When Lin Nan returned to her cave dwelling, the tips of her fingers still tingled from clutching the Qing Yao Fa.
Shen Yuer was leaning over the stone table, sketching. She stood up at once when she saw Lin Nan enter. “Xiao Lin! Where did you go? I looked for you everywhere.”
Lin Nan smiled gently. “I found a cultivation method that suits me better and went to a quiet place to study. What about you? Have you found a water technique that fits?”
Shen Yuer chuckled softly and pushed over a sheet covered in talismans. “I found a slightly modified water method. Senior Sister Qiao said the foundation of the Long Breath Song is good, so I tried adjusting the Qi flow pattern. It might have unexpected benefits.”
She pointed at the winding blue lines on the paper. “Here, if we change the ‘Run’ technique to ‘Pierce,’ the water’s penetrating power should be stronger.”
Lin Nan scanned the paper; the formula was indeed sharper than the original.
The original Long Breath Song… at least the incomplete version Shen Yuer was studying was designed for taming beasts and controlling objects, so the circulation of true Qi had to be gentle and stable. It couldn’t trigger the beast’s emergency frenzy, yet had to maintain steady control over the magical tools.
But now, Shen Yuer was only using the Long Breath Song as a guide. She needed to learn more variations of water methods to make the formula more aggressive and lethal. That was what she had to achieve.
So far, this was a promising direction.
The ‘Pierce’ technique was basically a funnel that could accelerate water flow. Once Shen Yuer’s true Qi reached a certain level, she could use this funnel to quickly launch a stabbing attack.
“Xiao Lin? What do you think!” The little girl poked her arm with a cute smile. “Three months from now, at the initiation ceremony, I’m definitely going to pull hair like a pro!”
Just as Lin Nan was about to speak, deliberately loud footsteps echoed outside the cave.
“Oh? I think I’ve seen this little sister somewhere before?” Shen Qingmei pushed aside the curtain, trailing two disciples from the Beast Taming Peak behind her. Her tone was soft but cutting. “I hear you’re also called Shen Yuer? What a coincidence.”
She wore a brand-new azure robe, her hair meticulously done, even matching the hair ribbon Shen Yuer commonly wore like a cheap imitation.
Shen Yuer frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing much.” Shen Qingmei walked to the stone table, glanced over the talisman-covered paper, and curled her lips in mockery. “Just came to see if our Fifth Young Miss, now that she’s entered the Qingyun Sect, still only knows how to mess with these childish things.”
She emphasized “Fifth Young Miss,” her gaze sharp. “By the way, since you’re also from the Shen Family, how come you haven’t even stepped into the Beast Taming Peak? Didn’t Father prepare you an initiation gift? Well, I guess that’s expected… after all, you’re the runaway concubine daughter.”
Shen Yuer bit her lip, her hand holding the talisman brush trembling slightly.
Lin Nan silently stepped half a pace forward in front of her, blocking Shen Qingmei’s view.
Her voice was soft but cold. “Impersonating someone else’s name and bragging about their past that’s interesting.”
Shen Qingmei laughed, covering her mouth. “Impersonate? Don’t slander me. When I entered the Beast Taming Peak, I had Father’s personally written recommendation letter. Does this Fifth Young Miss have one?”
She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “So what if I’m impersonating? The whole Qingyun Sect knows there’s a genius named Shen Yuer at the Beast Taming Peak. And you? Besides this foundling white-haired girl, what else does the Fifth Young Miss have?”
“I have this,” Shen Yuer suddenly spoke, her voice trembling but firm as she raised the talisman paper. “I have my own modified water method and my own path to follow, unlike you, who only walks in others’ shadows.”
“Path?” Shen Qingmei sneered. “A runaway bride being secretly hunted by the Prime Minister’s Residence and the Shen Family? You think you’re qualified to talk about a path?”
She suddenly raised her hand. Two gray-furred spirit rats ran into the cave.
“I heard you know a little beast control technique? How about a contest? Whoever loses will admit in front of the entire Qingyun Sect that they’re a fake. Deal?”
The two spirit rats bared their teeth at Shen Yuer, their eyes gleaming with hostility—clearly trained ferocious beasts.
Lin Nan’s eyes darkened.
“So you’re Shen something Mei,” she frowned and lowered her gaze to the two beasts.
After a rudimentary study of the Qing Yao Fa, Lin Nan’s half-demon blood had begun to simmer. The spirit of Wei Ya, who had lived through many lifetimes as a monster and even a Demon King, quietly hovered above the two gray-furred spirit rats. The fierce glint in their eyes instinctively dimmed.
“I am Shen Qingmei.”
“Shen Qing… what?”
“You!…”
Shen Qingmei finally realized Lin Nan was mocking her. Her face darkened, and she glared fiercely. “Afraid? So you have to let this white-haired girl who just popped out of nowhere say a few meaningless words for you? Hmph.”
“You’re eager to fight, but the two rats you brought seem a little timid.”
“Impossible,” Shen Qingmei whispered, looking down at her beasts.
She formed the Long Breath Song control technique and linked her true Qi with the two gray-furred spirit rats. She could clearly feel their resistance and fear.
It was as if the two beasts were not facing two humans but a natural enemy that suppressed them at the bloodline level.
Sure enough, Shen Qingmei lifted her head, briefly viewing from the spirit rats’ perspective. The white-haired girl standing above them looked like a huge, terrifying cat.
But moments later, Shen Qingmei regained her composure. She snorted and injected more true Qi into the rats, forcibly dispelling their fear.
Lin Nan snorted quietly to herself. If these two rats were so cowardly, Shen Yuer’s water method should pose no challenge.
At the same time, Shen Yuer pressed the talisman paper to the ground and shouted, “Rise!”
The blue lines on the paper instantly lit up, and the cave floor oozed fine water droplets. The droplets followed the talisman’s pattern, quickly wrapping around the spirit rats’ legs.
The rats struggled to break free, but the water suddenly tightened, pinning them firmly to the ground, immobilized.
Shen Yuer formed the newly learned ‘Pierce’ technique. Blue light flashed in her palm as a twisted needle of water shot toward the two beasts’ heads with lightning speed.
“Don’t kill them!”
Too late the water needles fully pierced their brains.
The two spirit rats were dead.
The water technique was still somewhat unpolished, but Shen Yuer’s speed and precision far exceeded that of a new disciple.
Shen Qingmei’s smile froze.
As the beasts died suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the true Qi link she hadn’t cut off in time, stabbing directly into her mind.
She screamed miserably, clutching her head and crouching down, dazed as she stared at the motionless gray-furred spirit rats.
“You…” Shen Qingmei was shocked and furious. “You cheated! This isn’t the Shen Family’s Long Breath Song!”
“Whether it is or isn’t, isn’t for you to say,” Lin Nan stepped forward and picked up the talisman paper, speaking slowly, “Also, your beast control skills are poor. You just stood there watching the rats die, not even releasing the link in time, making them suffer needlessly. You can fake your identity, but not your talent.”
Her words were soft but hit Shen Qingmei’s sore spot precisely.
Shen Qingmei had gained entry through her father’s favoritism, stealing the recommendation letter meant for Shen Yuer. As for cultivation talent, Shen Qingmei was only mediocre.
Her face flushed dark purple. She pointed at Lin Nan, speechless. “If it weren’t for you…”
“Get lost.” Lin Nan raised her eyes, her jade-green gaze void of emotion but oppressive enough to chill the heart. “If I see you giving Yuer trouble again, it won’t just be two dead rats.”
Shen Qingmei shivered under that look. She spat, “Just you wait,” and hurriedly left with the two disciples at the door.
The cave fell silent. Shen Yuer exhaled in relief, her legs nearly giving out, but Lin Nan caught her.
“You were amazing just now, Xiao Lin!” Shen Yuer’s eyes sparkled with admiration. “That last line was just like a hero in a wuxia novel!”
Lin Nan smiled but said nothing.
“Oh, by the way,” Shen Yuer suddenly recalled, “Shen Qingmei called you a ‘foundling white-haired girl.’ Don’t take it to heart. I think your white hair is beautiful.”
Lin Nan’s heart trembled softly.
Many years ago, Shu Ying had said the same.
Back then, just after they escaped from the tiger monster’s pursuit and hid in a cave, little Shu Ying cupped Lin Nan’s white hair, her eyes bright. She said in a crisp voice, “Teacher, your hair is beautiful. When I grow up, I’ll protect you, and no one will bully you!”
But later, the one who bullied her the most was Shu Ying herself.
“What are you thinking about?” Shen Yuer poked her arm.
“Nothing,” Lin Nan shook her head, suppressing the rising memories. “Three months from now, at the initiation ceremony, we must ruin her reputation.”
Shen Yuer nodded firmly. “Yes! I’ll pull all her hair out!”
Night deepened as moonlight filtered through the window lattice.
It was late. After saying goodbye to Shen Yuer, Lin Nan returned to her cave and reopened the Qing Yao Fa.
Her fingertips traced the eight characters “guided by blood, bound by soul,” and she quietly made up her mind.
At this moment, outside the cave, in the shadows, Shu Ying stood silently. Her black eyes reflected the moonlight inside, filled with the endless frost and snow of a thousand years, melting and refreezing again and again.
She had seen everything just now.
She saw Lin Nan protecting Shen Yuer, the flicker of monster Qi in her eyes, and she even heard Shen Yuer say, “Your white hair is beautiful.”
She bit her teeth, her clenched fingers almost piercing her flesh. Resentment churned in her gaze as she looked at Lin Nan’s indistinct figure, her scarlet eyes silently screaming.
The wind rustled through the bamboo grove.
Shu Ying turned and left, her robes brushing fallen leaves on the ground. The faint traces quickly scattered with the wind, as if no one had ever been there.