Han Yu limped up the winding path back to the sect under the light of the moon, blood still crusted on his robes, one eye slightly swollen, and a mind replaying every split second of that fight like a broken puppet show.
He reached the familiar stone steps of the Twin Leaf Peak and sat there for a long while.
He'd survived.
Somehow.
But the fear… it hadn't gone. It clung to him like sweat, like a ghost whispering in his ear: "You're not ready. You'll never be ready."
He finally staggered to his room and collapsed into bed.
He needed rest.
He needed therapy.
He needed to never again get matched with a Qi Refining psycho with neck tattoos.
The next morning, Han Yu awoke to knocking. Then banging. Then what sounded suspiciously like someone trying to kick the door down using a horse.
"WAKE UP!" Li Mei's voice rang through the wood, perky and merciless. "Time for pill testing!"
Han Yu groaned into his pillow. "No. No more. I'm emotionally compromised and physically leaking."
