Chapter 68: Bows, Arrows, and Meals

"Drunken Lu Bay has already begun to act. Three days from now is their scheduled shift change; we can head there then..."

Vane was just about to speak of his recent activities.

"Eat first." Zora touched her stomach. She wasn't particularly hungry, but her mouth was. Her stomach didn't care whether she ate or not, but her appetite craved it.

Vane closed his mouth.

Originally, there was no mortal world cuisine within the December Sect—but Vane was here. Even though they had been separated for a month, now that they were reunited, his storage bag was still filled with food, prepared for Zora at every moment.

But Zora had no intention of eating those pre-prepared items. She asked, "Have you learned well?"

Vane was startled.

Zora tilted her head: "Have you learned well?"

He snapped back to his senses, instantly understanding her meaning.

"Roughly... I can only manage some ordinary styles of dishes."

They arrived at Lingkong Peak, where Vane’s master resided. The peak was steep, piercing the clouds. From a distance, it looked like a cluster of sharp thorns, seemingly impossible to climb. But as one drew closer, the landscape shifted naturally; flat ground appeared at various points on the mountainside and summit, carrying houses, tiles, palaces, and ponds.

At this time, the disciples of Lingkong Peak were still practicing their techniques. Some had entered the sect earlier than Vane, but because Vane was a direct disciple of Jin Chuyang, most had to address him respectfully. They couldn't be too casual or treat him as a junior brother they could joke with.

However, Vane was the most famous person on this peak.

Initially, it was because of his facade of being as pleasant as a spring breeze, making people glad that the new junior brother was easy to get along with and helpful, never showing impatience toward senior brothers or sisters who came to ask him about cultivation.

Secondly, it was his talent and intellect. Setting aside his cultivation talent—this junior brother’s brain was excellent! It felt like he could solve any problem; even if he couldn't today, he would by tomorrow! A brilliant and friendly genius is always the focus of a crowd. Though this genius was fond of running off on missions, he somehow managed to progress at a lightning pace amidst the fighting and killing. No one knew where he went to learn.

And then there was—

A disciple practicing archery stole a glance out of the corner of his eye. Their Junior Brother Vane was still as elegant and refined as ever, with a composed expression. Yet his features were exceptionally sharp, making him a handsome youth even by the standards of the cultivation world.

But at this moment, his sharp edges seemed somewhat softened, like a sheathed sword or a beast that had been stroked. He looked at the girl in front of him from time to time.

The disciple reached for a new arrow. He knew everyone practicing nearby was secretly watching. It was the sword cultivator whose fame outside surpassed even Vane’s—Zora.

The people of Lingkong Peak were especially curious about her. After all, she was the person Junior Brother Vane hovered around all day, yet they weren't Dao companions. Some disciples had seen her, others had not.

...It feels a bit different from what I imagined.

The archery disciple had imagined a cold, ethereal lady in pale colors, or perhaps a fierce and overbearing sword cultivator like Vane. But the girl approaching looked like a harmless flower no matter how one saw her. Her eyes were slightly round, filled with a bright amber hue; a sliver of light falling into them seemed trapped, lingering and swirling with brilliance. Her face seemed incredibly soft, her aura clear and her expression naive. When she looked over, it felt like a poke to the heart, turning one’s resolve into a soft, messy pulp.

—Wait, she’s looking over?

The staring disciple’s hand trembled, and the bow and arrow fell limply to the ground.

Although Zora lacked vigilance and didn't have the habit of constantly releasing her spiritual sense, their gazes were too obvious. She casually glanced over for a second. Landing on the training ground, Zora targeted the nearest disciple holding a bow.

Bows and arrows... she had never seen such things in her original world.

At the Lingkong Peak training ground, rows of weapons were set out for the disciples' practice. There were over a dozen bows standing at the edge of the field. Falling Rock Forest had nothing.

But these belonged to Lingkong Peak. She turned her head to look at Vane.

Vane was scanning that disciple. Nothing could be read from his gaze; it seemed like a simple glance. The disciple also felt it was just a normal look from Junior Brother Vane, so he offered an embarrassed smile. After all, he had been caught staring at Vane’s companion until he was dazed, which was quite awkward.

Immediately, the sharp nerves of a cultivator began to throb, leaving the disciple confused yet inexplicably panicked. Now, he didn't even dare look at Zora, who fit his aesthetic perfectly. He hurriedly said to the two of them, "Junior Brother Vane... Junior Sister Zora, I have business to attend to. I'll take my leave."

Zora didn't reply, only giving a vague acknowledgment. Vane, however, smiled gently. "Senior Brother Zhang, goodbye."

That Senior Brother Zhang put away his bow and ran off in a desperate hurry. He didn't know what was happening, but he felt an inner sense of crisis urging him to do so. He had dodged many dangers in his cultivation by relying on this intuition; he had to trust it. Once he had run far away, he let out a sigh of relief, feeling suspicious.

...So, did something happen?

He replayed the scene. The polite, smiling Junior Brother Vane, the naive and socially indifferent Junior Sister Zora, the other disciples practicing... nothing seemed wrong.

It must have been an illusion then...

Back on the field, Vane looked at Zora. He glanced at the bows and smiled: "All the weapons here can be used."

Zora chose a black bow. The center of the bow was wrapped in white cloth bands. When gripped, the hand wasn't irritated by the cloth; instead, it felt exceptionally comfortable—the cloth bands were moving slowly, adapting to the user's grip and habits.

Zora was startled. She withdrew her hand and stared straight at the cloth. The bands paused for a second as if feeling embarrassed by Zora’s gaze; after quickly finishing the adjustment, they became still, returning to the state of ordinary objects.

"..."

Vane handed her an arrow.

There was a target on another distant peak, a distance beyond the reach of mortals. Zora mimicked the disciple from earlier and drew the bow. She didn't ask, and Vane wouldn't rashly play the "eager teacher." What if she just wanted to play? Being overly serious would spoil the fun. He merely watched Zora's side profile, slightly dazed.

The drifting thoughts from that long month finally settled. It felt as if that month didn't exist, and this day was directly connected to the day they had separated. There was no need to recall the month in between; every day had been spent in restless repetition, naturally discarded in memory.

The arrow was released with a surge of spiritual power. It didn't hit the target, nor did it even reach that peak. A white crane that seemed to know Zora happened to pass by leisurely, seemingly intending to show some "affection" for its "former-former-former... former master" to demonstrate its noble quality of deep gratitude.

Unexpectedly, an arrow whistling through the air brushed past its head without mercy.

"Quack quack quack—!!" The white crane was terrified, its wings flapping wildly as it flew away rapidly with an illogical duck-like cry.

Vane recognized the crane as the one Zora had ridden when she first entered the sect. He explained, "It took the wrong path. This is the archery range, where other creatures are prohibited from entering. White cranes have their own consciousness; they aren't beasts without self-control."

So it wasn't her fault.

Zora gave an "oh." She lacked the ability to recognize the crane she had once ridden among a crowd of identical white cranes and didn't care much. The girl merely frowned. She had missed.

She shot another arrow, which still failed to reach the peak. Some of the disciples lurking behind wanted to take the opportunity to step forward and offer comfort: "You're a sword cultivator, it's normal to have never used a bow." Wouldn't that naturally lead to a conversation?

Zora was a bit displeased. She turned her head: "You do it."

Vane paused: "Yes."

The lurking crowd retracted their intentions with disappointment.

The youth picked up a bow nearby, drew an arrow, and pulled the string. His posture was exceptionally sharp. He could have shot casually—he had practiced with all the weapons here long ago and was already skilled—but Vane did not do so. Instead, he used a textbook-perfect, standard stance.

Through the arrow, his eyes looked straight toward the distant target, focused and calm.

Zora was observing him. She didn't like reading books, but pictures were fine, especially those where characters demonstrated standard movements. Since there were no pictures available, Vane served as the human model.

He knew this as well, so his movements were extremely standard. Characters drawn with a pen still have shaky lines, but the youth was more precise and frozen than any line. He hesitated to release the arrow, his pupils moving slightly to glance at Zora.

Zora walked around him in a circle and even leaned in to look at the hand holding the bow. Vane lowered his eyes, following her figure as it appeared in his field of vision. His pupils moved unnoticeably from left to right, then fixed their gaze.

She wasn't that close—at least his hand couldn't feel her breath—but Zora’s blunt, scrutinizing gaze seemed to pull the distance infinitely closer, making him feel it was unbelievably near. The back of his hand felt burning hot. The youth suppressed the urge for his knuckles to twitch.

Zora stood straight, her gaze falling on his face and remaining there. Vane shifted his gaze before she looked over, as if he had been looking at the target all along. No more words were needed; he knew enough time had passed. The arrow was on the string and released at the sound.

A sharp whistle of air. In the blink of an eye, the arrow had pierced the center of the target. With a cultivator's vision, one could see that the center of this weather-beaten target had actually been shot through.

The people practicing behind only dared to steal a look after he released the arrow, and they were instantly agape.

...How much force was that? How much spiritual power? Junior Brother Vane isn't the type to lose control, right?

Zora looked at the pierced target, deep in thought: "........."

Vane pursed his lips, his face actually showing some bashfulness, which vanished as soon as he lowered his head and put down the bow. "...I haven't used it for a long while; I couldn't master the force properly."

Zora gave a casual response and mimicked his stance to draw the bow and shoot. Her expression was serious, devoid of any malice, yet the arrow she released could have pierced a human body. It didn't hit the target, but it reached the mountain peak. She nonchalantly pulled the bow again.

Vane naturally placed himself in the position of the arrow-giver, handing her arrows at the right moments. Another arrow. The edge of the target.

The crowd behind was gradually drawn by the attention. Draw, shoot again. The edge of the target. She shot arrow after arrow. The peak had an array that teleported the scattered arrows back to the training ground, in a continuous cycle.

When Zora shot again, the arrow carried the drifting clouds and pierced the center of another target. Her talent was startling—she had mimicked him too accurately, even the force was copied perfectly.

The crowd was stunned. Vane: "..."

No matter, he would go and replace them with new ones later.

Zora finished playing. Once the novelty wore off, she put down the bow and arrow with boredom. "Let's go, eat."

They left, leaving a group of people who hadn't snapped out of it for a long time.

It was just a target; although piercing it required very pure spiritual power, it wasn't that precious—just training equipment. Those people didn't pay much attention to that. What they noticed was the precision of her mimicry.

Giving them a little shock of genius, eh...

After a few heartbeats of stillness, several people immediately rushed to grab the bow and arrows Zora had used.

"Please bless me to successfully break through to the Foundation Establishment stage!"

"Please bless me to have a smooth Q&A with Master tomorrow!"

Vane didn't know where to cook, so Zora waited for him in his sleeping quarters. After a long while, he entered and set the meal on the table. Zora looked at the wide variety of exquisite dishes, almost like the most abundant table in a restaurant.

"........."

So many.

The youth, who had claimed he could only manage "ordinary styles of dishes" but had actually learned to a chef-level, sat down with lowered eyes. He didn't show much on the surface, but the way he kept looking at her and the missing smile at the corner of his lips indicated a slight nervousness.

Zora ate bite by bite. Her mouth was filled with the fragrance of food, which was actually more delicious than any dish she had eaten in the mortal world. She ate slowly. After serving her, he watched her.

Zora suddenly recalled her past meals. Better than what Guard Wang provided. Since her pursuit of food had shifted, Zora felt that if she entered some Clay Figure Illusion now, the one appearing would likely be Vane holding a ladle.

She looked at Vane, her voice flat and honest: "It's very delicious."

A smile finally touched Vane’s lips.

Zora: "Continue next time."

Vane: "Okay."