NOVPUB
Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Thoughts
Her hands in the clear river water were fair and moist, with even her nails rounded and charming. The water danced and swirled between her fingers...
Han Jiaojiao slowly lifted her hands out of the water, forming a relentlessly circulating sphere of water that wrapped around her hands like gloves made of water, magical and marvelous.
"Success!" Han Jiaojiao exclaimed with joy.
Hong Yun slowly let go of her hands, observing the elated smile on Han Jiaojiao’s face, her lively eyes curving into crescents, and her small, adorable dimples were still somewhat childlike. She looked like a white orchid blooming in the night, her whole being seemingly suffused with a sweet fragrance.
As if possessed, Hong Yun stood behind her and inhaled lightly. Whether it was psychological or not, she thought she really detected a faint, elusive scent...
Overjoyed, Han Jiaojiao turned around, holding up her hands in front of Hong Yun. The clear water flowed along her fair skin as she excitedly said, "Sister Hong, I did it! Look! I’ve drawn them onto my hands!"
"...Very good," Hong Yun said, coughing awkwardly, with a suspicious flush on her face. "This means your Ability can indeed manipulate water molecules. Let’s try something else."
"Okay!" Han Jiaojiao clenched her hands into light fists, then flung them open, and the water followed, cascading from her flung fingers with a whoosh. The water scattered into extremely fine droplets that ultimately disappeared into the air.
Brimming with happiness and excitement, Han Jiaojiao looked towards Hong Yun, bouncing as she asked, "What else shall we try?"
Hong Yun took one of her hands, leading her down from the rock. Her hands were small, with skin that was cool from just having been in the water, and from time to time, that sweet scent wafted over.
Hong Yun felt her heartbeat become chaotic for no reason. She hastily let go of Han Jiaojiao’s hand, silently regulating her own breath. After a while, she said, "My thought is, you can’t condense water from the air because you can only manipulate liquid water, not water in its gaseous state."
"Ah?" Han Jiaojiao grasped her arm, eyes wide as she looked at her, "Does that mean it’s kind of lame? Like... like if I’m in a place without water, other Water Ability users can use water from the air, but I... won’t have any water to use..."
"There should be pros and cons," Hong Yun said, trying to ignore the slight tingling sensation on her arm and smiling helplessly. "Other Water Ability users can’t make water molecules scatter."
Han Jiaojiao didn’t quite understand and stared blankly at Hong Yun.
Seeing her adorable expression, Hong Yun found her quite endearing yet also sighed silently, thinking: She’s really just a child...
"I have a few other water Ability users in my team; they can condense water from the atmosphere and control its flow, but they can’t make the water molecules return to the air."
Hong Yun squatted down, picked up a clump of wet mud by the river, molded it into a ball, and held it up in front of Han Jiaojiao, saying, "Like this mud ball, it’s originally a mix of countless grains of sand and mud. I can remove it from the mixture but can’t restore it to its original state. Once I’ve used it, I can only—" She dropped the mud ball to the ground and stepped on it, then continued, "They’re the same. After using the water, they can only splash it on the ground and let it slowly evaporate back into the air."
"You seemed to make the water disappear quite effortlessly," Hong Yun remarked confidently. "Your Ability must be a very formidable one."
With some hesitation, Han Jiaojiao murmured, "I’ve always felt it wasn’t very practical..."
After all, Water Ability tended to be a supportive type. She’d always thought that being able to produce water in a place without it was the greatest value of a Water Ability user. Whereas she was like this... how strange...
Hong Yun smiled slightly, "The advantage of water lies in its versatility and flexibility. With more practice, we’ll surely find the right direction."
Han Jiaojiao nodded vigorously, believing in Hong Yun.
Hong Yun gestured toward a clump of weeds by the river and said, "Let’s try this."
"How can we do that? There’s no water," complained Han Jiaojiao as she walked over, looking somewhat at a loss about how to proceed.
This time, Hong Yun did not take her hand, but instead stood on the side, watching her encouragingly, "Just like you did before, try to draw out the water from this plant. If your Ability truly only affects liquid water, then the moisture inside the plant should not be a problem for you."
Han Jiaojiao also cheered herself on internally; she squatted beside this nameless weed, trying to draw in the water like she had done just before by the riverbank.
She closed her eyes and slowly felt out the sensation, then after a while, she opened her eyes somewhat dejectedly and shook her head towards Hong Yun.
Hong Yun thought for a moment, walked over to her side, and gently grasped her delicate white wrist, placing it on the stem of the weed, "Try again."
Perhaps because Hong Yun was by her side, Han Jiaojiao inexplicably felt more secure and once again concentrated fully on feeling the subtle molecules beneath her fingertips.
This time, it was much easier than she had imagined; in just a second or two, the weed in front of her withered up instantly, all its moisture drawn out! 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
The drained plant turned into a thin, brittle layer, falling like paper flakes onto the mud, while at Han Jiaojiao’s fingertips, there was a light green globule of water, crystalline and translucent like a piece of jade.
Han Jiaojiao stared blankly at the small water globule, seeming somewhat disbelieving, while Hong Yun excitedly said, "Jiaojiao! You’re incredible, you’ve drawn out almost every single drop of water!"
Snapping out of it, Han Jiaojiao flicked her fingertip, and the light green water splashed out, seeping into the soil.
"What? Did you go a bit overboard?" Seeing her dazed expression, Hong Yun couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Han Jiaojiao suddenly said, "Hong sister, you were really right, what I can control is liquid water..."
Hong Yun helped her stand up, when Han Jiaojiao abruptly said, "This ability could be used to make juice... watermelon juice, apple juice, carrot juice..."
Unable to hold back, Hong Yun burst out laughing, "Jiaojiao, you’re so adorable."
Han Jiaojiao herself was amused by her own words and laughed along with Hong Yun.
Alright, although she wasn’t clear on what practical use it might have, at the very least, she had found the right direction, hadn’t she? Just like Hong Yun had said, if she practiced diligently, it would certainly be useful.
Hong Yun is wonderful, kind, talented, and very intelligent. — Han Jiaojiao couldn’t help but think admiringly.
When Han Yi returned to see Yan Xiao, Xiao Jian, and Bai Kairui clustered around the fire eating instant noodles, he glanced over at the tent and did not see Han Jiaojiao.
"Where’s Jiaojiao?"
Yan Xiao slurped up a mouthful of noodles and pointed towards the river, "...She’s by the river with Vice Captain Hong."
Han Yi looked in that direction and could see, just forty or fifty meters away at the riverbank, Han Jiaojiao and Hong Yun standing close together talking, both seeming to be in high spirits.
Han Yi’s face darkened, and he strode toward the two of them.
Bai Kairui, who had always been somewhat fearful of Han Yi, saw him walk away in silence and nervously said, "Is Brother Han angry? Maybe we shouldn’t have let Jiaojiao be alone with someone else..."
Yan Xiao was unconcerned, "She’s a girl; making one or two female friends is good for her. Sticking with us bunch of guys every day, she probably finds it boring too."
Yan Xiao’s words received the agreement of Bai Kairui and Xiao Jian, and they both nodded their heads.
"At her age, she should indeed make some friends." Having spent so much time together, they had long since come to treat Han Jiaojiao as a little sister.
