Quinlan, who ended up staying awake a full day and another up until noon, felt extremely fulfilled after he finished all the modifications he wanted to do. Sometime in the afternoon, after he took the lunch that Xiyadie brought, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.
When he woke up, it was already daybreak of the next morning. He ended up sleeping for over 12 hours!
"Ugh... my head," Quinlan muttered as he rose, opening his eyes. "Huh?"
Before him was a big system window, one that he was unable to ignore given that it was eating up 70% of his view. To wave off his sleepiness, Quinlan decided to read the notifications immediately.
"Let's see..."
[Congratulations! You have completed the First Quest: Reach the Qi Refinement 1st Stage within 10 days!]
[Reward Received: Telepathy Recharge (+7 days)]
[Congratulations! You have exceeded the target by 1 extra stage!]
[Bonus Reward Received: Telepathy Recharge (+7 days) x2]
"Ohh! So going over the target would multiply your reward based on how much it went over the original target? Is it relative, or maybe absolute?" Quinlan quickly contemplated, before shaking his head. "I guess I'll have to check that using the next quest as a reference."
After claiming all the rewards, the telepathy time they had was increased, reaching a total of over 21 days. With that much time saved, they could use Telepathy without any worries!
However, the reward window wasn't the only window opened. Behind it, a new one was present, showing the next quest that he would need to complete.
[You have succeeded in reaching the 1st Stage of Qi Refinement. With this, you should have an advantage over your peers.]
[Second Quest: Become an Inner Disciple]
[Success Rewards: Qi Refinement Pill x10]
[Failure Punishment: Cultivation Level -1 stage]
"Inner disciple?" Quinlan tilted his head in wonder. "I think that's a rank or something for disciples within a sect."
He couldn't tell if it was a difficult thing to achieve or not, but he couldn't refuse the quest, anyway.
After reading so much text, Quinlan had completely woke up. He jumped out of bed, and stretched his body a little, before heading out. He didn't go far, however, but instead knocked on the other room's door.
"Xiyadie, can I come in?"
A short pause, before a voice answered from beyond the door. "Young Lady? Of course, please enter."
Earning her approval, Quinlan opened the sliding door and entered. However, he stopped at the entrance, stood still for a short instant, before closing the door behind him in a hurry.
The reason? Xiyadie was currently changing, wearing nothing but her dudou, something like a diamond-shaped piece of cloth covering her chest. Other than her chest, the rest were exposed, causing Quinlan to gulp unconsciously.
"Sorry, Young Lady, but since you're here, can I ask for a hand?" Xiyadie asked, turning around to face Quinlan. "Can you help me put on my inner robe? My chest keeps on getting in the way, so it takes time to do alone."
Quinlan, of course, tried to maintain a cool head. He quickly nodded his head, acting as if nothing was wrong with Xiyadie showing her body, and went closer to her. Since Xiyadie was facing him, he could see the hidden garden, filled with onyx-black grass. It was his first time seeing them this close since he couldn't take a good look at them when bathing.
"A-Alright. What shall I help you with?" Quinlan asked, trying to return his gaze to Xiyadie's face.
With his help, Xiyadie quickly wore her inner robe, before tightening the sash around her waist, and below her chest. "A little tighter, Young Lady."
Of course, Quinlan quickly noticed why Xiyadie said it was hard to wear it alone. Her large mountains were fighting back using their elasticity against Quinlan's pull when tightening the sash. After a few seconds of playing tug-of-war against Xiyadie's chest, they finally managed to secure the sash around her back.
After that, Xiyadie wore her Hanfu on top, before fixing her hair casually. With that, she was finally prepared for the day.
"Thanks for the help, Young Lady Yinuo." Xiyadie bowed her head with a smile. "Well then, what shall we do today?"
Since Quinlan left his room, Xiyadie could guess that he wanted to go somewhere. However, currently, he was forbidden by the Family Head, Meng Hanxiao, from leaving the manor, so their choices would be limited.
"I want to go to the North gate before noon."
But when Quinlan said this, Xiyadie's brows furrowed. "Young Lady, I'm sorry, but did you forget you were forbidden from leaving the manor?"
Of course, Quinlan didn't mind her question. After all, it was a fact.
"This is important, Xiyadie. I received another revelation from the voice of heaven last night, and it said for me to wait at the North Gate at noon, for there's something that is waiting for me there!"
"Another revelation!" Xiyadie raised her voice in shock, covering her mouth with her hand. "Then we should ask for the family head to allow you—"
"You think father would let me go?" Quinlan quickly interjected. "I say we leave in secret. I know a hidden path."
"..."
Xiyadie hesitated for a long while, wasting minutes of their precious time. After much deliberation, she turned to Quinlan with a serious expression.
"Alright."
As soon as Quinlan gained her agreement, he quickly told Xiyadie to pack some things, particularly objects that she wouldn't want to leave behind. Although Xiyadie became more doubtful after what he said, she still did as told and gathered her things, mostly clothes, and accessories she rarely used.
When she was done packing, Quinlan nodded his head with a faint smile. "Then, follow me!"
It was daytime, so there were a lot of eyes on everyone. However, they weren't anything to Quinlan's heightened senses. Bypassing all the prying eyes, the two reached the garden without trouble.
"It should be around here..."
After looking for a while, Quinlan finally found a hidden hole in the wall, covered by tall grass on both sides. It was obviously an old damage to the wall that wasn't repaired. It was also the spot that Yinuo used in the past to escape, which she discovered out of luck.
Quinlan crawled slowly through the hole and came out on the other side without a problem. However, he didn't stand up immediately, and instead scanned the surroundings first, making sure that nobody was looking.
Judging that it was safe, he then signaled for Xiyadie to crawl through, but was met with some problem.
"My breasts hurt. It keeps on hitting the rough edges of the stones on the bottom of the hole!" Xiyadie exclaimed in pain as she held her chest defensively.
Having no choice, Quinlan had to flatten the poking stone fragments first before Xiyadie finally managed to crawl through.
After she got out, Quinlan suddenly had a thought. "Wait. Couldn't you just crawl out while facing up?"
"..."
"..."