Chapter 4 - Shadows Beneath the Willow35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkcZ5UyOGJ
At dawn the next day, Lin Yuan woke up to a message from the system:
DING35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJHzd27VAa
[Reward unlocked: Trust Bond – Xiao Lian]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyjRz128gSs
[Description: For making a child laugh freely and survive a night without extra trauma, the system deems this a minor miracle. Reward: +30 points and unlocking the trait "Dawn Guide."]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8VquH6lfB
[Hint: Keep being helpful. It's working surprisingly well.]
Lin Yuan opened his eyes and stood up, staring at the sun with hopeful eyes. He felt something new unlocking inside him—not a skill, but a certainty: every time he healed the invisible wounds of these children he adopted, he also slowly healed the scars of his own soul.
The day passed quietly.
He taught for the first time an energy regulation technique: Tranquil Willow Breathing.
Tranquil Willow Breathing was an ancient energy regulation technique, inspired by willows that sway without breaking in the wind. He taught the kids to breathe deeply and slowly, letting the air flow like a gentle current through their bodies.
With each exhalation, tension dissipated like autumn leaves, allowing the body to restore itself, and with each inhalation, mana aligned in its internal channels with the serenity of a calm lake. Practicing it strengthened its energetic core and helped calm the turbulent emotions following achievements, like the branch of a wise tree.
Along with the technique, the system gave him some basic knowledge about the world's magical energy system:
[SYSTEM INFORMATION: BASIC MAGIC ENERGY SYSTEM]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHMKlP1Nkq
• All races have the ability to resonate with the world's mana. Congrats, you're not totally useless.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKk4Ye4Rjp
• With enough patience and luck, this resonance lets you form an internal mana core.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf24ROr3Ov
• Long-lived races? They manage this easier. Humans, of course, had to invent shortcuts.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIeUc3FR3n2
• A well-formed core allows channeling mana and casting spells.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZGHurztGt
[PROGRESS HALTED]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42JPxp1ogu
[System note: "I know, you want more info. What a surprise. Unfortunately, your current level is so basic I'm bored out of my virtual mind. Improve, explore, or play the magic roulette and maybe—just maybe—I'll tell you more."]
Lin Yuan sighed. He hoped to soon get some martial arts skills. After all, what man hasn't dreamed of flying through the skies on a sword?
That day, the kids practiced enthusiastically.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSmMdw57J3j
Xiao Lian showed a natural sensitivity: she perceived mana flows even Lin couldn't detect yet.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzOnM8qSqFE
Ben organized practice schedules for everyone, making sure they also had time for other activities like Roman's painting or shifts in the cabin under construction.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQqC2CvzrO
The kids were excited. For the first time, they felt like they were doing more than just surviving. They were cultivating. And with that joy, they pushed even harder.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxKYqwLfrw
Zhenglian, especially, practiced with great zeal. His obsession made him distant from the others, consumed by the need to improve without pause.
But that night, while the refuge slept, calm disappeared.
On her straw mattress, Xiao Lian trembled.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCUErmjytd
Tiny threads of energy floated around her, tense like a drawn bowstring. Her talent's first manifestation came with anguish.
In her dream, she walked down a damp stone hallway.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWyfXbQh7L
The walls were covered with eyes. Whispering voices hissed among echoes:
— "Veilblood… bad omen…"
At the hallway's end, a woman with the same skin and eye color, her face covered, screamed from a cell:
— "Your blood only brings death! You shouldn't have been born!"
Her childish self shrank, apologizing for existing.
The nightmares worsened.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tlYmYebvv
She relived abuse from caretakers, attacks from villagers who stoned or beat her whenever she came near.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPfqcvMIgPc
The residual spirit of the alpha rat, far from gone, clung to her like an ethereal splinter.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡym7FyiMW9I
It crept through her mental paths, dragging her into memories she wished to forget.
She woke up gasping, eyes red and heart pounding.
She couldn't sleep again that night. Every time she tried, another nightmare caught her.
During the day, irritation made her usually shy words sharp.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzXBwNYF8R
She lashed out sarcastically. She rejected others' company except during training.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdllhBvgK0
Roman, her closest friend, was puzzled. He couldn't talk to her without getting emotional wounds.
Lin Yuan watched, confused. The girl who yesterday talked about self-acceptance now seemed someone else.
Then, the system spoke:
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lwwKmYYIR
[Cause detected: Residual Spirit of the Alpha Spiritual Rat. Yep, it's still there. Annoying, isn't it?]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosX3Ix2ine
[Nature: Mental parasite – effects: trauma, repressed memories, extreme irritability, potential damage to core formation.]35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRltYR2YfP
[Recommendation: Emotional intervention. Maybe try… talking.]
Roman, who struggled with his desire to show his art to the world, felt frustrated and hurt when his closest friend responded bitterly; believing she was fed up with him, he distanced himself from the group.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGtu8og5lr
His depression, fueled by the cold isolation of mountain life and the absence of anyone with whom to share his art, grew heavier every day. Roman withdrew further into himself, skipping meals and spending long hours in silence. With charcoal in hand, he poured his restless emotions onto the rough surfaces of the rocks; his once hopeful drawings now transformed into dark and anguished scenes.
His art had become a reflection of his inner torment; once filled with dreams, it was now a gallery of screams.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarn4QJ9kNm
Loneliness slowly consumed him.
Ben noticed. Xiao Lian was aggressive, Roman was depressed, and Zhenglian… his obsession with training was also pushing him away.
He tried talking to them, but no results.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjxh6jgmYH
With no other option, he went to Lin Yuan.
Lin listened carefully. The system had already revealed Xiao Lian's case, but he hadn't noticed Roman's or Ben's loneliness. Maybe the kids were pretending to be normal around him.
He felt guilty.
He wanted to help them. But he didn't know how to handle something so delicate.
For days he observed quietly.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAqtZIXWW3
And he decided to start with Xiao Lian. After all, he was the one who activated her talent card. Guilt gnawed at him.
One afternoon he found her sitting on a rock under a willow tree, barefoot, her feet on the cold earth.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ODGwqvHcO
She rested her head on her knees.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHzmhJMCr6
Around her, spiritual threads floated like a living spiderweb, reflecting her confusion and emerging power.
The Tranquil Willow Breathing technique had started to stabilize her mana. But her mind… was still in pieces.
Lin Yuan sat beside her, saying nothing.
"I'm here," he murmured. "Whenever you want to talk, I'll listen."
Xiao Lian didn't answer at first.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfoqIsrfIU
But little by little… she began to speak.
