The bird spread its wings and let out a menacing cry. The sword seemed to appear in my hand on its own. A flash of frosty energy—and suddenly dozens of small ice shards were flying at me at high speed. Only to shatter into fine dust upon hitting the barrier I had raised in front of me.
"I thought you'd just keep watching me," I said to the familiar girl with a gray streak in her hair.
"I'm looking out for you," Aina snorted. "You may be strong, but the Silver Forest is no place for novices at the Qi concentration stage to wander around. And it's not spying at all. We were just going in the same direction, that's all. How did you even notice me?"
I just smiled in response. I had sensed the familiar spiritual energy as soon as we left the grove. The girl had persistently followed at a short distance behind me, hiding in bushes and covering herself with some kind of barrier that attracted more attention to her than it concealed. Although it was indeed difficult to notice her with the naked eye. Some form of invisibility? Optical camouflage based on formations, which the girl specializes in. I still have so much to learn.
"I felt your spiritual power," I saw no reason to hide the truth from the girl. "And you were also making noise like a herd of wild boars."
"Demons, I knew Qi was leaking from the formation! Wait, what are you implying? What wild boars?" she threw up her hands.
The bird, apparently tired of watching our squabble, launched another portion of icicles at us. With the same zero success, obviously.
"Go away," the girl waved her palm, and a swift icy projectile broke off from it.
Only it flew past the hooting bird straight into the sky. Apparently realizing that there was nothing for it here, the feathered creature jumped off the branch and flew away. It was for the best. The little bird was quite cute, and I didn't want to kill it. It was like a small snow-white owl, with such huge eyes that it created the impression of being a plush toy.
"So what were you saying about boars?" the girl stared at me intently. I just rolled my eyes in response.
"I just wanted to say that you have the strength of ten mighty boars hidden within you," I grinned.
The girl clearly froze. On one hand—she's a practitioner and I just complimented her strength. On the other...
"Rude!" she declared, turning up her nose. I won't argue, it came out a bit rough, but it wasn't necessary to follow me either. "So you were looking for the Minsin flower? Did you notice it back then and keep quiet?"
"Yes, I noticed it last time when we were returning. And I didn't say anything because I simply didn't know anything about this flower. Master So Yun only told me about it today. If you want, we can split the points in half."
"No, you found it. It's yours," the girl sighed and looked at the plant with a sad gaze.
"What does it do, by the way?" I asked, trying to scan it with the system. Alas, it showed me nothing but the name and spiritual rarity, which I already knew myself.
"Well, it's one of the main ingredients for the beauty pill," she blushed.
"Wait, there's a beauty pill? And judging by the name, I can guess that it makes the practitioner... more beautiful?" my eye twitched. The local cultivators never ceased to amaze.
"Well, that's basically it," she agreed. And then immediately blurted out, "But don't think I've ever used it!"
"I didn't think you had," I reassured the girl, but she understood my words differently. Or pretended to misunderstand.
"Insolent!" she turned up her nose and demonstratively turned away. Only I managed to notice how her lips twitched in a smirk. Okay, I don't want to play these games. As soon as I touched the flower, the girl dropped all pretense of offense and yelled at me.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Aina shouted as I tried to pluck the flower. "You'll ruin all its useful properties!"
I immediately froze and stared at the girl, waiting for her to continue. So Yun hadn't given me any instructions on harvesting.
"Have you never collected spiritual herbs?!" she exclaimed. "First, you need to stop the outflow of Qi so that the spiritual energy isn't wasted."
"I haven't had the chance to do this before. Would you like to give a master class?"
"Barbarian," she whispered, but didn't refuse.
As soon as her hand touched the flower, the plant was surrounded by the thinnest film of spiritual energy. A slight movement of her hand and the bud seemed to separate from the stem on its own, and the cut really closed up, not giving out a drop of spiritual forces.
"Here. This way you'll collect the ingredients and not ruin the plant. By the way, the Minsin flower can bloom several times over a hundred years! It's a pity that it can't be transplanted. If only we could grow it in the Fort's garden."
"There's a garden in the Fort?" I was surprised.
"I actually showed it to you, if you haven't forgotten," she snorted. "And it's managed by Master So Yun, by the way. You should get out of your room more often."
Oops, something like that is indeed spinning in my head. The tour was long then, and I was tired as a dog after the battle with the monsters and practitioners, so something flew past my attention. Moreover, we didn't even enter the room itself.
"Here's your flower, barbarian Kai," she handed me the white bud.
I wanted to automatically put it in the ring, and then remembered that I wasn't alone now. Problem. I didn't want to demonstrate the ring to Aina. Although she had shown herself in an exceptionally good light, paranoia whispered not to trust anyone. And I didn't bring any herb bag with me. Just a small purse where I carry the token and a handful of spirit stones, but such a neighborhood is unlikely to benefit the flower.
"How about a deal? I look for flowers, and you collect them. Points split in half. I don't think fire Qi will be good for local plants," I demonstrated a flame above my palm for clarity.
"Ah, Kai, admit it, you just want to spend more time with me," she squinted. Laughter danced in the corners of her eyes. "You and me in this beautiful forest..."
"I forgot to bring a bag," I interrupted her. For some reason, my cheeks were burning from her words, and my heart was beating fast. Yeah, Kai, you're really something. Got flustered at the sight of a beautiful girl. This is to the original guy, if anything. I myself am solid as a rock! You won't get me with a sweet girl's smile!
"You forgot to bring a bag? Well, you barbarian, you ruined such a moment," she sighed. "Okay, I don't mind walking with you through this forest. It's beautiful here, and it's better not to walk alone here after all," she sighed. "But about the Minsin flowers, I strongly doubt it. With one, you were lucky, of course, but they are actually incredibly rare."
"We'll see," I couldn't hold back a chuckle. Well, I can't tell her that I can sense at least three such flowers right now? Their Qi is unique, and for me it shines like a beacon in the darkness. It seems my spiritual sense is indeed much sharper than most people's.
"How is this possible?!" the girl's nerves couldn't take it when I led us to the fifth flower. "Did you receive some kind of heavenly revelation? Sometimes we couldn't find even one flower during the whole expedition!"
"To find a flower, you need to think like a flower," I raised my index finger up instructively.
"It shows," she agreed, sending the bud into a special pouch. "Isn't it time for us to return? It will be dark soon, and I wouldn't want to spend the night in the forest. I'm not a flower, you know."
"Oh, beautiful Aina, you're not a flower, you're a rose adorning the Fort of Eternal Ice with your beauty. And thorns. Mostly thorns," I grinned.
"Barbarian," she rolled her eyes. "You ruined such a moment. But the rose part was good, next time stop in time, deal?"