The Programmer Cultivator

Chapter 130 - 12: Panx Juan’er

On Hongmeng Star, or rather, in the entire Cosmos, any planet touched by a Cultivation Civilization possesses something called a Spirit Root.

On Magic Planets, it’s called aptitude or Magic Affinity.

On Immortal Planets, it’s called a Spirit Root or a Dao Body.

On Superpower Planets, it’s called Talent or a Superpower.

On Technology Planets, it’s called Dark Matter Affinity, Brainstorming, Brain Domain Quantum Entanglement, and so on.

The names vary, but they all refer to the same thing.

And a Spirit Root often represents more than just an affinity for Spiritual Qi.

The better the Spirit Root, the higher one’s comprehension and mental acuity for cultivation. This is a common understanding among Cultivation Civilizations.

Therefore, in Cultivation Civilizations, it’s not rare for exceptionally talented individuals to be precocious and unnaturally intelligent; in fact, it’s the norm.

Pan Juan’er had a ninety-five-point Immortal Spirit Root, so her early wisdom was only natural. She was, in fact, the very definition of precocious.

Though she was only about a month old, the adults around her likely didn’t know that her lively eyes were already beginning to understand and accept this world.

She met the boy who was about her age when she was three months old.

At the time, he already seemed to understand far more than she did.

She still remembered the bright yet melancholy eyes from their first meeting, which seemed to hold countless stories.

When she turned one, the adults didn’t know she already possessed the mind and intelligence of a normal person in their teens; she simply hadn’t experienced much yet.

But he was even more remarkable. He was already leading her on all sorts of wild adventures when the adults weren’t looking, and they had both discovered each other’s little secrets.

Back then, she was both innocent and mature. In her young world, Brother Ming was the most important person to her, even more so than her mother.

It seemed they had both realized they were different, that their intelligence surpassed what was normal for their age.

From then on, Brother Ming would always tell her strange and wonderful stories.

There were tales of a Snake Demon repaying a kindness, of a harmful fox, of the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather, and even of conflicts within great and noble houses, and of an Immortal and a Demon Fox entangled for Three Lives.

Her blank mind was rapidly filled and enriched by these things. Brother Ming was the one who built her worldview at such a quick pace.

Whenever he told these stories, Brother Ming would look at her strangely. At the time, she didn’t understand what that gaze meant.

When she grew older, she understood. It was a look of inquiry, of probing, of trying to find out if they were the same kind of person.

It was also after she grew up that she learned how they were different. Her gift was the early wisdom from her Spirit Root, while Brother Ming possessed Innate Wisdom.

At the age of three, when she started sleeping in her own bed, she did something that she would feel foolish about for the rest of her life, but would never regret.

Because, though she couldn’t be sure if it was just her imagination, over the past two years, Brother Ming had gradually stopped giving her that strange look whenever he told her stories.

It was only after he finished the story of the Immortal and the Demon Fox who loved each other across Three Lives that Brother Ming seemed to have completely understood their differences. He no longer secretly and cautiously probed for something.

It was as if something in his heart had shattered. He just continued telling the story quietly, but with a heart-wrenching sadness that made her ache for him.

When she grew older, she knew that feeling was called loneliness.

She didn’t know it then, but she was sensitive enough to understand one thing: her Brother Ming couldn’t be allowed to be so heart-wrenchingly sad.

She also knew, with that same sensitivity, that if she didn’t do something, her Brother Ming would only grow more pitifully sad. He would slowly slip away from her, and they would eventually become strangers.

’So I decided I had to sleep with Brother Ming. Isn’t that what husbands and wives do? Sleep together?’

’Isn’t it because Mom and Dad always sleep together that they don’t have this heart-wrenching feeling?’

’This way, I can be with Brother Ming forever. This way, we’ll never be separated. Brother Ming will always be mine, and no one can take him away. I won’t let him run away like this.’

The infuriating thing was, after she finally got her parents to agree, Brother Ming backed out! He actually said, "A cute boy like him needs to protect himself."

’Hmph. What makes him think I can’t protect him if I sleep with him?’

’Still, Brother Ming is so cute!’

’I really want to hug him to sleep!’

’It must be more comfortable than hugging a pillow!’

Time passed bit by bit. Thanks to her childish yet mature efforts, Brother Ming’s loneliness slowly dissipated. He gradually stopped being lonely.

When he looked at her, his smiles became more frequent. A genuine joy began to appear in his eyes, along with a faint attachment that she could feel.

After she turned six, she could already get Brother Ming to grant her every wish.

’Hmph. Brother Ming might be smart and cute, but sometimes he’s so silly. Not as smart as me at all.’

When she grew older, she realized it wasn’t foolishness. It was doting, it was indulgence, it was a love that came from the heart.

Originally, their days would have continued on, ordinary and uneventful.

They would grow up, get married, and have children, just as Brother Ming had described: a devoted couple for a lifetime, a love more enviable than the life of an Immortal.

When she was eight, an Immortal came to the village. Everyone brought their children, hoping for a chance at a connection with the immortal path.

’I don’t care about some immortal connection. Are Immortals as good as Brother Ming?’

’Are they as cute as Brother Ming?’

’Brother Ming is all I need!’

But that day, she would never forget the brilliant light that flashed in Brother Ming’s eyes—that look of longing.

In all their years together, she had almost never seen such intense emotion in his eyes.

It could almost rival the sweet, shimmering light he had in his eyes when he looked at her all these years.