To Chao’s relief, Huifen showed no signs of not wanting to continue their cultivation throughout the night. They agreed to stop before morning, but this time, it wasn’t because he’d run out of energy, but because they both needed rest.

As an earth realm cultivator, she’d normally need far less sleep than him and could easily go days without it and not be affected at all. He could go a day or two, but unless he was at his peak state, he simply didn’t have the vast energy reserves to make it feasible.

In the morning, Chao spent even more time cultivating energy so that he could extend his time in practice with her. He also began seriously considering what he should do when she left. He hadn’t decided anything yet, but he was building up his energy reserves just in case.

That day would’ve been considered the beginning of the routine they’d unintentionally developed, except in a few days, it would all come to an end. He cultivated in the morning after chores. He always refilled the water barrel so she could take a shower, and she always would as he was gathering energy. They’d eat their meals and discuss the elemental laws like two studious sect members that held the same interests. Then, they’d practice the laws hour after hour. Chao started out as always, looking over her shoulder and offering feedback, but slowly, he’d turn to his own experiments while she was trying her own. They’d constantly discuss their observations and bounce ideas off each other.

To Chao, it was reminiscent of having his mother back, but only in regard to having someone he could practice with. There was always a tension between them, but it was one he secretly delighted in. He’d seen her smile and even made her laugh. As selfish as it was, he wanted more. It was like he had his own little ice fairy all to himself. He could have been content if this went on forever.

That night, after she’d already joined him in cultivating the garden, they stood at the nearby well and were practicing when he began wondering about the effects of elemental qi on the body. He turned his attention to Huifen, who was standing right next to him. She still wore the sleeveless shirt that tied at the collar even though her wound had fully closed and it was no longer necessary to apply a poultice. The cold of night didn’t bother her, so even the slit down her back was easily ignored.

The soft glow of the skin of her arm pulled his attention. She had it bent at the elbow with her palm facing up. In its center was a floating ball of water about the size of a fist. She’d officially used Create on top of her Borrow to grow the glob of water. Now, she played around with manipulating the water itself by seeing if she could figure out a method to give it eyes. Of course, his attention wasn’t on the water she controlled but on her.

The flawlessness of her skin was only one observation a person could make and one of the most obvious. It was its interaction with the energy inside her and the heaven and earth qi in the air that he was puzzling through.

He felt her energy falter as the ball of water shrunk to its natural size as it fell from her control toward the ground.

“What are you doing?” she said, covering her arm with her hand.

His eyes darted away as they threatened to jump out of his head. “Sorry,” he replied before closing them. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage before he proceeded. “It’s not what you think. I swear. I—” He forced his eyes open then made himself look at her. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I’ve been wondering for a while now if your ice cultivation affects your complexion and how. I’ve seen a few other ice fairies, and they also seem to have similar characteristics, but were also different. If it does affect you, then how does cultivating other elements affect the body? Something along those lines. Sorry. Please forget it.”

“You’re not familiar with how elemental qi affects the body?”

“Well, yes, but… All of my friends growing up were from the local area, and they all cultivate, but they aren’t exactly… They have at the most reached the blood realm, so their qi hasn’t really affected them.”

“Oh. I forget you don’t have a lot of the experience that would be common to even an outer sect disciple.”

He couldn’t help but to visibly cringe at her words.

“Don’t be discouraged,” she said soberly. “It’s not a good or a bad thing. It is a fact you have to deal with.” She started to relax and uncrossed her arms. “Ice qi does have an effect on my body that changes it over time. In part, it’s the most yin heavy element, so that’s why all woman who cultivate ice become fairer the higher their cultivation rises. It’s the same for men. They become more feminine when practicing ice, but their natural yang, especially if they retain their virgin yang, allows them to keep a certain level of masculinity that women don’t have.”

Holding out her hand, a small snowflake appeared there and settled against the skin of her palm without melting. “Another thing that affects us is ice itself. Having ice qi consistently running through our meridians and making up our dantians tempers the body much like the sun does the skin of the worker of the field. Except it happens from the inside out. This is why blemishes of the skin disappear. It also makes us far tougher than we look.”

He glanced at her hand holding the snowflake. “Is that why you seem to glow? The more your energy returns, the more I’ve noticed it.”

“That—that is because of my physique. It’s called the Peerless Spiritual Body. I don’t solely use my meridians to absorb the world’s energy. My entire body absorbs it, even my hair.”

“That’s amazing.”

She nodded in acceptance. “It makes cultivating much easier for me than the average person.”

“Father said he’d be surprised if it took you ten years to reach the divine realm. How long until you reach the apex?”

She looked at him before looking away. “Ten thousand years.”

He felt like he’d just fallen face-first into the snow. “That’s a long time to wait until you can get married.” His face swelled suddenly like a red plum. He chuckled as if to pass it off as a joke.

That meant, if he had any chance of being with her, he’d have to wait ten thousand years before she’d be available. As for the realm he’d reach and if he’d still be alive, he wasn’t even sure overlords lived ten thousand years…

When she didn’t seem to get angry, he dared to ask, “With your special physique, why’s it important for you to remain unmarried? Aren’t you an exception to the rule?”

She shook her head and pulled her hand back. “A woman’s virgin yin allows her to cultivate faster and is viewed as an increase to her future potential. Without it, one can still cultivate, but the older one gets, the harder it is to break through to the next realm. I have a heavenly advantage, but the loss of my virgin yin would still slow my progress. I’ll be able to reach higher realms than most people can dare to hope, but losing it might be the very thing that keeps me from taking the last step. There’s no guarantee I’ll make it even if I have my yin intact. With it, I stand a much better chance.”

“I see…” It couldn’t be helped. The last thing he wanted to do was dishearten her resolve for her love of cultivation. It was one of the things that most intrigued him about her. “You’ll definitely make it. Does that mean you’ll live forever?”

“No. At least, no one I’ve heard about from my master has ever really obtained immortality. Hundreds of thousands of years are likely. Maybe more.”

The thought of her living from millennia to millennia while he was long dead was like a heavy weight being dropped on his chest. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much. After a few days, he’d probably never see her again, but if things ended up as she said, then he’d lose all options of knowing her and being there through it all. He knew there was no chance of a romantic future for them, but he hated the feeling that things had already been set in stone.

“But to answer the rest of your question,” she began when he started to get lost in thought. “Each element does affect a person’s physique. Water has a similar affect as ice, although there are differences.”

She took the time to explain. Where ice tempered the body, Water nourished it. It was also a heavy yin element that had the tendency to accentuate feminine charms and improve upon the curves of a woman’s body. Some guys preferred water fairies to ice ones, but Chao was extremely partial. Not only had an ice fairy been there to help when his father was trying to save his mother, but there was Huifen. He wasn’t exactly well-traveled, but he’d seen enough ice fairies to know she was a unique existence amongst them, and from the sounds of it, she’d only grow more beautiful.

She hadn’t stopped her explanation. “…Fire and lightning are the heavy yang elements. As you’ve seen with your father, yang enhances his male physique and musculature. It also improves his masculine features.”

He watched as she diverted her eyes at the last statement.

“Earth and nature are considered neutral, but they can still have a variety of effects,” she said before resting her gaze on him. “Which brings me to you. No one cultivates just heaven and earth qi unless they are just learning in the blood realm. This qi’s effects on you, even at your early nascent realm, are surprising. You’re built more like a yang practitioner but have a fairer face, which might be because of the yin mixed into the energy you cultivate…”

“I’m fair?” he said, aghast.

“Just because you have fairer features doesn’t make you feminine. It could also be because you’re still young.”

Was it officially time to deride how he looked? “Okay, okay. Next, you’ll be telling me that if I get rid of my virgin yang, I’ll turn into a woman.”

“No. Receiving the virgin yin of a woman would do you well, I think. It would stimulate your natural yang. You’re still far more yang than yin. Even if it makes you slightly fairer, you’d only become more handsome.”

“And how could I possibly do that to someone? You basically just told me that taking a girl’s virgin yin would ruin her future. And did you just call me handsome?”

Taking a step toward the house, she responded, “I think we should call it a night.”

It was still early. “No, but I agree it’s best we cut this conversation short. My father would probably smite me to dust if he heard me talking to you about virgin anything. But you’re definitely not allowed to leave right now. If you’re really aiming for the apex, then you need to make use of every moment you have. Do you have another teacher of heaven’s laws hidden some place that I don’t know about? We only have a few days left, so let’s get busy.”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t leave either.

It was a full minute before he responded. “Senior Sister, I’m sorry, again. I think I was taking my frustrations out on you, and I don’t even know why.”

“You’re forgiven.” She stepped forward to retake her place. She Borrowed a few drops of water from the bucket between them and reformed her ball of water. Using Create, she made it grow.

He quickly returned to his own experiments, but his frustration hadn’t been resolved at all. He didn’t think she was lying to him, but he also knew his parents’ story well. His mother had stagnated at the earth realm for decades until his father showed up. It was only after they were married and she no longer had her virgin yin that her cultivation had started rising rapidly. Did the obvious contradiction make what Huifen said untrue, or was there more to it than that? She and his mother were certainly different people with different levels and talent. Maybe that was the difference, or maybe it was because Father’s cultivation was higher than Mother’s and he helped her somehow?

It wasn’t long before he put aside his questions and turned his full attention back to the task at hand. They were two youngsters with a love of cultivation. In that, they could wholeheartedly share.

***

She’d already had breakfast when Senior Long approached where she was standing by the fireplace. Chao was outside, sitting on his stump in the garden, cultivating energy, and she’d made a habit of spending some time by the fire for no other reason than watching its flames. For some reason, it greatly relaxed her mind. The air around her compressed as a sound barrier took form.

“Good morning, Fairy Huifen,” he said cheerfully. “Sorry if this seems sudden, but the best time for us to talk is while Chao’s cultivating. You know he tends to hear things he shouldn’t.”

“Fairy Huifen greets Senior,” she said. The skin of her back no longer felt tight as she bowed her head. “It is as you say.”

“It seems you’ve taken my advice to heart about using this time to examine life without Heart of Ice active. What’s your current take?”

She thought for a moment before giving an honest assessment. “There are benefits of going without it, but also many distractions. I am undecided how I will apply what I’ve learned.”

“Good. Just remember that you don’t have to make a long-lasting decision. There isn’t always a prescribed method that works perfectly. After meeting Chao, I don’t think you will deny that.”

“I won’t.”

“Then I’ll leave the decision up to you, where it has always belonged in the first place, and out of the hands of masters and old men. Now for why I wanted to speak with you privately,” he said, folding his hands behind his back. “Tomorrow, it will be safe for you to start cultivating again. Spend the morning gathering energy and the afternoon finishing your dealings with Chao. Once evening falls, tell him that you must continue your cultivation to build up your lost energy. He will stay by your side for a time, but once it is getting late, tell him to come inside to rest so he’ll be ready for the next day. Then, leave and forget about this place. I know I’m asking you to lie to him, but it will make it easier on the both of you this way.”

What he was asking was not something she could do. The very thought forced her to slow her breathing so she didn’t lose her composure. “Fairy Huifen answers Senior Long. Thank you for your guidance, but Chao saved my life. I can’t leave this debt unpaid. Even if I do as Senior requests, I will return at a later date—”

“To do what exactly? Marry him?”

She felt a sudden chill, which was not something normally even possible for one with her ice cultivation without extreme cold.

His authoritative tone was as honed as sharpened steel. “I don’t mention marriage to force you into an unfavorable position, but to make you understand the absurdity of your words. What are you going to repay him with that I don’t already have set aside for his future inheritance? Do you think there is anything you or your Ice Phoenix Sect has that he will be lacking?”

“I—”

“Don’t worry yourself about him or your debt. I don’t say this to shame you. You’ve already given him more than you know. You just won’t understand it unless you have children of your own. He’s fond of you, and so am I. For that alone, you can consider your debt repaid. I also know how modest you were being when you told him you’d reach the apex in ten thousand years. The reality is that it will only take you a thousand even after many setbacks. I also know that once you reach the heights of the heavens, the search for higher realms hasn’t ended but only begun. You knew this, yet you left room for the hope that there might be the far off possibility of a future with you. For that, I must thank you.”

She stood staring at the floor without the strength to respond. Even if she had it, what could she possibly say? Chao hadn’t just saved her life and willingly given his half of the sky realm Beast Core to her, but he’d helped her understand heaven’s laws without asking for anything in return. Only one thought seemed clear enough to grasp on to, so she did so with both hands. “Senior, I know you’re not from this lowly world. Would you be so kind as to tell this one what cultivation realm you’ve reached?”

“High enough to know what your future entails, and that is sufficient.”

“Senior, I still can’t accept this. I’ve asked him about his future, and he wants to join a sect. I am the Ice Phoenix Sect Master’s personal disciple. I have the authority to grant him membership into my sect and to make him an inner sect disciple. There’s nothing he’d have to do but accept. We might not have the resources you do, but in the environment a sect can provide, he’d have no lack of peers and motivation.”

He gave her a kindly grin. “If you find a rare treasure in a mystic realm, do you choose to not take possession of it because you feel you’ve been unfairly fortunate? It’s honorable to want to repay your debt, but do you know what would happen if he were to become an inner sect disciple with his cultivation. Even with his laws—no, especially with his laws—he’d be bullied. What did you call him, a freak? Even if he started as an outer sect disciple, it would be the same. He’d be a threat in an extremely competitive environment. Don’t tell me you don’t remember what that’s like.”

She straightened herself. “The competitive environment helps motivate our members to excel. I think Chao would do well, even enjoy it, and the Sect Master is diligent to keep things safe and fair.”

“I’m sure that she is, but Chao wouldn’t be the average disciple, now would he. You can’t compare the experience of even your sect’s geniuses to the experience he would have. The only comparison that would come close is you. You’ve seen how irrational people can be when someone a whole large realm lower than them outdoes them. Haven’t you? How embarrassment can make an otherwise honorable person act dishonorably. But you also have an advantage that he doesn’t. You have a physique that can take a hit from a peak sky realm dire beast while still in the earth realm. Let’s say he beats someone a large realm higher then him, then, in a short fit of rage, the person retaliates. Normally, it would be nothing serious. A small punishment would be appropriate. You have survived such incidents, I’m sure. But what about Chao? If he were in the same predicament, not only would he end up injured, but crippled or dead. And what if he outdoes someone two large realms higher than him, which you’ve seen is possible. Do you now understand why him joining your sect isn’t a good idea?”

She had made the same observations about Chao’s strengths and weaknesses. As for whether Senior Long was right about people retaliating in the heat of the moment, of course he was. It even happened among friends on rare occasions. Combat sparring was still practice for combat, so accidents happened, and tempers flared. But she still wouldn’t leave it at that. “Then I’ll keep him safe.”

“Oh? Do you know what that entails? Are you willing to take him as your personal disciple? Of course not. But unless you’re managing his schedule around your own, as a serious cultivator, how are you going to keep him safe if you’re never there to begin with? He also has the temperament of his mother. You’re right that he’d probably enjoy competition, but his mother died, not because she lost a fight, but because she wouldn’t fight in the first place. She was trying to play peacemaker between me and an old enemy, and he killed her for it. Chao also doesn’t have the necessary killer instinct. It can be cultivated, but it would be another hindrance you’d have to take on yourself. Not to mention, taking him under your wing would dip into your own resources for cultivating. I praise your desire, but you must leave, and its best if it happens tomorrow night.”

***

The air quivered around him as Chao stared off into the distance. He hadn’t even intended to listen in on them, but every time his Father used his barrier to block out the sound, it was like sending up a flare declaring what he was about to do.

Deciding to listen for only a moment because he suspected his father was going to speak to her about leaving, he’d found he’d been right and so much more.

His father was telling her to abandon him completely. Closing his eyes, Chao felt the turbulence of his energy and did his best to calm it. The sound vibrations in the air slowed to a stop and he settled down.

It was no surprise to him that she thought his father wasn’t of this realm. As for his inheritance, he wasn’t sure what it all entailed, but he was beginning to believe he didn’t want it if it came with such strings attached.

The most shocking thing was what he’d learned about Huifen’s future. Reaching the apex for her would take less than a thousand years, but once she reached it, her journey wasn’t over. It seemed like there would never be a day that she wasn’t in need of her virgin yin. Should that help ease their parting? Because it was doing just the opposite. Everything he knew about heaven’s laws made them seem like the greatest grace given to mankind to play with and enjoy. He’d always paired marriage with the laws, thinking of it as a similar gift that was given for the same reason, so why was it starting to sound like a curse instead?

He couldn’t blame Huifen for any of this, nor would he. If she sought the apex, then so be it. Whether she wanted to do it with or without her virgin yin intact, he’d happily support her in any way he could. He’d heard her fight for him. Sometime over the last couple days she’d become a true friend.

He loved his father, but Zan had gone too far. Chao knew his strengths and weaknesses as well as anyone. To completely write off this opportunity because of the fear for his safety… When he told him he could leave a join a sect a year ago, had he not been telling the truth? Did he think he was too much like his mother to ever care to leave?

What he needed to do was already clear in his mind. He only needed to work out the details. For now, he would cultivate energy. He also began to catalog the herbs he should take with him. Even though his father would sometimes ask for something from the garden, it was rare. Though it belonged to both of them, Chao had always helped himself. He wouldn’t be shy now to take whatever he might need for the plan that was quickly developing in his head.