Since Xi Ran discovered the connection between the emerald flash, the "fresh" resin, and the strange warmth within, his work in the **Whispering Willow Grove** took on new meaning. He was no longer merely collecting "Willow Tears." He was *hunting*. Hunting for flashes. His eyes scanned the willow bark, searching for fresh cracks oozing clear liquid. And when that very emerald spark flickered deep within a droplet—he acted swiftly, capturing the drop in a separate, carefully hidden vial before the shimmering trace faded.
He managed to collect only a little—the flashes were rare and fleeting. Over three days—just five tiny vials of "living" resin, each no larger than a fingernail. But Xi Ran believed in the warmth that coursed through his veins upon contact. *For father*, he told himself, hiding the precious vials beneath the floorboard of his bunk.
The problem remained: how to deliver it? Escape to Misty Shoal himself? Impossible. The sect was no inn. Newcomers weren't released for years. That left **Du Te**. A stocky novice with an open, albeit simple, face. He still looked at Xi Ran with respect after the branch incident. One day by the stream, Xi Ran cautiously initiated a conversation.
"Du Te, have you… heard anything from home?" Xi Ran asked, splashing his face with icy water.
Du Te frowned, wringing out a wet cloth. "From where? We're like prisoners here. Only the overseers get news… and those whose families are wealthier or more influential." He nodded toward a couple of novices whose families were more affluent than others in nearby villages. "And us, swamp rats, can only hope that our folks haven't starved or fallen ill."
Xi Ran's heart clenched. "My father… wheezes. Just like before I left. I'm afraid it's gotten worse."
Du Te looked at him with understanding sorrow. "My grandma… too. Coughs. I know how it is." He paused. "But what can you do? At least here we get fed. Back there… they survive as best they can."
Xi Ran made up his mind. He looked around—no one was nearby, only the rustling willows and the babbling stream. "I… found something. Here, in the Grove. Some… special resin. I think it might help. With the cough." He saw the skepticism in Du Te's eyes. "I tried it myself. Just a little. It felt… warmer inside. Easier to breathe."
"Special resin?" Du Te grew wary. "And the overseers? Lin Feng? If they find out you're hiding something…"
"They won't find out!" Xi Ran whispered passionately. "I've collected very little. Just a tiny bit. For my father." He pulled out a vial from a hidden pocket. The emerald trace was no longer visible; the resin seemed ordinary. "Here. If… if there's a chance to deliver it… Let him try just a drop. Say it's from a village healer. Or you found it in an old hollow. Don't link it to me."
Du Te looked at the vial for a long time, then at Xi Ran's determined face. He sighed. "Alright. Keep it for now. My cousin, Liu Gan, is supposed to bring firewood for the kitchen from our village soon. He's a reliable guy. I'll ask him. For your father. And… for my grandma. If it helps…" A faint hope lit up in his eyes.
Xi Ran slipped the vial back, feeling a weight lift from his soul. Even if the chance was one in a hundred. It was *something*.
***
But the calm didn't last. The next day, during **"The Stance of the Sleeping Heron"**, Xi Ran felt not just Lin Feng's gaze upon him. He felt *tension*. As if a predator had sensed its prey. Lin Feng walked leisurely, but his cane didn't tap; it was clenched in a hand white with strain. He stopped directly in front of Xi Ran.
"Novice," the voice was quiet but cut like a blade. "You're hiding something."
Xi Ran didn't flinch, staring straight ahead. "I don't understand, Senior Brother Lin."
"You don't understand?" Lin Feng stepped closer. His **density**, the sensation of compressed metal, pressed harder than usual. **Late Iron Bones Realm**—not just strong bones. This was a body tempered by qi to the state of a weapon. "I see you sneaking around the Grove after lessons. Searching for something. Hiding. Whispering with Du Te." He leaned in, his breath touching Xi Ran's ear. "What did you find, swamp rat? A relic? A strength herb? Speak. Or I'll beat it out of you along with your pathetic bones."
Xi Ran knew—Lin Feng wasn't bluffing. The strike of his cane was just a needle. His real blows could snap an Early Flesh Bone like a twig. Fear gripped his throat. But to give up the resin? To give up hope for his father? No. He swallowed.
"Senior Brother is mistaken. I was just… looking for a quiet place to think. About the stance. About the Path. And with Du Te… we talked about home. About sick relatives."
Lin Feng froze. His eyes narrowed to slits. He didn't believe him. Xi Ran felt it. The senior disciple slowly straightened. A small object glinted in his hand—black, smooth, resembling a polished stone.
"You're lying," he hissed. An artifact? A surveillance tool? "But fine. Today you're lucky." He stepped back, but not far. His attention now fixed on Xi Ran like a target.
Xi Ran stood in the stance, his back covered in cold sweat. He felt Lin Feng's gaze, heavy and malevolent. *He knows. Or suspects.* The resin's delivery needed to be expedited. Otherwise… Lin Feng would either seize it or break his hands for "disrespect."
***
That evening, Xi Ran gave Du Te all five vials of "living" resin. "Give them to your brother. Urgently. Tell… tell my father it's a potent remedy. Let him try just a drop. Carefully."
Du Te, seeing his fear, only nodded. "Liu Gan leaves in the morning. I'll deliver them."
That night, Xi Ran didn't sleep. He tossed on the hard bunk, listening to every rustle beyond the barrack door. Awaiting Lin Feng's footsteps. Awaiting retribution. But the steps didn't come.
Instead, at dawn, when the first rays of the sun just touched the sect's roofs, a breathless Du Te approached Xi Ran. His eyes shone.
"Ran!" he whispered, looking around. "Brother returned! Just now! Your father… he tried the resin! Just a little, on the tip of a knife! And… and he felt better! The wheezing subsided! He could get out of bed! Brother said—it was like a weight lifted from his chest! Your father… he cried! Said it was a gift from the heavens!"
Xi Ran grabbed Du Te by the shoulders. "Really?! You're not lying?!"
"I swear!" Du Te grinned broadly. "And I gave my grandma a little too. She stopped coughing! Ran, it's… it's a miracle!"
A miracle. Xi Ran stepped back, feeling tears streaming down his cheeks. Not a miracle. It was *his* gift. His ***Sight!*** His ability to see the hidden within the world's deceptive shell. He *did* it. Helped his father. Helped Du Te's grandma.
But the joy was short-lived. From the shadow around the barrack's corner emerged Lin Feng. He wasn't smiling. His face was stone. In his hand, he clenched that very black stone. He had heard. Heard everything.
"So that's what it is," Lin Feng said in an icy tone. His eyes burned with cold greed. "Not just collecting resin. But *special* resin. Healing." He took a step forward, and his **density** crashed upon them like a wall. Du Te paled and stepped back. "And where do you get it, swamp rat? And more importantly… why hide it from the sect? From me?" His voice turned into a dangerous whisper. "Do you think your Early Flesh Bones mean anything against my Iron Bones? Spill everything you've found. And show me where you get it. Now. Or…" He clenched his fist, his knuckles whitening, emitting a quiet creak. "Your father will soon learn that miracles… can be very short-lived."
Xi Ran stood, trapped between the barrack wall and Lin Feng's relentless force. Fear for his father mixed with rage. He had just given hope… and it was immediately being taken away. His ***Sight!*** screamed within, demanding action, a path to salvation. But Lin Feng was too close, too strong. His fist could crush Xi Ran's skull faster than he could "see" anything.
He looked at the black stone in Lin Feng's hand. And suddenly… *saw*. Not a flash. But a faint, distorted **purple glow** around the artifact. Like a dirty oil stain. And an impulse, sharp and clear: *Lie! Eavesdropper! Dangerous!*
***Sight!*** was working. It showed the enemy. But how to escape? Xi Ran glanced around—no soul in sight, only a frightened Du Te and the unrelenting Lin Feng. No path to retreat. Only forward. Or… down?
His gaze fell on a clay water jug by the barrack wall. Empty. Heavy.
The ***Sight!*** impulse triggered again, merging with despair and fury. *Not at the jug. At the foot! Right side! Now!*
Xi Ran didn't hesitate. He lunged *not* away from Lin Feng, but *toward* the jug, grabbed it by the neck, and with all his might hurled it not at Lin Feng, but **at the ground in front of his right foot**.
**BANG!**
The clay jug shattered into pieces, splattering Lin Feng with mud and shards. The senior disciple instinctively leaped *left*, shielding his face, momentarily losing balance and focus. His rage exploded.
"YOU! FILTHY DOG!"
But that moment was enough. Xi Ran grabbed the stunned Du Te. "Run! To the Grove! To the overseer! Scream at the top of your lungs!" And he dashed in the opposite direction, not looking back, feeling the storm of Lin Feng's fury building behind him. He ran, heedless of the path, his heart pounding like a hammer, ears ringing: ***Sight! Sight! Sight!*** He needed shelter. Now. Otherwise, his bones wouldn't withstand the wrath of the Iron Bones Realm. He had just challenged a lion. And only a miracle could save him. Or his strange, emerald gift.