Yan Xiao'er slept quite soundly through the night. When she awoke, however, Yu Changmian was still on the opposite bank of the stream, motionless and in the exact same posture as he had been the night before.
*Could he have died of exhaustion?*
Seeing the faint, pale green glow surrounding him, Yan Xiao'er realized she had overthought it. The words Yu Changmian had spoken the night before—about "eating and living for free"—echoed in her mind. She didn't want to be branded a freeloader, but she truly had no idea how to go about being useful.
Noticing that the stream remained as calm and unchanging as ever, she gathered her courage and walked toward the higher ground near the cliff face. Beyond a screen of lush green trees lay a sheer cliff, straight as if split by an axe, its top lost in the heights. The stream flowed down from above, collected into a small pool, and then continued naturally toward the lower terrain.
It was strangely quiet. Falling from such a height, the water made almost no sound at all—less, even, than the bubbling brook by the cave. It was as if someone had cast a silencing spell on it, forcing the water to flow downward in total, predetermined silence.
There were many strange things in this place, and Yan Xiao'er was beginning to get used to it. What pleased her more was discovering a small vegetable patch cultivated beside the pool; this was surely Yu Changmian’s primary source of food.
Excited, Yan Xiao'er rushed in, intending to pick a few leaves for soup. Although she had never cooked in her life, she had watched the kitchen maids in her home often enough, so she figured she could manage.
The moment she stepped into the soil, however, she felt something wrong. A foul, putrid stench rose from beneath her feet. She looked down and saw several finger bones, ghastly and white, still clinging to bits of flesh mixed in with the dirt—she had stepped right on them.
"Ah!"
It seemed that whenever Yan Xiao'er felt her nerves had finally been tempered, fate would insist on giving her another lesson. She scrambled back several steps, trembling. She looked again: they were definitely human bones.
*Has Yu Changmian been killing people here?*
*Isn't he supposed to be refining souls and granting salvation? Does he use murder as a way to fertilize his garden?*
*I actually felt sorry for him, thinking he’d been deceived. What a fool I am.*
Yan Xiao'er had completely forgotten what she was originally trying to do, but Ling'er, who had been startled out of hiding by her scream, was more clear-headed than she was.
"Ying, ying, ying."
Ling'er spread its delicate, thin wings and flew into the vegetable patch, quickly plucking a large head of cabbage and shoving it into the hands of the still-stunned Yan Xiao'er.
"Ying, ying, ying."
It was asking for praise.
Still shaken, Yan Xiao'er mechanically patted its head, then ran back toward the cave in a daze.
*He wouldn't kill me, would he?*
*Well, he probably wouldn't. Even though I’m not afraid of death, I don’t want to be killed by him.*
Yan Xiao'er thought frantically, forcing herself to focus on something else. *Right, find the little pot from yesterday, wash the cabbage, okay—but how do you wash it? Wash it leaf by leaf, or the whole thing at once? When you eat it, it’s broken apart, so, yes, I’ll take it apart to wash.*
She washed the cabbage leaves in the stream over and over until her hands were red. She was terrified that anything picked from that patch was tainted with something unclean. But her hunger was gnawing at her, and her desire to fill her stomach once again defeated her fear.
She also needed to start a fire. She knew she had to collect firewood, but how did one actually start a fire?
"Ling'er, go ask your master if it’s all right," she said, pacing back and forth, finally daring to task Ling'er with the errand.
Ling'er flapped its wings and flew toward the bank, but it took a long time to return. She looked at it with hopeful eyes.
"Ying, ying, ying."
*You didn't learn how?*
"Ying, ying, ying."
*He said we were too stupid and didn't want to teach us?*
*That wretched Biyu—it’s just as wicked as its master.*
Yan Xiao'er pressed her hands against her temples, trying desperately to recall how Yu Changmian had used hand gestures to summon the Golden Light Talisman the day before. She had seen it clearly: threads of fire were woven into the golden light, which was why it was so dazzling.
*We’re both human, so I can definitely do it too.*
*Like this, like this.*
*No, like this, like this.*
"BOOM!"
The pile of firewood was struck as if by a thunderbolt, erupting into a roaring blaze.
*It actually worked!* Yan Xiao'er was thrilled; for a moment, she forgot all her fears. She couldn't find a tripod, so she asked Ling'er to help her hold the stone pot steady from the other side.
She stuffed the pot full of cabbage leaves; it looked like a truly hearty meal. Because she had filled it with too much water, it began to overflow after only a moment, instantly dousing the fire she had worked so hard to start.
Yan Xiao'er had to let go and cast the spell again, telling Ling'er to use its meager strength to maintain the balance for a moment.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
In her haste, Yan Xiao'er pushed too hard, accidentally shooting out three giant bolts of flame.
After the smoke and heat dissipated, an indescribable burnt smell filled the air. Though Ling'er was a phantom entity, it had been caught off guard by the surging fire and was now glowing with embers. Fortunately, its master’s target had been the wood, so it was only accidentally singed.
"Do you want to burn down the mountain?"
Yu Changmian’s voice rang out, cold and sharp.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean to. I just—I just wanted to start a fire."
"Move away."
Yan Xiao'er looked longingly at the pile of charred remains, reluctant to step aside. She had almost succeeded!
A giant, pale green hand, conjured by Biyu, floated in the air and waved in disgust. Yu Changmian stood with his back to her, and she couldn't see how he was operating.
*I’ll just take a quick peek.* As Yan Xiao'er stretched her neck to learn his secret, that pair of vibrant, giant wings suddenly appeared behind Yu Changmian. They erupted into a dazzling golden glow under the sunlight, and as they spread wide, they firmly blocked her view.
*So beautiful,* Yan Xiao'er thought, nearly blinded, unable to stop herself from admiring the sight.
Ling'er arrived at her side, looking bedraggled and soot-stained.
"Ying, ying."
It seemed to sense its master’s appreciation for another’s magical creature and let out a wronged cry.
Yan Xiao'er reacted quickly, pulling Ling'er into her arms. She comforted it softly, "A mother doesn't mind her daughter's ugliness. Anyway, I’m just as bad at this as you are. We’re both in the same boat, so let’s not judge each other, all right?"
"Ying, ying, ying."
Ling'er flapped its wings and flew quite a distance away. Yan Xiao'er could have sworn she heard the faint echo of a mantra: "I must strive, I must struggle!"
*But, a little bumblebee is never going to turn into a phoenix,* she thought.
She sighed again. When the day finally came for her to die, she wondered if she could entrust the little thing to Biyu. Under the shroud of that dazzling light, Yan Xiao'er felt both enchanted and dejected, as if her very soul were splitting in two.
Fortunately, the aroma of food was an eternal comfort.
When the light faded, she realized that at some point, a stone table and two stone stools had appeared by the stream. Two portions of food were laid out on the table, steaming hot.
Though it was only simple vegetable porridge, it was worth more than any deceitful, lavish feast in the world.
Yu Changmian sat calmly on the stone stool. His gaze had returned to the same guileless, frank state Yan Xiao'er had seen when they first met, with not a shadow of the deep, somber darkness that had filled his eyes while he refined souls in the night.