He had cracked it—a zigzagging fracture across its surface. This stone could withstand the physical force of a cultivator at the peak of qi awakening. Is my body really that strong now? If this is what I can do before absorbing the strand, after absorbing it I'll have physical strength comparable to an iron foundation cultivator… Yet I haven't felt any realm breakthrough, no strange sensation, no surge of power. Xue Yanluo stared at his hands and tried to find an answer.
Lost in thought, footsteps appeared in the distance, slipping quietly into the courtyard. They drew closer to Xue Yanluo with great softness and care. Some ways off, Xue Yanluo was pulled from his mind by the sound of steps behind him.
He let them get a little closer, and when he judged they were near enough, he turned and was already winding up to strike with full force. By luck he caught who was behind those steps and stopped his fist.
Ruan Xueling stepped back, her eyes wide open and fixed on Xue Yanluo's fist. He went completely rigid and straightened his stance while trying to salvage the moment. "Uh, good morning, Ling."
Ruan Xueling's face hardened, her brow creasing, eyes fixed on Xue Yanluo.
"Good morning," she said with little feeling, hiding what was underneath.
The seconds seemed to stretch endlessly, each one heavier than the last. Xue Yanluo tried to think of something, discarding hundreds of ideas along the way—he knew her so well, yet now he couldn't seem to figure out how to fix things between them.
Xue Yanluo's gaze drifted toward a small room in the courtyard he used for relaxing. Ruan Xueling followed his eyes, understood, and headed there. Xue Yanluo had no time to be surprised and moved right away, following behind her.
Inside, Xue Yanluo had settled onto a stool in front of a round table, fairly large, sized for five or six people. Ruan Xueling was preparing tea in the small kitchen in the adjoining room.
After setting a full cup of tea in front of him, Ruan Xueling sat on another stool across from Xue Yanluo and looked at him.
Not knowing what to say, Xue Yanluo's hands grew slightly damp with nerves, and he wiped them on his clothes before picking up the very hot cup of tea and blowing on it. Ruan Xueling seemed about to stop him, then held back when she saw he didn't seem bothered by the heat of the cup itself.
Ruan Xueling's shoulders trembled and her eyes flitted back and forth as she watched Xue Yanluo bring the cup to his lips.
He took a large sip and discreetly spat it back into the cup—it was overwhelmingly salty. Ugh, what the hell… Salt? Why is it so salty? He looked up, and Ruan Xueling dropped her gaze, stealing sideways glances at him. Damn, I knew it. How much salt did she put in? Xue Yanluo looked at the tea and swirled the cup. Then he closed his eyes, opened his mouth wide, clenched his free hand hard, and swallowed the entire cup in one go.
Ruan Xueling had no time to stop him and could only reach out her arm and lean forward, nearly climbing over the table. Xue Yanluo set the cup down with a soft knock against the table and let out a long breath.
When he opened his eyes, he found Ruan Xueling's anxious face and her body halfway across the table. Silence took over as they looked at each other. A few seconds later, Xue Yanluo tried to break it. "What… are you doing?"
"No — nothing, none of your business," she said, sitting back immediately.
Ruan Xueling glanced sideways at Xue Yanluo, and her face turned crimson, her head dropping as she tried to hide it. Xue Yanluo was smiling without realizing it, and seeing her blush only deepened it, stirring in him the urge to tease her. "Am I really that handsome? Maybe I should come closer and let you get a better look." The stool scraped against the floor, and Xue Yanluo was about to stand.
"Stop. Don't move."
"Are you sure? I don't think you can see me very well staring at the floor."
"STOP!"
Some time later they were both drinking tea, and Ruan Xueling had gone to bring some snacks she always kept in the kitchen for when they were needed. Xue Yanluo was working through a small cake when he heard a steady voice with a hidden tremor running beneath it. "Why…"
Xue Yanluo didn't finish his bite and looked at the girl in front of him—it had been a long time since he had looked at her so carefully. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. His gaze moved over her slowly until it met hers looking back at him.
Her eyes looked timid, pulling away from his, the corner of her mouth trembling without control. That told him everything. He steadied himself, and at last the words came out from somewhere deeper. "Forgive me."
Ruan Xueling lifted her face, her sharp nose tilted slightly upward, hiding her fear. "For what?"
"For pushing you yesterday. I was very on edge and took it out on you."
"Are you still that on edge?"
"No…"
"Then why were you?"
Xue Yanluo closed his mouth and dropped his head. Ruan Xueling bit her lip watching that, and though she wanted to dig into the problem, she knew it wasn't the moment. She sighed and stood, reaching the door. "Remember you need to go see the mistress in two days."
Ruan Xueling left the courtyard at something close to a run, glancing back a few times. Xue Yanluo stayed inside the room, looking at the table, then drifting as his eyes settled on the stool where Ruan Xueling had been sitting.
He stayed like that long enough that the sun had reached its peak and was already beginning its descent, the afternoon edging in.
With the rest of the day, he decided to go and check on Hua Zhenfeng—to see whether he had run into any trouble or managed to drink blood.
At his house, Xue Yanluo sat in the same chair he had used before while Hua Zhenfeng settled on the floor.
"How have these past few days been? Any problems?"
"None. I bought blood from a family on the outskirts of the city and paid them enough to never speak of it."
"Acceptable. For now it's fine, since no one knows we exist, but in the future leaving him alive could be dangerous. Also, you should try never to cross paths with cultivators of high realms."
"Understood". He nodded. "Besides that, I was promoted two full ranks this morning. I wanted to go ask the brigade chief about it, but his assistant wouldn't let me through."
"Don't worry about that—leave it alone. More importantly, after drinking the blood, did you find a strand in your dantian?"
Hua Zhenfeng raised an eyebrow and immediately closed his eyes and crossed his legs, turning his attention inward. "There's nothing in it," he said after a few seconds.