The rain came hard, drumming against the thatched roofs and soaking the earth into thick, sucking mud. Most of the villagers had shuttered their doors. Han Li, however, was knee-deep in muck, hunting herbs in the forest like a madman.
Not because he wanted to. But because the stubborn old bastard Yun was coughing up blood again — and apparently, only fresh wild flame-root would ease the fever.
Han Li muttered, wiping water from his brow. "No spiritual pills, no sect healers, no damn umbrellas. Just mud and mortality."
He bent near a moss-covered stump where Mianhua said flame-root might grow. He didn't even know what it looked like, but pretending was better than letting someone die under his watch.
"Han Li!"
He turned at the voice.
Mianhua ran toward him through the trees, soaked, barefoot, and flushed. Her robe clung to her form like second skin, hair drenched and wild from the wind. She was usually so composed, so shy — but now she looked…
Fierce.
"You idiot," she snapped, breathless. "Why didn't you wait? The slope's unstable during rain! You could've—"
The earth answered her before he could.
A low crack, then a roar.
Han Li didn't think. He lunged, grabbing Mianhua around the waist and diving behind a fallen tree just as the mountainside collapsed. Mud, stone, and branches poured down, swallowing the trail they had just stood on.
They hit the ground hard, soaked and shaking. Mianhua landed against him, her chest pressed flush to his, her hands clutching his soaked tunic. Her breath trembled against his neck. She wasn't speaking.
Neither was he.
Because something was happening.
A pulse — not of fear, but of energy — shot through his chest like lightning. Heat coiled deep in his lower dantian. His vision blurred, flashing gold. Her scent — rain, flowers, skin — wrapped around him like incense, dizzying and dangerously warm.
> Heavenly Root Dao System: Activation Triggered.
Emotional resonance threshold surpassed.
Yin affinity detected. Dual path initializing…
Han Li's heart pounded.
"What the hell—?" he whispered.
Mianhua stirred. "Are you… glowing?"
He looked down. Sure enough, light — faint, golden — pulsed under his skin where her body touched his. It wasn't visible in full glow, but enough that anyone would notice. Even a shy herbalist widow.
She stared at him, eyes wide. "Your eyes… they're changing."
> System Booting… Standby.
Compatible cultivation pair detected: Mianhua (Yin Alignment: High).
First bond potential: 13%
"Mianhua," he said, voice low, "I think… I think something awakened."
She shivered, not from cold.
His hands were still around her waist. Their breathing synced without effort. Her thigh brushed his hip as she adjusted, sending a new wave of warmth and golden flickers up his spine.
> Spiritual Circulation: Initiated.
Blocked meridians responding to external Yin stimulus.
His body reacted.
Not just with desire — though that was there, too, dangerously so. But his qi, for the first time since waking in this world, began to stir. To move. To flow.
"I've never felt anything like that," Mianhua said, voice barely above a whisper.
Han Li nodded slowly. "Me neither."
They returned to her hut once the rain slowed. Neither said much. The silence was heavy — not awkward, but charged. Her fingers lingered when she handed him a dry robe. Her eyes flicked to his chest more than once, as if seeing the golden glow even when it wasn't there.
Inside, the fire crackled.
Outside, the forest steamed with rainfall.
Han Li stood by the fire, bare from the waist up, robe drying near the hearth. His muscles ached, but his core felt alive. Not just spiritually — sexually, emotionally, viscerally alive.
> System Online.
Welcome to the Heavenly Root Dao.
Path of Dual Ascension: Available.
Unlock first stage: Initiate cultivation bond through Yin resonance.
"What does it want?" he murmured.
"What?" Mianhua asked softly from behind him.
He turned to face her.
She had changed into a dry robe — simple but snug. Her long hair hung loose down her back, dripping slightly. Her hands were clasped in front of her, eyes on the floor.
"I don't know how to explain this," he said. "But I think… that moment between us, just now—something ancient responded to it. Something tied to cultivation."
She looked up slowly. "You mean like… the Dao?"
Han Li nodded. "Or at least… my path through it."
> Mianhua: Bond compatibility – 14%
Initiate First Resonance?
(Note: Physical intimacy is not strictly required, but emotional vulnerability and spiritual trust are essential.)
That made him pause.
It wasn't about raw lust — not yet. The system didn't need him to conquer women like a brute. It wanted connection. Trust. Resonance.
It wanted him to cultivate through emotion. Through intimacy.
"I trust you," she said suddenly. "I don't know why. I barely know you. But… I trust you, Han Li."
He felt it then — a tug inside his soul, like a tether forming. A breathless kind of gravity.
> Spiritual Link Strengthened.
Yin-Qi Pathways activated (Level 1).
Meridian Blockage reduced by 5%.
He exhaled shakily. "Then maybe this world didn't curse me by putting me in this body."
She stepped forward, her hand brushing his arm. "I don't care who you were before. If you're here now… maybe that's enough."
Another golden pulse flickered beneath his skin.
> First cultivation option unlocked: Touch of the Root (Passive Qi recovery during Yin proximity).
Han Li looked at her — really looked — and knew one thing:
This wasn't just about strength. Or power. Or women.
This was his Dao.
Born not from discipline or tradition — but from feeling. From intimacy.
From living.
-----
That night, he lay alone again in the hut he once thought of as a prison. But he no longer felt alone.
The system had awakened.
His path had begun.
And tomorrow, he would see just how far the Heavenly Root Dao could take him.