Xiu Mei clutched the frame of the bathroom doorway, wide-eyed as the last remnants of his storm died down. Steam and damp still clung to the air, rippling faintly with his Qi. Her lips parted, voice trembling though she tried to steady it.
"What… what happened, Uncle Shi?"
Shi Yang exhaled slowly, pulling the fury back into his core until his presence steadied and the floorboards no longer groaned beneath his aura. His gaze softened just enough to meet hers.
"We were visited," he said, voice flat. "By Willowshade enforcement."
Her face paled instantly. "What? When—?"
"They've left." He cut her question short with that simple answer. Turning his back, Shi Yang crossed to the far wall where an old bundle of unpacked clothes leaned against the closet. He knelt, fingers brushing past folded cloth until he found what sat on top: a folded flyer—creased and smudged, but still legible.
His eyes flicked over the first listing. He spoke the words aloud, tone slow, as if summoning memory.
"Moonlit Orchid Petals… blossoms that only open under the full moon, prized for their yin essence."
The second line caught his eye. He read it as well, his voice a touch lower.
"Ashen Bone Fragments… shards taken from the remains of a beast slain by lightning."
Shi Yang rubbed his chin, lips curving faintly in thought. "These are next," he murmured. "Since we already have the Crimson Serpent's Fangs, it's time to gather the rest."
He stood and tugged free a dark hanfu from the bundle, shaking it once before holding it out toward Xiu Mei. "Here. Wear this."
Her brows lifted, but she stepped forward and accepted it.
"Go to Han Jie," Shi Yang continued, tone brisk. "Tell her—" he stopped himself—"him exactly what I've told you. Then both of you pack. We'll remain in town for a few days more—time enough to prepare for the road ahead."
He glanced once more at the flyer in his hand, eyes narrowing as if already tracing paths across the land. The storm inside him had not vanished—only coiled tighter, waiting to unfurl when needed.
He flipped the page.
By decree of the City Lord—A Grand Tournament shall be held. All cultivators, local or foreign, are free to enter.
First Prize: an Earthly Treasure, a tool born of heaven and earth itself, bonded to its master until death.
Second & Third Prize: an official position under the City Lord's banner, authority and backing in the western territories.
Fourth Prize: silver taels, cultivation pills, and minor treasures.
For the first time since I laid eyes on this, I haven't been as drawn to second and third place like I am right now.
He folded the page, put it back, and got dressed along with Xiu Mei. Hmm, he clenched his fist. I don't feel that physically different after breaking through, he thought.
But I can't doubt I sense how vastly different my Qi pool has gotten.
Xiu Mei's fingers lingered on the sleeve of the hanfu as if she wanted to say more, but his unbending tone left her little room. She bowed her head slightly and slipped into the garment, her small frame half-swallowed by its folds. When she looked up again, her expression was calmer, steadier.
"Alright," she said softly. "I'll tell Han Jie."
Shi Yang gave a faint nod, and she padded quietly from the room, the boards creaking under her steps until the door clicked shut behind her.
Silence descended, broken only by the faint whistle of the wind brushing past the shutters. Shi Yang stood still for a long moment, then let the folded flyer slide from his fingers back atop the bundle of clothes. His hands moved with slow deliberation as he dressed, fabric whispering against his skin. The words he had read—Earthly Treasure… authority under the City Lord…—still tugged at him.
"For the first time since I laid eyes on this," he muttered, almost amused at himself, "I haven't been so drawn to silver, pills, or even the treasure. Second and third place… that authority, that banner—it might suit me better now."
He clenched his fist, flexing it once. His gaze lowered to his arm, to the veins faintly stirring with Qi. Physically, not much has changed, he thought, but my Qi… my pool has deepened, broadened. This difference is no illusion.
Turning away from the clothes bundle, Shi Yang walked to the low desk against the wall. He uncrumpled the brittle parchment of the spirit vein map across its surface, smoothing the creases with his palm. Then he gazed at the chest where the three spirit stones lay, shining with no signs of prior use.
His eyes traced the markings of rivers and jagged cliffs inked onto the map. A faint smile tugged at his lips, thin and sharp. "This is where we'll claim our Ashen Bone Fragments…"
He tapped the nesting place of a razor-blue scaled carp where it was written as the location of what was supposed to be his gifted spirit vein. It isn't specifically said that the bone fragments need to be natural, so we can attempt and see if we can get away with a bit of leeway.
The stones caught his other hand's attention—he picked one up, weighing it in his palm.
"These can still serve there in limited purposes," he said to himself, "though not for me directly. Han Jie's thunder formations can drink them up, and create an array to turn the carp bone to pieces."
The smile deepened as he leaned closer to the map, shadows from the candlelight cutting sharp angles across his face.