Xiao Qi stayed in the woodshed for seven days.
For seven days, he didn't say a word to anyone. But the changes on the ground were real—every morning, the woodpile by the training ground was a little higher than the day before.
The water vat was always full, and a piece of coarse cloth, washed until faded, was draped over its rim.
The wooden stakes in the training ground had been wiped clean; the mud was gone, revealing the wood grain, as if someone had done it in the dark.
The four sons gradually got used to having someone in the woodshed.
When A Shan chops firewood, he chops an extra bundle and places it at the entrance of the woodshed. Every morning, the first thing Xiao Man does is peek under the crack in the woodshed door.
Yi Chen would occasionally stand outside the woodshed for a while, without saying a word, and then leave. Lin Du did nothing, but the old umbrella remained in the woodshed and was never returned.
On the morning of the seventh day, Jiang Lin, as usual, put out porridge at the door of the woodshed, and added a small wooden board about the size of a palm with a layout map of the training ground carved on it.
That afternoon, the four boys practiced their basic skills on the training field.
Jiang Lin stood at the sidelines, holding a booklet in his hand. Bai Lingyu leaned against the stone wall, whittling wood.
A Shan was driving wooden stakes into the ground, his fists pounding down with each dull thud. Jiang Lin watched him and made a note in his notebook.
When A Shan exerts continuous force, the Scale Transformation spread from his forearm to the back of his hand, covering an area almost a full circle larger than the day before yesterday. However, the retraction speed is slower, with a noticeable delay between release and retraction. This is something that needs practice.
Yi Chen was practicing squats by the weighted stones. He wasn't fast, but each squat was steady, and his breathing was well coordinated with his movements.
Jiang Lin observed for a while and noticed that when Yi Chen squatted down to the bottom, there was a very faint fluctuation of Spiritual Power between her eyebrows, as if her Martial Soul was unconsciously releasing itself. It hadn't taken shape yet, but the direction was right.
Xiao Man was running laps around the training field. When he got to the third lap, vines started sprouting from his right arm involuntarily. He frantically tried to press them down as he ran, but the vines kept sprouting. His steps became erratic, and his breathing became erratic.
Jiang Lin made a note in the booklet: Xiao Man's Vein Vine is closely related to her emotions. She is prone to losing control when she is tense or anxious. The emotional problem needs to be solved first, and then the problem of controlling her Martial Soul needs to be solved.
Lin Du was practicing his leg techniques. He made very few movements, but each one was fast; he took a step and landed almost silently.
Jiang Lin noticed that when he landed, the point of impact on the soles of his feet was different from that of normal people; it was more on the inside, as if the skeletal structure underwent a subtle change at the moment of exertion. This is a natural advantage, but without proper guidance, it can easily wear down the joints.
Just then, the door to the woodshed slowly opened a crack.
Xiao Qi's face was half-revealed, only his eyes were visible, staring at the training field. He watched for a long time, his gaze moving from A Shan's fist to Yi Chen's weighted stones, then from Xiao Man Man's running laps to Lin Du's leg techniques, and finally settling on Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin didn't turn around, but spoke, his voice not loud, but loud enough for the people in the woodshed to hear. "Come out if you want to practice."
The door remained still. After a few moments, the door closed again.
Bai Lingyu handed the whittled wood to Jiang Lin. It was a short stick, just the right length for a child of about ten years old to hold, and its surface was polished very smooth.
Jiang Lin placed the short stick on the stone bench beside the training ground, a spot that was within sight of the woodshed.
Xiao Man glanced at the stone bench as she ran past, wanting to ask something, but seeing Jiang Lin's expression, she swallowed her words.
That night, Jiang Lin was organizing the booklets in the hall. He went through the training records of the four boys one by one— A Shan's delayed Scale Transformation scales, Yi Chen's budding Spiritual Power, Xiao Man's emotional connection with her Martial Soul, and the uniqueness of Lin Du's leg strength. He marked each record with an asterisk, indicating the direction that needed further verification.
He stopped writing halfway through.
There was a sound coming from the direction of the woodshed. It was very faint, like someone moving something. Jiang Lin didn't get up, but just listened for a while. The sound lasted for about ten breaths, then it stopped.
The next morning, the short stick on the stone bench was gone. There was a small pile of chopped firewood at the entrance of the woodshed, stacked more neatly than usual.
Bai Lingyu stood by the stone wall, glancing sideways at Jiang Lin: "He took it."
Jiang Lin hummed in agreement.
Should we call him out?
"No need," Jiang Lin said. "Let him come out on his own."
But things didn't go as Jiang Lin had expected.
That afternoon, an accident occurred at the training ground.
The four were practicing their teamwork. A Shan and Yi Chen were one group practicing offense and defense, while Xiao Man and Lin Du were the other group practicing movement. Halfway through their practice, several thin vines suddenly sprouted from Xiao Man's right arm. They were thicker than usual, darker in color, and had a faint bluish-purple tinge at the tips.
Xiao Man was startled and instinctively tried to press it down, but the vine lashed outward uncontrollably, hitting Lin Du's leg.
Lin Du didn't dodge; he was staring in the direction of the woodshed.
The vine whipped against her leg, leaving a red mark. Lin Du glanced down but didn't say anything, but Xiao Man panicked, frantically trying to pull the vine back. The more she panicked, the less she could control it, and the vine sprouted out even more.
A Shan ran over, and Yi Chen ran over too. Jiang Lin quickly walked to the middle of the training field.
Just then, the door to the woodshed opened.
Xiao Qi rushed out.
He wasn't fast, and even a little unsteady, his bandaged arm pressed tightly against his side. But he ran straight to Xiao Man and grabbed the out-of-control vine.
A dark red light surged from beneath the bandages on his arm, spreading along his fingers to the vines. Xiao Man's vines were pressed down by the red light, causing them to abruptly retract, the bluish-purple hue fading and returning to their usual pale green.
Xiao Man stood there, stunned, staring at the boy in front of her who was even thinner than herself. Xiao Qi's hand was still gripping his wrist, and the dark red light gradually dimmed.
No one spoke.
Xiao Qi released his grip and took a step back. He glanced down at his arm, then at Xiao Man, his lips moved, but no sound came out. He turned to go back to the woodshed.
"Wait a minute," Jiang Lin said.
Xiao Qi stopped.
"Your Martial Soul can suppress someone else's Martial Soul from going out of control?"
Xiao Qi didn't turn around or answer. But his back, standing there, seemed more tense than ever.
Jiang Lin didn't press for answers. He glanced at Xiao Man, then at Xiao Qi, and finally said, "Come to the hall tonight. I have something to ask you."
Xiao Qi neither agreed nor refused. He stood there for a couple of breaths, then walked back to the woodshed and closed the door.
As dusk fell, Jiang Lin sat in the hall. On the table were the booklet, the bone fragment, and Xiao Qi's short stick—the one he had left there that morning. The stick had several new, crooked engravings, the same kind of engravings as the bone fragment.
Jiang Lin stared at those carving marks for a long time.
There was a knock on the door.
It was very soft, just one sound.
Jiang Lin looked up at the doorway.
In the lamplight, a thin silhouette stood outside the threshold. The dim red light filtering through the gaps in the bandages stretched his shadow across the threshold, making it very, very short...