One year later.
By the peach grove behind the main hall of Xingyu Island, a clear stream gurgled as it flowed past, making a crisp, splashing sound. Beneath the peach trees stood two round stone tables and one rectangular cyan-jade stone table, each accompanied by a few stone stools. Right in the center of all three tables sat a pristine white-jade bowl, placed squarely in place.
Yuling sat upright at the round table on the right, holding her breath and steadying her mind as she quietly waited for spiritual energy to gather within her body. Then, she channeled her cultivation to draw the individual dewdrop beads condensing on the branches of the peach grove at dawn into the jade bowl before her. Two hours passed, and her bowl was already filled to the halfway mark with crystalline dew.
She furtively opened one eye halfway to peek at Aunt Qinghui across the square table. Seeing her sitting with her eyes closed in solemn concentration, Yuling felt somewhat reassured. She then glanced to her left at Dieyi, noting that the cup before her held only a sparse, thin layer of water, and felt entirely at ease as she prepared to close her eyes and return to her meditation.
Dieyi, on the left, wore an expression of growing impatience. Catching Yuling looking in her direction, she signaled with her eyes and whispered silently, "This is so annoying. Who knows when this torture will ever end?"
Understanding instantly, Yuling replied in silent lip movements, "Just endure it for another quarter of an hour, and it'll be about done."
With their silent exchange finished, the two of them simultaneously looked toward Aunt Qinghui, then let out a soft, stifled giggle and exchanged amused glances.
Yet this tiny rustle of noise still disturbed Qinghui, who sat rigidly upon the dais. She cleared her throat and said, "When practicing cultivation, utmost focus is required. The two of you must not let your minds wander."
Though the master on the dais spoke out, she did not open her eyes even for a fraction of a second.
Down below, the two young disciples hastily voiced their compliance: "Understood, Auntie."
Thus followed another tranquil stretch of a peaceful morning spent in seated meditation.
Finally, noon arrived. Qinghui inspected the dew in both cups to assess the results of their morning practice, offering each of them a few tailored pointers on areas that still needed improvement. She made no particular comment on the stark difference in volume between the two cups; instead, she simply poured both portions of dew together into a black sandalwood pot to brew a cup of herbal tea, and then dismissed them both.
"Aunt Qinghui's place is certainly lively!"
The newcomer turned out to be none other than Zuoxing Chen, the Lord Sovereign of the island. He was carrying two bulging paper bags and added with a smile, "I figured that teaching these two young disciples must be terribly exhausting for you, and the two young ladies must be quite worn out from their training as well. I brought along some fruit and pastries so everyone can have them for lunch."
"There was no need for you to go to such expense. Since you've brought them, however, we won't let the Lord Sovereign's kind intentions go to waste."
She opened the bags. One held three freshly baked, plump, and fragrant roast chickens sliced into neat portions, while the other contained freshly plucked, bright red wax apples from the island. The two young disciples came over to help their master arrange everything onto plates: three plates of roast chicken and three plates of wax apples, all neatly set out upon the rectangular stone table.
Without the slightest hesitation, Qinghui already set to work on a plate of roast chicken right in front of her, sharing it with Liucai, who had appeared at the sound of the food, while offering repeated words of praise. With her mouth full of food, she ate and chatted away, calling out to Zuoxing Chen, "If the Lord Sovereign doesn't mind, do join us. You two eat as well!"
The two young disciples, prompted by their master, exchanged glances, remained seated in their respective places, and politely declined.
After taking a few bites, Zuoxing Chen found the chicken genuinely tender and savory. Holding a plate, he walked over to Yuling's table: "Have some, younger sister, don't stand on ceremony. You are called Su... Su what, again?"
"Yuling," Yuling replied, offering a polite, courteous, and distant smile. She had only been under Qinghui's tutelage for a year, and this Lord Sovereign clearly had no idea which younger sister he was confusing her with. Though she felt a wave of speechlessness wash over her, she managed to maintain a decorous smile.
He turned his face and thrust the plate toward Dieyi instead: "Younger sister Dieyi, you have some too!"
Dieyi lowered her gaze with a bashful, delicate smile, reached out to pick up a couple of pieces of chicken with her chopsticks, and placed them into her own bowl. With her eyes shimmering like ripples on a spring lake, she smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Sovereign."
As the two exchanged tender glances, Yuling suddenly felt entirely superfluous. Still, since it was none of her business anyway, she simply took a sip of the herbal tea in her cup.
Noticing that the lovely young maiden had accepted his gesture, Zuoxing Chen turned his urge back to the woman on this side and urged, "Have some too, Yuling!"
Seeing that Yuling still showed no inclination to take any, he thought to himself: *Who on earth did I go to all this trouble to prepare this for? Can't even a little teasing catch her attention?*
In a fit of pique, he pushed the entire plate of chicken right onto her table: "Just leave it here. The two of you can eat whatever you want."
This hot potato of a situation was thus unceremoniously dumped on her table. Fearing that Dieyi might be displeased, and considering how delicate the relationship between these two was, Yuling figured that passing the chicken over to the beauty opposite her would surely be what the Lord Sovereign wanted, if only to save herself from any collateral trouble. Believing that Zuoxing Chen was merely too shy to express his affections too openly to his favored beauty and was thus deflecting the favor onto her, Yuling wondered how she could possibly bear the brunt of this stray disaster. To spare Dieyi any discomfort, she picked up the teapot and the entire plate of chicken, walked across with a smiling face, and placed the items on the other person's table: "Let's eat together! And try this pot of herbal tea brewed from this morning's dew—somehow it tastes a bit bitter. See if you agree?"
Dieyi glanced at the chicken on the table without touching it. Instead, she poured a cup of tea, sipped it thoughtfully, and said, "It really is a bit bitter. Why would that be?"
The two of them engaged in a brief, light discussion, skillfully smoothing over the awkwardness of the moment.
After chatting for a little while, Yuling relaxed slightly and picked up a couple of pieces of chicken to satisfy her midday hunger. Finding the roast meat genuinely fragrant and flavorful, she instinctively grabbed a couple more pieces. Eating as she spoke, she mused, "I suppose the dew closer to noon is nowhere near as pure as the dawn dew, don't you think? Try this chicken, it really does taste good."
"Mhm, it's quite delicious."
"Haha!"
Not far away, Zuoxing Chen caught sight of the lively and pleasant conversation happening across the way. Who knew whose jar of vinegar he had just knocked over? He gave Yuling an up-and-down assessment, fixed a direct, unblinking stare on her, and drawled in a sarcastic tone, "This chicken... the taste is alright, but it's a bit tough."
Seeing Yuling pick up another piece to pop into her mouth, before she could even finish chewing and swallowing, he locked eyes with her and enunciated every single word: "Even though this chicken is delicious, you shouldn't eat too much of it. Otherwise, it's easy to choke on, and you might end up with indigestion."
Having delivered these inexplicable remarks, he cast a lingering, resentful glance at the young woman who weighed so heavily on his mind.
Yuling choked instantly. The bite of chicken felt like a bone stuck in her throat; she forced herself to swallow it down with great difficulty, and promptly laid her chopsticks aside for good.
A faint surge of anger flared up within her, but she managed to suppress it. She thought to herself, *I even moved the plate to the table of the pretty maiden you hold in your heart, and still you're not satisfied? That makes no sense at all.*
Dieyi smoothed down the hem of her colorful gauze skirt, sighed, picked up the plate, and returned it to the rectangular table where Zuoxing Chen was standing.
The man still hadn't vented his frustration, glaring at Yuling with a smoldering, suppressed anger.
*Just how on earth did I offend this person again?* Yuling felt her temper flaring up at these nonsensical words. Fortunately, Qinghui perceived the situation and, to diffuse the atmosphere, instructed Yuling to deliver a scroll of materials to the Third Elder at the main hall. Accepting the command, Yuling gladly pushed aside the bizarre atmosphere; the moment she stepped away from the peach grove, she felt a profound sense of ease and comfort, and cast the entire incident straight to the winds.
***
According to Aunt Qinghui's teachings, the daily routine of practicing cultivation by collecting dew to brew tea was meant to temper their mental states and determine which of them was better suited to become her primary disciple and master the Divine Flower-Plucking Arts.
Since Yuling was originally a Flower Spirit, she naturally possessed a far greater innate affinity for gathering dew than any mortal woman. Yet, her only true desire was to attain immortal destiny at an early date; she cared very little for the title of chief disciple. As for why she was so persistent in her pursuit of immortality—was it for the sake of one day beholding the Immortal Lord who appeared in her dreams for a millennium, or simply out of a drive for self-improvement?—she herself could not quite tell. In any case, she told herself inwardly, she just needed to keep working hard.
Early the next morning, having nothing in particular to do, she pushed open her door and sat upon the stone steps in front of the western courtyard. As the sky grew faintly bright, she felt the crisp, chilling breeze drifting in from the direction of the back mountains, looking out at the distant dark-blue mountain mists and the morning dew glistening upon the damp grass beneath her feet. She wondered how she should pass two entire days of boredom now that her lessons were suspended for the weekend.
With a soft creak, the old wooden door of the back kitchen at the far eastern corner of the courtyard was pushed open a crack. A familiar figure emerged stealthily, carrying a bowl of piping-hot broth, and headed toward the main hall. Catching a glimpse of her, Yuling saw that it was Dieyi, who had changed into a plain white silk dress.
Too lazy to dwell on the details, Yuling had already made up her mind to visit the markets in the Jiangnan region of the Mortal Realm. After giving advance notice to Aunt Liucai and swapping for a wooden-peach access token, she hurriedly packed her belongings and prepared to spend a couple of days enjoying herself outside.
The mortal markets in broad daylight were bustling to the extreme! Yet Yuling had an absolute fondness for the lively, bustling atmosphere of the human world. Emerging from the inn where she settled, she stopped at a roadside food stall to devour two meat zongzi, three pork and pea shaomai, and four fresh shrimp shaomai, followed by a bowl of fresh pork wonton soup sprinkled with verdant scallions, before deciding to properly explore the clamoring mortal market.
Over the past year, she had scoured Xingyu Island from top to bottom, finding it profoundly dull and tedious. Consequently, she had taken to sneaking off to the mortal world to amuse herself every now and then. The aunts on Xingyu Island had long since grown accustomed to this, and the Lord Sovereign maintained an attitude of tacit permission; as long as she gave notice and held her access token, she was free to come and go between Xingyu Island and the Mortal Realm as she pleased.
Glancing at the dazzling array of calligraphy, paintings, antiques, jade wares, and other miscellaneous trinkets lining the bustling street, she frowned and turned directly into a magnificently decorated silk shop filled with top-tier, colorful, and rare silk fabrics. She selected a bolt of sapphire-blue brocade embroidered with gold threads, added a bolt of white silk with embroidered borders, and called over the shop's seamstress to take her measurements. After discussing the desired style for her new garments, she hurried back out to stroll through the market.
She was a regular customer here and frequently commissioned custom dresses from this establishment. The craftsmanship of this shop and this particular seamstress was the one she had chosen after comparing twenty different places to find the most satisfying result. Following the usual custom, she paid a deposit of three gold leaves. With the fabric chosen today, the seamstress would cut and sew through the night, and by tomorrow morning or at the latest by afternoon, the clothes would be delivered straight to her usual room—Room Number One in the Heaven Quarters of her regular inn.
The streets were crowded with a bustling stream of people. Stepping into a dim, secluded corner of an alley, she gathered her inner breath and concentrated her energy. Under the blazing sun, a brilliant, translucent Crystal Stone materialized in her right palm—a natural crystal she had discovered within her own body on the very first day of her transformation. Not only did it contain unfathomable, boundless magical power, but it also possessed the ability to alter shapes and turn stones into gold. Plucking a few verdant leaves from a tree, she placed them beside the Crystal Stone and murmured the words "gold leaves." With just a single thought, the leaves underwent a metamorphosis, transforming instantly into genuine, pure gold leaf currency.