章 11: Pools
The little girl widened her eyes at the word 'home'.
Unhesitatingly, she nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yes!"
Chuckling, Song Xia then turned to Master Teacher Zi Tai who was still cupping his hands at him.
Although Song Xia was taking a while to reply to him, Zi Tai didn't mind it. He didn't interrupt as he looked on in interest at their interaction. He also didn't want to make the situation worse, after all, the young boys were really in error. Compared to the Lieutenant General's daughter, she really had more character than the three boys. She was only little but her view towards heroism was already admirable. He wondered how she would be when she grows up. If she would enter the school in the future and would still have the same values, he would gladly take her in as his student. Zi Tai contemplated.
"Master Teacher Zi Tai, since you have already thought the same as I, then I entrust this matter to you. Thank you in advance. If you are still around in these few days, please come by to our residence." Although Song Xia only said this out of courtesy, even if Zi Tai would indeed show up, it was not bad as well. He always had a good opinion of him.
"Ah.. Leave it to me. Lieutenant General. Also, thank you for your invitation, I would gladly accept it." He beamed at them. "I will take my leave now and take these boys with me. Have a safe trip on your way home…"
He nodded in Song Jia's direction as well, smiling faintly like an old man looking at a precious granddaughter with pride.
The two groups separated then. Later on, Song Jia found out that the little girl's name was Lu Ping. From then on, Lu Ping lived in the maidservants' quarters, learning all the housework, following them around especially Song Jia. She would be the one Song Jia would find to play together.
Lu Ping was grateful for that fateful day when Song Jia shielded her with her small body against those boys bigger than them and even gave her a roof over her head. If it weren't for her, Lu Ping would have been bones of the earth since long ago.
To think that her savior almost died. It was really difficult for Lu Ping to reconcile with this. Because of this, her resolve to become strong has only become even stronger. She would stick to her savior closely and not only serve her but would protect her with her life.
All of a sudden, her sad eyes had a look full of determination in them that it even made Song Jia taken aback.
"Miss Jia, can you teach me how to cultivate? I want to become stronger." She looked at Song Jia straight.
Song Jia's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Did she really get bullied while I had to pretend to be dead? Who dared?'
"Ping, who bullied you? Tell me." Her eyes were full of worry. She took this girl in her wing when they were only little for fear that she would be bullied again outside, she would hate to know if she really got bullied here too.
However, Lu Ping only shook her head and only waited for Song Jia's reply.
Sighing in resignation, she finally acquiesced. "Alright. It would be good for you too to be able to defend yourself."
Lu Ping beamed at Song Jing. "Thank you, Miss Jia! With this, I would be able to protect you!"
"Ah? Protect me? You're not my guard Ping.. What are you talking about?" She scratched her head in confusion.
"You are my savior Miss Jia. It's only right that I repay you with my life."
"Repay? What nonsense are you talking about? Don't talk like this!" Song Jia huffed. Lu Ping may be her maidservant but to her, she's her companion.
"It's not nonsense, Miss Jia. You shielded me before from those bullies. It's only right that I should be able to shield you too."
"That's a long time ago already.."
"It still won't change the fact that you are my savior. Without you giving me a roof over my head, I would already be fertilizer for the plants."
"Very well. I will teach you how to cultivate. Not because I want you to give your life for me. But because it's also good to defend oneself. Ah.. I could also spar with you every now and then." She rubbed her chin, grinning.
Lu Ping laughed nervously when she heard her words. She gulped, already anticipating the long road of cultivation.
"Are you going to tell me now who bullied you?"
"Nobody bullied me, Miss."
Understanding dawned on Song Jia. If Lu Ping didn't cry because she was bullied, then it would be because of the other reason, related to her near death experience.
"Alright then. Have you eaten yet?"
"Don't worry about me, Miss. The kitchen would always leave a share for me." She smiled softly. This was because of Song Jia's words from the first moment she entered this residence. She told them to make sure Lu Ping don't go hungry, don't feel cold, and don't feel unsafe.
"Okay. Rest early. Tomorrow we will head to the Book Pavilion with my uncle." She got up and headed to the bathroom again to brush her teeth before she went to her bed and rested while Lu Ping headed to the kitchen to have her dinner and rested at the maid servants' quarters afterwards.
That night, Song Jia slept alone in her room. Outside, hidden in the shadows were General Song Qing's secret guards who watched over any ill intentions from others. The guards assigned to watch over Song Jia's courtyard were part of the elite.
Although Song Jia was already on her bed, she didn't go to sleep yet. She had her eyes closed as she focused her spiritual energy and entered her own body. A microscopic version of her traveled from head to the bottom, following the channels, evaluating it. She then started to absorb spiritual energy.
Outside, specks of light almost invisible to the eye floated up in the air like dust and travelled towards her direction. It entered inside her and travelled along her channels, then filled up the little pools in her lower dantian. There was a blue colored pool that represented water. Green pool for wood. Red for fire. Yellow for earth. White for metal. There were also a couple of pools all the way to the back, still empty.
'Isn't this what they called False Spiritual Roots?'
False Spiritual Roots is a name given to spiritual roots that require a cultivator to absorb 4-5 types of energy to progress. Possessors of False roots have immense difficulty cultivating in realms with low concentrations of energy.
She inwardly sighed when she realized it.
'Looks like this would be a long road ahead.'
Taking herself out from this disappointment, she began to investigate her space. It was different from the interspatial ring which was usually empty at first then the possessor would gradually keep things inside it just like you would to a backpack.
But the space she was thinking of was the one where her things from her other life could be brought out. She didn't have this ability before while in that world.
She wondered if she was holding or wearing an item that made it happen. She got up from the bed and started to pat her legs, arms, touch her front and back, face, and neck. Then she cringed while touching her neck.
'It's missing! It's not here! I thought that with the things that I can take out from there, that one should be with me as well.'
Her mind focused on its image, trying to recall where it was. All of a sudden, a bright light sparked on her forehead. It floated away from her for a few inches and hovered on her eye level.
'It is here!'
She instinctively held out her palm, wanting to catch it in case it would be dropped to the ground. It spun a few times then slowly it fell on her palm just like a feather would.
Her heart skipped a beat.
It is indeed her jade pendant that she always had since young. She only found out not long before her death that this was a family heirloom of the Chang family. It was given to her by her grandfather John Chang and grandmother Alayna Griffin-Chang.
This was the only remaining connection she had to her birth family.
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