"At morning it laughs,
At night it cries,
Then you ask,
'Is everything alright?'"
We both almost laughed after reading it. It didn't sound like a riddle, more like a joke.
After a minute, I calmed myself and started thinking seriously.
'At morning it laughs'—that must have something to do with the sunrise. But what does laughing mean here?
People laugh when they're happy or excited. So, in this case, I had to figure out what "being happy" meant for a plant or a herb.
When people are happy, they move around more, right? They get energy, they shake, they do things they normally wouldn't.
But herbs can't move on their own… unless something moves them.
I looked around. The wind here was softer than outside. Then it hit me—if the herb "laughs" in the morning, it must mean it moves because of the wind.
So, "laughing" means "shaking in the wind."
The higher the place, the stronger the wind. The highest point here was the mountain—so that's where the herb must be.
I told Feng Xinyi our next destination. She nodded, though she seemed unsure.
She had probably thought the same but couldn't connect it completely.
I could understand why—cultivators don't feel emotions like mortals do. They start cultivating young and lose touch with things like joy or sadness.
I only started cultivating after living as a mortal for decades, so I knew emotions better.
This task was based on emotions—something most cultivators here would struggle with.
That was my advantage.
We headed toward the mountain while I thought about the other parts of the riddle.
"Then you ask, is everything alright?"
That must mean confronting it. But how do you confront a plant?
The answer was hidden in the "morning" part—warmth.
What's the one thing that comes with morning? The sun, and its heat.
So the full meaning must be connected to warmth, sunlight, and movement.
Putting it together, the riddle actually meant:
"At night it cries,
Then you ask, is everything alright?
Only those who know warmth will understand,
When the sun rises, it laughs again."
The crying part was still unclear—how does a plant cry? Maybe water forms on it at night?
I decided to check when we reached the mountain.
We traveled until night fell and decided to rest under a tree.
...
I was half asleep when a cold droplet fell on my nose. I woke up instantly—it was dew.
That's when I finally understood.
"At night it cries" — the dew that forms on the plant.
"Then you ask, is everything alright?" — you confront it.
"Only those who know warmth will understand" — you need to give it heat like the sunrise.
"When the sun rises, it laughs again" — when warmed, it shakes happily in the wind.
We had to reach the mountain before sunrise, or we'd miss the chance.
"Hey Xinyi, wake up!" I said urgently.
She opened her eyes with a tired, irritated look.
"I know you're mad, but we need to move fast. We have to reach the mountain top before sunrise."
She understood the importance and followed without arguing.
On the way, I explained the meaning of the riddle.
We reached the top just as the sky started to brighten.
Now we had to find the herb before the sun appeared.
After searching for a while, we spotted a single plant standing alone.
A droplet hung at the tip of its leaf—this had to be it.
But the problem was warmth. If I waited for the sun, we might lose the lead.
Others could have solved the riddle too.
"How do I give it warmth before sunrise…" I thought. Then an idea came.
"Hey Xinyi, give me your hand."
She looked confused for a second, then understood. I took her hand, but there was no warmth.
"Thanks," I said, letting go. "Now it's simple."
I used my Qi to create heat, adjusting it to match the average sunrise temperature.
When it felt right, I pressed my hand on the droplet at the same time the first ray of sunlight appeared.
The wind blew gently, and the plant began to shake, as if laughing in joy.
I couldn't help but smile a little—it worked.
A voice echoed suddenly in the sky.
"Cultivator Bai Xiao and his partner Feng Xinyi were the first to complete the first main task."
Before we could react, light surrounded us, and we were teleported away.