While most of the crowd was silent, those in the VIP booth were not.

“Didst thou seeth that?! What a magnificent performance! I hath not realized Jian Wu was so strong! He truly stunned me with his superlative strength! I am bedazzled. Nay! I am in awe!”

Huǒ Yulie seemed the most excited, though if someone asked Wu Meiying, she would have said she was the most excited. She couldn’t let her feelings show, however. She needed to look calm if nothing else. Jeeze this sucked. All she wanted to do was cheer her head off alongside Huǒ Yulie. Why did the world have to suck so much?

“Hmph. I suppose he wasn’t bad,” Huǒ Huangdi grunted. He was grimacing as though something disgruntled him. Wu Meiying knew what was bothering him and couldn’t quite repress a smile. Good thing she wore a veil. She was sure the surely head of the Phoenix Clan would not appreciate the expression she wore right now.

“You say he’s not bad, but how many people do you know who can defeat a Deva Realm cultivator while only being at the Human Limit Realm?” Zhe Dāozhe smiled and waved his hand as though to dismiss any answer before it could arrive. He looked back at Wu Jian, who now looked normal again. “Only a handful of extremely talented cultivators can fight against someone a whole realm above them, and of those, I don’t know a single one who could defeat someone so easily.”

“But isn’t that just because Mei Xilan weakened Xaio Shui beforehand?” asked Shui Meili.

Zhe Dāozhe scoffed. “Do you truly think Mei Xilan weakened him that much? That girl is very talented. If you pit her against someone of the same realm, she would win nine out of ten times… but she doesn’t have the kind of talent that can do any real harm to someone an entire realm above them.” He once more looked at Wu Jian. Huǒ Yan had just announced a winner, but no one was cheering, such was their shock. “On the other hand, that boy has real talent. He could become a powerhouse in the future if he receives proper care and attention.”

Wu Meiying pretended not to notice the looks Zhe Dāozhe sent her. She had told him to keep an eye on Wu Jian multiple times now. He thought she had seen something in the future, and she wasn’t going to let him think otherwise. She wasn’t necessarily lying. She was just omitting certain truths. And even if she couldn’t see Wu Jian’s future thanks to the pendant she had given him, it didn’t matter. His destiny was strong. He would shape this world into something unrecognizable before they left.

“Meiying. Meiying.”

Huǒ Yulie grabbed her dress and tugged on it to get her attention. She turned to the young woman with a smile.

“What is it?”

“Dost thou thinketh Jian Wu might be stronger than me?”

“Hmm. That’s hard to say.” Wu Meiying tilted her head. She knew these two would fight before this tournament came to an end, but she could not see it. The future was being obscured by a number of factors, not the least of which was her pendant. “While I don’t know who would win if you two were to battle, I do know he would give you a run for your money as he is right now… and if he gets even stronger than he is now… well… who knows.”

Huǒ Yulie pouted at her, but Wu Meiying merely reached out to ruffle the young woman’s hair.

“Excuse me, but could you not touch my daughter so casually,” a cold voice ruined the moment.

I see he’s finally had enough. I was wondering how long it would take him to lose his composure.

“Oh? My apologies. Is there a problem with me befriending Yulie?” asked Wu Meiying.

Huǒ Huangdi glared at her. “There is. I do not want someone outside of the clan getting friendly with my daughter. I don’t know you, or what motivates you. For all I know, you might be using her to harm my clan. I would appreciate it if you refrained from acting so familiar with her in the future.”

Wu Meiying glanced at Huǒ Yulie, the woman biting her lip in frustration like she wanted to say something but was just barely refraining.

She thought about saying something, but she didn’t have to.

“Oh, come now. Must you be so irascible?” asked Zhe Dāozhe. “What’s the harm in letting these two get along? I’m sure your daughter would love to have some friends, and you couldn’t pick a better friend for her than Meiying. Being with her might serve to broaden your daughter’s horizons.”

Huǒ Huangdi’s face puckered like someone had shoved a lemon into his mouth. There was nothing he could say against Zhe Dāozhe, who not only had more influence than him but also more power. If Huǒ Huangdi was stronger, perhaps he could say something, but all he could do in the face of someone with greater strength was shut his mouth and accept it. That was what it meant to confront the strong.

The tournament continued and Wu Meiying only paid a trickling of attention. She didn’t care about the other fights. None of them were important in any of the futures she had seen. When that day’s rounds came to an end, they all left for their hotel, where they had dinner. Zhe Dāozhe ended up lecturing her a bit during dinner.

“I don’t know what you’ve seen, but do try not to antagonize Huǒ Huangdi if you can,” he said over their meal. “That man might not be stronger than me, but he wields a great amount of power and influence. Getting on his bad side will come with costs I don’t want to think about, especially since we are still recovering.”

“I know. Do not worry. I won’t push my luck,” said Wu Meiying.

“Good. Now, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Wu Meiying enjoyed her meal with Zhe Dāozhe and his son, though she wished Zhe Fēnglì would stop staring at her. She finished her meal quickly and excused herself. Heading up to her room, she cast on her cloak, pulled up her hood, and made for the window. She had to meet Wu Jian again and continue their conversation.

***

Wu Jian had noticed on their way back to the inn that Mei Xilan was depressed. Her expression hadn’t changed, but that was the general sense he got. Call it intuition built from having spent quite a while with her. He had thought about asking her to tell him what was bothering her, but not only could he somewhat figure it out, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved.

I can’t show kindness to everyone. If I did, there’d be no end to the burdens I would have to bear.

He already had his hands full. There was his confused feelings for Wu Meiying, the knowledge she had given him, the people who had killed his family, Hou Jingshu and her problems, and Zhou Lihua who was currently studying to become an alchemist. He didn’t have time to add more burdens to himself right now. He also didn’t want to give Mei Xilan the wrong impression. There was a reason he’d kept her at a distance.

The woman was very quiet during dinner, which was understandable. He had shared a glance with Hua Xue, who merely nodded to confirm she would look after her chage. Wu Jian was grateful to her. She understood what he wanted without him having to say anything. While she took care of the depressed Mei Xilan and Yu Chenguang kept Youmei occupied with lots of food, Wu Jian wandered up to his room, though he paused in front of the door, hand on the knob.

She’s behind this door…

Call it a hunch, but he was certain Wu Meiying was already inside. He couldn’t sense anything beyond it. He took several deep breaths, then opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.

“Hello, Jian…”

“Mei…”

She was already there, standing a short distance away. Yet even though a few steps would have brought them together, Wu Jian felt like there was a chasm between them, and he couldn’t take a single step yet. Perhaps that was why it took him a moment to speak. He was honestly a little surprised he even could talk.

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me.”

She smiled, though it was brittle. “And have you thought about what you want?”

“How can I? I still don’t know the full story.”

“I suppose that’s understandable. Very well. Please ask whatever you want. I won’t hold anything from you unless I am unable to answer.”

Wu Jian pondered what to ask her first. There was so much he wanted to know, but… he supposed he should get the most important part out of the way first.

“Did you wish for my family’s demise?”

“What?!” Wu Meiying’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Wu Jian flinched at the pain in her eyes, but he held strong as she took a single step forward and swung out her arm as though to emphasize her feelings. “Of course not! I would never wish for your family’s death! I loved them with all my heart! I wanted to remain with the Wu Clan forever! Please believe me! I could… I could never wish harm upon them…”

Wu Jian nodded as the emotions within him settled. He had been wondering how he should respond to Wu Meiying, whether to keep the distance or close the gap. His own feelings had been roused by the knowledge that her presence had caused the deaths of his family. However…

He took a step forward. Wu Meiying became frantic and took a hurried step back, but he was unrelenting and continued to walk forward until her knees hit the bed. Her eyes shook. Her face had gone pale. She looked frantically from left to right as though wondering whether to escape.

That was when he trapped her in a hug.

“Oh… um… Jian… you…”

“I believe you,” he said at last. “I know you could never wish harm upon my family. I’ve known this whole time… but after we were separated, I was so lost and confused. I didn’t know what I should do or how I should take what happened. My family was gone, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized the truth. Those people wouldn’t have come if you weren’t there.” Wu Meiying flinched within his embrace, but he continued. “But that doesn’t mean you’re the reason for their deaths. What happened is unfortunate, but you didn’t wish for them to die, and you… you’ve loved me this entire time, for longer than I could even imagine. I know that everything you have done was so we could be together.”

“Of… of course. Of course it is. I’ve loved you all this time! For so long! All I’ve ever wanted was to spend eternity with you! I would… I would sever time for you!”

“And I would sever space for you,” Wu Jian said with a smile.

“Jian! Jian! I… I…!”

How many emotions had this woman been bottling up for the entire time they had been apart? How much torment had she suffered, thinking he might not want anything to do with her? He gripped Wu Meiying tightly, pulled her close to his chest, and basked in the feelings of warmth he felt now that he had made a decision. There was still so much he didn’t understand. However, the one thing he really needed to know had already been answered. He knew how she felt, and he knew how he felt. Everything else they could figure out later.

“You don’t know… how much I’ve longed for this…” Wu Meiying murmured after her tears ran dry.

“Probably about as long as I have,” Wu Jian said.

Wu Meiying shook her head as though to deny that, but then she raised her face. Her eyes were red, tears dripped down her cheeks, creating stains across her pale skin, and her nose was runny… but she still stole his breath away.

“I need to recharge my Jianinium and a hug isn’t gonna cut it,” she said suddenly.

Wu jian nodded. “Ah. I guess I should give you some directly than instead of through skin contact.”

“Please do.”

Wu Jian leaned down as Wu Meiying stood on her tiptoes. Their lips came close to touching.

“MASTER! YOUMEI SMELLS BIG SISTER IN HERE!”

When a giant ass cat leapt from the shadows of the door way.

“BIG SISTER! IT’S REALLY YOU!”

“My. Is that you, Youmei? You’ve gotten so big!”

“YOUMEI MISSED YOU BIG SISTER!”

“Can you keep it down, please! We can’t let anyone know she’s here!”

“YOUMEI… YOUMEI REALLY WANTED TO SEE YOU AGAIN!”

“Oh, jeeze! You’re getting my bed wet! Now where am I gonna sleep?!”

“WAAAAAA!”