A small flying boat floated in her hand.
Yao Ranran stared at the intricate carvings of twin blue lotuses at each end of the vessel. With her other hand, she placed the teleportation staff onto the boat's control console.
Ding dang! Ding dang!
The lotus ornaments swayed in unison, striking against the boat's hull and producing a sound both crisp and soothing.
"I want to go to Eastern Wilderness, to the Gu Ling Mountain," Yao Ranran whispered softly, her lips barely moving.
Ding dang, ding dang!
The staff seemed to understand her intent. Spiritual light flashed, the lotuses rattled wildly, and in an instant the world around her blurred into illusions.
Within a few breaths, the scenery shifted, and she found herself staring into a vast starry night.
"Is this… Gu Ling Mountain of Eastern Wilderness?"
Still dizzy from the teleportation, Yao Ranran glanced about, her eyes uncertain. Only when she spotted a faint glow atop a distant peak did she realize she had truly returned.
"The flying boat combined with the teleportation staff really is amazing!"
Excited, Yao Ranran recalled the boat, drawing the staff back into her palm. The mysterious array marks on it faded in an instant.
"Let's see how many spirit stones this teleportation cost me…"
Her eyes widened.
"All sixty thousand stones are gone? Then how am I supposed to return?"
Hugging the boat tightly, she nearly wept. She hadn't expected it to burn through resources at such a terrifying rate.
On the summit of Lone Star Peak.
Lu Ziqian pushed open the wooden door with his frail body. He wore a simple blue robe patched in a few places, the humble cloth no shield against the cold.
The door creaked, and wind and snow rushed in like an invading tide.
A flicker of black light shot from his fingertips, swiftly spreading into an invisible shield that blocked the storm outside. He drew back his hand and closed the door with composed grace.
Lifting his gaze to the sky, he sighed. "Winter has come so soon. Fairy Ranran has been gone for months… I wonder when she will return."
Bracing against the blizzard, he walked steadily forward. His back was straight, his stride calm, and a faint black mist coiled about his body, warding off the raging winds as if they were nothing.
Meanwhile, Yao Ranran was staring miserably at the ashes of her spirit stones, drained of energy and whisked away by the gale.
"My spirit stones! Why did they all vanish like this?"
Her cry reached the ears of Lu Ziqian. His pale ears twitched. The leg he had just raised froze mid-step. "That voice…"
"Looks like I'll need to find another way to earn more stones."
The familiar female voice came again, carried clearly by the wind.
Lu Ziqian's eyes widened. Suddenly he dashed forward, racing to the cliff's edge. There, standing in the glow of the moonlight, was a delicate figure.
"It's Ranran… Fairy Ranran!"
On the opposite side, Yao Ranran muttered to herself, stowing away the staff and boat. "Forget it. I'll rest here for the night. Tomorrow, Xiang Yin and the others should see the note I left behind. I only meant to test the teleportation… who knew I'd be stranded here instead?"
Then her gaze landed on the figure across from her. "So cold, yet he's still wearing thin summer robes. Could it be he truly kept his word, never leaving the mountain to buy winter clothing?"
"Fairy Ranran! It's Fairy Ranran, she's returned!" Lu Ziqian rubbed his eyes and wiped away tears with his thin sleeve, his smile dazed and radiant.
"As long as Fairy Ranran has come back, nothing else matters. I didn't let her down—I've truly set foot on the Dao!"
Yao Ranran frowned slightly. Around Lu Ziqian's figure, faint black mist curled. "Is it just too dark… or is something covering him?"
"Fairy Ranran! Fairy Ranran! Disciple has stepped onto the path of cultivation!" Lu Ziqian waved frantically, shouting with joy.
But Yao Ranran shouted back louder, her voice carrying across the valley. "Go back and rest! Tomorrow I'll head down the mountain to get you proper winter clothes!"
His ecstasy shifted into something gentler—deep emotion. Fairy Ranran had returned… just to see to his winter robes?
"Disciple understands!" His voice trembled with feeling, his cheeks flushed red with excitement.
Yao Ranran nodded with satisfaction.
Wait. What had he just shouted earlier?
-
Night fell, dark as ink.
Unable to contain his joy, Lu Ziqian summoned a brush and let it dance across paper, recording every detail of tonight's reunion.
When he finished, black energy flickered on his fingertips. He folded the sheet and cast it through the crack of his door. Carried by unseen force, it flew all the way to the mountain's base, landing upon the snow without getting soaked or buried.
Only then did he lie down and drift into peaceful sleep.
The next morning.
Yao Ranran woke with a start, the sting of losing sixty thousand spirit stones pressing heavy on her heart. She was utterly penniless now.
"I need to refine a batch of artifacts as soon as possible. I can't go without spirit stones."
Her lips curved upward. "By now, I can craft tenth-tier artifacts. With war about to break out across Eastern Wilderness, weapons and treasures will be in high demand. Selling them should be the fastest way to make a fortune."
After all, what battle is fought without proper armaments?
Perhaps this was her chance to strike it rich.
She straightened her dress and stepped outside.
Avoiding Lone Star Peak, guilt pricked at her when she remembered that Lu Ziqian had gone without new clothes all because of her words. She didn't want to face him just yet.
It wasn't long before she descended the mountain and made straight for Bishui Village.
Sect Master Zhou held control over the Hundred Treasures Pavilion there. Whether buying materials or selling artifacts, it was the best place to go.
But just as she entered the seemingly tranquil Bishui Village, a great cheer erupted.
"Welcome back, Fairy Ranran to Guiling Mountain!"
Villagers leapt out from hidden corners, faces bright with joy.
Yao Ranran blinked in surprise. "How did you all know I'd returned?"
Jiang Shengxiang tugged at his beard and stepped forward from the crowd. "It was Mister Lu who sent word to us!"
"Fairy Ranran, Grandma missed you so much!" Grandma Zhang, leaning on her cane, hobbled toward her in surprising speed.
Yao Ranran quickly hurried forward to meet her. "Grandma Zhang, it's still so early. Why didn't you all rest a little longer?"
She noticed the villagers' heavy coats, layered thick with snow. Her heart warmed.
They must have been waiting here for quite a while.
"Sleep? How could I sleep, knowing Fairy Ranran has returned?" Grandma Zhang gazed at her like she was a rare treasure, her eyes tender and searching.
Feeling the heat of their affection, Yao Ranran couldn't bear for them to keep standing in the storm. "Grandma Zhang, let's head inside and talk."
Meanwhile.
"Fairy is gone?" Nie Rong turned the note over and over, disbelief etched across his face. He simply couldn't accept that Yao Ranran had vanished into thin air.
"Miss Tang, Physician Zhou, did my master say anything to you yesterday?"
He rapped urgently on their doors, his voice tight with worry.