feelings
As the innkeeper's abacus beads clicked away, Meng Yao was squatting behind the counter, wiping the corners of the ledger with a fine cloth.
“Meng Yao,” the shopkeeper sipped his tea, squinting at him, “your accounts are truly meticulous, ten times better than the previous accountants. Why are you suddenly leaving? Is it because you think your wages are too low?”
Meng Yao straightened up, neatly stacked the ledger, and handed it over with both hands, bending at the perfect angle: "Thank you for taking me in, shopkeeper. But... my master has summoned me to go on a training mission, so I can't delay any longer."
"Master?" The shopkeeper was taken aback, looking at his faded clothes. "You've joined a sect of immortals?"
"Mmm." Meng Yao lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes obscuring the light in them, her voice as soft as cotton. "He is a very good master. He said he would teach me cultivation and take me out to see the world."
Looking at his handsome and clean-cut face, the shopkeeper suddenly sighed, "Never mind, you're a clever kid, you'll get along well anywhere. If you ever pass by, come in and have a bowl of tea."
"Thank you, Manager." Meng Yao bowed deeply, and as she turned around, the hem of her blue cloth shirt swept across the threshold, stirring up a gust of wind.
Outside the inn, Xie Linyang was leaning against a tree, polishing her sword. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating her and making the sword gleam blindingly. Meng Yao hurried over, her voice tinged with barely perceptible joy: "Master, I'm done."
Xie Linyang looked up and saw his empty hands, raising an eyebrow: "Where are the accountant's things?"
"There's nothing valuable in it," Meng Yao smiled. "Just a few old clothes, I'll throw them away."
Xie Linyang said "Oh" and sheathed his sword: "Then let's go, let's take on a few missions to earn some spirit stones."
"I'll listen to Master." Meng Yao followed closely behind her. As they left the town, he glanced back at the inn's green tiles; the sunlight shone brightly in his eyes. This was the first time he no longer had to live at the mercy of others. And all of this was thanks to Xie Linyang.
In the days that followed, Xie Linyang and Meng Yao took on several missions in the Lanling region to exterminate low-level evil spirits and find spiritual plants. With Xie Linyang around, the missions were completed quite smoothly, and the spirit stones earned were enough to support their cultivation and expenses for a period of time.
During breaks in their missions, Xie Linyang began systematically teaching Meng Yao the introductory techniques of the "Sheng Yang Jue" (Life-Generating Technique). Meng Yao studied with extreme diligence, almost to the point of neglecting sleep and meals, and his progress was nothing short of miraculous. Seeing that his foundation was gradually becoming more solid, Xie Linyang decided to take him back to the Mengyu Mountains for practical combat training, and also wanted to find him a suitable weapon material.
The wind is stronger deep within the Mengyu Mountains than on the outskirts.
Xie Linyang chose a sheltered cave, its entrance concealed by vines, but the inside was dry and clean. She tossed her bedding roll onto the stone bed and clapped her hands: "This will be our base from now on. You've only reached the second level of the *Sheng Yang Jue*, so focus on consolidating your realm for the next six months. You need to practice your sword techniques more thoroughly, and your talismans..."
“Disciple understands.” Meng Yao interrupted her, taking out a stack of yellow talisman paper from her cloth bag. “I can already draw the ‘Yang Fire Talisman’ and ‘Thunderbolt Talisman’ that Master taught me up to the third grade. I bought cinnabar and talisman brushes at the foot of the mountain yesterday, enough for three months.”
Xie Linyang raised an eyebrow: "So fast?"
Meng Yao lowered her head, her ear tips slightly red: "I couldn't sleep last night, so I drew a few more pictures."
Actually, he was afraid. He was afraid that one day Xie Linyang would find him useless and abandon him like an old piece of clothing. So he had to work even harder, to master the "Sheng Yang Jue" better than anyone else, and to draw talismans more skillfully than anyone else, so that she couldn't live without him.
During the first month, Meng Yao was still getting used to the dangers of the mountains.
When faced with the "Corroded Bone Vengeful Spirit," although he could activate the Yang Fire Talisman, the talisman always missed by half a foot, requiring Xie Linyang to deliver a finishing blow. Xie Linyang wasn't in a hurry, simply standing by and watching. Only after he had frantically collected the vengeful spirit did she calmly say, "The vengeful spirit's Yin energy was gathered at the back of its neck. Your talisman hit its waist just now, wasting its spiritual power. Aim carefully next time."
Meng Yao bit his lip and nodded, his palms sweating. Lying on the stone bed that night, he repeatedly recalled Xie Linyang's sword moves by the moonlight. When she swung her sword, she always turned slightly to the side, her left hand forming a hand seal half a beat faster than her right—that was to leave room for maneuver and guard against sneak attacks. He memorized these details and deliberately imitated her sideways angle when practicing swordsmanship the next day.
In the second month, he began to deal with low-level monsters on his own.
As a crimson-eyed wolf pounced from the bushes, Xie Linyang was gathering herbs with his back to him. Meng Yao instinctively ducked, his left hand flashing out a thunder talisman, while his right hand slashed his short sword through the gap between the wolf's front paws. It was the "avoiding the strong and attacking the weak" technique Xie Linyang had taught him. The wolf howled in pain, but he didn't dare stop. With a backhand slash, he severed the wolf's throat.
Blood splattered on his face, hot. He turned around, panting, and saw Xie Linyang standing not far away, still holding a herb in his hand. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, then he smiled: "Not bad, much more reliable than when dealing with the Corpse-Corroding Wraith last time."
Meng Yao's face flushed instantly, and he quickly lowered his head to wipe the blood from his sword. That night, he secretly carved Dao marks on the stone wall of the cave; this was the first demonic beast he had dealt with independently.
In the third month, the first snow fell on the mountains.
A fire was burning in the cave, and Xie Linyang was roasting sweet potatoes. Meng Yao sat beside him, flipping through the manual of the "Sheng Yang Jue" (Generating Yang Technique). The firelight shone on Xie Linyang's face, making it feel warm and cozy. She took a bite of the sweet potato and mumbled, "When your spiritual energy circulates to your dantian, don't always think about 'fast,' think about 'warm.' The 'Sheng Yang Jue' is about 'generating yang,' not 'exploding yang.' The warmth must travel slowly through your meridians to become solid."
Meng Yao paused, remembering how he always rushed to the next level whenever he circulated his spiritual energy, resulting in a persistent, dull ache in his meridians. He looked up at Xie Linyang, who was handing him a roasted sweet potato, her fingertips still damp with charcoal ash, her eyes shining like fire: "Try it, it's very sweet."
The steam from the sweet potato warmed his face, and its sweet aroma filled his nostrils. Meng Yao took a bite, wincing from the heat, but his heart warmed unexpectedly. He suddenly felt that perhaps Xie Linyang wouldn't abandon him. At least for now, she was willing to teach him martial arts techniques, willing to share sweet potatoes with him, and willing to patiently tell him "Don't rush" when he made mistakes in his sword practice.
Half a year passed by in this cycle of training, battles, and roasting sweet potatoes.
By the beginning of spring, Meng Yao's "Sheng Yang Jue" had stabilized at the peak of the fifth level. When his spiritual power circulated, a faint golden light could condense at his fingertips, a tangible manifestation of condensed yang energy. He could independently resolve the siege of three red-eyed wolves, set traps with thunder talismans and yang fire talismans, and even deliver a precise finishing blow when Xie Lin Yang was dealing with a high-level demon beast.
There were thirty marks carved on the stone wall of the cave. Each one was a monster or vengeful spirit he had killed.
"Almost done." Xie Linyang watched him finish practicing, his breathing steady and his movements fluid. "Tomorrow we'll go to the depths of the valley. Legend has it that there's a hundred-year-old 'Bone Armor Beast' there. Its bones contain extremely pure yang energy, which is perfect for forging a sword for you."
Meng Yao's grip on the sword tightened suddenly. Forging a sword... Xie Linyang had said that once his cultivation was sufficient, he would forge him a suitable sword. He watched Xie Linyang turn and pack her bags, sunlight filtering through the vines and falling on her hair, like it was edged with gold.
He suddenly longed to follow her like this forever.
The wind at the mouth of the valley was as cold as bone dust.
Xie Linyang crouched on the edge of the cliff, looking down. A gray-black mist filled the deep valley, and she could vaguely hear muffled roars, like some giant beast grinding its teeth. She took out a yellow talisman from her cloth bag, and with a flick of her fingertip, the talisman burst into flames, transforming into a small firebird that flapped its wings and flew into the mist.
"The Bone-Armored Beast, with a hundred years of cultivation, has thick skin and abundant yang energy, making it vulnerable to yin-cold talismans." Xie Linyang looked at the image transmitted back by the firebird and whispered, "Its nest is in a cave at the bottom of the valley. There's a protruding rock at the entrance, perfect for setting a trap. Meng Yao, go behind the left-hand rock wall and use the 'Frost Talisman' and 'Immortal-Binding Rope' to lure it out. Then you..."
"Master," Meng Yao suddenly interrupted her, her voice trembling slightly, "How about you take the lead and I support you? I'm afraid..."
"What are you afraid of?" Xie Linyang turned to look at him, a hint of a smile in her eyes. "With your current spiritual power, drawing ten ice talismans is no problem. Besides, isn't the 'Beast Trapping Formation' I taught you specifically for dealing with these thick-skinned demonic beasts?"
Meng Yao bit his lip and remained silent. He wasn't afraid he couldn't handle it; he was afraid something would happen to Xie Linyang. After all, the Bone Armor Beast was a hundred-year-old demon beast, stronger than any demon beast they had dealt with before. He gripped the talisman pouch at his waist, which contained twenty Ice Talismans, five Thunder Talismans, and the "Spirit-Locking Talisman" that Xie Linyang had taught him to draw yesterday—it was said to be able to temporarily lock the demon beast's spiritual power.
Xie Linyang didn't notice his nervousness, and just patted him on the shoulder: "Remember, throw the spirit-locking talisman when its front paws step into the trap. Don't panic, I'm here."
"Mm." Meng Yao nodded, then turned and ran towards the stone wall on the left. The hem of her blue cloth shirt fluttered in the wind, like a leaf that could be blown away at any moment.
Xie Linyang took a deep breath and gripped Qingyun tightly. She slid down the cliff edge and landed on the gravel at the bottom of the valley. Her spiritual power circulated to the eleventh level, and the yang energy of the "Sheng Yang Jue" surged out from her meridians like an invisible flame, instantly dispelling the surrounding cold.
The roar suddenly grew closer.
From the gray-black mist, a colossal beast slowly emerged. Standing about three zhang tall, its entire body was covered in a layer of bluish-gray bone armor, seemingly pieced together from countless fragments of bone, with dark red blood seeping from the gaps. Its eyes were two black holes, gleaming with a ferocious light; rotting flesh clung to its fangs, and saliva dripped onto the ground, hissing and emitting white smoke.
Bone-armored beast.
Xie Linyang didn't move. She knew the habits of this kind of demonic beast: keen hearing but poor eyesight, relying on its scent to track prey. She held her breath, her right hand quietly reaching for the talisman pouch, her left hand gripping the short sword, waiting for Meng Yao's signal.
Suddenly, a muffled thud came from behind the stone wall on the left.
It's Meng Yao! He probably accidentally knocked the stone over.
The bone-armored beast suddenly turned its head, its black, hole-like eyes staring at the stone wall on the left. It let out a deafening roar, and charged forward on all fours like a runaway chariot!
"Meng Yao!" Xie Linyang's heart tightened, and she rushed over without thinking. She couldn't let anything happen to Meng Yao.
Meng Yao was actually unharmed. He had simply slipped and fallen while setting up the Immortal Binding Rope, the loose stones beneath his feet giving way. He had barely gotten up when he saw the Bone Armor Beast burst through the mist and charge towards him, a stench of decay assaulting his nostrils. Terrified, he turned deathly pale and instinctively summoned an Ice Talisman—
"Bang!"
The ice spell struck the bone-armored beast's armor, forming only a thin layer of ice that shattered instantly. The beast was unharmed, but enraged, it raised its front paw and slammed it down on his head!
Meng Yao closed her eyes, thinking she was going to die.
The expected excruciating pain didn't come. He heard a loud clang, like metal clashing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Linyang standing in front of him, Qingyun held above her head, blocking the bone-armored beast's front paws. Her arm was trembling slightly, and her face was pale; she had clearly been shaken quite a bit.
"What are you daydreaming about!" Xie Linyang's voice was slightly breathless. "A trap!"
Meng Yao snapped back to her senses and quickly formed hand seals. The Immortal Binding Rope hidden under the rubble sprang up with a "whoosh," wrapped around the hind legs of the bone-armored beast, and with the help of spiritual power, the rope tightened more and more, cutting into the gaps in the bone armor.
"A good opportunity!" Xie Linyang shouted, raising his left hand to unleash a Thunder Talisman, which struck the bone-armored beast's abdomen—the thinnest part of its bone armor.
"boom!"
The Thunder Talisman exploded, and the Bone Armor Beast let out a painful roar. It swung its front paws away from Xie Linyang's short sword and opened its blood-red maw to bite down!
Xie Linyang dodged to the side, but didn't notice the bone-armored beast's tail, which was like a steel whip, lashing towards her back with a whooshing sound!
"Master, be careful!" Meng Yao's voice was heart-wrenching.
Xie Linyang reacted extremely quickly, using his sword to block. However, the bone-armored beast's tail was too hard; with a clang, Qingyun was sent flying, the tail lashing her right arm!
"Well!"
Xie Linyang groaned as she was sent flying by the blow, crashing into the stone wall, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth. A piercing pain shot through her right arm, as if a bone had broken. Looking down, she saw a large tear in her sleeve, from which blood gushed out, staining half of her clothes red.
"Master!" Meng Yao rushed over like a madwoman, kneeling beside Xie Linyang, her hands trembling uncontrollably. "How are you? Master! Don't scare me!"
"Why are you crying?" Xie Linyang gasped for breath, trying to raise her hand to touch his head, but found that she couldn't lift her right arm at all, wincing in pain. "Go... kill it..."
The bone-armored beast, bound by the Immortal-Binding Rope, struggled frantically, its bone armor scraping against the ground with a piercing sound. Meng Yao looked at Xie Linyang's bleeding arm, her pale face, and the bloodstains at the corner of her mouth, and a surge of unprecedented anger and fear welled up within her.
He is the one who harmed Master.
He suddenly stood up, picked up Xie Linyang's sword that had fallen to the ground, and turned to rush towards the bone-armored beast. His eyes had changed; they were no longer gentle and indifferent, but rather sharp and frightening, like a blade tempered with ice.
"Beast!" he roared, channeling all the spiritual power of the "Life-Generating Technique" to its limit, a faint golden light condensing at his fingertips. "I'll kill you!"
The bone-armored beast was still struggling, oblivious to the tiny human. Meng Yao seized the opportunity to rush to its abdomen, where the bone armor had been blasted open by the thunder talisman. He gritted his teeth and, with all his might, plunged his short sword deep into the crack!
"Pfft!"
The green bamboo shoot entered without even touching the handle.
The bone-armored beast let out a shrill roar, its body convulsing violently, gushing black blood that splattered all over Meng Yao. It struggled a few times before its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He died.
Meng Yao gripped the sword hilt, standing beside the corpse of the bone-armored beast, panting heavily. Blood and sweat mingled, flowing into his eyes, stinging painfully. He turned to look at Xie Linyang; she was leaning against the stone wall, her face pale, blood still flowing from her right arm.
He rushed over, knelt beside her, and frantically tried to undo his belt to bandage her wound. But his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't wrap the belt properly no matter how many times he tried, and instead touched her wound.
"Hiss..." Xie Linyang gasped in pain.
"I'm sorry! Master, I'm so sorry!" Meng Yao's face turned pale with fright, and tears fell unexpectedly, landing on Xie Linyang's hand, burning hot. "It's my fault... I shouldn't have knocked over the stone... I shouldn't have..."
"Why are you crying?" Xie Linyang looked at his red eyes and suddenly smiled, gently wiping away his tears with her uninjured left hand. "The sword you stabbed just now was very accurate. Much better than when I first killed a demon beast."
Her fingertips were warm, carrying a slight smell of blood, yet they burned like fire, making Meng Yao's heart race. He lowered his head, not daring to look into her eyes, and clumsily wrapped his belt around her wound, tying a tight knot.
"Alright." Xie Linyang patted the back of his hand. "Go and get the animal bones out. Remember to roast them with a Yang Fire Talisman to remove the fishy smell."
Meng Yao remained motionless, his gaze fixed intently on her slightly furrowed brows until he was certain she was truly unharmed. Only then did he purse his lips and, as instructed, retrieve the beast bone. When he took out the century-old beast bone, as white as jade, icy to the touch yet imbued with spiritual light, his movements were exceptionally meticulous, as if he were handling some priceless treasure. Yet, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xie Lin Yang, who was meditating nearby, his expression a complex mix of emotions.
After six months of living and working together, sharing life and death, Xie Linyang had imparted all his knowledge to him and protected him completely. This unreserved care and attention, like a warm current, had already quietly melted some of the ice in his heart. Seeing his master injured for him, even if it was just a minor injury, the palpitations and worries, along with the unfamiliar, bittersweet emotions that welled up, made it impossible for him to deceive himself any longer.
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