Ten meters away from the veranda, Xie Qing sat on the ground, studying an encyclopedia, trying to find any information about herbs, but to no avail.


    "How difficult... ugh!"


    The young man tiredly fell to the ground, feeling a slight dizziness. There was so much information that it was incredibly difficult to understand.


    Even though he had enough time, most of the words remained unknown to him, which was somewhat torturous for the young man.


    "Xie Qing, Is there anything notable?" asked Lu Yin with a kind smile.


    "No, nothing... I don''t understand anything," replied the young man with a slight embarrassment on his face. "I''m sorry, I''m useless in this matter."


    "It''s okay. I see that you''re bored, so why don''t we take a walk?"


    "Huh? Are you sure? I''m fine, but will Miss Liu Yan object?" asked Xie Qing, tilting his head to the side.


    "No, it''s all right. I''m not much help either, to be honest. I don''t really understand how to help them, so the Master asked me to just take a walk and not worry about it."


    "All right, then. I saw a garden nearby. Would you do me the honor of walking with me?" asked Xie Qing and smiled.


    Lu Yin smiled her usual flowery smile, looking incredibly beautiful.


    ***


    Liu Yan smiled, watching the two of them walk towards the garden.


    "Ah, youth..." she sighed.


    "Are you reminiscing about your younger days? Back then, legendary phoenixes existed..."


    Bam.


    "Ugh..."


    Xu Mei lost her voice, watching as Xu Mei rubbed her head. Liu Yan hit her on the crown with her usual gentle smile.


    "It seems you have a lot of free time. Have you finished your task already, that you decided to spend your time joking around?" asked Liu Yan with a gentle smile that seemed too cold and frightening.


    "No..."


    Xu Mei flinched and turned away, picking up a book and continuing to read. Liu Yan sighed, looking at her friend.


    "If Lu Yin falls in love with that guy... what should I do? It''s so annoying... ugh!"


    Liu Yan sighed and shook her head, feeling a contradiction in her heart.


    "They say that when people get older, they sigh a lot. Sister Liu Yan, you..."


    Bam.


    "Agh..."


    Xu Mei lost her voice, and her back sweated.


    ***


    A stunning view opened up to Xie Qing. He sat on a bench and watched as Lu Yin frolicked in the water.


    Her shoesy on the ground near the stream, and the girl herself, holding onto the hem of her dress, was having fun in the water.


    The young man felt a sense of calm from this scene. It was as if he was watching the dance of a Heavenly Fairy, who could enchant anyone with just one nce.


    "Xie Qing!"


    A soft girlish cry brought Xie Qing back to his senses. He raised his head and did not have time to say anything when a ssh of water suddenly hit him in the face.


    "..."


    "Hahaha!"


    The young man silently wiped his face and looked at Lu Yin, whose hair was slightly wet, as was the hem of her dress. Sheughed merrily, looking at Xie Qing''s face, which had be wet from the water.


    Suddenly, the young man stood up and took off his shoes. He tied his hair in a ponytail and, with a look as if he was going to war, entered the river.


    Ssh!


    "Kyaaa!"


    Lu Yin let out a surprised cry as a wave fell directly on her, submerging her in the water. The girl fell and looked stunned, and thenughed merrily.


    "Hahahaha! I''ve never seen anyone use a sword like that before!"


    "..."


    Xie Qing smiled and did not respond. In his hands was an ordinary bamboo training sword with a blunt end.


    He swung it again and raised a huge wave that immediately submerged Lu Yin in the water again.


    "Wow! The water is so warm!" eximed Lu Yin.


    Her clothes and hair were soaked, but she was still just as carefree andughed merrily, looking incredibly attractive.


    "The water here is really nice," Xie Qing finally spoke and looked away. "Well, of course, I would advise you to change your clothes... if possible."


    "What? Why?"


    Lu Yin looked puzzled and then at herself. After a few seconds...


    "Aaaa! Turn around, please!"


    "Y-yes..."


    Xie Qing rubbed his nose and turned away. Of course, he had already seen everything and firmly fixed it in his memory.


    Lu Yin''s dress was made of lightweight materials that were quite thin. They, of course, covered what they should, but this material was sensitive to water, so...


    Now her underwear was clearly visible through her dress. That''s why Xie Qing warned her, acting like a gentleman. Of course, before that, he thoroughly enjoyed the sight.


    After changing her clothes, Lu Yin quickly asked Xie Qing to turn around.


    "Oh. That color suits you, it looks cute," praised Xie Qing out of habit, earning a gentle smile from Lu Yin, which had a hint of embarrassment in it.


    Lu Yin changed into the same dress, but light blue. Xie Qing loved light colors, and considering her blue hair, it suited her perfectly.


    Xie Qing did not have to change his clothes because he simply used a Dao technique that he learned from his mother.


    "There are animals here. I sensed them with my spiritual sense," said Xie Qing and smiled, looking at Lu Yin''s sparkling eyes. "Do you want to see them? They''re cute."


    "Let''s go! Where? Where?"


    "I''ll take you there."


    The young man smiled weakly, seeing her childish impatience, and led her deeper into the garden. In the very center stood a fountain, from which the animals drank. There was a deer, its baby, and a small white fox.


    "So cute!" squealed Lu Yin, slightly scaring Xie Qing. "So cute!"


    She ran forward, and the animals turned to her. Xie Qing expected them to run away now, but...


    "Wow, you''re so soft! And you''re so cute! Aww!"


    Lu Yin easily touched the deer and the fox she hugged to her chest. Surprisingly, the animals behaved very friendly and frolicked around her.


    "Uh... why did they avoid me then?" thought Xie Qing with a slight mncholy.


    When he tried to approach the deer, it quickly ran away, as if it had encountered a disaster. Even suppressing his Qi did not help; these guys still ran away.


    The young man sighed dejectedly, and then suddenly felt a light, wet touch on his hand. Furrowing his brow, he looked at his hand, which was being licked by the little fawn.


    "So cute," he thought, watching as the fawn snuggled up to him and purred.


    Xie Qing smiled weakly and suddenly noticed... that the fawn was a female! And as for the deer and the fox... damn it, they were males!


    "Sexist animals... that''s something new," thought Xie Qing in astonishment.


    However, he did not object. The young man picked up the fawn, which easily fit on his chest.


    "So cute. Now I understand Lu Yin''s reaction..." thought the young man and gently smiled, seeing how the fawn cutely curled up in his arms, resting its head on his chest.


    He was like a child trying to feel the warmth of his parent... or a spoiled girl who wanted her boyfriend''s attention. However, Xie Qing tried not to think about it.


    Standing next to Lu Yin, Xie Qing was surprised to see how easily shemunicated with the animals.


    "Aww! So cute! He''s lying on your chest so cutely, like a little kitten!" said Lu Yin with a smile.


    "''He''?" Xie Qingughed and corrected Lu Yin: "It''s ''she'', by the way."


    "Huh?"


    Lu Yin suddenly narrowed her eyes and gently smiled. Xie Qing felt a sense of deja vu, looking at this coldly gentle smile that reminded him of someone.


    However, fortunately, the girl quickly got distracted. Lu Yin yed tag with the deer and the fox, and Xie Qing...


    "A-a-a-a. Open your mouth~".


    "Mew~".


    The fawn let out a cute cry and opened its mouth as if it could fully understand his words, which was incredible.


    Xie Qing stretched out his hand and fed the fawn an apple soaked in thick Qi. The price of these apples at the market was a hundred Spiritual Stones per kilogram, and since Xie Qing loved snacking on apples, he stuffed a hundred kilograms of them into his spatial ring.


    So for the fawn, this was almost the best dinner of its life. Xie Qing was sure that with the help of this food, he could easily turn an ordinary animal into a spiritual one, although it would be a bit expensive.


    Xie Qing could not help but be touched by this cutie. She ate so cutely and appetizingly that the young man wanted to take a pet for himself too.


    "Hmm... maybe I should find a spiritual eagle? I''ll ask the Master to buy it for me!" thought the young man and smiled.


    Of course, he could take an egg from the system store, but... Xie Qing was afraid that something abnormal would hatch from there, and he would have to make an effort to tame it.


    Meanwhile, Lu Yin unconsciously turned her gaze to Xie Qing. Seeing his caring expression and the gentleness with which he fed the fawn, she felt a little strange.


    "He would make a good father," thought the girl, and then blushed. "What am I even thinking about?"


    With a face red as a tomato, she hid in the fox''s fur, which looked confused.