Re-birth: The Beginning after the End

Chapter 23 SPIRITUAL ENERGY

Li Hua nodded slowly as her mother's words about the cultivation phases echoed in her mind. The knowledge felt heavy, like the residual ache in her muscles from the cleansing bath.

"Big brothers?" she asked, looking up at her mother with questioning eyes.

A proud smile bloomed on her mother's face. "They have also reached the Fundamental Phase Rank 4."

Drawing comfort from her mother's warm expression, Li Hua turned her thoughts inward. "Little Firefly?"

"Master, I'm here," came the familiar whisper in her mind.

"The hierarchy system, is it the same as your world?"

"Similar but not identical, Master. We, too, follow the 4744 structure, though the names of phases and ranks differed." Little Firefly's voice carried a note of nostalgia. "What matters more is your achievement today. Being a Fundamental Phase Rank 4 at the age of four is unheard of in this realm." The spirit's tone grew serious. "But such rapid progress demands caution. You must temper your cultivation now, stabilize your foundation before advancing further."

"Yes, I'll refrain from cultivating for now." Li Hua paused, feeling the subtle currents of energy flowing through her newly awakened meridians. "What about Brother Wei and Brother Hao?"

"Master, it's truly exceptional. Children under the age of ten are usually still in the Fundamental Phase Rank 2, even if they've had all the resources most wealthy families provide. Your brothers have surpassed their peers."

Relief washed over Li Hua. "That's good."

"Hua'er," her mother said, standing with a clean linen cloth, "come, let's go eat. The sun is setting."

After getting dressed, they walked from the bath house toward the side courtyard where her father and brothers' laughter mingled with the sweet aroma of steamed buns and fragrant chicken soup. Li Hua's stomach rumbled softly, reminding her that the cleansing ritual had depleted more energy than she'd realized.

With his mouth slightly full, Li Hao began, "Bàba, I thought of the same thing and also cultivated in my bath." He swallowed the steamed bun and then continued, "But I think I was able to cultivate for much longer than eldest brother."

Her father nodded, his gaze finally moving to Li Hua.

She blinked up at him with big eyes. "Bàba, I did everything you taught me." Playing perfectly into her role as the youngest child, she tilted her head slightly and added with a bright smile, "I did it all by myself!"

Her father's eyes crinkled with pride, though Li Hua caught the slight furrow in his brow. "Was it painful, my little Poppy?"

She nodded slowly, as if confessing. "Very painful, but I want to be strong like Bàba."

He reached across the table to pat her small hand, his calloused fingers gentle against her skin. "You did very well, my little Poppy, and you will be even stronger than your Bàba."

The rest of dinner passed in comfortable silence, broken only by the soft clink of chopsticks against bowls and her brothers' occasional requests for more buns.

After dinner, a gentle drowsiness settled over Li Hua like a warm blanket. Her newly awakened spiritual senses still hummed with vitality beneath her skin, but her small body ached with the bone-deep weariness that followed the marrow cleansing bath.

Despite her exhaustion, she knew that cleanup was done as a family. She helped her brothers dry the dishes as they washed and watched her mother set a pot of water to boil—likely preparing the evening tea for herself and Father.

When her brothers finished washing and retreated to their rooms, Li Hua found herself alone in the quiet kitchen to dry the remaining dishes. Something she stubbornly fought her brothers to do. Her parents' voices drifted from the courtyard, safely distant. Seizing the moment of privacy, she quietly approached the pot. With practiced stealth, she added a small handful of spirit spring water, the crystalline liquid seeming to shimmer for just a moment before dissolving into the boiling water.

It was just an extra boost for her parents, Li Hua thought, watching the steam rise in delicate spirals. The spirit water would help replenish their energy. She could see that although the siblings were going through their trials, her mother and father must've been worried sick—the dark circles under their eyes betraying their sleepless nights of vigilance.

She wished she could add the spirit water daily to boost the family's cultivation, but her father's control over the spirit spring water meant she would need to devise another strategy. For now, though, this small contribution would have to suffice.