A Noble Sacrifice

Many thoughts ran through Chu Fan's head as Yao Lingyan kissed him. He wondered why he smelt the three-layered mousse that he had made earlier that night. He wondered why he couldn't hear anything except for his fast-paced heartbeat that seemed ready to leap out of his chest.

He thought that he must have been dreaming as he never expected a beauty to kiss him; comparing himself to a frog that had received a kiss from a fair maiden. And most of all, he wondered why he was not taking the initiative here.

He felt a little bad for not really putting any effort into the kiss so far as his mouth was motionless at the moment while Yao Lingyan was kissing intensely.

So he began to use his tongue like a paintbrush, drawing on a fresh canvas.

He surprised Yao Lingyan so much she opened her eyes to look at him as her body went limp.

The two finally stopped kissing after they ran out of breathe and had to gasp for air.

Chu Fan fell to the floor on his knees while wheezing.

A loud "Thud!" sounded out above his head.

He looked up and saw that Yao Lingyan had passed out.

He felt like crying as he didn't expect that his breathe might be so horrid that the first girl to ever kiss him would die before him.

Worried that she had died, he placed his middle finger on her carotid artery to look for her pulse.

He noticed that there was a pulse, but her skin was icy cold.

He tried to wake her up.

"Hey! Yao Lingyan, wake up. Now's not the time for playing." he said in a panic.

She began to shiver and her breath could be seen with the naked eyes.

"Shi*, so that's what her innate yin constitution entailed."

Chu Fan knew that if he didn't act quick, she could die of the cold qi buildup in her body.

He took off his outer robe and placed his belongings in his storage ring. He then placed Yao Lingyan on his back and carried her piggy-back style as he draped his robe over her to keep her warm.

He produced the walking stick that Da Bao had created for him. He activated the shield function and used it as a makeshift umbrella.

He struggled under the combined weight of everything, but steadily made his way to seek shelter.

He couldn't go back to his dorms for fear of having Yao Lingyan's big secret be revealed. And so he headed towards the cafeteria, as it was the only place that no one would be at this time of night.

While walking as fast as he could, he could feel that the cold qi that Yao Lingyan was emitting was beginning to slowly penetrate his body. Had he not been of thick build and been skin and bones like most other pretty boy heroes, he might have already become a popsicle by now.

He arrived and made his way into the kitchen where he opened a door near the back of the kitchen.

The kitchen itself had a living space behind the kitchen as it was originally meant to be for the cook who wasn't usually a disciple. Chu Fan had meant to use it at some point in the future whenever he felt that he wanted privacy.

Arriving in the room, he quickly reverted his shield back into it's original walking stick form and set it in his spatial storage before carefully placing Yao Lingyan on the bed.

He instructed the puppets who greeted him to fill a bathtub with hot water.

As he waited, he began to disrobe Yao Lingyan to prepare her for the bathtub.

While doing it, he closed his eyes but could not help but peek. He could not help but marvel in the vast difference of men from women.

Her skin was milky white and smooth compared to his that was was rough and dark. The only part of his body that was smooth was his face and belly, where his chubbiness was most present.

And his face began to flush red as some blood gushed out of his left nostril.

He could not fully disrobe her and thus kept her dudou and loincloth on.

He turned away and held his left hand high folding his thumb over his pinky, leaving the other three fingers pointing to the ceiling.

"I swear to the powers above that I am doing this to save a life. I am not the pervert I seem to be at this moment. If I become aroused in any sort of way, may the heavens strike me down with lightning."

He turned around to see her laying there in her undergarments.

"Boom!" sounded as lightning struck the cafeteria building, causing it to shake.

"Well you can't exactly blame a boy, going through puberty, for letting his imagination run wild."

He panicked and grabbed as many blankets he could find and layered her with what he had on hand.

He rushed the puppets who looked at him with their emotionless faces. Had they been able to display emotions on their face they would have made a face that said, "Really?"

When they finished fulling the bath with hot water, Chu Fan rushed as fast as he could to Yao Lingyan's side. He removed the blankets and quickly picked her up and carried her like a princess.

He looked rather funny though; he had not grown tall yet, but she had grown considerably taller than him. To see a 1.37 meter tall boy carry a 1.54 meter tall girl was a sight to behold.

He struggled to make his way swiftly to the bathtub as he looked like a tightrope walker with a pole. But he began to sway as his center of mass and gravity kept shifting due to him being in a rush.

He finally reached the tub when his arms started to go numb from the cold. He laid her down slowly as he placed her head on a towel so that she didn't slip in and drown.

For an incense stick's time, she started to calm down, but eventually the water started to cool down and her coldness flared up again. He could not leave her in a hot bath all night, for fear of any possible skin infections.

Having no other options left, Chu Fan pulled her out of the bath.

This time he had to take off her undergarments completely as he lay her on the bed.

He backed up and took a deep breath. He didn't know whether or not he should laugh or cry. This would be his first time sleeping next to a girl, and this could also be his last.

"Stay calm Chu Fan. This is a noble sacrifice. If you don't wake up tomorrow, at least you'll know that you died saving someone. And at least you've been lucky enough to have kissed someone in this lifetime." he said to himself.

He held no perverse thoughts whatsoever at this moment as he came to seriously consider this as a matter of life and death for Yao Lingyan. There was no time for trivial thinking.

He closed the door to the kitchen where the puppets awaited patiently for his orders. And he started to disrobe, exposing his chest and belly. Next came his pants, but he chose to keep his boxers on.

He climbed on the bed and embraced the freezing cold girl. He pulled the blankets over them in an attempt to make things warmer for himself as well.

"Brrr." he shivered as he started to rub her shoulders and back with his hands."

Many thoughts ran through his head as he tried to distract himself from the cold qi penetrating him. A paper lantern lit above his head as he thought of it, a possible solution.

In many of the wuxia he had read in his past life, the hero could encounter a situation like this and benefit from it. They could circulate their qi and fortify their cultivation. By depleting their qi reserves and introducing an even stronger yin qi, they could force their yang qi to develop and strengthen in a way that brought the body back into balance.

He began to revolve his Yang Qi to counteract Yao Lingyan's Yin Qi. He enveloped Yao Lingyan and himself in his qi as he created warmth for both of them.

Eventually Yao Lingyan stopped shivering and she fell asleep soundly like a baby, almost as if nothing had ever happened. She had been thoroughly tired out by everything today.

Chu Fan kept revolving his qi throughout the night just in the case Yao Lingyan had a sudden relapse.

She snuggled up to him, closing the gap between them so much that her chest was touching his. And she cried a tear.

"Royal Mother. Royal Father." she said as she sniffled.

Yao Lingyan was dreaming of her home at the moment. The warmth she was feeling was nostalgic to her.

Seeing her crying in her sleep, Chu Fan stroked her head and held her right hand with his. He brought her head and placed it below his as he comforted her.

And he shut his eyes and fell asleep from the accumulated exhaustion of today bizarre turn of events.

Morning came and the sect's giant bell sounded that it was sunrise and time to get up.

Chu Fan awoke to a loud scream followed by the left side of his face hitting the cold stone floor next to his bed. His stomach was sore as he had been kicked there, and he rubbed it in pain.

Yao Lingyan had woken up and yawned. This had been the first time she slept so comfortably ever since she left the Northern Nation. She had a pleasant dream of her childhood with her family.

As she scanned the room, she noticed that this wasn't the dorm room at all. Eventually, the events that transpired the night before, came rushing through her mind. Her pupils dilated as she came to an understanding of the situation.

Last night was the fifteenth of the month. Her cold disease only occurs around that time. She was supposed to take her Yang Qi Gathering Pill last night to ensure that the Yin Qi in her body would not run amok. But she had neglected to grab it before bathing as she was not expecting for Da Bao and Tian Hai to comeback to the dorm so fast.

She was forced to wait until they fell asleep and then the person known as Chu Fan happened. He made his grand appearance and ruined everything.

She looked down to see a still happily dreaming Chu Fan who happened to be half naked. He smiled in a smug manner and smacked his lips before letting out an innocent chuckle. He was having a pleasant dream.

Yao Lingyan felt a cold draft of air on her chest and back. She looked down to see herself stripped bare of any clothing. She saw her clothing and undergarments strewn across the floor alongside Chu Fan's clothing.

Many thoughts of the heinous acts that Chu Fan did, went through her mind. She was thoroughly full of killing intent this morning.

"Damn insolent pervert! Bastard! I told you to take responsibility, not bed me. I gave you an egg, and you took the hen!? How audacious of you?"

Chu Fan had already began to kneel and pinch his ears. He wore a face of innocence as he didn't know why he was being scolded. He didn't know what hen or egg she was talking about.

"Even though I was willing to accept the fact that we're fated to be a couple. I can't come to accept what you've done to me. I was hoping you'd at least wait until we were of proper age first. And until after we had gone through the proper traditions, we'd enter the nuptial chamber with mutual consent."

She was on the verge of tears right now.

"Wait, what? You mean to say that we're a fated pair?" he asked.

Chu Fan had thought about the encounters he had with Yao Lingyan. And his brain was about to burst as he finally came to the realization of this undeniable fact.

He jumped with joy, that he was lucky enough to get to conquer at least one of the beauties in this world.

He ran to her side and hugged her.

"You don't get it. I only did what I did to save you. Your Yin Qi in your body flared up yesterday following our little 'CHU' session. You passed out and I brought you here to warm you up."

Her killing intent lessened a lot; but it was still evidently in the air. She thought about it for a while as she doubted Chu Fan's words. She knew that he was a crafty and devious at times. A thought finally came across her mind.

"My birthmark! That's what might spare you today."

"Oh, you mean that pink crescent-shaped birthmark on your left inner-thigh? What about it?"

She blushed as she realized how he had come to gain such knowledge and how it happened four years ago.

"Royal mother told me that, it's my mark of virginity. The day I get married and enter the nuptial chamber, it will disappear."

She turned away to face the other direction as she lowered her head to inspect her forbidden zone.

She sighed after seeing that the birthmark was still visible.

Chu Fan also breathed a sigh of relief as the killing intent in the air was now gone, and he knew that he wouldn't get beaten to a pulp. At least that's what he thought.

He looked at Yao Lingyan who was blushing at the moment; she dared not look him in the eyes. She had repaid her benefactor with a swift kick to the stomach and was feeling guilty at this moment. But her pride as a princess would not let her forgive him so easily.

"How about this Chu Fan? I'll forgive you it you can take, defend, or dodge against 4 of my blows."

She winked at him and threw him out of the bedroom with his pile of clothes. She gave him time to think it over while she got dressed with the spare clothes she had in her spatial bracelet.

Chu Fan had gotten dressed also; and while he got dressed he noticed something different about him. He had reached the fourth level of Qi Condensation overnight.

Having revolved his qi throughout the night, he had boosted the quality and quantity of his qi, allowing him to have a breakthrough while sleeping peacefully.

"Oh, shi*. I can't be having too many breakthroughs in this short span of time. I'm drawing too much attention to myself."

For now, he would start to focus on the quality of his qi and techniques rather than strive to further his cultivation level.

Yao Lingyan would interrupt his thoughts by opening the door.

"So, what's it going to be.... my darling."

He was not expecting her to call him that so soon. He felt giddy as he had wished to do these types of things in his past life; he just never had the opportunity or partner. He quickly came up with a name of endearment for her also. Seeing as their first kiss was etched in his mind he came up with an appropriate name.

"Uh! Four blows sound fair enough to me.... my sweetness."

They both blushed as they bask in their glib-tongued conversation.

They had made it a point to only call each other those things only when they were alone together as they made their way outside the cafeteria.

It was morning and the disciples were beginning to wash their faces and head to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Chu Fan and Yao Lingyan stood 4 meters away from each other.

"Are you ready Chu Fan?" she asked.

Yao Lingyan had come up with her proposal to test her future husband-to-be. She wanted to see the potential he held. She wanted to walk the path of immortality; and she wanted to see whether the person she was fated to be with in this lifetime would be able to walk alongside her.

"Yes. Let's begin." he said as he performed a fist-hand salute.

They both assumed their stances and Yao Lingyan made her move.

She left an after-image as she leapt into the air elegantly, while displaying her flexibility. She descended at a frightening speed raining kicks down on Chu Fan. All he could see were stars as Yao Lingyan's feet only left flickers of lights which were the after-images of her foot.

She was using a technique called the Swift Raining Meteors. It did not require a person to have power but speed and precise finesse. It focused on swift feints and attacks aimed at the joints and many precise locations of the body.

Chu Fan blocked her attacks with his hands raised to his sides. He had only blocked a couple of kicks as he was berated by the rest of her lightning fast kicks. He was thrown back a couple of meters as Yao Lingyan used his body to propel herself upwards where she landed after performing mid-air back-flip.

Chu Fan had blood on his lips and his clothes were covered in dirt. He got up and brushed himself off.

He did not expect the difference between levels would get marginally larger as he progressed. There was a big difference from when he fought Hun Lian, who was at level four of Qi Condensation, when he was a mere third level Qi Condensation cultivator.

He had assumed that the heroes from the stories he had read about were just lacking in the understanding of their potential to overstep their level restraints. But it was truly like an role-playing game in many aspects; a player could reach level 98 and potentially struggle for hours when faced against a level 99, being forced to use many of their elixirs.

He looked at Yao Lingyan like she had a display name written in red to notify him of the danger she was.

"Damn, I could really die if she got serious."

He got his thoughts together and started planning a new method of approach.

"Let's go again, Lingyan!"

She blushed but quickly rushed him and threw a flurry of punches his way.

He observed her more closely this time to see if she had any openings. He began to use the Heaven-Guiding Palm Technique to block her attacks. He had sensed her attack patterns earlier and seen through her feints.

He closed the gap between them and Yao Lingyan panicked as she was not expecting him to see the weaknesses of the technique she was using. She needed to keep him at a distance for the technique to be displayed with its full might.

She landed a couple blows on him, but he brushed them off as they held no power. He began his counterattack by blocking a right punch she threw at him with his left hand. He grabbed her fist with his hand and placed his right leg behind her left leg. The then thrust his palm towards her chest. She fell with a loud thud as she landed on a bed of grass.

She was in shock as she didn't expect Chu Fan to counter her like so.

He picked her up and apologized.

"Oh, Lingyan, you're okay right? I didn't mean to throw you down so hard."

"I'm okay." she said while blushing in embarrassed.

She had wrapped herself in qi before anyways, so a fall like that wouldn't do much but knock the wind out of her.

She was a little frustrated that Chu Fan could already counter her. She was not expecting Chu Fan to be so observant. So she chose to use another technique in her arsenal; this technique was taught to her by her mother. It was an illusory technique that threw the enemy into a trance. An advanced form of the illusory art could turn a person into a hollow shell as it destroyed their mind.

Yao Lingyan jumped back a distance and started making hand seals.

Chu Fan was clueless as to what she might be doing, so he patiently waited while building up momentum for his Heaven-Guiding Palm Technique.

Yao Lingyan rushed Chu Fan as she finished her last hand seal; and her eyes flashed a purple glint of light. This light caused Chu Fan to squint and flinch.

Yao Lingyan thrust her index and middle finger at Chu Fan's scarred glabella, lightly tapping it.

Everything turned dark for Chu Fan as he seemed to be transported to a different realm of existence.

"Shit, it's an illusory attack. I've got to get out quick."

As he said that, the tablet interface appeared before him.

"Breach detected. Your 30-day trial has expired. Would you like to purchase our Soul/Mind Yearly Protection Bundle today? Discount with auto-payment."

And below that was a slashed price of 99 silver coins with a new embellished price of 49 silver coins and 999 copper coins.

"Fuc**ng cra*. They have this system here also? Who the f**k am I even paying?"

He seriously considered the purchase for a while and thought it was indeed a good thing to have just in case. And so he tapped the picture.

"Well, I guess all things come at a cost.

It took him to a payment confirmation screen with his name and information.

He payed and immediately the Soul/Mind Security function took effect as he woke from the illusion instantly.

He saw that Yao Lingyan was still standing in front of him. A mere half a second had passed by only. The time he spent in his mind flowed at it's own separate pace.

Yao Lingyan was shocked as Chu Fan was unfazed by her illusory attack. She felt a little discouraged as she had already become proficient with this unnamed technique; she had used it countless times on her brothers and maids to turn them into statues. She loved to dress them up and free them of their illusion to see how they would react.

"H-How?"

Chu Fan only shrugged his shoulders. This enraged her as this fatty in front of her seemed to be playing with her.

"Let's go again. This is the last round Lingyan. You can go all out if you want." he said with a smirk.

He kind of felt bad that he wasn't really letting her win him.

She began to surge with Yin Qi as the surrounding area became colder; the blades of grass around her began to develop frost at a visible rate.

She was preparing to use the Lunar Sculpting technique. It was a technique that her mother had given her before she left for the Skyward Sword Sect.

By concentrating the qi on various points of the body. One could effectively turn parts of the body into a weapon sharp enough to cut through most armors, depending on the technique level the cultivator reached.

She approached him at an alarming speed, and his pupils dilated as he noticed the chilling qi she emitted.

Fearing for his life, he formed hand seals and summoned the spirit blade he imagined. He had created a dagger; of which he threw at her.

She deflected it like it was a simple toothpick, flicking it off the the side.

Chu Fan then flicked his left hand through the air as he seemed to be spelling something in the air with his index and middle finger.

Yao Lingyan thought it was another dagger and moved her right hand to dodge as she was still running at Chu Fan.

Chu Fan used this opportunity to get in real close to her. He propelled himself by thrusting both his palms behind him, summoning wind qi behind himself.

He almost collided with her but using his left hand, he thrust downwards at a 45 degree angle allowing him to come to a complete stop in front of her. The wind knocked up all the pollen and dust in the area causing Yao Lingyan to squint and randomly swing her hands.

Chu Fan would easily evade these and summon his spirit blade of choice, a Hmong knife. He held it near Yao Lingyan's neck.

"There, 4 blows. Now let's go wash up and have some breakfast."

He dispersed his spirit sword and pinched her cheek while smiling. And he turned around and headed towards the cafeteria.

Yao Lingyan was out of breathe as she didn't know how to accept the fact that she lost to Chu Fan of all people. She had meant to go easy on him, originally. But despite her becoming serious, she still loss.

She quickly recovered though as she was well happy to know that her future husband was a very capable person despite the way he looked.

The two didn't know it, but they had attracted a small crowd of disciples who had overheard the commotion. Those disciples were all in shock as they witnessed Chu Fan win the duel with ease.

They dispersed as to start spreading the rumors of Chu Fan being a hidden genius.

Chu Fan washed up and was about to start prepping when he remembered the Limitless Culinary Knife slip.

He was curious as to what was inside the cultivation slip. And so he dove in.

He was transported to a large kitchen area. Everything here was lifelike and felt real.

Mnemonics started to appear and Chu Fan read through them.

This cultivation slip was made by a person dubbed the "God of Cookery". In it were the various methods a person could cut and do whatever with their chef's knife. It proclaimed that any person who could reach the ninth and final level of the technique could cut through even the toughest of myth-class beast hides like butter.

The theory behind this technique relied upon: breathing, vibrations, hunting, anatomical knowledge, etc. Frankly put, a cultivator willing to learn this technique consolidated their training by cooking and applying the skills learned here in the kitchen.

Chu Fan had a slew of ideas and inspirations come across his mind as he could utilize this as a weapon technique and/or apply its theories to other techniques he would get in the future.

His thinking was interrupted when a figure appeared. This figure was different from the phantom figures he knew from the previous experiences with cultivation slips.

This figure was a fully distinguishable person wearing a white robe. It was a short slender man with no facial hair. His hair was white and cut short.

He smiled and nodded in Chu Fan's direction. It seemed to be congratulating whomever found this cultivation slip.

The figure donned an apron in an instant and began to cut a large amount of radishes before Chu Fan's eyes.

His knife and hand seemed to become one as his blade danced in the air.

Chu Fan was fully immersed in the scene playing out before him. This immortal had turned simple cutting techniques into an artform that seemed to entrance others with it's simple yet mystic properties.

The person began to smile as he looked like a child playing with new toys.

The vegetables fell down where they landed in many forms. He had cut the radishes into: see-through disks, silk-like strands, exquisite action figures, and cubes of varying sizes.

When he finished Chu Fan was still lost in his thoughts as he tried to grasp the beauty and essence of the knife skills displayed here.

He drew his conciousness out of the cultivation slip and took a deep breathe. He was so happy and excited to start his cultivating that his hands started shaking.

He ordered the puppets to bring a large amount radishes over to him.

They set it down on the counter before him as he grabbed a knife and donned his apron.

He ran through the hand movements he had seen moments earlier and began to cut. He cut vegetable after vegetable but felt something was off as his knife didn't move as swiftly as the figure demonstrating earlier. His cuts were not precise as they were either too shallow or the daikon had broken off at certain sections.

He took a good long while to think about what was missing. And then it clicked in his mind that he had been neglecting the mnemonics of the cultivation. He needed to control his breathing and use his qi to create vibrations in his blade.

He began to revolve his qi as he breathed and the knife in his hands began to ring as it vibrated.

He pounded the table launching many vegetables into the air. He slashed out at the vegetables and noticed that there was no longer any resistance as his blade sliced through the thick radishes.

He finished his cutting routine and examined his cuttings. He cut the radishes very well, but he could tell he was far from the level of expertise that the white-haired man was.

He understood fully that cultivating this weapon skill would not be easy and take time to master., otherwise it would not have received its high ranking from the tablet.

Satisfied with his current results he exited the kitchen. Reaching the doorway, he felt groggy instantly.

He had neglected the fact that he had just gone up a level in his cultivation and needed to spend time resting and consolidating his qi. It was not wise for him to have accepted Yao Lingyan's proposal to battle and then train immediately afterwards.

He had expended his qi reserve and nearly passed out from exhaustion.

He almost tripped and was caught by the arm by someone.

He looked over to see that the person holding him up was Yao Lingyan.

"You know, you didn't need to overexert yourself to impress me earlier. I would have been happy regardless, as long as you took four of my blows."

She walked him over to a table and ran to the kitchen to fetch him a cup of water.

"I couldn't be any happier at this moment." he said with a big grin.

He had managed to finally managed to conquer one of this life's many beauties. And this brought great joy to him.

He drank his water and looked through a window to see the sun as it began to appear over the surrounding mountain top. It reminded him of something he had forgotten about.

And he choked on his water after realizing that he had forgotten.

"Huang Mudan, I'm sorry." he yelled in the back of his mind.