"I'm not exactly the kind of spirit you have here," she reminds him. "I need to finish repairing my crystal, and then I'll just be able to restore my previous body and inhabit it. Repairing my crystal is going to take —"

She glances at the countdown clock in the corner of her HUD.

"— a long time, but almost certainly not centuries."

"I know you aren't the local kind of spirit," he says somewhat defensively.  "I just- that's the first impression people are going to have when they see you get a human-shaped form after being a crystal.  We were talking about people's first impressions."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry — I thought you were expressing surprise that I intended to get a human form, not commenting about how it would appear," she apologizes. "My grasp on your language is good, but obviously still has some gaps."

Jiang Cheng nods to accept the apology.  He considers mentioning that he'd be doing far worse in her place, but can't bring himself to admit that out loud.  Instead, he remains quiet.  In the lull of conversation it's possible to hear the quiet sounds of other cultivators waking up and preparing for the day.