By the time Yan Ping returned, it was already late morning. Her student appeared busy in the garden, drawing out rune symbols with a twig in the sand. So far, she had gotten most of the details right from merely mimicking what was written in the book.
"Pay attention to the sequence of the strokes when you write the runes," Yan Ping dropped down from the air onto her feet a few metres behind Anji. "Although it appears the same, the effectiveness of a rune diminishes when you cross the energy paths when creating the runes."
Startled, Anji jolted and turned her head behind so quickly that she almost gave herself a whiplash.
"Shifu!" Anji greeted.
In Yan Ping’s hand was a basket. The Zhao family refused to send her back without some treats for Anji, but Yan Ping could not refuse and ended up accepting the snacks. They were Anji’s favourite dried persimmons, which Old Chen Zhong sent with his information report.
"Your father summoned me urgently," Yan Ping declared honestly. "If there’s anyone to blame for our lesson delay, blame your father. These are snacks from the Black Tortoise sect leader. He said they were your favourites, so be sure to finish them up. Doctor He said you can have up to two dried persimmons a day. Leave the rest in the preservation crate for other days."
Surprised by the delicious snack, Anji wondered if she could ask why her father summoned her shifu down the mountain during their supposed isolated training. However, the aura around her shifu made it hard for Anji to approach the subject. Eventually, she dropped it. Her shifu would tell her if it was important.
After putting away her straw hat, Yan Ping brewed a pot of tea and sighed. Anji cleaned up the garden and washed up before heading indoors, eager to begin their lesson for the day.
"How many runes do you remember?" the blind prophet asked. "I’m assuming you finished reading the book I gave you if you had extra time to be doodling on the ground."
Grinning sheepishly, Anji nodded.
"I finished the book twice. However, I thought it would be necessary to remember how to write the rune symbols anyway. You weren’t coming back yet, so I took it upon myself to practise writing them."
It was a good learning attitude. However, Yan Ping was concerned about the lack of guidance in Anji’s life. Although her student was extremely enthusiastic, she was also extremely inexperienced. Without proper guidance, Anji could unknowingly make an irreversible mistake. Thankfully, the girl had no functional cultivation base to work with. There was presently no risk of qi deviation from practising how to draw runes.
"You’re lucky that you don’t have a functional golden core right now," Yan Ping reprimanded Anji lightly. "Anyone who tries to draw a rune without learning the proper method could risk a qi backflow and sustain internal injuries. When I told you not to practise cultivation in my absence, I meant all sorts of cultivation methods, including spells and arrays."
The smile on Anji’s face immediately disappeared when she was scolded. Her head hung low, and her heart fell. She had not meant to disobey her teacher.
"This disciple is wrong," she apologised. "Anji won’t do it again. Please forgive me, shifu."
Draining her cup of tea, Yan Ping sighed and shook her head helplessly.
"If you know you’re wrong, hurry up and unlock all your meridians so you can cultivate safely. Stop worrying this teacher. My hair is going to become white at this rate!"
Blinking, Anji tilted her head in confusion. Were there any strands of black hair on her teacher’s head? From head to toe, all of Yan Ping’s hair was black. It would be weirder for someone over a hundred years old to have any natural black hair. However, she held her tongue. Maybe her teacher did not mean this literally.
Getting to the lesson, Yan Ping verbally revised all the concepts Anji had read in the textbook. The girl had gotten better at counting overnight as well. For now, there was nothing more to teach. It was time to move on to the practical lessons.
"Give me your hands," Yan Ping held out her palms towards Anji. "I will show you how the Shaoshang point should feel if it is fully activated. Please remember to feel the energy. I will show you every acupoint and travel throughout my Tai Yin Meridian to my cultivator core. When you unseal your artificial cores and valves, they should circulate the same way." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novèlfire.net
Putting her hands in Yan Ping’s, Anji realised how big and rough her teacher’s hands were. She closed her eyes and welcomed the warm glow on their connected palms as Yan Ping’s energy and consciousness pulled her in.
Unlike Anji’s body, which constantly felt like a cold and barren wasteland with hardly any sensations, Yan Ping’s body was brimming with life energy and vitality. The Shaoshang point in her teacher’s body hummed and throbbed in rhythm with Yan Ping’s strong heartbeat, pulsing in tandem as the energy bypassed the acupoint effortlessly. There was hardly any twisting sensation or burning heat as the energy travelled upwards to the next point.
One by one, Yan Ping paused at every acupoint and introduced their names and functions. The first five acupoints in the Tai Yin meridian were located on the hand. Anji noticed how they felt similar but had different vibration levels. However, the energy remained constant throughout without any form of resistance as they progressed. The warmth only increased as they travelled further up the meridian path.
"Be prepared," Yan Ping warned. "There will be much more resistance from the Lieque point to the Kongzui point. As we approach closer to the core, the heat will increase drastically. It’s not a real physical heat that will hurt you. However, due to our cultivation level difference, the intensity could be difficult to handle."
Mentally preparing herself, Anji nodded and steeled her mind as Yan Ping slowly guided her to the Kongzui point. Already, Anji’s hands shook with effort to remain calm. If the previous journey was like dipping her cold feet into lukewarm water, this was now similar to dipping her feet into a hot spring. Shivering, Anji wondered how hot it would feel by the time they reached the Zhongfu point if they reached it.