Wanxi Rebirth - Chapter 25

Qin Suoliu “returned alone” to the Qin residence and went straight to the room previously arranged for Yue Tingxi’s secluded training, passing through the isolating barrier.

“You rest here. I’ll go deliver some fruit to my little sister,” Qin Suoliu said, then quickly left.

“Also, unlock my secluded state while you’re at it,” Yue Tingxi said as she sat cross-legged on her white fox-fur cushion, watching her leave, continuing to think about ways to train their mutual tacit understanding.

According to what she had seen in the books and the Human Realm’s rulebook, the training of tacit understanding could happen almost anywhere—clothes, food, daily routines could all be arranged.

For example, guessing the color of clothing the other prefers or wants to wear that day, predicting which food they would pick first and how much, and in terms of “living,” anticipating their daily habits.

It could also involve playing board games or sparring to understand the other’s thinking and fighting style. So-called “tacit understanding” is built on thorough knowledge of each other.

On the way back to the Qin residence, Yue Tingxi realized that if her partner were someone like Chan Ying or Qing Yushan, this tacit understanding training wouldn’t even be necessary.

After all, she had known them for many years; she already understood them deeply and could roughly guess their thoughts.

But this life was the first time she truly got to know Miss Qin. They had spent too little time together, experienced too few things; she couldn’t tell whether Qin Suoliu’s feelings toward her were genuine or an expertly executed act.

Qin Suoliu returned quickly. Seeing Yue Tingxi sitting on the carpet, she summoned a cushion, placed it down, and sat facing her.

“After thinking it over, it’s better for you, Tingxi, to decide the training method,” she said. “This way, there’s a proper limit and nothing is offensive.”

Yue Tingxi was momentarily taken aback, then thought for a while and cautiously suggested, “How about starting with sparring? After all, the goal is to deal with Lan Gou—it can also be martial arts practice.”

She hadn’t fought in five years; it was about time to stretch her muscles so she wouldn’t lag behind in a real fight.

“Good. Anything else?” Qin Suoliu agreed without hesitation.

Sparring was good. If Yue Tingxi still harbored resentment, she could vent a little, even injure her, and it would be fine.

Yue Tingxi couldn’t think of anything else suitable, shook her head, and added, “But we can’t fight indoors. If it rains or we’re a bit tired like today, we could play a board game instead. Do you have a chessboard? I… know a little about xiangqi.”

In fact, she originally didn’t know xiangqi—it had been something she learned twenty years ago to entertain a little girl…

“I do, but it was stored in the warehouse some years ago. I’ll get it for you shortly,” Qin Suoliu nodded.

The plan was set, and the two sat in silence for a moment.

“I thought of a method, though I don’t know if you’d object, Tingxi,” Qin Suoliu soon said.

“Tell me,” Yue Tingxi replied.

“The plan now is for you to act as bait in the secret realm while I find the right moment to restrain Lan Chaoyao,” Qin Suoliu explained. “If you’re familiar with my spiritual energy, I could set a trap in advance and disguise it with multiple layers. You’d lure him in, he’d get caught, and you’d escape unharmed.”

Yue Tingxi listened seriously and thought it could work.

But then the question arose—how could she get familiar with Miss Qin’s spiritual energy?

Spiritual energy, like scent, has subtle differences beyond elemental attributes.

Yue Tingxi only knew two ways: one, direct combat to perceive the opponent’s energy type and usage; two, when training young demons, guiding her spiritual energy into their bodies so their own energy spreads through their meridians.

This process familiarizes the trainer with the young demon’s energy and meridian layout, determining the best cultivation method for maximum efficiency.

Seeing her confused, Qin Suoliu offered, “If you’re willing, you could transfer your energy into my meridians.”

Yue Tingxi: …

Before today, she would have immediately said, “No way!”

But now, knowing the relationship between A Zi and Miss Qin, and intending to monitor her, she found it hard to refuse.

Still, her reply came out awkwardly: “Do others usually ask you this?”

“Of course not,” Qin Suoliu immediately denied. “Meridians and spiritual energy are a cultivator’s foundation. I wouldn’t reveal this to anyone I don’t trust.”

Yue Tingxi breathed a silent sigh of relief, then said seriously, “Honestly, I’ve only guided young demons before, almost never humans. And I noticed your drying of the cave using fire energy—not refined spiritual fire—so I suppose your elemental root is fire?”

Seeing Qin Suoliu nod, she warned, “I’m water-rooted. My energy can hold wood, but it leans toward water. Entering your body might feel uncomfortable.”

She recalled how “A Zi” had cried out in pain when water energy was forcibly transferred.

“The pain is fine. I’ll treat it as meridian training,” Qin Suoliu said.

Having gone through the demon realm, she even broke and rebuilt her meridians to accommodate demon energy. Compared to that, Yue Tingxi’s water energy was like a gentle rain.

At this point, Yue Tingxi had no reason to argue; if it hurt, they could stop.

In Qingxu Sect

Lan Fengqing had noticed in recent days that her “brother” seemed unusually quiet.

From the day he brought someone back from the Linglang Pavilion, she noticed his injuries, which he even concealed with disguises.

But she knew these were only superficial. With his cultivation and the sect’s special spiritual medicine, he would recover in a day or two.

She guessed that once healed, he would go out again to Linglang Pavilion to finish what was left unfinished.

Not wanting him to cause trouble for Miss Qin, she secretly placed a gray moth outside his quarters to monitor him.

Yet for days he remained inside; none of her monitoring devices detected any movement.

“What is he waiting for?” Lan Fengqing wondered.

Suddenly, her fingers tingled. A gray moth appeared, holding her finger and transmitting the image of “brother” leaving the quarters.

During these days of seclusion, Lan Chaoyao had a clear understanding of the world’s power distribution and rules.

Thus, he still planned to complete his mission by causing a demonic disaster.

Inserting a “anchor point” in a small world could be done in many ways. Normally, with countless tools, one would follow the optimal story path.

But now, the world’s corrective forces had cleared his tools, so he had to rely on mass slaughter or disasters to generate casualties and resentment to anchor the world.

He rarely used this method, as it destabilized the world and reduced the system’s energy recovery, affecting rewards.

So he was unsure of the minimum threshold for “mass killing,” while the world’s sects and demonic mountains maintained a peaceful, independent state, constrained by the “millennia-long covenant between the two races.” A single mistake could attract widespread attention.

He could hardly incite factions to test limits, so he considered breaking the demon realm’s seal for maximum expected casualties.

Previously, he recruited the medium He Shen for this reason—He Shen had demon tokens sealed in him, and if he agreed to bond with a demon, he could assist in tearing the seal.

Now, He Shen was taken by Qin Suoliu, losing his biggest advantage. Lan Chaoyao had to create the token himself, then contact demons.

Luckily, when he met He Shen, he had the system scan him, backing up the demon token data. Only crafting materials and a skilled artisan were needed now.

He instructed the system to print schematics readable by the world’s artisans, which self-destructed after viewing. Aside from soul-searching, no one could extract it.

He planned to pay the artisan in spiritual stones, not asking about the artifact, ensuring secrecy. If necessary, he could use the silent spell from a previous world.

“Collect materials first,” he said upon leaving, “reduce suspicion, then forge with the hidden artisan.”

Just then, the teleportation array at the steps lit up—Lan Fengqing had arrived, as expected.

When Qin Suoliu came to terminate the engagement, the two women had surely exchanged information. Perhaps Qin Suoliu even shared part of the world’s corrective power with Lan Fengqing, which explained why he hadn’t detected surveillance devices.

Fortunately, the original younger sister was weak and would leave for Baiyao Valley for medicinal care during the rainy season, at least ten days away.

Lan Chaoyao stepped down to meet her, unconsciously behaving gently.

“I’ll visit Yuqiong Sect, return in five days,” he said.

Even for a few days out, he automatically reported, almost amusingly.

Lan Fengqing asked carefully about a senior elder from Yuqiong Sect, trying to extract information. He replied vaguely, hiding his true purpose.

She requested a rare herb for her summer survival. Lan Chaoyao’s reply, “I will bring it for you,” slipped out accidentally, though he had no memory or knowledge of the place—a surprising kindness.

After sending off “brother,” Lan Fengqing’s expression darkened.

“Lan Chaoyao went to Yuqiong Sect just to maintain face,” Yue Tingxi heard later while arranging the jade chess pieces.

“Should we go too?” she asked. “If I were the possessor, I wouldn’t waste time on trivial matters.”

“Yuqiong Sect is not like the chaotic lower levels or ghost markets. The sect leader and Lan Chaoyao have connections; there’s no need to interfere,” Qin Suoliu explained.

“But Lan Fengqing tricked him into harvesting herbs in the Ice Glacier Valley. That should buy us some practice time.”

The xiangqi game began. To prevent Yue Tingxi from recognizing the old board, the household had crafted a complete jade chess set for training, allowing them to quickly follow each other’s strategies.

Yue Tingxi changed the topic, “Since we’re transferring spiritual energy, have you eaten?”

Elementally opposing spiritual energy transfer would cause pain. She suspected Miss Qin might vomit from the sensation.

“Of course,” Qin Suoliu nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not a wooden doll. If it’s too painful, I’ll stop.”

So they went to the Guanyu Small Pavilion for dinner.

The dinner was light and vegetarian; the richest taste was a bowl of brown sugar raisin steamed curd.

Afterwards, Qin Suoliu fetched a pain-relieving pill. Yue Tingxi used the opportunity to probe a jade ring gifted by Qing Yushan, discovering a white jade plate inside.

It was a gift she gave Qing Yushan ten years ago, now returned—perfect for her current purpose.

She had it specially made to create a “Mustard Seed Illusion” for instructing young demons or sparring in the spirit realm, limiting four spiritual essences. It would be enough for her and Miss Qin.

This allowed Yue Tingxi to spar at full strength without exposing her demon form—a huge advantage against Lan Chaoyao in the upcoming secret realm.

When Qin Suoliu returned, she noticed Yue Tingxi smiling.

“Why so happy?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just found a perfect place to spar at full strength,” Yue Tingxi said. “Do you want to see it first or start with the energy transfer?”

“I’m fine with either,” Qin Suoliu replied.

Yue Tingxi decided to give her one more evening to prepare mentally.

“Then let’s transfer energy,” she said, extending her hand.

Qin Suoliu took the pill bottle, placed it nearby, rolled up her sleeve, and let Yue Tingxi touch her pulse points.

Yue Tingxi started carefully from the arms, not the back, considering Miss Qin might worry about her tolerance.

The icy energy flowed through the meridians; at the first moment, pain shot up her wrist.

She felt Yue Tingxi carefully probing with water energy, ready to withdraw if it hurt.

Strangely, the pain was not unpleasant—it was a rare pleasure.

She recalled the first time icy water energy entered her meridians as a child, crying and biting Yue Tingxi’s hand.

Even if forced, at least Tingxi now agreed to her request.

She cherished the pain, relaxing and letting the water energy flow to her shoulders.

Yue Tingxi worried briefly but reminded herself this was a way to learn about her opponent. The water energy avoided the heart and heart meridian, making a detour.

By now, she had a clear impression of Miss Qin’s fire energy.

Miss Qin preferred bold, sweeping sword techniques. With dual swords, her moves were nimble yet aggressive, capable of both frontal and stealth attacks.

Her weakness: the family likely forbade stealth in home sword styles.

Yue Tingxi thought of several supporting strategies for these sword techniques, but to test them, they would have to spar in the “Mustard Seed Illusion.”

At this moment, Qin Suoliu said, “Pause.”

Her soul could endure the pain, but this fragile body’s secondary meridians had already been damaged. She had to stop the transfer.

Even though she believed she stopped in time, as the water energy retreated past her heart, she tasted blood in her throat.

She dared not speak, fearing more blood would flow.

She forgot that, before losing her family, she had been a pampered young lady who had never endured such suffering. The energy transfer felt like giving a knife to the enemy to stab her repeatedly.

“Sorry! I thought you could still endure!” Yue Tingxi quickly withdrew her energy and handed her the pill.

She had trusted Qin Suoliu’s words before dinner: “I’m not a wooden doll. I’ll stop if it’s too painful.”

Now, seeing her in such pain, it didn’t look like she had stopped in time at all.

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