Feng parted her lips and declared in an almost euphoric voice:
"It’s time to rob my family blind."
"Hoh. You truly don’t like those peeps."
"Hmph!" She snorted as if the very notion was ridiculous. "Of course not. They sold me away to the main family so that they could suck up to them. They knew my life would be ruined if I were to be wed to that bastard Zhang, but they signed the betrothal anyway. So please don’t call them my family..."
Her voice trailed off. A breeze passed, and she glanced aside, hugging her arms. Then, barely above a whisper, she muttered:
"...You’re my only family."
Quinlan blinked.
Then smiled softly.
He reached out and gently patted her head, ruffling her dark hair. "Despite being quite the brat, you’ve somehow found a way into this handsome gentleman’s heart as well."
"Hmph..." she snorted again, though her cheeks were pink from the extreme amount of joy she struggled to hide.
But then he added with a sly grin, "You’re like a precious little sister to me."
"...Tch!" Her face scrunched.
She turned her back to him in annoyance, but he could see her ears glowing red. Her pride might’ve taken a hit, but the fondness in her steps told another story.
"So, when do we strike?" he asked.
Feng glanced over her shoulder, her pout fading. "There’s about a month until the annual Water Purification Ceremony starts. That’s when the entire Jiai household gets busy. Internal security thins, and most people will be too distracted to notice someone poking around the estate."
"Nice," Quinlan nodded. "And their strength?"
"Nowhere near Serika’s," she said confidently. "You nearly beat one of her elite retainers. At your peak, you could probably go toe-to-toe with their top three batants... Though probably not all at once. We’re the Seastone Clan’s financial branch, the accountants, merchants, and logistics personnel. Not the main batants. That’s why I see a chance for the two of us to pull this off."
"Perfect. Then I’ll use this time to recover my strength."
Feng nodded... then hesitated.
"What about your saber?" she asked. "That black one..."
Quinlan’s gaze grew distant. "Still in Serika’s palace. I’ll get it back eventually, once I’m strong enough to take it without having to beg for it." He looked at his hands. "For now, I’ll settle for fists... or maybe another blade."
...
The Days That Followed
They lived a simple, wild, and free life in the forest.
By day, Quinlan trained. He stood shirtless by the riverbank, muscles taut and glistening with sweat as he practiced the Blazing Tyrant Style, preparing himself to rework its flame-based stances through the lens of his evolving elemental path once he acquired the shards. Without access to his fire qi, the movements were raw, focused on power, balance, and precision. His arms swung in explosive arcs, and his legs kicked with the strength of pressed earth.
Each strike cracked the ground beneath him, his biceps bulging and veins throbbing from exertion. Though the flames no longer responded, he could feel the shape of them in his bones as phantom echoes of the style that once danced like wildfire through his veins. But with every passing second, he felt the fire returning to life. Bit by bit.
When not training, they hunted, gathered herbs, and roasted meals beneath sun-dappled trees. Feng—ever dramatic—would flop across the warm stones by the stream after lunch, declaring herself a noble lady who needed to sunbathe so that she could get her vitamins. With grapes in hand, she would sunbathe with her hair loose, letting the breeze wash over her.
And at night...
"I’m still weak, okay?!" she’d argue, already curled in his arms before he could say no. "I need to recover fully from the cold I suffered so we could escape properly!" ꭆ𝘢ＮՕВЕ𝙨
Quinlan would only chuckle, adjusting his position to keep her fortable. Truth be told, the habit did not bother him. She snored lightly, mumbled in her sleep, and kicked his legs, yes, but in some strange, stubborn way, it had bee a nightly fort to him as well.
...
Two Weeks Later
He stood by the river again, bare-chested and steady, as he cycled his qi and punched through the air with a sharp crack. Flames erupted from his palm, launching the water out of the river with steam hissing to life.
"Stupid Uncle," came a familiar voice from behind him.
He turned.
Feng stood there, munching on a handful of grapes with one cheek puffed out.
"It’s time."
Quinlan grinned, letting out a slow breath as he shook out his arms.
"Then let’s go rob your family blind, brat."
...
At the heart of the Jiai estate stood the Azure Mirror Lake. A still, crystalline expanse of water that shimmered with a gentle glow even under the shadow of night. It was said the lake had been blessed by an ancient Water Spirit and that every year, during the Water Purification Ceremony, the family would gather to purge the impurities built up over the past cycle.
It was a sacred tradition, requiring great effort from the Jiai family’s cultivators. For generations, they had basked in the lake’s blessings, their strength rising with every successful ritual.
And yet...
Even as the family prepared for this year’s rite, darkness festered inside the manor’s upper chambers.
...
Jiai Manor – West Wing
Jiai Renyuan, the eldest son of the current family head, pinned a trembling maid beneath him. His breath was sour, reeking of wine and bitterness, his face flushed with anger and entitlement. The girl whimpered beneath him, cheeks wet with tears of sorrow, wrists bruised from struggling.
"Please... young master, spare me..."
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A loud pounding struck the door.
"Renyuan!" came a stern female voice. His mother. "Get down to the lake! The ceremony’s already begun!"
Renyuan grunted. "I’m ing, Mother!"
"Damned deliquent boy..." The footsteps retreated alongside a healthy dose of cursing.
He turned back to the maid, who was now trying to crawl away.
"Where do you think you’re going?" he growled, grabbing her ankle and dragging her back. She twisted and kicked, pleading again.
"I have nothing to do with anything! Let go of me!"
His fist slammed into her stomach, silencing her.
"Nothing to do with anything?" he spat. "Everything that’s wrong with my life started with that little whore Feng!"
His eyes blazed with hate as his fists clenched at his sides.
"She ruined me. Ruined me! Do you know what the Seastone Clan promised me if that wedding went through? They were going to give me Meihua Xian! The jade beauty of their lineage! A gift, they said. A gesture of alliance. And I would’ve bee the next head of the Jiai family. My name would’ve meant something across the Water Nation!"
He kicked over a stool. It shattered.
"But that little slut just had to run away. Arrogant! Ungrateful! She dared to abandon her family? For what?"
"She’s your sister..." the maid whimpered.
Another blow came, this time to her jaw.
"And you’re just a maid! Speak only when prompted."
That’s when the ceiling groaned above them.
Before Renyuan could even look up, a shadow dropped on top of him with the weight of what felt like a ton from the rafters.
A thick, muscular arm looped around his throat.
"Wha-!"
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