As the two children pressed on hand in hand, the storm quickly gathered strength. At first, the boy did his best to keep pace, but weakness was overtaking him fast, and he stumbled again and again. Their progress slowed to a crawl.
Lianxi felt a surge of helplessness. The storm had only just begun, and they were still relatively safe. But with every passing moment it would grow more violent, until even she would be unable to make it through.
Making a decision, she let go of his hand and crouched down in front of him. "Get on!"
The boy stared at her, bewildered. "I'm fine. I can—"
"No, you can't," she cut him off sternly. "The poison has already drained most of your strength. We don't have time. It'll be faster if I carry you, so stop being stubborn."
He shifted uncomfortably. "But I'm much bigger than you. And quite heavy."
She turned to give him a reproachful look. "I may look small, but I'm very strong."
He hesitated. "Why are you willing to go this far to help me?"
"How is this going far?" she chided. "I'm only doing what's within my ability, so it's no trouble at all." She patted her back. "Now hurry, or we'll both be done for."
The boy sighed and clumsily climbed onto her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. "This is a great blow to my pride as a man," he muttered. "But I don't want my junior sister to be angry with me, so I'll do as you say."
Lianxi frowned. "I already told you. I'm not your junior sister."
"Then let's make it correct," he said. "Let's become sworn siblings. Then I can call you little sister, and it won't be wrong at all."
Lianxi considered this seriously as she adjusted her grip on him. Master's rule was not to associate with outsiders. But this was only for today, and after tonight they would never see each other again. Surely one day of being siblings didn't count as associating.
And strangely, the idea made her happy. No one had ever called her sister before.
"…Only for today," she agreed.
"Then what should I call you?"
She hesitated. Her name was forbidden. But one character wasn't a whole name. That should be fine.
"Xi," she mumbled.
"What?"
"Call me Xi!" she exclaimed, and sprinted off into the wild woods, holding him securely on her back.
"Sister Xi," he repeated softly, almost reverently, as though committing it to memory. After a moment, he leaned closer to her ear. "Then you can call me Xuan."
His breath tickled her ear, and she nearly jumped. Just then, a bolt of lightning struck close by, snapping her back to attention.
"All right, Brother Xuan," she said, smiling brightly. "I promise I'll get you out of this safely."
His added weight was no trouble for her, but the storm worsened faster than she expected. The wind hurled branches and debris through the air, some jagged enough to kill, and she narrowly dodged several of them. Violent bolts of lightning rained down one after another, often striking right in front of her. Anticipating and avoiding them all was a real challenge, and the heavy rain made it hard to see or move.
"It's too dangerous, Sister Xi," Xuan called weakly as she barely evaded a falling tree. "Leave me and find shelter yourself!"
"No way!" Lianxi shouted back. "I gave my word. I'll get us both to safety."
She glared at the chaos ahead, fierce determination burning in her eyes. This was just like the focus training Master Gao had put her through, only far more difficult, and the danger was real.
Her gaze sharpened as she attuned her senses to everything around her. She kicked off the ground and leapt several meters forward. An instant later, a massive bolt of lightning struck the spot where they had been standing.
The path ahead grew even harder, but with her focus at its peak, she moved through it smoothly. She sensed each danger well before it came and always found the safest route. After a grueling journey, they finally reached the cave she had in mind.
She often sheltered here when training far from home, so it was stocked with everything she needed. An array at the entrance kept the beasts away. She carefully laid the barely conscious boy down on the ground and examined him with the technique Master Gao had taught her.
The poison had spread further than she had feared. His condition was critical. But it wasn't beyond what she could treat.
Outside, the storm raged, its tremors echoing through the cave walls. Lianxi barely noticed. Her entire focus was on piercing exactly the right acupoints with her needles, following the advanced medical techniques her master had taught her.
After several hours of meticulous work, she finally suppressed the toxins. The boy, who had drifted in and out of consciousness, sometimes in terrible pain, now slept peacefully.
The storm showed no sign of letting up, so she sat down to cultivate, checking on her patient from time to time. Eventually, she lost track of time.
When she opened her eyes again, the boy was sitting cross-legged across from her, cultivating as well. She studied him with interest. His breathing was steady, the flow of his qi smooth and strong. The worst of the poison was truly gone.
Just then, his dark eyes slowly opened and settled on her. For a fleeting instant, a brilliant spark of silver gleamed in their depths.
Lianxi blinked. When she looked again, it was gone.
Before she could think about it further, she shuffled over and pressed two fingers to his wrist. After listening intently for a moment, she nodded, satisfied. "The poison is almost completely gone. I'll clear the rest tonight. Your meridians are still weak, so don't use your qi for the next three days. And drink plenty of water."
The boy stared at her. The poison had been lethal. He knew it, and so did she. Most physicians he had met would have needed days and a mountain of rare herbs to deal with it. Yet this little girl, whose head barely reached his shoulder, had carried him through a storm on her back and pulled him out of death's grip, alone, in a cave.
Something in his gaze changed. The polite curiosity from before was gone, replaced by a deep, quiet astonishment, as though he were seeing her properly for the first time.
"Sister Xi," he said softly. "You saved my life. Twice."
Lianxi bowed. "Brother Xuan is too kind. Helping those in need is the duty of every physician. There's no need to be grateful."
"Of course there's a need." He frowned. "What kind of person would I be if I weren't?"
She considered this seriously. "An ungrateful one."
"…Exactly."
"Then Brother Xuan is not an ungrateful person," she concluded, pleased that the matter was settled.
He laughed. It was the same bright, startled laugh as before.
The storm raged on through the night, and there was nothing to do but wait it out. So they talked. Or rather, Xuan talked, and Lianxi listened with wide-eyed interest, answering carefully whenever he asked her anything. He told her about sword techniques and the places he had traveled. She told him which forest plants could kill a man and which ones could save him. Somewhere along the way, she stopped keeping track of how much she was saying.
She had never talked this much with anyone except Master in her entire life.
✦ ✦ ✦
By morning, the storm had finally spent itself. Pale light spilled through the mouth of the cave, and the only sound left was the steady drip of water from the rocks.
Lianxi drew the last silver needle from Xuan's arm and packed her kit away with precise, careful movements. Then she got to her feet and dusted off her robe. "The storm has passed. Your companions will be worried, and I need to go home. Farewell, Brother Xuan."
She had barely taken two steps when a hand caught her sleeve.
"Wait. When will I see you again?"
Lianxi turned back, puzzled. "Why would you see me again?"
"Why wouldn't I?" he said. "I want to spend more time with you."
"That's not possible." She gently freed her sleeve. "We agreed it was only for today. And today is over."
The boy stared at her in disbelief. Then he pressed a hand to his chest, his face falling into an expression of deep sorrow.
"Heartless," he said mournfully.
Lianxi blinked. "I'm not."
"You are. We talked all night. We sealed a bond. We swore to be siblings. Sworn siblings are for life, Sister Xi. And now that the storm has passed, you want to cast me aside like an old pair of shoes and pretend it never happened." He sighed heavily. "My heart is breaking."
Lianxi looked alarmed and reached for his wrist again. "Your heart? Does it hurt? Is there any tightness in your chest?"
"…It's a figure of speech."
She took his pulse anyway, frowning in concentration. "Your heartbeat is perfectly normal." She released his wrist. "And I do have a heart. It's beating at a completely healthy rate. As a physician, I would know."
He looked at her for a long moment, clearly torn between laughing and continuing to look tragic. He chose tragic. "It's not that kind of heartless, Sister Xi."
She thought about it. Then she decided it was best not to engage further. "Farewell, Brother Xuan."
She turned and slipped out of the cave.
She had only gone a short way into the trees when she heard footsteps behind her. She glanced back. He was following her, looking perfectly cheerful for someone whose heart was supposedly breaking.
Lianxi quickened her pace. So did he.
She darted behind a thick tree trunk, held her breath, and circled through the underbrush the way Master Gao had taught her. When she emerged on the other side, he was already leaning against a rock in front of her, arms crossed.
"Brother Xuan," she said reproachfully, "you're not supposed to use your qi for three days."
"Then you'd better stop running," he replied, "or I'll have to keep using it."
Lianxi stared at him, appalled by this blatant disregard for medical advice.
She tried twice more. Both times, he was waiting for her. At last she stopped and looked at him helplessly.
The worst part was that he was right. Chapter Seven of The Ten Courtesies of the Refined Gentlewoman stated very clearly that a sworn bond was to be honored as sacredly as a blood tie, for as long as both lived. To abandon a sworn sibling without a word was the height of discourtesy. She had agreed to the oath. She couldn't pretend otherwise.
She had trapped herself with her own principles.
"…What do you want?" she finally asked in a small voice.
His face lit up at once. "Meet me again. In three days, at this same cave. Just to see each other. That's all."
Lianxi was silent for a long moment. Then she gave a tiny, reluctant nod.
"You promise?"
"…I'll consider it."
"That's not a promise."
"It's a very serious consideration."
He narrowed his eyes. Apparently deciding this was the best he would get, he finally stepped aside. "Go on, then. Safe travels, Sister Xi."
She bowed and hurried away. Three days from now, I'll simply be busy, she thought. Very busy. With important cultivation.
"Sister Xi!" His voice rang through the trees behind her. "You have to come, no matter what! If you don't, I'll keep waiting until you do! Even if it takes days!"
Lianxi faltered for a step. Then she broke into a run.
✦ ✦ ✦
When Lianxi passed through the barrier and reached the clearing, Master Gao was already standing outside the house. From the look of him, he had not slept either.
The moment he saw her, the tension drained from his shoulders, though his expression remained stern. "Where have you been?"
Lianxi bowed deeply. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Master." Then she told him everything: the storm, the boy and the Fenrir Wolves, the poison, the long night in the cave.
Master Gao listened without interrupting. When she mentioned that she had spent the night with an outsider, his brows drew together, and a heavy silence fell. Lianxi lowered her head, waiting for his reprimand.
Instead, he let out a slow breath. "You did well."
She looked up in surprise.
"Had you left him, he would have died. You showed compassion and used your skills to help someone in need. That is exactly what I have taught you. I won't blame you for that." His tone hardened slightly. "But you must never forget to be cautious. Did you tell him your name?"
"Only Xi," Lianxi said quickly. "One character isn't a whole name."
Master Gao looked at her for a long moment. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"There's one more thing…" Lianxi fidgeted with her sleeve. "He wants to meet me again. In three days, at the same cave. I tried to refuse, but he was very…" She searched for the right word. "…persistent. He said he'll wait until I come."
Master Gao said nothing. He stroked his beard, his gaze fixed on some distant point, deep in thought.
Lianxi watched him with a mixture of disquiet and hope. She had never had a friend before. Brother Xuan was strange. He didn't listen to medical advice, and he said very confusing things about his heart. But the night in the cave had been the happiest she could remember in a long time. She already felt close to him and considered him a true friend.
She really wanted to see him again.
But if Master said no, she would obey. His word would always come first.
At last, Master Gao sighed. "You may go."
Lianxi's eyes went wide.
"On certain conditions," he continued gravely. "You will never reveal anything more about yourself. Not your full name, not your past, not where you live. Above all, you will never speak of me. Not my name, not my existence. And your true appearance must remain concealed at all times." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Xiao Xi, this is not merely a matter of caution. It is a matter of life and death. Do you understand?"
The weight in his voice made her heart tighten. She had never seen him look so serious.
Lianxi knelt and bowed until her forehead nearly touched the ground. "I understand, Master. I swear I will keep our secret, no matter what."
"Good." Some of the heaviness left his face. "Now go rest. You look like a ghost."
"Thank you, Master!" She sprang to her feet, bowed again, and hurried inside, her steps lighter than they had been in a long time.
That night, lying in bed, she found herself smiling at the ceiling.
Three days. She would see Brother Xuan again in three days.