Early the next morning, Lin Zhixue sat cross-legged in her room to circulate her spiritual energy as usual.
After appearing last night, Xiaoyu had kicked up a fuss for half the night, constantly badgering her with all sorts of strange and bizarre questions. Only after she forcibly cut the conversation short did it finally quiet down.
She had thought that after such a disturbance, her morning cultivation would not go well. To her surprise, however, the spiritual energy flowed through her meridians with exceptional ease, and her thoughts settled much more readily than usual.
Finishing her exercise, she opened her eyes and looked down at her palms, a faint frown creasing her brow.
Something was not right.
Usually when she meditated, a few meridians were always blocked, causing her spiritual energy to stumble and hitch when reaching those spots. Today, however, it had flowed unimpeded the entire way, as though something had quietly soothed the restlessness in her mind.
Xiaoyu floated out from the jade pendant, crossing its arms as it hovered before her, its tiny face plastered with smug pride.
“Does it feel like cultivating was especially smooth?”
“...How did you know?”
“Because that's what the Soul Jade does!” Xiaoyu lifted its chin. “Calming the mind and stabilizing the meridians—it automatically soothes your thoughts whenever you meditate.
“You're only at the fifth level of Qi Refining right now, so the effect isn't that obvious yet. Once your cultivation is higher, you'll see just how incredible it is!
“I told you so anyway~
“I'm super useful! There are just some things you can't see yet.”
The more it spoke, the prouder it became, drifting to and fro in midair while the golden tips of its hair swayed gently with every movement.
Watching its smug little display, Lin Zhixue's lips curved upward without her realizing it. “Mm, it really is impressive.”
“Of course!” Xiaoyu spun around. “Even though your cultivation isn't high right now, Zhixue, with the Taixu Soul Jade, you'll definitely cultivate much faster than anyone else in the future!
“When you become powerful, I'll get stronger too, so you have to cultivate diligently and not slack off!”
Lin Zhixue smiled and nodded.
She stood up, tidied her things, tied her cuffs tight, and prepared to head out.
Floating behind her as she walked toward the door, Xiaoyu tilted its head in confusion. “Where are you going?”
“The Gu manor.”
“What are you going to someone else's house for?”
“To work and earn spirit stones.”
Lin Zhixue pushed open the courtyard gate. Morning sunlight spilled across the bluestone alley, the air still tinged with the cool chill of the night.
As she walked, she briefly explained her work at the Gu manor without going into other details.
Hovering beside her shoulder, Xiaoyu was quiet for a moment before softly murmuring, “I see... Zhixue works so hard.”
Passing through several alleys, she slipped through the Gu manor's side gate and followed the familiar stone path toward the medicinal field.
Along the way, Xiaoyu glanced in every direction, its mouth never stopping for a second.
This flower was so big, that tree was so tall, what did the pattern on this door mean...
Once they entered the rear courtyard, it suddenly fell silent.
More accurately, it was stunned.
Floating in midair, its head turned from left to right, then from right to left. Staring at the carved pillars of the verandas, the vast patches of spirit herbs, and the rockery in the courtyard that was larger than Lin Zhixue's entire room, its emerald-green eyes grew completely round.
“Zhixue,” it whispered, drifting back to Lin Zhixue's ear as if afraid someone might overhear. “Is the person living here super rich?”
“Yes,” Lin Zhixue answered casually as she walked toward the medicinal field. “Probably the richest in Canglan City.”
“Oh, I see.” Xiaoyu nodded thoughtfully, twirling in midair once more.
It marveled at the row of jade wind chimes hanging beneath the corridor eaves. “No wonder even the wind chimes are made of jade. Then, Zhixue, since you come here to work every day, do you earn a lot of spirit stones?”
She thought of the spirit stones she had spent three months saving up.
She recalled Gu Yanqing cornering her in the alley, snatching them away with a look of disdain.
Then she thought of the bulging money pouch from the first time he had handed her wages.
It was fine.
Compared to before, it truly was quite decent.
She didn't voice any of this, merely bowing her head to continue working.
At the other end of the rear courtyard, Gu Yanqing was sitting beside a stone table, flipping through a sword manual.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
Lin Zhixue was walking over from the moon gate, a palm-sized creature floating behind her.
A pale cyan, translucent spiritual entity with medium-length golden hair and emerald-green eyes, turning its head in curiosity as it took in everything around it.
Its mouth was constantly chattering, though from this distance, he couldn't hear what it was saying.
It really was that artifact spirit.
The blue dot on the system map corresponded to this palm-sized little thing.
He had read about it in the original work.
The artifact spirit of the Taixu Soul Jade could only be seen by the Soul Jade's master.
Yet now, it floated clearly before his eyes, every strand of hair and every expression visible down to the finest detail.
He hadn't expected that he would actually be able to see it, let alone so vividly.
A few thoughts crossed his mind, but his face remained impassive as his gaze bypassed Xiaoyu entirely and landed on Lin Zhixue.
Hovering less than three chi away from him, Xiaoyu suddenly paused.
It turned around, tilted its head to look at him, then drifted slowly in front of his face, extending a tiny hand to wave before his eyes.
Gu Yanqing looked straight in Lin Zhixue's direction, his eyes not wavering in the slightest.
Xiaoyu waved its hand before his eyes again, but he still showed no reaction, merely speaking indifferently to Lin Zhixue:
“Today's work is still in the medicinal field. Once you're done, you can leave on your own.”
“Understood,” Lin Zhixue answered, turning to head toward the medicinal field.
Xiaoyu floated back to Lin Zhixue's side and glanced back at Gu Yanqing once more, its brow furrowed slightly, a hint of suspicion lingering on its small face.
Once Lin Zhixue squatted beside the medicinal field to loosen the soil and there was no one around, she lowered her voice and asked Xiaoyu:
“Why were you waving your hand in front of him just now?”
“I keep feeling like he saw me.”
Xiaoyu hovered beside her, its voice a few notches quieter than usual, laced with uncertain confusion.
“When he looked over just now, the way his gaze swept past me felt different from how he looked at anything else.
“Then again, when I tested him, he didn't react at all, so maybe I'm just overthinking it.”
Having talked itself into an explanation, it tilted its head and asked, “Who is he?”
Lin Zhixue's hands paused in their work.
Squatting by the edge of the medicinal field, her fingers absently pinched the leaf of a weed as she fell silent for several breaths.
How should she introduce this person?
The Gu Yanqing of the past and the Gu Yanqing of the present were two different people in her heart, yet the only thing she could utter was a single name.
She told Xiaoyu about everything she had experienced with him, from the past up to the present.
She neither exaggerated nor deliberately spoke in his defense.
After listening, Xiaoyu fell silent for the span of a breath.
“He definitely harbors ill intentions!”
Its voice spiked sharply, its emerald-green eyes brimming with vigilance.
“Bullying you first and then helping you later—people like that are the absolute worst! He must be plotting something. Zhixue, I'll get revenge for you!”
Lin Zhixue reached out to intercept it before it could dart off, the back of her hand blocking its path.
Unable to brake in time, Xiaoyu's entire spiritual body passed straight through her palm, wobbling twice in midair before steadying itself.
Only then did Lin Zhixue remember that it was a spiritual entity and couldn't be physically blocked at all. She quickly looked back toward the rear courtyard.
Fortunately, Gu Yanqing was not there.
She looked back at Xiaoyu, her voice softening slightly.
“He has actually helped me quite a bit recently, and he seems different from how he used to be.
“Maybe he has truly... turned over a new leaf. In any case, don't go bothering him.”
Xiaoyu puffed out its cheeks and hovered in midair, crossing its tiny hands over its chest with an indignant pout.
It stared at the direction where Gu Yanqing had vanished for quite a while before turning back to mutter at Lin Zhixue, “If he's helping you, why is he still making you do such exhausting work?”
Lin Zhixue did not answer.
Lowering her head, she resumed weeding, her fingers cleanly yanking a weed from the soil by its roots in one crisp motion.
Compared to what she used to do back at the Lin family, this little bit of work was nothing at all.
Xiaoyu floated beside her, watching as she squatted on the ground pulling weeds one by one. Its puffed cheeks held for a long time before slowly deflating.
It said nothing more, merely hovering quietly beside Lin Zhixue's shoulder.
Rate on N.U.
