Xiyadie's Secret

Although the family head expected Yinuo to refuse, given her usual behavior, Quinlan's agreement took him by surprise. Still, it wasn't enough for him to suspect something happened to her daughter or that someone else was inside her body.

After the "not so happy" announcement regarding the engagement, the dinner went on as usual. Everyone ate without muttering another word, as if they were eating by themselves and not with family.

Quinlan observed their table manners, copying them to make sure he was not doing anything wrong. It was his first time using chopsticks, but by copying how others do it, he didn't have any trouble eating. He was so tense for the entire duration of the dinner that he didn't even remember what the food tasted like or whether it was good or not.

Right afterward, Xiyadie helped him to go back to his room. As Meng Yinuo's personal maid, Xiyadie stays in a small room right next to Yinuo's. This arrangement made it so they could talk to each other in secret without provoking suspicions from everyone else.

"Then, after you finish your duties, come into my room. I'll be teaching you the basics," Quinlan said as he entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Xiyadie may be a personal maid, but it's not like she didn't have other duties. While Quinlan was inside Meng Yinuo's room, Xiyadie would be free to do her chores.

The reason she wasn't to be found anywhere during the morning was that she was sent out on official business by her superior. It was a rare occasion when she wasn't able to stay with Yinuo while the sun was up.

Finally, Quinlan was alone once again. Looking around the room, nothing was worth paying attention to. Other than the canopy bed in the middle of the room, nothing but a drawer and a table were present in the room.

Tired, Quinlan walked to the side of the bed, sat on it, and tried to chill. The softness of the bed allowed him to sink pretty deep, a satisfying feeling that made him get a little more comfortable.

"..."

Doing absolutely nothing, he simply stared at the desk right in front of him in a trance. Just like that, time passed. After an unknown amount of time, a knock finally came from the door.

"Enter," Quinlan immediately replied, snapping out of his trance.

*Slide!*

As the door opened, Xiyadie entered. "Great Teacher Yinuo, I've come to receive your instructions," she greeted, cupping her fist and bowing down halfway.

"What? No, it's fine not to do that. I'm not teaching you officially as your master, so please don't be too formal," Quinlan requested, scratching his cheek as a wry smile covered his face.

"Are you sure...?" She asked, not entirely convinced, but a slightly teasing smile crossed her face for a short instant.

Still, she respected Quinlan's request and started to act normal. Quinlan, seeing that she was finally returning to her relaxed state, tapped the space beside him. "Come here; our talk will be quite long."

To Xiyadie, the two of them were both girls, so she didn't hesitate at all and sat beside Quinlan. After getting comfortable, he then started to recount what Meng Yinuo had taught him earlier that day.

It not only works as passing the knowledge on to Xiyadie, but it also reinforces his knowledge about it through reciting everything to another person. Quinlan was actually hitting two birds with one stone as he taught her about the basics of cultivation.

An hour passed, and Quinlan finally finished talking. Xiyadie stayed quiet the entire time, listening attentively. However, she seemed to still be confused by all the information she received.

"Qi? Natural Energy? How..."

Quinlan could completely understand her troubles; after all, he was also wondering about the same thing. "I don't know, but it was said that we will know it as we cultivate... First, let's meditate, and try to empty your mind. Feel everything around you, and try to gather the energy in the environment inside your lower Dantian."

"Uhh..."

Xiyadie still looked like she was lost. Quinlan sighed, smiling at her, before whispering. "Copy what I do, and keep in mind what I just said."

Quinlan moved to the relative center of the bed, sitting in a lotus position and closing his eyes. Breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, he repeated this breathing technique as he tried to feel the Qi in the air.

Xiyadie copied him, sitting down in a lotus position with difficulty. After she was comfortable enough, she closed her eyes and relaxed, matching Quinlan's breathing pace.

For a while, only the sound of their breathing echoed in the empty room. Quinlan was feeling a change, however.

Since he was unconsciously utilizing his internal Qi at the bath, his senses were becoming slightly more attuned to feeling Qi. A foreign sensation, which was hard to describe in words, was felt along with the air he was breathing.

'Is this Qi?' Quinlan wondered.

He didn't waste his chance and tried to guide it down to his navel, where the lower Dantian was. It didn't go too well; as he wasn't accustomed to commanding energy or Qi, he failed to do it several times in a row.

Still, with each failure, a sliver of the gathered Qi seeps into his lower dantian, slowly creating a single droplet of pure Yin Qi.

"Phew..."

Quinlan let out a huge sigh, opening his eyes once more. He felt that he could not concentrate anymore, so he decided to stop then and there. When he turned to Xiyadie, however, Quinlan felt goosebumps across his arms.

"What the?!"

Xiyadie was glowing in a faint blue light, and each breath she exhaled scattered the light as if it were disturbed water. The scene was so alien to Quinlan that he had to do a double-take before believing what he was seeing.

A natural! Xiyadie commands the Qi around her like she was born to do just that! If not for the small drop of Qi that Quinlan had gathered, slightly making his senses more sensitive to Qi, then he wouldn't be able to see this amazing scene.

'... As the one who was supposed to teach her, I can't lose either!' The flames of rivalry burned bright as Quinlan resumed his lotus position, concentrating deeper than before.

Was it pride? Or was it his will to not give up? Anyway, Quinlan went deeper and deeper into his meditation—deep enough that he lost track of time. The pair became enveloped in a frosty mist as the Yin Qi in the surroundings of the entire estate was squeezed dry.

By the time they returned to their senses, when they could no longer gather even a single strand of Qi, the sun was already peeking over the horizon. Quinlan opened his eyes and then smiled.

"I reached it! I reached the 1st Stage!" He cheered as he stared at the notification window before him.

[You have gathered a total of 100 drops of Qi.]

[Congratulations! You have reached the Qi Refinement 1st Stage!]