The Dandy's Duchess

Chapter 80: Off to Roast Fish (2)

"Hey, let's go! What are you standing there for?" Ye Qingran noticed that Yun Qianyue hadn't caught up and immediately stopped to call her.

"I'm coming! You come back; let's start over!" Yun Qianyue secretly gathered her strength, feeling a sudden surge of energy in her lower abdomen. She was instantly delighted. She wondered if these energy flows could help her fly like the hydrogen in a plane. But she had to try; if it didn't work, at worst, she'd just be laughed at by Ye Qingran.

Sure enough, Ye Qingran flew back. With a light push off his toes, he effortlessly landed beside her.

"Let's go!" Gathering her courage, Yun Qianyue spoke, mimicking Ye Qingran's actions. She pushed off with her toes, and suddenly felt light as her feet lifted three feet off the ground, instantly soaring into the air.

Heavens! At this moment, Yun Qianyue couldn't find words to describe her feelings! She thought of the miracles of ancient humans—so profound and expansive! What a pity that modern people had been left with nothing!

"Not bad, little girl! You're almost there!" Ye Qingran praised her, and in an instant, he easily surpassed Yun Qianyue, swiftly flying ahead toward the pavilion halfway up the hill.

Yun Qianyue felt a rush of excitement but suddenly dropped after a distance of about seven or eight zhang. Luckily, she had prepared for it; she stumbled but didn't fall. Seeing Ye Qingran had already gone far ahead, she gathered her energy again and took off once more. This time, it was slightly better. After flying about seven or eight zhang, she managed to land steadily before taking off again. After a few attempts, she gradually mastered her balance, with each landing time getting shorter. However, she still fell far short of Ye Qingran.

Noticing that Yun Qianyue hadn't caught up, Ye Qingran turned to look back. When he saw her intently staring at her toes, seemingly struggling to breathe, he couldn't help but stop, standing in front of her with a smile. "Can't you catch your breath? Tian Yu said you have excellent lightness skills. Is this really what he meant? This is quite the eye-opener!"

"I'm just out of practice!" Yun Qianyue paused to catch her breath. Although she was being mocked by Ye Qingran, she still felt a sense of joy. After all, in her modern body, she couldn't even manage to fly one zhang, let alone seven or eight. She felt very content.

"So, you've been out of practice!" Ye Qingran elongated his tone and teased Yun Qianyue.

"Hmph! What if I can't catch my breath? You're still older than me!" Yun Qianyue shot him a glare. Her earlier happiness was dampened; she didn't know how to catch her breath!

"Little girl, you're fifteen this year, while I'm eighteen, the same age as Yun Muhan. I'm only three years older than you! Why make it sound like I'm so old?" Ye Qingran lightly tapped Yun Qianyue's head and said, "I heard that your martial arts were personally taught by Yun grandfather. I wonder how that old man taught you; he didn't even teach you how to breathe! Listen, you need to breathe from your dantian, not like usual. That way, your true energy can connect, and you won't lose momentum mid-flight. Your speed will naturally improve."

"Breathe from the dantian?" Yun Qianyue was somewhat perplexed.

"You're really slow!" Ye Qingran tapped her head again.

"Stop tapping! I'll get even dumber!" Yun Qianyue complained, dodging. Why did this person have to be like that old man, always hitting her on the head? What a terrible habit!

"Shut your mouth! Don't breathe through your nose. Focus on feeling your dantian. Can you sense the energy swirling around in your dantian, like a vortex?" Ye Qingran retracted his hand and, seeing Yun Qianyue listening earnestly, became serious. "Breathe following the flow of that energy, and you won't have interruptions."

Yun Qianyue nodded, closing her mouth and refraining from breathing through her nose. She earnestly focused on feeling her dantian. Just as Ye Qingran said, being exceptionally clever, she quickly found her way. Soon, she felt the energy inside her flowing rapidly, and she instantly rejoiced, "I got it! It's that simple!"

"It took you this long to learn something so simple? It seems it's not that you're not smart, but that Yun grandfather can't teach! He's the one who's slow, not you," Ye Qingran noted, astonished by how quickly Yun Qianyue grasped the technique. But he was even more surprised to sense two different energies swirling within her—one cold, one warm—seemingly merging together. He was puzzled and asked, "What kind of martial arts are you practicing? It's so peculiar!"

Yun Qianyue shrugged, "I don't know; it's all a jumbled mess inside me." She didn't mention that the old prince had taught her something called the Phoenix True Scripture, fearing that Ye Qingran would pry further. Besides, she only knew that name and couldn't answer any deeper questions. It was better to say she didn't know. She really wanted to say that the old man wasn't slow; it was just that she wasn't the real Yun Qianyue, so she couldn't learn. But she naturally couldn't say that, so she had to let that old man bear the reputation of being slow as per Ye Qingran's remarks.

Ye Qingran frowned, seemingly puzzled. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly caught a whiff of a fresh, elegant fragrance, reminiscent of lotus and snow, seemingly emanating from Yun Qianyue. He moved a step closer to her, sniffing, and couldn't help but say, "Why do you smell like that delicate beauty?"

"Delicate beauty? Rongjing?" Yun Qianyue frowned and asked, "Really?"

"Definitely!" Ye Qingran stared at Yun Qianyue.

Seeing him fixate on her with a look of someone who had caught a scandal, she pouted. "I came here in his carriage today; I shared a compartment with him. How could I not pick up his scent?"

"That's not it. The fragrance is coming from your body," Ye Qingran shook his head. "It can't be from contact."

"When we were going up the mountain, I felt nauseous in the carriage, and he gave me a pill to take," Yun Qianyue explained further.

"Was it the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus?" Ye Qingran asked in shock.

"I'm not sure. It tasted pretty good; I wanted more, but he didn't give me any. Such a stingy person!" Yun Qianyue recalled the white jade bottle in Rongjing's hand. He only gave her one pill—was that not being stingy?

Ye Qingran's expression twitched slightly as he looked at Yun Qianyue, his expression becoming strange. "He actually took out the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus to give you for motion sickness?"