Chapter 942: Clever Words for a Little Genius
After the little prodigy of the Deduction Jade resumed her duties, the waiting time was no longer a decade long.
A mere four days later, Li Fan's sacred embryo returned to the space where the Deduction Jade resided.
The little prodigy, bent over her desk at work, seemed to sense his arrival and shot her head up.
When she saw it was indeed Li Fan, her large eyes darted about as a mischievous little thought sparked in her mind.
The little prodigy sat up perfectly straight, her expression all business.
As Li Fan approached, she slapped both hands on her desk and chirped, "What kind of technique are you deducing? What are the requirements? Are we creating it from scratch or adapting a blueprint?"
"Write it all down first."
A blank sheet of paper then flew toward Li Fan.
She acted as if she'd completely forgotten about Li Fan diagnosing her illness, all business and focused solely on the task of deduction.
"Using the *Three Perils of Ghosts and Spirits* as a blueprint, deduce a technique that is superficially identical."
"Specific requirements: The aura and characteristics displayed during cultivation must be identical to the original *Three Perils of Ghosts and Spirits*. However, its core must be fundamentally different, making it an entirely new technique..."
Dense, tiny characters quickly filled the entire sheet of paper.
But the paper didn't expand. Instead, the entire body of text would shrink, revealing new blank space to be filled.
This process repeated more than ten times, and still the paper wasn't full.
Although this was due to the sheer complexity of the *Three Perils of Ghosts and Spirits*, the unusual sight still put the Dao Integration guardian of this space on alert.
Li Fan keenly sensed a divine consciousness sweep over him.
Just as he was about to explain, the little prodigy spoke up for him. "Relax, it's just a technique. Not an evil curse..."
The little prodigy propped her chin in her hands, staring blankly ahead.
Innumerable characters seemed to flicker in sync within her large eyes.
Only then did the divine sense locked onto Li Fan's sacred embryo withdraw.
Li Fan continued to fill the page until, at last, he was finished.
The paper transformed into a streak of light and flew back into the little prodigy's hands.
The little prodigy lowered her head, lost in thought, and remained silent for a long while.
"Umm..."
"The blueprint technique is a little complicated, you know. And you have a *lot* of requirements."
"Hmm, and there are a few things I'll need you to explain in more detail..."
After pretending to ponder for another moment, the little prodigy slapped the table again. "To ensure the confidentiality of your technique, you'll have to come with me!"
Before Li Fan could even respond, a beam of light shot out from the giant sphere of characters overhead, enveloping him completely.
The next moment, Li Fan's sacred embryo vanished from the space.
At the same time, the little prodigy by the long desk disappeared as well.
The white-haired Dao Integration cultivator, however, materialized with a look of resignation on his face.
He knew the Deduction Jade had a childish temperament. After Li Fan had exposed her feigned illness, she was bound to seek revenge and vent her frustrations now that she'd run into him again.
It was merely a prank, however, and wouldn't lead to any serious consequences.
So, the white-haired Dao Integration cultivator decided not to intervene.
"It's not a bad idea to let her have a scapegoat once in a while," the white-haired cultivator thought. "Keeps her from going on strike at the slightest provocation."
Inside the world of the endless sea of books.
The moment Li Fan's sacred embryo entered, he found himself surrounded from all sides by hundreds of wooden clubs, forming an impenetrable cage as they all smashed down on him at once.
"Wait!"
Li Fan roared at the critical moment.
The clubs halted a mere inch from his body.
The little prodigy materialized above, her hands on her hips as she looked down at Li Fan with a triumphant smirk. "So! Have you learned your lesson?"
"Apologize to me properly, and I'll let you off the hook!"
"Otherwise..."
"Hmph!"
As a demonstration of her power, one of the clubs lightly tapped him on the forehead.
Li Fan looked up at the little prodigy, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips.
His expression made her heart clench. "What are you doing...?"
"I'm warning you, don't you try anything!"
"If it comes to a real fight, you're no match for me. I... I haven't fought anyone in years, so I'm worried I might accidentally kill you!"
The little prodigy threatened, waving her tiny fists in the air huffily.
Li Fan simply smiled and shook his head without a word.
This only infuriated her more. "You are just the worst!"
"Are you going to admit your mistake or not? Apologize right now, or I'll really let you have it!"
Li Fan ignored the clubs practically pressed against his face and sighed. "It seems... your illness hasn't completely healed."
Hearing his words, the little prodigy shuddered. "Illness? What illness? I'm not sick!"
"Don't you dare spout such nonsense!"
Though she did her best to hide it, the panic on her small face was genuine.
Li Fan chuckled. "If you're not sick, why are you always trying to slack off and rest?"
"On the surface, you're looking for trouble with me, but in reality..."
"...you're just using this as an excuse to rest some more! You can't even pass up such a brief opportunity. How utterly lazy you are!" Li Fan declared, his gaze sharp as a blade.
The little prodigy trembled. "You... How could you wrongly accuse me like that!"
She stared at Li Fan, her face a mask of grievance, looking as if she were about to burst into tears.
Li Fan remained expressionless, unfazed by her act.
After a brief silence, however, his tone shifted. "But then, you can't really be blamed for it."
"A balance of tension and release is the way of nature. Anyone who works for so long without a break would naturally want to rest."
The little prodigy's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting him to take her side. She nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Moreover, from my perspective, your repeated attempts to strike and slack off are not driven by your own conscious will. They are simply the result of your body's natural instincts."
"It is said that when desire becomes overwhelming, it clouds the heart. It's just like how mortals must drink when thirsty and eat when hungry. This is your innate nature; it cannot be avoided."
Li Fan's sacred embryo spoke with eloquence and confidence. The little prodigy, having never encountered such a theory before, was completely captivated.
The sky full of clubs vanished in an instant. She murmured thoughtfully, "So that's what it is. No wonder I couldn't stop myself from wanting to slack off, but I always felt so guilty about it every time."
"That," Li Fan sighed, "is a symptom of a Clouded Heart."
The little prodigy looked at Li Fan, who now wore the benevolent expression of a master physician, and asked curiously, "Is that an illness, too? Can it be cured?"
After all, he had seen through her act with a single glance, so she was quite convinced of his medical prowess.
Besides, no one had ever explained things to her this way before, so she couldn't help but follow his line of reasoning and voice the questions that naturally arose in her mind.
Li Fan smiled. "To cure this illness is both difficult and easy."
"The cloudiness that afflicts your heart is born from being unable to rest for so long."
Comments