Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 16: Leaving the seclusion and checking out, a state of mind transcendent.

Seven days pass in the blink of an eye for the outside world.

Within the Qiankun Realm, beside the spiritual spring, Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them before receding and returning to calm. He carefully examined himself; the lake of spiritual energy within his dantian had expanded and solidified considerably, and his meridians were wider and more resilient. However, his cultivation level ultimately remained at the late stage of the third level of Qi Refining, failing to reach its peak as expected.

"It wasn't that simple after all..." Lin Yan exhaled a soft breath, not too disappointed. His biggest takeaway from these two years of secluded cultivation (using the space-time technique) was the difficulty of cultivating with eight spiritual roots. Each advancement in a minor realm not only required opening more and finer branch meridians, but also meticulously refining and nurturing the eight different types of spiritual energy to ensure their balanced growth. The mental and physical effort required far exceeded that of a single-spiritual-root cultivator by several times, even ten times.

Although his current cultivation method and the purity of his spiritual energy have resulted in a total amount and quality of spiritual power far exceeding that of cultivators of the same level, even comparable to ordinary cultivators at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, he is still, in the end, just an "ordinary" Qi Refiner with only cultivation. He has yet to have the opportunity to deeply comprehend any of the many profound techniques in the arts of cultivation, such as spells, talismans, alchemy, and weapon crafting.

"A tall building rises from the ground; take it slow, there's no rush." ​​Lin Yan smiled helplessly, suppressing the yearning for greater power in his heart. He knew that the stronger the foundation, the further he could go in the future.

He got up and stretched his slightly stiff limbs, then slipped into the bathroom in the courtyard and took a comfortable hot bath, washing away the fatigue and dust from his two years of seclusion. Afterward, he took out the jade slips containing miscellaneous cultivation knowledge from his storage ring and studied them attentively for a long time. These mainly included various herb illustrations, mineral identification, and some basic common sense about the cultivation world, laying a theoretical foundation for his future studies in alchemy and artifact crafting.

Feeling that the time was about right, he left the pass to search for Xiao Qi.

Sensing his presence, the little guy immediately transformed into a golden light and rushed over from afar, excitedly barking "woof woof," and crashed headfirst into his arms, rubbing his little head against his palm and making satisfied purring sounds.

"Brother! Brother! You're finally out!" Xiao Qi's voice rang cheerfully in his mind.

Lin Yan smiled and rubbed its soft fur, satisfying the little guy's wish to be petted. After enjoying it for a while, Xiao Qi suddenly raised its little head, its big, dark eyes looking at him expectantly, and asked in a childish voice, "Brother, when will you have time to play with Xiao Qi? You're always cultivating, and Xiao Qi is so bored all by itself... um... a Qilin is so boring."

Lin Yan was taken aback by Xiao Qi's words. Looking into Xiao Qi's pure and expectant eyes, the softest part of his heart was touched. A warm smile spread across his lips as he said softly, "It's my fault for neglecting our Xiao Qi. How about this, once the house is renovated and we go back, I'll make you a beautiful and comfortable little doghouse. Then you can come out and keep me company occasionally, okay?"

"Really?! I can go out?!" Xiao Qi was overjoyed instantly, breaking free from his embrace and transforming into a golden light as she soared into the air, joyfully tumbling and leaping. Her excited cries were filled with exhilaration. "Great! I can go out and be with my brother! I'm not alone... a Qilin alone in the space anymore!"

Seeing Xiao Qi's almost frantic joy, Lin Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud, but still solemnly instructed, "You can go out, but there are three rules: First, you must be discreet and absolutely cannot be discovered to be anything unusual, especially you are not allowed to speak; second, the tasks in the space must be arranged in advance and handed over to the puppets, so as not to delay important matters; third, you are not allowed to harm any humans or small animals, and you must behave well."

"I promise to complete the mission! Little Seven is the best!" Little Seven immediately flew back, patted its chest with its little paws, and made a solemn promise, nodding its little head like a chick pecking at rice.

After settling Xiao Qi in, Lin Yan slipped out of the spatial dimension and returned to his hotel room. He tidied his clothes, making sure nothing was missing, then slung his bag over his shoulder and went out to check out.

The receptionist was still the same young girl. When she saw Lin Yan come out, her eyes lit up, and then two blushes appeared on her face. Her voice was softer than usual: "Comrade, are you checking out? I haven't seen you go out much these past few days. Are you... are you not feeling well?"

Lin Yan was already used to the attention this body attracted. He immediately put on the original owner's signature shy smile, which looked sickly, and replied in a low voice, "Yes, I'm checking out. Thank you for your concern. I've never been in good health since I was a child. The renovations at home have been a bit noisy recently, so I came here to rest for a few days."

Looking at his pale yet handsome face and listening to his gentle, weak voice, the young receptionist's eyes were immediately filled with sympathy and a hint of barely perceptible pity. She thought to herself: What a handsome young man, it's a pity he has such a weak body... What a shame.

Lin Yan felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, so he quickly checked out, took the deposit, and hurried out of the hotel as if fleeing something.

Walking back to the courtyard house, the spring sunshine warmed him. Recalling the shy yet sympathetic look in the young woman's eyes at the front desk, Lin Yan couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

Having lived two lives, he naturally understood the thoughts of teenagers. A fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, his body dominated by hormones, might be preoccupied with those innocent yet passionate feelings all day long. This is why in many novels, the young protagonist easily pounces on a beautiful girl like a "simp"—it's not entirely because he's brainless, but because the biological instincts of this age sometimes override reason.

But Lin Yan was different. This fifteen-year-old body housed a forty-five-year-old soul, seasoned by the ups and downs of the business world and witnessing the complexities of human nature. He was long past the age of being easily swayed by appearances or fleeting passions. Moreover, now that he had embarked on the path of cultivation, pursuing longevity and the freedom of the Great Dao, while his seven emotions and six desires had not been completely eradicated, had long since been cleansed from the depths of his soul, becoming clearer and more serene. Those sentimentalities of young love were now like fleeting clouds in his eyes, even appearing somewhat…childish and “low-brow.”

Thinking of this, his mood inexplicably lightened, and as he walked, he even hummed a strange tune in a voice only he could hear:

"I am a noble person, a person who has transcended base desires..."

The sunlight cast a long shadow of him, and the boy's slender back exuded a clarity and transcendence beyond his years, gradually fading into the bustling streets of Beijing. His goals were never concerned with these mundane matters.