Introduction: How did this person actually grow up?

He Zhuoming had just finished speaking with the utmost seriousness when Lin Qingyun burst into laughter again—he was always smiling, but he rarely laughed out loud, and when he did, it was always because of something she said.

He Zhuoming: "What's so funny?"

Lin Qingyun laughed so hard he had to rub his eyes. "I thought you were going to say you'd cultivate hard and seize your own opportunities—but instead you're going to burn incense diligently, Xiao He?"

"Does burning incense diligently count as effort?" He Zhuoming puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Burning incense definitely counts! If I can burn incense every single day, that's just as much effort as running every day... Why are you still laughing? Is it really that funny?"

Seeing Lin Qingyun still laughing, the long earring dangling from his left ear swaying with his merriment, she grew a little irritated and poked his chest with the wooden sword. "Stop laughing! You're so annoying!"

Lin Qingyun raised both hands in surrender, no longer doubling over with laughter. But his eyes were still slightly curved, and the corners of his lips were still lifted, the pair of dimples at the corners of his mouth growing faintly visible.

Lin Qingyun: "Not laughing, not laughing."

He Zhuoming pouted and pulled the wooden sword back, setting it beside her.

Driven by residual curiosity, her gaze naturally drifted to Lin Qingyun's waist again—from the outside, his sword didn't look like a sword at all. It lacked the sharpness and menace that a truly formidable blade ought to have.

It looked soft, and a cluster of fragrant crabapple blossoms hung from it...

He Zhuoming tilted her head, puzzled. "Qingyun, where's your waist token?"

Lin Qingyun was equally puzzled. "What waist token?"

He Zhuoming pointed at his waist. "That one—the one with your name carved on it and lots of crabapple blossoms! It was hanging at your waist before."

Lin Qingyun reached down and touched the soft sword at his waist, thinking for a long moment before remembering which token she meant.

He answered lazily, utterly unconcerned. "Oh, that... I don't remember where I dropped it."

He Zhuoming: "How can you just toss something like that away?!"

Lin Qingyun: "Are you hungry? Let's roast some fish for dinner."

He Zhuoming's train of thought was instantly derailed. "Sure, sure! But I don't know how to catch fish..."

Lin Qingyun smiled. "I do."

Lin Qingyun borrowed He Zhuoming's wooden sword, took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his trouser legs, and waded into the middle of the shallow stream. Moonlight shimmered together with the water's surface glow, and his reflection rippled in the water.

He Zhuoming stood at the bank, leaning forward to peer into the water. All she could see was waves of light churning; everything looked distorted and warped.

But Lin Qingyun seemed completely unaffected by the shifting light. He lowered his gaze, stared at the water for a moment, then suddenly thrust the wooden sword down with swift precision!

When he raised the sword again, two plump, fresh fish were skewered on it. Lin Qingyun lifted the fish-laden sword and turned back to wave it at He Zhuoming.

He Zhuoming immediately clapped for him, exclaiming, "You actually caught them... Two fish with one strike! Amazing!"

Lin Qingyun smiled warmly. "That's nothing."

Dinner was roasted fish. After eating her fill, He Zhuoming grew drowsy right away—a body too young was always prone to sleepiness, and besides, she'd never been one to stay up late, especially while sitting beside a blazing fire.

She yawned repeatedly and mumbled a sleepy goodnight to Lin Qingyun before starting to slump onto the ground. Lin Qingyun reached out and shifted her shoulder, guiding her head to rest on his lap.

Lin Qingyun lowered his head, gazing down at He Zhuoming. She fell asleep swiftly, as if she'd never possessed a shred of wariness in her life. Her closed lashes rose and fell gently with each breath.

He watched her for a long time, and finally couldn't resist reaching out to brush aside the messy short hair on her forehead and tug at the two crooked braids she'd tied.

Even though Lin Qingyun hadn't used much force, he still found it remarkable that He Zhuoming didn't wake up.

Whenever he found himself marveling at something He Zhuoming did, he inevitably wondered: how on earth did this person grow up?

*

The night passed without a single dream. The next morning, He Zhuoming was shaken awake by Lin Qingyun.

Half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and let him pull her up, mumbling, "What... what are you doing?"

Lin Qingyun patted her cheek a couple of times. "The sun's about to rise. This is the best time for cultivation and breathing exercises."

Her cheeks tingled slightly from the pats, and He Zhuoming finally felt a bit more awake. But she was still drowsy, eyes only half open. "Breathing... what breathing? Natto toast? I really want some baked bread..."

Lin Qingyun simply pushed her shoulders, turning her to face the direction where the sun would rise, and began softly reciting the Qi-guiding incantation in her ear.

Oddly enough, He Zhuoming's memory for reciting texts in class was generally mediocre, but this time, as Lin Qingyun chanted the incantation in her ear, she remembered it all after hearing it just once.

She repeated it after him. Just then, the morning sun rose, filling the world with light, and a clear, righteous energy was drawn in by the incantation, merging into He Zhuoming's body.

Under Lin Qingyun's deliberate guidance, the clear energy flowed through the girl's organs and meridians, and within just a few breaths, it had fully become He Zhuoming's own. Having no experience in cultivation, He Zhuoming only felt her spirits lift considerably, her body growing light and airy. Gazing into the distance, the world appeared much sharper to her eyes.

Lin Qingyun released her shoulders and handed the wooden sword to her. "Try the sword again."

He Zhuoming took the wooden sword and, to her surprise, twirled it into a smooth flourish. It was still just a fancy move, but this time the motion was unexpectedly fluid—she felt like her arm was unusually cooperative today.

He Zhuoming tilted her head to ask Lin Qingyun, "Does this count as getting started?"

Lin Qingyun: "You're still a long way from getting started. Starting today, you'll wake up earlier than the sun every morning and face the sunrise to practice breathing exercises."

He Zhuoming: "Then how long do I have to train before I actually get started?"

Lin Qingyun rubbed his chin, eyes curved in a kindly smile. "Hmm... I don't know."

He Zhuoming: "...You don't know?!"

Lin Qingyun spread his hands. "Right, I don't know. I never went through it."

He Zhuoming: "But, but aren't you..."

Lin Qingyun: "I was born at the peak of innate perfection. I was already a cultivator the moment I was born, so I never experienced guiding Qi into my body."

He Zhuoming felt a little discouraged at that, but she accepted it easily enough—after all, he was the male lead! It made sense for the male lead to have cheats. Without cheats, how could he have slain so many Corrupted Deities?

The male lead and an extra would never start from the same starting line.

They continued on their way, and this time He Zhuoming didn't ride a horse.

After the morning's Qi-guiding session, she felt extraordinarily nimble, and hiking through the mountain paths was no trouble at all. More importantly, He Zhuoming didn't want her rear end to suffer again.

She'd rather walk.

Lin Qingyun glanced at the scorching sun and took off the bamboo-woven hat from the blue roan horse's head, handing it to He Zhuoming. "Wear this. Don't get heatstroke."

He Zhuoming waved it off. "No need, that's Qing Yang's hat. Give it back to him."

Lin Qingyun: "..."

TL Note:

"Natto toast" (納豆吐司) is a pun on 吐纳, breathing exercises, which sounds similar, so she mishears it.