"Hmm..hmhmm..hmhmmmm..hm"

  A pair of travellers could be seen walking through the dirt laden path. Both were dressed in luxurious clothing. The young man wore a purple robe with a large bamboo hat covering his head.

  The girl dressed in a light pink robe walked beside him in an elegant gait. Strangely her beautiful face was hidden by a fox mask but that only added a sense of mystery to her, further increasing her allure.

  Any onlooker would mistake them for a pair of young lovers from a noble clan touring the countryside. The lady was humming a sweet melody of an unknown song with the sound of the flute accompanying her, both working in tandem to weave together a beautiful harmony.

  "Master, you are getting better each time you play."

  "As expected of me!" Ling Yun spoke out loud in bombastic tone and raised his nose high in arrogance. "What else can you expect from a heaven defying genius like me."

  "Pffftt!" Chen Yinying tried to control herself but burst into peals of laughter. She lightly hit his shoulder at his exaggerated gestures. "Acting like a pompous young master from a high clan doesn't suit you."

  "Really? Then how should I act?" Ling Yun also had a wide grin on his face. He was in high spirits. Chen Yinying was right, a good musician is a must for a fun journey.

  "How can a poor girl like me know? But I can only say one thing." She nudged his shoulder before letting her head rest on it. A rich velvety floral aroma tickled his nose. He took a deep sniff without even thinking, inhaling the scent of gardenias coming from her making him a little dizzy for a moment as he was lost in her fragrance.

  "I like the master who is so kind and nice to me."

  He heard her words clearly which made him a little uneasy. Whenever she flirted with him, he was reminded that she wasn't a simple musician. There were some hidden motives in play.

  He could feel himself getting fond of her. Her playful demeanor, her teasing mischievous smile, the way he didn't have to hold back at her unlike his master, at times he could even see her as a friend. Especially when they played together in a duet, just two people expressing their honest passion for music.

  But every time he would end up touching the barrier, the curtain between them hiding her truth. Many times he wanted to pull it down but-

  What reason I have to do it? I know she doesn't mean any harm to me. I am using her to learn the art of music mastery and she similarly wants to use me in the future.

  Yes, all relationships are like this. Use and be used.

  "Why don't we take a break?"

  His sombre tone surprised her. She lifted her head from his shoulder and shifted a little further from him.

  "You are right. The sun will set soon in an hour."

  They had set out in the afternoon and had been walking since then. There was a pond near some distance from the path so they decided to make camp near it.

  Even before settling out the tent, the first thing Ling Yun did was to take out a pot and start brewing tea. Chen Yinying silently watched his movements and soon the aromatic fragrance started filling the air.

  She took a sniff and recognised it as oolong, the tea served at the first lesson.

  "Were all the refreshments made by you, master?"

  "Who else would make it?" Ling Yun said with a huff. "I also practice spiritual culinary arts."

  "No, I just believed a servant made it. I never thought an upcoming alchemist like master would would spend his time on such ..um.. rudimentary arts."

  He looked straight into her eyes with raised eyebrows as if saying "You who practice music mastery are trying to look down on spiritual culinary arts." She tried to keep a straight face but couldn't help but avert her eyes.

  While they were sipping their cups , Ling Yun finally gave his answer. "Although I only took it as a hobby in the beginning, I gradually realised the importance of good food. It may not solve your problems but it definitely gives you the strength to face them.

  "And sometimes it's more than enough."

  With a small smile, he took another sip savouring his hardwork. He made a note in his mind to thank Jin Hao and ask for more high quality tea leaves later.

  "Hmm, what wrong?"

  He caught her staring at him for some time with her hand holding the cup frozen in air. "No, nothing." She hastily looked down at her half finished cup in her hand. Because he wasn't paying attention, Ling Yun failed to notice the pink tint on her white cheeks.

  Under the crimson hue of the setting sun, seeing the soft smile on his noble face had momentarily sent her in a daze. Chen Yinying, for the first time in her eighteen years, thought of a man as handsome.

  ***

  After finishing their tea, Chen Yinying began her lessons. It was on the request of Ling Yun.

  Seriously, doesn't he feel the need to rest?

  All this time, Ling Yun had always presented himself as a gentleman so she was a bit surprised to see an odd aspect of his personality. He was too obsessive, taking any opportunity to practice playing. Even while walking, he would play his flute from time to time and then get lost in contemplation, reviewing his performance in his mind.

  He was acting like he was on some kind of deadline. Sure she found it strange but refrained from commenting on it. Everyone has a weird quirk or two.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Truth be told, she was starting to get a little freaked out at his insane growth. Every time he played, the sound coming from his flute got more rich and colourful. It had only been week and he had gotten the basics of the Seven Harmonics technique.

  If she didn't know better, she would have guessed that he was a master pretending to be a novice for fun.

  "Wow! Play it again big sister!"

  A loud clap rang out breaking her reverie. Chen Yinying turned around to see a little boy holding a stick looking at them with amazement. The two cows were behind him made it easy to identify him as a boy from a nearby village.

  "Secretly hiding and spying at us you naughty boy. Come here and tell this big sister your name."

  The little boy dashed quickly reaching her side. "I am Hong. What are big brother and big sister doing here?"

  "We are traveling to big brother's hometown. It is a long journey so we decided to camp here."

  "No, you can't!" The boy shrieked loudly. "It isn't safe here in the dark."

  Chen Yinying put on a pitiful expression. "But where can we go? It is getting dark but what can this big sister do?"

  "Don't worry big sister." Little Hong spoke with a toothy grin. He pointed to his chest. "Leave this to me. Why don't you stay in my house for the night?"

  She started patting his head and praising him. "Oh my! Little Hong is so dependable!" Ling Yun silently watched the proceedings and started following them from behind while Chen Yinying chatted with the boy in the front.

  From the bits of the conversation he heard, the boy had taken both cows to grazing and was returning home when he heard them both practicing. His family sold milk but from his two cows, Ling Yun knew they weren't that well off. The boy told him that only he and his mother lived in their home. Seeing that he avoided mentioning his father, Chen Yinying didn't ask.

  His house was just a shabby hut. They saw a middle aged woman at the entrance. She was about to call for the boy but her voice froze when she saw two strangers beside him. Little Hong rushed forward to his mother in excitement and started explaining everything to her.

  Seeing the stiff smile on that woman's face, Chen Yinying stepped forward for introductions. "My apologies for distributing you auntie. We were about to camp when your son found us. He was so insistent so we couldn't refuse him. I promise we won't cause any trouble for auntie."

  She flashed a bright disarming smile but what caught the woman's attention was a glint of silver in her hands. The woman's awkward smile instantly widened. Although silver didn't mean much to cultivators, it was an huge amount for mortals.

  "Hong'er quickly take the cows to the shed. Hurry up, we have to prepare for our guests." She did an awkward little bow to both of them and showed them inside the house. "You don't have to hurry, feel free to stay as long as you like. If you want anything, call me immediately."

  The house had only one private room which the woman relinquished for them, deciding to sleep on the floor with her child. It was small and cramped with a single bed.

  Chen Yinying threw a flirtatious smile at him. "So I guess we are sharing the bed, master. This reminds me of the first time we met. We didn't do it that night but now-"

  "You can take the bed for yourself." Ling Yun said with a dull tone, unimpressed by her antics. He took out a mat and sat on it after unfolding it on the floor near bed.

  "Are you going to cultivate? The spiritual Qi in this place is negligible. It's no use."

  Without answering her, he took out a pill and popped it in his mouth. Ling Yun had specifically prepared many pills for his cultivation, he wouldn't allow himself to slack off. Chen Yinying could only watch him with a dumbfounded expression as he began cultivating.

  He cultivated for two hours till it was time for dinner. Ling Yun offered to cook. Little Hong's mother initially refused but eventually gave in. This time he didn't use any fancy ingredients and made a simple stew from the potatoes and other vegetables in the house.

  "It's so tasty! Much better than mama." Little Hong was licking his lips as he tasted it. His mother was also surprised, she never expected something so delicious could be produced from such simple ingredients. Ling Yun also wanted to use this opportunity to practice a dish that requires cheap ingredients from Savouring the Heavens manual.

  Chen Yinying wasn't surprised this time. After their dinner, she played her zither on the request of the little boy. Not wanting to ruin her performance with his inexperienced playing, Ling Yun stayed at the side. Both mother and child were lost in her daughter song but when she saw Ling Yun, she inwardly rolled her eyes.

  Instead of simply enjoying the performance, he was observing her movements, trying to deepen his understanding of the Seven Harmonics technique.

  He is a true cultivation maniac. I should get used to it.

  She ended her performance with a thunderous applause from her audience. After that, all of them retired for the night. Ling Yun took a bowl with him in the room. He took out two eggs and cracked them, putting the yolk in the bowl and mixed it with a small portion of the demonic essence of sandwyrm.

  "What are you doing?" Chen Yinying asked with a puzzled look. He ignored her and said out loud with a appeasing tone. "Little Bai, come out. Time for dinner."

  A hiss rang out as a white snake emerged from his bracelet. Little Bai looked around taking in the unfamiliar surroundings before going straight to the bowl.

  "Is this your spritual pet, master?" Chen Yinying observed the snake happily eating the meal. She didn't know much about beast taming but from her instincts, she realised that it wasn't a simple snake. Its pure white skin gave it a regal presence that was quite different from ordinary beasts.

  "I found it before I met my master. Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

  Finishing his meal, little Bai climbed over Ling Yun and wrapped herself above his shoulders. The snake nuzzled its master's neck, taking in the familiar warmth before closing its eyes.

  Little Bai spent most of its time eating and sleeping for the past few days. The snake had slept in his spatial bracelet for the whole journey. The spatial bracelet can store living things but it can't contain them inside. It meant little Bai can come and go whenever she wants but fortunately the snake was too intelligent to cause any trouble.

  How wonderful it would be to freely sleep without any worries.

  Ling Yun lightly caressed its head before sitting down in the lotus position. He took out another pill but before he could eat it, he was interrupted by Chen Yinying.

  "Are you not going to sleep the whole night?" She had plopped herself on the bed and looked down at him with worry. This was starting to get ridiculous, going without sleep is harmful to both mind and body.

  Ling Yun understood her intentions. She was trying to look out for him but-

  "For some reason I cannot sleep so I decided to make that time useful. Don't worry, it won't affect my health."

  She wasn't convinced but couldn't push further. She wanted to ask why he can't sleep but knew it would be too hypocritical. She didn't have any right to ask for his secrets.

  His eyes were closed in concentration. Cultivators are very vulnerable during this time. Any disturbances can lead to Qi deviation which can even cause death. At least he trusted her enough to cultivate in her presence. It was another proof of them getting closer.

  She leaned in to take a closer look at his face when little Bai suddenly raised its head blocking her. She immediately jumped back. Its blood red eyes glared at her with intense hostility. Little Bai opened its mouth and flicked its tongue at her as a warning. It would've also hissed at her but didn't want to disturb its master. After seeing her back off, little Bai closed its eyes and went back to rest.

  I knew it, the snake isn't normal.

  What the snake did didn't feel like a trained response. She could see the glimmer of intelligence in its eyes. Even if Ling Yun had assured her, she decided to be on guard against the snake. Tired from travelling, she soon drifted off to sleep.

  It was an hour after midnight when loud noises coming from outside woke her up. She opened her eyes and saw Ling Yun still cultivating without a care in the world. Deciding not to disturb him, she went outside the room to ask little Hong and his mother to inquire the matter. They both were wide awake and were barricading the entrance in a hurry.

  "What's going on?"

  But before she could receive her answer, a loud roar came from outside. From its noise, she figured it wasn't that far away. Little Hong fell on the ground shaking in fear.

  "It has come! The man eating tiger has come!'