Jun Lionhead lived in seclusion deep in the mountains, unconcerned with worldly affairs.
Maybe it was just his nature, but in her previous life, he never asked about her family or her past.
Whenever he spoke to her, it was all about teaching, guiding, and answering questions.
So even after being master and disciple for more than ten years, sometimes Grace would look at him and still feel a sense of unfamiliarity.
But this time around, right from the start, things felt different.
And honestly, she liked this feeling.
Every day, she cooked, did laundry, cleaned, and pretended to study. She’d even come up with tricky questions to ask Jun Lionhead. The two of them got along so naturally and harmoniously.
After living in the little hut for over a month, she felt as if time had slowed down and the world had grown peaceful.
But Grace’s cultivation was progressing at lightning speed.
That day, after pushing herself for a full twenty-four hours, she finally broke through to the Sixth Rank.
Grace stood by the water in her Sanctum, hands weaving in the air. Instantly, the lake's water transformed into two water dragons, spiraling up and crossing in midair to form the shape of a Taiji, before exploding apart.
"Bang!" With a loud crash, countless shards of ice scattered, each one sharp as a blade.
As a Sixth-Rank Spirit Practitioner with Elemental Affinity, her combat power had skyrocketed. The best part? She could finally launch group attacks...
Feeling satisfied, Grace ended her practice, turned around, and was ready to leave the Sanctum for a good day's rest.
But as she turned, she suddenly spotted Beanie—the magical sprout.
It had been a whole month, and Beanie hadn’t grown at all.
Not only that, but its once chubby appearance was gone. It had shrunk, and even looked a little yellow.
This was obviously malnutrition!
Grace squatted down, frowned, and asked, "Beanie, how did you get so skinny?"
Beanie just wiggled its little leaves. Its usual lively energy was nowhere to be seen.
Beanie had actually been pretty well-behaved lately.
It hadn’t tried to greedily suck up all her spiritual energy like before.
But still, why did she feel like she was neglecting a child?
"Sigh... Is it because you haven’t absorbed enough spiritual energy that you ended up like this?"
Beanie nodded its little leaf.
"Ugh... Seriously..." Grace felt a headache coming on. "Maybe you should go somewhere else! I really can’t afford to raise you!"
Beanie shook its leaf, and faint droplets of water began to appear.
"Don’t cry!" Grace said, exasperated. "Alright, alright! You can stay! I’ll let you absorb more spiritual energy. Go ahead, take what you need!"
Beanie instantly perked up, stretching out its leaves.
Suddenly, all the spiritual energy in the Sanctum surged toward it, and in no time, Beanie had sucked it all dry.
"Ah! It’s all gone again! You’re just..." Grace sighed and went back into the Sanctum to add more Legacy Stones.
She thought about pulling it out... but she just couldn’t bear to.
From now on, she’d have to find more Legacy Stones if she wanted to keep it alive!
She still had no idea what Beanie actually was...
Luckily, after burning through a few days’ worth of Legacy Stones, Beanie returned to its original plump self—and even grew a bit taller.
Grace secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She was a little worried it might die!
Honestly, aside from draining her spiritual energy, this little thing was actually pretty cute...
......
When Minister Zhuo and his group left, Jun Lionhead shared with them the secret way to enter the bamboo forest.
At the entrance to the bamboo forest, there was an unremarkable vine.
If you tugged on that vine, the bell in the hut would ring.
That day, a gentle rain was falling from the sky.
Grace was in her Sanctum, mourning her nearly depleted supply of Legacy Stones, when suddenly she heard the bell ring.
Her eyes lit up, and she shouted, "Master! My dad must be here to pick me up!"
"Go take a look." came Jun Lionhead’s voice from the room next door.