“Absolutely not. I forbid you from going anywhere near the Twin Fang Mountains.”

“But Father—”

“Do not ‘but Father’ me. My decision is final. You may have begun to finally grow a spine, but the Twin Fang Mountains is far too dangerous for children.”

After their lessons, Wu Jian and Wu Meiying visited his father’s residence to ask for his permission to travel to the Twin Fang Mountains. Their hope was to find a natural treasure that would boost Wu Jian’s training. It seemed like their visit might have been in vain, however.

Located near the northernmost quadrant of the Wu Clan compound, Father’s residence was a lot larger than Wu Jian’s own. It housed not only his father, but also his mother and his father’s second wife. While this building belonged to the clan head, it did not have much in the way of ostentatiousness. Lightly decorated with some portraits and landscape paintings, the only object of real interest was the beautiful Zen Garden located off to one side of the complex. It was covered in snow right now, but once it thawed, it would become a sprawling land of beautiful flowers and bonsai trees.

Wu Jian stood in the reception hall. This was where his father received all of his guests. His fists shook as he received Father’s stern glare, which intimidated him and made Wu Jian feel small and insignificant. Even if he wanted to argue, the indomitable presence pushing down on him prevented even a sound of complaint from leaking out of his mouth.

“Y-yes, Father. I understand,” Wu Jian said at last.

“Hmph.” Father looked at him for a moment longer, then snorted as if he was disappointed with something and turned around. Wu Taohua remained behind for a moment to give Wu Jian a smirk before she, too, turned around and followed Father.

Wu Jian stood in the reception hall for a bit longer, then wordlessly turned and made his way outside, where Wu Meiying was waiting with a scowl marring her pretty face.

“I can’t believe Uncle Yōushì is forbidding us from exploring the mountains. Doesn’t he realize this is all for your training? You would think he’d be happy that his son is showing an interest in growing stronger, but nooooo, he’s still as restricting as ever,” she complained.

Wu Jian said nothing as he took Wu Meiying’s outstretched hand and began walking off. He should have seen this coming. Of course, Father wouldn’t let them travel to the Twin Fang Mountains. They were dangerous, filled with all manner of magical beasts and who knew what else. There was no way Father would let his heir travel somewhere so deadly.

Even though he knew that, he was still reticent and felt a small measure of resentment against his father, but he was too meek to do anything more than sigh and silently lament. He might have stood up to his older half-brother. However, standing up to a boy a few years older was far easier than standing up to the man who controlled the entire Wu Clan. The difference was like heaven and earth.

Since asking his father for permission to leave had been a bust, the pair went to the library and began looking for a book to keep their attention. They would normally read a fiction story. This time, however, they chose a book on clan laws and time honored traditions. It was not a very interesting read, but it contained important information that Wu Jian would need to know if he was to become clan head.

“What do you think we should do now?” asked Wu Jian after maybe fifteen minutes of silence.

“It looks like we don’t have much choice.” Wu Meiying looked around for a moment as if to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in and whispered into his ear. “We’ll have to sneak out.”

“Do you think we can?” Wu Jian asked back.

“Of course.” With a prideful smile, Wu Meiying winked at him. “Who do you think I am? I’ve already memorized all of the Wu Clan’s patrol routes, and I even know an area of the wall we can climb over. It’s on the south side of the compound and isn’t guarded very well. We can head over there tonight and slip out unnoticed.”

“I don’t know. That doesn’t sound like a good idea…”

“It might not be, but if you don’t do this, do you think you’ll be able to grow strong enough to challenge Wu Yong in the next strength competition?”

“Well…”

“We both know you won’t. You’re working hard, but you are too far behind to make the difference up with hard work alone. You need something to help you increase the speed you can refine your body.”

“You’re right, but…”

“Come on, Jian. I don’t want to lose you. I need you to be stronger so we can stay together.”

Wu Jian could feel his resolve slipping. Not even his natural cowardice could compete with Wu Meiying’s soulful eyes and earnest desire. More than his fear of upsetting father, he was worried about disappointing the girl next to him.

He capitulated.

“Okay. We’ll do that,” Wu Jian said.

Wu Meiying’s smile brightened. “Just leave everything to me.”

They continued to read and talk during breaks between chapters, then left the library after waving goodbye to Grandpa Son. As they stepped outside, someone walked over to them, her lips curling into a smile, long robes flowing around her legs. Her dark eyes were the same color as Wu Jian’s. Hair styled into an elaborate bun pinned together with hair ornaments was arrayed neatly atop her head, showing the nape of her neck. She was not wearing any makeup, but she didn’t need it.

“Mother,” Wu Jian said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

His mother smiled. “I heard about what happened between you and Yōushì. Walk with me a bit? I’d like to talk with you.” She turned her smile on Wu Meiying. “Would you mind if I stole my son away from you for a moment?”

It was a polite way of saying she would like to speak with Wu Jian alone, but it was also odd that Mother would be so polite with a young girl not even a third her age. She would never be this polite with anyone else. The reason for her attitude was because of how attached at the hip he and Wu Meiying were. She knew that wherever Wu Jian was, Wu Meiying was not far behind.

“Of course, Aunty Àiliàn.” Wu Meiying placed the fist of her left hand against the palm of her right and bowed to the older woman. Then she looked at Wu Jian and smiled. “I will wait for you right here.”

“Okay. I’ll try to come back quickly,” Wu Jian said.

Mother smiled as she watched them, which caused Wu Jian’s ears to feel warm, but he went over to her and followed as she wandered away from the library. They passed several people as they walked. Each person bowed to Mother just like Wu Meiying had. She smiled politely at them as she walked by, her every gesture elegant and refined.

“Little Mei adores you quite a bit,” Mother said.

“I love Meiying a lot too,” Wu Jian admitted.

Mother raised a hand to hide her mouth behind the long sleeves of her hanfu, giggling. “I know. You have said so many times. I’ve honestly lost count of how many times you have told us you’re going to marry her. Yōushì does not approve of you marrying a girl of unknown background—oh! But don’t worry. While he might not approve now, I am sure he’ll come around. Little Mei is a very intelligent girl and has great potential. I’m sure he will eventually see that she’ll make a great wife for you in the future.”

“I hope so,” Wu Jian said.

Wu Jian’s love for Wu Meiying was one of the only matters he ever stood firm on. He still remembered the first time he told Father that he was going to marry Wu Meiying, and how his father had said he was being ridiculous and childish. Father had said he could not marry a girl who had just appeared randomly in a basket one day. That had been the only time Wu Jian ever yelled at his father.

His butt still smarted from where Father had whipped him.

They eventually made their way through a garden covered in a light layer of snow. Wu Jian’s breath frosted as he exhaled.

“I know he might seem harsh, but your father really does love you,” Mother began. “As the clan head, he must be stern and uncompromising. He has to put the clan first. That can make him difficult to approach, but I promise you that he loves you very much.”

“I know,” Wu Jian said after a short pause.

He was aware that Father cared for him. Father would not have gifted him those expensive alchemy pills if he didn’t. That was why he didn’t argue with his mother.

She smiled as if aware of his thoughts and feelings. “The reason he doesn’t want you traveling to the Twin Fang Mountains is simply because it’s far too dangerous. They might not be far from here, but stepping onto those mountains is like stepping into a completely different territory. There are a number of powerful magical beasts who live there. Rumor even has it that one of those magical beasts has reached the ninth sub realm of the Anima Realm.”

Wu Jian held his breath.

The Anima Realm was the third realm in a person’s cultivation, and it was the realm his father was at. His father had reached the ninth subrealm of the Anima Realm. That made his father the strongest person in Zahn City. Learning that a magical beast living nearby had reached a comparable level shocked him.

“I understand,” Wu Jian said.

“Good. I am glad to hear that,” Mother said with a tender smile as she reached out and ruffled his hair. Wu Jian closed his eyes at the feeling of her soft, warm hands. He knew it was probably bad for him to feel so comforted by his mother, that it made him look weak in front of others, but he could not deny that her gentleness soothed him.

They returned to the library not long after Mother had said what she needed to. Wu Meiying was waiting for him, quietly standing by the library entrance and ignoring the young boy who was trying to talk to her. Wu Jian vaguely recognized the other boy as someone from their training class—Wu Yan, he thought the boy’s name was.

“Listen, the annual strength test is coming up soon, and if I score above a thousand, I want you to be—”

When Wu Meiying saw Wu Jian, her eyes lit up. She ignored the boy still trying to talk to her and wandered over to him. Wu Yan, who was left standing there with no one to talk to, stood frozen in indecision before a blush lit his face. He huffed and stomped into the library.

“Welcome back,” Wu Meiying said.

“I’m back,” Wu Jian replied.

Mother smiled at the two of them. “I still have some duties I must attend to, so I’ll leave you both here. I hope the rest of your day goes well.”

“Thank you,” Wu Jian and Wu Meiying said at the same time.

***

The rest of Wu Jian’s day passed by in a flash, and he parted ways with Wu Meiying to retire for the night. Of course, she would eventually show up. Then they would head out to the Twin Fang Mountains.

Yet as the time for Wu Meiying to make her appearance drew near, Wu Jian began second guessing himself. Was this really the best choice they had? Should they really be doing this? Mother had informed him that a magical beast at the upper limits of the Anima Realm had made the mountains its home.

Magical beasts were creatures that had gained power after somehow acquiring a spirit core. Spirit cores acted similarly to a human’s dantian and meridians, allowing the magical beast in question to use the same mystical power as humans and even cultivate like humans did. Wu Jian had read stories about magical beasts that managed to gain a human form after cultivating for several centuries, but those were only fiction stories. He didn’t know if they were true or not.

Even if they weren’t true, a magical beast at the Anima Realm was not something he and Wu Meiying could deal with on their own. He second guessed their decision to sneak out because of that. By the time a knock sounded at his door, he was overflowing with worry and reluctance.

“Wu Jian? It’s me. Hurry up. We need to leave now if we want to have any hope of sneaking out of the compound,” Wu Meiying said from the other side of the door.

Wu Jian slid his door open to find Wu Meiying standing on the other side, a bright smile on her face, body cloaked in darkness. She wore long robes that went all the way down to her ankles and black boots with fur lining the interior. The color was not pure black but more of an extremely dark blue, though it was hard to tell in this lighting.

“What are you doing still dressed like that?” asked Wu Meiying. “Hurry up and put on your cloak.”

“Mei… should we really be doing this?” asked Wu Jian. When Wu Meiying just looked at him, he continued. “I mean… I heard there was a magical beast who had reached the Anima Realm living on the Twin Fang Mountains. If we run into something like that…”

“Are you getting cold feet? Don’t worry. Even if we do run into that magical beast, we won’t die,” Wu Meiying said with such confidence that Wu Jian couldn’t help but believe her. Even so, he hesitated for a moment longer. When she saw this, Wu Meiying smiled softly. “Do you want to remain here? If so, I can gather the herbs you need myself.”

Her words caused a fire to burn inside of his body. Wu Jian felt the determination that had been wavering out of fear return with a vengeance.

“There’s no way I can let you do something so dangerous on your own. I’m going with you,” he declared.

“I thought you might say that. Now, hurry up and put on a cloak so we can leave.” Wu Meiying gestured toward his cloak with a broad grin.

While Wu Jian felt kind of like he had been played, he still grabbed a cloak folded on the dresser and donned it. The cloak settled over his shoulders, thick and warm. It was the same color as Wu Meiying’s and would help him blend into the night.

“I’m ready,” he said to Wu Meiying, who nodded and raised her hood. He followed suit as she gestured for him to follow her and led the way outside.

Wu Jian had never snuck around the clan compound at night before. He felt a strange sense of exhilaration as he followed Wu Meiying, who led him across the clan compound. Sometimes she would stop and duck behind a boulder or a tree, waiting for the patrolling guards to pass, before moving again. The guards always moved in pairs. Despite this, they were never caught. Wu Meiying made sure to cover their tracks. She did so with a large leaf she had grabbed from somewhere, using it to erase their footprints in the snow. Wu Jian was impressed by how thorough she was.

It did not take long before they reached the other side of the compound. Wu Meiying led Wu Jian to a section of the wall that was covered in vines that had long since died. Despite how brittle they appeared, they were quite sturdy, and Wu Meiying didn’t hesitate to climb them. When she reached the top, she looked down the other side as if checking to see whether there were any patrolling guards, then leapt down. He heard the soft thud as she hit the snow covered ground.

“It’s your turn, Jian.”

“Coming.”

Wu Jian took several deep breaths and placed a hand against his chest, feeling the way his heart was pounding. Was this excitement or fear? He didn’t know. Maybe it was both.

Reaching out, Wu Jian only flinched a bit when the biting coldness of the vines encroached on his hand, but he didn’t let that stop him. He grabbed the vine with his other hand and pulled himself up. One hand at a time, he climbed the vines, until he reached the top. Wu Meiying was waiting for him on the other side, waving at him.

“Hurry up and jump down,” she said.

“R-right.”

Wu Jian gulped, then leapt from the wall, wincing as he hit the ground. However, he had trained in how to land without hurting himself. He bent his knees to absorb the impact, snow flying everywhere, then stood. His legs were a bit sore. Even so, it didn’t hurt nearly as much as he had expected it to. He was a little surprised.

“Are you ready?” asked Wu Meiying.

Wu Jian nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let’s go!”

Hand in hand, Wu Jian and Wu Meiying made their way to the closest of the Twin Fang Mountains.