From the perspective of Zhuge Yui Lan
The streets of Gray Sky still smelled of burnt incense and stone dust, as if the tournament had left marks not only on the arena but also on the heart of the city. I walked slowly, the medical bag held between my fingers like an everyday talisman. I wore a simple hanfu of light blue fabric, with straight and discreet cuts — the clothing of someone who could be mistaken for the daughter of an ordinary merchant. It was intentional.
And yet, no matter which alleys I passed through, the comments were always the same.
Voices mingled with the sound of cart wheels and the ringing of workshop bells, spreading like dust that insists on settling over everything:
— "They say Zhuge Han faces ten men as if they were only one. A true iron wall… if he weren't from the Zhuge clan, we would already call him the hero of the city."
— "But what about Zhuge Ren? That golden fool. He lost, yes, but he stood until the end. The cut on his chest was deep, but his pride… ah, that no one could take from him."
— "I prefer Zhuge Fen. When she moves, it's like the wind cutting through bamboo. They say she only retreated because the patriarch ordered it. Imagine if she had insisted…"
— "You forget Zhuge Tao. Discreet, always. But it was he who wove strategies with the patriarch. Without him, the others might not have gone so far."
Yui Lan was stunned at this last one — since when was lazy Tao a strategist?
The words crossed the air like invisible embroidery, weaving a new tapestry for the clan. Now, all ten youths were no longer just promises; they had been nicknamed, with that mix of devotion and popular envy, the "Ten Geniuses of the Zhuge."
But above all names, one echoed louder.
— "Yu Jin! The unexpected champion! They say he ascended to the Spiritual Realm in the middle of the fight, and still defeated Han Qian with a single flaming saber!"
— "I saw it! Saw it with my own eyes! The fire that burst from him seemed ready to set the very sky ablaze. A true dragon!"
And, as if fate enjoyed seasoning pride with dread, another memory surfaced in whispered voices:
— "And Zhuge Su Yeon… the patriarch. Did you hear? With a single glance he treated the elder of the Dark Sun Sect like an ant. Since that day, the three rival clans have locked themselves in their own mansions. No one dares to raise their voice anymore."
The streets were crowded, but each comment made the city feel narrower still. As if the very walls of Gray Sky repeated my brothers' names until the air grew heavy with expectations.
I kept my pace serene, breathing deeply.
The worn leather strap of my medical bag creaked slightly, reminding me that, unlike them, I did not shine in arenas nor topple elders. My steps remained steady, discreet, crossing a sea of voices that insisted on turning my family into legend.
But legends, I knew, also bleed.
With each step, the city's murmur turned into an unrelenting chorus. Escape was impossible.
That's why, even before leaving the clan gates, I had already woven a mask.
Nothing elaborate, just a small medical artifice — subtle needles, pressure on certain points, ointments made from herbs that altered the skin's circulation. Enough to soften my features, rendering me unrecognizable. To outside eyes, I was not Zhuge Yui Lan, sister of the Zhuge patriarch and of the city's new genius, but merely an ordinary young woman, perhaps the daughter of a merchant with modest aspirations.
Had I dared to show my real face, I would have been stopped at every corner by enthusiastic fans of the clan. They would ask me about Yu Jin, about Ren, about Fen, about everyone. But worse than that… they would see in me what I could not hide.
For on my real face, there was no pride.
No excitement.
There was only worry.
And how could I hide that, when every word echoing through the streets was a reminder that I no longer walked in the same world I remembered?
In my past life, none of this had happened.
The Zhuge clan had not shone in the youth martial tournament.
Yu Jin… ah, Yu Jin was at the same cultivation level, yes, but not as champion. Back then, he spent days and nights buried in the forest, hardening his fists against spirit beasts, preparing for the journey to the capital. His first step in search of vengeance. There had been no crown, no arena, no glory. Only solitude and fury.
As for my elder brother…
In that life, no elder of the Dark Sun Sect had been flung down before the public. Perhaps that sect didn't even know of his existence. Zhuge Su Yeon remained invisible, in silent cultivation, as hidden as a shadow that refuses to be cast.
Now, however, everything was distorted.
The streets proclaimed victories I had never witnessed. Fate, once so clear, now tangled like wet silk threads, impossible to undo.
I did not know if this was good or bad.
There were positive signs, of course.
Yu Jin, once always at odds with his own blood, now seemed integrated into the clan. He even trained alongside Zhuge Min and Zhuge Ren. Bonds that in the past would have only formed late, through pain and loss, now blossomed early, stronger, as if the family had learned to breathe as one.
But the price stood before my eyes as well.
Su Yeon, my elder brother, had already revealed power enough to shock the entire city. Too early. He had forced himself to reveal, and with that drew troublesome enemies. Enemies who, in the timeline I knew, might never have even looked our way.
The future, once a known map — with rivers of blood, yes, but rivers I could predict — now became fogged, unstable, almost unrecognizable.
And the thicker the mist grew, the tighter my heart clenched.
As a spiritual doctor, I understood well: when a patient's pulse grows too irregular, it is a sign the body nears crisis.
Perhaps the world was exactly the same.
I kept walking, serene on the outside, but inside each step weighed heavier than the last.
The destination of my steps was none other than my patient's house.
A young man dangerously inclined to play with poisons as if picking flowers in spring.
In the calm line I had drawn in my mind, it would still take a few days to establish my name as a physician within the clan, earn enough weight among elders and promising youths, and only then would I recruit this little poisoner as my personal apothecary. His talent with toxic herbs would be useful, and his assistants could serve as improvised guards. I had planned it like one slowly weaving a tapestry: with calm, without haste, without drawing attention.
But now… the urgency in my chest made waiting impossible.
The future moved too fast, and I had to quicken my pace with it.
Entering the rival clan was not difficult.
The gates were open, as if the entire city had forgotten caution. Gray Sky breathed in relief after the tournament, but I knew well: when great rivals withdraw, it is not safety… it is the calm before something larger.
Near the main gates.
I revealed myself.
And immediately felt the gazes of the shadows recognize me. The hidden guards — more attentive than the visible sentinels — did not move, and that was proof enough that my disguise had served its purpose. I passed without resistance.
My patient's room was empty, too tidy. Bottles lined up, blankets folded, no living presence. Then a silent maid, her glance too quick not to be complicit in something, guided me to the garden.
And there he was.
On his knees before a flowerbed, fingers stained with pollen, rummaging among blossoms with almost poetic care. To the unknowing eye, he might seem a young student of botany, not someone who brewed poisons as naturally as others made tea.
— "My medical recommendations were to remain at rest until my return."
My voice came out firm, almost cold. A doctor's precision does not permit indulgence.
He raised his face slowly, and I did not see the expression of a scolded patient. On the contrary, a playful smile opened like an impudent sun.
— "That is thanks to my physician's skills. In less than three days I already felt completely recovered."
I sighed.
There was nothing to reply. The truth was, he did indeed seem stronger, his skin less pale, his eyes more vivid. But that kind of confidence was dangerous. The human body, however resilient, still carried invisible scars.
I sat at the stone table in the garden, setting my bag beside me. With a simple gesture, I indicated for him to come closer. He obeyed, still with that mischievous air of one who takes nothing seriously, and extended his arm.
I took his pulse.
My hand rested on the warm skin, and soon I delved into the internal flows of his body. The pulse was irregular, but not unstable — as if a constant trace of poison always coursed with his blood, balanced by habit, not by health. A condition only someone like him could call "normal."
As I examined, he spoke:
— "I presume you came today to take me to your clan."
I did not avert my eyes, nor my attention from the examination. I only replied:
— "Correct."
He let out a low laugh, almost complicit.
— "What are the chances that scary brother of yours blows me up just for walking with his sister?"
Clearly, he too had heard the city's talk. All Gray Sky now spoke only of Zhuge Su Yeon, the patriarch who had crushed a Dark Sun Sect elder as if swatting an insect.
Without changing tone, still checking his meridians, I answered:
— "Honestly… we'll only find out upon arrival."
My heart, however, weighed heavy.
In the past life, my elder brother had always been discreet, calm, silent, almost invisible. Now, however, he took actions I could not understand. It would not be impossible for him to explode this young man… especially if he judged him a threat to me.
I pressed my fingers slightly against his pulse, as if searching for something deeper — but perhaps it was only the intimate desire to make sure: before my brother decided to act, I needed to be certain that this patient, with his poison and his audacity, was worth the risk.