The Change During Dormancy

Qu Hongxiao did not make it through.

"I can't blame her. How could she have withstood the words of a sage?"

Ye Fu let out a long breath and sat down on the stone stool, feeling somewhat weary. It was the first time he had felt weary since coming to this world. It was not physical or mental exhaustion, but weariness in his thoughts.

He felt he had been too demanding. Qu Hongxiao was his first student, and he had wanted to see her grow as soon as possible, overlooking whether she could bear such rapid growth.

"I kept telling myself not to pull up the seedlings to make them grow, but it seems that was just an empty sentiment."

Ye Fu sighed again and gently tapped the stone table with his finger. A faint ripple appeared, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Inside the little world.

A wisp of Ye Fu's divine sense condensed into his likeness.

He walked slowly into the wooden cabin, and as soon as he entered, he could not help showing a look of distress.

Judging by the state of her consciousness and body, Qu Hongxiao was indeed dead, but the pear-tree branch Ye Fu had left with her had preserved her divine soul.

At that moment, the length of pear-tree branch was surrounded by a soft white halo.

Ye Fu slowly walked forward.

He raised his hand, and a wisp of cyan swirled around it: the Divine Ability "Withered Wood Meets Spring." He would restore Qu Hongxiao's body, then return her divine soul to its place.

But before he could extend the cyan light in his hand toward her, he stopped short.

He vaguely saw a bright yellow light sweep over Qu Hongxiao's body.

Ye Fu frowned slightly. A moment later, his brow relaxed, and he slowly let out a breath, a smile returning to his lips.

Ahead of him.

Qu Hongxiao's blood, scattered across the floor, rose into the air. A bright yellow light swept over it, instantly dispersing it into countless tiny droplets of blood mist. The mist then began to swirl and weave, condensing in moments into a strange, fiery red bird.

The fiery red bird suddenly flapped its wings, and a wave of heat swept out in all directions.

Ye Fu hurriedly raised his hand and suppressed the heat wave to keep it from destroying the wooden cabin.

Then he smiled at the fiery red bird and said, "Little one, come here."

The fiery red bird was wary at first, but after a moment, it became docile and slowly flew toward Ye Fu.

Ye Fu gently extended his index finger toward it.

The fiery red bird docilely rubbed its beak against his finger. At their touch, a white light burst forth. The flames covering the fiery red bird suddenly flared up, turning bright yellow.

"Go on, go back."

The bird gave a soft cry, flames rising in its eyes. Then it turned and flapped its wings, shooting into Qu Hongxiao's body in the blink of an eye. Flames spread outward from her body, their searing heat distorting the air. Ye Fu merely pressed down gently with his hand, and the flames subsided.

The pear-tree branch trembled. The soft white light surrounding it broke away and flew into the spot between Qu Hongxiao's brows.

A gentle breeze blew in.

The clear sound of recitation rang out all around. Listening closely, one could hear:

"The teacher asks: There are ten thousand times ten thousand things in this world. Why are you here?"

"The teacher asks: There are ten thousand times ten thousand things in this world. Why are you here?"

The clear voice circled their ears, its echoes rising and falling, lingering for a long time.

Ye Fu stood there quietly, without saying a word. Waiting.

Qu Hongxiao lay there quietly, her eyes still closed. Something was taking shape.

Just as the clear voice asking the question was about to fade away.

Another gentle breeze blew in through the door, and the faint light above the valley grew brighter.

Qu Hongxiao's eyes flew open. A majestic righteous Qi poured out of her body, turning into a gentle breeze that stirred the hair hanging over Ye Fu's forehead.

Ye Fu took a breath and asked softly, "There are ten thousand times ten thousand things in this world. Why are you here?"

A clear voice rang out in every corner of the valley. It was Qu Hongxiao's voice.

She answered:

"I see, therefore I am. I hear, therefore I am. I speak, therefore I am. My body moves, therefore I am. My heart stirs, therefore I am. I think, therefore I am."

What is never forgotten will surely find an echo.

The lingering sound curled through the air, never fading from their ears.

Chapter 33: The Change During Dormancy

Qu Hongxiao stood in the courtyard, gazing at the moon in the sky.

The moon was already sinking through the sky. It was long past the time she should have left, yet she remained standing there, unmoving for a long while.

She had changed into one of Qin Sanyue's only two sets of clothes. Though Qin Sanyue was young, she was tall and slender, so the clothes did not look out of place on Qu Hongxiao.

Perhaps only a cultivator like Qu Hongxiao could truly appreciate what was different about these clothes. With them on, both cultivation and the deduction of Divine Abilities became much faster. They also helped clear the mind, so there was no need to worry about Qi Deviation.

Only after asking did she learn that the teacher had made the clothes.

Qu Hongxiao now understood many things: why her heart, clear as a mirror, had been so easily shattered; why, despite having reached the peak of Nascent Soul cultivation long ago, she had yet to reach Spirit Severing; and why her master on Camel Bell Mountain had always said she lacked a certain sense of groundedness...

She had come to understand much during those five days in the wooden cabin, merely by reading "Clear Breeze," a book that could be bought anywhere for two copper coins.

At the same time, there was much she did not understand. She did not know where the place she had been reading was. Only by comparing it with this place did she realize that Dao resonance had pervaded every corner of the wooden cabin. Nor did she understand what had happened after her consciousness collapsed upon reading that final page, allowing her to sense herself in that dark void.

In that dark void, she had first seen a glimmer of light, and so came "I see, therefore I am." Then she had heard the words, "There are ten thousand times ten thousand things in this world. Why are you here?" and so came "I hear, therefore I am." Then she had begun to answer the question, giving rise to "I speak, therefore I am." After that, she had found herself stirred by a gentle breeze and able to move her body, giving rise to "My body moves, therefore I am." Then she had suddenly understood why the teacher had asked such a question, and so came "My heart stirs, therefore I am."