Remembering You For Eternity

2.11 Learn To Fly

For the umpteenth time – she no longer counted – she took the leap of faith off the hill, and free-falling into the lake again.

Even as her feet touched the water surface -- just like many nights of months before -- she groaned in exasperation. If she had not actually seen the various Sages, Enlighteneds, and even Cao Lu flying around like there was no care in the world, she would think that she was going crazy.

As she hauled herself to reach the edge of the lake and faintly heard another splash behind her, she sighed.

She should count herself lucky. At least for her, not only she did not feel any pain, her robes were also never wet.

The yin lake still thought of her as its own.

Cao Lu was by the edge of the lake, extending her hand towards YuLan and Xiao Zi, who had just fallen into the lake as well. The latter's eyebrows were knitted in discomfort, and her teeth were chattering. With a pull, Cao Lu assisted to lift both girls off the water.

"You see, it took me almost a year to figure it out. And I felt so stupid for even trying to figure it out." Cao Lu laughed lightly at the two girls who clearly had vexation written all over their faces.

Two more girls were hauled off the water, one of them was Zhen Zhu – Sage Xiang Ya's disciple.

Everyone – sans YuLan – was shivering and looked at Cao Lu attentively.

"The key is just as Zhu Hong Shishu and Hu Lan Shishu have told you. Hence why they keep repeating it again everyday."

"Do not let your mind think faster than the flow of your energy."

"In fact, do not think at all!" Cao Lu glanced at YuLan, "This, more than anyone else, applies to you, YuLan shimei. You always think a lot. To reach the Dao, is to attain nothingness. The same principle applies to qing-gong. You cannot reach nothingness when you keep thinking."

Cao Lu then left the girls to ponder about the meaning for the rest of the night, where YuLan joined her friends in meditation.

Normally, they could be in the state of nothingness during meditative state. From the look of it, they had to start applying the same state of mind – state of emptiness – outside meditation. 

It was easier said than done, but over gradual time, it became a habit.

Just like the Sages had said before – it must be as thoughtless and natural as breathing.

Over the next few dusks, Zhu Hong and Hu Lan were very pleased to see that some of the girls managed to take extra steps hovering mid-air. They still fell into the lake in the end, but it was no longer the mere jump-and-fall like so many evenings before.

Three full months later, the outer-disciples at the other end of the lake saw a stream of teenage girls – the new inner-disciples that they had not seen for years ever since they were initiated – flying unassisted. Some were more wobbly than the others, but everyone finally succeeded mastering the art of qing-gong.

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As females, they were still bound by the law of nature, including puberty that marked them entering the preliminary state of adulthood.

Soon, all of them had their first menstruation.

YuLan blankly looked at the bright red cinnabar mark dotted on the inside of her elbow, that had just been bestowed onto her by Zhu Hong.

It was again, a practice that she had only seen in movies in her past life; and even then, she did not believe the effectiveness of a red dot to prove someone's virginity.