After the branch incident in the Whispering Willow Grove, the atmosphere around Xi Ran shifted. The novices, especially the stocky guy named **Du Te** who had rushed over first, looked at him with involuntary respect. "Slick," "Reflexes," "Lucky" – such words were whispered behind his back. Xi Ran remained silent. "Lucky"? He knew the truth. It wasn't luck. It was *it*. That strange vision that had acted like an internal compass, pointing the way at the last moment.
Now, while collecting "Willow Tears," he didn't just note the emerald flashes in the fresh droplets. He *experimented*. Consciously trying to trigger that state of clarity that had saved him. He stared intently at the resin, concentrating on the sensation of "***Sight!***" like during the branch's fall. But nothing. Just ordinary drops with fleeting, uncontrollable flashes. *Like trying to catch the wind*, he thought in frustration. But he wasn't about to give up. If it worked once, it should work again. Especially if Lin Feng decided to "test" his reflexes with his cane.
Lin Feng was indeed watching him more closely. During the **"Stance of the Sleeping Heron"** lessons, his cane now hovered near Xi Ran more often. Not poking, but hanging in the air like a snake poised to strike.
"Concentration, novice!" His voice sliced through the silence. "Where is your spirit? Wandering the swamps? Or do you think dodging a branch means you can dodge the Path? The stance is the foundation! Without it – you're nothing! You'll be collecting resin forever!"
Xi Ran clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the piercing gaze and the pressure radiating from the senior disciple. Lin Feng stood nearby, and Xi Ran *felt* the difference. Not just physical solidity – Lin Feng was dense as an oak knot. There was a sensation of… *density* around him. The air seemed thicker, heavier. As if Lin Feng were carved from the same iron as his bones. **The Iron Bones Realm.** Power currently inaccessible to Xi Ran, whose body had only just begun cleansing itself of worldly impurities, barely stepping onto the threshold of the **Early Flesh Bone Realm**.
One day, after an especially grueling stance session, when Xi Ran's legs trembled like leaves in the wind, Lin Feng stepped sharply towards him. The cane didn't prod; it *jabbed* – a short, sharp thrust into the center of his back, just below the shoulder blades. The blow was precise and painful, like a thick needle prick. Xi Ran gasped, lost his balance, and crashed to his knees, feeling a hot wave of pain and numbness spread across his back.
"See?" Lin Feng stood over him, the cane still pointed his way. His voice was cold, without malice, only contempt. "Without root, without stance – you're a sack of bones. Just waiting to be kicked. Get up. Another ten minutes overtime."
None of the novices intervened. Du Te just clenched his fists, staring at the ground. Xi Ran rose, hiding the pain, and resumed the stance. His eyes burned not with anger, but with cold determination. *I need to get stronger. I need to understand "this".* Otherwise, he'd remain nothing but a punching bag.
***
That evening, when the pain in his back had subsided a little, Xi Ran didn't go straight to the barracks. He slipped stealthily to the edge of the Grove, to where the ill-fated branch had fallen. The spot had been cleared, but the ground still bore a depression. He sat under a nearby willow, pulled an empty vial from his pocket. On the bark beside him, a fresh droplet of "Willow Tears" was welling. He stared at it intently, unblinking, trying to recreate that lifesaving impulse – ***Sight!*** At first, nothing. Just a droplet. Then – a flash. Emerald, bright. A moment – and gone. He tried again. And again. It flashed, but wouldn't obey.
Suddenly, he noticed something new. When the flash faded, a… *trace* remained in the resin itself. A barely perceptible emerald shimmer, like pollen dissolved in the clear liquid. It quickly dissipated. *What if… I collect that one?* The thought flashed. The one that just flashed? The resin with the fresh "echo" of light?
He carefully collected the droplet into the vial immediately after the flash. The resin inside glowed faintly, like a firefly in a jar, then faded. He brought the vial to his nose – it smelled just as pungent. Touched it – the same stickiness. *Useless*, he almost cursed. But what if… He remembered his father. His wheezing, his weakness. No medicine was given. What if…
He cautiously dipped the tip of his finger into the resin from the vial. It was warm from the sun. He brought his finger to his mouth, touched the resin to the tip of his tongue. Bitter! He spat immediately, wiping his tongue on his sleeve. Nothing special. Disappointment washed over him. He was about to throw the vial away when he suddenly felt… a strange warmth. Not on his tongue, but *inside*. A faint, barely noticeable thread of warmth ran from his stomach to his chest. Like a sip of hot tea on a cold day. A moment – and the sensation vanished.
Xi Ran's heart beat faster. Coincidence? Or…? He looked at a vial with dead, non-glowing resin. Nothing. But at a fresh droplet on the bark – another flash! He collected it again into another vial, right after the flash. And again – cautiously, with the tip of his tongue. Bitter. Spit. And… again that fleeting, weak thread of warmth inside! Stronger than the first time? Or was he imagining it?
*Healing?* Hope, sharp and dangerous, pricked him. He remembered gathering mosses for his father in the swamp. Maybe here too… But how to test it? Give it to his father? Dangerous. He didn't know what it was. But the alternative – waiting for the overseer's mercy – was worse.
He hid both vials – one with ordinary resin, the other with "fresh," shimmering resin – deep in his pocket. He needed more. He needed to understand. And he needed to find a way to get it to his father. Perhaps through Du Te? That guy seemed reliable. Or was it too risky?
Xi Ran stood up. His back ached from Lin Feng's blow, but inside burned a new fire – not rage, but the thrill of a hunter who had found a trail. His strangeness, his "emerald sight," might not just be a way to see the hidden or dodge branches. It might point to something *useful*. Something that could help his father.
He cast a last look at the Grove, sinking into evening twilight. Grey trunks, grey shadows. But somewhere within, in the fresh cracks of the bark, tiny emerald stars pulsed. And now he knew how to find them. And why. The path ahead was still foggy, full of Lin Fengs and overseers. But now Xi Ran had his own, very personal, very green compass. And he intended to follow its arrow.