A branch snapped somewhere nearby.
Lin Chen's eyes opened. His body tensed for a heartbeat before he recognized who was approaching. A figure emerged through the trees, a fellow disciple in light-blue robes.
Zao Ping.
Thin, sharp-featured, and perpetually wide awake before the sun even finished stretching, Zao Ping was one of those outer sect students who took everything seriously. The type who counted sword strokes and tracked spiritual energy cycles like a merchant tracked debt.
"There you are, Lin Chen!" Zao Ping called out, waving like they hadn't seen each other in years. "Elder Han's looking for you, You missed morning drills. Again! You're gonna get another lecture, you know!"
Lin Chen blinked slowly, squinting against the light filtering through the trees. He'd hoped to stay out here a bit longer. The forest was peaceful, and the air felt different out here. Crisp. Alive.
For a moment, he thought about telling Zao Ping something. a casual comment about what he had felt. That something had changed. That qi didn't feel the same anymore. That his thoughts were clearer, like a river suddenly freed of silt.
But he didn't.
Zao Ping was a lot of things, but subtle wasn't one of them. If word got out that Lin Chen was suddenly "different" or "acting weird," it could attract the kind of attention he does not want to deal with.
And worst of all, it could threaten his chill life.
And he definitely does not want that.
Better to keep it quiet. Let them keep thinking he was lazy and hopeless. Let them underestimate him life is peaceful that way.
He stretched slowly, wincing slightly from the soreness in his side. The forest floor had not been kind to his back.
"I was meditating," he said flatly.
Zao Ping tilted his head. "Under a tree?"
"Yeah. Nature flows better here."
Zao Ping made a face like he'd just swallowed a sour spirit fruit. "You're never gonna get promoted to inner sect like this. You're sixteen already. You've got to take this seriously!"
Lin Chen waved a hand lazily. "I am. Just in my own way."
Zao Ping groaned and shook his head. "You're hopeless."
Lin Chen smiled faintly, the same smile that had gotten him out of trouble more than once. "I prefer the term efficient."
Zao Ping snorted. "You're gonna get whipped in the rankings again this month."
"Probably," Lin Chen said. "But I'll be well-rested."
As the two of them walked back toward the outer sect compound, their boots crunching over the underbrush, Lin Chen looked up.
The sky was still pale, morning sun just beginning to burn away the last of the mist. The clouds drifted slowly, unconcerned with the affairs of mortals. He envied them.
This world was beautiful. Vast mountains stretching toward the heavens, endless forests full of danger and opportunity, crumbling ruins left behind by cultivators long dead or long ascended. A world of wonder. A world of chaos.
He didn't want to conquer it.
He didn't want to rise above it.
He just wanted a place within it where he didn't have to fight for every breath.
But even as he wished for peace, deep down he knew,
This world wouldn't let him rest for long.
And maybe… a part of him was okay with that.
As long as he could still nap between the chaos.