Jia didn’t need to be told twice to dig into the mouth watering dishes on offer. Most everyone else shared a bit of small talk as they ate, but Jia was mostly focused on the food—maintaining only enough attention to conversation to avoid being rude to anyone.

Based on Yue’s preferences, she’d expected Qin cuisine to be on the bland side, but if anything it had even more variety than Goryeon or Yamato food, perhaps owing to the large size of the country. It had dishes ranging from simple but comforting to a few that were so spicy they had Eui excitedly taking notes.

Judging from the way Yue was selectively nibbling on only a few choices from the former category, Jia was starting to realize that her friend was just a uniquely picky eater. That suited Jia just fine—more for her.

“Pardon me, Miss Lee Jia.”

Lin Xiulan had circled the table to stand next to her, and the interruption was precisely timed so that Jia could respond immediately without worrying about a mouthful of food.

“Yes Miss—uh, mistress—elder? Sorry, I don’t actually know how to address you.”

Yue buried her face in a palm and grimaced, but Lin Xiulan just chuckled.

“Just my name is fine, dear—but be sure to use the title of ‘elder’ with the men. Their fragile egos couldn’t handle a cute young girl like you speaking to them casually.”

“R-right...”

Jia looked askance at the men in question, but Xin Hai was too busy guffawing over something, and Guan Yu betrayed no reaction at all—just like his son.

“So what can I help you with, Miss Lin Xiulan?”

Xiulan smiled and shook her head.

“Actually, it’s me who’d like to help you. I can’t help but notice one of our guests is unable to participate in the festivities—may I have your permission to take a look at Lee Jung?”

That managed to catch someone’s attention, at least. Xin Wei sat up straight and frowned at his mother.

“Mother, that’s not necessary. I’m sure I’ll be sufficient to take care of any mortal malady.”

Xiulan narrowed her eyes at her son, her smile turning cold—literally, as Jia felt a shiver run down her back as the air around Xiulan cooled slightly.

“Then why haven’t you, Wei’er?”

He blushed.

“W-well, we had other priorities between returning to the sect and getting everything arranged for our guests—I just hadn’t gotten around to it!”

“Well, now it’s too late. I’m here, and I think you’ll agree that our guests deserve the best—unless you think you’ve surpassed me?”

“O-of course not...”

Xin returned his attention to his food, grumbling quietly to himself as his mother returned her attention to Jia.

“Now then, may I?”

Jia nodded excitedly—that was half the reason she’d come here in the first place!

“Of course!”

She stood and joined Xiulan in walking around the table to where her sisters sat at the foot of the table. Narae was happily munching on anything she could get her hands on, letting the adults handle all the talking while she got her pick of the best dishes. She looked up at Jia and Xiulan with wide eyes, swallowing hard as her ears drooped guiltily.

“Uh...did I do something wrong?”

Xiulan shook her head and laughed.

“Not at all, dear. I’d like to take a look at your mother’s condition.”

Narae visibly relaxed.

“Okay!”

Without a second thought, she returned to stuffing her face, and Jia had to suppress a giggle at her careless innocence.

Lin Xiulan knelt down next to Jung’s litter and took one of Jung’s hands in hers.

“I’ve been apprised of some of the details—corruption sickness, yes?”

Jia nodded slowly.

“That’s what Luo Mingyu said, and his elixir did what he said it would, so I trust his diagnosis.”

“Hmm...”

Xiulan turned to Luo Mingyu, who’d been trying to keep his head down as much as possible since they arrived.

“You there, Sir Alchemist—explain the reasoning for your diagnosis and describe the steps you’ve taken to treat it.”

Luo Mingyu practically kowtowed.

“Yes, Mistress. Lee Jung exhibits a rare physique of pure Yin. Owing either to a lucky quirk of her birth, or her half-spirit ancestry, she was able to survive that condition through childhood. However, the imbalance inevitably formed a heart of corruption within her soul, dramatically accelerating the mortal collapse of her bodily functions.”

“Hmm, a remarkably orthodox conclusion for a self-taught physician. Pretend for a moment that you haven’t spent twenty years having Qiao Quan’s outdated theories crammed down your throat and try again, please.”

Jia felt a prickle in her neck at the mention of the late Grandmaster of the Gaze of the Everwatching Mists—they knew. Luo’s face went ashen, but he cleared his throat and continued anyway, his voice cracking slightly.

“W-well, the fact of her Yin affinity is empirically verifiable, as is her Yin-aligned soul. As is the existence of a heart of corruption within her soul, which feeds on and corrupts that qi and slowly eats away at her body. Er, that said, I don’t have any conclusive evidence that one necessarily leads to the other—beyond traditional consensus.”

Lin Xiulan tilted her head, her bored expression radiating disappointment.

“If you had to guess...?”

Luo Mingyu swallowed nervously—even Jia could tell he was being tested.

“It is...possible, in theory, that a heart of corruption is actually something like a prototypical demonic core. Essence too weak to form a true core, but nevertheless too unstable to flow naturally within the soul. In which case the most likely reason for its prevalence among Yin cultivators would be the way they are treated, rather than some intrinsic fact of their existence.”

“Mm. Better—and your treatment?”

At this, Luo Mingyu straightened up a bit. His treatment had worked, after all—and he had absolute confidence in his skills as an alchemist.

“Correct the imbalance—to the best that could be accomplished within a mortal host. A powerful Yang qi, slowly released at a precisely measured rate and distributed evenly throughout the meridians from as close to the dantian as possible. Administered as a pill which is to be ingested orally. My finest work!”

Xiulan stroked the back of Jung’s hand gently, furrowing her brows.

“It’s technically impressive, I’ll give you that. You needed to buy her time, and you had limited options given the time constraints and resources at your disposal. What are the complications?”

Again, Jia got the distinct impression that Xiulan already knew the answer. Why she was testing Luo Mingyu like this was beyond her, but the alchemist was sweating under the pressure.

“It’s highly taxing on the body, causing near-permanent exhaustion while the treatment lasts. She can only remain awake for an hour or so at most, if she pushes herself. It’s also not repeatable—once the elixir wears off, she will surely die as the corruption overtakes her.”

“And what of the opposite?”

“Eh? I—I don’t understand the question.”

Lin Xiulan sighed.

“If the Yang qi is removed, she dies. But what about the opposite? If the heart of Yin corruption is removed?”

Luo Mingyu’s eyes widened and he smacked himself in the forehead before bowing his head.

“Then the Yang qi will overwhelm her, flushing out every scrap of natural Yin qi within her body and soul...which is all of it.”

Xiulan nodded.

“In other words, death. Yes. Your elixir bought Lee Jung time, but it also ensured her doom. What have you to say for yourself?”

Luo Mingyu fell into a full kowtow.

“I take full responsibility for my carelessness! I will give whatever it takes to correct this—including my life!”

Jia blinked in surprise. It was disappointing, but she’d already expected that Luo Mingyu’s elixir would create complications—she wasn’t ready to give up yet, even if Xiulan told her it was impossible, and she didn’t blame him one bit. She was the one who’d forced his hand in the first place.

Lin Xiulan just laughed.

“Not bad! Very well, I accept.”

Luo Mingyu froze, looking up at Xiulan in shock.

“P-pardon?”

“Your life—I accept. You’ve got reasonable potential, and you’re not entirely poisoned by the sects, yet. I’ll take you as a disciple.”

“Eh? B-but that’s—a woman...”

Xiulan scowled, leaning down to invade Luo Mingyu’s personal space.

“I said take, not request. Now go sit down, disciple—we’ll talk later.”

Luo Mingyu slinked away to return to his seat as Lin Xiulan sat back down next to Jung and smiled at Jia as if nothing had happened.

“Now then, let’s see what I can do about this, shall we?”

Jia nodded slowly.

“Uh...right. Is she going to be okay? That didn’t sound like a very good prognosis...”

Xiulan sighed.

“It’s going to complicate things, but Lee Jung is far from the first young woman I’ve met who was forced to bury her feelings until they began to literally eat her from within.”

Jia’s heart ached at the implications behind Xiulan’s words, but set them aside for now.

“So you can help her?”

“Not right away—I’ll need to take things slow. But when I said I was the best, I didn’t mean the best available. I will heal your sister, you have my word as the Grandmistress of the Cult of Harmonious Stars. But for now...”

Xiulan leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on Jung’s forehead, causing her to jolt awake.

“Oh! U-um, hello?”

Jung looked around at the gathering, acutely aware of the fact that she was the only mortal at the table, and bowed.

“Pleased to meet you all—I am Lee Jung. Please take good care of my little sister.”

Xiulan returned the bow and smiled.

“Of course, dear. Please, take your time and enjoy the feast—what I’ve given you should last the evening. I look forward to speaking again soon.”

She stood and returned to her seat while the rest of the table politely pretended not to have been watching the entire ordeal. Jia hugged her sister, who was still trying to get her bearings.

“Oh, hello sweetheart. What’s going on?”

“That was Lin Xiulan, the Grandmistress of her own sect—or, cult? I’m not really sure what that’s about yet, but she’s promised to heal you.”

“That’s nice, but I’m feeling a little out of place here...”

Jia chuckled and squeezed a bit tighter before releasing her sister.

“You just stick with Narae and enjoy the party, alright? We’re safe here.”

Jung nodded.

“I think I will. I admit, it’s been more than a little frustrating going through life as a series of brief flashes of lucidity. I’m looking forward to having a bit more time.”

“Me too. Hopefully you’ll have even more soon.”

“Indeed. Well, I’m sure you have more important things to do than coddle me, honey. You go do your ambassador stuff. Narae and I will be just fine, right dear?”

Narae nodded eagerly, her cheeks bulging as she responded through a mouthful of food.

“Mhm!”

Jia ruffled her little sister’s hair and returned to her seat, where Xin Hai greeted her with a wide smile.

“Haha! Welcome back, Ambassador! I trust you’re satisfied that your sister is in good hands with Xiulan?”

“More than, yes. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome! I’ve heard a lot about you, you know—An Eui as well. It’s good to finally meet you in person! Don’t hold it against my wife for poaching your servant, either—she can be a real viper like that.”

Xiulan smacked him playfully in the shoulder, but didn’t say anything in her defense. Jia smiled awkwardly.

“Eh, Luo Mingyu isn’t a servant so much as...a refugee, maybe? But I think you already know all about that.”

Xin Hai chuckled, but his exuberance died off a little bit as Jia’s words drew the attention of everyone near the head of the table. Guan Yu wiped his mouth with a cloth before neatly folding it in front of him, turning his attention to Jia and speaking for the first time all night.

“Yes, I believe we’ve exchanged enough pleasantries. It’s time we spoke about more important matters—beginning with your conduct within the empire so far.”