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

Younger clansmen always liked to push their boundaries, to see how far they could go before the older clansmen would punish them. It wasn’t unusual for some of the older teenagers to sneak into a woman’s room at night. Wu Jian had heard many stories of young clansmen and -women getting in trouble for having trysts. A few years ago, a young man by the name Wu Hikong had been banished from the clan for sleeping with Wu Meo, who had already been promised to another.

The Wu Clan was an important faction in Zahn City. Being an important clan meant they had a good deal of wealth compared to everybody else, which also meant there were 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 the clan head’s many duties. Their duty as a clan was to enforce the laws set down by Emperor Hou Gun and pay the yearly tax in the form of either currency or crops.

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, 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 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 and sat down. 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 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 faced each other, and Wu Jian placed his hands on Wu Meiying’s shoulders and began rubbing her arms to warm them up. 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 pouted at him.

“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 had begun copying them after seeing them do it several times. His father and mother had both told them they couldn’t kiss and had tried to explain that it was something only married couples did, but Wu Jian and Wu Meiying didn’t see the problem. They were going to marry when they were older, after all.

After Wu Meiying’s body became warmer, they both laid down so they were facing each other. Whenever they would meet under the cover of night, they would talk about whatever struck their fancy, from what they thought of that morning’s lessons to how much older Wu Yéyé looked.

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

Wu Meiying tilted her head in thought. “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, I 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.”

The Wu Clan was big in Zahn City, but small in the grand scheme of things. They didn’t have many cultivation resources. Naturally, that meant the individuals on whom the clan spent those resourceswere people who had proven their worth.

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

“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 Yōushì Shūshu’s son, and Wu Fei and Wu Ming are grandsons of the elders.”

“Fùqīn should think about hiring an alchemist to make Wu Yéyé hair growth pills.”

“Tee-hee. Do those even exist?”

“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, and only knew what his mother had told him. In either event, that hadn’t stopped them from sleeping together. Wu Meiying still snuck 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 them,” 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.”

He didn’t delude himself into thinking he was something special. Wu Jian was just a boy from a small clan with no real prospects. He would grow up, become clan head, and eventually die of old age. Oh. But it was possible Wu Yong would become clan head instead,in which case Wu Jian would likely be banished or relegated to the role of a servant. He shuddered at the thought.

“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 Jia Gūgu would give birth to fraternal twins and name them Han and Lin. He hadn’t believed her at the time. However, Jia Gūgu had given birth to twins eight months later, and had indeed named them Han and Lin. There was also the time she had 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 had been punished with six months of latrine duty for attempting to sneak out with a Wu Clan technique scroll. She had made many such predictions, and each one had come true.

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. Knowledge is power, after all.”

“Yeah. We should 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 suit you anyway. Training on our own will prove more effective than just doing what everyone else is doing.”

The Wu Clan’s 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 and different martial arts 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 also felt 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.