Phoenix Destiny
chapter-15

"Awake?"

Coming out from the Heavenly Wheel, Lu Mingshu had not reacted to the change. Hearing Liu Jizhen's voice, she drowsily called out, "Master?"

After a while, as her consciousness recovered, she quickly got up, "Master!"

Liu Jizhen sat by her bedside, and his originally casual image seemed sloppier than ever. Seeing the healthy and active Lu Mingshu, his gaze loosened up. "Do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Lu Mingshu shook her head and then asked carefully, " Master, how long have I been asleep?"

"Three days." Liu Jizhen frowned as he spoke. "Why did you go to the founder's tomb?"

Distinguishing his imputative tone, Lu Mingshu lowered her head. "I, I don't know what happened either. That night was as if a dream…"

Only three days? She thought she had spent at least ten days in there! Could the Heavenly Wheel have an accelerated flow of time?

"Dream? You did not go in voluntarily?"

Lu Mingshu shook her head. "I don't remember…"

Liu Jizhen's brows furrowed even deeper. Could it be sleepwalking?

"Master," Lu Mingshu asked quietly, "am I in trouble?"

Looking at her nervous appearance, Liu Jizhen sighed in his heart. Sure enough, he should not have accepted a disciple. Even if he made up his mind to not care about her, he still could not be unconcerned about her in the end.

"You're not, since no one knows." Liu Jizhen stood up. "Now that you have woken up, don't lie back down. There's porridge in the kitchen, go and eat some."

Lu Mingshu only realized her very empty stomach now.

Having spent three days unconscious, it would be a wonder if she wasn't hungry.

She wasted no time in swallowing the warm porridge mixed with salty vegetables in the kitchen down in large gulps. Emptying two big bowls, she finally felt comfortable.

Only when she walked out of the cave door and caught the scent of the fragrance of medicine did she realize Liu Jizhen was currently brewing medicine.

Lu Mingshu walked over. "Master, have you fallen ill?"

Liu Jizhen fanned the fire. "This is for you."

Lu Mingshu was startled. "Me?"

"The air in the tomb is extreme yin; this is for you to balance out the yin qi in your body."

Liu Jizhen spoke expressionlessly, yet his actions of fanning the fire were very careful.

He did not think much of what he spoke, but he never expected to be met with the sight of Lu Mingshu standing there in tears once he turned around.

"You…" It would have been fine if all she did was make a ruckus, but this one cry made Liu Jizhen at a loss for words. How would an unmarried man like me know how to coax a little girl?

Lu Mingshu reached out her hand to wipe off the tears on her face. In her heart, she reminded herself of the promise she had made to Grandfather and Mother about never crying again.

"Master, I am not leaving." She lifted up her head with visibly reddened eyes.

After Grandfather and Mother left, only Hui Niang and Ah Sheng were good to her, but in the end, they were not her parents. She had never known the feeling of having a father, and her real father evoked nothing but hatred rather than the feelings of a child towards their father in her. However, seeing her Master brew medicine for her the way he did, she suddenly thought of the word 'Father'. Having a father should vaguely feel like this, I guess? No matter how cold he was to me usually, whenever something happened, he was always concerned and showed care.

Liu Jizhen pursed his lips, keeping silent for a long while.

Of course he was hoping Lu Mingshu would choose the Lower House. That way, she could practice martial arts normally, and he wouldn't have to shoulder the responsibility. Yet this child chose to stay…

"Master?"

"Stay then." Liu Jizhen continued to fan the fire. He sighed in his heart—it's fine, this disciple is probably my inescapable destiny.

With the approval, Lu Mingshu's tears turned into laughter, and she snatched away the fan in his hand. "Master, let me do it."

"You just woke up…"

"I am very well, look!" Lu Mingshu jumped up and down.

Eh, why does it feel like I have become lighter? She looked at her hands; the frostbite had really disappeared. So by getting healed in the Heavenly Wheel, she really had recovered?

What the amazing person in the tree said was true. Her body in the Heavenly Wheel had been a projection of her real self, and once the six-colored streamers from resetting the Heavenly Wheel had washed her body, her real body would be healed.

Liu Jizhen carefully sized her up, examined her pulse condition, and confirmed that there were no abnormalities.

When he invited Yu Wen Shi over that day, there were no abnormalities either. Yu Wen Shi had even said that not only was she well, but her body's inner qualities were also superb. He had no idea as to why she would've fainted.

Liu Jizhen obviously did not mention the matter where Lu Mingshu entered the founder's tomb. Yu Wen Shi and he were from different paths. They might have some friendly relations, but that was as far as it went. He still had his suspicions about how Lu Mingshu entered the tomb, so it would be inconvenient if someone else knew of it.

When he thought of what Yu Wen Shi had said before he left, Liu Jizhen felt his heart sink even deeper down.

"Senior Brother Liu, this child's body constitution is exceptionally good—a good seedling for practicing martial arts. It would be a pity to give up just like that."

He could distinguish that Yu Wen Shi was trying to probe him. Ever since getting his Meridians severed, he had banished himself. Hence, Yu Wen Shi wanted to know if he still had any fighting spirit left.

Liu Jizhen laughed at himself in mockery. So what if I still had any fighting spirit? A cripple like me…

For this child to follow a cripple like me was indeed a pity...

In the evening, master and disciple retired back to their respective stone houses.

Lu Mingshu locked the door, sat on her bed, and settled her nerves. She primed herself to once again enter the Heavenly Wheel by following the messages in the tree.

It was not just a moment of impulse for her to tell Liu Jizhen that she wanted to stay with him. Of course, the care Liu Jizhen had shown for her was one of the reasons, but she also thought that it wouldn't be suitable for her to go to the Lower House when she was in possession of the Heavenly Wheel.

For example, that book called [Basic Sword Manual] that she wanted to try. If I were to go to the Lower house, what explanation was she to give if she were spotted while training? Green Jade Valley was still a better choice if she did not want to be bothered.

She kept her eyes shut, nerves calmed. With a change in thought—

Sha, the scenery in her surroundings fluctuated. She had entered the Heavenly Wheel.

A lush tree grew in the empty space, with fluttering six-colored streamers floating around it.

As she touched the leaf on that tree, a copious amount of information gushed forth.

After adapting previously, Lu Mingshu no longer incurred a headache. She calmly received the messages and sifted through them for the ones she needed.

There were even more replies to the new person that had asked about the whereabouts of this place previously. There were even a few who started a discussion related to this question.

[ Newbie, what rank is your Heavenly Wheel? ]

[ What do you mean by what rank? ]

[ It means how many blocks are there per column. ]

[ Oh, it has five blocks. ]

[ Rank five? Amazing! Mine is only a rank three! ]

Someone else replied to the last question. Lu Mingshu discovered everyone that spoke there had a number, and the number would be indicated in front of each message.

[ That's right, that's right, I am only a rank four. ]

Lu Mingshu thought, does it mean my Heavenly Wheel is a rank nine from this theory? Those that answered questions here were mostly rank three and rank fours, with a few above rank five and the highest being rank six.

So is it better to have a higher or lower rank? As she thought, she could not help herself from leaving a message.

She had a number too, 15127.

[ Eh, you are also a newbie too, right? Yours is such a big number. Of course, a higher rank is better—a higher rank lets you have an exchange with more worlds. ]

Lu Mingshu did not understand. Everyone is exchanging here, so what does it mean to exchange with more worlds?

Until someone gave her an answer, solving her question.

[ This is only the first layer of space. You will be able to undo the seal once your strength is formidable enough, enough to enter the later few layers of space. There, you will find the world of experts. ]