Lianxi mastered the new healing technique quickly and wasted no time putting it to use. With her current mental strength, however, she could only practice it for two hours a day. The rest of her time went to physical training, cultivation and her studies of the arts, as always.
Her recent trials had sharpened her skills so much that, just a few weeks later, Master Gao began allowing her to roam the Balzamia Forest on her own, on the condition that she steered well clear of its many danger zones.
On this day, Lianxi set out to practice the sword skills she had recently learned by hunting low-level demonic beasts. Before long, however, shadows began flitting across the once-clear sky as clouds steadily gathered overhead.
To most people, this would have seemed perfectly ordinary. But Lianxi stopped at once and scanned her surroundings warily. If her knowledge served her right, a violent storm would soon descend upon these woods.
Her suspicion was confirmed moments later when she heard demonic beasts scampering away in every direction. With their acute instincts, those creatures could always sense when danger was near.
As she hurried back toward the house, the sounds of a fight reached her from up ahead. It was clearly a human, and Lianxi found herself facing a dilemma.
Master Gao had strictly forbidden her from associating with any cultivators who wandered into the Balzamia Forest. But taking another route would mean a long detour, and she would never reach home before the storm hit.
Lianxi weighed the matter carefully. Master had said not to associate with them. He had never said anything about walking past them.
Satisfied with this reasoning, she crept toward the clearing, where the sound of metal striking flesh rang out again and again.
She nearly gasped aloud at the sight before her.
A boy who looked only a couple of years older than her stood alone against a dozen Fenrir Wolves.
Demonic beasts were ranked by strength from Tier 1 to Tier 10. Fenrir Wolves were Tier 4. At the second level of Qi Refining, Lianxi could only handle Tier 1 beasts, which was why the areas she could explore were so limited. A single Fenrir Wolf would have killed her instantly.
And yet this boy was holding off a dozen of them.
The wolves shouldn't have been anywhere near this path. The approaching storm must have driven them from their den. Fortunately, this boy happened to be here to deal with them in her place.
Judging by his combat prowess, he had to be at least in the Core Formation stage. The cultivation stages ran from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Golden Core, Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing. Legends spoke of stages beyond, but no one on the continent had ever reached them, and even Spirit Severing masters could be counted on one hand. For someone so young to reach Core Formation was astonishing.
Lianxi sighed wistfully. The world truly was full of extraordinary cultivators, and she was a weakling beside them. The familiar hunger for strength gnawed at her again as she watched his graceful sword form in awe.
As much as she wanted to watch until the end, time was pressing. She spotted an opening at the edge of the clearing, blocked by only two wolves. She was no match for them in strength, but she had studied their weaknesses thoroughly. She also happened to carry Ghost Flower poison, which was said to be fatal to their kind.
Reaching into her qiankun bag¹, she drew out several needles and coated their tips with the poison. She was about to strike the two wolves in her way when she saw the boy was in trouble.
Three wolves had lunged at him at once. He blocked two, but the third went straight for his throat, jaws stretched wide.
Before she even realized what she was doing, her needles were already flying.
Her sharpened mental power gave her extraordinary precision, and every needle struck exactly where she aimed. All three wolves dropped lifelessly to the ground.
The boy turned toward her in surprise. More wolves seized on his distraction and pounced.
"Be careful!" she shouted, loosing another volley. They fell just like the others.
The boy quickly regained his rhythm. With Lianxi's help, the last of the wolves were dispatched within minutes.
When it was over, he walked toward her, a soft smile on his lips. "Thank you for saving me just now."
Up close, Lianxi studied him with great interest. His long jet-black hair was tied neatly into a ponytail. His dark grey eyes were calm and deep, with a faint glint of mischief. He stood with remarkable poise, his deep blue silk robe fluttering in the wind.
Excellent bone structure, she concluded. Well-proportioned limbs, strong meridians, steady breathing even after a long fight. Master would say he has a superb foundation for sword cultivation.
Recalling a line from The Ten Courtesies of the Refined Gentlewoman, one of the books Master Gao had made her study, she pressed her palms together and bowed with perfect form. "This humble one accepts your gratitude. It was a trifling matter, unworthy of mention."
The boy blinked. The phrase was flawless, but it was the sort of thing an elderly court official might say, not a little girl covered in forest dust.
"Also," Lianxi added seriously, "I didn't really save you. I needed to use this path, and you were in the way. So we helped each other. Now please excuse me."
She had deliberately made her tone dismissive. There could be no further entanglement.
She set off toward home but stopped when she realized the boy was still standing there, watching her.
"You should go somewhere safe before the storm comes," she told him.
He frowned and glanced up at the sky, which was still partly clear. "Storm? The weather seems fine."
Lianxi stared at him in genuine bewilderment. "You don't know this forest well at all, do you? The signs are very obvious. You should leave quickly."
"I see…" A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Thank you for the warning."
She beamed. "You're welcome. Safe travels."
"Wait!"
She turned back.
The boy glanced away, looking a little embarrassed. "May I know your name?"
This was troubling. Saving him could be excused, since that was merely passing through. But exchanging names was definitely associating.
Then she remembered that at least her face wasn't a problem. The small ring on her pinky finger concealed her true appearance, dulling her skin to a light tan and turning her violet eyes an ordinary dark brown. No one would recognize her later.
Her name, however, was another matter entirely.
She consulted her memory. Chapter Four of The Ten Courtesies was very clear on this point.
"I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "A proper young lady should never reveal her name to a strange man. And you're a strange man."
The boy's mouth fell slightly open. "…I'm strange?"
"Yes." She nodded with complete sincerity. "I don't know you at all."
For a moment he seemed to be struggling with something. Then he coughed into his fist, and she could have sworn his shoulders were shaking.
"Then I'll introduce myself," he said once he'd recovered. "That way I won't be a stranger anymore. My name is—"
"No, please don't!" Lianxi hurriedly raised both hands. "If I don't know your name, then we aren't associating."
He stared at her. "…Associating?"
"It's a rule," she explained.
"Whose rule?"
"That's a secret."
He opened his mouth, closed it again, and seemed to give up. "Then… I just wanted to know the name of my savior. But if it's inconvenient, it's fine."
Only now did Lianxi notice that his face had grown steadily paler as they talked. She had assumed it was ordinary awkwardness, which her books said boys often suffered from. But he was sweating heavily too.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm fine," he muttered. His words were slurred, and he swayed on his feet.
Then she spotted a scrape on his arm, and all thoughts of etiquette vanished. She rushed to his side and took his arm to examine it.
"How did you get this?"
"A carnivorous plant scratched me earlier," he said with difficulty. "It's nothing serious—"
"It's poisoned!" Lianxi exclaimed. "And it looks extremely lethal. Tell me exactly what the plant looked like."
She took his pulse while he described it, and her alarm grew. The poison was complex and had already spread through his entire body. If it wasn't purged soon, he would die. She could cure it, but it would take time, and the storm was nearly upon them. Thick black clouds now smothered the sky, and the wind had begun to howl through the branches.
There was no time to hesitate. She pulled a pill from her bag. "Swallow this. It'll stop the poison from spreading for now."
He obeyed. After a moment, some color returned to his face. "Thank you. I feel much better already. I'll remember this kindness."
Then he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"My companions are waiting near the ancient tree in the eastern part of the forest."
"You'll never make it that far like this, especially not in a storm." Lianxi grabbed his hand and began tugging him along. "Don't worry. I know medicine. I'll cure you. Come with me."
"Then I'll have to trouble this junior sister," he said, sounding oddly pleased.
Lianxi frowned and looked back at him. "I'm not your junior sister."
"It's just a polite way of—"
"We aren't from the same sect," she said patiently, as though explaining something obvious to a younger child. "And we don't share the same master. So I can't be your junior sister. That would be incorrect."
The boy looked at her for a long moment. Then, for the first time, he laughed openly, a bright, startled sound, as if he hadn't laughed like that in a long while.
Lianxi had no idea what was funny. Deciding that the poison might be affecting his mind, she tightened her grip on his hand and walked faster.
The ideal choice would have been to bring him home. But Master Gao had made her promise never, under any circumstances, to bring anyone near their dwelling. She had never understood the reason, and he had never explained. It was almost as if he were hiding from some powerful enemy.
She was certain this boy meant them no harm. Still, a promise to Master was a promise to Master.
So instead, she led him to a nearby cave, where they could shelter from the worst of the storm.