Perhaps it was because he had been scolded by Qin Ran, Chasing the Wind did not run out again in the afternoon. After he finished eating, he went to lie by the lake pit and watched as Qin Ran walked around the bottom of the lake with all kinds of strange measuring tools.
After lying there for a while, he suddenly realized there was an additional sleepy-eyed white fox next to him. This fox had pure white fur and five fluffy tails, very beautiful, also lying there watching the bottom of the lake pit.
He roared politely at the fox.
"Ao..." Tushan Youyou lazily yawned, casually responding to Chasing the Wind.
A tiger and a fox both lay by the lake, one with a sturdy, powerful tiger tail, and the other with a fluffy, cute fox tail. They were generally the same size, both pure white, looking quite well-matched.
Long Qiqi, watching this scene from the Linghuai tree, suddenly felt a sour feeling in her heart for some reason. She murmured, "I was here first."
"Ao..." The five-tailed white fox asked the Xuanming Spirit Tiger.
"Formation." The Xuanming Spirit Tiger replied.
The five-tailed white fox then fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. Soon after, she stood up straight and transformed into an alluring beauty, then asked Qin Ran at the bottom of the lake, "Can you still set up formations?"
Qin Ran looked back and saw the white, abundant curves on the lake shore - it was too beautiful a sight that he involuntarily averted his gaze.
"A little." He replied.
Tushan Youyou's eyes lit up and she asked, "Can you teach me how?"
"You want to learn formations?" Qin Ran asked.
"I want to learn so much more! Formations, pill refining, alchemy, poetry, music, chess, calligraphy, painting... I want to learn them all!" Tushan Youyou said spiritedly.
Qin Ran looked at her eager appearance, recalling legends of fox spirits in strange tales.
Those fox spirits really liked seducing scholars and disguising themselves as students to sneak into academies to read books. Both were related to reading - it seemed that learning was truly in the nature of fox spirits.
"I can teach you, no problem. But what you want to learn, each area is profoundly vast. Even specializing in just one would require endless effort... Formations in particular..." He said to Tushan Youyou, "My intelligence is decent, yet researching formations for nearly twenty years, I've barely scratched the surface."
"That's fine, I can learn slowly!" Tushan Youyou went from lazy to motivated - she seemed intent on systematically learning all areas of knowledge completely.
She jumped down into the lake pit and came to Qin Ran's side, asking "Chasing the Wind said you were setting up a formation - is this setting up a formation? What all needs to be done?"
She had an innate, intoxicating fragrance about her that Qin Ran found hard to resist. He quietly sidled away, replying:
"Surveying distances to plan the size and distribution of the formation pattern; gauging the spiritual energy density to adjust the corresponding parts of the formation; surveying the spiritual energy and terrain flows..."
Qin Ran explained as he took measurements. He was not petty - since Tushan Youyou wanted to learn, he explained to her in detail.
And Tushan Youyou was indeed a quick study, listening attentively...so her fragrant, supple body unconsciously drew very close to Qin Ran.
In front of the hut, Li Shiyin finished sword practice and went over to Chasing the Wind's side to check on her esteemed master, but instead...
She saw her master intimately associating with that fox spirit, adulterer and adulteress!
Li Shiyin's anger instantly flared up. Gritting her teeth furiously, she asked, "Master, would you like to see if my sword is sharp enough?"
Qin Ran panicked in that instant. He replied, "I was just teaching her about formations!"
What did 'protesting too much' mean?
As soon as he said it, he felt it was wrong - he had a clear conscience and was just teaching about formations. And the one above was his disciple! What was he afraid of? Why did he need to explain anything?
"Cough!" At this thought, Qin Ran's expression grew severe. Acting properly, he took out Elementary Introduction to Formations from his storage bag and handed it to Tushan Youyou, sternly saying:
"This is foundational formation knowledge. Read through this first. After you've thoroughly understood this book, you may begin researching formations."
Ah, although there were countless just reasons, a true man could yield if he must. Sometimes retreating was still necessary.
Tushan Youyou took Elementary Introduction to Formations - it was a massive book, very heavy, she almost didn't grasp it firmly. She flipped open the pages and saw them densely packed with tiny ant-like words that made her eyes swim.
"What, I have to finish reading such a thick book before I can start learning formations?" She paged through the thickness and doubted Qin Ran was blowing her off, asking, "How long would that take?"
"I read that book on and off for five years..." Qin Ran said.
Tushan Youyou examined Qin Ran closely and discovered he didn't seem to be lying.
"Alright..." It seemed she truly had to read such a book. She could only resign herself, dejectedly taking up the book and turning to fly towards the lake.
Seeing Tushan Youyou leave, Qin Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Though uncertain why, he had a guilty conscience despite not actually doing anything wrong. He was just teaching formations. And the one above was his disciple! What was there to be anxious over?
Tushan Youyou flew up onto the lake bank, opened Elementary Introduction to Formations on her knees, reading as she walked.
"Fox spirit!"
Suddenly she heard someone gnashing their teeth and cursing at her from the side.
She was baffled and looked over at the curser... Li Shiyin nodded, "That's right, I'm a fox spirit!"
"Shameless, seducing another's master..." Li Shiyin continued scolding.
Hearing this, Tushan Youyou looked Li Shiyin up and down, causing Li Shiyin to feel embarrassed, before clicking her tongue disapprovingly and continuing on her way.
She left the lake and arrived at the flower tree in front of the hut, sitting on the swing.
Tushan Youyou laid the book open on her knees and saw an enormous venomous snake in the Linghuai tree flicking its tongue at her with intense malice. She was mystified and said, "I really am a fox spirit, right?"
Long Qiqi flicked her tongue, cursing inwardly, "Yes, yes, yes!"
"Chasing the Wind!" Qin Ran called loudly from the lake bottom, "Bring the formation materials over, come down and help me set up the formation..."
"Ao..." Chasing the Wind yawned and got up, using the wind to swirl up the formation materials Qin Ran had prepared in advance, blowing them all down to the lake bottom.
The large wooden bucket containing the materials crashed onto the lake bottom with a "clang". Seeing this, Qin Ran flew up and kicked Chasing the Wind in the face, scolding, "Don't you know to be gentle?! Wouldn't you feel bad if you broke it?"
The kick sent Chasing the Wind rolling several times along the bottom of the lake. He dazedly crawled up...
He felt this beating was unfounded.