The days that followed passed in quiet rhythm.
Chen Yang continued his monotonous yet fulfilling cultivation.
With the help of the several dozen low-grade spirit stones Liu Yiyi had gifted him, he duplicated enough Yimu Essence Qi to steadily complete several Circulation Cycles of the Yimu Immortality Art each day.
Holding these spirit stones that still carried the warmth and goodwill of a young girl, Chen Yang made a quiet resolution in his heart:
"These spirit stones — I'll consider them borrowed from Yiyi and Xiaochunhua. When the sect distributes stipends next month, I'll return them at the very first opportunity."
Liu Yiyi had been so sincere at the time, her eyes carrying even a trace of humble, earnest hope.
He simply hadn't had the heart to refuse again and wound her feelings.
But he had taken note of this kindness — the spirit stones had to be returned.
At the same time, he grew even more careful and cautious.
Each time he drew upon and absorbed the Yimu Essence Qi, he focused his entire mind, maintaining strict control to ensure not even the faintest wisp of that pure, vital energy leaked outward.
The overly exuberant spirit herbs in the herb plot out back served as the best reminder of what could go wrong.
His peaceful cultivation life was shattered one deep night by a knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock…
The knocking sounded rather urgent.
Mixed in with it were faint, suppressed gasps.
Chen Yang roused himself from meditation, his brow furrowing slightly.
Who could it be at this hour?
He rose and opened the door.
Outside stood, of all people, Liu Yiyi and Xiaochunhua.
The two had clearly scrambled out of bed in a hurry, wearing nothing but thin sleeping robes.
The night breeze swept over them, making them tremble faintly.
Xiaochunhua's eyes were red-rimmed, her face still streaked with not-yet-dried tears.
The moment she saw Chen Yang, she darted under his arm like a startled little rabbit and squeezed into the room, yawning all the while and crying out in a tearful voice:
"Senior Brother Chen! Wuu wuu… I want to sleep here! I'm so scared!"
Chen Yang was taken aback.
He looked toward Liu Yiyi, who stood in the doorway equally lightly dressed, her expression a mixture of embarrassment and worry.
Liu Yiyi quickly explained, her voice trembling slightly:
"Chen — Chen Yang, I'm… I'm sorry for disturbing your cultivation. We… we were sleeping soundly when we suddenly heard wolves howling outside! It was terribly eerie! Xiaochunhua woke up screaming and refused to do anything but come find you… I really couldn't stop her…"
"Wolves howling?"
Chen Yang's frown deepened.
"This is Qingyun Peak — the inner disciple residential area, not the outer laborer quarters. How could a wolf pack get anywhere near here? Are you sure you didn't mishear…"
His words were cut short, as if nature itself had decided to contradict him.
"Awooooo——!!"
A howl, crystal-clear and drawn-out and harrowing, rode the night wind and poured unmistakably into the small building!
Chen Yang's expression froze in an instant.
A real wolf's howl!
And from the sound of it, not particularly far away!
Xiaochunhua let out a shriek and bolted to the corner of the room farthest from the door, shaking uncontrollably.
Liu Yiyi went pale with fright as well, instinctively stepping closer to Chen Yang.
Chen Yang's expression turned grave. He strode quickly to the courtyard gate, eased it open a crack with great care, and peered outside.
The night was deep and dark.
Thick clouds smothered the moonlight.
He could make out only the vague outlines of the courtyard walls and the shadowy silhouettes of trees beyond — no sign of any wolf.
Yet from the mountain wind in the distance, a few more howls drifted in intermittently, one after another, suggesting more than one beast.
"Strange…"
Chen Yang was puzzled. Qingyun Peak had the Grand Mountain-Protecting Formation — ordinary demon beasts had no way of breaching the core area.
Perhaps tonight's strong winds had carried the howls from wolves deep in the distant mountains?
He closed the gate and turned back to see the two girls clinging to each other in fright. He softened his tone and reassured them:
"Don't be afraid. I've checked — there are no wolves outside. The wind is probably strong enough to carry the sound from somewhere far away. This courtyard has a simple protective restriction; it's quite safe. Tonight… you two can rest here in my loft."
The moment his words fell.
Another howl of piercing intensity rang out!
Xiaochunhua nearly leapt out of her skin. She let out a sharp scream, spun around without a second thought, and went thundering up the stairs.
She dove headfirst into Chen Yang's bed and pulled the blanket entirely over herself, leaving only the lower half of her body sticking out.
She trembled so hard with fear that the blanket shook along with her.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Liu Yiyi, both worried and mortified, hurried after her and coaxed her gently:
"Xiaochun! Come out of there! Don't go ruining Senior Brother Chen's blanket!"
With some effort she extracted Xiaochunhua from the blanket, tidied her disheveled sleeping robe and hair, tucked the blanket back neatly, and left only a small head poking out.
Xiaochunhua looked up at Chen Yang as he came in, her eyes brimming with tears, her voice still quavering:
"Senior Brother Chen… really… really no wolves will get in?"
Chen Yang walked to the window and confirmed once more that nothing was amiss outside, then nodded with certainty:
"Don't worry — I'm here. Even if some foolish wild wolf actually dared to come, I could deal with it without breaking a sweat."
Hearing this, Xiaochunhua seemed to relax considerably.
She blinked her still-tearful eyes and suddenly said to Chen Yang:
"Then… Senior Brother Chen, it's getting late — why don't you come sleep too! Early to bed, early to rise, and you'll have plenty of energy tomorrow!"
At that, both Chen Yang and Liu Yiyi were momentarily stunned.
Liu Yiyi's cheeks flushed crimson in an instant. She gave Xiaochunhua a light tap and scolded her with a mix of embarrassment and exasperation:
"Xiaochun! What are you saying!"
She turned to Chen Yang and explained apologetically:
"Chen Yang, don't mind her nonsense. I… I've heard that inner disciples who have made progress in cultivation replace sleep with meditation — is that right?"
Chen Yang nodded:
"Yes. It's been a long time since I've truly slept. Sitting in meditative breathing is enough to restore my energy."
Xiaochunhua let out a disappointed "oh" at that, but still refused to give up, tugging at Liu Yiyi's sleeve:
"Then Sister Liu, hurry up and get in bed with me! I'm still scared on my own!"
Liu Yiyi glanced at Chen Yang, saw that his expression was calm and untroubled, then looked at the pitiful Xiaochunhua — and her heart softened at last.
With a faint blush, she said to Chen Yang:
"Then… Chen Yang, we…"
"Go ahead and sleep. I'll sit in meditation right here — no need to worry."
Chen Yang said warmly.
Only then did Liu Yiyi slip off her shoes and carefully lie down on the outer edge of the bed.
The moment she lay down, Xiaochunhua latched onto her like an octopus, pressing her face into Liu Yiyi's chest.
Liu Yiyi let out a soft sigh and reached out to gently pat Xiaochunhua's back in comfort.
Chen Yang walked to the table and blew out the candle.
The room fell into darkness.
Only the faint moonlight through the window remained, along with the soft breathing of three people.
Before long.
Xiaochunhua, her nerves wound tight and her fright still fresh, sank into a deep sleep.
Liu Yiyi gradually relaxed as well and drifted off to dreamland.
Chen Yang settled cross-legged onto the meditation cushion not far from the bed.
He closed his eyes and resumed his cultivation, yet kept a careful, quiet watch on the sounds around him.
Not another wolf's howl came through the night.
* * *
Early the next morning.
The sky had barely begun to lighten.
Xiaochunhua was the first to wake.
She bolted upright, glancing around alertly in every direction.
Then she crept on tiptoe to the window and peered through the gap for a long while.
Then she went thundering downstairs, opened the courtyard gate, poked her head out and looked left and right, even crouching down to examine the mud on the ground by the entrance.
"No footprints! There really were no wolves!"
She finally let out a long, relieved breath and patted her chest.
Chen Yang and Liu Yiyi, who had followed her downstairs, couldn't help but smile at the sight.
Liu Yiyi said softly:
"It seems Chen Yang was right — the wind last night was just strong enough to carry sounds from far away. A false alarm after all."
The two girls washed up briefly and returned to their own rooms to change.
* * *
When noon was drawing near.
Chen Yang was upstairs in quiet cultivation.
Liu Yiyi and Xiaochunhua were tending to the herb plot in the back courtyard.
Liu Yiyi examined a spirit herb that needed dividing and said to the yawning Xiaochunhua:
"Xiaochun, a few of these medicinal plants need grafting tools and a specific type of spirit soil — I'll have to make a trip back to our old place in Butterfly Valley to fetch them. By the time I go and come back, it'll probably take about half a day. Do you want to come along?"
Xiaochunhua rubbed her bleary eyes and shook her head repeatedly:
"No, no — the road is too rough, and I didn't sleep well last night. I still need to catch up on sleep!"
Liu Yiyi knew her temperament and didn't press her. She gave her a few reminders and then set off alone, leaving the small courtyard behind.
Xiaochunhua went back to her room, flopped down, and tried to go back to sleep.
But she had barely closed her eyes when a growing clamor of voices drifted in from beyond the courtyard wall — a chattering, chirping crowd that sounded like quite a few people heading this way.
Xiaochunhua irritably pulled the blanket over her head and tossed and turned.
But the noise only grew louder, showing no sign of going away.
"Who is it?! Making all this racket in broad daylight! Can't a person sleep?!"
Furious, she flung off the blanket, shuffled into her shoes, and stormed out into the courtyard, yanking the gate open!
Outside the gate stood seven or eight women, all dressed in the garb of Menial Disciples.
Leading them was a heavyset woman with a somewhat sharp-featured face.
The moment the stout woman caught sight of Xiaochunhua, her face broke into an exaggerated, fawning smile, and she called out in a shrill voice:
"Oh my! Sister Chunhua! It's me — Yan Xi!"
Xiaochunhua looked more carefully.
She recognized the visitor.
This fat woman Yan Xi — back when they were all in Butterfly Valley, she had never missed a chance to bully Xiaochunhua, using her seniority and brute strength as excuses.
She'd stolen her food, made her do extra work, and constantly mocked her with cutting remarks.
How the tables had turned!
Xiaochunhua immediately straightened her spine, lifted her chin slightly, and adopted the air of someone in a superior position. She deliberately looked Yan Xi up and down at a leisurely pace before drawling:
"Oh — and here I was wondering who it could be. So it's Yan Xi — tsk tsk, haven't seen you in a while. You seem like you've… put on quite a bit more weight, haven't you?"
The flesh on Yan Xi's face twitched, a flash of barely concealed fury crossing her eyes.
If this were back in Butterfly Valley, she would have already marched over and pinched that little brat's mouth shut for daring to speak to her like that!
But times had changed.
She forced her anger down.
The smile on her face grew even more ingratiating:
"Heh heh, Sister Chunhua is joking… I'm just the type who gains weight from drinking water…"
A sharper-looking female laborer beside her quickly cut in, looking at Xiaochunhua with a flattering smile:
"Sister Chunhua, you… you look like you didn't get much rest. Was it because last night… you were too worn out?"
The question was asked with careful delicacy, carrying a faint undertone of probing curiosity.
Xiaochunhua was already seething from having her sleep interrupted, and without thinking, she blurted out a complaint:
"You're telling me! Senior Brother Chen's bed planks are too hard — they dug into me and I couldn't sleep comfortably!"
She meant it as a gripe about the simplicity of Chen Yang's bed, and how she wasn't used to sleeping on it.
But to the ears of this group of women with their various thoughts and imaginings, the meaning twisted instantly!
Senior Brother Chen's bed?!
Those words landed like a thunderclap.
They detonated among the group in an instant!
Seven or eight pairs of eyes went wide as saucers, blazing with shock, envy, and barely suppressed indignation, all fixed unblinkingly on Xiaochunhua!
"Heavens! So it's actually true!"
"Word's been going around Butterfly Valley that Liu Yiyi and Xiaochunhua were taken in by that newly promoted inner disciple Senior Brother Chen as his exclusive playthings — I didn't believe it at first…"
"So it really is true! It really is! They've… they've actually slept in Senior Brother Chen's bed!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a lucky life!"
The group immediately broke into hushed whispers, and the looks they directed at Xiaochunhua changed entirely — filled with an indescribable tangle of complex emotions.
The Senior Brother Chen they were gossiping about — Chen Yang — had long since become a celebrated figure of legend in the outer laborer quarters of the Verdant Wood Sect.
From an obscure laborer in the medicine garden, he had performed miracle after miracle in the advancement trials, boldly defeating inner disciple elite Li Yan, and leaping in a single bound to become an inner disciple!
His story was the stuff of legend, and had quietly become the focus of admiration and gossip for countless disciples at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Xiaochunhua listened to their chatter and basked in those looks of extreme envy. Her vanity was enormously satisfied, and she couldn't help feeling a little smug, letting out a few vague "mm-hmm" sounds.
She neither confirmed nor denied anything.
To everyone watching, that attitude looked very much like tacit acknowledgment.
After enjoying the sensation of being the center of everyone's attention for quite a while, Xiaochunhua finally came to her senses and looked toward the leader, Yan Xi, asking:
"Right — Yan Xi, you've come all this way with such a big group, disturbing me and Sister Liu's… er… and Senior Brother Chen's peaceful threesome cultivation session. What exactly do you want?"
Yan Xi immediately stepped forward, her smile nearly overflowing off her face, her tone as fawning as it could possibly be:
"Sister Chunhua, here's the thing… we… we have a small matter and would like to request an audience with Senior Brother Chen. Would you please… put in a word for us? Let us in to speak with him?"