Chapter 2: stepping blind in the right direction

Yao Family residence at the dinner table.

"Grandma, can I join the Awakening Ceremony this year?" Yao Le pleaded, leaning on her arm and giving her best puppy-dog eyes.

"My dear, you know entering prematurely might harm your potential. Be patient and wait until next year," the head of the Medicine Hall gently advised.

"But pretty please, I want to unlock my Aperture and use gu to help people!," Yao Le persisted.

"Think about the future. Premature entry may compromise your potential and hinder your ability to help more people. Be focused on the long-term, not just the short-term," Gu Yue Yao Ji's tone grew stern; she was determined to protect her sole inheritor's potential.

"I take full responsibility, Grandma. Don't worry; I've got it under control," Yao Le assured, determined to convince her grandmother.

The clan elder grew increasingly annoyed at her granddaughters persistency. Her smile faded away, and she began to look at Yao Le directly into the eye. 

Yao Le flinched. She couldn't simply babble about how important it is to start early because Qing Mao Mountain won't exist anymore in a few years.

The failure of plan A leads to plan B then.

The next night.

'Remain in the shadows, be silent, dash and repeat… Remain in the shadows, be silent, dash and repeat…'

What was that figure over there you ask? Of course it was Yao Le.

And was was she doing? She was heading to the spirit spring to awaken her aperture by herself.

'Even if I get into trouble, I have to awaken my aperture as soon as possible or else I would be left behind by Fang yuan. By the time he's rank 3 I also have to reach rank 3.'

Yao Le was determined. Even if she risk wasting potential because of a premature awakening of the aperture, a years worth of time is still detrimental to her goal to reach rank 3.

Right now she was at the entrance to the awakening grounds, sneaking behind the surrounding vegetation.

There were two guards standing on each side of the cave walls. They weren't talking so she hoped that they were easily circumvented by a cheap trick from the book.

I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it.

"Hey did you hear that?" The other guard, tired from his shift, gave a lazy nod.

"We should check it like the protocol demands." The serious guard frowned when the other guard ignored him.

"Hey, I don't want to loose my job so get your balls together." The latter just closed his eyes at the serious guards visible agitation.

"You- …fine I'll do it myself." Accepting his coworker's uncooperative attitude, the former just went to check it by himself.

This was Yao Le's opportunity! She swiftly slipped through the shadows casted by the trees entered the cave from the (sleeping) guard's blind spot.

She wasted no time in admiring the magnificent scenery the cave provided and headed straight to the awakening grounds she once visited together with her grandma to witness her clans future blood.

Admittedly, it was boring, but this time it was about her own awakening, so her heart raced at the notion of finally wielding magical powers.

At arrival, she stepped into the sea with no further ado and initiated her awakening.

Hope Gu gathered around her and she felt that all her previous efforts were worth having this single moment.

She felt free, as if a burden was lifted from her heart even as the pressure from the spirit spring made every step harder the further she progressed.

Suddenly she felt an explosion in her lower abdomen. Her aperture is formed.

Instead of checking it, she instantly rushed out of the ethereal sea, made saure that her clothes were dry enough and began heading out.

On her way she could not suppress a smile.

'39steps39step39steps…' The echo in her mind overtones her disbelieve at the fact that her aptitude was this good despite the loss of potential due to premature awakening.

39 steps made 68% capacity for rank one green chopper primeval essence.

She knew that Yao Le was one of the 10 rising stars in Gue yue village, but to even surpass the Hiers of the big fractions in talent… no wonder her grandma spoiled her in the novel.

As she approached the entrance she heard a heated argument, no, more like a scolding session unfolding.

"Please, I beg you, just don't report me to the captain." The tired guard practically hanged on the shoulder of the serious guard, his voice desperate.

"There is no other way. I risk my job if you fall asleep again amidst our shifts." The ever so responsible serious guard fended off any attempt to convince him otherwise.

Yao Le stopped listening to their conversation and focused to escape undiscovered. 

When she reached the outside of the gardens surrounding the cave, she celebrated with punches of victory into the empty air.

'Easy. Maybe too easy… is heavens will at play? Nah, don't waste precious brain space on things outside your control.'

When daybreak hits the next morning, Yao Le was forced outside her comfy bed by repeated calls from her servants. 

She stood up and stretched her body. She hated sleep deprivation.

But luckily she had servants that helped her to get ready for the day. Clothes, baths and food were all prepared for her. While she usually preferred to care for her personal hygiene herself, the servants still insisted on taking over that task. 'Must be a cultural thing' she thought.

She peaked into her aperture while she was being bathed. Waves emerged in a sea of green chopper primeval essence as she willed her primeval essence to move towards the aperture walls.

She noticed that her primeval sea is rapidly shrinking as the waves splashed against the aperture walls. She continued until she ran low on primeval essence.

'That's it? Cultivation itself is not as exciting as I imagined…' she let out a soft breath of disappointment.

Once she was ready she went through her schedule. Studying in the morning. Working in the medicine hall in at noon and martial arts training in the afternoon.

Today she got praised by a doctor for skillfully switching up a deep cut into the forearm.

She didn't think much about it, but she still tried to feel proud about it. Being mentally well is important for a happy life.

Speaking of happiness, what can she do to achieve happiness in this world? Strength would be the easiest answer, but she thought about only reaching rank 6 and then retiring in her immortal aperture. 

But couldn't she reach greater heights with all her knowledge? Yao Le sighted.

'But what's the point? Life is worth living so long as I am happy.' She froze for a moment. 'Or have hope for a happy life.'

On her way home, she halted at a popular viewing spot and looked at the whole eastern part of gue yue village. It was beautiful to say the least.

'The ultimate goal is happiness. Fang Yuan is happy with giving his all into pursing eternal life. Bai Ning Bing is happy to purse excitement so long as it is within his powers. Thieving Heaven's happiness lies beyond the Gu World, so he did everything to escape it.' 

Yao Le turned her back at the scenery. 'But what is my happiness? I can see a pattern in how to find happiness but in the end it depends on the individual.'

In her time in the Gu World living as Gue Yue Yao Le she had many opportunities to think with no distractions like TickTock available.

What she concludes is this: She despised the Gu world.

Why? Ruthless people trying to survive in a so unpredictable world. In every uncivilized corner, a catastrophic beast could spawn. Heaven is actively working against the progress of humanity and the world is so vast that it became a division between civilizations, the perfect breeding ground for conflicts between groups.

How about destroying fate Gu? No… fang yuan will do it anyways… what about… destroying heavens will?

She suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

'Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable! Was this his goal all time along? Becoming the very thing you swore to destroy… respectable…' (sorry I could not hold that reference in myself)

'Maybe I too can-'

Her thoughts were halted when she noticed that her primeval essence levels returned to maximum.

She made sure to always loose up her aperture walls once her primeval essence levels were fully restored. Somehow she really got fired up for reaching maximum efficiency.

Once in her room, Yao Le started cultivating again. She collapsed in her bed, exhausted from her venture the previous night after finishing her cultivation session.

The next day she did her routine as always. Study. Medicine hall. Martial arts. But this night she had other plans. She planned to sneak out again.

Why you might ask? Two simple words: Liquor Worm.

But this time she will leave the clan compounds and go into the bamboo forest alone, and she can't forget that she is a girl now.

While covering herself in thick clothes would be enough to hide from fleeting gazes, it would not protect her if someone targeted her.

It would be very undesirable to get ambushed. 

She is cautious by nature so she made some preparations. A kitchen knife, A flute and a small first aid box.

Yao Le smiles. This would be enough if she gets unlucky.

Let her hunt for the Liquor work begin!