Some Things Flowers Can't Say for You

The next morning, when Dong Jian lifted the wooden frame, Li Man first checked his hands for any new injuries.

"There's nothing this time." Dong Jian spread his palms out.

I haven't even mentioned you yet.

You watched it three times.

Li Man ignored him and steadied the crossbeam at the other end. The old medicine racks on the outer perimeter of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well were only used for sunshade and separating herbs, and originally did not need to be repaired by the two Soul Ancestor Masters. However, Dugu Bo had mentioned last night that the support here was crooked by half an inch, so the two still brought their tools over before leaving.

Dong Jian stood on the left, only responsible for stabilizing the timber frame, without having to move the ore due to his injured back. Li Man went around the frame legs, threaded a thin bamboo through the side, and then secured it with the original tenon joint. Throughout the entire process, she did not release Soul Skill, and the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo did not even appear.

"You can fix it with ordinary bamboo?" Dong Jian asked.

"The wooden frame is just an ordinary wooden frame. You can't just see bamboo and try to imbue it with Soul Power."

"You used to."

"In the past, we would simply use the array's core to block things up if we thought it was too slow. But now we've found that if we repair it that way, ordinary people will run into problems the next time they try to move that frame."

Dong Jian nodded. He held the crossbeam steady, allowing Li Man to drive in the last wooden nail. Once the frame was stable, she gently pushed it twice, and it stopped wobbling.

It's done.

Just as Dong Jian was about to turn around, he felt a pain in his waist and had to turn around with his feet. Li Man saw this and reached out to support his arm, but not too hard.

"Couldn't you finish the movement before turning around?"

"I've tried to do it slowly."

"Even when you do things slowly, you have to do them within your body's limits."

Dong Jian looked down at her hand holding his arm, but didn't pull away. Last time, they had a funny incident nearby because of a minor scratch. This time, neither of them was hurt, but she still instinctively helped him up first.

The two packed up their tools and slowly walked back along the outer edge of the herb garden. Dugu Yan was in the courtyard checking the poison sac records with Dugu Bo and wouldn't be back for a while, so Dong Jian didn't rush them.

"Will the college arrange graduation directly after I go back?" he asked.

"Teacher Qin said it depends on everyone's ideas," Li Man replied. "The Heaven Dou Imperial Academy hopes to keep some people for training demonstrations in the competition, but Yu Tianheng has his own path within his sect, and Yanzi also needs to consider Senior Dugu. We can't keep having all nine of us in the same area every day like before."

Do you want to leave the sect behind?

"I might stay for a while," Li Man thought for a moment. "If I can clarify the basic bamboo formations, it might help new Control System avoid some detours. But I don't want to just stay in the academy forever teaching from the old tactics manuals."

"Where do you want to go?"

"It's not decided yet. I want to see if the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo can be used effectively in situations where teamwork is truly needed after it leaves the competition arena. What will happen if the ground is uneven, there are many people, and no one can clearly explain the situation to you?"

Dong Jian didn't say, "I'll decide for you." He looked up at the hillside outside the forest, thinking that if there were no longer a fixed team of seven, his method of connecting forces would lose its familiar foothold.

"I think I should probably go out and explore too," he said. "What I've learned in the Imperial Fighting Team might not be applicable in a different environment. I haven't yet truly connected the Yin-Yang Force Redirection into a complete sequence of movements, and relying on the Divine Dragon Secret Realm while it's closed off isn't enough."

"So you're going alone?"

Li Man asked softly, but her steps slowed slightly.

Dong Jian looked at a slightly narrow stone path ahead, stepped across it first, then turned around to wait for her. Li Man followed, and the two stood on the same side.

"I haven't decided yet," Dong Jian said, "But I hope you can come with me."

Li Man did not answer immediately. She glanced at Dong Jian's shoulder, which was still bandaged with medicine, and then looked at the bamboo frame that had been repaired next to her.

"If you say that now, it'll make people think you want to find someone to take care of your injuries every day."

"Then let me put it another way."

"You prepared a second option?"

No. What I'm thinking is that when you're by my side, I'm willing to listen to you about many things. And if we ever have to travel to places we've never been before, I'd like to see them with you.

Li Man placed the toolbox on the stone platform, bent down to arrange the wooden pegs, and after a long while said, "I also want to go out for a walk. But if you force yourself to carry on the parts you haven't mastered just to accompany me, I'll still scold you."

"Then I'll focus on getting my back healed first."

"You also need to learn to delegate tasks that you shouldn't be taking on yourself."

"Why are you starting to resemble Teacher Qin too?"

"Because he was right about some of the things he said."

Dong Jian smiled and picked up the box, while Li Man took the heaviest end. The two of them carried one side each and continued walking along the path into the courtyard.

When passing Black Perish Stone, Dong Jian stopped first. The white flower was still in the same place, and the light red heart pattern was illuminated by the morning light, making it impossible to see the brief light from the previous day.

Li Man stopped and asked softly, "Are you waiting for it to move?"

"No."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"Every time I came here before, I always wondered what else I could gain. Now I suddenly feel that it's good for it to stay here."

Li Man looked at it for a while, then nodded. "I didn't plan to take it with me either."

The two were not far apart, and Bai Hua did not show any obvious new reaction. This time, Dong Jian did not deliberately reach out to touch her, nor did he ask Bai Hua to create any opportunities for him.

"Do you still remember what Senior Dugu said yesterday?" he asked.

"Of all that you said, which sentence?"

You have to say what you want to say yourself.

Li Man put down her toolbox and turned around. He could see the seriousness in her eyes, and he could also see that she didn't immediately look away.

What do you want to say?

Dong Jian paused for a moment when asked, then finally said, "If I ever try to use an injury to win in a grand way again, remind me. I'll also remind you that when your spirit is about to give out, don't push yourself to the limit for a bamboo path."

Li Man looked at him, her smile faint, "We've said that before."

"I used to only say that before the competition," Dong Jian said. "I think it will count from now on."

"Calculate."

She answered softly, without the slightest hesitation.

Dugu Yan's voice came from outside the herb garden. "Have you two finished repairing? Grandpa said we still have a long way to go!"

Dong Jian raised his hand in response. "Right away!"

Li Man picked up the toolbox again, and after taking two steps, asked again, "Didn't you leave out half a sentence?"

Dong Jian paused for a moment. "Yes."

"Then why don't you say so?"

"Because I want to explain things properly. I don't want Hua to do it for me, and I don't want you to be forced to answer in front of Senior Dugu."

Li Man's ears felt slightly hot, but she didn't urge them. They walked together along the path until they reached the gate of the herb garden before putting down their tools.

Dugu Bo was packing Dugu Yan's follow-up examination record into a medicine box. He glanced at the tools in the two men's hands and snorted, "You're still working on a scaffold until noon? If you two are in charge of looking after my herbs from now on, I'm afraid I'll starve to death."

"Then you can fix it yourself again," Dong Jian retorted.

"Now that you've won the championship, you're even more stubborn."

Dugu Bo handed the medicine box to his granddaughter, without asking any questions about the white flower. Before leaving, he added, "The flower grows there; it won't travel for you. It's time to go back."

As Dong Jian approached the courtyard gate, he remembered Dugu Bo's instructions when he checked his turn the day before, and slowed his pace. Seeing that he didn't forcefully grab the tools first, Li Man didn't support his back anymore. The two of them had a sense of what each other could do, a sense of balance that was harder to cultivate than saying "Leave everything to me from now on," but it was also more reliable.

In the courtyard, Dugu Yan had already packed the medicine box and was checking if the axle of the carriage wheel was loose. Dong Jian went over to help her move the wooden box to the side of the carriage, while Li Man was only responsible for checking the items. None of the three of them mentioned taking another Immortal Herb. They had finished what they needed to do for this trip, and the three of them were finally able to return on the agreed time.

As the three set off, a messenger from the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was already waiting at the edge of the forest. The messenger handed over Qin Ming's letter, which, in addition to the request for a follow-up examination of his injuries, also included arrangements from the Education Commission regarding the Soul Bone reward and the future whereabouts of the champion team members.

The paper listed many options: staying at the academy for training, a return visit from the sect, an imperial banquet, and a training program that one could apply for after graduation. They all seemed respectable, but the real choice was each person's own path.

Dugu Yan first noticed the banquet section and frowned. "Do I have to wear that dress again?"

Dong Jian couldn't help but laugh, "You can have Yu Tianheng go for you."

Can he hold a wine glass with his right hand?

"Hasn't your left hand been practiced?"

Li Man listened from the side, slowly turning over the page of the training itinerary. There were several blank routes that had not yet been filled in, waiting for the team members to submit their plans.

Dong Jian saw it too.

He didn't fill out the form for Li Man, nor did he write down his own destination first. He simply handed the paper back to her and told her to keep it safe.

When they returned to the academy, they still had a lot to explain to Qin Ming.

As soon as they left Sunset Forest, the two of them started thinking about where to go next.