Henry Foster immediately became excited and stuck out his finger: “It’s a deal! If you go back on your word, you’re a mudfish. Remember, only the two of us can know about this—don’t tell even Sister Green or Nanny in Black, or else… I’ll eat rabbit every day!”

“I wouldn’t dare…”

Little Lily lowered her head and said, “Otherwise, Daddy would scold me too!”

“Your dad is really nice!”

Henry Foster was thrilled, insisting that Little Lily hook pinkies with him, and then they kept her company as she made a nest for the rabbit.

Little Lily was still very young. Although her father had warned her countless times that the family’s secret techniques must not be shown to outsiders, she just saw it as one of the many rules her father had set for her and didn’t truly understand its importance.

Besides, if Henry Foster really wanted to coax someone, he was incredibly good at it—even the widowed Mrs. Hua from Niutou Village could be sweet-talked by him into feeling comfortable from head to toe, let alone Little Lily, an innocent little girl. After a few days, she started to see Henry Foster as the closest person in the world. At first, she didn’t dare agree because of her father’s authority, but now that she had agreed, she really did pass it on.

However, the secret formula passed down in her family was extremely profound and obscure—hundreds of times harder than the guidance techniques of The Old Nanny in Black. At first, Henry Foster listened as Little Lily explained it to him sentence by sentence, but later he couldn’t keep up and just tried to memorize it first.

Fortunately, Henry Foster had studied with Poor Bolton in Niutou Village and could read, plus he was quick-witted and knew he was learning something valuable, so he worked twice as hard. In just a few days, he memorized the nearly thousand-word “Nine Spirits Spirit-Refining Chapter.” Of course, he had his doubts—he found the things Little Maid said more and more confusing and wondered if she was just making things up.

But when he asked her directly, Little Lily said something that put all his doubts to rest.

“Henry Foster gege is good to me. I would never lie to Henry Foster gege!”

Little Lily answered without turning her head, feeding the rabbit she’d named Little Grey with sun-dried tender grass.

Henry Foster thought about what he’d done and felt a little embarrassed, scratching his head. “How have I been good to you?”

Little Lily said, “Henry Foster gege saw the demon wolf and pulled me along to run away!”

Henry Foster was a bit surprised. “Didn’t anyone else pull you along?”

Little Lily paused in her feeding and said softly, “They would only push me toward it.”

Hearing Little Lily’s answer, Henry Foster suddenly didn’t know what to say.

A strange feeling welled up in his heart.

After a while, he laughed and said, “Silly, remember this, mudfish: if you see a wolf, just run! Whoever wants to face it can go themselves!”

……

……

The Nine Spirits True Method of the The Carter Family was profound and difficult, but there wasn’t much content. After a few days, as the little rabbits gradually became lively, Little Lily had already passed on everything she knew, even the key points and methods to pay attention to in the early stages of cultivation. Henry Foster, however, was worried that The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green would notice something, so he didn’t dare to start practicing right away.

During these days, The Old Woman in Black and The Maid in Green’s healing sessions grew shorter and shorter. From needing to seclude themselves for three hours a day, now they only needed about one hour. Maybe seeing the two children playing happily, they rarely came to disturb them, as if intentionally letting Miss Lily, who seldom had a chance to leave home, enjoy herself more…

Henry Foster kept secretly observing the healing times of the Old Woman and the Maid. When they weren’t healing, he would just play silly country games with Little Lily; when they were, he’d play those games while quietly asking about cultivation.

Although Little Lily was young, her foundation was solid, and she could casually tell Henry Foster many precious cultivation principles. But unlike Henry Foster, for her, cultivation was as natural as breathing—she’d been exposed to it since birth—so she didn’t realize how important the things she said were. To her, it was just common knowledge, like eating and drinking.

She just felt that this Henry Foster gege, only a few years older than her, was truly good to her—different from the family servants, and much better than those clan children who bullied her.

He was fun, never looked down on her, and he knew how to raise rabbits—amazing!

Anyway, she’d already passed on the most important Nine Spirits Breathing Technique, so how could she hide these little things from him?

One day after lunch, The Maid in Green and The Old Woman in Black went into seclusion again to heal. It seemed The Maid in Green’s healing had reached a critical stage, so this session lasted even longer than usual.

Henry Foster knew these people would probably be leaving soon and that he didn’t have much time left, so he asked Little Lily even more eagerly about cultivation. He carried a small basket on his back, and Little Lily held a little sickle. The two of them picked tender grass together as they chatted in the little manor.

“Breathing techniques aren’t spells—they just help lay the foundation. The flying through the sky, burrowing through the earth, moving mountains and filling seas that you mentioned, Henry Foster gege, those are all spells. But to use spells, you must have enough spiritual power, and that’s related to the breathing techniques…”