Let Me Touch Your Tail Chapter 85

“Want to learn sword flight?”

Yan Yuanqing was surprised, but her heart was soon filled with immense joy. This was the first time Yan Zhao had actively made a request to her.

Yan Yuanqing was overjoyed and immediately agreed, “Sure, after we finish eating the fish, I’ll teach you.”

Yan Zhao sat by the river, hugging her legs, while watching Yan Yuanqing busy with cooking. Occasionally, she handed Yan Yuanqing a piece of firewood.

Yan Yuanqing’s cooking skills were excellent; Yan Zhao thought they were even better than the chefs at the Medicine God Sect’s Spirit Kitchen Hall.

She skillfully scraped the fish’s scales using her hand as a knife, made neat cuts on the cleaned fish, and sprinkled some spices Yan Zhao couldn’t name onto the surface of the fish.

The fire was perfectly controlled. The cooked fish was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, each bite crackling with crispness while retaining the freshness of the fish.

Eating such delicious grilled fish, Yan Zhao felt a profound sense of contentment.

Yan Zhao ate the fish heartily, with oil smudging her face, looking like a little kitten sneaking food.

Yan Yuanqing smiled, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the oil from Yan Zhao’s face.

The sudden intimacy made Yan Zhao stop mid-bite, her cheeks swelling. She looked up and met Yan Yuanqing’s gaze.

Yan Yuanqing asked with a gentle smile, “You like eating so much, why don’t you want to learn this skill from me?”

If she learned, she could enjoy fresh and delicious food wherever she went.

Yan Zhao remembered that when she first met Yan Yuanqing, Yan Yuanqing had grilled a fat pigeon for her and had also asked if she wanted to learn cooking.

She had refused without hesitation.

As for the reason for her refusal…

Initially, she was afraid of the trouble. She had lived a wild, carefree life and was not particular about the taste of food.

Now, after her taste buds were spoiled by the Spirit Kitchen Hall’s meals, she no longer stuffed herself with all sorts of strange things. Mastering cooking would mean she could always have tasty food. That did sound quite good.

Yet, when Yan Yuanqing asked again, Yan Zhao’s instinctive reaction was still not to learn.

In her mind, she subconsciously thought: If she wanted to eat something, she could just find Yan Yuanqing.

As long as she didn’t learn, she could always enjoy Yan Yuanqing’s cooking.

Was this considered acting spoiled?

Yan Zhao didn’t understand.

Seeing Yan Zhao’s silence, Yan Yuanqing gently patted her head. “If you don’t want to learn, then don’t. Whatever you want to eat, Mother can make it for you.”

Yan Zhao suddenly looked up.

Her lips trembled, and her nostrils flared, but an inexplicable lump of bitterness choked her throat. She wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

“Hm?” Yan Yuanqing raised an eyebrow, encouraging Yan Zhao to speak.

The grilled fish she was chewing suddenly lost its flavor. Yan Zhao took a deep breath and finally asked the question that had been building up in her heart for a long time: “Are you really… my mother?”

Yan Yuanqing rested her chin on her hands, smiling warmly. “What’s there to doubt? You’re three hundred and seven years old this year, born in the coldest part of winter. That year, a heavy snow covered the entrance to the cave where Mother lived. I remember it very clearly.”

Yan Zhao was taken aback.

So she did have a mother; she wasn’t an orphan, and she wasn’t the ‘wild mongrel’ referred to by the elders of the Brush Cloud Sect.

Yan Yuanqing remembered her birthday, cared about her preferences, and was willing to cook for her in the future.

Yan Zhao’s nose felt a bit sore. “So… did Mother name me Yan Zhao?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Yuanqing’s long lashes fluttered, and there was a faint ripple in her eyes.

But the emotion vanished quickly. Before Yan Zhao could fully grasp it, Yan Yuanqing’s smile returned, and she said gently, “If you don’t like this name, Mother can give you another one.”

Yan Zhao immediately shook her head. “No, I like it.”

Yan Yuanqing’s smile remained unchanged. “Good, then we won’t change it.”

Yan Zhao lowered her head and continued eating the fish in silence.

When only the fish bones were left, she suddenly came to her senses, looked at the fish bones, then at Yan Yuanqing, and felt a bit guilty.

She hadn’t left any for Yan Yuanqing.

Yan Zhao awkwardly tossed aside the wooden branch and said guiltily, “I’m done.”

Yan Yuanqing’s face relaxed, and she smiled brightly. “You ate it all so cleanly!”

Yan Zhao felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, pouting as she glanced left and right.

Yan Yuanqing reached out, wiped the oil from the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile, “Sit and rest for a while, and then Mother will teach you sword flight.”

Yan Zhao nodded. “Okay.”

Actually, she still had many questions in her heart.

Why had Yan Yuanqing not appeared during the three hundred years she lived alone in the Brush Cloud Sect?

And why did Yan Yuanqing stay in this realm alone, not joining her in the outside world?

But she didn’t ask further.

She was usually content with the status quo and didn’t dig too deeply.

Yan Yuanqing extinguished the fire, took Yan Zhao’s hand, and with a shift in vision, they arrived in a vast sea of blooming flowers.

Learning from the last time she taught Yan Zhao the Spirit Movement Spell, Yan Yuanqing chose a spacious and open area for Yan Zhao to practice.

The sea of flowers was fragrant, and thinking about Yan Yuanqing’s teaching style made Yan Zhao feel a bit embarrassed.

Yet, deep inside, a sense of unspoken joy and anticipation stirred.

Then, a finger touched her forehead.

A set of incantations and the essentials of sword flight silently flowed into her mind.

Yan Zhao was momentarily stunned. She raised her hand to touch her forehead, met Yan Yuanqing’s affectionate and gentle smile, and pouted.

There was no kiss on the forehead.

Noticing her expression, Yan Yuanqing asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Is it difficult?”

Yan Zhao turned her head away, unable to respond.

If she had to express her dissatisfaction, she felt uncomfortable.

In the past, she had been indifferent, able to interact with Yan Yuanqing calmly.

But now, it felt like she was seeing Yan Yuanqing anew, understanding her special significance in her life. It was as if something soft and tender, like a budding sprout, had grown in her heart, constantly stirring her emotions.

Yan Zhao remained silent, quietly reciting the incantation Yan Yuanqing had taught her.

With a thought, and following the gestures and spell-sealing movements, magical power quickly condensed into a flying sword.

She didn’t expect it to be so smooth; she had thought it would take many failures, like learning alchemy.

Yan Zhao’s delight at her first success shifted her attention, her eyes shining brightly.

Eagerly, she jumped onto the flying sword, infusing her intention into it according to the instructions.

Whoosh—

The flying sword pierced through the air and vanished from Yan Yuanqing’s view in an instant.

Yan Yuanqing held her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun and looked into the distance to see where Yan Zhao had gone.

There was no sign of her anywhere.

A star flickered briefly in the sky, and its light resembled the color of Yan Zhao’s flying sword.

“……”

Yan Yuanqing: “Eh?!”

n Zhao suddenly woke up and sat up with a start.

The little fox, which had been sleeping on Yan Zhao’s chest, was jolted awake by a sudden force and tumbled off Yan Zhao, rolling away like a ball.

Yan Zhao!

The fox growled in annoyance. What was all the commotion about in the middle of the night?

Yan Zhao’s panic faded as she took in the surroundings of the cave and realized she had left the immortal’s abode and returned to where she had been before falling asleep.

But the images from her dream, the moments spent with Yan Yuanqing, felt as real as if they had actually happened.

The only thing was, no matter how much she tried to touch Yan Yuanqing’s hands, they had no warmth.

It was indeed just a dream.

Her mother only appeared in dreams.

Yan Zhao felt a sense of loss.

Although Yan Zhao remained silent after waking, the little fox could sense her shifting emotions from the subtle changes in her expression.

Not knowing what Yan Zhao had dreamed about, the fox’s lingering anger turned into a sigh. It gently wagged its tail and reached out with its tiny paws to pat Yan Zhao’s knee as a gesture of comfort.

Yan Zhao’s mood changed quickly. The gloomy and dejected look vanished in an instant.

Suddenly, she seemed to be distracted by something and looked up.

At the same time, the little fox’s nose twitched.

What was that smell? It was a burnt, crispy odor.

Also, was the temperature in the cave rising?

“Ah,” Yan Zhao exclaimed in surprise, “Snowball, your tail is on fire.”

The little fox looked back.

A small flame was flickering on the tip of its tail, like a candle.

“!!!”

Snowball nearly became a tailless fox.

Fortunately, the damage was minimal, just a bit of fur burned off the tip of the tail.

The white fur had singed a small tuft, with the surrounding area curling and yellowing, no longer as bright as before.

The little fox was heartbroken, almost fainting from the pain.

It reminded her of a certain red-tailed fox.

Indeed, the cycle of heaven is relentless.

Yan Zhao set out the next morning, and the little fox remained sullen.

No matter how Yan Zhao tried to cheer it up, the fox wore a sour expression and was clearly unhappy.

The rain outside had stopped. Yan Zhao took out her map to study the route and found that the nearest destination to her current location was the Tai Xu Immortal Domain.

Of course, “nearest” was relative.

She had just left the Tai Yan Immortal Domain not long ago, and it would take at least a month to reach the Tai Xu Immortal Domain.

The long journey was a good opportunity to practice the newly learned spell.

Recalling the scenes from her dream, Yan Zhao shook her head and thought: It’s normal to be unskilled the first time. Practice will make perfect.

So, she drew symbols and made gestures to summon the flying sword.

The little fox, sensing the spell’s fluctuations, snapped out of its sorrow and peeked out from Yan Zhao’s arms.

It was amazed that Yan Zhao could summon a flying sword.

When did she learn this?

While puzzled, Yan Zhao had already climbed onto the flying sword.

Whoosh—

The fierce wind blew against the little fox’s face, ruffling its fur wildly.

Moments later…

Splash.

Both Yan Zhao and the fox fell into a mud puddle by the roadside.

The little fox: “……”

Soon, a fox’s head emerged from the calm mud puddle.

Snowball struggled to climb out of the mud, feeling like it weighed several times more with the wet, sticky mud clinging to it.

After finally reaching the shore, it vigorously shook its fur.

The weight was reduced, but its fur was still a mess.

Its fur was now matted and standing up in spikes, resembling an angry sea urchin.

Yan Zhao!

The fox’s fur bristled, and it glared with its green, glowing eyes, searching for Yan Zhao everywhere.

Today, it was determined to give Yan Zhao a good scolding.

Looking up, it was stunned.

Yan Zhao was upside down in the middle of the mud puddle, her feet sticking up like two leaves, resembling an enormous carrot.

“……”

The little fox abandoned its thoughts of using the Clean Dust Spell on itself and leapt back into the mud puddle.

Starting today, it had a new daily task.

Pulling up carrots!