Silence fell over the private room.
Only the faint sound of Larvitar's occasional breathing could be heard, along with the distant chirping of insects outside the window.
Lin Xia quietly looked at Zhu Zhuyun.
The struggle in her eyes, the pain, that "protective instinct" twisted by ironclad rules, and the deep, indescribable fear within her were all clearly reflected in his dark golden pupils.
Lin Xia understood now. It was not that Zhu Zhuyun did not love her sister. On the contrary, her "harshness" was the deepest form of love and protection she knew guardianship disguised as harm under rules born of despair.
She had turned herself into the sharpest whetstone on her sister's path of growth. Even if that stone cut herself, she would still sharpen her sister enough to face the life-and-death battle that was destined to come.
At the same time, Lin Xia keenly grasped the information hidden in Zhu Zhuyun's words.
Zhu Zhan, and even some members of the Zhu family, truly favored Zhu Zhuqing.
That perhaps explained why Zhu Zhan had tacitly allowed Lin Xia's interference, because he also cared for his younger daughter, and was also seeking a delicate balance on the edge of those rules, afraid of going too far, afraid of completely crushing Zhu Zhuqing's spirit.
But understanding did not mean agreement.
Lin Xia still despised this system that twisted blood ties into a deadly breeding ground where only one could survive.
He loathed the pain inflicted in the name of "it is for your own good."
Zhu Zhuyun's methods might be effective within the rules, but the price was too high, too cold.
Yet he was also painfully aware that his current strength was still insufficient to shake the thousand-year iron laws of the Star Luo Empire, insufficient to change the deeply rooted fate of the Dai and Zhu families.
If he forcibly intervened, he might temporarily ease Zhu Zhuqing's suffering—but in the long run, would that truly help her?
Would it instead cause her to lose even faster and more miserably in the future confrontation because she lacked true "tempering"?
Zhu Zhuyun's worries were not without reason.
That heavy realization left Lin Xia in prolonged silence.
He could not easily say "I agree," because it would go against his heart.
Nor could he firmly refuse, because that might truly harm Zhu Zhuqing.
Time slowly passed.
At last, Lin Xia let out a deep sigh.
That sigh was filled with helplessness toward cruel reality, understanding toward Zhu Zhuyun's twisted struggle, and deep concern for the future of that small girl.
He did not say "yes," nor did he say "no."
Lin Xia merely raised his eyes to meet Zhu Zhuyun's tense and expectant gaze, then nodded very slowly, very solemnly.
That nod was not a promise to stand aside. It was more like a complicated compromise and temporary retreat.
It meant that he understood Zhu Zhuyun's position and difficulties, understood the stakes involved, and accepted her "right," as the elder sister, to guide Zhu Zhuqing's growth within the existing framework of rules.
At least, until he found a better way one that did not betray his principles and could truly help Zhu Zhuqing, he would no longer directly interfere as he had before to disrupt Zhu Zhuyun's plans.
But Lin Xia's gaze remained clear and resolute, silently conveying another message.
He would not stop watching.
He reserved the right to intervene, in his own way, when the time truly came.
That nod was only temporary.
When Zhu Zhuyun saw him nod, the tension in her body seemed to ease slightly. A trace of relief flashed deep in her eyes, only to be drowned again by even more complicated emotions.
She understood the reservation in Lin Xia's gaze.
But she also knew that, after understanding all the weight behind the matter, this was already the greatest concession he could make.
"Thank you."
Zhu Zhuyun's voice was somewhat hoarse. She rose to her feet, said nothing more, and turned to leave the private room.
Lin Xia did not stand to see her off.
He remained seated there, fingers unconsciously rubbing the warm teacup, his gaze fixed outside the window.
Larvitar seemed to sense its master's low and conflicted mood. It gently rubbed its cool, hard little head against Lin Xia's cheek and let out a soft, comforting cry.
"Larvitar…"
"Power…"
Lin Xia murmured, his gaze suddenly becoming incomparably sharp and blazing hot, like a blade fresh from the forge.
"I need greater power! Power enough to break the rules!"
"Not for anyone else, only so that I myself will no longer be bound by them!"
A cold wind swept up the dust of Star Luo City's streets and passed over the Zhu residence's towering yet oppressive walls.
Ever since that heavy conversation in the teahouse private room with Zhu Zhuyun about "cruelty" and "protection," Lin Xia's days had outwardly returned to calm, yet inwardly they carried deeper contemplation.
Lin Xia still kept watch over Zhu Zhuqing in that remote little courtyard, but his methods had become more subtle, like stones cast into a deep pool that raised only the faintest ripples.
There were no longer any childishly reckless "coincidences."
Instead, fresh seasonal fruit would quietly appear on her windowsill, or books recording basic Soul Power techniques and strange Soul Beasts of the continent would be "accidentally" left beside the stone bench where she often sat.
Larvitar would occasionally wander beneath her courtyard wall, leaving behind a few special ore fragments imbued with the aura of earth veins, like a silent greeting.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, like a young bamboo stalk frozen in the winter wind.
But from time to time, Lin Xia could still catch the brief moment when her fingertips paused while turning those pages, or the fleeting glimmer deep in her eyes when she discovered fruit on the windowsill at dawn.
That glimmer became the only warmth Lin Xia could draw from this mire of cold rules within the Zhu family.
More than ten days passed quietly beneath the oppressive atmosphere of the Zhu residence.
Just as Lin Xia was beginning to consider whether he should bid farewell to Zhu Yu and return to the Blacksmith Association in Gengxin City, a summons from the very center of Star Luo Empire's power finally arrived.
The palace eunuch who delivered it was respectful, yet carried unquestionable authority. He announced that His Majesty Emperor Dai Tianxing of the Star Luo Empire had finished dealing with urgent state affairs and would summon Lin Xia to the imperial palace's Starlight Hall to formally begin repairing the national treasure, the Star Crown.
When Zhu Yu personally came to escort Lin Xia from the Zhu residence, he was leaning beneath an ancient tree in the courtyard, idly turning a fragment of meteoric iron containing faint star energy between his fingers.
Larvitar lay at his feet, its crimson eyes warily sweeping over the visitor.
"Sister Zhu Yu."
Lin Xia looked up, a perfectly timed trace of childish impatience on his face as he spoke in a crisp voice.
"If you had come any later, I was planning to pack up and head back to Gengxin City. I thought His Majesty had already forgotten a country boy like me."
Today, Zhu Yu wore an even more formal deep-purple palace gown, her bare feet stepping in soft shoes inlaid with star diamonds.
Hearing that, the corners of her lips curved into an apologetic smile. Those star-like eyes that seemed to see through all worldly matters paused briefly on Lin Xia's seemingly complaining yet actually calm face.
Then she softly said,"Little one, do not blame us. The affairs of the empire are many, and His Majesty has labored day and night. Now that everything has settled, he summoned you at the very first opportunity."
"Do not worry. The reward promised to you the Star Luo Imperial Family will never go back on its word."
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