“Th-this is terrible,” Wu Meiying said the moment they left the meeting room. “Jian… Jian, how am I supposed to live if I don’t get my daily dose of Jianinium? I’ll wither away without you.”

“I do not know what Jianinium is, but I do not believe you will wither away if we don’t see each other for a month. You’re exaggerating,” Wu Jian said.

It was early morning now, and his mother was escorting them back to their rooms. They were traveling to Wu Meiying’s compound before heading to his. Several guardsmen watched them as they walked past. The light from the sun was just beginning to peak over the mountains to the east.

“I am not exaggerating. You’re my light. My life. A Wu Meiying without a Wu Jian is no better than a corpse,” Wu Meiying declared with her chest puffed out. She sounded almost proud.

Wu Jian gave her a troubled smile. He felt similar in many ways. Wu Meiying was an inextricable part of his life. They had been together for as long as he could remember, day and night, through thick and thin. Imagining a life without her caused his heart to grow cold. But he still thought she was exaggerating.

“I’ll give you two a minute to say goodbye to each other,” his mother said. “After that, you won’t be able to see each other for a month—oh. And Wu Meiying? No sneaking out of your room, okay?”

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying stiffened when his mother said that, all but admitting she knew Wu Meiying had been sneaking out of her compound and sleeping with Wu Jian every night. But all his mother did was smile and wink mischievously.

Since both now understood they really wouldn’t be able to see the other, Wu Jian and Wu Meiying turned to face each other and embraced. The warmth emitted by the other person made them tighten their arms around each other. This would be their last hug for a month, so it needed to count.

“I guess… we really won’t be able to see each other again for an entire month,” she whispered.

“Yeah…”

“Be sure to keep training even though you’re confined to your room.”

“Don’t worry. I will. Promise.”

“Good. And don’t forget to use that lotus we found. I don’t know what it does, but it’s surely powerful. I can feel it.”

“If I can figure out how to use it, I definitely will.”

“I guess that’s the most I can expect.”

“Yeah.”

“I… I really don’t want to let you go.”

Wu Jian felt the same way Wu Meiying did, but he also felt like her feelings were even stronger than his. There was a desperation about her that he did not have. It worried him, frankly. He wondered if maybe Wu Meiying had seen something that was causing her to act like this. Could a recent vision have worried her? He wanted to ask, but…

“Wu Jian, time to go,” his mother said, interrupting his thoughts.

“Okay.”

Wu Jian and Wu Meiying parted slowly, reluctantly. Wu Meiying’s lips were trembling, but she kept the tears that wanted to fall from leaving her eyes. He felt something stab his heart at the sight. However, just like her, he sucked in his feelings, smiled, and walked back toward his mom.

His last sight of Wu Meiying was of her disappearing into the compound.

“Gosh, you two are so utterly in love with each other, it’s hard to believe you’re both just children,” his mother said as she escorted him to his compound. She placed a hand on her cheek and presented him with a mischievous smile.

“You think so?” asked Wu Jian.

“What are you puffing out your chest for? Is that something to be proud about?” asked his mother, amused. “But yes, it is very strange how close you two are. Most boys and girls your age do not get along nearly that well. Of course, I don’t blame you. Wu Meiying will be very beautiful when she grows up.” She reached out and ruffled his hair. “Be sure to take care of her when the time comes, okay? If you don’t, she might leave you for another man who treats her better.”

He didn’t need her to tell him that, but he still nodded anyway.

“Yes, Mother.”

They passed by a garden covered in snow. The motes and streams that normally flowed through were frozen over, but they would thaw in another week at the latest. They were lucky. Further north lay Ice Phoenix Mountain, which was frozen year round. He found himself staring idly at an icicle hanging from a tree branch.

“Also, I want you to be wary of Elder Wei,” his mother said.

Wu Jian frowned. “But isn’t Elder Wei a member of our family? Why should I be wary of him?”

“Just because he is a member of our family doesn’t mean he has your best interests at heart.” His mother glanced around for a moment, then walked a little closer and spoke in a much softer voice. “Wu Wei was originally set to be the clan head. However, your father returned from serving in Emperor Jun’s military, challenged him for the title, and handedly defeated him in combat. That earned him the position of clan head and also Wu Wei’s enmity. I’m sure Wu Wei still remembers that humiliation. I believe he is trying to repay the favor by making it so you cannot become clan head in the future. He probably wants to make his grandson, Wu Fei, the next head of the clan. So be careful of him from now on.”

“I promise to be careful,” Wu Jian said at last.

His mother smiled at him. “Good. Ah. It looks like we are here.”

They had reached his compound, so his mother escorted him inside. When they got to his door, she bade him to turn around, gave him a hug, and slipped something inside of his bag. He blinked at the additional weight that caused his shoulder to sag, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“Train well for this next month. Confinement may seem like a punishment for many, but it can also be used to your advantage, if you know how,” his mother winked.

“I understand, Mother. Meiying said the same thing.”

“Little Mei is quite the smart girl. You should listen to her.”

His mother left the compound soon after, and Wu Jian entered his bedroom. The first thing he did was remove his pack and set it on the floor. Sticking out from the inside was a scroll. He removed his cloak, hung it up, then grabbed the scroll, which he unfurled and read.

“This is… Silver Lotus?”

The scroll contained details about a plant called the Silver Lotus, which was a rare plant that could only be found in cold climates. According to the scroll, the Silver Lotus helped cultivators at the Body Forging Realm by increasing their strength, the hardness of their muscles, their density, and also their flexibility. There were several different parts of the plant that were valuable: The stamen, the stem, the petals, and the seeds. Each part gave different benefits, which was listed in great detail.

“Mother… thank you. I will definitely train hard this month,” Wu Jian said in determination. Just then, he released a loud yawn.

Before he trained, he was going to get some sleep. This whole ordeal had exhausted him.