It had grown incredibly quiet, but she hadn’t noticed. The pitter-patter of her tears falling onto the backs of her hands also went unnoticed.

All she was cognisant of was the fact that she was utterly worthless.

‘To think that I…’

It was her dream to take over her father’s position of clan leader. To prove to everyone that her father’s sonlessness wasn’t a curse upon him and that his daughters could make him proud, just as a son would have.

‘Just look at me.’

When it really counted, she was unable to do anything. Instead, she looked to the men in her life —her father, her headmaster, and her uncle— to solve the problem for her.

‘Maybe they were right.’

It had been said to her many times both implicitly and explicitly.

‘Women aren’t fit to lead.’

She began to hear the sounds of footsteps in the grass.

Someone had approached her.

She didn’t bother to look up.

“Big Sis?”

She recognised the voice, but instead of responding to what must have been a hallucination, a mere phantom image of her younger sister, she shook her head.

The phantom crouched down and spoke once more.

“Big Sis? Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not,” she replied, tightly shutting her eyes.

“What’s the matter?”

“If I were…”

“Hm?”

“If…” she let all the air out of her lungs and allowed her shoulders to slump.

“If I were a man, then maybe I could have saved you. Saved Jihan.”

There was no reply from the phantom.

“I thought that as long as I worked hard enough, I would be able to compete with the boys and take the clan leader position. I thought I could show everyone that daughters are just as good as sons. But I was being naive. There’s a reason why no woman has ever been the leader of our clan. I know that now.”

“Big Sis…”

“I lost you, and now they’re taking Jihan away right in front of me, and I’m powerless to stop it.”

She sighed.

“In the end, I couldn’t protect anything. I was too weak, too ignorant, too indecisive… I was a bad leader. That’s why all of this is happening. It’s all my fault.”

“No it’s not!” the phantom yelled before grabbing her shoulders.

“I was the one who ran away! The one who caused trouble for everyone… It’s not your fault at all!”

Feeling the very real presence of those hands, Meili looked up, unable to process what was happening.

Her eyes shook as she looked into those of her sister. She had tears streaming down her face and appeared to have gone through some ordeals, but she was right there in front of her.

“Meilin… Is it really you? You’re okay?”

Instead of answering, her younger sister dove toward her, wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, as she buried her head into her big sister’s chest.

“I never should have run away. I’m so sorry.”

Meili, whose arms had yet to react, returned the hug and stroked her sister’s head.

“It really is you.”

She allowed her head to lower, resting her chin on her sister’s head, and allowed her eyes to fall closed.

In this moment, she felt the dark clouds that had been looming over her start to fade away.

The sun pierced through the gaps and its light touched the land once more.

Though the horizon was still blanketed in darkness, for just that one moment, she allowed herself to relax.

“Meilin,” she said while stroking her sister’s back, “What happened to you? Why couldn’t we find you?”

“Oh Big Sis, it was awful. I was captured by demonic cultivators. They tied me up and they caged me like an animal. They made me wear these ghastly robes. I couldn’t believe that they would call those things clothes. They were probably made out of rice sacks or something. That’s how bad they looked. And the food! The food was just atrocious. Seriously! It was as if those people had never heard of variety. Every meal was the exact same! Just thinking about it is making me gag!”

“…”

Meili was unable to respond.

It looked as though regardless of the circumstances, Meilin was still Meilin.

That brought some relief to her heart.

“So you were captured by demonic cultivators… Did they do anything to you?”

“Haven’t you been listening? The way they treated me was just horrible! I haven’t even gotten to my hair and nails! To think they wouldn’t even have a stylist!”

She sighed.

“I knew they were terrible people, but do they have to have poor grooming at the same time?”

“…”

Meili didn’t quite know what to say. Did her sister not know the gravity of the situation?

She grabbed Meilin’s shoulders and squeezed them tightly.

“Meilin,” she said, her tone serious. “Did they do anything to you?”

Her sister tilted her head, seemingly not understanding the meaning behind her question.

“Well,” she replied. “My hero came before anything else could happen.”

“Your hero?”

“Yeah,” she said while pointing in a certain direction. “He’s right over there.”

Following her lead, Meili turned to face that so-called hero. That was when she noticed that the area had at some point been surrounded by a dome of light, the surface of which was littered with glowing runes.

She couldn’t see beyond it, nor could she penetrate it with her spiritual perception.

‘That must be why it’s so quiet.’

Within the domed area were only the three of them and a black sword that floated beside the hero.

Said hero was seated on the floor in a cross-legged position, his fingertips pressed against each other. He was facing her, but his head was tilted toward the ground and his eyes, or rather, his right eye was closed. The other was covered by an eyepatch.

Getting a closer look at his face, Meili was taken aback.

Aside from a few aesthetic differences, his face was immediately recognisable to her. There weren’t too many people who had similar complexions to him, and she could feel that endless self-assuredness that allowed him to cause a ruckus in front of the sect’s gates. He should have been Shao Tianlan’s brother who she had seen the day before.

“You should have seen it!” exclaimed Meilin. “He and his companions completely destroyed that demonic sect, rescuing me and the others who were held there. I don’t think it even took 20 minutes from start to finish. He even let me play a role.”

Hearing that caused Meili’s eyes to widen.

Was she to believe that within the span of a single day, he had not only located, but completely routed the demonic sect she had been chasing for months?

‘No.’

After thinking it over for a moment, it became clear to her that the more likely scenario was that he had his own issues with that group and that his rescue of Meilin was coincidental in nature.

“He’s amazing, isn’t he?”

“He really is.”

Regardless of how the situation came about, the fact remained the same. He had rescued her sister and delivered her safely.

For that, she owed him a debt of gratitude.

She rose to her feet and bowed deeply toward him.

“Thank you for rescuing Meilin,” she said, her sincerity on full display. “You have done me a kindness I can never hope to repay. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know. I will spare no effort.”

She hadn’t spoken those words lightly. Even if his request saw her become his slave, she would not deny it. Though she would seek an alternative, if at all possible.

That was how much the safe return of her younger sister meant to her.

And so she was prepared to hear any request, no matter how outrageous.

However,

“Don’t mention it.”

That was the entirety of his response.

***

Meili turned to face her sister. She shrugged her shoulders and gestured with her hands as if to say, “it can’t be helped.”

Turning back to the young boy, she said “there must be something I can do for you. I am truly grateful.”

“It is enough to see your smiling faces,” replied the boy who still had his eye closed.

“But…”

“That’s just the way he is,” said Meilin. “Heroes don’t require anything from the people they help. Gratitude alone is enough.”

“Meilin. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Outside of movies, the fact was, if it wasn’t family, then the chances of people going out of their way to help one another without ulterior motive were slim to none.

Numerous experiences had taught her this.

Meilin shrugged her shoulders and said no more.

Turning once again to the young boy, Meili said “please feel free to state your request. I won’t deny it.”

The boy smiled.

“I see you aren’t satisfied with my answer.”

“…”

“I also have a younger sister, so I can imagine what you have been through during this time. If it were my own sister who had gone missing, I would be tormented by it day and night, unable to rest until I saw her safe return. Your experience must have been similar.”

“It was. It felt as if everything were crumbling around me. Every moment felt like my last chance.”

“Mm. I can see how much the two of you mean to each other. My own sister means the world to me. Her protection is my number one priority.”

He raised his index and middle fingers.

“You see, there are two ways I can protect my loved ones. I could strengthen them such that the world is no longer dangerous to them, or I could remove the dangers themselves, the dangers, in this case, being people who would do them harm.”

He lowered his middle finger.

“The former is more easily achieved, but it benefits only the few who I have chosen to strengthen.”

He raised it back up.

“The latter is a far greater task, but in return, it benefits all those who seek peace.”

He put the two together.

“I have chosen to do both.”

He lowered his arm and pressed his fingertips together once more.

“Fortunately,” he said, “I have people by my side who are willing to help me.”

His words brought shame to Meili.

They made her realise her own folly.

Why had she been fighting for the clan leader position? To prove to everyone that women could lead? To show that her father’s daughters weren’t to be taken lightly?

‘They were terrible reasons.’

She could see now that being a leader was nothing to vie for. It was something that would come naturally from one’s goals and ambitions resonating with the hearts of others. As long as that was the case, and there was trust that one could actualise one’s dreams, then others would naturally follow.

It was no wonder this boy was able to amass a force strong enough to wipe out a second-grade sect. His goals were clear, they were easy to get behind, and he presented himself with such a steady bearing, such unwavering confidence, that it gave others little choice but to believe in him.

‘I need to change.’

Her course was altered at that moment. She knew that the leader of the Lanxiang Clan wouldn’t be someone who was simply trying to prove a point, nor should it be.

The next leader would be the one who had the trust of the people to lead the clan forward. They would present a vision of a better future and a plan for how to get there.

Perhaps bias against women would prevent her from taking the position herself.

If that was to be the case, then there was little she could do about it.

However, if it was her vision that became the guiding light for the next generation, and if she were acknowledged for her contributions, then she would not only have achieved the goal of bringing honour to her father, but she would also have paved the way for a future female clan leader.

‘My path is now clear.’

It was an unexpected gain, and another reason to be grateful to her benefactor.

“Once again,” she said, “I find myself in your debt.”

To that, he shook his head.

“It’s as I told your sister. I’m a very selfish person. I do what I do for my own satisfaction. You owe me nothing.”

She turned to her sister, silently asking what she should do. The response came in the form of a look that seemed to say, “I told you so.”

That caused her mouth to be left open for a while.

***

Now that the surprises had come to an end, and there was a moment of silence, Meili’s attention was drawn back to the bigger picture.

She hung her head low and closed her eyes.

“Jihan’s probably gone now…”

“Huh?” replied her sister. “What are you talking about, Big Sis? Jihan’s going to be fine.”

Meili frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Did I forget to tell you? They’re rescuing Jihan as well. Hero’s brother should be handling it right now.”

Her eyes opened wide.

“Shao Tianlan is? Does he know who he’s going up against? Elder Genmo is here, and there’s someone from the Merchant Guild too.”

“So?”

“So? If someone tries to save Jihan, Elder Genmo won’t just stand by. And doing so would also offend the Merchant Guild. No one in their right mind would do that.”

“The Merchant Guild?” Meilin made a disgusted expression. “Nobody’s afraid of them. Isn’t that right, Hero?”

The sisters both turned to the young boy, who nodded his head in response.

Ignoring the strangeness of Meilin’s attitude toward the Merchant Guild, Meili turned to Hei.

“Even so,” she said, “Both Elder Genmo and the man from the Merchant Guild are seventh-layer minute realm cultivators. I’m afraid Shao Tianlan doesn’t stand a chance against either one of them, let alone both at the same time.”

“Is that so?”

The boy raised a hand to touch the black sword floating beside him.

In response to that, the dome of light started to change. It started to grow more and more translucent until the only remaining sign of its presence were the glowing symbols that now appeared to be floating in the air.

Beyond the now invisible barrier, Meili saw something that didn’t make any sense.

Elder Genmo and Geng Yong…

Were struggling against a single opponent…