Early in the morning, a gentle but cold breeze was blowing.
In front of the small hut, Lin Feng was sitting on a rocking chair which emitted squeaking sounds. He was enjoying the peace and tranquility of the early morning with his eyes closed.
"In love with life, the young hero is determined…"
"As a young… Man, deteeerrmiined to reach the… Clouuuds… Determined to fly above the mountains and rivers of the Nine Clouds…!"
"Everybody's heart is filled with sorrow and grievance… The young man is gone, only alcohol can make you forget… Forget the past…."
In the distance, a voice was resonating in the air. Lin Feng opened his eyes and gazed into the distance, it was misty in the mountains but Lin Feng could see the old man with his basket on his back. He was slowly walking towards the hut. Everyday, at night, the old man would go away and pick up herbs until early in the morning. He was going then because the fragrance of the herbs was much more intense at night.
"Everybody's heart is filled with sorrow and grievance… The young man is gone, only alcohol can make you forget… Forget the past…." whispered Lin Feng. He looked at the old man and smiled at him.
"You woke up." said the old man, while nodding at Lin Feng.
"Good morning, grandpa." said Xiao Ya, while coming out of the hut on Lin Feng's left side.
"Bro, good morning." said Xiao Ya, when she saw Lin Feng on the rocking chair, she had a sweet smile on her face.
After Lin Feng saw her smile, he felt delighted and smiled back in the same resplendent way.
Xiao Ya went to wash her face and then came back to Lin Feng. Then she said, "Bro, let's go for a walk together."
"Alright." agreed Lin Feng, nodding. Xiao Ya went behind him and started pushing the chair, it had wheels under it. Actually, it was the chair her grandfather used to knit in.
Because Lin Feng had taken very powerful medicine, his body was half-paralyzed at that moment.
Xiao Ya was pushing the chair towards the mountains. Lin Feng closed his eyes and enjoyed the freshness and fragrance of the atmosphere, he felt like he was intoxicated with happiness.
The old man put his basket down and looked at them from a distance. He smiled and shook his head, Xiao Ya wasn't feeling lonely anymore.
The old man had a strange facial expression at that moment, he looked pensive.
"Bro, how do you feel right now?" asked Xiao Ya, while pushing the chair.
"I feel much better." answered Lin Feng. He was still taking the old man's medicine and could feel that he was recovering quickly. He almost felt better than before the event with the evil swords. Lin Feng had the feeling that he could sense his hair and pores much better than before, especially when the wind was brushing away on his skin, it felt very pleasant.
Lin Feng was impatient to recover, it would've been great to be entirely healthy again.
"Hehehe, grandpa is a great doctor who will cure all your injuries. You just need to rest and you will be perfectly healthy soon enough." said Xiao Ya, smiling. Alchemists used pills which had immediate results but doctors' remedies were different, they required time, especially the remedies the old man had given to him. Their effects required a long time. Lin Feng couldn't stand up each time he took those remedies. Actually, the doctor could have allowed Lin Feng stand up but he had chosen to let him recover slowly.
"Xiao Ya, what is your grandfather's name?" asked Lin Feng suddenly. The old man had saved Lin Feng's life but Lin Feng still didn't know his name.
"Wu Tian, Xiao Wu Tian." replied Xiao Ya in a soft and tender way. She had a lot of respect for her grandfather, he was the person she respected the most.
"Xiao Wu Tian…" whispered Lin Feng, "what an incredible name!" (Translator's note: Wu means to dance and Tian means sky). It didn't match the old man's personality though.
Xiao Ya was pushing the chair before arriving at the top of a mountain. They both looked at the emerald immensity before their eyes and at the sea of clouds.
In the distance, the red morning sun was slowly rising, it was particularly beautiful above the emerald boundlessness.
"How beautiful! I wish we could do this together every morning." said Xiao Ya in a low voice. Lin Feng felt extremely calm and serene at that moment, just as if he had been meditating.
Meditation… Observing nature was a sort of meditation.
Both of them remained silent and calmly enjoyed the landscape.
A long time passed, even the sun began setting.
Still, Lin Feng and Xiao Ya hadn't left. Lin Feng was on the rocking chair as he watched the sunset. Xiao Ya was sitting next to him, sometimes calmly lying down.
Only after it became dark outside did Xiao Ya push Lin Feng back to the hut.
On the second day, they were at the top of the mountain looking at the morning sun once again. They were calmly observing the nature around them. And the third day they did the same.
On the fourth day, they did the same as well. Xiao Ya's fingers were in Lin Feng's hair, she was playing with his hair, laughing and giggling.
It was at this moment that Lin Feng moved.
"Pfewww…." Lin Feng breathed deeply and stood up. He made a light step, and then one more. Lin Feng felt great in with his recovering body.
"Xiao Ya, I can stand up again." said Lin Feng, while smiling and clenching his fist. The strength of the Herukas and his pure Qi were flowing in his body again. He felt very well.
Even though his pure Qi and physical strength hadn't reached their maximum again, Lin Feng knew that it was only a matter of time. Lin Feng's pure Qi hadn't disappeared, it was just the effect of the medicine which was preventing it from returning back to normal.
His strength of the Herukas was as powerful as before though.
"Hehe." Xiao Ya giggled when she saw Lin Feng stand up. She smiled in a sweet way. If Lin Feng could stand up again, it was proof that he was very strong. He wasn't in such a bad state anymore. He had almost entirely recovered. The only problem was the effect of the medicine on his body but it was going to wear off soon.
"Bro, let's go and tell grandpa the good news." said Xiao Ya, pulling Lin Feng's hand.
Lin Feng had the feeling that he was flying, the wind was blowing on his face. Even though it had only been a few days since he had last flown, he had the impression that it was a new feeling.
"Grandpa!" shouted Xiao Ya, she was very excited but nobody replied.
"Grandpa, Lin Feng can stand up again!" Xiao Ya opened the old man's hut and saw nobody, she stopped.
"Did grandpa go to pick up herbs…?" whispered Xiao Ya. She was surprised. She smiled at Lin Feng and looked in the other hut, but nobody was there either. The old man was nowhere to be found.
At that moment Lin Feng moved closer to the old man's hut and shouted, "Xiao Ya!"
"Bro, what's up?"
Xiao Ya ran towards Lin Feng and looked in the same direction as him, she was astonished.
There were a few words carved into the wood of the table.
"Lin Feng, please take care of Xiao Ya."
"Grandpa…" Xiao Ya was shaking her head, she walked backwards and shouted at the hut, "Grandpa!"
Lin Feng ran towards Xiao Ya, as she burst into tears. Tears kept flowing on her cheeks while she continued calling for her grandfather.
How was that possible? Her grandfather couldn't abandon her…
Xiao Ya was trying to calm down but she knew the truth, her grandfather had really abandoned her.
Her grandfather had left, she couldn't find him anywhere.
She ran around while crying for a long time, until she was exhausted. She sat down on the ground and continued weeping, it felt painful, her grandfather had left…..
Lin Feng calmly approached Xiao Ya and sat down beside her. He gave her a big hug and caressed her hair.
She hadn't expected that her grandfather would leave that way, he had said nothing… But Lin Feng understood that if the old man had done things that way, it was because he had his own reasons. He didn't want to hurt Xiao Ya, that's why he had left that way.
It was also clear to Lin Feng that the old man was extremely depressed. Many things had happened to the old man in his life…