For the next two weeks, the Frost Forge Pavilion became Jiang Fan's second home.
Or rather, his second bedroom.
Whiz. Thwack.
A blunt wooden arrow flew across the workshop, aimed directly at Jiang Fan's forehead.
Jiang Fan was lying on a makeshift cot in the corner, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. He was fast asleep. A line of drool connected his mouth to the pillow.
Just as the arrow reached him, his head lolled to the side—seemingly a natural movement of sleep. The arrow embedded itself into the pillow, missing his ear by an inch.
[ System Alert: Evasion Successful. ][ XP Gained: +15 ]
"Unbelievable," Gu Ling muttered, lowering her miniature crossbow.
She sat in her wheelchair ten feet away, a notebook floating in front of her. A spectral quill was furiously scribbling notes.
Subject: Jiang Fan.State: Deep REM Sleep.Stimulus: High-velocity projectile.Reaction: Subconscious spatial awareness. No Qi fluctuation detected. It is as if his body detects air pressure changes automatically.
"Again," she whispered.
She waved her hand. Three wooden spheres levitated from the table and shot toward Jiang Fan's stomach, ribs, and knee.
Jiang Fan groaned in his sleep, curling into a fetal position to scratch his leg. The movement caused all three spheres to miss him, clattering harmlessly against the wall.
[ System Alert: Evasion Combo x3. ][ XP Gained: +50 ][ Proficiency: Sleepwalker Step (Level 2) ]
Gu Ling rubbed her temples. She had been testing him for ten days. She had thrown chalk, hammers, water balloons, and even a low-level fireball at him. He hadn't been hit once.
More annoyingly, he was leveling up right in front of her.
When he first arrived, his Qi felt like a jagged rock—Stage 3 Middle. Now, after two weeks of literally doing nothing but sleeping in her lab while she attacked him, his aura had smoothed out and expanded.
He was touching the barrier of Stage 4.
"Wake up," Gu Ling commanded, throwing a bucket of ice-cold water at him.
This time, the System didn't dodge.
SPLASH.
"Gah!" Jiang Fan bolted upright, sputtering. "I'm awake! The fire is out! Save the snacks!"
He wiped the freezing water from his eyes and glared at Gu Ling. "Senior Sister, was that necessary? I was having a dream that I was a cloud."
"Test over for today," Gu Ling said, floating a towel over to him. "Your reflexes are absurd. It's not a cultivation technique. It's pure instinct. You are like a spirit beast in human skin."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jiang Fan dried his face. "So? Is my payment ready?"
Gu Ling sighed. She tapped the armrest of her chair, and a section of the floor slid open.
Rising from the hidden compartment was a masterpiece.
It was a bed frame made of Spirit-Willow Wood, which naturally repelled insects and regulated humidity. The mattress was stuffed with Cloud-Silk Cotton, harvested from the peaks of the highest mountains. The entire frame hovered six inches off the ground on a silent array.
But the crowning jewel was the side table. It had a built-in cooling box for drinks and a mechanical arm that could hold a book (or a snack) in front of the user's face.
Jiang Fan's jaw dropped. "It's beautiful."
"I call it the 'Sloth's Coffin'," Gu Ling said dryly. "It has a defensive barrier that activates if anyone tries to disturb your sleep. It can withstand a full-force strike from a Stage 5 cultivator."
Jiang Fan walked over to the bed and touched the mattress. It was like touching a cloud. He looked at Gu Ling with genuine emotion in his eyes.
"Gu Ling," he said seriously. "Will you marry me?"
"Get out," she pointed to the door, though her cheeks flushed slightly pink. "Before I test my new flamethrower on you."
Jiang Fan laughed, storing the massive bed into his System Inventory with a wave of his hand. (The System had a limitless storage space, unlike the tiny bags other disciples used).
"Thanks, really," Jiang Fan said, pausing at the door. He looked back at her. She was already back to work, frowning at a blueprint for her wheelchair's stabilizer.
He hesitated. Usually, he wouldn't get involved. Effort was bad. But she had made him a really nice bed.
"Your stabilizer is off-balance," Jiang Fan said.
Gu Ling froze. "Excuse me?"
"The chair," Jiang Fan pointed. "You're trying to use Wind Qi to keep it level, right? That's why it vibrates when you turn quickly. It makes you nauseous, doesn't it?"
Gu Ling's eyes widened. She had never told anyone that. The micro-vibrations gave her massive headaches after an hour of use.
"If you swap the Wind array for a Magnetism array and use the iron in the ground as an anchor," Jiang Fan yawned, "it would be smoother. Less energy, more stability. It's just physics."
He didn't wait for her response. He waved and walked out the door.
"See you tomorrow, Senior Sister. I have a date with my new mattress."
Gu Ling sat alone in the silent workshop. She looked at her blueprints. She looked at the Wind Array she had spent months designing.
"Magnetism..." she whispered. She grabbed her quill and started sketching furiously.
For the first time in years, the "Ice Queen" was smiling.