"Ooooh so deeeep!"
The high-pitched voice echoed in the quiet glade.
"So good, Senior Brother... Oooohh... UhmMm… some hot stuff is inside my stomach!"
Xiao Chan sat in a lotus position, her delicate frame silhouetted against the soft glow of the evening sun filtering through the towering pines.
Her rosy cheeks puffed slightly with each exhale, and her eyes remained tightly shut.
She wore a simple cotton robe, frayed at the hem, its pale blue hue blending with the verdant surroundings.
Strands of her ebony hair clung to her damp forehead, framing her round face.
Her small hands rested lightly on her knees, trembling slightly, as if barely containing a surge of energy within her fragile body.
Across from her knelt a young man in a tattered robe, his face stern and calm as he watched her intently.
The fabric of his robe bore the marks of time, fraying at the edges and patched in several places, yet his posture radiated a confidence that belied his humble appearance.
His name was Lu Tzang, though in this world of endless mountains and shimmering streams, he was known simply as "Xiao Chan's Senior Brother."
"Focus, Xiao Chan," his voice was soft but carried a commanding depth. "Guide the energy as I taught you. Let it flow through your meridians in the stomach to alleviate the cold. Keep it steady and unbroken. Do not let it scatter."
Xiao Chan's brow furrowed slightly as she heeded his instructions, the invisible currents of chi weaving through her veins.
Beads of sweat trickled down her temple as she followed the meticulous path he had mapped for her, each word sinking deep into her consciousness like ripples spreading across a still pond.
"Breathe," he continued, his tone both guiding and grounding. "In through the nose, steady. Hold it there—just a moment. Now, release gently. Feel the warmth in your dantian."
A faint hum filled the air as Xiao Chan complied. Her tiny chest rose and fell with deliberate slowness, her lips parting slightly as she exhaled.
The energy within her swirled and spread out harmoniously, dancing like a phoenix about to take flight.
"Good," Lu Tzang murmured, nodding in approval. "Now, gather it again. Feel its weight. It is yours to command, Xiao Chan. It is yours."
Her head tilted slightly, her expression one of intense focus.
A moment later, a faint, translucent aura began to shimmer around her petite form, flickering like the first sparks of a campfire.
At the apex of the exercise, the energy reached a crescendo.
A soft crackling sound, almost like the breaking of ice, filled the glade as Xiao Chan shivered and gasped.
Her eyes flew open, wide and glistening with exhilaration. She exhaled heavily, her breath seemed visible in the cool mountain air.
"Senior Brother Lu Tzang," she said, her voice still tinged with awe, "you're so good at this. Where did you learn to do this?"
Lu Tzang scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his dark hair falling messily over his forehead.
His rugged features softened into an almost boyish look of confusion. "I... honestly don't know," he admitted, his tone both sincere and baffled. "I think this is just... strange."
Xiao Chan giggled and suddenly leaped toward him, wrapping her small arms around his torso.
Her voice was bright but carried an unusual intensity. "Senior Brother, you made me feel so good! Especially whenever you go deeper!"
Lu Tzang's eyes widened in alarm.
His face flushed, and he rubbed his nose awkwardly, trying to process her words.
Xiao Chan pulled back slightly, looking up at him with an expression of unwavering trust.
"Especially at night, when that painful coldness comes over me, your energy makes me feel hot. Whenever it enters deep… Ooooooh… I can still feel it inside of me. I don't know if I'd make it without you. I really don't know senior brother, thank you!"
Her small hands clutched at his rosy white stomach, with earnest gaze fixed on his face.
Lu Tzang nodded, the weight of her strange words settling heavily and strangely inside his confused head.
"I'm glad I could help," he said simply with an awkward expression.
But Xiao Chan wasn't done. She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek, her voice dropping to a whisper that seemed to echo in the stillness.
"Thank you for making me feel good every single night, Senior Brother."
Lu Tzang froze, his mind momentarily blank.
He felt a strange mixture of pride and awkwardness, his heart thudding in a way that felt far too human for someone who had been thrust into a world so alien to him.
He thought back to the day he first met Xiao Chan.
When he'd awakened in this strange world, everything had been unfamiliar.
The sky was a shade too vivid, the air too crisp, and the earth beneath his feet hummed with an energy he couldn't explain.
His memories of his previous life were clear but irrelevant. Lu Tzang had a career on Earth, driven and methodical.
After years—No! THREE DECADES of grinding toil, he had finally achieved the wealth and success he'd always dreamed of through that career he's not good at.
Yet just as he was about to retire and enjoy the fruits of his labor, something unexplainable had happened.
He woke up here.
At first, he wandered aimlessly, trying to make sense of the shimmering forests and winding rivers, the mountain peaks that pierced the clouds, and the strange energy that seemed to saturate the air itself.
Lu Tzang also didn't know why or where it came from, but there was a strange energy inside him that made him feel good, he could control it and it allowed him to ignore the coldness of the night and the burning sensation of the peak daylight.
It's like Chi.
From the most memorable novel he had read on the countless web novel but had forgotten most of it and couldn't really remember due to him entering the career that he's not good at, but also the career that consumed his whole life.
One day, during one such aimless journey, he found Xiao Chan.
She had been huddled in a corner of an eastern middle era bustling street, her frail body wracked with shivers.
Her face was pale, her lips tinged with blue.
People passed her by without a second glance, he could even picture their hurried steps kicking up dust around her.
Something in Lu Tzang had stirred—a remnant of his humanity, perhaps—and he had knelt beside her.
Her voice had been barely audible when she whispered, "It hurts..."
Without fully understanding why, Lu Tzang had reached out, letting the strange energy that was inside his body flow into her.
To his astonishment, it worked.
The color returned to her cheeks, and she looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Since that day, Xiao Chan has stayed by his side.
She brought him food she scavenged or traded for in the village and, in return, he helped her control the cold, painful energy that plagued her.
It was a simple arrangement, one that required no words but built an unspoken bond between them.
Now, as she gazed up at him with that same trusting expression, Lu Tzang felt a pang of something he couldn't quite identify.
Was it responsibility?
Affection?
Whatever it was, it was foreign to a man who had spent his entire previous life focused solely on one career that he's not good at.
"Let's rest for a few minutes," he said, his voice steady but gentle.
Xiao Chan nodded eagerly, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Yes, Senior Brother!"
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the two of them sat in companionable silence, the evening breeze carrying the faint scent of pine and the distant murmur of a mountain stream.
After a few minutes of silent meditation and calm breathing, Xiao Chan abruptly opened her eyes. Her dark pupils sparkled with a glint of resolve as she dusted off her robes and rose to her feet.
"Senior Brother, I have to go now," she said, her voice light but resolute.
Lu Tzang glanced up from his seated position, his brows furrowing slightly.
He didn't particularly care where she went during the evenings—she always seemed fine on her own and made it a point to keep her affairs private.
If anything, her insistence on leaving at certain times only strengthened his suspicion that she had some family or obligations elsewhere.
He had no desire to pry into her life or push boundaries too early.
After all, she came back every morning with fresh-cooked meals that were leagues better than anything he had tried in this strange world, it's better not to push that for now.
He stretched his arms lazily and nodded. "Alright, see you tomorrow," he said casually.
"Bye-bye for now, Senior Brother Lu," Xiao Chan chirped, her tone unusually cheerful.
Before turning to leave, she bent down and planted a quick peck on his cheek.
The touch was fleeting, but Lu Tzang felt his face burn as the warmth lingered.
Before he could respond, Xiao Chan had already started down the narrow path winding through the forest, her steps light and playful.
But halfway down the trail, Xiao Chan suddenly halted. She spun around, her face flushed with emotion.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu!" she called out, her voice trembling with a depth of gratitude that seemed far too profound for her small frame.
"Thank you so much for everything! I mean it—thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!"
Her voice was almost musical, filled with an overwhelming sincerity that hit Lu Tzang like a wave.
She clasped her hands in front of her two big protruding chest, her eyes glimmering with joy, before turning back and skipping down the path, giggling like a carefree child.
Lu Tzang sat frozen, utterly stunned.
His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
That thank-you had felt... different.
That feeling… It wasn't just gratitude.
Somehow to him, he felt it had carried a weight, a resonance that seemed to have vibrated through his very soul. Like a strange warmth bloomed in his chest, spreading like a ripple on still water.
"What was that...?" he muttered under his breath, his mind struggling to make sense of the emotions flooding him.
Suddenly, a sound pierced the tranquil forest.
Ding!
Lu Tzang's head snapped up as a screen of glowing golden light materialized before him, suspended in the air like an ethereal portal.
Its surface shimmered with runic patterns, and characters he couldn't recognize shifted across it in a mesmerizing dance.
The Host has spent 5 Spiritual Stones on a Mortal Maiden named Xiao Chan.
The Host gained 5 Mortal Cultivation Essence.
The Mortal Maiden has shown unconditional gratitude; Mortal Cultivation Essence is multiplied by eight and an invincible slamming soft path mortal art has been acquired!
Would you like to allocate the mortal cultivation essence?