“Go back.”
The two words fell calmly.
There was no anger in his voice and no obvious threat, yet there was no room for refusal.
Du Ziheng’s expression shifted between pale and dark.
His lips moved slightly, as though he still wanted to say something, and for a moment, the unwillingness on his face was impossible to hide.
In the end, however, he swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.
Lowering his gaze, he cupped his hands once more.
“…Yes.”
Then he turned and left.
His pace was noticeably faster than when he had arrived.
No one stopped him, and no one spoke.
The only sound was that of his footsteps striking the stone path, growing fainter as he disappeared into the distance.
It was not until Du Ziheng’s figure had completely vanished at the end of the mountain path that the invisible pressure surrounding the spiritual spring gradually began to fade.
The air seemed to loosen with it.
Lin Qiqi finally dared to breathe properly.
She drew in a small breath, and her tense shoulders relaxed slightly, though she still looked somewhat dazed by everything that had just happened.
Yu Jin, however, had not moved.
Her gaze remained fixed on the man in white.
For some reason, she found herself studying him in silence.
Only then did the man seem to notice her.
His eyes shifted, and his gaze passed briefly over Yu Jin.
It lasted no more than a moment.
There was no curiosity in his expression, nor did he seem to have any intention of speaking to her.
His features remained cold and distant, as though her presence was not important enough to deserve a second glance.
Then he looked away.
Yu Jin’s brows moved almost imperceptibly.
Before she could think any further, the man had already turned his attention toward the path ahead.
“Let’s go.”
His voice was calm and not particularly loud, yet it carried clearly enough that no one around him could ignore it.
Only then did Yu Jin notice the other people standing nearby.
Several disciples dressed in blue-green robes had been following him.
They stood straight and still, their expressions respectful.
Even their breathing seemed deliberately restrained in his presence.
“Yes.”
They answered almost at once.
The man in white turned and headed up the stone steps toward the main peak.
The disciples followed behind him without hesitation, their footsteps measured and controlled, neither hurried nor slow.
Before long, their figures disappeared into the thin morning mist between the trees.
The mountain path became empty once more.
Silence gradually returned to the spiritual spring.
Mist continued to drift across the surface of the water, while birdsong rose again from somewhere among the branches.
The spring flowed quietly, as though the confrontation from moments earlier had never happened.
Only then did Lin Qiqi release the breath she had been holding. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
She patted her chest lightly.
“That just now…”
Her voice dropped instinctively.
“That atmosphere was terrifying.”
She still seemed shaken.
After a moment, she turned toward Yu Jin.
“Sister Jin, did you just feel—”
Lin Qiqi suddenly stopped halfway through the sentence.
Her brows knitted together.
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, unable to find the right words to describe what she wanted to ask.
Yu Jin did not answer immediately.
She was still standing where she had been before, her gaze lingering on the direction in which the man in white had disappeared.
For a brief moment, it was almost as though something had caught hold of her attention.
Then the warmth inside her stirred again.
Yu Jin’s eyes shifted.
The strange heat she had only just managed to suppress quietly resurfaced.
It was not strong.
It did not surge violently through her meridians as it had when the water blades attacked.
But it was there.
Clear and undeniable.
Yu Jin slowly lowered her gaze to her hand.
Her palm remained completely empty.
There was no light, no mark, and nothing else unusual.
Yet the sensation had not disappeared.
That faint warmth continued flowing somewhere beneath the surface, quietly reminding her of its presence.
Yu Jin’s brows furrowed.
Again.
Ever since she woke from that strange dream, the feeling had refused to leave her alone.
At first, it had lingered within her like a suppressed flame.
Then, when Du Ziheng’s water blades came toward her, it had suddenly erupted on its own and shattered them before they could reach her.
Now it had stirred again, though there was no danger around her.
Yu Jin drew in a slow breath and forced the strange sensation back down.
There was no point in continuing to stare at her hand.
She did not understand what was happening, and turning the matter over in her mind would not suddenly give her an answer.
For now, she could only set it aside.
Yu Jin looked up at Lin Qiqi.
“What?”
There was a hint of helplessness in her voice.
“What did you feel?”
Lin Qiqi blinked.
Yu Jin took one look at her expression and sighed softly.
She reached over and gave the girl’s sleeve a small tug.
“Come on.”
Lin Qiqi paused.
“…Oh.”
She did not continue asking, but her cheeks were still puffed up.
Clearly, she had not yet gotten over what had happened with Du Ziheng.
Yu Jin looked at her expression and could not help laughing.
“Still angry?”
Lin Qiqi did not answer.
That alone was answer enough.
Yu Jin shook her head.
“Think about it this way.”
Her voice lightened, carrying a trace of amusement.
“If Du Ziheng ever starts speaking nicely to people, that’s when I’d actually be worried.”
Lin Qiqi looked at her.
Yu Jin continued with a perfectly serious expression.
“I’d probably have to wonder whether something went wrong with his cultivation and caused him to suffer qi deviation.”
Lin Qiqi’s eyes widened.
The corners of Yu Jin’s lips curved upward.
“The way he acted just now?” She shrugged lightly.
“That’s his true nature.”
“So at least we know he’s perfectly normal.”
She paused before adding, “Still as annoying as ever.”
Lin Qiqi stared at her for two seconds.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she tried not to laugh.
Yu Jin pretended not to notice.
Then she added casually, “Besides, it’s not as though there’s no one who can keep him in line.”
Lin Qiqi froze.
A second later, she burst out laughing.
The anger she had been holding onto disappeared almost instantly.
The tension left her shoulders, and the gloomy expression on her face finally faded.
Yu Jin looked at her and smiled as well.
At least for the moment, the strange dream, the inexplicable warmth inside her, and everything that had happened at the spiritual spring were pushed to the back of her mind.
Sunlight filtered through the thin mist between the trees and fell gently over the two girls.
Warmth gradually spread across their shoulders, while the breeze carried the cool, refreshing scent of the spiritual spring past them.
With their water flasks in hand, Yu Jin and Lin Qiqi made their way back along the mountain path.
Their footsteps were light.
Before long, Lin Qiqi had already started talking again, and Yu Jin answered her from time to time.
Their conversation and laughter drifted quietly through the peaceful forest as the tension from earlier faded beneath the morning sunlight.
Side by side, the two girls continued down the winding path, leaving the spiritual spring and everything that had happened there behind them.