Having made up his mind, Luo Yang then went outside. Walking indeed proved difficult, like a piece of drifting fuzz. A slight fluctuation in the air would sway him left and right, and he couldn't stand steadily. It was as if he was stepping on cotton, every step felt insubstantial, making it extremely easy to fall over.
It was with great difficulty that he reached the back of the door. Out of habit, he extended his hand to twist the doorknob, only to grasp at thin air.
It was at this moment he remembered that he was a Yin Spirit on a journey, a being as intangible as mist. Being ethereal against the physical, it was naturally impossible for him to hold onto the doorknob, and he couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
If he couldn't open the door, he couldn't get out. Just as he was feeling annoyed, a realization suddenly dawned on him. If a Yin Spirit is an immaterial entity, then he should be able to walk through walls.
With this thought, he stepped forward and indeed passed right through the door! Had he known this earlier, he could have left through the window and been outside in a few steps.
Once outside the door, standing on the open ground in front of the house and basking in the moon's pure radiance, he felt as though soaking in a lake—cool, refreshing, and incredibly comfortable! The only downside was that when the night breeze blew, it was like a cold tide passing through his body, which was quite agonizing. Fortunately, the wind was weak, otherwise a gust could have blown Luo Yang away.
That feeling was akin to standing naked in Antarctica.
According to the "Soul Sutra," to cultivate a Yin Spirit, one must absorb the essence of moonlight. Only when the Yin Spirit becomes stronger would one no longer fear the elements—wind, rain, sun, and fire.
Luo Yang was a youth accustomed to hardships. He thought since he had learned to let his "Soul Out of Body," he must persevere in his cultivation and not give up halfway.
Clenching his teeth, he persisted in cultivating under the moonlight. Although it was uncomfortable, he did not falter. Hearing the occasional bark of a dog in the distance, Luo Yang felt a hint of worry. But then he reassured himself, thinking that household dogs are usually kept inside, and he relaxed.
Suddenly, a whimsical desire surged within him. He mused that a stroll around the village would make his nocturnal outing worthwhile.
Despite realizing the danger, he couldn't resist proceeding with his actions.
After some thought, he made his way to An Yuying's home. He wanted to see what her sleeping posture was like.
If it were his physical body walking, with Luo Yang's agile figure, it would only take a few minutes to walk from his home to An Yuying's house.
But now as a Yin Spirit, walking was truly vexing. He tried every trick in the book to move forward, but after only taking three steps, a gust of night wind blew directly at him, pushing him back four or five steps. He was retreating instead of advancing. He thought to himself that if An Yuying's house was downwind, it would have been better; he'd be blown straight there, saving a lot of effort.
Unfortunately, her house was upwind.
Wanting to see her sleeping figure was not easy, and others might have given up at this point, facing such strong resistance. But Luo Yang was dead set on reaching the An Family.
His will was steadfast, and it helped that the wind that night was not very strong. He gradually made progress.
For a distance that was just a few hundred meters, it took him a full half hour to walk.
By the time he reached the An Family's doorstep, Luo Yang was so exhausted that he was down to half his life. Yet despite the fatigue, he had gained experience on how to walk in the wind as a Yin Spirit. Through this ordeal, he had begun to grasp how to prevent being blown away while traveling as a Yin Spirit in the wind.
If the spirit were to be carried away by the wind, it would be too far from the physical body to return in a reasonable timeframe, and that would mean death.
This was an extremely dangerous affair.
The "Soul Sutra" listed protection against the wind as the foremost danger one must be wary of when letting one's Yin Spirit venture forth. When a Yin Spirit ventures outside, what it most commonly encounters is wind.
Luo Yang, being young, was as fearless as a calf is of a tiger, not so concerned with matters of life and death, which allowed him to take the great risk of night wandering as a Yin Spirit.
More seasoned cultivators would never dare to roam outside soon after learning to let their "Soul Out of Body." It was a matter of life and death, and no one would joke with their own life so lightly.
Upon entering the An Family, the absence of wind allowed for a brief respite.
An Yuying resided in a room on the second floor. Luo Yang ascended the stairs with unhurried steps, soon entering her bedroom. Seeing her kicked-off air conditioning blanket, he worried she might catch a cold and wanted to cover her with it, but his intention exceeded his ability. She lay on her side, dressed in a pink nightgown, looking serene with her dark hair caressing her face, adding a touch of allure.
As he watched her, he couldn't help but climb onto the bed and lie down beside her to quietly admire her evenly breathing, pretty face.
That evening, when she was in his room, he had wanted to reach out and touch her peaks.
But An Yuying slapped his hand away then. Now, lying beside her, sharing the bed, he couldn't resist the urge to extend his hand, desiring to explore the intimate delights between a man and a woman.
Unfortunately, as a Yin Spirit, he was ultimately in a state of insubstantiality, his gestures only stirred the air.
Thinking she would never know, he rolled over to her side and shook from side to side, finding a different kind of pleasure.
After a while, An Yuying gave a soft moan and turned over, but she didn't wake up. Seeing the smile on her lips, he knew she was experiencing something delightful in her dream.
Luo Yang sat on the bed gazing at her arched eyebrows, her rosy lips, and the soft lines of her attractive face. His eyes drifted down to her prominently rising chest, and he couldn't help but lean into her once more.
Though there was no sense of touch, he found small spiritual enjoyment, which left him somewhat content.
After lingering on the bed for over ten minutes, he thought it might be worth checking in on Lang Yifeng and left the bed, exited the An Family house, and headed towards Lang Yifeng's casino.
Another half hour passed before he finally reached his destination. Fortunately, he had the wind in his favor; otherwise, it would have taken an hour.
The lights were out in the casino tent, indicating that the gamblers had left. Light shone through the ground-floor windows of Lang Yifeng's home, and voices could be heard.
Luo Yang scaled the wall to see who was gathered inside. As soon as he passed through the wall, he felt an intense stinging all over his body. The light was like a thousand blades piercing his flesh, an unbearable pain.
Fortunately, he retreated in time, quickly recoiling back into the shelter of the wall, avoiding injury to his Yin Spirit by the light. Standing in the dark, he felt an intense pain all over his body, and his spirit seemed as if it would dissipate into the air.
This scare was no small matter; he finally understood that cultivating the Yin Spirit in its initial stages was indeed greatly challenging; even the light of a lamp was too much to bear, let alone direct sunlight which would undoubtedly be fatal.
After some time, although the Yin Spirit still burned with pain, it had stabilized and no longer felt like dispersing.
He then heard Lang Yifeng say, "It's getting late, you guys should go back to sleep."
A few young men responded and then left Lang Yifeng's house one after another.
Moments later, as Luo Yang was about to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening and guessed Lang Yifeng must have opened the back door. Out of curiosity, Luo Yang walked along the wall to the tent that was usually used for gambling.
With the lights off in the tent, he saw Lang Yifeng sneakily pacing inside for a while before exiting through a side door.
Wanting to see what Lang Yifeng was up to, Luo Yang followed him. There was a water tank outside the tent, filled to halfway. Lang Yifeng walked over to it and started moving it with force.
Initially, Luo Yang thought he was exercising his strength, but after he moved the tank, Luo Yang realized he had hidden something underneath.
Thinking he was invisible as a Yin Spirit, and Lang Yifeng would not be able to see him, he boldly approached, standing beside him to get a closer look at what he'd hidden.
Lang Yifeng suddenly looked around and to Luo Yang's surprise, murmured to himself, "Strange, why does it feel like someone is spying on me?"