Sun Cradle - Xihe

"There is a Ruomu Palace on Mount Xiaoyang, home to a very powerful Taoist master. If you encounter evil spirits, she is sure to solve the problem." "And this Taoist master looks like a high-level expert, with truly impressive skills..." Xihe's reputation spreads far and wide among the mountains and villages of Xu Heng. As a Taoist master, she occasionally helps nearby villagers eliminate Visbanes mistaken for evil spirits and sets up a fortune-telling stall when in the mood, rarely making mistakes. Thus, she is highly praised, and Ruomu Palace has become a shrine that villagers believe works every time. However, despite having lived here for many years, few villagers have seen Xihe's true appearance— Because she awakened at a young age, she is often treated as a child. According to insiders, long ago when Xihe and Gengchen went out to exterminate Visbanes, local residents mistook them for mother and daughter, which angered Xihe so much that she kept a distance of over ten meters from Gengchen during the subsequent mission, and Gengchen rarely showed a helpless expression. After such incidents happened multiple times, Xihe became particularly sensitive about "being treated as a child." Fortunately, she developed the "Astral Arcanum" based on her Divine Grace, allowing her to adjust herself into adult form and avoid many such troubles. Adult-form Xihe often sneaks down the mountain and feels delighted when she hears others praise her as steady and dignified. Over time, she has grown accustomed to traveling through Xu Heng in this appearance. It is said that afterward, she stubbornly asked Gengchen to accompany her back to the Visbane extermination site to walk the path again, only leaving satisfied after receiving the evaluation that they were "evenly matched"—this is the childish side she only shows in front of close ones. If you encounter her in her original child form, you will likely hear her say some seemingly profound words. Don't be surprised; those are phrases she specially designed to appear more like a reclusive sage. In her words: "If my appearance has already lost the conditions to convince others, then I can only make up for it with words." If you ask what kind of words, you might hear a series of— "All things follow their own path; what use is haste? For example, this early spring bamboo shoot—if dug up as soon as it sprouts, you can only eat one bite. If you let it grow and dig it up later, you can eat... several bites." "I reflect on myself three times a day: Have I eaten? Am I full? Have I eaten well?"... If you don't understand, just nod after Xihe finishes speaking. Otherwise, if you bluntly say it's strange, she might suddenly knock you on the head.