Chapter 191 – Xiao An Speaks (1/2)

On the carriage, the two of them discussed, “Senior brother, I heard the great hero Niu who stays there stands nine feet tall and is built like a rock.”

The mild-mannered young man expressed his doubts, “Is he really that tall? I find it all quite strange. Since when did the world have masters who bear the surname of Niu?”

“What’s wrong with the surname Niu? My surname is Ma1!”

“It’s not like I’m talking about you, so what’re you getting so frantic for? Sigh, what a nice child. She’ll definitely become a great beauty when she grows up. It’s just a pity she’s mute. What a pity!”

The carriage had already pulled extremely far away, far beyond the hearing range of regular first-rate masters. However, Xiao An was able to hear it all clearly outside the door as she moved the boxes in. Her face sank slightly.

She placed all of the boxes in a secret room that was relatively cool so that Li Qingshan could feast on them whenever he roused from his cultivation.

However, Li Qingshan never roused. She just sat on the stone step by herself in the autumn wind and fallen leaves. She opened her mouth and clenched her fists, using everything she had in an attempt to speak.

When she recovered her body, she was still unable to speak. The disappointment on Li Qingshan’s face was embedded in her mind. Although he had comforted her by saying that it did not matter, she never wanted to cause any disappointment to him, so she had always tried to practise speaking whenever he was not looking.

However, she had not been successful. She felt like an invisible film plugged her throat the entire time, preventing her from producing any sound. She could not even emit a single syllable no matter how hard she tried.

Her voice had been taken away by the witch, like she would never be able to get it back again.

Failing once more, she became filled with disappointment again, almost to the point where she wanted to cry. Do the heavens think that I’m too greedy? Since I can already feel his warmth, and I can remain by his side properly, I shouldn’t desire anything more!

After who knows how long, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and shook his head gently. He had accidentally become engrossed in cultivation. As he slowly raised his eyes, he saw Xiao An wielding the broom that was even longer than herself as she swept away the leaves. He smiled to himself. She sure had nothing better to do. He also felt slightly apologetic for this.

He asked casually, “Xiao An, how long has it been?”

Xiao An just happened to be lost in her thoughts, thinking about speaking, when she suddenly heard the familiar voice. She turned around in a hurry. “Eek!”

Li Qingshan stretched and yawned. “What’re you eeking… about…” His eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed at Xiao An. “Y- you…” He seemed like the one who struggled to talk now.

After all these months of hard work, all she lacked was a moment of inspiration.

Li Qingshan knelt on one knee and stood up. He gulped and extended his hands forward. He said as calmly as he could, “Relax.. and try again!”

Xiao An placed down the broom, parted her lips, and tried. “Eek!” The short syllable seemed to originate from within her chest, like a droplet of water landing in a tranquil lake, causing prolonged ripples throughout.

She had used the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to condense a perfect body, and that included her voice. Even though it was just a single sound, it was like striking the string of a zither.

Li Qingshan smiled happily. “That’s fantastic. Again.”

Xiao An gained some confidence. She sucked in a deep breath. “Eeee…” It was a long, drawn-out sound, like how a phoenix’s cry could linger for three whole days.

Li Qingshan took a step forward and embraced her firmly. “This is fantastic! I knew you could do it!”

Xiao An rubbed her eyes as tears rolled down her face.

Li Qingshan wiped them away for her. “Don’t cry. If you keep crying, I’ll end up crying too!” He pinched her cheek. “Come, come, come. Say a little more for me.”

Under Li Qingshan’s eager gaze, Xiao An’s face became bright red with how hard she tried. She finally spat out another syllable. “Ah!”

“What else?”

“Eek!”

“Uh…”

“Ah!”

Li Qingshan’s lips tightened, left at a loss over how to respond. He rubbed her head. “Forget it. We’ll go slowly, just like cultivation.” Mentioning cultivation, he checked his daemon core and discovered that his daemon qi had grown slightly, but only by a tiny amount. Although the spiritual qi of the world was endless, he discovered that he could only draw in a tiny portion of it.

In comparison, it was still faster to chomp on pills. However, he suddenly noticed something. “Hmm? Since when did I reach the third layer?” True qi flowed freely through his Yin Heel meridian without any obstruction at all. His original plan was that he would only be able to break through to the third layer after a while longer. Yet now, he had actually broken through unknowingly. He really was slightly taken aback by how sudden it all was, such that he became slightly lost.

Xiao An moved her arms and eeked and ahhed, explaining to him what had happened. She had remained by Li Qingshan’s side the entire time, so she understood what had happened to him.

“I see!” Li Qingshan held his chin. He did not wonder about why he was able to understand her at all.