Everywhere She/He Goes — A Stroke Startles the Wind and Rain

At the summit of the Sword Tower.

The peak of the Sword Tower still bore the mystical scenery formed by the peculiar stones, seemingly unchanged at first glance. Yet upon closer inspection, subtle differences could be detected—a few more fish swimming in the clear spring, the trees slightly more lush...

Li Mo had just finished his third attempt at sketching the strange stone, each time falling just short of perfection.

So he stood atop the Sword Tower, gazing into the distance, his mind adrift.

"That over there is the Sword Pool..."

The moment his eyes landed on the vast circular plaza, an image flashed in his mind—Ying Bing standing on the high platform, pointing with a ruler, her demeanor icy yet exuding an air of absolute authority.

She always carried an aura as if she held the ultimate truth.

Li Mo could even vividly imagine her lecture—where she would pause to demonstrate, the look in her eyes when encountering a dull-witted disciple...

"Wait, why are last night’s memories surfacing too?"

"No, why does she keep popping up in my thoughts?"

Li Mo couldn’t help but mutter to himself. He should be focusing entirely on replicating the essence of the stone...

"What are you looking at?"

The voice belonged to Wei Zhaoliu.

She still wore those round spectacles crafted from North Sea crystal, her face partially obscured. Her hair was noticeably shorter than before, and judging by her aura, she must have just returned from studying the strange stone.

"Looking at the Frost Fairy," Li Mo replied, his gaze still fixed on the Sword Pool.

"Huh? You can see her from here?" Wei Zhaoliu’s eyes widened in astonishment, thinking to herself that this young master Li’s vision was truly terrifying. Then she nodded in realization.

"Oh, you mean Ying Bing. I attended her lecture—it was truly awe-inspiring. How laughable that I once dared to compare myself to her..."

Li Mo asked, "Why is your hair so much shorter?"

"Well... every time I listen to her lectures, I feel like my swordsmanship improves. So afterward, I try to erase the hammer marks."

"And then?"

"I fail every time. So to remind myself of the lesson, I cut off a finger’s length of hair as a pledge."

"...You do seem a bit stronger now."

A pang of guilt suddenly struck Li Mo.

But Ying Bing deserved half the blame—if not for her, Wei Zhaoliu wouldn’t keep thinking she had improved.

He needed to finish replicating the stone as soon as possible.

That way, he wouldn’t have to witness the day Wei Zhaoliu went bald.

"Why does he keep drawing that stone?" Wei Zhaoliu wondered. Was this some new cultivation method?

Creating divine observation diagrams?

Some Sword City elders had entertained the idea before, but it always fizzled out—because the stone itself didn’t seem suitable for direct study. The sword marks on it, however, could be contemplated... though few were qualified to bear their divine intent.

Li Mo sat down before the stone on his own.

He laid out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. The ink had been ground by Ying Bing earlier that morning while she sipped tea.

His once-plentiful stock of Cyan Vein Jade Paper was now down to five sheets.

Li Mo steeled himself. Sword City had granted him permission to study the stone, but he couldn’t take it with him.

Before leaving Yunzhou, he had to complete the sketch...

"This stone... it can’t just be a stone."

Li Mo murmured to himself.

---

At the Sword Pool.

In the past, visiting sword masters in Yunzhou never took breaks during their lectures. But after Ying Bing arrived, that rule changed.

Her teachings, though profound in their simplicity, required time for comprehension.

Otherwise, listeners might lose track halfway through.

The breaks lasted about half an hour—neither too long nor too short.

Ying Bing stood on the high platform of the Sword Pool, holding Tianfrost, and decided to brew a pot of tea to rest her mind.

But the moment she closed her eyes, her thoughts drifted back to last night—the dim moonlight, the flickering candlelight in the private room... The sensation lingered, stubbornly vivid, impossible to shake.

Even the warmth of his palm seemed to remain...

Below, the sharper disciples noticed her expression and exchanged glances.

"Has Lady Ying gained another insight?"

"Tsk... she masters peerless sword techniques in the blink of an eye! It’s entirely possible!"

"I wonder what profound swordsmanship she’s contemplating now..."

They whispered among themselves, careful not to disturb her "enlightenment."

Ying Bing: "..."

No, she couldn’t keep thinking about this.

She reached for her tea set, hoping to distract herself, but her movements paused.

Was this even her tea table?

The set before her had been a gift from Li Mo—simple in appearance but made of rare, exquisite material. The only downside was that there was just one cup.

And earlier that morning, he had casually taken it to drink from.

The tea leaves were ones he had casually handed her. The table had been hammered together by him. Even the snacks were his handiwork.

And then...

Gurgle—she poured the rinse water over the chubby little figurine beside her.

Well...

Since this spatial artifact was sturdy, it had become her tea pet.

Even the tea pet was a chibi version of Li Mo’s big-headed likeness!

"When did everything around her start carrying traces of him?"

"Really..."

Ying Bing pressed her lips together and lightly flicked the figurine’s forehead, making it wobble.

Then, with a faint glint in her eyes, she picked up a tea leaf and stuck it on the chibi Li Mo’s philtrum.

Last time, she had pasted a slip of paper there, and he hadn’t seemed too pleased...

"Lady Ying..."

"Lady Ying?"

Only when Elder Zeng called her twice did she snap back to attention.

"It’s almost time to resume the lecture."

Elder Zeng glanced at the doll and raised an eyebrow, leaning back slightly.

"Alright..."

Ying Bing stood and began packing up her tea set.

She had never noticed before how short these breaks felt...

"What were you looking at just now?"

"Looking at..."

Ying Bing adjusted the doll’s head and lowered her gaze in thought.

"A prosperity-bringing battle spirit?"

"??"

---

"Just drawing isn’t enough."

"I need to experience it firsthand..."

After ruining another sheet of Cyan Vein Jade Paper, Li Mo stood up.

He approached the stone and slowly reached out to touch it.

Strangely enough, the moment his hand made contact, the seven Mystic Pills within his body flickered faintly.

Rotating in their celestial cycle, their speed increased rapidly, trembling slightly before the vibrations grew stronger.

Boom—

Li Mo suddenly sensed something.

This inexplicable connection wasn’t due to the pills themselves but because they were stars within the seed of his inner world.

Like called to like—they seemed to recognize a kindred presence.

"Haah..."

Li Mo realized he could now peer beyond the stone’s surface, glimpsing its true mystery.

This was something he had never achieved before, even after studying its martial secrets.

"What’s happening to him?"

From Wei Zhaoliu’s perspective, however, Li Mo was simply standing there, motionless.

Nothing unusual seemed to be occurring. But what astonished her was that the stone wasn’t something one could touch so casually—those unworthy would instantly drown in its boundless profundity...

The next moment.

The Cyan Vein Jade Paper floated into the air.

Li Mo lifted his brush, wielding it with bold, sweeping strokes—no longer cautious, but with an effortless grace that flowed like a dragon in flight.