Three days passed in a blur inside the mind of Luo Ming. Three days when he did nothing but cultivate his Spiritual Seed, consuming resources to increase his progress, all to try to reach the Third Root.
And he succeeded on the very morning of the third and final day.
Luo Ming’s Seed increased in size, and glowed brighter now. Added to that, a Third Root, translucent yet oddly solid, emerged from the Seed, spreading through his whole internal system.
The addition of the third root caused a surge of Qi inside his Seed, increasing his reserve. At the same time, his posture straightened slightly while his mind grew clearer and sharper.
Luo Ming felt he had become stronger.
And at the same time, he had this instinctive feeling that once he consolidated his current power and reached the limit of the Third Root, he would finally have the opportunity to reach the next rank: the Sprout Rank.
’But that’s not my goal.’ Luo Ming thought as he stepped out of the bathroom, only a towel around his waist, water dripping from his polished pale skin.
He walked toward his dresser to put on his clothes.
He felt considerably better after his progress. Both morally and physically.
On top of that, his understanding of his own Cultivation Technique had increased considerably.
And that understanding made him realize that a cultivation technique affected one’s strength more than it seemed to.
The Breath of Raven’s Cry was the standard cultivation technique of the Luo Clan’s heirs. It was a Gold Rank technique, which was quite rare.
And it was a technique focused more on the speed and perception of the cultivator. That was why Luo Clan members were usually known for their speed.
Combined with the fact they typically awakened a Wind affinity upon reaching the Ironbark Rank, it was no wonder.
"But my father was the anomaly." Luo Ming said to himself, recalling what he knew of his father as he sat down in front of his mirror, now dressed, "Not only did he obtain Wind Dao Marks, he also gained Black Lightning Dao Marks."
That was why he had been chosen as Patriarch, and not his older brother, Uncle Zitang.
Luo Ming shook his head and refocused on the mirror, setting those thoughts aside.
Due to his small breakthrough that morning, he was running quite late in getting ready. His mother was waiting to take him to the Wei Clan.
"And I’ll meet Wei Bing." Luo Ming muttered with a small smile.
"Wei Bing, and not Wei Ting?"
A stern voice suddenly echoed through the room, causing Luo Ming to instinctively snap his head toward the sound, taking in the sight of High Elder Qisi in all her glory.
Once again, her face was veiled. And once again, Luo Ming could feel her judging eyes on him.
"Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know, but I thought there was some etiquette about entering someone else’s room."
"It’s just you."
His lips twitched, "Thought so."
"You didn’t answer my question. Why Wei Bing?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her beautiful black robe, lined with red, fluttering as if wind were always blowing somewhere around her.
Luo Ming found no reason to lie to her. He wanted them to build a solid relationship, and that would only be possible through sincerity.
"I don’t like Wei Ting." He said, refocusing on the mirror, "But Wei Bing might be someone I could get along with."
"Your engagement is with Wei Ting." Qisi replied, "You think you’re going to change that just because you suddenly don’t like her?"
"She was the one who wanted to leave me, I’ll have you know. And now that I’ve had time to think about it, that’s actually surprising." He chuckled, "Is the man she loves more beautiful than me?"
He paused, looked at his own face, then shook his head with a dismissive smile, "Unlikely."
High Elder Qisi’s lips twisted. The worst part was that she couldn’t argue the opposite on that point.
"Who said she loves someone?"
"A simple guess."
"The same kind of guess you made when you told me you’d figured out my situation?"
"Bingo." Luo Ming smiled, "With a partner as sharp as you, I can hope to find the culprit behind my framing very soon."
"I’m starting to regret coming to see you, Luo Ming." Luo Qisi ground out, struggling to keep herself from acting on impulse.
"Why did you come?" He asked, honestly curious, before stretching his right hand toward her.
Qisi arched an eyebrow behind her veil, spotting a silver tie resting on his palm. She slowly lifted her eyes from his hand to his face, and found him, as always, smiling.
"Can you help me with my hair, please, High Elder?"
It took her a few seconds to truly grasp what he was asking. Her eyes widened incredulously, "What?"
"Help me."
"Why should I?"
"Please?"
Luo Ming genuinely needed help. He wasn’t used to long hair, and his mother wasn’t here to help.
And he wanted it done well, since he was meeting the Wei Clan.
Appearance mattered a great deal, no matter what anyone said.
Qisi was tempted to refuse outright, but Luo Ming’s sincere silver eyes brought her to a startling halt.
She grimaced, irritated that she kept finding herself falling into step with Luo Ming’s pace.
She sighed at last, stepped forward, and took the tie.
Luo Ming murmured a thank you and turned his head back, and High Elder Qisi began styling his hair.
The scene was caught in the mirror, and it was one no one would believe even if they saw it, let alone heard of it.
Luo Qisi herself could hardly believe it.
To dispel the awkward moment, she spoke, "I came to tell you to look into the guards who found you at the scene at just the right time."
"The guards?"
"Yes." She nodded, "They must have been given instructions. Knowing who, and how, will help us."
"How do you expect me to look into them?"
"The same way you managed to learn about my condition." She said sharply, twisting a strand of his hair, "I’ve thought about it for a long while. About how you could possibly know something no one else did."
Luo Ming said nothing.
"A number of possibilities came to me, but only two seem plausible." She continued, "Either you have an artifact carrying fragments of the Truth Dao, or maybe..."
She paused for a moment, looking at him, then finished.
"...you have a Soulblade tied to it."
Luo Ming’s expression didn’t change. He looked at High Elder Qisi through the mirror and shrugged nonchalantly.
"I wonder."
"So you won’t tell me, huh." High Elder Qisi murmured, her anger slowly rising again.
"Do you want to know how I did it?"
"I do."
"Then let me help you with your situation." He said, "What you want to know is a deep secret of mine. And I’ll only feel at ease sharing it if you let me in on yours."
"You’re not worthy of that." Qisi ground out, just as she finished tying his hair. "Know your place."
"Then do the same."
"What?"
"Don’t try to learn my secret if you’re not willing to open yourself to me, High Elder." Luo Ming said, then rose from the chair, turning to face her.
"You seem to forget you’re nothing but a child at the Seedling Rank."
"Then you’re not looking at me closely enough." He replied. "I am—!"
BANG BANG BANG!
"Are you not done yet, Luo Ming?! We need to go!!" Meng Lin’s voice boomed from beyond the room.
Luo Ming realized then that it was time to leave.
He checked himself over, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, before walking away.
"Why do you want to help me?" Qisi asked behind him.
Without stopping, he answered, "Because I want to be close to you."
"To have a High Elder at your side?"
Luo Ming chuckled. He was at the door now. He turned his head, looking at her over his shoulder, smiled without saying a word, and stepped out...
...only to be greeted by his impatient mother.
"Ming’er! Hurry!"
"Aye, I’m coming."
"Oh!! How did you tie your hair like this? It suits you so well!"
"Hahah. Thanks, Mother."
Then their voices slowly faded, swallowed by the distance.
High Elder Qisi was left alone in the room, looking around it.
The scent of Luo Ming still lingered, soaked into every inch of it.
She took a deep breath, then exhaled.
"I’m confused."
—End of Chapter 19—