“You look tired, honey,” Faye said.

The girl was sitting next to Niva during Elder Yonyue’s lesson, the content of which was flying over Niva’s head since she had trouble keeping her eyes open.

Despite what she hoped, the dream hadn't stayed a singular occurrence, and nightmares plagued her the entire week. She barely remembered to respond to Faye, who was looking at her with her hands under her chin.

“An astute observation.”

More than the contents of this lesson, she didn't understand why Faye was sitting next to her. If the girl was threatening her with her groupies, then it would make some sense. But not even that was the case, for she sat with Niva by herself.

Was she trying to isolate her?

Faye placed her head on Niva’s shoulder, and a crease appeared in her forehead that smoothed itself out near instantly. “You stink. When’s the last time you took a shower?”

She was so tired that she gave in and leaned back against the girl. “Faye, please, just wait until the timer runs out. I can’t deal with your mental disability right now.”

“Shh, don’t tire yourself any further by speaking”–Faye patted her head, her blue eyes reminding one of the skies–"as a matter of fact, why don’t you take a break? It will do you good. Enjoy yourself before I send you off to meet your ancestors.”

"I think I'll take you up on that."

“Excellent–“

“If I recall correctly, there was an easy village job posted for me at the registration office.”

Faye huffed. “Not what I would call resting.”

"Because you're a spoiled brat who needs a butt-kicking."

Faye giggled. However, before she could respond, Elder Yonyue announced the end of the lesson.

“Guess that’s it for today,” Faye said, “will you attend tomorrow’s lecture?”

“No.”

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Faye chirped, bouncing up, down, and around Niva, her hair reminiscent of a yoyo.

“The lesson is over, and you had your fun. Now, depart with haste.” Niva trudged over to the main sect road at her own pace. She supposed that was a benefit of Faye hanging around her; other disciples gave her a wide berth when she needed it. Perhaps they thought getting in their way would prove fatal for them.

“Stop being such a bore.” Faye poked her side.

“If she tells you to leave,” she heard a familiar voice say, “you should listen.”

Tia, being the angel that she was, had come to pick her up from Essence Theory.

“Tia, I love you.”

Faye gasped. “You’re cheating on me!”

"Guilty as charged."

“Couldn’t you have chosen someone other than a nomad?” Faye licked her lips. “Although I'll confess, she looks decent.”

"Still," Faye said, looking Tia's way. "You should be careful of where you stick your nose. Judging from your tattoos, you're from the Rei clan, no?"

You can distinguish nomads based on their tattoos? She looked at Tia to see whether Faye was bluffing somehow, and she immediately had to regain her balance.

Until Faye made her statement, Tia had been standing with her arms crossed, striking the image of a disinterested bodyguard. Now, her eyes had widened, and she looked at Faye as if she was looking at one of the monsters in Niva's dream.

She had never seen her roommate like this.

Faye clapped her hands. “Haha! Guess I was right. There's no need to be alarmed, though. I'm not threatening you. Yet."

Leaving her words to hang in the air, the psycho walked backward, waving, in that way Niva was discovering to be one of her quirks. Hands behind her back, smiling and facing her enemy's way.

“I'm sorry,” Tia said when Faye walked out of earshot, her voice revealing a sense of alarm. “But I won’t help you fight her.”

“Knowing your clan’s name is that important?”

"It’s not just about the name”—Tia shook her head—“nomad groups have two monikers. One is known publicly, and it's rare for other people to even know that one. The other is private and known only to core members of the group. Fighting her carries too high a risk for me."

“Is she from a major clan?” Tia asked.

Looking apologetically at her roommate, Niva raised her shoulders. Faye had only given her first name, and Niva hadn’t asked for her family name, a mistake, in hindsight, so the possibilities were endless.

“You should be careful,” Tia said. “Her connections run deep.”

She turned Faye's way, and her eyes fell on the girl's turquoise-colored hair.

I know a thing or two about depth, Niva thought, her lungs burning, a sense of derision welling up in her body.

Niva stood in the queue of disciples in front of the administration office after finishing her training session with Tia, and pain dominated her thoughts. The previous spars were rough too, but today she received a beatdown like never before.

Even though she told her roommate of her physical state, Tia showed no mercy, saying something along the lines of: "A Spirit Beast won't go easy on you because you're tired," while she whacked Niva on the head with that wooden longsword of hers.

“Ex-excuse me,” she suddenly heard someone say behind her in a high-pitched voice.

After turning around and looking down quite a bit, she met the eyes of a female disciple who she could describe in one word. Cute. She had a round face, and her large eyes gave her the appeal of a child.

“Yes?” she asked, admiring the shorter girl's round face and large eyes that gave her the appeal of a child.

The disciple moved her gaze downward and tapped her index fingers together, not saying anything even after a few seconds passed.

Niva raised her eyebrows. Did she hear wrong?

“Maya–”

A taller but still shorter than her male disciple placed both hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking them a little.

It didn't help since the girl started to sob, running out of the office with her hands covering her face.

A deep sigh left the boy as he made a half-bow, and he said, "I apologize for inconveniencing you," before chasing after the girl.

When he too left the building, she turned toward the disciple who took the sibling's spot in the queue behind her, pointing a finger at her face and tilting her head. "Did I do something wrong?"

She hadn't paid attention; however, she recognized the boy behind her. It was the mountain she'd seen on her first day.

"Not that I can tell," the mountain spoke after his eyes left the entrance to the office and looked her way. His voice sounded exactly like she expected, low and nearly rumbling.

“I know this is sudden,” Niva said, moving a little further down the queue. ”But out of curiosity, you don’t take ET and PC, do you?”

Someone like him was hard to miss, yet this was only the second time she saw him.

The mountain shook his head, and she swore a stack of paperwork on a nearby table moved. "Since I’m only interested in being a crafter, I take the appropriate lessons. Currently, I’m taking Introduction to Blacksmithing and Foundations of Enchantment.”

“Oh? You’re the first auxiliary artist I’ve met,”–except for Tia, she added mentally, who, Niva found out, was a charm crafter–“may I ask your name?”

“Darius Hossu,” Darius said, extending his hand.

“Niva Asturias.”

She felt like a baby when her hand disappeared into his. Unexpectedly— she thought it would hurt—he executed his handshake with a lot of consideration, showing he was keenly aware of his superior physique.

“What do you produce?”

“Mostly weapons. However, I also create many cultivations tools, some with the help of other crafters.”

This was perfect. Since the sect only have students a single weapon for free, knowing artisans was a boon. They usually sold things for lower prices.

Although she wanted to know more, the last person in front of her walked away from Elder Bert.

"Quick, where would I find you if I need something done?" Niva asked, already halfway to the counter.

“Immediately after you exit the sect gates, take a left and search for the first set of hills. There will be a hut there.”

“Thanks!”

Curious location to live, early on, she thought before giving her full attention to Elder Bert, who she saw for the third time this week.

Opening her mouth to flatter the bird –who knows, it could lead to more points––Elder Bert interrupted her. "Be quick about it. I don't have all day."

"There's a job request for me from Ms. Gia, I think."

The crow nodded. He practically teleported, so fast was he going. After he came back and handed her the proof of her acceptance, he shooed her away, waving Darius over.

Rude, she thought, making her way over to the old lady’s home.

The elderly woman poured some sweet-scented tea into Niva's cup.

"You cultivators are always so busy," Ms. Gia said. "For a good reason, of course"–she added hurriedly–“but you mustn’t forget to relax.”

“I tell my son that all the time,” Ms. Gia said, “Yet, he keeps going out on these trips–”

She tuned out the grandma and gave an affirmative grunt here and there. Although she said she would hold her company, that didn't mean she would listen to her.

This tea is pretty good, though. I wonder what the ingredients are.

“…one of my friends. I hope you don’t mind?”

“Excuse me?” Niva asked.

“Oh, speak of a corrupted beast. There she is.”

An unassuming old lady entered through the front yard gate. She walked over with a hunched posture, holding a basket covered with a white cloth in one hand and a water pipe in the other.

As the woman came closer, however, Niva noticed something was off. Like a wave, an aura washed over her that caused her soul to vibrate, and she felt her tiredness disappear.

Even though Niva couldn’t sense a cultivator’s realm, or if they even were a cultivator at all, she didn’t think this was the result of cultivation. Yet, she couldn’t quite describe what she thought it was.

She watched the lady ascend the steps to Ms. Gia’s abode, the aura becoming more and more tangible the closer she got.

Walking over to the entrance of the living room, their hostess hugged the newcomer. “Lyba, dear, I’m so glad you could make it. How are you?”

“It could always be better, but, I suppose, I’m doing alright."–The unknown woman spun her black eyes on Niva's briefly, which resulted in a shiver going through her–”I thought I’d be your only guest, though.”

Ms. Gia quickly shuffled over to one of the closets in the living room and took out a spare cushion for her friend. “Hehe,” Ms. Gia chuckled, “Surprised? I can still make a friend when I try.”

“Friend? She looks like a reluctant disciple to me.”

“Absurd! Niva has been nothing but attentive during her stay here.”

That made her feel bad. Had her grunting been that convincing?

“Ah, by the way, I posted a request specifically for her. Is that allowed?”

Niva tilted her head. Why is she asking for affirmation from Ms. Lyba?

“The sect doesn’t forbid requesting jobs from particular disciples. So, it’s not a problem. It’s not encouraged, however.” The older woman placed her basket on the table before she accepted the cushion.

“Well, I’ll just continue doing it.” Ms. Gia raised her chin. ”They can't stop me anyway."

“More like they won’t stop you, but the result is the same.”

“Niva, was it?” Ms. Lyba asked after she placed her cushion down.

“Yes, Ms. Lyba,” Niva replied, trying to convey as much respect in her voice as possible.

The woman was making her instincts go haywire, and she became aware of the most minute sensations, such as the rugged surface of the rice straw mat she was sitting on.

“Quite the peculiar first name,” Ms. Lyba said. “I don’t believe I have heard it before.”

“Now that you mention it,”–Ms. Gia cupped her face–“ I don’t believe I’ve heard it before either.”

“What does it mean?” Ms. Gia asked.

“According to my mother, it stands for expression.”

"How beautiful," Ms. Gia said

"Agreed. Now," Ms. Lyba said. "I have another question if you don't mind."

Niva made a half-bow.

Taking a tug of her water pipe, the elderly woman asked: “You’re not extorting my friend’s goodwill, are you?”

The madam’s face wreathed in smiles. Furthermore, her tone suggested that the nature of the question was humorous. However, the continuous shiver that ran through Niva grew into a full-blown chill. She wasn’t sure what would happen if she gave an answer the woman didn’t like.

"I wouldn't dare, Ms. Lyba," she squeaked.

Ms. Gia gave her friend a love tap. “You cultivators and your aggressiveness. Stop scaring the girl! As I said before, she only came because I asked.”

“I apologize,” Ms. Lyba said, her tone sounding anything but apologetic. ”Your son was right, though. People like you are too kind for your own good.“

"So it was him! That boy and always saying unnecessary things." Ms. Gia pursed her lips.

“Don’t be mad at him; he just wants to keep you safe. By the way, I brought your favorite cookies.”

“Oh,” the lady of the house clapped, her mood as fluid as a flowing river, "wait. I’ll grab some plates.”

She made her way to the kitchen, which left Niva with the pipe-smoking older woman, and silence reigned in the space between them.

Despite Niva's uncomfortableness around the woman, or maybe even because it, she asked about something that bewildered her.

"Ms. Lyba, sorry if I'm bothering you. But how exactly are you doing this?" Niva stammered. She wove her hands around her in a motion that encompassed the general atmosphere.

“Doing what?”

“This thing with your aura.”

The chain of smoke leaving the lady’s lips stopped as she froze momentarily, and she lowered her pipe, giving Niva her full attention. “Elaborate.”

…?

Her expression must’ve shown her confusion, for Ms. Lyba asked: “Why do you think I’m doing something with my aura?”

“I–I don’t know? I noticed something was off when you came close, that is all. I only thought it was weird because it didn’t feel like the pressure cultivators usually emit.”

“What does it feel like, then?” Ms. Lyba readjusted in her seat.

She had struggled with placing a finger on what exactly she felt from the older lady. However, an epiphany hit her.

“It reminds me of…of how wind causes a tree to sway. Yes, that’s it. Even though the wind is not trying to make the tree move, it moves. It's something natural."

After Ms. Lyba placed her pipe on the table, she studied her intently.

The tension in the atmosphere doubled, which made Niva remember something her father told her long ago.

“Certain cultivators possess techniques they want to keep a secret,” her father said during one of their lessons as he chewed on a stalk of grass. ”Some of them are even willing to kill for it if that is what it requires.”

Father, forgive me, I forgot what you taught me, she thought as she broke eye contact and stared at her knees, her heart beating out of her chest.

“Lyba!” Ms. Gia yelled when she reentered the living room. “I told you to stop scaring her. So, why are you just staring at her like that?”

"Don't worry," Ms. Lyba said, her eyes not leaving Niva for a second. "She has transformed my negative take on her into a positive one is all."

The woman picked up her pipe that was as brown as her skin and took a deep tug. "Give me your hand, child."

Niva turned towards Ms. Gia, trying to signal her in some way shape, or form, but the hostess didn't notice.

“Oh”–Ms. Gia’s voice rose an octave–“are you going to read her palm? How exciting!”

“Pardon me, but I promised my roommate I’d be back soon."

She needed to hurry out of here.

“So soon?” Ms. Gia exclaimed immediately. "You didn't even eat any cookies yet."

“I’m truly sorry–”

A loud sound made her startle mid-sentence.

She rotated towards the front door, and a sense of dread filled her after she saw it had fallen shut. That, combined with the aforementioned chill made her body ignore her mental commands. Thus, she spent a great amount of effort getting her head to turn back toward the likely culprit.

Ms. Lyba stood next to the hostess, whose eyes were closed, and slowly lowered her to the ground.

"How about we talk? Just you and me.”

Niva gulped.