Chapter 104 - Dinner Party

After Gu Chen got the news that his father and brother were finally returning to the Capital, he too became high-spirited. And that's why when Jiang Ying Yue offered him to attend to 'Glamour and Fashion' during her absence, he immediately accepted the offer.

Ying Yue was aware that if there was someone who could really look after the shop in her absence was none other than Gu Chen. She was giving him a chance to prove himself to his father and brother, and she knew that she would also benefit from this plan of hers.

After that day, both Jiang Ying Yue and Gu Chen became busy with the stores as they had two shops to renovate and start over while there was still the issue of the wedding dress and she had more or less only a week left in her hands.

"You don't do anything that doesn't bring profit to you in the end, right?" Silver joked as he massaged her temples as the two sat inside her bed-chamber.

They just had their dinner and there was still an hour left before she was supposed to start with her cultivation training.

"I'm a businesswoman. How can I not think about profit every single minute of the day? If I stopped thinking about earning profits, I'll embarrass myself as a businesswoman. Besides, my plans never hurt anyone. It's always a win-win for every party." Jiang Ying Yue replied as she kept her eyes closed and just enjoyed the massage.

The two remained silent for the rest of the time as Silver happily massaged her temples, trying his best to soothe her headache. Besides, he was aware that she hadn't been fed for over two weeks. He needed to do something about that.

- - - - - 

"Take a deep breath and let your body relax. Let your mind clear and imagine those familiar blue sparkles that you saw back then. See if they will reform themselves and allow you to see another side of their essence." Wu Xie guided her as they once again sat on the surface of the river that flowed in the Cloud Realm.

"You should not be here helping her like this. It won't be..." 

"Stop being jealous! If you really want her attention then you should have helped her. However, since you decided to act cold and unhelpful, you should at least let me do the right thing here." Wu Xie immediately cut off Qing Shan before the latter could finish his sentence.

Ever since Wu Xie decided to accompany Jiang Ying Yue during her night training and started helping her to call out the spiritual essence of water, Qing Shan had started feeling left out as he was no longer needed to guide her. Neither was she asking him for help now since Wu Xie was there to help her out.

He was clearly jealous of their bond that was not only getting stronger with time but was also bringing them closer to each other. He was suddenly feeling like his bond with her wasn't strong enough even though he was bonded with her through a second stage mate bond unlike Wu Xie and Ah Shu who were bound to her through the first stage mate bond.

Not knowing what to do anymore in his current situation, he just decided to let them be. After all, if Wu Xie really helped her then it would actually be beneficial for her. The sooner she would get a grip on the essence of spiritual energies, the earlier she would be able to start her cultivation.

After Qing Shan left them, Wu Xie started guiding her again step by step as he told her to project the water spiritual essence in her mind that Qing Shan showed her during her first practice. 

Jiang Ying Yue tried to do as she was told. She closed her eyes and started making all the extra thoughts leave her mind so that she could relax enough to start projecting the blue sparkly particles that she had been searching for all this time.

She recalled the memory of the day when she first got to see those sparkly particles for the first and last time so far. She tried to recall that feeling, the amazement, and the happiness that she felt when those blue sparkles appeared in front of her eyes. 

Surprisingly, after concentrating for quite some time, she did succeed in recalling that memory completely with those familiar emotions that made it appear even more realistic as she tried to merge those blue sparkles into different shapes and sizes. She wanted to find out what she would see those particles as when she would call them out.

Almost half an hour passed but the particles remained the same. Though they didn't disappear, they did refuse to change their form. Was it possible that she too would see them as blue sparkles? Jiang Ying Yue questioned herself as she tried to keep that image of blue particles on her mind while she once again tried to call out the essence of the spiritual energy of the water that was flowing beneath her feet.

"You are doing good. Just keep working on it and remember... every person sees the spiritual essence in a unique way that only they can unveil. You have to find that special form of spiritual energy. The form that not only you want to see but you have to see to keep going on if you want to learn cultivation. Search for that special form and don't stop unless you have found it." Wu Xie reminded her as he also cheered her on to keep going.

Listening to the Third Prince's words, Jiang Ying Yue realized that her guess was probably wrong. Since every person had to see the spiritual essence in a unique form of their own, the sparkly blue particles weren't the ones meant for her.

As she kept calling the essence of the spiritual energy of water, she finally felt something changing in the blue sparkles that were surrounding her in her memory. 

The blue sparkles fluttered and started becoming misty one by one, almost giving Jiang Ying Yue a mini panic attack as she thought that something wrong was going on. However, her concern was short-lived because soon enough she watched the mist clearing before a wonderful sight appeared in front of her eyes.

The blue sparkles first turned into mist before the mist started changing into small fluttery insects with blue wings that were printed with sparkles. The physical form of her spiritual essence was a butterfly!

As hundreds of butterflies with sparkly blue wings surrounded her in her memory, Jiang Ying Yue finally felt the water beneath her feet starting to respond to her call.

For the very first time, she felt the water actually touching her feet as it even made her feet wet but she still didn't sink into the depths of the river and remained standing on its surface.

She heard the fluttering sounds of several wings around her which finally made her open her eyes to look at her surroundings and this caused her to lose her connection over the memory that she had conjured in her mind.

However, as her eyes took in the scene in front of her eyes, she was far beyond the point of caring about that memory. Those beautiful butterflies were no longer trapped inside her mind, instead, they were finally out in the open. She had finally succeeded in calling out the essence of the spiritual energy of the water.

"They are so beautiful..." Wu Xie failed to stop himself from whispering out those words as he stared at the hundreds of spiritual butterflies that were surrounding his mate in a protective layer.

Jiang Ying Yue turned towards him with a beautiful smile playing on her lips and her eyes full of sparkles. She was surprised when she found Qing Shan returning along with Wang Shu and Silver. The rest of her mates also seemed just as amazed and surprised to see the physical form of her spiritual essence as Wu Xie and she herself was.

"They are butterflies." Silver whispered in pure awe as his eyes settled on her. He seemed proud of her which made Jiang Ying Yue even happier than she already was.

"From a colorless caterpillar to the exquisite winged creature of delicate beauty, a butterfly is a symbol for transformation and hope. A symbol for rebirth and resurrection, for the triumph of the spirit and the soul over physical prison, the material world. It's the perfect symbol to represent you." Qing Shan spoke as he looked at the beautiful winged creatures. 

Listening to his words, Jiang Ying Yue realized how well the butterflies represented her reality. Her heart became warmer as she kept looking at butterflies with sparkly blue wings.

She had successfully passed the first round of her training.. Now, it was time for her to start the second round - Qi Gathering.