Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) stopped in front of Yan Qinghuai, scratching her loosened hair bun sheepishly. "Qinghuai, sorry! I lost track of time while cultivating. Have you been waiting long?"
"No, it's not even past the hour of the rat. Bai Bai, you're not late." Yan Qinghuai still looked like the clean-cut, shy boy she remembered. However, his frame seemed to have grown a bit during their time apart, making him appear slightly taller than before.
"Oh, wait a moment!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) quickly took out her communication jade token. "Let's add each other as friends first! Otherwise, if we're not in the same hall, we won't be able to contact each other."
Yan Qinghuai nodded and quickly took out his communication jade token to add her. Good, Bai Bai was his first friend.
"You've got a yellow token too! That's great!" Yan Qinghuai said with a smile when he looked up and saw the color of the girl's token.
"Mhm, you too! It looks like we've both been cultivating diligently!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) remembered Zheng Yingyi's words and raised her eyebrows with a smile. "I heard you were quite impressive during the assessment?"
Yan Qinghuai's eyes darted around nervously. "It was okay! That demon used underhanded tactics, which was too much, so I hit back hard. Did the news reach even the beast hall?"
"Well done! We can't let others think we're easy to bully. We have to teach those bad demons a lesson!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) raised her little fist in support. Then, she suddenly looked around and pulled Yan Qinghuai aside. "Follow me."
Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) led Yan Qinghuai to a corner not too far from the cultivation technique building and took out a pre-packaged porcelain bottle from her spatial pouch, handing it to him. "Here are six Spirit Replenishing Pills. Take them quickly!"
Yan Qinghuai held the bottle, his once narrow phoenix eyes widening in surprise. "Spirit Replenishing Pills? Are those the ones that can replenish spiritual energy in a short time?"
"Oh, you know about them? That's good, it saves me from explaining. To be honest, I didn't know what they were for when I first got them," Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) chuckled foolishly, then urged, "Put them away quickly. I heard they're quite valuable, and we shouldn't flaunt our wealth!"
Yan Qinghuai clutched the porcelain bottle tightly but still pushed it back. "Bai Bai, these are too precious. I can't accept them. Please keep them for yourself."
"I have plenty of space, don't worry! These were my reward for getting first place in the assessment. I received ten in total! Good things should be shared with good friends!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) omitted the fact that she had already given two to other demons, fearing Yan Qinghuai would refuse if he knew.
Hearing this, Yan Qinghuai pondered for a moment before finally accepting it and putting it into his spatial pouch. "Bai Bai, I also got first place this time, but my prize wasn't pills, just a weapon. When I get something better in the future, I'll definitely share it with you right away!"
"Haha, okay, I'll be waiting!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) beamed, her cute dimples filled with a sweet smile that melted Yan Qinghuai's frozen heart.
"Okay!" Yan Qinghuai also smiled and patted her head.
The Zheng brothers, who had been watching from afar, couldn't hear their conversation, but from their expressions, they could tell they were getting along well.
"This Yan Qinghuai isn't as difficult to get along with as the rumors say!" Zheng Yingyi murmured.
"We haven't interacted with him much, but from the looks of it, he seems quite amiable," Zheng Ying'er also felt the rumors were somewhat exaggerated.
On the other side, Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) leaned closer to him again and asked, "By the way, Qinghuai, when can we contact the celestial beings of Starfall Continent? Shouldn't we report the matter of the demon race as soon as possible?"
Yan Qinghuai, however, had different considerations. "Bai Bai, setting aside whether we can even contact the celestial beings of Starfall Continent, I've always felt that the matter of the demon race shouldn't be reported rashly. Back then, it was Jiao Long and Tao Yaoyao who sensed the demonic energy. Neither of them is here now, and you haven't actually sensed anything yourself. If we report it impulsively, not only will we have trouble explaining, but we might also be suspected of deliberately causing panic."
"You have a point! But... are we just going to ignore it then?"
"Let's focus on cultivating diligently. Whether the demon invasion is real or not, strengthening our own power is always the right thing to do!"
"Mhm, yes! Then I need to get back to cultivating right away!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) said to Yan Qinghuai. "Qinghuai, you need to work hard too. I heard that with a red token, you can visit each other. We all need to hurry up and cultivate!"
Although their meeting was brief, Yan Qinghuai knew Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang) was right. Moreover, they had now added each other on their communication jade tokens, making contact much more convenient. He nodded, shaking his jade token. "Alright, Bai Bai, let's stay in touch!"
"Mhm, goodbye, Qinghuai!" Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang), having achieved her goal for the day, skipped back to her cultivation.
Yan Qinghuai also turned away with a satisfied smile, preparing to return to the "Avian Hall." However, after only a few steps, he encountered Zheng Yingyi, who had informed him of the news earlier, and his brother. He nodded politely and prepared to leave.
To his surprise, Zheng Yingyi took out his communication jade token and asked with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Yan Qinghuai, would you be amenable to adding me as a friend?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know how to use this jade token!" Yan Qinghuai coldly refused and then left coolly. Now that he had Bai Bai's contact information, he no longer needed Zheng Yingyi as an intermediary.
After Yan Qinghuai was long gone, Zheng Ying'er weakly asked, "Brother, didn't we just see him add Bai Qiushui as a friend? Why is he saying he doesn't know how to use it now?"
"Silly! Don't you understand? That's a polite refusal!" Zheng Yingyi said, watching Yan Qinghuai's retreating back. "It seems the rumors aren't entirely false. At least the part about him being aloof is accurate."
"Alright! I don't like aloof demons. That little white rabbit is much easier to get along with," Zheng Ying'er said proudly.
"Mhm, yes! We don't need to force ourselves!" The two brothers, with their arms around each other's shoulders, also swayed away from the cultivation technique building.
Unaware of spring's departure, the rain ceases, and with the sun's return, summer's depth is known. The years of cultivation seemed to pass even faster, and in the blink of an eye, a year had vanished. All the students of "Tongling Academy" who held yellow tokens ushered in a new round of assessments. And for Bai Qiushui (Xiao Wenqiang), it marked the beginning of her first major trial.