"Mother, the moon is up and the sky is dark. If we're done here, perhaps we should get back."
"That a good idea, Little Li, but I think I've got a better one. I will head back first, while you stay here and study the formation I created. You will not leave this spot till you can identify at least 2 of the inscriptions I used in the spirit containment formation."
"Mother, that's too unreasonable. How could I study when I'm already too exhausted from studying all day?"
"Oh, stop whining. I know you've been sleeping through your study periods. Consider this your punishment for slacking off. Don't even think about leaving or else I will know and punish you more severely."
"That's not fair."
"Life isn't fair, get over it."
Xue Jinghua quickly created a tracking inscription then placed it on Xue Li. Now if Xue Li were to leave this area she'd know about it.
"Ah, mother, wait."
"I'll be back in the morning. If you can't figure it out by then I'm going to make you write all 69 fundamental inscriptions 1000 times each."
After saying those words Xue Jinghua went into her carriage then left.
Xue Li collapsed helplessly. She didn't want to spend the whole night trying to decipher her mother's formation, but she didn't have a choice.
Blue fiery qi appeared on her fingertips then she created a large circle in the air, just like Xue Jinghua did earlier. Looking through it she could see all of the inscriptions her mother used in her formation, but since they were all clumped together it just looked like a big bowl of noodles to her.
Xue Li sighed.
"I should've been paying attention the first time she did it."
.
.
.
A few minutes later, Xiao Fang arrived.
'I'm too late,' Xiao Fang thought regretfully, but then he noticed Xue Li laying faced up on the ground.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Xue Li quickly sat up because she didn't hear him coming.
"Has no one ever told you that it's rude to sneak up on a lady?" She berated him.
"Please excuse my rudeness. It wasn't my intention to scare you," he said.
She wasn't mad at him, but she was just venting her frustration out on him. When she realized this, she started to feel a bit apologetic.
"It's fine. I'm just a bit distressed that's all," she said as she laid back down and looked up at the stars.
Xiao Fang had missed his opportunity to watch an inscriptionist at work, but if this girl was involved, then perhaps he wasn't completely out of luck.
It didn't take a genius to know that she wasn't in the mood to talk, so he changed his approach.
Xiao Fang laid down faced up on the grass next to her, then imitated her by looking up at the stars even though he was blindfolded.
Xue Li wanted to ignore him, but there was something about Xiao Fang that attracted her gaze. Xiao Fang knew she was looking at him, but acted as if he didn't.
"Do you believe in fate?" Xiao Fang suddenly asked.
"Huh?... maybe. Why do you ask?"
"I was approached by a mysterious old man today, and he said something I just couldn't get out of my head."
"What did he say?"
"He said tonight I'd rather meet a special young girl outside of my house or adopt a powerful pet dragon. You wouldn't happen to have seen a dragon flying around here, have you?" Xiao Fang asked.
She assumed that he was just making it up, but she still found it amusing. She rotated her body to face him, then said,
"Could it be that I'm that 'special' girl the elder spoke about?"
"That depends, what is your name?" Xiao Fang asked.
"My name?"
Xue Li decided to mess with him, so she said,
"My name is Yang Suiyin."
Unfortunately, Xiao Fang had a keen sense of hearing, so he could tell when someone was lying.
"That's strange, I don't recognize the name at all."
"Ok, my name is Mo Yin."
"Nope, still doesn't ring a bell?"
Unable to hold back her smile, she rolled her eyes then told him her real name.
"Xue Li?" She said.
"Ah, yes. Xue Li. How could I forget the name of the girl I was fated to meet. It's nice to meet you Xue Li, my name is Long Wang," Xiao Fang nearly laughed.
Xue Li couldn't stop herself from smiling too, but she still tried to call him out on his bullshit.
"You're so full of shit, you know that?"
"The wise old man did say that you'd be good at knowing when someone is full of shit," Xiao Fang joked.
"Hahaha. That really does sound like me," Xue Li finally laughed.
Xiao Fang sat up on the grass then she did the same.
Xiao Fang faced her, but didn't say a word.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked.
"I was told that you'd be as beautiful as a sunset. A girl so pretty not even the most precious of words could accurately portray how you look. I can't stop thinking about what you might look like," Xiao Fang said while wearing his blindfold.
"It's a shame that you can't see me, but I'm not as pretty as you might think," she lied as to not make him feel bad for not being able to see her.
"There are other ways to see without seeing," he said.
"Such as?"
"Seeing with touch."
Xiao Fang casually raised his hand up to her face, but paused before touching her.
"May I?"
"... sure," she said before closing her eyes.
Xiao Fang gently touch her face as if he was trying to make a mental image of her, but in truth, he could already sense her entire body with his ears alone.
"The old man was right, you really are beautiful," Xiao Fang spoke in a seductively slow, but masculine tone. The sound of it sent pleasurable tingles down her back.
She finally looked away as Xiao Fang took his hand back.
"Y-You're just saying that," she said.
"It's true."
People had always told her that she was pretty, but she always believed that people would only say such things to get on her good side. Strangely, when Xiao Fang said it, it made her feel all warm and tingly inside.
Wanting to change the topic, she quickly asked him, "W-What else did the old man say about me?" she asked in a softer tone.
"Does that mean you finally believe the old man exists?"
"No, I just want to see how long you can keep this up for."
"I can keep it up for as long as you like. Some may even say that I have a special talent for keeping certain things up ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)," Xiao Fang smirked.
"Certain things?" She said before looking down at his concealed little brother.
"You looked didn't you," Xiao Fang said.
She quickly looked back up at his blindfolded face then quickly shook her head with blushing cheeks. She assumed because he was blindfolded he wouldn't notice her gaze.
"I-I-I didn't look."
Xiao Fang didn't mind it at all, he was just impressed that she caught on to his sexual connotation.
"You've never seen one before, have you?"
Xue Li shook her head again, "Only in books."
"Would you like to see one now?"
Her face suddenly turned bright red, then she quickly covered his mouth.
"H-How can say that so casually," she whispered.
Xiao Fang started to unravel his robes, but then she suddenly stopped him.
"Someone might see us."
"You're right, let's go inside," he suggested.
"No, wait. The truth is, after that one time my mother caught me looking at erotic drawings, she forbid me from seeing a naked man till I got married. Even if it's by accident, she will still know."
Xiao Fang could guess that her mother was an inscriptionist, so he assumed she placed some kind of restriction on Xue Li.
"You just can't see a man, right?"
"Un," she nodded.
"There are other ways to see without seeing," Xiao Fang repeated his previous words.
Xue Li's eyes widened as if she had heard a brilliant idea. A second later, her face suddenly turned red. She knew what he was saying she could do, but wasn't that even more daring than what her mother restricted her from doing?
However, Xue Li had just turned 18, so she was a big girl now. She was always curious about such things and now an opportunity finally came up with a man she liked.
Xiao Fang took the blindfold off his face then offered it to Xue Li. She looked down at the blindfold and knew what it meant if she were to accept it. After a bit of hesitation, she finally took it off his hands then put it on. Once it was on, Xiao Fang finally opened his eyes.
'Seems I was right, she really is a pretty girl,' he thought.
"I can't see," Xue Li said as she aimlessly tried to reach for him.
Xiao Fang gave her a hand then she tightly held onto it. Her small hands felt soft and delicate, almost as if she had never done a single chore or body cultivated a day in her life.
"Follow me," Xiao Fang said.
Xue Li nodded, then shyly stayed really close behind him as he guided her into the guild house. She didn't know what to expect, but she felt comfortable around Xiao Fang.