Yawn... Rubbing his eyes before streching, Ash woke up in a strange pose on the floor.
He was cultivating when the comfortable feeling throughout his body made him fall asleep.
Feeling energised, Ash dressed up quickly, washed and went downstairs.
Bai Juan had just finished with preparing breakfast and Bai Cheng was on the couch with a stack of books infront of him.
"Let me help Auntie." Ash went in the kitchen and saluted Bai Juan. Grabbing two plates in both of his hands, he walked towards the table in the living room.
"How considerate of you, Ash!" she smiled sweetly and followed him with empty hands, the plates, napkins and cutlery followed her behind, in the air.
She didn't need help, but was happy to see Ash helping her. This showed his gentle personality under the usually cold eyes on his face.
Putting the plates on the table, Ash turned around and when he saw the anomaly behind Bai Juan... he didn't seem surprised at all.
Instead, he excused himself and went to Bai Cheng.
"This kid only smiles when he sees Ling..." Bai Juan thought to herself with a smile when she saw Ash's indifferent expression.
"Uncle, what are you reading?" Ash asked Bai Cheng curiously.
"Im doing research for Ling's little problem with her hair..." Bai Cheng responded after putting a book away.
"Problem?"
"Yes... She seems to be anxious about it..." Bai Cheng started explaining. "And I'm interested in it too. It's the first time I've seen such a thing happen." he added.
'Humph... He won' t be able to find what he's looking for even after a thousand years if he searches information in these little booklets for kids...' Ameron snorted mockingly when he saw the books, Bai Cheng was reading.
The' Emerald flames of truth' weren't something you could find in the small 'upper' world.
They were a treasure of treasures even in the world Ameron lived in, extremely rare to see them even on pictures.
Only the trully powerful knew of them.
"I'll go see her." Only Ash could hear Ameron and he didn't want to expose him to others.
This being said, there was no point in bothering Bai Cheng anymore.
...
On the way to Ling's room.
"Ameron, was it?" Ash asked. "Tell me about Ling's hair and what happened to it."
'It's just a little gift.' Ameron responded with confidence.
'The 'Emerald flames of truth' are a supreme treasure found only in hellish places. They are a type of spirit fire that bloom on a white lava lotus. '
"White lava lotus?"
'That is a godly spiritual plant of rank 8 and in order to live, it converts the extreme heat from the hellish lava into it's own energy.'
"I understand, but... What's the difference between normal fire and spirit fire?"
'Spirit fire has spiritual properties. The 'Emerald flames of truth' for example, don't emit heat when they are calm and feel secure, but when they feel endangered... even nearby dimentions wont be able to escape it's rampage.'
In fact, nobody wanted to touch the 'Emerald flames of truth' without knowing how spacetime and dimentional deflection worked.
Otherwise, if they failed to refine it, not only would they die, but if a powerful master got seriously injured because of them... It was game over even for their souls.
Only endless torture awaited them!
"Ling?" Ash knocked on her door.
"Give me a second. " she opened the door slightly after a while. Only half of her body could be seen.
It was covered only by a towel and there were water droplets on her face, hands and legs. It made her look petite and alluring.
"Ling... Your father said you're feeling anxious due to your new hair." Ash said what was on his mind directly.
"Hm..." Bai Ling lowered her head. "My hair exploded and burned my bed yesterday when i had a nightmare..."
Opening the door fully, she showed her bed... or whatever it could be called now.
Every girl would have a traumatising experience if she found herself lying on a burning bed. The whole house could go down if she didn't waste 2 whole hours absorbing and calming the emerald flames.
Flush. Bai Ling's hair started floating in the air again. She didn't know how to explain what had happened to her parents.
"I'm affraid... I can't controll it.. What if..." a tear few to the ground, but before she could finish her sentence, Bai Ling felt warmth all over her body.
Opening her eyes, Bai Ling saw Ash holding her in his arms.
"If you lose control, think of something nice." Ash comforted her. "And if that doesn't work, just call me and i'll be there for you."
"Hm..." Bai Ling calmed down and her emerald hair fell all over Ash's head as she hugged him gently.
Her hair smelled like strawberries and it felt like a soft blanket was covering Ash's face.
The feeling could be described as 'intoxicating'.
"Are feeling ok now?" after a minute or so, Ash asked, pushing Bai Ling gently away.
"Yes... Thank you." she responded with her head down. A gentle smile could be seen under her nose.
"Let's go eat then." Ash waved his hand and started walking towards the living room.
'The fire within...' Ameron's voice was heard. 'One day, she will learn how to control it, but untill then... You know what to do.'
"Everything it takes!" Ash murmured under his nose.