Chapter 4: The Whispering Stone

"But before that, you must first defeat me."

"Defeat you?" Bai Chenxiang looked puzzled.

"That's right." Bai He grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth. "Starting tomorrow, your training will be intensified. Besides dodging traps, you must snatch something from my hands."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a delicate amulet woven from mysterious feathers, which emanated a faint, refreshing fragrance.

"This is a Wind-Whisper Stone I stumbled upon in my youth. Wearing it slightly enhances one's perception of air currents."

"From tomorrow on, it will hang from my waist. If you can touch it within the time it takes for a single stick of incense to burn, you win."

"If you win, this stone is yours, and I will personally set up those mechanisms and traps for you!"

"And if I lose?"

"If you lose," Bai He's smile became even more 'amiable,' "today's physical training will be doubled."

The corner of Bai Chenxiang's mouth twitched. Seeing the mischievous glint in her grandfather's eyes, she knew this was clearly a case of personal vendetta. Yet, instead of fear, a fierce fighting spirit ignited in her eyes.

"It's a deal!"

The next day, the game in the Rock Forest began.

Bai He no longer roamed; he stood calmly in a clearing in the center of the woods. Bai Chenxiang, meanwhile, moved like a streak of black lightning, launching attacks from every inconceivable angle.

She was fast, but Bai He was faster. Like a phantom, he seemed to possess the ability to foresee the future. No matter how quick her speed or how cunning her angles, just an inch before she could touch the Wind-Whisper Stone, she would be deflected by a palm that looked slow but was actually blindingly fast, or avoided by a subtle shift of his body.

Bai Chenxiang charged again and again, only to return empty-handed. Her soul power drained rapidly, and her stamina pushed toward its limit. But her eyes grew brighter.

She finally understood her grandfather's intention. This was not a test of her speed; it was a lesson. He was teaching her how to find that single opening amidst a flurry of high-speed movements. True "speed of intent" was not passive perception, but active anticipation.

As the incense was about to burn out, Bai Chenxiang launched another charge. This time, she did not use her full strength; instead, she slowed down slightly. As she reached Bai He, she suddenly dug her heels in, coming to a dead stop, her body leaning forward due to the immense momentum.

It was an opening—a massive one. A flash of appreciation crossed Bai He's eyes, and he instinctively reached out to steady her. It was the subconscious protection of an elder for a child.

However, the moment his palm extended, Bai Chenxiang, who should have been stumbling, exerted an astonishing force from her waist. With a maneuver beyond common comprehension, she forcibly twisted her body. Instead of reaching for the amulet, she shot her small hand out like lightning and gave his outstretched palm a light tap.

*Slap!*

The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the silent Rock Forest. The incense burned down to its final spark.

Bai He froze, staring at his tapped palm, then at his granddaughter, who stood with her hands on her hips, panting and wearing a wicked grin. His expression shifted from astonishment to a look of wry helplessness.

"You girl, you really are... a little rascal!" He pointed at her, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time. She hadn't reached the goal of touching the amulet; instead, she had predicted his anticipation—his protective reflex—and attacked his hand instead. She had won, in a way he had never imagined.

"All is fair in war," Bai Chenxiang said, sticking out her tongue playfully. It was a rare, childlike moment of mischief. "Grandfather, you can't go back on your word. The mechanisms, the traps, and the Wind-Whisper Stone are all mine."

Bai He shook his head helplessly, unhooked the amulet, and placed it around her neck himself. The cool stone touched her skin, and a refreshing sensation flooded her mind, clearing the fog of exhaustion from her brain.

"Take it, take it! It's all yours!" Bai He said, feigning annoyance. "Tomorrow, I'll bring over all the rusty old junk from the clan's warehouse! Let's see if you're still smiling then!"

Despite his words, his eyes were filled with an inseparable pride and affection.

The next morning, when Bai Chenxiang arrived at the Rock Forest behind the mountain, the entire area seemed to have transformed overnight into a waking beast bristling with fangs and traps. On the ground, cunningly hidden by fallen leaves and loose soil, were countless tripwires and beast traps. Within the tree trunks and rock crevices, hidden mechanisms powered by sinew were connected to clusters of razor-sharp bamboo spears. Above certain paths, massive iron nets hung, waiting for a single wrong step to descend.

Even more insidious were the hollow bamboo tubes, painted the color of tree bark, loaded with blowdarts coated in the Sensitivity Clan's secret paralytic toxin. The poison wasn't lethal, but it could render a century-old spirit beast completely rigid and immobile within three breaths.

The clan stewards responsible for setting it up watched the masterpiece with numb scalps.

"Clan Master, isn't this too much?" An elderly man with white hair and beard swallowed hard, looking at a series of tripwires disguised as vines. "The young mistress is only six years old."

"Indeed, Clan Master. This 'Thousand-Mechanism Array' was our clan's last line of defense against Spirit King-level infiltrators. Although it's fallen into disrepair, it's not something a child can..."

"Shut up." Bai He interrupted them coldly, his gaze locked on the slender figure in the distance. "You think it's too much because you still see her as a child. But I already view her as the future hope of the Sensitivity Clan, a divine bird about to soar into the nine heavens."

He paused, his voice carrying a pride and heartache no one could understand: "How can the wings of a divine bird become indestructible if they aren't torn by the storm?"

"All you need to do is believe in her, and then, stay back so you don't get hurt."

The elders exchanged glances and sighed helplessly, retreating to a safe zone as instructed. They watched the little girl standing alone at the entrance of the Thousand-Mechanism Array, their eyes filled with worry and confusion.

Bai Chenxiang did not rush in immediately. She stood quietly and closed her eyes. The Wind-Whisper Stone on her chest radiated a subtle coolness, calming her spirit. She didn't use her eyes; she submerged her entire consciousness into the perception of the "wind's whisper."

The wind wove through the forest. It brushed past fallen leaves, carrying the faint tension of tripwires hidden beneath the soil. It slipped into rock crevices, touching the cold metallic luster of the mechanisms. It coiled around the trees, catching the faint, pungent scent of the paralytic herbs.

One spot, two spots, three spots...

In her mental world, which far exceeded that of a normal person, the dangerous layout of the entire Rock Forest was being sketched out by the wind, forming a vague yet lethal 3D map. This map was incomplete, full of gaps and shadows, but it gave Bai Chenxiang a fulcrum—a pivot point upon which to dance through this land of death.