"Master… may I try?"
The voice came from Lu Wen calm, yet holding a subtle tension, like an arrow just shy of release.
Heng Zhen didn't answer right away. He gazed into the spring, where his reflection shimmered blurry, like an unfinished memory.
From afar, voices began to stir.
Some from the valley had started to gather.
"What did he find?"
"Is this a new kind of power?"
"If he can do it, why can't we?"
Humans are always drawn to change.
But it's not change they seek it's results.
And results are the one thing Yuanqi cannot offer.
Heng Zhen sighed.
"How long do you think I sat here?" he asked.
Lu Wen thought. "Seven days. Maybe eight."
"No."
"Two weeks?"
Heng Zhen shook his head. "Seven years. But only my body was still. My time… was inside."
Silence fell.
Some people exchanged looks. Even Lu Wen lowered his gaze.
"Master… during all that time… what did you do?"
Heng Zhen looked up at the sky.
"I erased. Not added. Not gathered, not cultivated. But slowly… I let go of what wasn't mine. Thoughts, desires, fears, memories I didn't even realize I had inherited from this world."
He turned to Lu Wen.
"Can you do that?"
Lu Wen didn't reply.
But behind him, a young man stepped forward. His hair was matted, his eyes sharp. He spoke clearly:
"I want to try. If this path is true, let my body be the proof."
His name was San Lie.
A bold youth from the eastern part of the valley, known for his temper and fierceness but also for his resolve.
Heng Zhen studied him in silence.
"Sit."
San Lie sat.
And the world began to shift for him but not in the way he expected.
Days later, his body trembled.
He stopped speaking. Stopped eating.
Then one night, he screamed in his sleep.
When he awoke, he stared at Heng Zhen with red eyes.
"Why… is there no sound?" he asked. "Why is everything gone?"
"Because you've only opened the first door," Heng Zhen said gently.
"And there, you'll find emptiness.
Before Yuanqi arrives… you must face yourself."
San Lie lowered his head. He said nothing more.
In the days that followed, others tried.
Some sat then stood and walked away in fear.
Some were silent… then began to cry.
Others grew restless, even angry.
They thought Yuanqi was a new force they could wield against Chaosqi.
They didn't understand:
Yuanqi does not conquer. It does not fight.
It calms.
And for that… it demands a far deeper courage.
On the eighth day, Heng Zhen spoke to Lu Wen.
"This path isn't for everyone.
Not because they are weak but because they are still full.
And to begin this path… one must be empty enough."
Lu Wen looked up at the sky.
"Master… I'm not ready, am I?"
"You'll know when the time comes.
Yuanqi doesn't call.
It only appears… when your heart calls for nothing at all."