With their new resources, they entered a period of quiet, obsessive growth. Their "average"
talent was a lie; it didn't account for their method. The "Harmonious Resonance" technique,
fueled by high-grade spirit stones and a library of new manuals, became brutally efficient. They
were no longer "weeds"; they were cultivated.
Ren Wei, the "Head," focused on mental arts. He poured over manuals on "Qi-Sense,"
"Presence Projection," and "Emotional-Aura" reading. Li Mei, the "Hands," studied her new
Toxin Compendium with a terrifying, academic fervor. She learned about 'Slow-Burn' poisons
that mimicked disease and 'Mind-Fog' herbs that caused confusion.
They were happy. A quiet, twisted, domestic bliss.
And that was when he arrived.
His name was Jin Tao. 'Jin' for gold. He was a true 'Young Master,' a sixth-stage Qi
Condensation prodigy whose family controlled three spirit mines. He wasn't a bully; bullies are
insecure. Jin Tao was a prince, and he was bored.
He saw them in the lecture hall. Or rather, he saw Li Mei.
She was not a starving mouse anymore. With better food, better Qi, and her deep contentment,
a haunting, cold beauty had emerged. A porcelain stillness. Jin Tao liked collecting beautiful, still
things.
Ren Wei felt it. His newly-honed 'Qi-Sense' picked up the weight of Jin Tao's gaze.
He leaned in to Li Mei. "The one in the gold-thread robe, third row. Don't look. He's watching
you."
Li Mei didn't flinch. She just leaned her head onto Ren Wei's shoulder, a small, public act of
possession.
Jin Tao frowned.
That evening, there was a knock on their courtyard door. It was a summons. Jin Tao was
standing there, flanked by two fourth-stage servants. He didn't look at Ren Wei. He looked at Li
Mei.
"You," he said, his voice calm and bored. "You have a rare 'Yin-Stasis' aura. It's wasted in this
dump. And on him." He finally flicked his gaze to Ren Wei, as if looking at a rock.
"I have a place for you," he said to Li Mei. "As my concubine. You will have better pills, better
arts. Leave this rat and come serve me."
Ren Wei felt it. The 'leash' on his soul. It didn't pull. It went from a warm hum to a strand of
vibrating, freezing ice.
He could feel her rage. It was a bottomless, black, killing void. This man had just tried to take
her treasure. He could feel her 'Hands' twitching, calculating if she could kill all three of them
before they screamed.
No, Mei, he thought, praying their bond carried the message. This one we can't kill. He's not
Jiao. Killing him is suicide.
He stepped half in front of Li Mei. Protecting her, and caging her.
"Senior Brother Jin," Ren Wei said, his voice perfectly level. "I think you misunderstand. Li Mei is
not a servant. She is my partner."
Jin Tao frowned, unused to a 'rock' speaking. "Partner?" he sneered. "You have nothing to offer her. I am offering her the world."
"And I am offering you a warning," Ren Wei said, his voice still soft. "Politely. She is not
available. Please enjoy your evening."
Jin Tao's face darkened. Amusement was replaced by insult. "You are a brave rat," he hissed.
"I'll give you that. You have three days. 'Dissolve' this 'partnership.' Or I will dissolve you...
permanently."
He turned and left.
The courtyard was silent. Ren Wei let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He turned to
Li Mei.
She was staring at the door, her face a mask of pure, homicidal rage.
"I will end him," she hissed, her voice a low vibration. "I will put a toxin in his wine that boils his
blood."
"No," Ren Wei said, grabbing her shoulders. "Mei. Listen to me. This one is different. We can't
kill him. We can't be the 'Hands.'"
She looked at him, her eyes wild. "Then what?! He will take me from you! He will kill you!"
"No," Ren Wei said, his own face hardening. "He won't. You can't be the 'Hands.' So... I have to
be the 'Head.' I have to handle this. My way."