The early morning sun streamed in through the window in Wu Jian’s bedroom, but he ignored it, focusing inward instead of outward. He was seated on his bed, his legs crossed, eyes closed, and hands forming the tiger seal.

His consciousness was already deep inside of his chi sea. He floated above his chi sea and studied the thirteen golden drops of blood floating above it.

These drops, which were roughly the size of his head, was the blood that belonged to Byakko. Four of them were glowing brightly. The rest appeared dull.

Wu Jian had already suspected as much, but while the blood was fully integrated into his body, it wasn’t like he could use it at will. He believed the strength of the blood was simply too great for his body to currently withstand. His cultivation was too weak.

He had already tried activating more of the blood by channeling chi into each drop. The physical pain that had ripped through him when he tried told him that further attempts would not be a good idea. Wu Jian suspected the blood would activate on its own as his cultivation rose, which meant his goal remained unchanged.

Taking a deep breath, Wu Jian brought himself out of his meditative reflections and opened his eyes. The sun streaming in through the window warmed him up. He climbed off the bed and walked over to the open window, peering at the garden next to his bedroom. It was filled with such a wide and colorful array of blossoms that it resembled a festival.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Wu Jian? Are you awake?”

“I’m up. Come on in.”

Wu Jian turned toward the door as it opened to let Hou Jingshu in. She wasn’t wearing her typical martial arts gi today. Her double-layer hanfu bared her shoulders, allowing all to see her supple muscles. The sleeves were voluminous. That was a trait all Shang Kingdom hanfu shared. Meanwhile, the bottom flared out and the ends descended all the way to the floor. He couldn’t see her feet, but he was certain she was wearing boots underneath that dress. That seemed like a very Hou Jingshu thing to do.

“Morning. I’m heading for breakfast. Would you like to come with me?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“I’d love to,” Wu Jian replied.

He was already dressed in an outfit the palace maids had provided for him. It was a black, red, and gold royal hanfu. The shoulders of the black vest flared out. Underneath the vest was a red long-sleeved shirt. Both vest and shirt trailed down to his knees, which were covered in a pair of boots. A red sash with a gold band in the middle wrapped around his waist. Several golden scale-like patterns covered his forearms, shoulders, and the tail coat of his vest.

Wu Jian donned his mask, grabbed Hou Jingshu’s hand, and let her lead him out of the guest quarters. They walked through the garden on their way to the central building. There was a large dining chamber with a long table that sat low to the ground. Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu sat close together, making the table feel even more desolate than usual.

Several maidservants came. They carried red lacquered boxes, yellow porcelain with the characters for longevity and dragon designs, and one of them bore a large pot. Wu Jian picked up the scent before he saw the food. It was…

“Hotpot?” he looked at Hou Jingshu as the pot was set on the table.

Hou Jingshu grinned. “It’s called Bird’s Nest Hotpot. It has bird’s nest and roast duck. There’s also wild herb salad, steamed lotus root, and cold bean jelly.”

“We’re having a feast for breakfast. What’s the occasion?” he asked.

“This is what we normally eat here.”

“If this is the kind of meals you are used to, I’m amazed you were able to deal with living in the Wu Clan for so long.”

“Hey! I wasn’t so spoiled that I would complain about my food. Also, the Wu Clan’s food might not have been this extravagant, but it was delicious.”

“That it was.”

The maidservants served them both, then left the room with a bow.

Wu Jian was eager to dig in. He moved his mask aside, took a large spoon, and brought a mouthful of the hotpot to his lips. He had to blow on it upon realizing how hot it was, but he was soon feasting on the dish, which contained an explosion of intense flavors. It was much more flavorful than the bird’s nest soup that his father had ordered prepared when Emperor Hou Jun arrived at the Wu Clan all those years ago.

But there was something else about this food that really attracted his attention.

“My cultivation is rising…”

“I see you noticed.” Hou Jingshu smiled as she took a bite of salad. “All the ingredients used by the Imperial Chefs have been cultivated to enhance a person’s chi. Eating this food won’t make an immediate difference, but if you eat it every day for years, you can reach the Asura Realm without having to do anything.” Her smile turned a little sad as she stirred the hotpot with her chopsticks. “This is how Father planned to have me reach the Asura Realm originally.”

“I can see him trying to do that,” Wu Jian said with a nod. “So, what are our plans for the day?”

“I will be gathering funds for the upcoming auction,” Hou Jingshu said. “Meanwhile, Zhou Lihua has requested your presence. I don’t know what she wants you for, but I think you should head over there after you finish breakfast.”

“So we’ll be splitting up for now?”

“Just for now.” Hou Jingshu bit her lip. “To be honest, I’d rather we not remain apart at all, but we both have things we need to do.”

“I feel the same way.” Wu Jian paused long enough to take a bite of the salad. He didn’t know what was in it, but even this salad caused his cultivation to stir a little. “I’ll go visit Zhou Lihua then.”

It had only been a day since they reunited, and he would like to spend more time with the young woman. He wondered what she wanted, though. Would it be a romantic rendezvous? Or was there another reason she had requested his presence? He supposed he would find out soon.

“Good. I think it’s only right that you spend a bit of time with her. I’ve had you all to myself for the past several months. I’d feel guilty if I hogged you any longer.”

“You can hog me as much as you want,” Wu Jian said.

“Don’t tempt me,” Hou Jingshu growled with a blush.

***

“Oh! Welcome, Master Jian Wu. The young miss has been expecting you. Please, allow me to escort you to her.”

“Thank you.”

The woman from before with the panda-like hair buns greeted Wu Jian after he arrived at the Zhou Family estate. Her name was Zhou Wen, he had learned. She was a branch member of the Zhou Clan.

While they all shared the same blood, the Zhou Clan had two families: the main family and the branch family. The branch family consisted of people who had married into the family, while the main family was the pure bloodline. It was possible for a member of the branch family to become part of the main family if they showed considerable talent. Blood purity was not as important as strength, after all. Zhou Lihua was one such talent, though her position was currently tenuous due to her inability to refine higher tier pills.

“Young Miss? Young Master Jian Wu is here to see you,” Zhou Wen said as she knocked on the door to Zhou Lihua’s room.

“Thank you. Please, send him in,” came a voice.

“Please, go inside,” Zhou Wen said, opening the door for him.

“Thank you,” said Wu Jian.

He entered the room. Zhou Wen closed the door behind him. As the sound of her footsteps receded, Wu Jian looked around the room, which looked the same as yesterday, and found Zhou Lihua sitting against the windowsill and peering out. Her bedroom overlooked the training ground. None of the people training could see her, but she could see them.

“Did you know? The Zhou Family gave me this room because they hoped I would take interest in one of their members? All the men training down there are part of the main family. It’s their subtle way of trying to convince me to marry someone from the main family,” she turned her head and smiled at him.

“And have you found yourself interested in any of those men?” Wu Jian removed his mask and walked over to her. He held out his hand, which she took, allowing him to pull her up.

Zhou Lihua shook her head. “I’m only interested in one man.”

“That man is quite the lucky guy.”

“He is. Very lucky. You should consider yourself incredibly blessed to have caught my attention.”

“You’re not very subtle, are you?”

“I’ve no use for subtleties.”

Wu Jian and Zhou Lihua shared a laugh, but that ended when the young woman grabbed him by the face and pulled him into a searing kiss. He was unable to do a thing as her tongue pushed past his mouth. Her passion was so intense that Wu Jian felt his knees buckle. He thought he had come prepared for her, but even now, he still felt a little bit like this woman’s prey.

The kiss finally ended. Zhou Lihua pulled back with a gasp. A string of saliva connected them.

“I didn’t get to really enjoy my time with you yesterday because Jingshu was with us,” she said.

“Not interested in displaying your affection in front of her?” he inquired.

She shook her head. “I normally wouldn’t mind, but it didn’t feel right. I guess it’s because of who she is. Wu Meiying is one thing, but I feel very self-conscious around Jingshu, or maybe it was the situation.”

“Yeah. Learning the man you thought was dead has been alive all this time must have been a shock.”

“It was a great shock… but a happy one too.” She reached up to caress his cheeks, her eyes soft, smile warm enough to melt him. “I’m really glad you’re still alive.”

“Me too.” Wu Jian grabbed Zhou Lihua’s hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm. “So, is there a specific reason you summoned me? Or did you just want to spend time with me?”

“It’s the latter,” Zhou Lihua confessed. “I really just want to spend time with you… but I can’t simply sit around doing nothing. The auction is coming up, so I need to earn some money for Jingshu.”

They had decided yesterday that Hou Jingshu should acquire at least ten million spirit coins for the auction. That was a pretty high safety net, but given how important it was to get this ingredient, they could not afford to be stingy. Because they didn’t know if Hou Jingshu would be able to get that much on her own, Zhou Lihua had come up with a plan to help.

Those two have become very good friends. I’m happy they had each other to rely on.

“So you’re going to refine alchemy pills? Right now?”

“That’s correct.”

Wu Jian didn’t say anything at first. Zhou Lihua stared at him with a smile. He knew that she wouldn’t answer him if he asked, so he worked out the meaning behind her calling him here on his own.

“I’ve heard… that you’ve been having trouble refining pills ever since the Wu Clan’s destruction,” he said slowly.

“You are correct. I can refine low-tier pills, but everything above the tier two becomes hard to refine. I normally have a one in ten chance to refine tier three alchemy pills,” she confirmed.

“Do you believe you’ll have a higher success rate if I’m present?” he asked.

“I believe there is a distinct possibility, yes,” Zhou Lihua said, nodding.

Wu Jian’s “death” had greatly affected both Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua, but while Hou Jingshu had her father’s deteriorating health to motivate her, Zhou Lihua had nothing. She didn’t particularly care about upholding her family’s honor. From what he remembered, she wasn’t very close to her family, not even her parents. They had what he would have called a cordial relationship.

When news of the Wu Clan’s destruction reached her, Zhou Lihua fell into a deep depression that she was unable to get out of. She did try. Even after suffering greatly from the knowledge, she managed to regain some of her talent for alchemy and cultivation, but her talents had remained weak. Now that he was back, she believed she could once more excel like she used to. However, she wanted him present to motivate her.

“I understand. I’ll stay here and watch you,” Wu Jian said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Zhou Lihua smiled back. Her smile transformed into a grin. “I’ve never actually shown you how to refine pills, have I?”

“I don’t believe you have,” he shook his head.

Zhou Lihua pointed to a spot about two dozen chih way from the cauldron. “Then sit down over there and watch me work. You’re in for a treat.”