Because Ye Lingling's personality was simply a little too withdrawn.
In Lin Mo's impression, Ye Lingling almost never took the initiative to talk to anyone.
When she was at the medical hall, she spent most of her time sitting quietly in her seat, either leafing through medical books or gazing out the window in a daze.
Even when someone spoke to her first, she usually replied with only a few brief words. Her expression rarely changed, giving her a cold, unapproachable air.
She had no friends, and apart from necessary exchanges, she hardly ever interacted with the other apprentices or the medical hall's staff.
Her daily routine was simple to the point of monotony. Aside from cultivating Soul Power, she only read medical books and studied her own Martial Soul. Her days were even duller and more tedious than those of an old man like Ye Linyuan.
Ye Linyuan had actually thought of quite a few ways to improve his granddaughter's withdrawn disposition.
The reason he kept notices posted outside the medical hall for so long, recruiting Soul Master apprentices around her age,
was partly because he hoped to bring some peers into Ye Lingling's life.
That way, there might be a chance for Ye Lingling to open her heart and for his personality to become a little more cheerful.
But the results had always been negligible.
Lin Mo had also learned something about why Ye Lingling was like this from casual conversations with the medical hall's staff and Ye Linyuan himself.
After Ye Lingling's parents both died young in an accident, she seemed to become a different person.
According to Ye Linyuan, she had actually been quite a lively, cheerful child who loved to laugh and play.
But after suffering the blow of losing both parents, she had gradually become the taciturn girl she was now, keeping everyone a thousand miles away.
Although this pained Ye Linyuan, he also knew that some things could not be rushed.
He could only try his best to create opportunities, but... as for the final outcome, he could only leave it to fate.
As soon as the morning classes ended, Lin Mo packed his things and hurried out of the classroom.
Instead of going to the dining hall like the other students, he headed straight for the academy gates, intending to hurry to the Ye Family Medical Hall.
As he walked, he could not help recalling the private conversation Elder Ye Linyuan had had with him a few days earlier, and immediately felt rather troubled and helpless.
Elder Ye had patted his shoulder then, his tone very kindly, but what he meant left Lin Mo somewhat at a loss as to how to respond.
Elder Ye's meaning was simple: he hoped Lin Mo would spend more time with Ye Lingling. Put simply, he wanted him to try becoming friends with her.
As for the reason, Elder Ye had rather vaguely mentioned that Ye Lingling seemed... quite fond of Charmander.
Thinking back, Lin Mo realized that this was indeed the case.
When he was at the medical hall in the afternoons, he usually released Charmander and let it roam freely in the backyard so that its Soul Power cultivation would not be delayed.
It was relatively spacious and quiet there, with hardly anyone to disturb it.
And without Lin Mo knowing, Ye Lingling seemed to have shown an unusual interest in the little creature with a flame burning on its tail in the courtyard.
Several times, Lin Mo had happened to see Ye Lingling standing quietly a short distance away with some fruit or dried meat, trying to feed Charmander.
What surprised Lin Mo even more was that Charmander actually showed no aversion to being fed by Ye Lingling!
After all, Charmander normally had no interest whatsoever in interacting with anyone other than Lin Mo himself.
Back at Nuoding Academy, when Xiao Wu had rashly tried to reach out and touch it, Charmander had spat out a string of sparks without the slightest courtesy, nearly setting Xiao Wu's scorpion braid alight.
Although the sparks Charmander had spat out back then were more of a mischievous warning, they were enough to show that it disliked being touched by anyone other than Lin Mo.
Even when Elder Ye Linyuan had tried touching Charmander before, it had not been because Charmander gave its permission, but because the gap in their strength was too great.
The old man had easily neutralized Charmander's resistance, and only with Lin Mo soothing it from beside them had Charmander refrained from attacking again.
But Ye Lingling was an exception.
Not only did Charmander tacitly allow her to approach, it even accepted the food she offered.
Though its attitude could hardly be called affectionate, at least it showed no hostility.
More than once, Lin Mo had seen Charmander swishing its tail as it took dried meat from Ye Lingling's hand in its mouth, then went off to one side to chew on it at leisure.
Just as before, the little creature remained uninterested in vegetarian fare such as fruit.
This made Lin Mo all the more curious.
Could this little fellow actually be serving different dishes depending on who's at the table? Lin Mo could not help muttering inwardly.
But after some thought, Lin Mo found two possible reasons.
Either Ye Lingling's quiet, peaceful bearing made the always keenly perceptive Charmander feel that she posed no threat, leading it to behave in the exact opposite way from how it had treated Xiao Wu,
or it was because Ye Lingling's Martial Soul was the Nine Heart Begonia, a Martial Soul naturally imbued with a rich yet gentle breath of life.
That presence made it feel comfortable and at ease, so it tacitly allowed Ye Lingling's contact.
Whatever the reason, it was hardly a bad thing as far as Lin Mo was concerned.
It was just that the task Elder Ye had given him-"becoming friends with Ye Lingling"-truly left him unsure where to begin.
Ye Lingling's unapproachable presence was not something a few casual conversations could break through.
Moreover, he himself had little experience with "making friends." Although he had lived three lives, they only added up to a little over thirty years.
And for more than half that time, he had lain in bed like a sickly invalid, leaving him with truly little experience of interacting with others.
I can only do my best! After all, the old man genuinely treated him well.
Although all these scattered thoughts occupied his mind, his feet never stopped as he strode quickly through the streets of Heaven Dou City.
He could not have been more familiar with this route, and soon arrived at the Ye Family Medical Hall in the southeastern corner of the city.
As usual, people came and went through the front hall where patients received consultations and had prescriptions filled, making it look rather busy.
Knowing his way well, Lin Mo crossed the hall, intending to head straight to the backyard to report to Ye Lingling and see what was planned for that afternoon.
However, just as he entered the corridor leading toward the back, he saw a figure that rather surprised him.
Li He was holding a large, quite heavy box, laboriously shuffling toward the medical hall's entrance.
Lin Mo vaguely remembered that box. It was the one Li He normally kept in a side room of the medical hall to hold his personal belongings.
At the sight, Lin Mo could not help stopping, puzzlement in his eyes. "Senior Brother Li He, what are you... doing? Are you getting ready to leave?"
Hearing his voice, Li He looked up with the box in his arms. When he saw that it was Lin Mo, a somewhat complicated expression appeared on his face.
He stopped, his voice carrying a sense of a burden lifted. "Oh, Lin Mo. You're just in time. I... I'm getting ready to leave."