The green glow of the shrine lingered behind Han Li's eyes even after he'd climbed out of the shaft and left the underground air behind.
The cold night pressed in on the forest. His breath fogged the air in front of him, and the old priest's lantern bobbed a few steps ahead like a firefly that had learned the art of walking.
Han Li wasn't listening to the forest anymore. He was listening to the pulse of the new Root Sense, the way it tugged faintly at his awareness, like a fishing line hooked deep in his chest.
Two points of warmth stood out in his mind's eye — Mianhua, steady and familiar in her home, and that other presence… sharper, livelier, a little wild. The System had already shown him the compatibility reading: 87%. That wasn't just good — it was practically a guarantee.
[Side Objective Available: Investigate Yin-rich presence — Reward: Unknown.]
The System's crisp voice was temptation wrapped in silk. He ignored it for now, focusing on the trail back.
"You felt it," the priest said without turning around.
Han Li's mouth curved. "Felt what?"
"That tug in your belly. The Root is old magic, older than the sects, older than the fractured kingdoms. It feeds on bonds between man and woman — especially when both burn bright." The priest's voice was a rasp of memory. "But for every gift it gives, it takes twice as much if you stumble."
Han Li thought of the statue, of the Root God's calm smile surrounded by a tide of women. "Then I suppose I'd better learn to walk without tripping."
The priest grunted. "You'll need more than walking. You'll need to run, climb, and leap — and never look back."
By the time they reached the edge of the village, the first frost was settling on the rooftops. The priest peeled off toward his own hut, leaving Han Li alone in the moonlit lane.
The other presence still flickered at the edge of his awareness. Closer now.
No. Not tonight. He'd just stepped into deeper waters; best not to swim for the far shore on the same breath.
He went home, banked the fire, and let sleep claim him.
He woke before dawn, mind already on the shrine. Not the statue itself — but the way his new sense had opened like an extra limb.
Every woman he passed on his early rounds left a faint trace in his awareness. The baker's wife, two houses over — a comfortable warmth, low yin. The washerwoman by the well — sharper, tinged with a tired ache in her energy.
And then — the other one.
It flared the moment he stepped onto the main lane, a vivid bloom in his mind, as if the air itself sweetened.
[Target Detected: Yin-rich potential partner. Compatibility: 87%. Status: Awake. Emotional State: Irritated.]
Han Li smirked. Irritated, huh?
The presence moved — fast — toward the headman's compound. He followed at an easy pace, playing the part of a man just out for a stroll.
She appeared at the gate like a splash of spring in the winter chill.
Lanfen.
He recognized her instantly — not because they'd met, but because no man in the village could fail to notice her. The headman's only daughter, rumored to be as willful as she was beautiful. Black hair like a silken curtain, lips with a natural curve that made them look perpetually on the edge of a smirk, and eyes sharp enough to cut rope.
She caught him looking.
"You're the farmer who killed the bandit," she said, tone somewhere between curiosity and challenge.
"Depends who's asking," Han Li replied, keeping his smile slow and unhurried.
"Lanfen," she said. "And I'm asking because I don't believe it."
"That I'm a farmer?"
"That you're dangerous."
Han Li stepped closer, just enough to let her see the weight in his gaze. "Maybe you haven't looked closely enough."
For a fraction of a second, her expression faltered — just enough for the System to chime.
[Emotional Resonance +1]
The tug of her presence was intoxicating. Up close, her yin energy was bright and untempered, like a fire left to burn without a hearth. He understood now why the Root God had been carved with a dozen women around him. This wasn't just attraction — it was fuel.
Lanfen tilted her head, studying him. "If you're dangerous, then prove it. Come find me after sunset. I want to see what the stories are worth."
She brushed past him toward the inner courtyard, the faint scent of plum blossoms trailing in her wake.
Han Li let her go, watching the curve of her stride.
[Side Quest Updated: Win Lanfen's interest — Progress: 12%. Reward revealed: +20% cultivation speed for 1 month.]
Now that was a carrot worth chasing.
He spent the day preparing — not in the obvious sense, but by training with the new stance, letting his qi circulate while his body worked the fields. Every few minutes, the Root Sense would flare with Lanfen's presence somewhere in the compound, a constant hum at the edge of his focus.
When dusk fell, the village lit up with warm orange lamps. Han Li washed, dressed in a clean tunic, and walked toward the headman's compound. The guard at the gate was gone — probably dismissed for the night.
She was waiting by the well.
"Thought you'd chicken out," she said.
"Not my style."
She studied him again, and this time the smirk was genuine. "Then follow me."
She led him away from the main lane, toward the old orchard behind the compound. The air was colder here, the moonlight silver on the bare branches.
Lanfen stopped, turned, and in one smooth motion stepped inside his space. Her hand brushed his chest — not testing his muscles, but the qi that pulsed there.
"You feel strange," she murmured. "Not like the village boys."
Han Li caught her wrist gently but firmly. "And you feel… dangerous."
Her eyes lit at the word, and the System pulsed like a drum.
[Compatibility Synergy Detected: Emotional Heat rising.]
They stood like that for a long breath, the cold air forgotten. She didn't move away, and neither did he.
Finally she said, "If you're going to prove the stories true, you'd better be worth telling."
It wasn't an invitation — it was a gauntlet.
Han Li stepped in, closing the last inch between them. "You'll be the judge."
The kiss was sharp, hot against the winter air. Energy flooded into him, yin-rich and untamed, and the System's chimes became a chorus.
[Dual Cultivation Micro-Burst: Meridian Clearance +3%.]
[Skill Growth: Emotional Resonance Level 3 Achieved.]
When she finally pulled back, her eyes searched his as if weighing him on invisible scales. Then she smiled — a real one this time.
"Not bad… for a farmer."
She turned and walked away, hips swaying in deliberate rhythm. "Maybe I'll let you try again."
Han Li stood in the orchard until the sound of her steps faded. His breath steamed in the cold, his qi flowed hotter, and the Root Sense purred with satisfaction.
Back in his hut, the System pinged again.
[Side Quest Progress: 48%. Lanfen's interest secured. Warning: Emotional entanglement risk rising.]
Han Li ignored the warning. The priest had said the Root's road was both pleasure and peril. So be it.
If hunters were coming, he'd meet them with sharper tools, deeper roots… and more than one flower in his garden.
And tonight, the seeds had been planted.