As Yan Zi turned toward the direction of the sound, his sharp blue eyes narrowed cautiously, scanning the dimming light. There stood a figure, her silhouette illuminated by the fading amber glow of the setting sun. A young girl with an elegant demeanor stepped into view.
Her skin was fair and smooth, like porcelain that gleamed under the gentle rays of twilight. Her clear brown eyes sparkled with an unusual mix of mischief and sincerity. Her jet-black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, swaying lightly as she moved. It framed her delicate face perfectly, accentuating her small nose and soft pink lips. Despite her simple robes embroidered with subtle golden patterns, which marked her as the daughter of Grand Elder Yan Guang, she exuded an air of effortless beauty that was hard to ignore.
Yan Zi recognized her immediately. "Oh," he muttered flatly, "it's you. Yan Ru, the daughter of the Grand Elder." His tone lacked any enthusiasm.
Yan Ru raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed by his curt greeting. Before she could say anything, Yan Zi turned away, his gaze returning to the horizon as if dismissing her presence entirely. His voice carried a bitter edge as he muttered, "So, what is it? You came here to mock me, too?"
Yan Ru stood there for a moment, her arms crossed and her head tilted slightly. Her lips curved into a playful smirk as she replied, "Mock you? Oh no, Yan Zi, I wouldn't dare. You seem to be doing such an excellent job of that all by yourself."
Yan Zi's head snapped toward her, his brows furrowed in a mixture of annoyance and confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, his voice low and defensive.
Ignoring his glare, Yan Ru stepped closer, her expression softening. She gestured toward the stone he was sitting on. "Mind if I join you? Or are you reserving this spot for your never-ending pity party?"
Yan Zi let out a sharp exhale, somewhere between a sigh and a snort. "Suit yourself," he muttered, scooting over slightly as she gracefully climbed onto the stone and sat beside him.
For a moment, they sat in silence. The sky painted itself in hues of pink and orange, with the golden sun dipping ever lower into the horizon. The wind carried the faint scent of blooming flowers, rustling the leaves in the distance. It was a scene of tranquil beauty, but Yan Zi's mood was anything but calm.
Yan Ru broke the silence, her tone uncharacteristically gentle. "What are you doing here all by yourself, Yan Zi?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he replied, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "I'm sitting here, contemplating how a 'trash' like me can ever hope to stand next to you so-called geniuses."
Yan Ru blinked, then tilted her head, studying him thoughtfully. "Trash?" she repeated, as if tasting the word and finding it unpleasant. "Who told you that you're trash?"
"Who hasn't told me that?" Yan Zi shot back, a bitter chuckle escaping his lips. "I've been hearing it all my life. Every elder, every disciple—they all look at me like I'm less than nothing because I can't cultivate."
Yan Ru let out a soft sigh, her expression growing serious. "You know, the real trash isn't someone who can't cultivate," she said, her voice steady. "It's the people who give up, who lose hope and let life pass them by without even trying. You may not be able to cultivate, but you're still here, aren't you? Still working, still fighting to find a way."
Her words caught Yan Zi off guard. He blinked, glancing at her with a mixture of surprise and skepticism. "So… what? You're here to comfort me? To give me some pep talk about how I'm 'special' in my own way?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Yan Ru laughed softly, a musical sound that carried in the wind. "Comfort you? Who said I'm here to comfort you?"
"Then what are you doing here?" Yan Zi asked, his confusion deepening.
Yan Ru shrugged, leaning back slightly on her hands as she gazed at the horizon. "Before I entered the secret grounds a year ago, this was my favorite spot. I used to come here whenever I needed to think or clear my head. Today, I came back out of habit—and instead of peace and quiet, I found you sitting here, grumbling to yourself like an old man complaining about the weather."
Yan Zi's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to come up with a retort. Finally, he muttered, "I don't grumble."
"Oh, really?" Yan Ru said, raising an eyebrow. She leaned forward slightly, mimicking his earlier posture and voice. "'Oh, I'm so useless. I can't cultivate. Everyone is so much better than me.'"
Yan Zi glared at her, though there was a faint flush of color on his cheeks. "That's not what I sound like."
"Mm-hmm," Yan Ru hummed, clearly unconvinced. She straightened up and shot him a teasing grin. "If you're going to wallow in self-pity, at least do it with some flair. Maybe shake your fist dramatically at the sky or yell something inspiring like, 'I'll show them all!'"
Despite himself, Yan Zi let out a reluctant laugh. It was short and quiet, but it was there. "You're ridiculous," he muttered, shaking his head.
"And you're too hard on yourself," Yan Ru countered, her tone softening again. She leaned slightly toward him, her clear brown eyes meeting his blue ones. "Yan Zi, you're not as alone as you think. You may feel like the entire world is against you, but there are people who see your worth—even if you don't."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sky had almost disappeared below the horizon, leaving the sky painted in deep shades of purple and gold. Fireflies began to emerge, their tiny lights flickering in the growing darkness.
Yan Zi broke the silence first, his voice quieter now. "I thought you'd be like the others—here to laugh at me or remind me of how far ahead you all are."
Yan Ru tilted her head, smiling faintly. "If I wanted to laugh at you, I'd have done it by now. Besides, it's not as fun when the person already beats themselves up. Where's the challenge in that?"
Yan Zi let out another huff, though this time it was more amused than bitter. "You're insufferable, you know that?"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Yan Ru said, her smile widening.
The two sat quietly, their thoughts drifting under the star-filled sky. Yan Zi found himself surprised by her presence, even more so by her words. For the first time in a long while, the weight in his chest seemed to ease, if only slightly.
As the moments of quiet stretched on, Yan Zi's sharp eyes caught a subtle movement. Yan Ru, still sitting beside him on the stone, kept fidgeting with her wrist. Her slender fingers brushed over the reddened skin repeatedly, her brows slightly furrowed as if suppressing discomfort.
"Something's wrong with your hand," Yan Zi remarked, breaking the silence. His piercing blue eyes were now focused on her wrist.
Yan Ru immediately froze, her expression shifting to one of slight panic. "What? No, it's nothing!" she replied quickly, her voice a touch defensive. She tucked her hand behind her back, trying to downplay the situation.
Yan Zi didn't buy it. "Nothing? You've been rubbing your wrist for the past five minutes. What, are you afraid I'll make fun of you for getting injured?"
Yan Ru's face flushed faintly, though she quickly recovered with a huff. "Why would I be afraid of you? It's just... a small ache. Nothing worth mentioning." She waved her other hand dismissively, but her attempt to act nonchalant only made her discomfort more obvious.
Yan Zi narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. Without saying another word, he extended his hand toward her. "Let me see it."
"What?" Yan Ru blinked, caught off guard.
"Your wrist. Show it to me," Yan Zi said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Yan Ru hesitated, instinctively pulling her hand closer to her chest. "I said it's nothing! Why are you making such a big deal out of—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Yan Zi leaned forward and gently but firmly took her wrist in his hand.
"Hey!" Yan Ru exclaimed, her voice laced with both surprise and indignation. "What do you think you're doing?"
Yan Zi didn't look up, his gaze fixed intently on her wrist. "Checking your injury, obviously," he replied, his tone matter-of-fact.
Yan Ru opened her mouth to protest but quickly closed it again, her confusion written all over her face. For a moment, she considered pulling her hand away, but something about Yan Zi's focused expression stopped her. His touch was surprisingly gentle, his calloused fingers carefully holding her wrist as if afraid to cause her any pain.
"Don't move," Yan Zi said softly, his voice unexpectedly calm.
Yan Ru swallowed hard, unsure of how to react. She watched as he lightly ran his thumb over the reddened area, his brows furrowed in concentration. Despite her initial embarrassment, she felt no discomfort—only a strange warmth spreading through her hand.
"Try to slowly flow your qi through your meridians and into your wrist," Yan Zi instructed, his tone steady but not commanding.
"What? Why?" Yan Ru asked, her confusion deepening.
Yan Zi glanced up at her, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones with a mix of determination and reassurance. "Just trust me. I need to figure out what's causing this pain."
Yan Ru hesitated again but eventually nodded. She closed her eyes, taking a slow, steady breath to focus. As a trained cultivator, circulating her qi through her meridians was second nature, but doing it under someone else's instruction felt oddly intimate.
Yan Zi, though unable to cultivate himself, had spent countless hours studying the art of alchemy. He knew that by carefully observing the flow of qi in someone's body, he could pinpoint injuries or blockages in their meridians. Normally, an alchemist would use their own spiritual energy to assist in this process, but Yan Zi's lack of cultivation meant he had to rely entirely on Yan Ru to cooperate.
As Yan Ru began to channel her qi, Yan Zi concentrated, his fingers lightly pressing against her wrist. He closed his eyes, using his heightened senses to detect even the subtlest irregularities in her qi flow.
The process was quiet, almost serene, but Yan Zi's mind was anything but calm. Her qi flow feels... uneven. Is it a strain? Or perhaps a hidden injury from the secret grounds? He frowned slightly, his thoughts racing as he tried to piece together the puzzle.
Meanwhile, Yan Ru sat perfectly still, her heartbeat inexplicably quickening. She glanced at Yan Zi out of the corner of her eye, her expression softening as she took in his features. There was something captivating about his seriousness, the way his piercing gaze seemed to hold a world of knowledge and determination.
He's different from what I expected, Yan Ru thought to herself. She had always seen him as the quiet, brooding type, someone weighed down by his inability to cultivate. But now, sitting here with him, she couldn't help but notice the quiet strength in his demeanor—a strength that had nothing to do with cultivation.
"Does it hurt when you channel your qi?" Yan Zi asked, breaking her train of thought.
"Huh?" Yan Ru blinked, caught off guard. "Oh, um... a little. It's more of a dull ache than anything else."
Yan Zi nodded, his expression unreadable. "Keep going," he said simply, his voice calm but focused.
As the moments stretched on, Yan Ru found herself feeling strangely vulnerable. It wasn't just because of the injury—it was the way Yan Zi was treating her. He wasn't mocking her or acting indifferent like she had expected. Instead, he was entirely focused on helping her, his actions guided by genuine concern.
"Why are you doing this?" Yan Ru asked suddenly, her voice soft.
Yan Zi didn't look up. "Doing what?"
"Helping me," Yan Ru clarified, her tone laced with curiosity. "You didn't have to. I didn't even ask for it."
Yan Zi finally lifted his gaze, his bright blue eyes meeting hers. "Do I need a reason?" he asked simply.
Yan Ru felt her cheeks heat up slightly, though she quickly masked it with a playful scoff. "Hmph. You're surprisingly kind for someone who acts like they don't care about anything."
Yan Zi rolled his eyes, though a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "And you're surprisingly nosy for someone who claims to be minding their own business."
Yan Ru let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "Tsk. Fine, I'll let you have that one. But don't think this means I owe you anything."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Yan Zi replied dryly, though the hint of humor in his tone was unmistakable.