Anji slept, and slept, and slept. When she finally woke up, the first things she wanted were water and food.
"Young mistress! You’re finally awake!" Lizi cried when she entered the room to see Anji stretching.
News of Anji’s achievements spread throughout the sect during the two days that she spent sleeping. Lizi was extremely worried when Anji would not wake up and called Doctor He. After the physician announced that Anji was merely sleeping from over-exhaustion, everyone relaxed. However, that did not explain the lack of muscle aches.
"Was I really asleep for only two days?" Anji asked. "Did anyone give me medicines or massages? I don’t feel any aches in my body apart from being extra hungry."
Indeed, it was the first time Lizi had to make a second trip to the kitchen to ask for a second tray of food for Anji. Her young mistress normally ate very little and had a poor appetite.
"Anji is awake?" a man’s voice interrupted before Lizi could answer her.
Zhao Mingfeng rushed over as soon as Gu Ying reported Anji’s condition. Of all the people watching on that day, he received the greatest shock when his daughter collapsed in his arms as soon as he scooped her from the ground. When she would not wake up, he could not help but worry, even though the physician declared nothing was physically wrong with Anji.
"Good morning, father," Anji greeted calmly while shovelling food into her mouth. She had already eaten three bowls of rice and all the dishes from earlier, including two drumsticks. However, it was still not enough.
Looking at the empty plates and bowls on the table, Mingfeng wondered how everything fit in that tiny body of hers. Instead of interrupting her meal or correcting her that it was closer to dinner than breakfast, Mingfeng silently reached out to Anji’s wrist to confirm something.
"You’re still at the Initial Core stage of cultivation," he concluded with a slight frown. "Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Anji let out a small burp with an embarrassed blush but shook her head. If anything, she had never felt this energetic before. Apart from the ravenous hunger from earlier that had abated a little, she was in the pink of health.
After a brief examination, Mingfeng concluded that his daughter was in good health. In fact, her vitality seemed to improve tremendously. The aura she had around her was stronger even if it wasn’t leaking out despite her lack of advancement in cultivation base. He could have sworn she must have broken through to at least the strengthened core stage with what she did previously. Why was she still stuck at the Initial Core stage? His eyes did not fool him. Anji’s recovery at the end of the two-hour mark was a healing technique that most Solid Core cultivators used to engage in drawn-out battles.
Puzzled, Mingfeng observed his daughter inhale the food Lizi put on the table. Although her speed of eating eventually slowed, her appetite remained the same. If he did not know better, he would think there was a glutton demon residing in her. However, after observing Anji for a while, Mingfeng learned that his daughter was converting the food directly into energy by constantly circulating her energy into the stomach meridian.
Lizi constantly cleared the finished dishes and refilled the pot of persimmon tea for her young lady. The persimmon plant under Anji’s care turned out to thrive better than those in the main courtyard under the gardener’s care. The maid had no idea what Anji did, but she was not surprised by Anji’s green thumb. After sending a sachet of persimmon tea leaves to her shifu through her father, Anji started drinking some of the tea herself, falling in love with the taste.
Mingfeng also drank some of the persimmon tea and felt his fatigue melt away a little. Maybe it was the healing effect of drinking tea and spending time with his youngest daughter.
"You did a good job completing the obstacle course," he praised Anji when she finally stopped eating. "I was not expecting you to complete it, only wanting you to try your best. However, you proved everyone wrong with your determination."
Grinning widely, Anji’s eyes twinkled. "In that case, would father grant me a wish?"
A wish? Anji hardly requested anything. However, she worked hard this time, and he obliged.
"What would you like to have?" he smiled.
Looking at the potted persimmon plant in her room, Anji requested daily tea time with her father and that the same tea be served to her shifu daily even if she was in seclusion recuperating. It was not a difficult request, so Mingfeng readily agreed. Anji secretly rejoiced and wondered how her father and teacher would rejoice to learn that they had been drinking Anji’s special recovery tea.
Without the special persimmon tea that Anji had been drinking for a while to test it on herself, she would not have been able to recover that quickly during the obstacle course. The lack of aching muscles when she awoke also meant Grandpa Jin’s special meditation method, which she learned during her sleep, was effective. She might not be as fit as other children her age. However, with this speedy recovery method used to repair any physical injury and reduce fatigue, Anji might be able to push her body into working overtime without serious health repercussions.
After the light-hearted mood passed, Anji finally found the courage to ask about her teacher’s health.
Sighing heavily, Mingfeng wondered how much he should tell his daughter. Yan Ping did not want anyone else to find out about her temporary crippled cultivation. However, Anji was still Yan Ping’s direct disciple and successor. She deserved the right to know a few things.
When her father did not answer immediately, Anji did not pressure him. Instead, she hopped from her stool to retrieve a carefully sewn pouch that contained the persimmon leaves and a little present she had created to thank her shifu.
"Lizi helped me to sew the pouch, and I included a rune I crafted myself according to shifu’s teachings as a present for her. Could you pass these to her when you have time?"
Accepting the small pouch, Mingfeng promised to do it and decided to let Anji rest for today. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ noᴠelfire.net
"If you’re well enough, we can resume our lessons tomorrow morning at the same time. Let me know if you still need more time to recover."
Shaking her head, Anji promised to show up for the morning class tomorrow. As she had just woken up, she was not feeling too sleepy. Her father left after giving her a hug because he still had many reports to look at in the study. Anji took a quick bath and decided to read the rest of the Rolling Panda martial manual. Maybe she could surprise her father tomorrow with one basic roll if she practised hard secretly tonight on the bed.