Su Chen shut the door to his room and leaned against the wooden frame. The dampness from the spirit spring still clung to his skin, making his inner tunic feel heavy.
He exhaled slowly, attempting to release the tension from his shoulders. The bath had been a disaster for his mental state.
He moved to the low wooden bed and sat cross-legged. It was crucial to assess his internal condition immediately.
Closing his eyes, he directed his consciousness inward. The silver liquid in his Dantian was restless, swirling like a storm in a confined space, stirred by the energy from the spring. Yet, as he examined his primary meridians, he discovered something else.
A faint, shimmering thread of pale blue energy wrapped loosely around his central spirit vein, pulsing with a warmth that felt unmistakably like Meiling.
'She didn't even mean to do it,' Su Chen mused.
'Her Qi is so powerful that it lingered when she tried to stabilize me.'
The issue lay in the nature of her energy it was high-grade and refined. If left unattended, it would eventually dissipate, but it acted like a beacon.
If she came near him again, she would sense that lingering connection.
He had to dissolve it quietly in the spirit world.
He began to circulate a small amount of his silver Qi, moving it slowly, like a cautious beast navigating through tall grass. He brushed against the edge of Meiling's blue thread.
It reacted immediately, sending a wave of false comfort through his chest—a phantom embrace, warm yet suffocating. Su Chen gritted his teeth.
'I need to grind this down!' he resolved.
he used his Qi to mimic the vibrations of the spirit spring's residual energy. He started to consume the blue thread at the edges, slowly converting it into neutral energy that appeared as though it had simply been absorbed.
It was painstaking work. Every few moments, he paused to listen to the hallway. Meiling was likely just outside, or in the next room, changing her damp clothes.
A sudden, sharp knock at the outer courtyard gate shattered his focus.
Su Chen opened his eyes and remained perfectly still. He heard the heavy iron bolt slide back. A voice he didn't recognize resonated across the stone tiles an authoritative man's voice, accustomed to being heard.
"Messenger from the Main Branch! I have an urgent summons for Young Master Su Chen!"
Su Chen frowned. The Main Branch rarely acknowledged this side estate.
Footsteps approached—not those of the messenger, but Meiling's. She moved swiftly, her light footsteps imbued with an urgency he hadn't heard before.
"Lower your voice," Meiling's cold tone drifted through the thin walls of his room. The playful charm was absent now.
"The Young Master is resting, Give me the scroll."
"Lady Meiling," the messenger replied, lowering his voice slightly but maintaining a stubborn edge.
"The Great Elder was very clear. This must be delivered to Su Chen personally. It concerns the upcoming ancestral rites and his status within the clan."
'Ancestral rites?' Su Chen thought. 'They want me to attend a gathering of the entire family. That's a death sentence!'
He moved to the window, peering through a narrow gap in the wooden slats. In the courtyard, Meiling stood facing a man dressed in the formal black and gold silk of the Main Branch.
Though she appeared smaller, her demeanor made the messenger seem as if he were the one in danger.
She extended her hand, fingers steady.
"I said, give it to me. I am his primary caregiver and legal guardian in this estate. Anything regarding his status concerns me."
The messenger hesitated, glancing between the scroll in his hand and Meiling. It dawned on him that he wouldn't get past her without an unwinnable fight.
"If he misses the summons, the consequences will fall on you, My Lady," he muttered, handing over a scroll sealed with dark red wax.
"I'm well aware of my responsibilities," Meiling replied.
She didn't wait for him to leave, turning and walking back toward the house. As she moved, Su Chen noticed her thumb pressing against the red wax seal.
Her expression paled as she read the contents. Her eyes widened, revealing genuine fear for a fleeting moment.
She quickly rolled the parchment back up and tucked it into her sleeve.
"He doesn't need to see this," she whispered to herself.
Su Chen stepped back from the window, sitting on the bed with his heart racing. He still had half of her blue Qi thread wrapped around his meridians, and now he knew of a secret summons he wasn't meant to discover.
'She's going to hide it...' he realized. 'She wants to keep me here, in this room, forever if she can!'
A flicker of genuine anger surged within him. While he appreciated her protection, this was beginning to feel unbearably small. He closed his eyes again, his silver Qi moving with newfound intensity.
He ceased mimicking the spring and began to aggressively break down the remaining blue thread.
If the Main Branch was calling for him, it meant the fragile peace his father had worked to establish was already unraveling.
He completed the purge just as Meiling's footsteps approached his door. He quickly slumped his shoulders and exhaled, adopting a pale, drawn expression.
The door swung open. Meiling entered, carrying a tray of light broth. She appeared perfectly calm, the fear he had glimpsed in the courtyard completely vanished, replaced by a bright smile.
"Are you feeling better, Chen?" she asked, setting the tray down and moving closer, her hand reaching for his forehead.
"I heard a noise outside, but it was just a lost delivery. Nothing for you to worry about."
Su Chen looked up at her, feeling the absence of her Qi, now cold and empty.
"Just a delivery?" he inquired, keeping his voice gentle.
"Mmhmm," she hummed, smoothing back his hair.
"Just some boring clan paperwork. Eat your soup. You need your strength for our breathing exercises later."
'She's lying straight to my face,' Su Chen thought.
He accepted the bowl from her. The broth was warm, yet it tasted like ash in his mouth. It dawned on him that he couldn't afford to wait around for a week.
He had to uncover the contents of that scroll, and he had to do it without triggering any of the invisible traps Meiling had set around his life.
"Thanks, Meiling," he said.
Her smile brightened, a genuine happiness radiating from her as she believed he was relying on her.
'Yes,' he thought grimly. 'I need to find a way out of here!'