Mu Yang examined the location where the tea tree was planted.
He estimated its growth progress, then pointed to an empty spot nearby.
He said to Fujin,
"How about placing the tea table here?"
"This area will likely be shaded by the tree in the future."
"Perfect for cooling off."
Fujin smacked her forehead.
"That makes sense."
Yaojun chuckled, "Don't tell me you made this decision on the spot again without any prior planning?"
Fujin, as shameless as ever, replied,
"I've got you guys, don't I?"
Lingyuan, for once, didn't take the opportunity to criticize Fujin.
Instead, she said,
"I know where to find suitable stones."
Thus, she led the group to quarry the stones.
Fujin and Yaojun were clearly unsuited for such heavy labor.
Lingyuan used her immense strength to break the rocks, while Mu Yang seized the moment to slice off a piece with his sword.
With a few swift flourishes of his blade, he carved a round stone table, then fashioned four stools.
They transported the furniture back to the ancient tea tree slope and arranged the table and stools in the spot Mu Yang had chosen earlier.
"I'm sitting here!"
Fujin picked a seat with a view of the river.
"Hmph, it's not like anyone's fighting you for it."
"You said it yourself. To prevent anyone from going back on their word, I suggest carving our names on the stools."
"Why do you always go out of your way to make things difficult?"
The two bickered again.
Mu Yang unsheathed his sword and carved each of their names onto the stone stools:
Fujin, Lingyuan, Yaojun, Mu Yang.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the sapling to grow.
Tea trees grow very slowly...
In the days that followed,
Lingyuan would often sneak off to check on the tree's progress.
She even tied a jade pendant to it,
hoping it would grow faster.
——————
Mu Yang arrived at a new point in time.
The people of Chenyu Vale had once built an altar to listen to the voices from the heavens.
A divine envoy descended to guide them forward.
As the people of Chenyu Vale prospered,
they needed new land to settle and live on.
Fujin gifted them the mountains she had won from Lingyuan
and taught them how to cultivate tea trees.
Though Lingyuan still disliked humans,
she adored Fujin.
She unconditionally supported all of Fujin's decisions—
except for one: presiding over the Toulong Ceremony.
That was the one time Lingyuan protested the loudest.
At some point,
the people of Chenyu Vale could no longer hear the voices from the heavens.
Even the divine envoy who presided over the Toulong Ceremony had vanished.
Seeing this, Fujin decided to take on the role herself.
This was a monumental decision.
She gathered her closest friends
for a discussion in Mu Yang's cabin.
If this were the Mu Yang before the simulation,
he wouldn't have had any objections—
he'd just support her without question.
After all, following the original storyline,
Fujin was destined to walk this path.
But now, Mu Yang was deeply conflicted.
The memories of his time with Fujin felt so real.
The friendship between the four of them was so pure.
She was his dearest friend!
How could he bear to see her sacrifice her freedom to move on land
for the sake of this ritual?
Yaojun also opposed the idea.
The price was too great.
Lingyuan reacted the most strongly.
This time, she was truly furious.
Upon hearing the cost of presiding over the ritual—
losing the ability to remain on land for extended periods—
Lingyuan stormed out of the cabin
and fled deep into the mountains.
Fujin hurried after her.
"Lingyuan! Wait!"
The cabin was left with only Yaojun and Mu Yang, staring at each other helplessly.
Neither knew what to do.
Emotionally,
neither wanted Fujin to lose her freedom to roam the land.
But as her friends,
shouldn't they support her decision?
It was such a dilemma.
Yaojun spoke up.
"What do you think?"
Mu Yang shook his head.
"I feel like we'll all end up being persuaded by her."
Yaojun: "Yeah. Whenever she talks about these things, her eyes light up, and she can't stop smiling."
"I hope she can always be this happy."
A long, long time passed
before Fujin and Lingyuan returned.
Fujin had somehow managed
to coax Lingyuan into agreement.
Now that even Lingyuan had relented,
Mu Yang and Yaojun had no choice but to accept it.
From that day on,
Fujin began presiding over the Toulong Ceremony for the people of Chenyu Vale.
And in doing so,
she lost the ability to remain on land for long.
Yet, she didn't seem to mind.
She remained as cheerful as ever.
——————
That morning,
Mu Yang heard someone knocking on his door early.
He didn't even need to guess—it was Lingyuan.
"Coming, coming, stop knocking!"
The moment Mu Yang opened the door,
a flash of blue light streaked past.
The beastly form vanished,
and in its place stood a tall, voluptuous beauty with wavy blue hair, barging into his home.
Mu Yang, as if prepared,
immediately grabbed a blanket by the door and threw it over her,
wrapping her up tightly.
"How many times have I told you? Wear proper clothes!"
Lingyuan rarely took human form,
but when she did, she was… wild.
Aside from the essential areas,
everything else was practically on display.
The thing was, these Adepti didn't need to find clothes when taking human form.
They just had to think about it
and use a bit of adeptal energy.
Just like when Mu Yang first took form from his sword,
his clothes were exactly as he imagined.
Lingyuan was just… habitually unrestrained.
"Sorry."
With a thought,
Lingyuan clothed herself in a blue outfit.
"Huh?"
Mu Yang was taken aback.
She actually apologized?
And obeyed so readily?
Normally, if he scolded her like this,
she'd at least click her tongue
and grumble about how human rules were so bothersome.
But today, not a single rebellious bone in her body?
Something was definitely up.
Mu Yang thought for a moment—
Ah!
Today was the day Fujin would perform the Toulong Ceremony for the first time.
In Chenyu Vale, this was a celebratory festival.
So Fujin had invited Mu Yang and Lingyuan early,
asking them to come down from the mountains ahead of time.
Yaojun, who lived with her, would naturally attend as well.
Now understanding the situation,
Mu Yang turned back to Lingyuan.
She fidgeted, unsure how to bring it up.
As expected, anything related to Fujin made her act differently.
Mu Yang smiled.
"You want me to help you figure out what to wear, don't you?"
Lingyuan's eyes sparkled.
She nodded vigorously,
as if to say dealing with smart people was so much easier.
Mu Yang recalled Fujin's in-game outfit—
different from her usual transformations—
and guessed it was what she wore after presiding over the ritual.
So he designed a matching set for Lingyuan,
leaning toward a neutral style
in her favorite shade of blue.
Of course, this outfit only existed in Mu Yang's mind.
Explaining it clearly to Lingyuan
would be a nightmare.
After some deliberation,
he had no choice but to manifest the outfit himself first—
resulting in a cross-dressing showcase
for Lingyuan's reference.
Only after seeing it did Lingyuan finally don the outfit.
Watching Mu Yang change back,
Lingyuan tilted her head.
"Why'd you change? It looked good on you too."
Thunk—
Mu Yang lightly chopped the airheaded beauty on the head.
"Good on me, my foot!"
"Ow~"
Mu Yang watched as Lingyuan pretended to rub her head,
then took a closer look at the outfit.
It really did suit her.
His design wasn't half bad.
And it complemented Lingyuan's figure perfectly.
(Well, duh. It's made of adeptal energy. Of course it fits.)
Shape-shifting was so convenient.