FENG LIQIN'S POV
SWOOSH!!
Be calm Feng Liqin.
CRUNCH!!
Focus on the qi of the forest Feng Liqin.
GROWL!!
"AHH!! XIAOLI! Stop moving around. Your disturbing me." I yelled and pouted at my tiger.
"I'm actually not, kitten. You're the one not concentrating on the earth. Instead of concentrating on the qi as if your sucking it through your mouth into your body, why not feel the forest luke how you would smell the flowers and feel the trees bark in your garden? Stupid kitten." Xiaoli bluntly said. She also calls me kitten because I look like a white kitten when sulking.
"Oh, so you want me to touch the forest floor and the plants?" I asked her. Ignoring her insults.
"NO, YOU STUPID HUMAN!" She growled at me then she sighs. "How about this? Follow me." Then, she started walking away. She led me away to a lake that had a small waterfall. "Now, take your clothes off and go into the water."
I looked at he shocked. "What?"
"Take off your clothes and go into the water." She repeated. I looked at her as if she was crazy. "Don't worry. The lake is clear of any underwater creatures. I'm only asking you to go into the water because most of the plants here receives water from this lake. So, if you cultivate in here, you would be connected with the earth and plants of this forest better." Xiaoli simply replied to my curiosity.
"Ok, but there is no one here that would see me right?"
"No human would dare come here without permission. If they do, they would be sentenced to death. Besides, this is the deepest part of the forest. No human would come in this far." Xiaoli reassured me.
Without thinking much, I took my clothes off except for my pants. I fold my hanfu and left it beside a tree near the lake beside Xiaoli. As I soak half of my body inside the lake, I could feel the qi of all elements in the forest. I went in deeper and felt all of the plants that took water from this lake immersed myself within the feeling of them all. Before I knew it, I pulled my head out of the water and looked towards the forest.
Xiaoli was sleeping at the same tree as just now and raised her head when she sensed my presence. When looked up, I noticed that it was already night time. I looked towards Xiaoli and asked, "Xiaoli, how long have I been in the water for?"
"Two and a half days." She answered.
I was shocked that I was in the water for that long but I put the information at the back of my head and walked out of the water. As I was about to walk away after getting dressed, I heard a crunch sound. I turned around to look at my surroundings but saw nothing amidst.
"Who's there?" I shouted into the distance. A few minutes later, someone emerged between the trees near me.
The man that showed himself was a devilishly handsome man. I couldn't help myself from blushing against his gaze towards me. But, I calmed my beating heart and looked seriously at the unknown man before me.
GROWL!!
Xiaoli growled at the man as she was on high alert. She looked at him with sharp eyes. As if sensing his master in danger, another magical beast appeared beside the man and growled back at Xiaoli and she had no choice but keep her eyes on the dragon beside the man.
"Calm down, Bai." The man said while still looking at me. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I mean no harm. I just stumbled upon you while taking my dragon on a walk in the forest." Said the man to me in a deep voice that could make any woman melt.
"Oh, really? Don't dragons usually are let free by their masters and are only called when they are needed?" I asked the man as he was acting suspiciously by his answer.
He chuckled. "Yes, they are. Unfortunately, my dragon called me here to show me something. So, while walking towards my destination I stumbled on a beautiful sight. A man bathing in the lake under the moonlight. I couldn't help myself from watching a beauty like you. By the way, what is your name, love?" The man asked me after shamelessly admitting what he did. Again, I couldn't help but blush out of embarrassment.
What kind of shameless man is he!? Admitting so freely what he did as if it were normal.
"Why should I give you my name after only just meeting you? Plus, in this kind of situation. I don't trust you enough to tell you my name." I told the man in front of me while hiding half of my blushing face with my sleeve.
"Of course. If it's like that then, I hope we would meet again in a better situation." He said while smiling at me. Afterward, he disappeared. If he disappears like that, it could only mean one thing. He was an air elemental and at a high cultivation level no less.
I turned to look at Xiaoli and she just shook her head. With that, we walked back home in silence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, my brother came to my garden to see me while I was waiting for the children to arrive. He was worried about me after my disappearance for two days. I told him about what I did and that I've reached low level of Emperor Stage. I also told him about my acquaintance with the shameless man. He was quite angry and wanted to slice the man in pieces for watching me soak myself in the lake. I lightly laughed at his antics.
Soon, the children came and they also shared their worries for me. After telling them what happened to me, excluding the part of my meeting with the shameless man, I laughed at their childlike behavior towards my stories. It was funny watching the children raved on about their innocent conclusions to the story. It makes me feel like going back to the time when I was younger where my brother used to play with me every day with my mother unlike now where he was shrouded with responsibilities. The time when mother was still alive and our family was whole.
Oh, how I miss those days.
I thought and sigh. Nothing felt more relaxing than sitting down and reminiscing the sweet past of childhood.
Once I was finished teaching the children, they scattered to do their respective duty in my garden. After making sure they were doing their jobs, I sat near the water of the lake and started cultivating by putting my left hand in the water and my right hand on the ground. As I focus on cultivating, I never noticed that my surroundings changed. I was startled back to reality when Xiaoli slowly and carefully nudged me on the cheek. When I opened my eyes and looked at my surroundings, it was in the late afternoon and the children sat by me but not too close. I looked at them curiously and at Xiaoli. As usual, she just sat down and kept quiet.
"Feng-gege, were you cultivating just now?" One of the children asked me. I just nodded as an answer. "Wow! You were really beautiful. While you were cultivating, the plants suddenly became healthier the water became clear. There was also a beautiful and bright light surrounding you. We sat closer to you to feel the warmth of the light. Gege's tiger stopped us from getting any closer to you though. After that, your appearance changed. Gege's hair became completely white and silky, your skin became paler but in a healthy way and now your eyes are green too." The same child explained. Once he was done the other children joined in and kept on raving about what happened to me while I was cultivating. It came as a shock to me about what they said. When I looked at my reflection at the water, I knew that what the children said was true. Xiaoli never spoke a single word the whole time. She just kept licking her black and green fur as what was happening were normal.
Then, my brother came to my garden in a rush but stopped on his tracks when he looked at me. His eyes widened in wonder. He was speechless at first and just couldn't say anything while looking at me. Suddenly he just shook his head and told the children to go home. When he looked at me again, he told me that father called. So, we hurried to his study where he would usually be whenever he called us. As soon as the doors shut, father stood from his desk and came to stand in front of me. He had a stern as well as a worried look on his face. I wondered what made father react like this.
"Feng Liqin, I want to ask you some questions. You need to answer me honestly and cleanly, alright?" He told me. I just nodded as a response. He sighs, looked at my brother and looked back at me. "Three days ago, did you go to the forbidden forest with Xiaoli?"
"Yes," I answered.
"What exactly were you doing there?"
"I was cultivating to get to the next stage. I cultivate inside the lake deep within the forest." I answered seriously.
"Did you meet anyone there? Anyone at all?"
"No." Father had a relieved look.
"But," I continued and he became tensed. "After I finished cultivation two days later, I met a man that had a dragon with him. A white dragon." Right as I finished, father stumbled back in horror. "Father! What's wrong? Is everything okay?"Â I asked frantically while watching father that was in shock.
"Feng Liqin, did you know who you just met in the forest?" My brother asked me. I shook my head in confusion. Brother pursed his lips and with a look of disdain said, "You met the Emperor, little brother. Now, he is asking for you to see him. He might want to make you his Empress."