Shen Manyun sat on the ground, cradling the flowerpot in her arms, her gaze fixed on the Orchid within.
The sensation of the leaves brushing against her head felt real, tickling her slightly.
She extended a finger and curiously poked at the petals of the Orchid.
In an instant, the petals shattered at her touch, scattering like the hues of a twilight sky, transforming into a cluster of smaller flowers.
The sudden change in the Orchid left Shen Manyun astonished.
Could this be… a plant that had turned into a spirit?
Shen Manyun thought that in this world, such unexpected occurrences didn’t seem all that strange.
The book had also described many types of spirits, some of which were not evil at all.
Could a flower be bad?
Shen Manyun wondered:
It had grown from Xinglan’s chest, nourished by Yan Feiguang’s blood.
No matter what, it couldn’t be something malevolent.
She decided to keep it.
Shen Manyun moved the flowerpot to the side of the wall.
As soon as it settled, the vines that had previously curled up began to unfurl, climbing the courtyard wall, exuding a vibrant vitality.
“Will you grow here from now on?” Shen Manyun gently played with the leaves of the Orchid and whispered.
The leaves swayed slightly, as if agreeing.
Shen Manyun let out a soft sigh, noticing that her breath formed a faint white mist in the air.
It seemed… it was getting colder?
Almost immediately, she sneezed, and a pure white snowflake drifted down.
It hovered above the golden flowers, melting into a glistening droplet from the warmth of her breath.
Snow began to fall from the sky, the arrival of winter coming without warning.
Shen Manyun recalled her first day in this world, when it had been raining, the air damp and filled with the fresh scent of plants.
This was her first time seeing snow.
The winter air was dry and crisp, but also bitingly cold.
Shen Manyun tightened her robe and went back inside to change into warmer clothes.
As she turned away, the plant on the courtyard wall extended its vines, like a slithering snake, following her for a short distance.
It was like a little tail, or perhaps a shadow-either way, it was trailing her.
Shen Manyun still had tasks to attend to in the coming days.
The rebel army had attacked the heroine’s camp, and Yan Feiguang wasn’t the only soul clan member who had been injured.
She went to the western city to treat their wounds.
The blood needles Yan Feiguang had given her proved to be very useful.
Moreover, having already treated more difficult wounds, she found herself becoming increasingly skilled at healing.
Shen Manyun noticed that A’Lie, whose arm she had treated before, was injured again.
“What about the city lord? Is he alright?” A’Lie had a shallow cut on his wrist, as if only the tip of a weapon had grazed him.
“The rebels were fierce, and he took a blow for me,” A’Lie explained, doing his best to describe the situation.
“He seemed hurt, but later I saw that he was moving around without much trouble.”
“How has the city lord been these past few days?” A’Lie asked.
Shen Manyun nodded, soothing him with a gentle voice,
“The city lord only had a minor injury. He recovered on his own without even needing a doctor.”
“How’s the arm I treated last time?” Shen Manyun asked with concern.
“It’s fine. As long as it’s stitched up, these wounds won’t leave scars,” A’Lie said, his hand transforming into a tiger’s paw to show Shen Manyun that he was unharmed.
Shen Manyun was curious about the soul clan.
From Xinglan to A’Lie, it seemed that every member of the soul clan had a unique form.
She wasn’t sure if this was a secret, so she hesitated to ask.
A’Lie noticed the curiosity in her eyes and rubbed his newly healed wrist, saying…
“My soul resonates with the tiger, which is why I can transform like this. If necessary, I can fully become a tiger.”
Shen Manyun asked, “Are all soul clans related to tigers?”
“No,” A Lie laughed.
“Miss Shen, you can heal soul clans, but you don’t know what we truly are?”
Shen Manyun shook her head.
“Our souls resonate with one or more non-human entities. The power we wield is the most stable among them. I can also transform into other things…”
“Things that humans fear-dangerous, uncontrollable, ominous entities… They possess immense power, but we cannot fully control them. If we completely resonate with their power, we become monsters, the kind that everyone fears.”
“Relatively speaking, the tiger is a rather gentle form of resonance.” A Lie pressed his furry tiger paw onto the table in front of Shen Manyun, leaving a paw print.
“So…” Shen Manyun suddenly understood.
She thought of Yan Feiguang’s soul clan body beneath his human appearance.
Would he also have a non-human form?
What would Yan Feiguang become?
There was also another person whose transformed form was quite peculiar.
Since A Lie was willing to share, Shen Manyun decided to ask directly.
“What about Xinglan?” The way Xinglan hid in the darkness didn’t resemble any beast.
In fact… his transformed form could hardly be called a living creature.
“That kid?” A Lie shook his head. “He’s a shadow.”
“A shadow isn’t a living being. His power is much stronger than ours, but…”
“It’s also more unstable, right?” Shen Manyun recalled Xinglan’s loss of control that day.
After leaving Wuwang City, his emotions changed rapidly and often became extreme.
“Right,” A Lie sighed.
“But as long as he’s in Wuwang City, he’s a good kid,” A Lie said.
Shen Manyun thought of Xinglan’s thin clothes.
She had forgotten to make him winter clothes last time.
She hadn’t expected the snow season to come so quickly.
After finishing her treatment of the soul clan, Shen Manyun went to buy some thick fabric.
Xinglan was still a child, so she picked out bright fabrics in white, green, and blue.
She noticed some new black leather in the shop, sturdy, warm, and not too heavy.
It would probably be both warm and comfortable to wear.
Should she make something for Yan Feiguang too…
In the end, Shen Manyun bought the fabric.
She decided to make clothes for Xinglan first.
He was growing quickly, so Shen Manyun had him come over to measure his height.
The Orchid planted in the courtyard was now completely unrecognizable from its original form.
As it grew, the large golden main flowers had turned into small golden blossoms scattered among the green leaves.
Perhaps it was Shen Manyun’s imagination, but even the leaves seemed different from before.
In any case, now that Xinglan stood in front of the plant, he couldn’t recognize it as the flower that had once caused him pain.
“When was this planted?” Xinglan brushed the snow off the leaves and asked Shen Manyun.
“A few days ago,” Shen Manyun replied, measuring him with a tape.
“Should I make it a bit bigger?”
In just a few days, Xinglan had grown taller again.
Shen Manyun wasn’t sure how tall he would get, so she decided to make the clothes a bit looser.
“Sure, I want the blue one,” Xinglan even picked out the color.
“Alright,” Shen Manyun nodded, wrapping the tape measure around him.
Xinglan’s sharp eyes caught sight of several rolls of black fabric and leather piled in the main hall.
“I want black too, to be as cool as the city lord.”
“You’re a shadow; if the color is too dark… sometimes you might forget yourself,” Shen Manyun said softly.
She looked up at Xinglan, her eyes shimmering with genuine warmth.
Xinglan stared back at her, blinking hard and said:
“Did the city lord tell you that?”
“Mr. Lie told me,” Shen Manyun replied, her gaze fixed on the empty space behind Xinglan.
So, he never had a shadow to begin with-it was hidden within his body.
She hadn’t noticed it at first.
“Did I scare you last time?” Xing Lan asked apologetically.
“No, you’re wonderful,” Shen Manyun said as she marked the cutting and sewing lines on the fabric according to his measurements.
Before Xinglan, no one had been willing to talk to her this much.
“How about embroidering some bamboo leaves on your clothes? But I’ll need to buy some gold thread for accents. I’m going to get it now. Do you want to come with me?” Shen Manyun asked.
“Sure,” Xinglan replied, transforming into a black shadow and lifting Shen Manyun up.
The sky was dotted with falling snowflakes, but it didn’t matter.
Shen Manyun’s face turned rosy from the cold wind.
She exhaled a breath, fascinated as it turned into a white mist.
It reminded her of the magical light Yan Feiguang controlled, which was the same color.
Yan Feiguang… As she thought of him, she looked up and saw his figure.
Outside the city lord’s residence stood a tall white horse, much larger than an ordinary one.
On its back sat a female general dressed in red and white robes, with a silver armor draped over her shoulders.
She leaped down from the horse, which carried a pair of chests on its back.
The red and white attire…
Could she be from Luodu?
Xing Lan, carrying Shen Manyun, darted swiftly to a hidden spot.
Excitedly, he whispered to her, “Let’s watch secretly.”
Shen Manyun also looked over.
The female general bowed to Yan Feiguang and said,
“The Grand Ritualist asked me to bring you something from Luodu.”
Yan Feiguang took the chests from the horse and asked, “What is it?”
“Winter clothes. The snow season is here,” the female general replied.
Yan Feiguang nodded.
The white horse trotted down the street, its movements as swift as the wind, stirring up the quiet snow.
“Let’s go, we need to buy things,” Shen Manyun said, lowering her head and speaking to Xinglan.
She thought that occasionally wearing black leather clothes might not be such a bad idea.