Wu Jian was unable to give Wu Meiying an answer right away. He stayed up all night after she visited him and was still no close to knowing what he wanted. He was so distracted, letting the conversation replay over and over again in his head, that he couldn’t even properly medidate. The sun came up at some point during his time thinking. After glancing out the window to see that another day was here, Wu Jian sighed.

“Muuuuuaaaaaaa…”

A loud yawn echoed from his shadow as a black panther emerged. Youmei had been sleeping for a long time now. He wondered if that was normal, or if she was perhaps growing again. She seemed to do that periodically. The giant panther turned to him.

“Good morning, Mas… sniff sniff.”

“Youmei? What’s up?” Wu jian asked when Youmei paused to begin sniffing the air.

“Youmei smells Big Sister! Big Sister was here!”

“Big… ah. Do you mean Wu Meiying?” Youmei called Hou Jingshu ‘big sister’ too, so it took him a moment.

“Yeah! Big Sis Mei! She was here! Why didn’t you tell Youmei Big Sis was here?” Youmei bounded over to him and him flat onto the bed.

“Because you were asleep,” he said.

“Youmei would have woken up for this!”

“Well… you can see her next time,” Wu Jian said with a sigh.

“Hmmm? Is something wrong, Master?”

“No…”

Wu jian pushed Youmei off him and got ready. He wiped himself down, got dressed, and left the bedroom with Youmei in tow.

“Oh?”

He almost bumped into Hua Xue after he opened the door and walked out. The woman stared at him with a soft frown.

“Apologies,” he murmured.

Hua Xue waved him off. “There is no need. You’ve done nothing to warrant apologizing. Are you okay? You seem distracted?”

“Is it that obvious?” asked Wu Jian.

“It is to me,” Hua Xue said with a shrug.

“I just have a lot on my mind,” he confessed.

“Is that so?”

Wu Jian recognized an invitation to talk when he saw one, but he couldn’t tell anyone about his conversation with Wu Meiying last night. That would involve revealing more than he was comfortable with. He reached up and touched the mask on his face. It was a reminder of why he couldn’t say anything. However…

If I decide to accept Mei’s offer, she’ll sever the bond between us. Would it be a problem for me to talk about it then?

Wu Jian didn’t know, but supposing she did sever their connection, he probably wouldn’t need to talk about this to anyone. The problems he was having now would no longer be problems. He could forget about them and live as he wanted. That begged another question, however. What did he want? Wu Jian had been going through life with a singular purpose for so long, and if he severed his connection with Wu Meiying, at least half of that purpose would be gone. And what about his dead family? Regardless of whether he remained connected to Wu Meiying, the people after her had slaughtered his family. Could he just let that go? Could he live normally knowing his family’s killers were still alive?

Hua Xue sighed softly at him, but she didn’t say anything else. They went into the hotel’s mess hall together. Mei Xilan and Yu Chenguang were already present, sitting at a table meant for several people. Their entrance attracted a lot of attention. Wu Jian noticed that people weren’t staring at him but his panther companion. Well, Youmei was quite large for a cat.

“Good morning,” Yu Chenguang said to them.

“Good morning,” Hua Xue greeted as she gracefully sat down.

Wu Jian plopped bonelessly in his seat. Mei Xilan glanced at him briefly before she went back to eating. He was glad she didn’t ask him any questions, for he wouldn’t be able to answer them.

The breakfasts served in this hotel was different every day. Yesterday they had been served meat buns, but it was wheat noodles today. They were a popular dish that was prepared by frying boiled noodles, dyingf them, and scalding them quickly before adding spicy condiments. The ones he was served were topped with scallions, chili flakes, and minced duck. He was grateful for the extra kick this meal had. Wu jian needed something to kick him into gear.

Breakfast ended and the group traveled to the arena, though it was harder to get through the crowd because Youmei was present. They ended up flying over everyone, which caused quite the stir down below as people pointed at the giant cat floating above them. Most people never saw a magical beast since only the wealthy and powerful would keep one as a pet.

They had to split up after reaching the arena. Youmei wanted to remain with Wu Jian, but she was not a competitor. The panther threw a fit in the middle of the arena entrance.

“Youmei wants to go with Master! Youmei wants to be with Master!”

“Are you really going to cause a scene here?”

“Urk!”

Wu Jian didn’t know if that noise had come from him or Youmei, but they both shuddered as Hua Xue smiled down at the panther who, until just then, had been rolling around on the floor like a child throwing a tantrum. The woman looked… evil. Ominous shadows created harsh angles on her otherwise beautiful face. She was smiling, but there was something off about it. Wu Jian felt like she might start stabbing him with ice stakes at any moment even though he wasn’t the recipient of her look. Was it just him, or was her hair waving about like poisonous serpents? He had to be hallucinating, right?

“Y-Youmei will be good,” Youmei muttered.

“Good,” Hua Xue said. Her smile vanished and her normal inexpressive demeanor returned. It was almost a relief to see.

“We’ll part ways with you here,” Yu Chenguang said to Wu Jian and Mei Xilan. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” they both said.

Hua Xue, Yu Chenguang, and Youmei vanished into the crowd. Wu Jian and Mei Xilan traveled up to the competitors booth, where they were met by the scrutinizing eyes of all the other competitors. Xaio Shui’s glare was particularly potent. Wu Jian didn’t know what they had done to earn such a glare, but it definitely had something to do with Mei Xilan. The way she clenched her hands and tried not to stare at the man was telling.

It wasn’t long before Huǒ Huangdi and the other Sect Masters appeared. Wu Jian frowned at Zhou Xie’e, who was not a sect master. The man seemed out of place, and yet he sat there with the strongest people in the Xaio Continent like he belonged there. He had always found that man strange. Now there was another mystery to him.

That said, most of his attention was on Wu Meiying and Huǒ Yulie. The two girls seemed to have hit it off. They stood close together and spoke in soft voices. Huǒ Huangdi glanced at them and scowled, but he could do nothing about it since Zhe Dāozhe was also present. Among all those gathered, the Sect Master of the Celestial Sword Sect was the strongest person with the highest cultivation.

Minutes passed by as more people entered the arena. Wu Jian watched the stands fill up. Maybe it was just him, but it seemed like there were even more people today than there were yesterday, and the arena stands had already been completely filled. Wu Jian didn’t know how much time had passed, but Huǒ Huangdi eventually stood up and addressed the crowd.

“Welcome to the second day of the International Power Ranking Tournament. There will be a total of seventy-eight matches today, and there will be sixty-five matches tomorrow. Matches have been randomly determined in advance. We will talley all the points you earned during these rounds, which will determine which brackets you fight in during the individual tournament,” Huǒ Huangdi explained. “Now, will Team Qin and Team han come onto the stage.”

The battles soon began, and though Wu Jian tried to pay attention, his thoughts were far from focused. He just… couldn’t think about anything else. Last night’s conversation haunted him. What did he want? What would happen if he accepted Wu Meiying’s offer? There was still so much he didn’t know, so perhaps it would be better to hear her out. He wanted an explanation, but would that help him make an informed decision, or would it only serve to muddy his thoughts further?

“Team Qin is going to win this round,” Mei Xilan said.

“Yeah.”

“That’s a country of ship-builders for you. They may not have the best cultivators, but they have way more resources than the Han Dynasty.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you merry me?”

“Yeah… wait. What?”

“I knew it. You’re distracted by something.”

Mei Xilan stared at him with perceptive eyes. Wu Jian looked away.

“I could say the same thing. You’ve been distracted ever since Xaio Shui introduced himself to us yesterday.”

Now it was her turn to look away. “I suppose that is true. I don’t know Xaio Shui all that well, but I know his master. He and I… have something of a history.”

“So that’s what it is,” Wu Jian muttered.

“Are you not going to ask me about it?” asked Mei Xilan.

Wu Jian shrugged. “Do you want me to ask? I won’t pry into your affairs unless you want me to. We all have secrets we want to keep hidden.”

I should know. I’m burdened with one of the biggest secrets ever.

There were a lot of secrets that Wu Jian didn’t want others to know about, including who he was and why he was hiding his face. The fact that Mei Xilan already knew what he looked like behind his mask bothered him. He wouldn’t say he didn’t trust her, but according to Wu Meiying, letting other people see his face was a bad idea. As that thought crossed his mind, he smiled self-deprecatingly.

Even though I'm so conflicted about how I should reply to her, I still follow her advice. Is that a good idea? Should I really be listening to her?

Wu Meiying’s advice had never steered him wrong before. Even when he thought back to his clan’s destruction, her advice had allowed him to survive. He hated that his family was dead. However, he was still alive, and he understood now that he had only survived because of Wu Meiying.

Just like Mei Xilan predicted, Team Qin emerged victorious from this battle. Wu Jian had missed how they won. That probably wasn’t good. While he didn’t think he would lose when they fought, it was better to know more about your enemy. He supposed it was a good thing he had watched their battles yesterday and knew at least a little of how they fought.

The next two countries that went up were the Southern Tang Dynasty and Ten Kingdoms Alliance, or Team Tang and Team Ten. Wu Jian did his best to focus on this match since both the Southern Tang Dynasty and Ten Kingdoms Alliance housed a Celestial Sect within their borders.

Their battle was fierce. The Southern Tang Dynasty’s cultivators had more techniques than anyone else than any other team. Their leader was particularly well-versed in a variety of techniques, though they relied primarily on water, illusions, and swordsmanship. He had seen them fight last time, but the country they fought yesterday hadn’t been able to force Tang Tiantian to use her full strength.

She did so for this match.

While all the cultivators battled it out, the real match was between Tang Tiantian and Da Feiyu. Both were exemplary combatants who understood their own strengths and weaknesses well. Their match was like something out of an epic tale. It was a battle between two Deva Realm cultivators. They seemed evenly matched, and the fight would have likely gone on for some time, but the Southern Tang Dynasty won in the end. The other four cultivators defeated their opponents and surrounded Da Feiyu, who was forced to surrender.

“Will Team Shang and Team Sui now come onto the stage?” asked Huǒ Yan.

Wu Jian glanced at Mei Xilan, who froze in place, lips moving though no sound came out. It was time for them to fight, but he wondered if his companion would be able to.