Chapter 176: Chapter 173: The Two Faces of Man
Song Ciwan later received several more instances of emotional feedback from Lady Li.
[Human desires: Joy, happiness, gratitude. Three jin and eight taels. Available for trade.]
[Human desires: Gratitude, yearning, reverence. Two jin and six taels. Available for trade.]
[Human desires: Tranquility, joy, gratitude. One jin and nine taels. Available for trade.]
...
A child’s mind is simple and direct. Lady Li memorized the entire First Layer of the Liezi’s Wind Riding Technique and then taught it, piece by piece, to her companion, the Little Immortal Deer.
She didn’t know that this Little Immortal Deer was merely an illusion conjured by Song Ciwan’s Dream-Entering Technique. She treated it as a friend from the Immortal Realm and taught it Magic.
Lady Li herself only had a partial understanding of this Magic, but when she taught the Little Immortal Deer, she looked the part of a real little teacher, discussing it with the creature.
"Little Deer, Little Deer, repeat the Spell after me. ’He who rides upon the correctness of Heaven and Earth, and drives the changes of the six qi to roam the infinite...’"
She shook her head as she recited, her childish voice chanting word by word. The clear, crisp sound echoed across the sea of clouds. Gradually, the vastness of the heavens and the breadth of the earth seemed to expand before her eyes along with her voice.
At some point, Lady Li suddenly noticed that the sea of clouds beneath her feet seemed to have turned transparent.
She looked down and saw what lay below.
An endless panorama of mountains and rivers unfolded beneath her. The rolling green mountains resembled great dragons rising and falling upon the land, while mighty rivers surged onward, day and night without rest.
Crystal-clear lakes were embedded like jewels within diverse landscapes. Across the boundless terrain, some regions were blanketed in white snow, others were vast yellow deserts, some enjoyed eternal spring, and still others were uniquely serene and secluded.
Some people walked alone on long roads, while others called out to friends in bustling cities. Some were dressed in silks and satins, others in tattered rags and sackcloth...
And all of this was the Mortal World.
Lady Li was once again dumbstruck. Her world had only ever consisted of one courtyard after another, of all shapes and sizes. How could she have ever seen such a sight?
Unconsciously, her recitation of the Spell trailed off. She asked, "Is this the world outside? The outside world is so big?"
The Little Immortal Deer, of course, couldn’t answer her question. It could only respond with a "YIP YIP."
Lady Li muttered to herself again, ’The world outside is so big. I absolutely can’t let them bind my feet! I have to master this Magic! I want to fly... hee hee... I’m going to fly!’
Children don’t hold on to sorrow for long. As she spoke, she forgot her earlier worries and began to laugh with delight.
Liezi’s Wind Riding Technique was a truly wondrous form of Magic. It wasn’t just a Flying Technique; it was also a Cultivation Method for accumulating True Qi.
However, compared to most orthodox Cultivation Techniques, it was somewhat weak in its ability to accumulate True Qi and break through realms.
Song Ciwan had no intention of casually passing on her Main Cultivation Method, the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting. Since she had no other orthodox Cultivation Techniques to offer, she temporarily taught Lady Li the Liezi’s Wind Riding Technique to open her Spiritual Acupoints for Cultivation.
Little Lady Li couldn’t feel it, but Song Ciwan could clearly see that after her Enlightenment, whenever she recited Liezi’s Wind Riding Technique, a faint trace of Vitality would gather from the surroundings and enter her small body.
This was a seed. One day, it would blossom into an infinite future.
Before leaving, Song Ciwan also taught Lady Li the Blazing Flame Technique.
The Blazing Flame Technique was a low-Level technique and easy for a Beginner to learn.
Lady Li’s Spiritual Acupoints were already open, and a wisp of True Qi had entered her body. Aided by Song Ciwan’s Dharma Transmission Skill, she quickly memorized the Blazing Flame Technique and successfully reached the Beginner level.
Song Ciwan then silently withdrew the Dream-Entering Technique. This particular dream entry had required her to use Divine Power to pierce the barrier between the present world and the Otherworld, so the toll on her was actually quite significant.
The moment she withdrew the Magic, she immediately moved aside and began to rapidly replenish her spent True Qi.
Lady Li slept soundly in the crevice of the rockery. In her dreams, she would sometimes recite a few lines of the Liezi’s Wind Riding Technique, and other times call out, "Little Deer, Little Deer, let’s fly together..."
Before long, panicked voices rose from the courtyard. "The Master is back, and the Mistress is still unconscious! The Young Mistress is missing, too! What are we going to do?"
"We have to find the Young Mistress! Quickly!"
The servants called out repeatedly, "Young Mistress, where are you? Young Mistress!"
"Young Mistress, please come out! The Master said we won’t be binding your feet!"
...
Some servants whispered among themselves, "Are they really not going to bind her feet?"
"Hah, who knows? The plan is to trick the Young Mistress out first..."
Suddenly, the group fell into a panic. "The Master! The Master is here!"
A man with a stern expression strode over. He released a Spirit Butterfly from his hand, which danced through the courtyard. In just a moment, it had woven past the dense flowers and trees, flying straight toward the crevice in the rockery.
Lady Li’s father was named Qiu Shan. Following the Spirit Butterfly, he instantly found his way to the edge of the rockery crevice.
He bent down and chuckled. "Heh, so this is where you were hiding, Xiaoni. You’re quite stubborn. It seems you were truly frightened this time."
As he spoke, he lifted Lady Li out of the crevice.
The movement startled Lady Li awake. Her eyes snapped open, and she cried out, "Father!"
"Father!" she shouted in a panic. "Are you here to get me? No! I don’t want my feet bound! I don’t want it! WAAAAH..."
Crying in panic, she flailed her little hands, trying to struggle out of her father’s arms.
Qiu Shan’s brow furrowed slightly. He was about to scold her when suddenly, in her frantic struggle, one of Lady Li’s small fists struck him in the face.
Logically, Qiu Shan was an Innate Martial Artist, while Lady Li was just a small child. Even if she had intentionally struck him with all her might, let alone accidentally, the force would have been no different from a light scratch to him.
Therefore, Qiu Shan had no intention of dodging. He only wanted to properly teach his daughter the virtues of a well-bred lady.
But in that moment of carelessness, in the blink of an eye, a flicker of flame suddenly burst from the center of Lady Li’s little fist.
The flame was tiny, yet it possessed a scorching power. With a POOF, it rode the wind and landed right on Qiu Shan’s face.
Caught completely off guard, Qiu Shan cried out in pain and instantly let go of Lady Li.
Lady Li’s small body was about to hit the ground when a gust of wind suddenly rose from nowhere. She rode the current, flipped over, and landed steadily on her feet.
Qiu Shan was stunned. Lady Li herself was also rather astonished.
She looked at her hands, then at her legs, back and forth, muttering to herself, ’Did I really just see the Fairy Sister? I wasn’t dreaming?’
Ignoring the large blister that had formed on his face, Qiu Shan asked, both shocked and overjoyed, "Lady Li, what did you say? You met an Immortal in your dream?"
Lady Li said in a daze, "There was an Immortal! The Immortal even taught me Magic!"
As she spoke, she gleefully held out her hand, rubbed her fingers together, and another tiny flame sparked to life at her fingertips.
Qiu Shan was stunned again for a moment. Then, with his hands behind his back, he began to pace back and forth.
He frowned in deep thought for a long time. Finally, at a certain moment, he slapped his thigh and burst out laughing. "Excellent! My daughter actually possesses an Immortal Bone! I, Qiu Shan, a mere Martial Artist, have fathered an Immortal Child! Zhang Wulang, oh, Zhang Wulang, you died at the perfect time! When were you ever worthy of my Lady Li?"
