The moon hung in the sky and cicadas chirped their song. Almost everyone else was in bed by now—except the guards who were out on patrol. It was their job to ensure no one unauthorized snuck into the clan, but they were also making sure the younger clansmen didn’t try to sneak out and cause trouble.

The Wu Clan was an important clan in Zahn City. Being an important clan meant they had a good deal of wealth compared to everybody else, which also meant there might be people who wanted to steal from them. Wu Jian didn’t know why anyone would turn to a life of crime, but he had been taught about criminals and capital punishment since dealing with them was one of many duties of the clan head. Their job as a clan was to enforce the laws set down by Emperor Hou Gun.

Wu Jian lay awake in bed, waiting. He strained his ears to listen. No sounds except the cicadas met them, but still he continued to listen, quietly, with only his own breathing to accompany the songs of the night.

Finally, it came.

A knock at the door.

Wu Jian slipped out from underneath his covers, crept toward the shoji screen door, and pressed his hands against it.

“It’s a lovely night, isn’t it?” he asked.

“But not as lovely as me, right?” a girlish voice said back.

Grinning, Wu Jian opened the door just a crack and allowed someone to slip inside. The person turned out to be a young girl with skin whiter than fresh snow, sky blue eyes, pink lips, and hair like midnight. It was Wu Meiying, who was grinning at him with pride.

“Did the guards spot you?” Wu Jian asked.

“Hmph. Who do you think you’re talking to? The guards would never be able to spot me even if they trained for a million years,” Wu Meiying crossed her arms and huffed like she was pouting that he dared to ask such a question.

“It doesn’t hurt to ask. Anyway, make yourself comfortable.”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying crawled underneath the covers of his futon. It was cold during the winter, and it was even colder at night. Wu Meiying’s body was practically freezing. Even Wu Jian hissed and jerked back when he touched her cold skin.

“Gosh, your skin is so cold,” he said.

“Of course it is. It’s cold outside.”

“Guess I should help you warm up then.”

They didn’t lay down right away. Sitting facing each other, Wu Jian placed his hands on Wu Meiying’s shoulders and began rubbing her arms to warm them up. His own skin became chilly. He could see her better thanks to the light from the moon. Her face and lips were paler than normal.

“My lips are also cold,” Wu Meiying said.

“Okay. I’ll warm those up too.”

Wu Jian leaned over and kissed Wu Meiying, who happily returned it. This was something that his father and mother often did when they thought no one was looking. Wu Jian and Wu Meiying began copying them after seeing them do it several times. His father and mother had both told them they couldn’t kiss and tried to explain that it was something only married couples did, but they didn’t see the problem. They were going to marry when they were older, so it was okay.

After Wu Meiying’s body became warmer, they both laid down so they were facing each other and talked. They talked about whatever struck their fancy, from what they thought of that morning’s lessons to how much older Grandpa Son looked.

“I noticed Instructor Lan doesn’t have us do any physical training. Why is that?”

“Hmmm. I think it’s because you can exercise on your own. You don’t need an instructor for that, but you do need someone who can teach you combat.”

“Oh. Yeah, guess that makes sense. Do you think it might also be to see who among us is willing to take the initiative?”

“Could be. Maybe they want us to train on our own to prove we’re worth spending more resources on.”

“By the way, did you get a good look at Grandpa Son’s face today? I think I saw a new wrinkle on his face today.”

“He also has less hair. Do you think it’s from stress?”

“I don’t know, but I did hear a rumor that Wu Yong and his flunkies have been caught mistreating the books. They were let off because Wu Yong is uncle’s son, and Wu Fei and Wu Ming are grandsons of the elders.”

“Father should think about hiring an alchemist to make Grandpa Son hair growth pills.”

“Do those even exist?”

“Tee-hee. I’m sure someone somewhere has made them.”

When Wu Jian and Wu Meiying were younger, they used to sleep together like this all the time. He didn’t remember much about that time. However, his mother often told him that Wu Meiying would cry something fierce whenever she tried to separate them and only stopped when they were brought back together. That stopped after they got older. His father had said they were too old to sleep together and sent Wu Meiying to live in the building meant for servants and unmarried women of the clan… but that hadn’t stopped them from sleeping together anyway. Wu Meiying would simply sneak into his room every night.

He had no idea how she did it.

He knew that he couldn’t have snuck past all the guards like that.

“It’s very easy to slip past the guards,” Wu Meiying said when he commented on this. “I just had to memorize what their patrol routes were.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not as easy as you make it sound. Don’t the guards have random patrols each night?”

“Well, it’s easy for me then. I can always figure out what routes they are taking and move around them.”

“See? I think you’re just too incredible for your own good.”

“You’re incredible, too,” Wu Meiying said earnestly.

Wu Jian shook his head. “I’m not that amazing.”

“But you are.” Wu Meiying scooted closer until they were nose to nose. “I don’t think you realize how much potential you have. I just know… I know that you can become the strongest person in the entire world.”

“Well, if you’re the one saying it, I guess I have no choice but to believe it,” Wu Jian said with a grin.

Wu Meiying had never been wrong about anything before. Back when they were just four, she had told him that Aunt Jia would give birth to fraternal twins and name them Han and Lin. He hadn’t believed her at the time. However, Aunt Jia had given birth to twins eight months later and named them Han and Lin. There was also the time she said Wu Yong would get in trouble for attempting to steal a Wu Clan scroll from the inner library and show it off to his friends in Zahn City. Then, two days later, he was punished with six months of latrine duty for attempting to sneak out of the clan compound with a Wu Clan technique scroll. She had made many such predictions. Each one had come true.

The point was, Wu Meiying was never wrong, so whenever she said something, Wu Jian always believed her.

“I’m very glad we decided to do some more research on cultivation,” Wu Meiying said in a whisper. “We’re not supposed to learn how to cultivate until much later, but I believe it will help you grow stronger by knowing more now. Knowledge is power, after all.”

“Yeah. We should also begin doing those exercises described in the scroll,” Wu Jian said.

Wu Meiying nodded. “Instructor Lan has only been teaching us the Wu Clan’s martial arts and how to fall properly; he isn’t helping us train our bodies, and I don’t think the Wu Clan’s martial arts suits you anyway. Training on our own will prove more effective than just doing what everyone else is doing.”

The Wu Clans’ martial arts training was formulaic and designed to teach everyone the same forms, but Wu Meiying said she believed different people needed different training methods to reach their full potential. Wu Jian agreed with her.

“What martial arts do you think would suit me?” asked Wu Jian.

Wu Meiying’s eyes fluttered. “I’m not sure… but I know… I know it’s not what we’re learning right now. You need something… fierce… and powerful… like a tiger that can tear apart… the heavens…”

Wu Meiying’s eyes drooped more and more, and she yawned between words. Wu Jian was also feeling tired, so he scooted a little closer, until their foreheads were touching, and slowly closed his eyes. They would have to wake up early tomorrow morning and begin training.

Wu Jian dreamed as he slept. He dreamed of a young boy who fell in love with a beautiful woman. He didn’t know who the woman was. Her face was blurry and he could only make out her silhouette, but the longing he felt in the dream made him think she was somehow important. Something about her also felt familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it…

“Wu Jian. Little Meiying. It’s time to wake up.”

Wu Jian groaned as he opened his eyes. It felt like he had barely gotten any sleep at all, the dream still lingering in his mind’s eye. He blinked several times as his blurry vision swam into focus. Right in front of his face was the slowly waking Wu Meiying, whose long, black eyelashes contrasted wonderfully with her white skin. He took a moment to admire her as he often did when his mind was addled.

“Are you two going to sleep in bed all day? Come on. It’s time to get up.”

Then the voice that had woken him spoke again. Wu Jian jerked in shock and turned to find his mother staring at them with an amused smile. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

“his mother… um, I-I can explain this,” he said, breaking out into a cold sweat.

His father had forbidden him and Wu Meiying from sleeping together, but they had disobeyed those orders, and now his mother had walked into his room to catch them fast asleep next to each other. This felt similar to that time he had tried to eat his father’s birthday cake immediately after the head chef had made it. The scolding he received back then had left him cowering in fear.

She’s not gonna punish us, is she? Maybe we should have been more careful. Mei is usually good at waking up before everyone else and sneaking back into her room. Why didn’t she do that this time? Was she that tired? Ugh… what am I gonna do?! What can I do?!

“I’ll bet you can, but there’s no need,” his mother said with a gentle but funny smile.

“There isn’t?” Wu Jian asked tentatively.

“There isn’t,” Wu Meiying said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she yawned. “Because I told Aunty Àiliàn to wake us up this morning.”

“Why would you do that?” asked Wu Jian.

“Because we’re going to train, right?” said Wu Meiying with a smile. Then she bowed her head to his mother. “Good morning, Aunty Àiliàn.”

“Good morning, you two. You know, your father would be furious if he knew you were both still sleeping together,” his mother said.

“But you won’t tell him, right?” asked Wu Meiying with a knowing smile.

“You won’t?” Wu Jian tilted his head in bemusement.

His mother shook her head, smile still in place. “I won’t. We will keep this a secret between us… though you will have to stop sleeping together like this after you both turn ten at least. Anyway, now that you are both awake, I’ll take my leave. Breakfast will be served in a couple of hours. Don’t be late.”

After his mother left the room, Wu Jian turned to Wu Meiying, who was rubbing her eyes as she crawled out of the futon. She was only wearing her white under dress, but she quickly grabbed her pink hanfu ruqun and slid it up her shoulders. Wu Jian walked over and lent her a hand. She smiled at him.

“You should get dressed in a training gi,” Wu Meiying said.

“Right.”

Wu Jian had several training gis. All of them were black and white. He chose one and dressed quickly, grabbed a small sack, then followed Wu Meiying outside. They had to be careful when slipping out of the building. Several Wu Clan members were patrolling the courtyard, but they were sneaky and managed to reach a small patch of forest where no one would bother them.

Zahn City was located past a pair of mountains called the Twin Fangs because they looked like a pair of monster fangs. The Wu Clan’s compound was located half an hour’s travel from Zahn City by carriage and close to a heavily forested region surrounding the mountains. Wu Jian had been told the forest was home to many magical beasts, but he had never seen one of them before. Mist emerged from his mouth as he followed the girl leading him.

“Did you bring the scrolls with you?” asked Wu Meiying.

“Of course,” Wu Jian said as he set the sack on the ground and opened it to reveal several scrolls.

“Then let’s get started.” Wu Meiying grabbed the first scroll marked with the character for one and unfurled it. She studied it for a moment before nodding. “This one talks about the need for endurance and staying limber. It looks like we’ll be doing stretches first, and then going for a run.”

Wu Jian followed along with Wu Meiying as she led them through a series of stretches. Some of them were very simple, but a few were more complex, and Wu Jian found he couldn’t do all of them because he wasn’t limber enough. His saving grace was that there were many stretches that his companion couldn’t do either. That made him feel a little better.

“Hmmm. I guess we’ll have to work on these for a while before we can do them all perfectly,” Wu Meiying said with a giggle.

“We’re just not limber enough,” Wu Jian agreed, sighing as he placed his hands on his hips. “Anyway, let’s go on that run.”

“In that case, let’s do fifteen laps around this clearing,” Wu Meiying suggested.

Wu Jian didn’t know how big this clearing was, but it was definitely big. He thought it might be at least the same size as the Wu Clan’s training hall.

They began running around the clearing. Wu Jian started off with a fast run. He wanted to show off how determined he was to get stronger, but this backfired on him when he quickly lost steam, huffing and puffing long before he reached the end of their goal. He had never run like this before. His body simply couldn’t handle it.

“Urk… haaaah… haaaah… ooooh…”

“Are you okay?”

“No… I feel sick… urp…”

“That’s because you tried to run at full speed.” Wu Meiying rolled her eyes, smiled, and began rubbing Wu Jian’s back as he knelt over, dry heaving. “Weren’t you listening when I read the scroll? It says we need to start off light and work our way up.”

“I-I know that, but I just really want to get stronger,” Wu Jian muttered as his cheeks heated up. He thanked the heavens it was so cold that he could blame his redness on the temperature instead of embarrassment.

“Which I am glad for,” Wu Meiying said, voice gentle. “But that’s also why you can’t push yourself too hard yet. You need to build up your strength.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Wu Jian apologized.

They did several more exercises, including pushups, pullups, squats, staggered squats, and a whole lot more. Wu Jian was unable to do more than a few of each. He felt winded every time they finished one set.

Was it going to always be like this? He could see why so few people bothered to exercise. It was a pain.

The only silver lining he could find was that Wu Meiying also could not finish her exercises. Her face was red with exertion by the time they were done, and just like him, her face was coated in a layer of sweat.

It had been dark before, but now light filtered in through the forest, casting shadows in the shape of intertwining branches along the ground. Wu Jian looked up to find the sun had risen sometime during their training.

“I think that’s enough for today. Let’s wipe off all this sweat and head to the dining hall for breakfast,” Wu Meiying said.

Wu Jian had never heard words more beautiful.