The morning after the competition, Lin Yuan sat quietly in the courtyard, absentmindedly peeling spiritual fruits for breakfast. The laughter of Qingxue and Xiao Hu echoed nearby, but he barely noticed. The events of the previous day clung to him like morning mist.
Lady Yuexian stepped out of the house, drying her hands with a cloth. She looked at Lin Yuan for a long moment, then walked over and knelt beside him.
"You're upset," she said gently.
Lin Yuan shook his head. "I'm fine."
"You don't have to be." She smiled sadly. "You were brave. That matters more to me than any ranking."
He looked down. "Everyone laughed. Even the elders said I wasted your efforts."
"They don't know you like I do." She stood up, dusted her robes, and held out his hand. "Come. Let's go enjoy the city today. No training, no responsibilities."
Lin Yuan blinked. "Just... have fun?"
"Yes. Even cultivators need a break. Let's make today yours."
---
The sect gates opened, and Lin Yuan followed Lady Yuexian down the winding path to the nearby market town. The streets bustled with life—vendors shouting about spirit peaches, performers juggling fire talismans, the scent of sweet incense curling into the air.
They stopped at a stall selling candied lotus seeds. Lady Yuexian bought three sticks, handing one each to Lin Yuan, Qingxue, and Xiao Hu.
"Eat slow," she warned with a smile. "These are expensive."
The trio strolled between stalls. Lin Yuan's eyes began to brighten as he watched Qingxue try to haggle with a jewelry vendor and Xiao Hu attempt to ride a wooden sword like a beast mount.
At a puppet show stage, Lin Yuan laughed out loud for the first time in days. The story was silly—a heroic squirrel fighting bandits—but it brought tears to his eyes.
Lady Yuexian bought them masks—Qingxue got a phoenix, Xiao Hu a tiger, and Lin Yuan a silver fox.
But as they walked, murmurs trailed behind them from gossiping disciples:
"Lady Yuexian treats her like a princess. Never makes her do real cultivation."
"If she trained me, I'd be number one by now. But that girl? Her crafts are pathetic."
"Have you seen how she uses spiritual water for everything? Wasteful."
"I heard she has a mortal body and still dares to enter the Moonmist Hall to bathe."
"She even cultivates in the sect leader's own chamber, and yet she can't even gather Qi properly."
"She walks around like 'give me everything you've got,buy like princess' then cries when she fails."
"My master told me Lady Yuexian begged for a Thousand Pill for her! A thousand pills and even a pig could cultivate better."
"She's just beauty with no brain."
Lin Yuan heard it all. The quiet stings. The whispered venom. He clenched his fists but said nothing.
Lady Yuexian, walking just ahead, paused and glanced back at him. Her gaze softened. She had heard too.
"You know," she said quietly as they passed a lantern stall, "many great cultivators fail in their youth. But it's how they grow ."
"I just want to be worthy," Lin Yuan said.
"You already are.""Ask them who you are"
---
They ended the day at a tea pavilion overlooking a spirit-lake. The sunset turned the sky amber and gold. Lin Yuan sat between his siblings, sipping fruit tea, warm and calm.
"Thank you," he said to Lady Yuexian.
"You've already thanked me," she replied.
He blinked. "When?"
"Every time you didn't give up."
As twilight settled in, they walked back to the sect together. Lin Yuan's steps were light. The laughter returned—not forced this time, but true.