I felt my heartbeat rise for a moment, and I forced it to settle down. I’d think over Liuxiang later, I needed to deal with Yan Yun first. My gaze traveled back to the prodigious girl, who’d pulled herself to her feet. Her Qi had flared, as I could see warmth wafting off her body as steam rose from her, evaporating the water.

Yan Yun’s gaze remained fixed onto Sheldon, the little turtle staring back at her as if to dare her to try and flare her aura again.

I widened my eyes in surprise as Yan Yun bowed her head in respect.

“My apologies, great spirit,” Yan Yun spoke, as Sheldon chirped once more, before burrowing in my arms.

I had always known that Sheldon was strong, yet strong enough to make Yan Yun bow in respect? Perhaps I’d underestimated my little turtle.

“It seems you are quite the fortunate one Lu Jie,” Yan Yun spoke, her voice a notch more calm now. There was still a hidden anger buried within, but the edge was lost. The water had calmed her down visibly.

I stared at her silently, before nodding. “Sorry about Sheldon. I’m not sure why he splashed you like that,” I replied, flaring my own Qi as I began to evaporate the water from my clothes. Generating Qi was a delicate balance as it was just as easy to burn my clothes as it was to warm them. It took me a minute and a bit, even after my months of practice with alchemy to finally dry myself off. Something Yan Yun had done within moments.

“Shi Do? An odd name. Regardless, even if hidden, it was foolish of me to miss the vast presence of the spirit. A shameful display for which I apologize.”

“Leiyu wouldn’t blame Yan Yun. She is disturbed.”

Yan Yun waved her spirit's words away, though I could tell from the way her lips rose a fraction that the thought was appreciated.

“Matters not. I have things to discuss with you Lu Jie. In regards to your trade with Su Lin and—” Yan Yun paused her eyes wandering for a moment as if to scan the surroundings. “In regards to Li and Lei. The twins you sparred with before becoming an alchemist.”

I stared at Yan Yun. Anger and despair rose in my chest and after a long while, I began to feel closer to Lu Jie’s spirit. I breathed out, reining the anger back in, and nodded.

“Alright,” I said, turning towards Liuxiang for a moment. “I have a few things I need to discuss as well.”

The four of us headed further into the grove, Yan Yun and Liuxiang forming a perimeter to keep eyes off, in case someone arrived here.

Taking a breath, I prepared for what I expected, and dreaded, would be a long and awkward talk.

***

I stood staring at Yan Yun, who continued to stare back at me. I had somewhat expected a conversation like this to happen when Yan Yun had found out what the actual deal was. She was the daughter of an Elder in the sect.

But, I had also been expecting this to happen a fair while back, and when it hadn’t, I’d eventually lost track of the thought, too occupied with other details.

“I would like you to explain yourself, about the trade, and the theft the two of you participate in. Bound as I am by my oath, and even though this is ultimately a minor offense, it would do my name shame if I were to let it go without any actions,” Yan Yun said, her voice stiff and cold.

“And, even if misguided, I had kept an eye out on the two of you. And I’d like to believe I am not so poor a judge of character,” she added with a quiet sigh.

I turned to look at Su Lin, who stood silently, his brows wrinkled in a frown. I turned back to Yan Yun. I didn’t believe there was a point in trying to spin half truths at this point.

“I am learning Alchemy. It is the Path I have discovered, the Path I wish to take. But as a third realm disciple, who’s already twenty, the sect would spare no resources over me until I proved myself by breaking through. Which, as you can see I haven’t,” a bitter smile flashed across my face, some of Lu Jin’s feelings mixing in with my own.

“You could’ve joined the alchemy halls. The stature of a devoted alchemist may not be equal to that of a cultivator, but an alchemist of the Cloudy Peaks sect would be treated well, even outside the city,” Yan Yun replied, her gaze still calmly fixed on me.

“Join the halls and continue to produce the same old pills day in and day out, as I crawl ahead, hoping to catch someone’s eye so that I may be granted a better pill making method, or some favour and what not?” I asked, raising my eyebrows, there was a heat to my voice that I hadn’t intended to add. I continued regardless.

“No, I’d rather not. My Path is not that. It is to explore the mysteries of the world and see them for myself. Alchemy is just one method of doing that, a more suitable one to me than the martial Path.”

“What about you then… Su Lin. Why do you steal spirit herbs from the sect? Your crimes are heavier than his, so do give your words some thought,” Yan Yun spoke, turning her eyes towards Su Lin.

I was about to interject when Su Lin grabbed my shoulders, stopping me. “Because I owe the sect nothing. Because the Path I'd been shown wasn’t one for a lowly peasant like me. Talented, they’d called me, as they took me up from ma home and brought me here fed on dreams. I didn’t mind, I was willing to work hard. But the heavens didn’t shine so brightly upon my head, and I had to scrape by to push through,” Su Lin spoke, quietly.

“That is, until they took brother Zhan from us,” I could sense a slight tremble in his voice. “He stood up for us. He didn’t abandon us, when everyone had. Brother Zhan had been a genius, he’d advanced just as fast as half the kids from those lords, with little resources. Until one day he decided to help us, and let the son of some noble get injured. And his fate was cut short, as his cultivation was crippled,” Su Lin replied.

I felt an odd emotion fill my chest. It wasn’t fury, that tugged at me in his voice. It was the apathy, the crippling crushing defeat, that hung heavy on each word he spoke.

“No one stopped them. No one said a word. The guy who’d crippled him got a light punishment, a slap on the wrist, before he was let go. We were abandoned, and I have no love for the sect that threw us aside like trash.”

I stood in silence, my chest tight. My gaze turned towards Yan Yun who was silently listening. Her spirit had manifested on her shoulders, crackling with thunder as his serene gaze was fixed sharp on Su Lin.

“Very well. I have decided on your punishment,” Yan Yun spoke, and I sighed, turning a side glance at Liuxiang with a small measure of embarrassment. This wasn’t the end of the world for me, although I would definitely miss the library.

“The two of you will participate in the upcoming tournament, in the hunt for the spirit herbs and treasures, after I’ve trained the both of you. It doesn’t require fighting, and will rely more on knowledge than martial strength. As such, I need you to beat Lei and Li. In return, I will make sure the two of you get a supply of spirit herbs, without having to resort to this.”

My head snapped up as I stared blankly at Yan Yun. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Su Lin doing the same. The offer was… generous. Too generous. It was a gift, instead of a punishment.

“Why?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Because I am a fool. Because my blood seethes when I see the strong prey on the weak. Because I’ve seen the arrogance of the sons of these lords, and wish to crush it beneath my feet. And because I am gambling my future,” Yan Yun spoke as a pulse of Qi spread all over me. Lightning thundered all around as she nodded, as if finally resolving a conflict within herself.

“I have lived far too long under the shadow of my grandfather. I’d hoped he’d see my wishes, and I’d hoped he would understand my desires, if I did well enough. No more. I’ve seen enough, and I’ve waited enough. I will not let him dictate my future for me, and in that, I need the two of you to help me,” Yan Yun said, as she turned her head towards me.

“Lu Jie, from what I understand, you are good at coaxing spirit animals with your Qi?” Yan Yun asked, and I thought about it for a moment before giving a light nod. I hadn’t tested it properly, but from what Labby told me, my Qi was something of a drug in its own right, tinged with the smell of spirit herbs.

“Master’s Qi is delicious,” Labby said to me, and I smiled.

“Good, and your spirit can smell spirit herbs. There are only a few critters more capable of sniffing out spirit herbs than spirit rats. It is unfortunate that they are utterly useless as spirit animals, almost never breaking through into the first realm,” Yan Yun said with a smile, and I nodded, starting to see her point.

“We’ll prepare soon, I will let the both of you know about the details. And Lu Jie, by the end of this month. I’ll be seeing to it that you’re at the cusp of breaking through into the second circle. The tournament allows disciples to continue to participate, if their breakthroughs happen within the tournament itself,” Yan Yun said, and a shudder went through my chest.

Memories from Lu Jie’s experiences, his struggle, briefly tugged at my mind and I bowed silently in gratitude.

“This one must congratulate Senior,” Liuxiang said. “This one will look forward to meeting Senior amidst the tournament itself.”

I stared at Liuxiang for a moment, before smiling as I nodded. There was an awkward moment of silence where I looked at him, confused, before I decided I wasn’t the type to jump around the topic and went in for the dive.

“Umm, about your- uhh. I meant-” Damn, this was harder than it looked.

“It’s the Yi blood,” Liuxiang said.

I stared at him confused and he opened his mouth. Two fangs peeked from the inside, and I noticed the odd shape of the throat. That wasn’t a human’s mouth. I noticed his sleeves were pulled back, as I noticed light scale-like patterns on his skin.

“The Yi clan are descendants of an ancient Serpent. We inherit these physical traits, alongside the poison Qi. It mellows our… other traits. The difference between men and women isn’t as obvious,” Liuxiang looked at me with unblinking eyes, and I began to notice, his pupils were slightly oval, like expanded vertical slits.

“Alongside that, the clan members, when advancing often… shed. It is a process of both physique and spirit. And often, our identities can cross between a man’s and woman’s. This one was born as a woman, but during cultivation, this one's Qi turned towards the Yang aspect. This one is still a woman in physique, but senior senses the Yang in this one’s Qi. As things are currently, this one inhabits the Yang Qi,” Liuxiang said, and I saw him staring at me keenly.

“Huh, that… is intriguing,” I spoke out loud and found Liuxiang staring at me blankly for a moment, before a light smile broke out on his face. I couldn’t help but notice the way his face was slightly different from a human’s in its musculature and my imagination began to run wild.

How did Qi switch between yin and yang? What was the process like? How did a snake have… human children? Spirit animals weren’t completely physical and could take on human form, but to have children… likely something only a very high realm spirit could do.

Should I refer to Liuxiang as she now? Born as a woman but cultivation can turn towards Yang was a bit too confusing. To all my senses, he felt like a guy, his Qi aspect itself was Yang. But apparently, the same didn't go for his body. I turned to look at Liuxiang.

"Umm, so, should I refer to you as a girl now?" I asked, staring blankly.

"Senior can refer to this one as Senior has so far. The Qi reflects this one's spirit after all," Liuxiang spoke and I nodded.

“We should head to the town, before it’s too late,” Su Lin said.

“Where are you heading?” Yan Yun asked, curiously, and I noticed the two of them had been listening in on our conversation as well.

I stopped for a moment, before speaking up. “To Su Lin’s brother. I think I can cure his crippling partially.”

I saw Yan Yun stare at me blankly, as if to say ‘are you serious?’ although the expression faded soon.

“If you don’t mind, I wish to come and see the person in question,” she said, and then in a quieter voice, added. “And… I haven’t… gone out with… disciples my age before.”

I paused, unsure of how to reply to the words, before smiling cheerly. “Sure, it’d be good to have some insight from someone more knowledgeable about cultivation as well,” I said and noticed Yan Yun’s lips curve upwards in a slight smile. I guess you didn’t have many friends around you if you were a genius prodigy.

“Ya catch the eye as it is, are we really gonna grab all these spirits and go out? The whole city would know about it before we’re out of the sect,” Su Lin said, and I paused.

My eyes looked around, at the eye catching serpent-like girl-boy next to me, to the quite literally definition of Jade Beauty prodigy, a lightning rat, a big scary spider, a thunder bird and an overpowered turtle in my hands.

“Fair,” I said. “Time for some disguises?” I said.

“Leiyu needs no coddling.”

“Labby will behave!”

“Zhi Zhu thinks it wise.”

“Chirp!”

The responses came, one after the other as the spirits returned to their owners. I looked at Sheldon who squeaked quietly. Well, I guess he was small enough to stay in my pouch.

I turned my attention towards Yan Yun, who’d suddenly shifted into plain clothes, and looked a lot more approachable, though still quite beautiful.

My eyes shifted to Liuxiang, whose cheeks now had a pink touch to them, making them not as pale and inhumanly white, and I noticed him holding a piece of cloth with some red powder on it.

“This one likes to be prepared,” he replied, and I nodded.

“Time to move out then.”