It was barely daybreak the next day. The first ray of light pierced through the forest and shined on Yan Hui's eyes. She frowned and woke up. There were no dreams; this was the most restful sleep she had in a long time.
Looks like it really was true that this spring not only healed injuries but also soothed the mind.
"Master, Master! Master Yan!"
From far away came Huan Xiao Yan's voice: "Little Brother Zhu Li is looking for you everywhere in the couryard. Are you there?!"
Yan Hui clearly replied: "I'm here. Stay there. I'll be right there."
She pulled herself out, grabbed her clothes, and draped them over her shoulder. As she walked to where she heard Huan Xiao Yan's voice, Yan Hui also wrung her hair dry. She didn't look back and therefore didn't see the ripple in the spring water that appeared when she left.
When she saw Huan Xiao Yan, she asked: "How did you know I'm here?"
"You're my master. You have my ring, so I can sense a general direction where you are." Huan Xiao Yan hopped around by Yan Hui's side as they walked. She looked very happy. "Yesterday night, I secretly gave a lot of demons an illusion. They were really happy in their dreams. I got so full."
"Did you let them wake up?"
Huan Xiao Yan pouted: "They woke up. We have an arrangement. Tonight, I'll give them more illusions, so they can have good dreams. They all really like my illusions." Huan Xiao Yan turned her head to look up at Yan Hui. "Master, do you really not want my illusions?"
"I just want a good sleep with no dreams." The two chatted as they headed to Zhu Li's residence. Yan Hui suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Huan Xiao Yan, "Did you cast an illusion on me last night?"
Huan Xiao Yan was shocked: "No, what did Master dream of? That Ling Fei? Ling Xiao? Or is it that Zi Chen?"
Yan Hui opened her mouth to reply when she saw Tian Yao slowly walking over. However, his posture today was a little strange. Yan Hui raised an eyebrow: "What happened to your leg?"
Huan Xiao Yan widened her eyes and also asked: "Who crippled you?!"
Tian Yao shot Huan Xiao Yan a look.
The little demon silently hid behind Yan Hui after seeing that look: "Master, he looks like he's going to kill..."
"It's nothing." Tian Yao ignored Huan Xiao Yan and only looked off into the distance. "I meditated for too long yesterday, and my legs locked up." Done talking, he continued on to Zhu Li's residence.
Huan Xiao Yan watched Tian Yao walk a few steps and moved closed to Yan Hui's ear to tattle: "Master, he just told a lie to you."
Of course, Yan Hui also knew that. Before at Tong Luo Mountain, Tian Yao would meditate the whole day and night. He never said anything about legs cramping or going numb. It was clear from the start that he was lying.
However, when Tian Yao didn't want to say something, even prying his mouth open wouldn't get a word out. Thus Yan Hui followed after him: "We'll first go see Zhu Li."
Zhu Li was carefully reading a book in the meeting hall. He raised his head at the sound of footsteps and saw Tian Yao and Yan Hui entering. Zhu Li handed the book over to Yan Hui: "These past days, I had people look for a rare book to start demon cultivation. However, this kind of situation is really rare. We looked for a long time before finding this book tucked away in the imperial library. Go ahead and take a look. After your body is healed, you can start practicing."
Yan Hui took the book and saw on the cover two words, "Demon Bestowal". Yan Hui just gave her thanks when Tian Yao took the book form her hands. He flipped through it very fast, eyes brightening. However when he reached the end, Tian Yao frowned: "Where's the rest?"
Zhu Li was also stunned: "Is there more?" He took it and also flipped to the end. "There shouldn't be. It goes to the ninth layer. It ought to be finished."
Tian Yao explained: "For ordinary magic, nine levels is outstanding. The mastery of the magic in this book is very high. Every layer of magic is interlinked with each other, step-by-step. Following along with this conjecture, there are eleven layers." He continued, "It's clear the author has a deep understanding. The cultivation is definitely deep. The writing wouldn't stop halfway."
Everyone present was dumbfounded by Tian Yao's words.
Zhu Li looked a little stunned: "You just flipped through it and can tell all that?"
Tian Yao lightly said: "I once researched about writing cultivation books." He placed the book back into Yan Hui's hands. "Even though it's missing chapters, the nine levels it has is very exquisite. It'll be very beneficial for you. When you've healed, we will study it together. Cultivate well. Even though you're starting over, you might accomplish a lot."
Yan Hui nodded and immediately calmly looked at Tian Yao for a long time. He asked her: "What is it?"
Yan Hui turned her head and looked away: "Nothing."
She just felt like Tian Yao was like an endless book...
That night, it was a new moon. The entire skill was filled with bright stars, and starlight sprinkled down on the forest. The night was more still than previous nights.
Yan Hui took off her clothes and went to the spot she found in the spring last night. The strange thing was that she couldn't find that tree branch in the spot. Yan Hui didn't think much of it. She followed around the spring's edge and felt around. She wanted to find that tree branch to sit on.
All she asked for was a good night's sleep.
After walking a semicircle, her feet finally stepped on something. This thing was a little low. If she sat down on it, then she wouldn't be able to breath. Yan Hui couldn't see into the water at night. She thought about it and then decided to hold her breath and duck into the water. She wanted to see if she could pick up that thing and place it against the edge.
But when she reached down and touched that thing, it actually moved!
Even though it was only a movement, it still moved! It was like it shuddered!
This thing was alive!
Yan Hui was shocked and immediately floated to the surface. She took a deep breath and climbed out of the spring, sprinting to her clothes. She immediately wrapped her clothes around her.
"You pervert!" Yan Hui shouted. "Get out!"
There was no movement under the water. Yan Hui grabbed a rock and threw it into the spring. The rock made a loud splash, and Yan Hui continued to scream: "Come out!" The calm night was completely shattered.
A short moment later, two bubbles appeared and popped. It was immediately followed by a flash of light. A familiar male figure appeared in the water.
When Yan Hui saw Tian Yao, her face froze. Just earlier, she was soaking naked in the water. She even used her foot to step on some unknown part of his body. Even though Yan Hui was thick-skinned, but she still couldn't help flushing. She became a little angry out of embarrassment: "Why were you in the water?!"
Tian Yao's hair was loose. His wet robe clung to his body. He walked out of the water, footsteps carrying the soft sounds of water. In the quiet night, there was a strange sense of allure: "I let you come to soak every afternoon." Tian Yao returned the question, "Why are you here at night?"
When Yan Hui heard his words, she felt a rush of anger: "You're blaming me? When I came, why didn't you come out and say something?!" After saying that, a thought immediately sprang into her mind. "Wait..." She looked at Tian Yao in wide-eyed shock. "From your words, when I came last night...is it possible that you were there?"
Tian Yao turned his head. He looked at the sky. He looked at the ground. He looked at the rippling reflection of the sparkling stars in the spring.
Yan Hui stared at Tian Yao for a long time and saw his tacit admission. She was immediately furious: "What! Why didn't you come out last night?!" No wonder why she couldn't find her seat. Turns out that seat ran away.....
Tian Yao's eyes finally moved and looked at Yan Hui: "Last night, I wanted to get out of the spring, but you already started to take off your clothes." He continued. "Did you really want to experience that awkwardness?"
Oh! So it turns out he was considering her feelings!
Yan Hui fumed behind gritted teeth: "Fine! I'll ignore that you didn't come last night. Then why were you still here tonight?! Are you waiting to see something or what?! Was it really not on purpose?!"
Tian Yao looked at the furious Yan Hui who was spitting with anger. He looked for a long time and then sized her up. He lightly said: "Altogether, it isn't a big deal. Much earlier, didn't you see me take a bath?"
That's right. Tian Yao was taking a shower in the courtyard back at Tong Luo Mountain. Yan Hui did indeed see that.
It didn't seem like a major matter between the two of them. But, then why did Tian Yao's words make her feel something she hadn't felt in such a long time? It was like a shy and angry flame leaping from the bottom of her foot up to the sky. It almost burned her head off.
Yan Hui only had that piece of clothing on, and so she roughly tied the belt around her waist and walked up to Tian Yao: "You come here." She started to roll her sleeves up. "We're going to have a talk."
Tian Yao didn't move. He watched Yan Hui walk up to him. She raised her head and grabbed a fistful of his clothes. The upper part of his robe came loose. Only the belt around his waist kept the rest of his clothes on.
Yan Hui slapped her hand against his chest and felt his developed muscle. She nodded in satisfaction.
"Then don't wear any clothes. Just talk to me naked. After all, it isn't a big deal."
Yan Hui raised her head and looked for Tian Yao's reaction. She waited for a while before hearing an expelled breath. Tian Yao actually laughed.
Yan Hui was stunned. Tian Yao was really standing there half naked under a sky full of star, laughing at her: "That's the Yan Hui I know."
Tian Yao took advantage of Yan Hui's stunned state and walked past her to pick up the rest of her discarded clothing on the ground. He turned and handed them over: "Put on the rest of your clothes." He said, "Last night, I returned to my original form and curled up in the spring. You sat on my tail. I buried my head and didn't see anything."
So he motionlessly raised his tail for an entire night to support her and let her sleep...
No wonder why he was sore the next day...
He saw Yan Hui hadn't accepted it, so he took her hand and placed the clothes in it. Then he turned and walked into the forest. He ducked behind a tree and put back on the robe Yan Hui had yanked down: "Go ahead and soak. I'm leaving first."
He walked far for a while before looking back. It was quite a distance, but he could still see Yan Hui's back. He knew Yan Hui couldn't sense any movement from this distance. It was only then that Tian Yao dared to touch his chest where Yan Hui had felt. His chest felt hot and tingly. Even though his chest had been empty for many years, but at this moment, it seemed like he could feel his heart throbbing.
His ears turned red and sucked in a deep breath. Then he looked up at the sky and slowly relaxed.
Towards Yan Hui...
He looked down. In his chest was a warmth that he completely couldn't control. Before, it wasn't that he didn't recognize it. It was just that now, he was so clearly aware of it.
Towards Yan Hui...
He fell in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can you feel the love tonight~