"What did you say...?"
Inside the large trading hall that served as Wild Bloom Sect's main stronghold, a middle-aged man repeated the question in disbelief. He stared at the disciple standing before him, who was reading from a report in a trembling voice.
"It seems Second Elder Zhu Yihan and Li Jiyao have displeased the battlefield heroine, sir..."
"How did this happen!?"
He snapped furiously. The male disciple jumped in fright and recounted the whole incident from beginning to end.
After hearing the full story, the man pressed a hand to his forehead. He truly should not have let the Second Elder and that girl handle this. All they'd managed to do was make things worse.
*I should have gone myself from the start.*
"Go prepare. I'll set out to meet her right—!"
Before he could finish, the room's large window swung open from outside. Sunlight and a cool breeze swept in, accompanied by the figure of a young woman who appeared without a sound.
She wore a bulky, oversized robe that looked cumbersome to move in, yet when she entered the room, not a single footstep could be heard.
"You don't need to go."
"Sect Head!"
The middle-aged man clasped his hands in a quick bow. She waved it off without interest and walked straight to the large table, taking the seat at its head.
"Is everything settled on that end?"
"Mm... The King's condition has begun to stabilize."
Not quite. To be accurate, it simply wouldn't get any worse than this.
She picked up the stack of reports and skimmed through them. "It seems that woman has some connection with the Goddess Alchemy Palace. Even if we went now, it would already be too late."
"...I see."
He nodded, pressing a hand to his chin in thought. The Goddess Alchemy Palace and Wild Bloom Sect had never gotten along. They operated in the same field, and in recent years the friction between them had only grown. By now, calling them outright enemies wouldn't be inaccurate.
"We don't yet know how close they are. Pass the word down. Hold position and watch."
"Yes, ma'am!"
He responded crisply, and privately held his Sect Head in no small measure of admiration. Even when she'd been away, she had continued to receive news and make decisions without a moment's delay. Before he left, she gave him one more instruction.
"Sect Head, is there anything else?"
"...Li Jiyao. Send that girl to the tower. Until I give the order myself, she is not to leave under any circumstances."
The single word "tower" was enough to make the male disciple who had been standing quietly nearby flinch. The Deputy Sect Head's brow furrowed.
"...And if the Second Elder objects, ma'am?"
"She wouldn't dare cross me. And if she dares... let her try."
"...Understood."
.
.
.
"Lady Heroine! Thank you so much for your help!"
After the chaos that had nearly brought the building down in earnest, the two young women of the Goddess Alchemy Palace were only now registering just how thoroughly they had embarrassed themselves, having cried with flushed faces in the arms of someone they'd never even met.
The moment they were alone with her, both girls hastily pulled away from Bai Fanxian's side and bowed their heads in thanks.
"It wasn't a big deal."
Bai Fanxian gave a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Mu Xia wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but the young woman's gaze as it settled on them felt strangely warm, tinged with a fondness she couldn't quite place.
"Um... if you say so..."
The young girl scratched her cheek lightly, at a loss for what to say next. They were in the guest room that Sage White-Beard had arranged for Bai Fanxian. The old man himself was busy dealing with the structural damage she had caused. Fortunately, no one had been hurt.
"We really must apologize for dragging you into the Goddess Alchemy Palace's internal affairs like this."
Su Lin, the more composed of the two, cleared her throat and bowed her head with genuine sincerity.
But instead of a response, she found Bai Fanxian giving her head a gentle pat, as if in consolation. Every ounce of solemnity Su Lin had built up dissolved almost instantly.
"..."
"...Ah. Sorry, I forgot myself for a moment."
Bai Fanxian withdrew her hand with a casual air.
What could she do? She was so pleased right now she could barely contain it.
At last! Even after ten thousand years — she had finally met someone with a living connection to who she had been.
It was like proof that she had existed. The more Bai Fanxian looked at them, the more inexplicable fondness rose in her chest, and she had to keep stopping herself from just reaching out and patting both girls on the head.
You must be the grand-disciple of the grand-disciple of the grand-disciple of the grand-disciple of the grand-disciple of my own disciples, aren't you?
No. In truth, there would need to be quite a few more of those in the chain before the count was right.
And so, as far as Bai Fanxian was concerned, even though these two were already teenagers, in her eyes they might as well have been toddlers just learning to walk.
Her beloved little grand-disciples!
With that thought came a renewed flicker of anger. Hadn't those people who'd just left been ganging up on her grand-disciples a moment ago?
Wild Bloom in particular. From the argument she'd overheard between the two girls, it wasn't hard to guess this wasn't the first time. Bai Fanxian filed the grievance away and resolved to settle accounts later.
"Don't worry. I'll handle everything myself."
Bai Fanxian settled at the table and poured tea. She didn't forget to invite the two girls to sit across from her, setting out the generous spread of sweets that Sage White-Beard had prepared.
Mu Xia felt a strange sense of awkwardness. She glanced sideways at her senior sister with a look that said she didn't know what to make of this, and found Su Lin sending the exact same look back.
The battlefield heroine... wasn't this a little too kind?
Hadn't yesterday's rumor said she had just blasted a hole in the throne room ceiling because she'd been displeased with the King?
"Um... it might be rude to ask, but... why did you help us?"
Before Su Lin could finish, a commotion outside the door cut her off. The door swung open and four small figures filed in.
"Kuro's eaten too much!"
"Meow! Kuro only just had twelve pieces — meow!"
"...That is too much."
"Haaaaah..."
Just from those lines, it wasn't hard to guess who was speaking. Tang Yeye ran in and tugged at Bai Fanxian's sleeve, pointing at the little black cat, who was rounding into something very much resembling a ball.
"My lady, scold Kuro a little. Kuro ate all four of our snacks!"
"Meow! Kuro did nothing wrong — meow!"
The black cat leapt onto the table to protest, but its lack of balance sent it rolling sideways, leaving its round, bulging belly fully exposed, which rather undermined its case.
"...Kuro?"
Amid all the commotion, Mu Xia and Su Lin went still. They recognized this little cat immediately, in a way they couldn't explain.
And that name — "Kuro."
"Meow! I'm back — meow..."
When the cat turned and met the eyes of the two girls, its eyes went wide. Delight showed plainly in its gaze, and just as quickly, anxiety crept in. It worried it was about to be scolded for being gone so long, and its voice came out small and uncertain.
"Kuro!"
But instead of a scolding, it was swept into both girls' arms at once in a rush of relief. Mu Xia drew it out of the embrace — and that was when the cat saw it: a single tear, unguarded, at the corner of the young girl's eye.
"...Goodness. I'm so glad you're alright. Running off right before the battle — we thought you were..."
The little cat squirmed with guilt, unsure what to do. Finally, it raised one small paw and pointed it at Bai Fanxian, who was watching the whole scene with quiet contentment from her seat, sipping tea.
"This one — meow! Kuro brought her — meow! She's the one who can help us — meow!"
"...?"
"Kuro went to another dimension — meow! This person is the strongest — meow!"
It wriggled free of Mu Xia's hands and went to rub against Bai Fanxian's palm with shameless flattery.
"...Is that true?"
When she met the girl's eyes — earnest and full of hope — Bai Fanxian could not bring herself to be stern. She gave a small smile and flicked the little cat on the forehead.
"Yes... it showed up in my place and cried for help."
"...W-we're so sorry for the trouble it caused!"
Both girls jumped up and bowed in a flustered apology, worried that Kuro had done something disruptive during its visit.
"Don't be. Coming here was my own choice."
"Even so, we're grateful. This truly is our own problem to deal with."
Su Lin spoke with a quiet discomfort at having drawn an outsider into their troubles. Her apologetic gaze rested on Bai Fanxian without pause, until Bai Fanxian sighed.
"...I am more connected to you than you realize."
She murmured it almost to herself, barely above a whisper. No one caught the words clearly.
"Pardon? What did you say?"
"...Nothing. Now then, help me pack up. I'd like to see your palace for myself."
Bai Fanxian declined to explain and rose to her feet. She wasn't ready to lay out the connection yet. First, she wanted to see the state of the Goddess Alchemy Palace for herself.
"Um... do you mean... all of that as well?"
Mu Xia swallowed. The room was piled with gifts, an enormous quantity, every piece a treasure from the various powers that had come to pay their respects. And that was before counting what was stacked outside in the corridor.
There was no way three or four people could carry all of this!
"Yes. Let's see, keep the sweets for the children. Everything else, I'll give to your palace."
Bai Fanxian pointed at the box of sweets that Tang Yeye had already sorted aside and was guarding with great jealousy.
"Excuse me!?"
Su Lin's eyes went wide. What looked like a random jumble of clutter was, in reality, third-grade treasure at the very least. Some pieces were rarer still, having once belonged to established sects.
Was she really saying she'd give it all away, just like that?
"...Why not? They didn't want to take it back themselves, did they?"
The faintest smile touched Bai Fanxian's lips, and both girls startled. After the collapse at midday, not a single faction had dared linger. Even Wild Bloom's people had left their gift boxes where they stood and retreated, faces pale.
Not one of them had protested being dismissed without ceremony. Not one had dared take their gifts back.
"Besides, your palace is struggling financially right now, isn't it?"
That last line closed every door Su Lin might have used to refuse.
She couldn't help sweeping her gaze across the full pile of treasure and calculating. At this quantity, it would be more than enough to lift the Goddess Alchemy Palace, teetering on the edge of ruin as it was, back to its feet.
With a single sentence.
A single sentence from this person could solve all of the palace's financial troubles in an instant.
She looked at Bai Fanxian with a gaze full of reverence. Something in her instincts stirred, insistently. She couldn't say why she trusted this woman as much as she did.
But her instincts told her that if this person chose to help them... then perhaps, the Goddess Alchemy Palace could rise again to what it once was.
...No.
It would be even more glorious than before.