After about thirty minutes, both Yunlan Qingyi and Li Mei slowly woke up.
They sat there, blinking in silence, looking around as if unsure of what just happened.
Then their eyes met.
They stared at each other.
“…”
Li Mei finally broke the silence.
“Princess… I think I’ve broken through. Because of the noodles.”
Even she didn’t expect to say that. But she could feel it clearly – her body felt lighter, her senses sharper.
She had really advanced to the Fourth Stage of Spirit Awakening Realm!
Still, Li Mei didn’t want to make the situation about herself.
So she quickly turned to Yunlan Qingyi with worry in her eyes.
“Yiyi… did the instant noodles help you too?”
“Or… was it still the same?”
Li Mei was anxious.
Even though what just happened to her felt amazing, she couldn’t smile if her best friend didn’t get the same result.
She sent her plead skyward, as if the heavens were listening.
Please… please let this help her too.
She knew how much Yunlan Qingyi had suffered.
Born into a great family, yes – but trapped in a body that couldn’t absorb qi properly.
Everyone had hope for her future, but as she grew up, none of it worked.
No medicine. No treasures. No secret methods.
And yet, Yunlan Qingyi had never given up. She stayed kind.
She smiled, she waited, and she kept trying. She never got angry at others or acted spoiled.
She just… quietly hoped.
Li Mei admired her for that.
But deep inside, she also knew the truth.
Even the best physicians and healing experts in the palace a no, in the empire – said the same thing.
There was no cure for her body.
Only a miracle could change that.
And maybe… just maybe… this strange cup of so-called “instant noodles” was that miracle.
Then Li Mei saw it.
A small tear fell from Yunlan Qingyi’s eye.
It dropped onto her robe.
And suddenly, the princess leaned forward and hugged Li Mei tightly.
Li Mei didn’t hesitate and hugged her back just as tightly.
Yunlan Qingyi whispered, her voice shaking but full of warmth.
“Mei… I think I can finally cultivate again. Like everyone else.”
It was quiet.
But it felt loud in Li Mei’s heart.
She held her tighter.
For the first time ever, Yunlan Qingyi could finally take her first real step on the path of cultivation.
And she wasn’t alone.
Li Mei was with her – through all the years of helpless waiting, quiet tears, and false hope.
And now… she’d be with her on this new path too.
The two of them slowly pulled apart from the hug, their eyes still red from the emotions.
Yunlan Qingyi wiped her cheek with her sleeve and gave a small smile.
“Mei Mei… I have to test it again first.”
Her eyes sparkled with a long-lost excitement, something she hadn’t felt in years.
Li Mei blinked.
“…You want to eat another cup?”
Yunlan Qingyi shook her head quickly. “No, no – cultivate, I mean!”
“Just making sure it wasn’t a fluke!”
Li Mei’s lips twitched.
She crossed her arms with a helpless sigh.
“Princess, don’t sit too long, alright?”
“I’ll be fine.” Yunlan Qingyi said, already lowering herself to the floor.
With the seriousness of a grandmaster preparing for a life-or-death breakthrough, she straightened her back, folded her legs into a lotus position, and raised both palms like a little old monk.
Her expression turned completely serious.
It would’ve looked holy – if not for the single small strand of noodle stuck on her sleeve.
Li Mei covered her mouth with her sleeve and turned away to hide her smile.
Yunlan Qingyi, completely unaware, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
And then… she felt it.
The spiritual qi in the air – it was moving.
No, more than that – it was flowing toward her. Not scattering. Not repelled. It came willingly, like it had always belonged inside her.
She could feel it soaking into her skin, traveling through her meridians slowly.
Before, it was like trying to breathe with blocked lungs. Now it was like taking in cool, clean air after a storm.
Her dantian – it wasn’t resisting.
It was absorbing.
She could guide the qi into it without pain or backlash. For the first time in her life, it was working.
Yunlan Qingyi opened her eyes.
“…It’s real.”
Li Mei, watching from the side, stepped forward and knelt down beside her.
“Congratulations, Yiyi!”
“All your efforts… They’ve finally paid off!”
“You did it. You really did it.”
Yunlan Qingyi’s lips stretched into the widest, brightest smile Li Mei had ever seen from her.
“Thank you, Mei Mei!”
Li Mei helped Yunlan Qingyi up with both hands, making sure she didn’t wobble.
The two of them exchanged a look – no words needed.
They both turned and started walking together, toward the store owner.
Hao was still sitting in the corner, drinking Lime Fizz.
He glanced at Yunlan Qingyi and Li Mei’s direction just as they approached.
He raised one eyebrow mid-sip.
No bow. No greeting.
Just a single eyebrow.
“…”
Li Mei stared blankly at Hao.
This man… is just drinking something right now?
Does he even realize the magnitude of what just happened?
Her face shifted somewhere between disbelief and deadpan. Like she was trying to hold in a hundred thoughts and failed.
Did he really make those noodles? Or did he just find them lying around somewhere and decided to sell them in this tiny shop?
Is this really the person who changed Yiyi’s fate?
Yunlan Qingyi stepped forward.
“Senior…” she bowed, placing her hand over her chest.
“This humble one expresses sincere gratitude.”
“I do not yet fully understand the nature of what you have given us… but because of it, I was able to touch cultivation again, something I once believed forever beyond my reach.”
She raised her head and gave Hao the kindest, most radiant smile.
“This debt shall not be forgotten.”
Li Mei followed suit with a composed step forward and a courteous incline of her head.
“I offer my deepest thanks as well Senior… for helping Yiyi.”
Hao blinked at them.
He casually tilted the can again, took another sip, and shrugged.
“You guys really don’t have to thank me or anything. You bought the noodles.”
“You paid crystals for it. They just did what they were supposed to do.”