Three days after the Cosmic Ark absorbed the three spirit stones, the Thanh Van River welcomed a morning of unusual beauty.
The sun had only just risen above the Thanh Van Mountains. Pale golden light spread across the river, turning every ripple into a thin shimmer of silver. The early breeze carried the scent of young grass, river mist, and wildflowers from both banks, making even the old boat seem brighter than usual.
Hao Nhien pushed open the cabin door and stepped outside.
The first thing he saw was not the river.
Nor the distant mountains.
It was Tieu Lan.
She stood near the bow with a small water jar in one hand, carefully watering the pots of medicinal herbs lined beside the rail.
Morning sunlight fell over her pale blue clothes in a soft glow. Her black hair was tied neatly behind her head, though a few loose strands rested against her cheeks, still touched by the morning dew. She bent over the plants with complete concentration, pouring the water slowly as though afraid of hurting the tender leaves.
Hao Nhien remained by the cabin door a little longer than usual.
Over the past three days, the changes aboard the Ark had not been dramatic enough to call miraculous, but they were noticeable to anyone living there. The air felt easier to breathe. The old wood no longer smelled quite so dry. Even the medicinal herbs had become greener.
Tieu Lan seemed even more different.
Quan Hao Nhien's father had once judged that she possessed a Pure Wood affinity. She had grown up around medicinal plants and had always been unusually sensitive to the vitality of herbs and vegetation. After several days surrounded by the life-filled aura that lingered aboard the Cosmic Ark after it absorbed the spirit stones, even her complexion had changed.
The faint pallor left behind by years of hardship had softened. There was more color in her cheeks, more light in her eyes. Her entire presence reminded Hao Nhien of a young branch finally receiving enough water after a long dry season.
She was still Tieu Lan.
Still dressed in simple cloth.
Still muttering quietly to the herbs while tending them, as though afraid the plants would misbehave if she did not speak to them.
Yet Hao Nhien suddenly realized that he no longer saw her only as the little servant girl from this body's memories.
She was seventeen.
Growing.
Alive in front of him.
Not a shadow.
Not a memory.
Not the reflection of anyone else.
She was Tieu Lan.
The thought made him pause.
Hao Nhien was not truly a teenage boy.
If he counted the years of his previous life, he was already a man in his thirties. He understood very well that noticing a young woman becoming more beautiful was one thing, while choosing to draw closer to her was something else entirely.
A girl who cooked for him every day, prepared his medicine, waited nearby while he cultivated, worried whenever he was injured, and had cried when she thought he might die—
and who now looked noticeably more vibrant after several days surrounded by the Ark's life-filled aura—
if he claimed that none of it stirred even the slightest reaction in him, he would be lying to himself.
But feeling something was one matter.
Allowing that feeling to lead him was another.
There were still too many things between him and Tieu Lan that he did not understand. Her strange reactions, the occasional words she spoke without knowing why, and the faint echoes they sometimes awakened in his memories of Anh Nhien all made him unwilling to assign a name to whatever he felt.
Hao Nhien let out a quiet breath.
At the very least, he still knew where his boundaries were.
At that moment, Tieu Lan seemed to sense his gaze and turned around.
Their eyes met.
She froze for a moment.
Then her cheeks slowly reddened.
"Young Master…"
Her voice was softer than usual.
"What are you looking at?"
Only then did Hao Nhien realize how long he had been staring.
He coughed lightly.
"Nothing."
Tieu Lan clearly did not believe him.
She studied him for another moment, then seemed to think of something.
"Do you… want to eat?"
Hao Nhien froze.
For a split second, his mind went somewhere completely inappropriate.
That was enough to make his face heat up.
What is wrong with me?
He immediately looked toward the river and coughed again.
"Eat. Right. I'm hungry."
Tieu Lan blinked.
"I made beef stew with wild greens, and meat buns. If Young Master wants to eat, I'll bring them out now."
Hao Nhien felt even more embarrassed by his own thoughts.
He nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
"Mm. Good. Very good. Your Young Master needs nourishment."
Tieu Lan stared at him for a moment, then could not help laughing softly.
"Yes."
She set the water jar down and was about to turn toward the small kitchen when she suddenly stopped.
"Young Master."
"Mm?"
"Look at these plants."
Hao Nhien immediately pushed the stray thoughts aside and walked over.
At first glance, the herbs only seemed slightly greener than before. But when he crouched and looked more closely, he realized the changes went beyond color.
The veins on the Clearheart Grass were more distinct, and the stems felt firmer. The Mystic Spirit Flower, which had once looked slightly weak, now stood straighter, its petals fuller than before. Even the Willowleaf Grass had grown several new shoots, and the edges of its leaves no longer looked dry.
This was not sudden explosive growth.
Nor had ordinary medicinal herbs somehow transformed into rare spirit plants.
But their vitality was clearly stronger.
Hao Nhien reached out and lightly touched the edge of one leaf.
A warm, dense, gentle sensation passed into his fingertip.
His brows drew together slightly.
"It's the same aura as before."
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Tieu Lan immediately nodded.
"I feel it too. It's very similar to the vitality inside plants, only a little denser."
Hao Nhien looked at her.
With her Pure Wood affinity, Tieu Lan was naturally more sensitive than most people to plants, growth, and medicinal properties. Changes that he needed to touch the herb to confirm, she might have noticed simply by standing near it.
"Has the medicinal quality changed too?"
"Yes."
Tieu Lan carefully pinched off the smallest piece of a leaf and crushed it between her fingers.
She smelled it.
"It feels cleaner."
"Cleaner?"
"Yes. Not much stronger, but less impure."
Hao Nhien slowly nodded.
That description closely matched what he had sensed from the faint layer of spiritual qi that appeared inside the Ark after it absorbed the spirit stones.
Not violent.
Not abundant.
But gentler and purer.
He examined the herbs for another moment.
"Then make a new batch of Clearheart Liquid."
Tieu Lan's eyes brightened.
"Yes!"
She answered happily, then looked at the pots with even greater care than before.
Another thought occurred to Hao Nhien.
Until now, he had treated cultivation as something that belonged to him alone. Tieu Lan stayed beside him, prepared his medicine, cooked his meals, gathered herbs, while he practiced his fists, cultivated, and searched for ways to break through.
But Tieu Lan possessed a Pure Wood affinity.
And she was unusually sensitive to this life-filled spiritual qi.
She should not remain outside the door of cultivation forever.
Perhaps once things settled, he could begin finding a safe way for her to sense spiritual qi.
But not yet.
Everyone's meridians were different.
So were their constitutions.
He understood too well the consequences of applying a method he did not fully understand to another person's body.
If he was going to guide her onto the path, he needed something safer.
He could not simply assume that because she had a Wood affinity, the methods that worked for him would work for her.
Hao Nhien remembered the thought and set it aside for now.
"How much longer are we staying here?" Tieu Lan asked.
"Two more weeks."
She looked up.
"And then Thanh Van City?"
"Mm."
Hao Nhien looked downstream.
The Thanh Van River flowed quietly, never rushing, yet never stopping either.
Tieu Lan nodded seriously.
"Then I'll sort through the herbs, medicines, and food again."
Hao Nhien could not help smiling at her expression.
"All right."
He paused.
"But before that…"
Tieu Lan looked up.
"Before that, what?"
Hao Nhien glanced toward the kitchen.
"Before that, your Young Master needs to eat beef stew and meat buns."
Tieu Lan laughed.
"Yes. I'll bring them right away."
She turned and hurried toward the small kitchen, the hem of her pale blue clothes swaying in the morning light.
Hao Nhien watched for a moment, then deliberately looked away.
Not because he needed to avoid her.
Only because he needed to remind himself.
Some feelings could be acknowledged.
They did not need to be named immediately.
During breakfast, Tieu Lan suddenly asked,
"Before we leave, does Young Master want to go back to Senior Tieu Dao's place?"
Hao Nhien set down his chopsticks.
After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Yes."
"To see if there's anything else we missed?"
"No."
Hao Nhien shook his head.
"Senior already left far too much."
A sword.
A storage ring.
Three books.
A strand of sword intent that, even now, he only dared borrow in small amounts.
And more importantly, a single sentence.
Tieu Lan softly repeated it.
"Wander the world. Follow the heart."
"Mm."
Hao Nhien looked toward Thanh Van Mountain.
"I still don't fully understand what it means to be unfettered. I'm not even sure I'll walk the same path Senior did. But before leaving this place, I want to return once."
Not to search for another opportunity.
Not to dig for more secrets.
Only to stand again on that rocky ledge.
Look at the mountains.
Look at the river.
And try to understand what a man who had spent five hundred years standing between mountains and rivers, observing the Laws of Heaven and Earth, had ultimately carried within his heart.
Tieu Lan smiled gently.
"Then I'll go with Young Master."
Hao Nhien turned toward her.
She immediately added,
"I also want to gather more medicinal herbs. The plants around that area grow very well. If we bring some back and tend them on the boat, they may be useful later."
Hao Nhien looked at her.
"You're only coming because of the herbs?"
Tieu Lan blinked.
"Also because of Young Master."
The answer came too naturally.
Hao Nhien paused.
Tieu Lan seemed to realize what she had said and immediately lowered her head toward her bowl.
Hao Nhien did not tease her.
He only reached out and lightly rubbed the top of her head.
"All right."
Tieu Lan went still for a moment.
Her cheeks flushed again.
Hao Nhien had already withdrawn his hand.
"We'll go together."
Outside, the Thanh Van River continued flowing quietly.
That afternoon, Tieu Lan harvested only a small amount from the changed herbs.
A few leaves of Clearheart Grass.
Half a petal from a Mystic Spirit Flower.
A little side root from the Willowleaf Grass.
She did not use much.
Only enough to test a new batch of Clearheart Liquid.
Hao Nhien sat a short distance away and regulated his breathing lightly.
He did not actively pull the spiritual qi around the Ark into his body.
He simply cultivated as usual.
The life-filled spiritual qi inside the cabin was still extremely faint. A small amount entered through his breathing and familiar qi-entry points, then was refined before merging into the true qi already within him.
His right arm still carried a faint tightness from the spirit-stone incident several days earlier.
In this gentler environment, that discomfort gradually eased.
His meridians did not magically heal.
No mysterious force repaired his injuries.
His body simply recovered more easily.
Nothing more.
By the time the sun began to sink westward, Tieu Lan brought over the new bottle of Clearheart Liquid.
The medicine was pale green, clearer than the previous batch. When she tilted the bottle beneath the evening light, an extremely faint silver sheen seemed to pass through it before disappearing.
The scent was different too.
Not strong.
Gentle and clean.
Hao Nhien did not use it immediately.
He placed one drop on a piece of cloth.
Observed how quickly it soaked in.
Another drop on a piece of dry wood.
Watched for any unusual reaction.
Only then did he apply a very small amount to the back of his left hand.
The medicinal liquid sank into his skin quickly.
Cool.
But not cold.
It did not feel overwhelmingly stronger than before.
Only gentler.
Cleaner.
Hao Nhien closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment.
"How is it?" Tieu Lan asked, nearly holding her breath.
"The medicinal energy isn't much stronger."
Her expression fell slightly.
Then Hao Nhien continued,
"But it's better."
Her eyes immediately brightened again.
"How?"
"Fewer impurities. More stable absorption. And when it reaches the meridians, it feels softer than before."
He opened his eyes.
"It should be useful before and after trying to cross a bottleneck. It can help the meridians stay more comfortable."
Tieu Lan exhaled in relief.
"Then it works."
"Mm."
She held the bottle in both hands as though it were a small treasure.
Hao Nhien watched her and smiled.
A slightly better medicinal liquid.
A slightly healthier pot of herbs.
A boat that had awakened just a little more.
None of those things could be called a miracle.
But together, they were changing the lives of the two people aboard in a very real way.
By late afternoon, Hao Nhien began to sense the bottleneck again.
It was not strong.
Only whenever his true qi circulated to the section of meridian near the hollow at the base of his throat, the flow would slow slightly.
A month ago, his first thought might have been:
Break it.
Now, he thought differently.
He sat beside the rail and watched the river.
A small branch floated with the current.
It did not fight the water.
It did not try to pierce through it.
It simply went where the current carried it.
Hao Nhien watched for a long time.
Then he remembered his training beneath the waterfall.
At first, he had always resisted.
Later, he learned to yield.
To borrow.
To understand when to hold and when to let the current pass.
Some things truly did need to be broken.
But strength did not always mean striking harder.
Sometimes, the water only needed to rise high enough.
Then the boat would move on its own.
The thought was simple.
Not an enlightenment.
Not some grand phenomenon of heaven and earth.
Only a comparison that made sense to him.
Yet the longer Hao Nhien considered it, the more the bottleneck inside his body seemed to resemble exactly that.
The third layer had stabilized.
His true qi had grown fuller.
His meridians had adapted to greater pressure.
His body was no longer depleted.
Even the cultivation environment aboard the Ark was better than before.
There was no need to throw himself against the door.
Perhaps he only needed to wait until the water rose high enough.
Hao Nhien watched the Thanh Van River.
"Follow the current…"
He murmured.
"…and push the boat."
Night fell.
After Tieu Lan had gone to sleep, Hao Nhien sat alone inside the cabin.
After Tieu Lan had gone to sleep, Hao Nhien sat alone inside the cabin. The new bottle of Clearheart Liquid rested on the table before him. He used only a small amount, just enough to keep his meridians comfortable while he regulated his breathing.
The oil lamp flickered gently.
Outside the window, the moon hung above the Thanh Van River.
Hao Nhien closed his eyes.
His breathing gradually slowed.
True qi began circulating from his Qi Sea.
One cycle.
Then another.
Ambient spiritual qi entered his body through ordinary breathing cultivation, was refined, then merged into the true qi already within him. The current moved through the familiar meridians until it reached the section near the base of his throat—
and slowed.
Hao Nhien did not force it.
He let the true qi circle back.
The second cycle was the same.
On the third, the bottleneck trembled faintly.
He continued.
Each circulation brought only a little more true qi toward that point. Not much, but steady. The sensation of resistance gradually changed—from something hard blocking the path into something thinner and more taut.
Hao Nhien did not rush.
He understood what he was waiting for.
Not for the bottleneck to disappear on its own.
But for the entire path to become ready to carry him through.
After several more cycles, the true qi reached that point and stopped again.
This time, it no longer felt like a wall.
Only a stretched membrane.
Hao Nhien adjusted his breathing.
On the next circulation, he did not suddenly accelerate the flow. He only added the slightest pressure at the end.
Like placing a hand behind a boat after the water had already risen high enough.
Push.
A tiny sensation passed through his chest and throat.
No explosion.
No tearing of meridians.
Only the feeling of a thin sheet of paper being pierced.
The true qi passed through.
Hao Nhien trembled slightly.
The current behind it immediately followed, flowing into a section of meridian that had never before been fully opened. A new circulation gradually formed—broader and more stable than before.
He still did not open his eyes.
Opening the path did not mean the process was finished.
Hao Nhien slowed the circulation and let the true qi pass through the new route again and again. At first, there was still a trace of tightness, but after several cycles, the sensation gradually faded.
Then, at some point, the true qi passed through the old obstruction without slowing at all.
Only then did Hao Nhien know.
He had crossed it.
Fourth layer of Qi Condensation.
There was no explosive surge.
No phenomenon.
His Qi Sea simply felt a little fuller, his true qi a little more stable, and the meridians that once had to carefully carry thin streams could now accept a denser flow without immediately tightening.
Hao Nhien slowly exhaled.
Outside the window, the Thanh Van River continued flowing in silence.
No light.
No thunder.
No one knew that inside an old boat, a young man had just taken another small step along the path of cultivation.
Only the river continued toward the lower reaches.
And the true qi within him, for the first time, moved through the newly opened path without resistance.