Su Yishui had walked up to her without her noticing. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.
Ranran, feeling embarrassed, quickly took it and wiped her tears. She smiled serenely, "Shifu's zither skill is truly exquisite. I was enchanted and moved by it, and somehow, I ended up crying."
Su Yishui looked at her little tear-stained face, his expression slightly tense. He lowered his head and asked, "When you heard the music, did you remember anything?"
Ranran opened her mouth halfway, intending to mention the scenes in her imagination from earlier, but the words that came out were, "I was just moved by the music.. And it's great that the lotus flowers are blooming again. We can pick the lotus leaves to make Beggar's Chicken…"
As she finished speaking, she noticed that her Shifu's face had turned cold as ice.
Remembering not to stare at Shifu like an infatuated girl for too long, Ranran quickly lowered her head. She suddenly remembered the reason for coming to find Shifu and asked, "Shifu, the Pill furnace you gave me to use… is it the Nine Revolution Black Iron Furnace?"
She then mentioned her discovery after cleaning the furnace earlier and ended with a timid question, "Could it be that Shifu, unintentionally, mistook it for an old furnace and gave it to me?"
Su Yishui's face still looked upset, seemingly processing that Beggar's Chicken. But his tone was gentle, "It was idle just being there, so don't you let it go to waste."
Ranran, seeing her Shifu's tacit acknowledgment, suddenly felt a surge of enthusiasm like red flames in her heart: she, such a mediocre novice, had been given the best furnace by her Shifu! If she couldn't refine thousands of Resurrection Divine Pills, wouldn't it be a waste of her Shifu's deep affection?
The previously indifferent and unambitious heart, at this very moment, now had an impulse to reform and begin anew!
Ranran solemnly promised her Shifu that she would be completely focused and work hard to refine decent pills this time.
Su Yishui didn't even look at her this time, just stood silently by the pond, watching the sparkling ice lotuses, lost in thought. Watching his back, there was a hint of loneliness…
Ranran did not dare to disturb Shifu's contemplation. After bowing respectfully, she left with light steps.
Third Senior Sister was already starting to refine a higher-grade Marrow-cleansing pill, so Ranran had to practice diligently day and night; she couldn't be lazy anymore.
This time, facing the bright and clean furnace, Ranran quietly recalled Shifu's teachings on calming the mind and spirit, crossed her legs, and focused her energy in her lower abdomen.
At first, she could still hear the crackling of the furnace fire, but gradually, as her breath and pulse harmonized, the surrounding noises gradually faded away.
Qiu Xier, who had just dozed off, blinked groggily and inadvertently glanced at Ranran beside her. She couldn't help but be stunned.
Whether it was the reflection of the furnace fire or not, there was a faint glow on her little junior sister's face, and her entire person… seemed a bit different from usual.
As to what was different, Qiu Xier couldn't quite pinpoint it, but she felt a sense of awe and respect!
Qiu Xier sighed, realizing that meditation could indeed elevate one's disposition. So, she didn't dare to slack off and quickly closed her eyes, focusing on the furnace fire to calm her mind and spirit, hoping to become a peerless beauty like her Shifu soon.
Perhaps sensing Ranran's sincerity, this time when the furnace was opened, it was not overflowing with the scent of steamed buns. Ranran quickly took the Clear-Heart Pill and went to find First Senior Brother.
She hadn't done well last time, so this time she had to make it up to her senior brother and help him calm his mind.
However, Senior Brother Gao cang waved his hand like fanning a fan, hastily saying that he's been very calm recently and doesn't need to take any pills.
When she handed it to Second Senior Brother, he forced a smile, saying that he's had diarrhea recently and shouldn't eat randomly.
Ranran knew that her Pill Alchemy reputation had been tarnished. Last time she nearly killed Senior Brother, so naturally no one dared to take it this time.
She didn't want to trouble others, so she tried it herself. As she tasted it, she found that this time it actually carried the sweet and refreshing taste of lotus flowers.
Ranran was a quite nervous herself and instructed Qiu Xier to take away all the snacks in her room so that she wouldn't lose control at night and eat until she died without anyone knowing.
However, this time, the Clear Heart Pill was obviously refined very well. A day passed, and Ranran just didn't feel like eating anything.
Even when cooking for everyone and smelling the aroma of bamboo shoot chicken, she remained indifferent.
This made Ranran, who found enjoyment in eating, feel quite sorrowful.
The chicken had been brought by a patient healed by Shifu and was a local short-legged Luhua chicken from the village below. Its legs were thick and its buttocks plump, looking very delicious. Ranran was originally looking forward to eating this chicken and even asked Second Senior Uncle to buy bamboo shoots to go with it.
During the meal, everyone enjoyed the food immensely. Even Su Yishui drank three bowls of chicken soup in one go. Only Ranran looked at everyone dully, having no urge at all to eat any of the dishes.
Seeing Ranran's pitiful appearance, Gao cang felt sorry for her and said, "Although the Clear-Heart Pill can calm the mind, it shouldn't be so overbearing as to make someone abstain from food immediately?"
Bai Baishan continued, "In my opinion, little junior sister, although your foundation is a bit lacking, you are truly a genius in alchemy. Every time you refine pills, you can produce extraordinary ones. But junior sister, don't test pills recklessly next time. If something goes wrong, it'll really make people have heartache."
Su Yishui didn't say much, just ate almost half of the chicken, which seemed to really suit his taste.
But seeing his second disciple once again trying to please his junior sister, he spoke up, "Heartache indicates a lack of vitality and blood circulation. You need to practice your cultivation more. Tomorrow, when working on your legs…"
Bai Baishan was quite clever and suddenly realized that Shifu probably didn't like seeing his disciples flirting. Before Shifu finished assigning "homework," he immediately took over Shifu's bowl, deftly adding more soup for him and said with a smile, "Shifu, I just said that junior sister's cultivation is not yet mature. If she eats something wrong, it will teach her a lesson… Junior sister, you must be more attentive, don't let Shifu worry about you."
This kind of ambiguous attitude made even Qiu Xier scornful so she glared fiercely at Second Senior Brother.
She initially found Second Senior Brother refined and polite, pleasing to the eye. But after spending time together, she felt that boys like Senior Brother, who were straightforward and reliable, were more trustworthy.
After the meal, Su Yishui called Ranran, who was about to clean up the dishes, and asked her to follow him to the back mountain and then to the edge of the lotus pond.
He pointed to the most flourishing lotus bloom in the middle of the pond and said to Ranran, "Go, pick that one."
Ranran said, "Oh," and then looked around for a small boat to enter the water. The middle of the lotus pond was very deep. Without a boat, it was impossible to reach.
But Su Yishui said, "No need for a boat, just walk straight over."
Ranran looked at the lotus pond in disbelief and asked in a low voice, "What am I supposed to walk on?"
Su Yishui, with his hands behind his back, said tranquilly, "Step on the lotus leaves that is used to wrap Beggar's Chicken, and you'll be able to cross."
Hmm… Ranran was a bit unsure whether Shifu was mocking her or genuinely wanted her to do so.
Although the species of lotus flowers in the pond were valuable, the lotus leaves were nothing special. If she stepped on them, she would definitely fall into the water.
Ranran had been weak since childhood. Her mother didn't allow her to play in the river with the other children in the village, so she didn't know how to swim. Upon hearing Shifu's words, she was dumbfounded.
Su Yishui saw her staring at him as if he were a murderer, and his lips curled slightly before saying, "Cultivation and abstinence from food are for cleansing oneself, allowing true energy to flow smoothly through the meridians. You haven't eaten anything these few days, it's the best time to cultivate and gather your qi. As long as you grasp the technique, stepping on the lotus leaves is not difficult."
Ranran nodded in realization.
But seeing Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother practicing so hard for so long, she felt that they had only become a bit lighter on their feet when they went down the mountain to collect goods. Could she, a novice with no foundation, really learn such a profound light body technique?
"Practice well. You also know that XiShan and Crimson Gate are enemies. If Wei Jiu comes over, he will surely come for revenge. None of the disciples will be spared. You can't just smile sweetly at Wei Jiu every time you meet him and expect to escape." Su Yishui said with a faint disdain in his tone.
Ranran remembered that last time in the woods, she did indeed smile too ingratiatingly at Wei Jiu, losing her righteous demeanor, which made her feel ashamed and also faintly afraid.
This Shifu, who always reminds his disciples that their lives were not guaranteed after joining the sect, was truly rousing. Seeing how reasonable her Shifu's words were, Ranran suddenly felt motivated.
She went back to her room and put on a thicker chest wrap and changed into thicker pants so that she wouldn't expose herself even if she fell into the water. Then she returned and memorized the spell for the Light body Technique. She followed Su Yishui to the pond and meditated for a moment by the edge.
After adjusting her breath, she bravely jumped onto the lotus leaf…
There was a "plop," and her slender body plunged straight into the water.
When her Shifu pulled her out of the water with a spell, dripping wet Ranran lay on the bank spitting out water. Then, coughing, she asked Shifu, "Can I not practice this? Is that okay?"
Su Yishui half squatted in front of her, silent for a moment, then said gently but firmly, "No."
Although the weather was very cold, the water in the pond was warm, which was the only comforting thing in her unfortunate situation.
In any case, Ranran flopped around in the lotus pond for a full five days. Every day when she went back to rest, she was soaking wet.
Plus, she had been abstaining from food these past days, not even thinking about eating malt sugar to please her mouth. She was beginning to feel that life has lost all meaning.
This morning, after Su Yishui had finished tormenting Ranran, he was in an unusually good mood and took some people down the mountain to visit friends.
Qui Xier couldn't bear it any longer and asked sighing as she dried little junior sister's hair, "Ranran, what did you do to offend Shifu? Why is he only making things difficult for you?"
Ranran stared blankly at herself in the mirror. She then straightened her back, trying to cheer herself up. She encouraged herself, saying, "Shifu is not making things difficult for me. He wants to teach me some skills!"
But Qiu Xier didn't believe it. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "So what have you learned?"
Ranran felt a bit gratified and said, "At least I've learned how to swim."
After falling into the water so many times, she became more proficient at holding her breath. Sometimes when she fell in, she could even paddle a few times. Gradually becoming self-taught, she actually enjoyed swimming with the dog-paddle technique.
While Qiu Xier was drying Ran Ran's hair, she suddenly exclaimed, "Eeh," and then leaned down to examine her junior sister's face closely. She said, "Ranran, why do I feel like your skin has been improving alot recently? Your features have become more refined too."
Although Ranran had always been prettier than her, she was at best a beautiful girl next door.
But lately, Ranran seemed to be like a pearl hidden in dust, shining from the inside out after being polished thoroughly. Although her features hadn't changed, there was an indescribable aura emanating from her. Her skin was fair and radiant, making her more and more captivating to look at.