The night was as dark as ink, and the clamor of Yunze Market gradually quieted down after the first day of the Alchemy Grand Assembly came to an end.
Ruan Se sat cross-legged in the courtyard, the white crane nestled beside her with its neck tucked in dozing. She closed her eyes, spiritual power flowing slowly through her meridians.
Though her gamble had paid off today, the cost was not insignificant.
Forcefully reverse-feeding the pill embryo had drained her spiritual consciousness far more than ordinary fire control methods. Even now, a trace of pain lingered in her sea of consciousness.
But she didn’t regret it. She had used the method Senior taught her, and it had worked. That sense of pride made her feel exhilarated.
Suddenly, the white crane jerked its head up, letting out a warning cry. Ruan Se opened her eyes, pupils contracting slightly under the moonlight.
Someone was standing on the courtyard wall.
The figure was tall and slender, a long dress fluttering in the night breeze. The moonlight carved out her cold, sharp features clearly.
Ruan Qin.
Ruan Se stood up, her entire aura turning icy in an instant.
The two sisters faced each other in silent confrontation across the courtyard. The white crane glanced back and forth between them, then finally shuffled behind Ruan Se.
“Why are you here?”
“I have a seat on the judges’ panel for the Alchemy Grand Assembly,” Ruan Qin said lightly, landing gracefully on the ground. Her gaze swept over the modest courtyard. “What do you think I came for?”
“As a judge?”
Ruan Se gave a faint, cold smile.
“Since when did you take an interest in being so public?”
“I’m not interested, but I came anyway.”
Ruan Qin ignored the sarcasm in her tone, continuing to scan the surroundings.
“More shabby than I imagined, but it passes.”
Ruan Se’s expression didn’t waver.
“If you’re here to persuade me to go back, save your breath.”
Ruan Qin didn’t take offense. Instead, she walked slowly toward the white crane, extending her long, pale fingers to gently stroke the smooth feathers on its neck. Her movements were soft and practiced.
The crane blinked, but didn’t shy away. It tilted its head and rubbed against her palm.
Ruan Qin said flatly,
“I was the one who picked it out for you.”
Silence stretched between them. That white crane had been the spirit beast Ruan Qin personally selected for Ruan Se many years ago, back when they were still in the main sect of the Alchemy Sect, living in the same courtyard, practicing in front of the same elixir furnace.
“If you come back, I can teach you a lot.”
Ruan Qin withdrew her hand, turned around, and met her sister’s eyes. Those amber eyes, so similar to Ruan Se’s own, now held a hint of tenderness.
“I laid the foundation of your alchemy path myself. The so-called ‘unorthodox path’ you’ve been exploring alone all these years has too many flaws.”
Ruan Se’s fingers clenched tightly inside her sleeve. The thing she hated most was Ruan Qin’s arrogant, matter-of-fact attitude.
Ever since they were children, her older sister was always right, always looking down on her from a height, speaking in that condescending tone of “I’ll teach you.”
As if every achievement Ruan Se had ever made was just leftover scraps from her sister’s generosity.
“You’ve always been so high and mighty.”
Ruan Se’s voice was low.
“How could someone like you ever understand me?”
Ruan Qin’s movements paused. Her hand froze in midair over the crane.
“I don’t want to go back, and I don’t need you.”
Ruan Se looked directly into her sister’s eyes, showing no sign of backing down.
“Where I practice alchemy, what methods I use, who I learn from—that’s all my business. Didn’t you say it yourself long ago? You wouldn’t interfere with my path anymore.”
“…”
Ruan Qin’s fingers curled slightly, then slowly relaxed.
“If you don’t want to come back, fine.”
She surprised Ruan Se by not pressing the issue.
“That’s not the only reason I came today.”
She turned to face Ruan Se squarely.
“Tell me, that man named Lai—how long have you known him?”
Ruan Se’s heart leaped, but her face remained impassive.
“That’s my business, none of yours.”
“None of my business?”
Ruan Qin’s voice finally carried a hint of anger.
“You don’t even know his background, yet you let him teach you alchemy? Just now in the corridor, I asked who he was, and he dodged the question, brushing me off with ‘just a rogue cultivator.’ I’ve seen plenty of rogue cultivators—his aura was so well concealed I couldn’t see through him. He has secrets. It’s not impossible that he has ulterior motives toward you.”
“I won’t allow you to speak of Senior that way.”
Ruan Se’s face darkened instantly.
Ruan Qin’s gaze sharpened. She knew her younger sister well. Ruan Se’s temperament was usually cold, but she rarely defended anyone so fiercely.
“What kind of spell has he put on you?”
Ruan Qin’s tone grew complicated.
“How long have you even known him, and you’re already protecting him like this?”
Ruan Se turned her face away, offering no answer.
What could she say?
That she had seen Senior fight with all his might in the alchemy room, refining a sixth-rank pill to save his disciple? That he was clearly an unfathomable Dao Alchemy Grandmaster, yet never acted like a great master, willing to sit on the steps and chat with her about trivial things?
Or that… she envied Su Wan’er.
Envied that unconscious girl lying in that room for having such a master.
That feeling—she couldn’t put it into words, and she didn’t plan to tell anyone.
“I don’t need to explain myself to you.”
Ruan Se lifted her eyes again.
“I can see clearly what kind of person Senior is. You think he has secrets—what great master doesn’t?”
Ruan Qin fell silent. She looked at her sister’s stubborn face, and suddenly realized how much time had passed.
The person before her was no longer the little girl who used to timidly follow her, calling out “Sister.” Her cultivation might be far lower, but that unyielding determination to walk her chosen path—that was exactly the same as Ruan Qin’s.
“I understand.”
Ruan Qin turned slowly and walked toward the courtyard wall.
“If that man named Lai dares to hurt you, no matter who he is, I won’t let him off.”
With that, her figure flickered lightly, leaving behind only a cyan afterimage in the moonlight.
Ruan Se stood still. Her clenched fingers gradually loosened. She stared at the direction where her sister had disappeared, silent for a long time. Then she turned and walked toward the alchemy room.
She knew in her heart that her sister’s persuasion came from genuine concern. But some paths could only be walked alone.
She no longer wanted to live under her sister’s protection. Even more, she didn’t want to be forever trapped under the label of “Ruan Qin’s younger sister.”
Quietly, she pulled out the small white jade vial from her sleeve. Inside was the Green Wood Harmonizing Qi Pill. The pill patterns faintly swirled, and a clear medicinal fragrance slowly diffused.
Ruan Se held the vial in her palm, pondering for a moment, then carefully placed it back into her sleeve.
‘Senior said that pills are neither righteous nor evil,’ she thought. ‘Then neither are people.’
One day, she would stand before her sister and prove herself.
Her path of alchemy had never needed to rely on anyone else. She could still carve out her own way.
Ruan Se lifted her head, her eyes fixed on the waning moonlight outside the window. Her gaze gradually sharpened.
Tomorrow’s final competition—she would win.
Not for empty fame. Only to let that person see with her own eyes that the path she had chosen was never wrong.