem kind of endearing?
As he thought, whether because he was a little tired or because the bed held some sort of magic, Xu An drifted off with his eyes closed.
When he woke again, it was already the next morning.