After Yin’s Qi crystals had been a success, and I’d forbidden her from the lab to catch up on sleep, I’d sent a letter to the lord, telling him about my progress. I’d soon received a reply, marking today as the day of our visit. With such a short deadline, there had been a lot of things for me to manage, as I’d had Yin recreate the crystal once again after she’d rested, to see how reliably she could do so. The results had been satisfactory, and despite her nervousness, the newest batch of Qi crystals were even better than the one she’d created before.

The time besides that had been spent coming up with a general model for the drug-nade vr 3.0. One which I had dubbed spirit-bomb, replacing a lot of the components inside it to create a spirit stone triggered explosive that could be used by anyone. The only real problem was figuring out the formation arts, and talismans that would be needed to create this, which is what I intended to rely on the lord with.

Alongside the grenades, I’d also studied the gun I’d received from Yin’s grandfather’s things. The idea for both of them had been simple, the only issues being creating springs, and other such things with precision which would likely require a cultivator blacksmith to create.

The spirit animals were also another problem, with so many of them coming to sleep or rest in the garden. All of them had taken on the habit to bring something in return, from little nuts, to spirit stones, Qi filled rocks, and sometimes dead insects and rats, as the fox far too often liked to do. The spirit beast seemed to be intentionally aggravating Labby, who’d taken to zapping the little critter with lighting whenever she saw it.

With so much to do, and so little time, I had not had the time to sleep whatsoever. I vaguely tried to recall the last time I had slept at all, and failed to think of an answer. Not even once since I had made the spirit anchor at least. Anytime I felt tired, which, even that had become a rare occurence, meditating for five minutes or so seemed to be enough to top up my stamina and recharge me again.

I’d also noticed a general increase in my strength and the amount of Chi in my core since the spirit anchor had been formed, but I couldn’t really

Yet, despite all the work I had, and everything I needed to do, my biggest problem was somehow a tiny little spirit plant.

“Stop!” Twilight said, freezing a small rabbit in place as it was digging through the ground. The little plant spirit giggled, the sound like chiming bells, as she watched the bunny run off in confusion.

Twilight had taken to abusing her powers for her entertainment. She’d stop and sometimes move animals, just to see them freeze up and become confused. It was like a child being given a superpower, and allowed to run wild with it. Even worse, her ability worked on cultivators, and she’d at times tried to interrupt Zhang and the others with it too. Thankfully it didn’t seem to work on mortals, or things would’ve been a mess.

I sighed, about to tell off Twilight when a stream of water splashed her, drenching her completely. Twilight shouted, as Sheldon continued to spray her with water.

“Sto—” she tried, but the water threw her off again.

I smiled, feeling glad that I’d asked Sheldon to look after the plant spirit. Sheldon was strong enough that Twilight struggled to interrupt him, and he was adept enough to not allow her the chance too often.

I left Twilight to Sheldon for the moment, as I continued to circle my garden, trying my best to think. The autumn winds were growing colder, as the trees had begun shedding their leaves. It made my spirit anchor strike out even more, full with its lush greenery amidst the autumn landscape.

The cold was also a remind that winter was just around the corner, ready to whisper in our ears. Within a week or two, the temperatures would begin to drop rapidly, and I wanted to get a certain few things in order before that time came.

As I walked around my home, taking the cool breeze in, and the smell of all the spirit herbs, I sensed a familiar presence walking towards me.

I turned towards Yin, who walked out of the back entrance of my lab, looking at me with a surprised expression.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No… umm. I was going to find you actually, and then I saw you here and got surprised,” Yin looked down at the ground for a brief moment, as if to shy away from my sight.

I waited for the girl to speak up on her own, and after a few minutes of gathering her thoughts she looked back up at me again.

“I’ve managed to make another batch of Qi crystals, and I just wanted you to look at them.”

I felt a bit surprised. She could’ve just as easily sent to call someone, as she typically did in regards to the Qi crystals. Deciding to leave the topic be, I nodded, walking through Yin to my lab from its back door.

Walking in, I noted the tray full of green crystals, Qi flowing out of them and filling the room. Picking one up, I looked at it, before eating the Qi crystals. The Qi flowed into my dantian, before being cycled around, as I felt the tingling rush from it in my throat.

“Looks good. Was that all you needed?”

Yin looked at me, before glancing back. “Yes,” she replied in a quiet murmur.

I looked at the girl for a brief moment, before nodding, as I began to make my way out. Walking up the door, I looked back, and decided I was far too impatient to try and wait her out.

“You know, If you have something to say, you should look the person you’re talking to in the eye and say it. It’s rude not to,” I said, slight annoyance mixed in my voice.

“Oh- I- Apologies. I just…” Yin trailed off, looking at me as she waved her hands around in a fluster.

“It’s fine. But I was hoping with how frequently we’re working together, we’d have grown more comfortable with talking to each other. I… did share something very close to me about my past with you, and so did you. Maybe I was wrong but I felt like I had a connection with you.”

Yin looked up at me, her eyes wide in surprise. “M-me too!” she said, her voice coming out louder than I’d expected. “Me too… I just. It’s such a presumptuous request, and you’re… you seem at the center of so many things. I just… how could someone like me…”

“Hey. I feel offended that you think I’d care about something like that. If you have something to say, feel free to say it.”

Yin looked at me, glancing down once more, before she caught herself. Clenching her fist, she nodded. “I want to go with you. T-to the Lord’s place.”

A moment of silence descended, before I chuckled. “That’s it? Holy crap, I thought it was something huge.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Mind? I’ve already asked the Lord to let you come with me. You, Zhang, Yan Yun, Labby. All of us. I’d asked Granny and Su Lin too but they said no. I think I just forgot to tell you, for which I’m sorry. There’s been a lot on my mind recently.”

“Ah…” Yin exclaimed, staring at me. A slightly blush rose on her cheeks, as she bowed. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But I’ll suggest getting ready, we should be heading out pretty soon,” I told Yin who nodded, ready to go back.

As I was talking, I’d failed to notice a tiny little spirit plant peeking though who decided now was the time to jump in.

“Stop!”

Yin stumbled, freezing in place. “Ahh… Twilight! Please don’t do that… my body froze and I almost fell…”

Twilight giggled, and I decided it was time for disciplining. Walking quickly, I grabbed the little spirit who tried to run away from me. Raising Twilight, I raised her to my eye level, her read beady eyes glistening in the light.

“What did I tell you Twilight?” I told the little spirit.

“Chi…” she let out a quiet whine, lowering her flowery head.

“What do we say when we do something wrong?” I asked Twilight.

“Sorry,” Twilight said, and I nodded.

“I-it’s okay. She was just playing,” Yin tried.

“No, she needs to be taught. I let Labby run around and she got hurt because of that. I’m not repeating the same mistakes with Twilight,” I said, before I put Twilight on the ground.

“Now behave, or I won’t give you any blood or spirit herbs.”

Tiny tears gathered in Twilight’s eyes, but I knew fake crying when I knew it. Steeling my resolve, I just stared at her, and slowly she nodded.

I saw Yin looked at me for a moment, before she dipped her head and decided to walk out. I sighed, feeling like a mean tyrant, but I knew I had to keep my spirits in check. Even if it meant scolding them or punishing them sometimes.

Slowly, I turned around, ready to turn back around when I realised something.

“Twilight. Has your words been effective on Yin all this time?” I asked.

“Chii!” she replied, nodding.

“Huh,” I murmured, looking at the door from where Yin had left from. “Strange.”

I put the thought out of my mind. There was a lot to be done.