Returning

"Responsibility?" The woman seemed a tad confused, then she noticed Yang Lin's gesture as he tended to his bloodied lips. Her expression instantly darkened.

"Brat, stop talking nonsense!" Realizing what she had done, a rush of blood assaulted her cheeks, a faint blush almost surfaced her countenance only to be extinguished by the woman's fine control of emotions. After thousands of years, today, she inadvertently lost her first kiss as well. However, she would rather die than toss such a confession unprovoked.

"Follow the downwind's direction, you should reach Green Maplewood before noon," The woman impatiently waved about with her palm, allowing Yang Lin to notice how her digits restored their pristine state as though she never bit them. As she gave her back to him, he noticed the pond's waters slowly boil into vapor, though it wasn't hot per se, additionally, he became aware of his fully naked body, and a soaring dragon near his groin region.

Indeed, the earlier interaction induced a reaction, coupled with his exclamation, it was enough to get to the woman's brains, hence the sudden dismissal and odd behavior.

Quickly, Yang Lin sat in a comfortable posture to conceal his manhood, and with a face as red as the sunset, he asked for a pair of clothes, anything at all.

At first, the woman was irresponsive. However, as his pleas grew annoying, she reluctantly struck a gale of her Qi, gathering about over Yang Lin's body in an orderly, neat fashion. He watched with eyes wide and mouth agape, not even gasping, as energy morphed into fine white silk, woven into chilly, arctic robes that were cold to the touch.

He didn't know why her Qi felt cold, and he even sneezed a couple of times before getting used to the sensation. Witnessing that, the woman sneered, though inwardly she sighed in relief.

Her Qi Essence has the attribute of Primordial Frost, she feared the boy would render into a block of ice the moment she assisted him, ultimately dying due to his weak physique. Eventually, she assumed it was due to the fact he refined some of her Qi Essence. Amidst her pondering, Yang Lin's skin had already grown pale, albeit the robes were long and layered, he still felt unbearably cold.

Grinding his palms against one another, he sighed out a cloud of vapor that glistened against his childish features. For a moment, he recalled each night in the frosty winter as he observed Ming'er from the shadows of a cliff over-hanging the orphanage. A faint smile traced his thin lips, whilst he basked in silly oblivion to the silver shimmer in his very pupils, and the woman's intensive gaze towards him.

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"I should be there soon," Yang Lin muttered to himself in a solemn tone.

As per the woman's directions, he followed the downwind, and the sun is rising to its peak, albeit slowly. Through this long hike down the mountains, Yang Lin was surprised by how light his body was, and how nimble his movements were.

On his way back, he outmaneuvered a tiger, escaped a pack of wolves, and was able to shoot down a bird or two as they flocked in a group. All this seemingly effortlessly, and he was yet to experience fatigue or tire. Thinking back to when he first met Ming'er, as he ran out of breath, panic-ridden, believing he would die there and then in the viel of darkness and winter, he couldn't help but smile dejectedly.

"Was she this powerful back then? I must have looked pathetic…" He said, just as the Green Maplewood village appeared at the edge of his sight.