After their long conversation, when the tension had finally drained from the air and the night had softened, Matriarch Yu ilin rose from her seat with quiet grace.
"Ai," she said, without needing to elaborate further, and the dutiful maid materialized before the group as if she had never left the room and had been here the whole ti.
Noah looked at her professionalism with a fascinated look on his face; never in his life had he seen a maid as steadfast and devoted to her work as Ai.
No doubt Wu Ping, the woman Xin Yan hired to be her maid, was hardworking and dedicated to her work, but Ai was on another level.
"Prepare rooms for our guests." The matriarch ordered calmly, and the maid bowed slightly in acknowledgnt, already knowing what to do even before the words left her mistress’s mouth.
A small nod from Ai, and then she vanished into the evening shadows like smoke caught on the breeze.
Noah and Xin Yan were given a room to share near the guest wing, a tranquil courtyard nestled between flowering spirit trees and quiet lotus ponds.
Yu Ming did not want the night to end and had a lot more to talk about with Noah, but her mother bound her with qi so she did not run after the couple and disturb them in their room.
Mo Ji was given her own space not far from theirs, and despite her usual unpredictability, she retired for the night without incident, curling up beneath the pale sheets as though the world had stopped spinning for a while.
Yu Ming, despite her best efforts to convince her mother otherwise, was made to sleep alone in her familiar room.
She tossed and turned, pouting beneath the covers, feeling like she’d been banished to the mortal realm while her friends stayed in heaven. Despite her better judgnt, she tried to sneak out of the room only to realize it was locked from the outside and even the windows were closed shut.
"Damn you, matriarch! Why did you have to know so well?" Grumbling under her breath, the little Yu Ming snugged back under her sheets and went to sleep, not realizing her mother had heard every word she spoke.
Yu ilin ignored her daughter’s words as she sat in her own luxurious room in a relaxed, sprawled posture, sipping wine. It was only when she was out of the sight of others that she allowed herself to relax and act as she pleased.
The night passed, and soon the morning arrived.
The sun had barely touched the tops of the trees when Yu Ming stepped out into the courtyard, her long violet hair trailing behind her like a cot’s tail.
The morning mist clung to the earth, and dew-laced flowers shivered in the breeze. Birds chirped faint notes in the distance.
And soon she found the targets she had been looking for.
There they stood, feeling the light breeze of the dawn, sitting on the soft cushion chairs.
Noah and Xin Yan sat together beneath the arching shade of a spirit peach tree, the petals drifting down, forming a beautiful scene to look at.
Yu Ming bounded up to them with the energy of soone far too excited for the early hour.
"You’re up early!" she exclaid, cheeks puffed slightly. "You didn’t even wake ."
"We assud you’d be catching up on sleep," Noah said with a faint smile, "after being scolded in front of your friends."
Yu Ming flushed. "I was not scolded."
"Anyway," Yu Ming huffed, waving it off as she plopped down beside them. "I ca to ask about cultivation. I wanted to know how far you’ve co since we last trained together."
Noah paused for a mont, as though debating whether to tell her. But soon he revealed everything to her.
Yu Ming stared at him, mouth slightly open. "You—what? You’re at the peak too? And you’re suppressing your breakthrough?!"
Noah nodded, sipping his tea. "Sa as you."
Her shock was genuine. She had thought herself unique in this struggle—alone in her secret growth.
Not to ntion, the ti she left Noah, he was nowhere near her, at least in terms of the cultivation level, and now he could have surpassed her long ago but chose not to break through for so reason.
She let out a long sigh after so ti and spoke, "The only reason I am taking my ti is because I do not want to break the record of the hidden family by revealing my tribulation to them."
"They are already annoying as they are. If I reveal more talent, they will press harder."
Her words made Noah and Xin Yan curious; the latter could not help but ask what had happened, and Yu Ming revealed everything about the marriage agreent.
"I want to leave," she said suddenly, her voice low but firm. "I want to go with you. If I stay here, the mont I break through, everyone will know. The elders, the other families—they’ll all co sniffing around like spirit hounds. I need space. Sowhere quiet. Sowhere safe."
Noah looked at her with a quiet gaze, thoughtful but unreadable.
Before he could speak, a new voice broke the morning calm.
"No."
The soft sound of footsteps ca from behind them. Yu ilin entered the garden, her white robes catching the morning breeze, hair immaculate, expression unreadable.
Yu Ming rose to her feet instantly. "Mother—!"
But the matriarch raised a hand, silencing her.
"I heard everything," she said calmly, her eyes shifting to Noah for a mont before settling on her daughter. "And I cannot allow it."
"But why?" Yu Ming protested. "You saw my progress. You know I can handle myself now."
Yu ilin’s gaze grew colder, more burdened. "This isn’t about your ability. It’s about the world you would be walking into."
Her voice lowered, heavy with concern.
"You heard what the boy said yesterday. The dangers of the Red Dawn Cult are too significant for to just ignore and send you out there." The matriarch took the whole to confirm Noah’s words through the information network of their guild and ca to know about the attack at the temple and the two disciples of the hidden sects scouting for information in the outside realm.
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