Liang Wu was having the most pleasant of dreams. He dreamed he was resting his head on the softest cloud—softer than the finest silks, with the perfect amount of firmness, and just the right springiness, like freshly made dough.

He tried to knead the cloud into various shapes, but found his arms locked down by something. Silky-smooth chains, he thought. His hands could still move, so he made do, rubbing the ‘chains’ that held his arms. They were even softer than the cloud under his head and felt like silken threads.

Suddenly, the chain on his right shifted, and something warm pressed against his chest.

His right arm freed, he reached up to knead the cloud under his head, imagining how nice it would feel—

Knock! Knock!

A loud knocking cut through the dream.

“Sir, we’ve brought you breakfast. We’ll leave it outside, please enjoy!” came the voice of an inn employee from outside.

The morning light filtering in through the window caused him to blink as he woke. Groaning, Liang Wu tried to sit up, but something heavy on his chest kept him down.

Lifting his head, he blinked again. Li Li was sprawled across his chest. Looking like a koala trying to hug a tree limb.

Too tired to care, he flopped his head back onto the pillow. Something soft brushed his cheek, that same cloud-like sensation from his dream.

He turned his head, and a great navy-blue mound filled his vision. Curious, he reached over to touch it, but the mound shifted—and Daiyu’s back came into view.

His mind caught up with his surroundings, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Phew, lucky I didn’t knead that earlier.

Seemingly not liking her position, Daiyu turned again, now facing Liang Wu. He didn't think much of it—until the great navy-blue mound came pressing down on him from above. He wanted to move, but with Daiyu pinning his left arm and Li Li sprawled across his body, he was completely immobilized. His body, still weak from just waking, didn’t help.

I guess this isn't the worst way to die, he thought, smothered under Daiyu’s softness.

Feeling reluctant but knowing he had to move, otherwise he might truly suffocate. Liang Wu pressed his now free arms down at his sides, using all his strength to push himself up. With a small grunt, he managed to make both Daiyu and Li Li tumble off him.

The two women groaned as they stirred from the rude awakening.

Li Li propped herself up, eyes half-lidded, and gave Liang Wu a sweet, sleepy smile before slowly crawling toward him. “Teddy bear!” she mumbled, clearly still half asleep.

She pounced onto his chest, thinking he was a large teddy bear.

“Oof!” His breath was knocked out by her rough landing.

Daiyu, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, turned and crawled toward him next. “Master!” she said in a sleepy tone, but the mischievous smirk on her lips showed she wasn’t as groggy as Li Li.

Leaning down from above him, she stared into his eyes with a feigned aggrieved look. “Master, something kept rubbing my chest roughly all night~ can you give it a massage to make it feel better?” she asked, her voice dripping with sweetness.

“…” Liang Wu was absolutely flabbergasted. How was he supposed to respond to that?

Luckily, he didn’t have to. Li Li lifted her head too quickly, smacking into the bottom of Daiyu’s chin with a solid thump.

“Owie!” Li Li cried, clutching the top of her head.

Daiyu, holding her mouth in pain, couldn’t cry out. The knock on her chin had caused her to bite her tongue.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Liang Wu couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous situation, earning him two very upset glares.

Knock! Knock!

Another knocking sounded at the door. “Young Miss, we need to leave soon,” Che Fu’s gravelly voice came from the other side.

“Ow… okay! We’ll be ready soon!” Li Li called out, still rubbing her aching head.

---

Sitting at the table with a scrumptious-looking breakfast spread out before them, the trio ate quietly, the mood tense now that they were awake and thinking of what was to come next.

“Haa… this food is nowhere close to Daiyu’s cooking.” Liang Wu broke the silence. “Daiyu, you’ve really spoiled us. Now, everything I eat that wasn’t cooked by you tastes bland in comparison.”

“My cooking isn’t that good,” Daiyu said modestly.

“Oh! I nearly forgot!” Li Li suddenly exclaimed, startling them both.

“What are you shouting about?” Liang Wu asked, giving her a strange look.

“I just remembered! You were going to teach me how to use the beast technique,” she said excitedly, almost bouncing in her seat.

“I was?” He blinked, not recalling their conversation from last night. “Oh, wait, I remember now. You reminded me that the technique was an original copy.”

I’ll have to check with Ming Bao sometime and see why she placed an original in the loot system. I gave her a technique to copy treasures, so there shouldn’t be any problems…

“Alright, you wanted to know about Qi fluctuations?” He asked, making a mental note to check with the one in charge of the loot system later. But first I should focus on teaching.

Li Li nodded vigorously, her eagerness to learn outweighing any lingering worries from the previous night.

“Okay, the explanation might be a little long, but I’ll make it as simple as possible, so bear with me.”

Li Li and Daiyu both leaned in, ready for the lesson.

Seeing a certain navy-blue mound pressing heavily against the table made Liang Wu gulp audibly. He quickly looked away, with a slight blush, and distracted himself by starting the explanation.

“Qi is a natural part of life. It can be found in everything in the world—from the smallest grain of sand to the largest mountains. Living or dead, all things are filled with Qi.”

“Then why is the Qi attribute zero on the stats screen before we start cultivation, if everything is filled with Qi? Are humans not filled with Qi?” Li Li interrupted.

“That’s because the stat represents how much Qi a person can control, and since mortals can’t control any Qi, it’s set to zero.” He gave her a brief answer before continuing.

“Since everything is filled with Qi, including the air, when a being converts ambient Qi into a part of themselves—gaining control of it—that Qi inside them takes on attributes of that being. And when the Qi in the air touches the Qi inside that being, it creates fluctuations.” He paused, glancing at the two to make sure they were following along. “Any questions so far?”

They both shook their heads, silently urging him to go on.

“As every being has a unique Qi fluctuation, it’s a great way to tell people apart. Take, for instance, the tool Tian Feng used—the aura-gathering tool. Aura is what we call the Qi fluctuations that linger in the air. I can explain that more, but it’s not important right now.” Pausing to sip from his cup of tea, he cleared his throat and continued.

“Now, on to the most important part—how to sense Qi fluctuations. This is actually very simple. All you need to do is cover your eyes with Qi.”

“That’s it?” Li Li asked in disbelief. She had been expecting a complicated technique that would take months to master. Hearing such a simple explanation left her feeling deflated.

“That’s it,” Liang Wu said nonchalantly, shrugging.

“So, how do I become a cute little bear like you did?” she asked, her curiosity winning out. That was all she really wanted to know anyway.

Blinking, Liang Wu tilted his head slightly. “It’s in the description of the technique. Just use your imagination,” he answered simply.

“That’s… it?” she whispered, embarrassed. She hadn’t actually read past the part about Qi fluctuations in the technique’s description.

“That’s it,” he nodded slowly. “But be careful when using your imagination. This is something I realized after gaining some mastery over the technique—if you transform using an invented Qi fluctuation, the transformation could become permanent.”

Both girls shuddered at the thought of being stuck as animals.

“If I only use real Qi fluctuations, there won’t be any problems, right?” Li Li asked, now worried that she might get stuck as a bear forever. She loved bears, but not enough to live the rest of her life as one.

“Yes, it’s completely safe. Just remember: only use the Qi fluctuations you’ve seen for yourself,” he warned seriously.

“Couldn’t we use this technique to disguise Li Li and sneak out of the city? That way we could avoid confronting the Qian family,” Daiyu suggested.

“We could,” Liang Wu said after a moment. “But the Qian family wouldn’t let her go that easily. They’d send people after her, for sure.”

Knock! Knock!

“Young Miss, it's time to leave.” Che Fu’s voice echoed through the door into the room.

Liang Wu stood, stretching his limbs as he glanced at the two girls. “Alright, we should get ready. It’s time to face the Qian family and whatever else they might throw at us.” His voice carried a newfound resolve, though a small part of him wished they could have stayed in this quiet moment a little longer.

Li Li’s eyes gleamed with determination, and even Daiyu, usually full of teasing, wore a focused expression. They had all shared a fleeting moment of peace, but now the weight of the day ahead settled in. Liang Wu smiled softly. Whatever challenges came, they would face them together.