The fire crackled between us, but the warmth didn't reach the cold knot in my gut. Elder Bai's offer hung in the air like a sword waiting to fall.
Yoon-Hee's eyes were wide with hope, but I couldn't ignore the weight of the words behind the old man's smile. The Azure Sky Sect was powerful, yes — but nothing in the Murim world came without a price.
And I had no intention of selling my freedom.
"No," I said.
The word landed like a stone. The room went still. Even Jian Mu's sneer faltered.
"What?" Yoon-Hee whispered.
I didn't look at her. I kept my eyes on Elder Bai, meeting his gaze without flinching. "I'm grateful for your help," I said, my voice steady. "But I won't put my life — or my family's — in anyone else's hands."
The old man's expression didn't change, but I felt the shift in the air — the faintest ripple of something dangerous behind his calm. "You understand what you're refusing?"
"I do," I said.
Jian Mu's scoff broke the tension. "Fool. You'll die out there without the sect's protection."
"Maybe," I said. "But if I rise, it'll be because of my strength. Not because I was someone else's dog."
"You're throwing away a future," Elder Bai said quietly.
"No," I said. "I'm making my own."
For a moment, there was only silence. Then Elder Bai sighed. "So be it," he said. "But know this — the Murim world is merciless to those without allies. When the time comes, you may wish you had chosen differently."
"Maybe," I said again. "But when that time comes, I'll still be standing."
I felt Yoon-Hee's hand on my arm. "Where do we go now?" she whispered.
I looked at her — at the fear in her eyes and the hope she didn't want to let go of.
"We survive," I said. "And when the time comes… we rise."