Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 47 Guidance on Returning to Origin
It was nearly noon.

The curtains were drawn tightly, making the room somewhat dim.

The air was still filled with the crisp scent of old-world sandalwood and a comforting aroma.

Yang Chen slowly regained consciousness from his sleep.

He instinctively tightened his arms, but instead of the cool, empty sheets he expected, his palms touched a soft, delicate skin.

The warmth emanating from her body temperature.

He paused for a moment, then an uncontrollable smile crept onto his lips.

Bai Yuekui was curled up in his arms, her silver hair spread out on the pillow and in his bare arms.

A few strands of hair clung to her smooth forehead as she lay on her side, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

Her breathing was even and long, her eyebrows and eyes relaxed, like a defenseless girl who craved warmth.

The thin blanket slipped down to her waist, revealing her beautifully curved shoulders and back.

Yang Chen gazed at her peaceful sleeping face for a while, his hand unconsciously tracing the curve of her lower back.

Such a languid snuggling is quite rare on ordinary days.

Bai Yuekui's biological clock usually makes her go to lead the village's elderly to square dancing at dawn, but today, for the first time ever, she lingered in his arms.

It seems I went a bit too far last night?
He lowered his head, gently brushing his chin against the top of her soft hair, inhaling the unique, cool fragrance mixed with the scent of tea.

This subtle movement disturbed the person in my arms.

Bai Yuekui's long eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened them.

His eyes, just awakened, were misty and watery, lacking their usual sharpness and instead showing a touch of dazed laziness.

She didn't seem fully awake yet, and subconsciously snuggled deeper into Yang Chen's arms, searching for a more comfortable position, letting out a muffled groan.

"Awake?" Yang Chen asked softly.

Bai Yuekui did not answer immediately, but simply raised her eyelids and glanced at him hazily.

A few seconds later, she fully woke up, seemingly realizing that she had overslept and missed her morning exercise time.

"Hmm..." She frowned slightly, her body still seemed a little stiff.

She propped herself up slightly, and Yang Chen's gaze involuntarily shifted to her.

"what time is it?"

Bai Yuekui's voice was slightly hoarse from just waking up, much softer and sweeter than usual.

"It's still early."

Yang Chen tightened his arms, preventing her from getting up immediately, and stroked her smooth back with his palm.

"The music for square dancing hasn't even been played," he added pointedly.

Bai Yuekui visibly relaxed, seemingly convinced by this reason.

She relaxed and lay back in his arms, her cheek pressed against his warm chest, and closed her eyes again, as if she wanted to stay in bed a little longer and go back to sleep.

But just a few seconds later, she opened her eyes again, and her eyes were clear again.

"No... I think I heard music playing earlier," she muttered to herself.

Yang Chen chuckled softly: "Then you must have already skipped it in your dream."

Bai Yuekui didn't reply, but simply reached out and squeezed his strong arm as a response to his teasing.

The two of them nestled together quietly, enjoying the peaceful morning.

Until the faint sounds of children playing and laughing as they returned home from school could be heard outside the window, along with Ulan Aodeng's highly recognizable loud voice.

Only then did the two of them actually get up.

Hong Kou's fingers unconsciously twirled the rough corner of the notebook page, on which Principal Qiu Shi's neat handwriting was displayed.

"Use emotions as the guide, take the essence as the foundation, calm your mind and observe inwardly, and let your spiritual essence gather itself, only then can you return to the origin."

She recognized each word individually, but when put together, they looked like gibberish.

It was even more disorienting than the first time I manipulated a gravity object.

In her twenty years of life experience, all she learned was how to fight and how to use firearms.

"Chirp! Chirp chirp!" Mai Duo's clear birdsong came from outside the window. Then came her voice, which she had been trying to lower but had finally become fluent: "Na Ri Song! I told you not to steal food! You can barely fly anymore!"

A flurry of flapping wings and a plaintive "chirp" sound.

Hong Kou's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

This little girl, who could only cry anxiously just a few days ago, has made astonishing progress under the acupuncture treatment that came with summer.

She can now switch between "human" and "bird" languages, although she still occasionally mixes up the frequencies.

Maido, that child, has already awakened her potential... but she and Dawn haven't even mastered the Return to Origin yet.

"Still figuring it out?"

A deep voice sounded beside him as he looked somewhat comical, his tall frame squeezed behind a small desk.

Her eyes were much brighter than when she was at the lighthouse: "Principal Qiushi said that we have a weak foundation and we have to start from the most basic feeling of our own source quality. We can only slowly feel emotions through the equipment in the pool."

The two can now sense the life essence within their bodies, but they still know nothing about returning to the origin.

"However, I heard from Qianli that Maiduo's father is a Guiyuan physical training instructor, so perhaps we can try going there too."

“Return to the Origin Physical Training Instruction…” Hong Kou repeated in a low voice.

Emotion is the source of everything; only emotion can generate willpower.

Does the lighthouse's law of suppressing emotions also constitute a form of suppressing the power of humanity itself?

Fortunately, the three laws were only released a few years ago. If one's emotions were shut off like this from a young age, what would become of them?

“Let’s go,” Dawn stood up, a hint of barely perceptible anticipation in her eyes.

"Maiduo just went out; she shouldn't have gone far."

The two quickly walked out of the quiet school area and saw Maido running ahead, chasing after the two falcons.

"Maido!" Hong Kou called out.

The little girl, who was chasing two falcons ahead, immediately stopped and turned around upon hearing the sound.

Ana and the other falcon on her shoulder obediently stopped moving forward and gracefully landed back on Maido's small shoulder.

They tilted their heads, their sharp eyes curiously scrutinizing Red Bandit and Dawn who were chasing after them.

"Sister Hongkou! Brother Poxiao!" Maiduo ran up to greet them, her face still flushed from their playful chase.

"What's wrong?"

Hong Kou squatted down and looked directly into Mai Duo's clear eyes: "Mai Duo, I heard from Qian Li that your father, Wu Lan Ao Deng, is the Guiyuan Physical Education Instructor in the village, is that right?"

“Yes!” Maido’s eyes lit up immediately when her father was mentioned, filled with the pride that comes with childhood.

"Dad is amazing! He can lift huge rocks!" she exclaimed, gesturing dramatically.

Red Collar and Dawn exchanged a glance.

Hong Kou then asked, "Then... Mai Duo, can you take us to meet your father? We want to... learn from him."

"Learn from Dad?"

Maido blinked her big eyes and then nodded vigorously: "Okay, okay!"

"Dad loves teaching people the most, come with me!"

She immediately turned around, and with two falcons in tow, hopped and skipped ahead to lead the way.

Ulan Aodeng's training ground is located on a relatively open sandy area near the square.

Before they even got close, they heard Ulan Aodeng directing several people who looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old as they conducted some kind of training.

"Stand up straight! Get your stance firm! Throw your punches fast! Power comes from the ground!"

Hong Kou and Po Xiao were outside the arena, while Wu Lan Ao Deng Chi stood with his hands behind his back, surveying the trainees preparing for awakening.

Maido spread her arms like a little bird and flew over.

"Dad, Dad, Sister Hongkou and Brother Poxiao have come to learn skills from you."

　I've looked at everyone's suggestions, and I'll refer to any that suit me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)