Yao Ranran immediately went into seclusion.
She realized that ever since her cultivation session in the bamboo forest on Yiyu Peak that day, her body had changed. It was as if she had been a cup filled with water, and the liquid had just crossed a hidden line, spilling over into a new level.
Now, even when lifting the pair of black-gold iron hammers that were twice her size, she felt no strain at all.
In the past, she had to bend her back and brace herself, but now she could stand tall and swing with ease. Refining magical tools no longer left her weary.
Looking at the pile of materials before her, she felt as though a mountain of spirit stones was waving at her.
"Work hard, youth!"
Yao Ranran raised the massive hammer high above her head. The broad shadow of the weapon covered her delicate, graceful frame.
Clang, clang, clang!
The sound of hammer striking metal once again rang out across the summit of Gu Ling Mountain.
On a distant peak, Lu Ziqian held a book in his hands. He hurriedly pushed open the wooden door of his hut and stepped out into the wind and snow, gazing toward the opposite mountain.
"I knew Fairy Ranran would return!"
He gripped the book tightly. His face, flushed from both excitement and the biting wind, glowed faintly red.
"Ah, I almost forgot the technique written in this manual!"
Snapping back from his excitement, he muttered an incantation. A thin haze of black mist rose from his lips, wrapping him in a faint shield.
Relief washed over him. The raging wind and snow no longer touched his body, as though they had struck an invisible wall and were forced to flow elsewhere.
He did not notice that the moment the shield spread around him, a poisonous serpent slumbering beneath the cliff suddenly opened its cold, vertical pupils. Its scarlet tongue flicked out, and it began to slither out of its den to hunt. But the black mist creeping down from Lu Ziqian's feet reached it first.
The patterned serpent, over two zhang long, twitched once. In an instant, its entire body rotted away as though it had touched a venom far more potent than its own. It never even had the chance to punish the human above. Its body dissolved soundlessly, leaving not even bones behind, only a puddle of thick black water.
Clutching the book to his chest, Lu Ziqian whispered, "Fairy had already planned everything! These manuals she left me, the entire autumn season she allowed me, all of it was so I could comprehend them in peace!
The day she left for Shiyan City… she must have foreseen the Central Continent journey. That's why she prepared these rare techniques for me beforehand!"
Holding the book as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, he murmured, "Doesn't this mean… Fairy never abandoned me?
Perhaps… perhaps Fairy even intends to accept me as her disciple…"
His voice grew faint. "Have I already passed Fairy's test?"
The black mist thickened around him. The whites of his eyes grew dimmer and dimmer.
Meanwhile, Xiao Rong yawned lazily. Hearing the familiar hammering echoing through the mountains, he toddled outside.
"Huh? Did I see that right?"
Rubbing his eyes with his tiny hands, he stared at the opposite peak. His expression froze, and he nearly shouted.
"B-big sister! Something's wrong! There's an evil presence, an evil presence haunting Lone Star Peak!"
He bolted toward Yao Ranran's room, pounding at the door with frantic cries. But no matter how he tried, the door would not open.
Just when he was on the verge of wetting himself in fear, the door swung open, and Xiao Rong tumbled inside head over heels.
Yao Ranran blinked in puzzlement. "Were you kneeling outside my door to pay respects?"
"Bah, bah, bah! I, Rong-yé, would never kneel!" he shot back, scrambling to his feet.
"Then why did you perform such a grand salute? Is it a festival?"
Finally steady on his short legs, Xiao Rong blurted in alarm, "Big sister, there's an evil presence on Lone Star Peak! That blockhead Lu is in danger, we have to save him!"
Evil presence?
"Let's go!"
The door shut with a gust of wind. Xiao Rong suddenly felt weightless as he was lifted into a warm embrace, carried swiftly toward the cliff's edge.
"Where is this evil presence you saw?" Yao Ranran frowned slightly. Across the way, Lu Ziqian was waving happily at her.
"There! It was right there, plain as day… but… where did it go?" Xiao Rong rubbed his eyes in confusion.
"Perhaps you saw wrong?"
Within ten li of this place, a grand array protected everything. The Invincible Turtle Shell Millennial Shield was intact. How could an evil presence have entered?
"I really saw it! A huge black mist, right there, where that blockhead is standing! Big sister, you have to believe me, I wasn't mistaken!"
Clenching his little fists, Xiao Rong tried to recall the scene.
Yao Ranran studied his stubborn expression. She waved a hand before his eyes. "Did you just wake from sleep?"
"I-I only napped a little!" Xiao Rong answered, eyes darting guiltily.
Her face softened. She patted his head. "Napping even a little makes you drowsy, doesn't it? I'll take you back to rest. Leave the evil presence to me. I'll find it and kill it."
"Really?" His eyes widened with hope.
"Of course. Don't you trust your big sister's strength?"
"Then I'll go sleep! Big sister, you're the best!" Xiao Rong rubbed his head against the hem of her purple skirt affectionately.
She chuckled and ruffled his hair. Silly child—unable to tell nightmare from reality. There couldn't possibly be an evil presence nearby.
She carried him back to bed.
Once Xiao Rong was fast asleep, Yao Ranran wasted no time. She shut her door again and returned to hammering at the forge.
Deep into the night—
"Don't… don't come closer!"
Xiao Rong jolted upright, his body feverish, eyes darting about in fear.
"Did big sister kill the evil presence?"
Clang, clang, clang!
The hammer's strikes still rang out in uneven rhythm.
He leapt from bed, slipped on his soft shoes, and padded toward Yao Ranran's room.
"Big sister, may I come in?"
Only the sound of hammer on metal answered him.
"Well then… I guess big sister is still busy. I'll go check the cliff again. The evil presence must already be dead!"
Chest puffed out, Xiao Rong marched proudly toward the door.
Creak, creak.
He poked his head out, peeking with one eye at the outside world.
"Looks like there's nothing out there…"
He tiptoed out and leaned over the cliff, watching for a long while before relaxing.
"Haha! I knew it! Big sister definitely killed the evil presence. With her around, I don't have to fear anything!"
Hands on hips, little head tilted proudly, Xiao Rong cast a smug glance at the opposite peak.
…
"Fairy Ranran is still forging tools…
When she finishes, will she come to test the progress of my cultivation?
There's no one else here who can compare. Village Chief Jiang never studied such profound manuals, and Rong-yé only tends to spirit plants every day. He has no time to guide me. I can't even tell how far I've progressed…
Will Fairy be satisfied with my speed?"
The soft moonlight filtered through thin window paper, spilling across the side of Lu Ziqian's face, full of confusion and longing.
Reaching toward the pale glow, he whispered, "Perhaps I should cultivate a little more tonight…"