"Are you speaking the truth, my lord?"
The question came low and careful, as if the man feared that speaking too loudly might shatter the possibility itself.
The older noble Jiang Ning had interrupted stood a little straighter now, his sharp gaze fixed on Jiang's face. Up close, the signs were clearer. His posture was rigid, disciplined, but there was a faint tremor in his breathing, a subtle stiffness in the way his shoulders rose and fell. Not the bearing of age, but of strain.
Jiang Ning offered a polite smile, neither warm nor distant. "This doesn't seem like a conversation suited for the banquet hall," he said mildly. "If you're willing, we can speak somewhere quieter."
The noble hesitated.
Around them, laughter rang out, cups clinked, servants moved briskly between tables, and nobles leaned in close to gossip about the tournament's shocking results. This was a place for celebration, not confessions.
Yet the hesitation only lasted a heartbeat.
"…Very well," the man said at last. "Lead the way, Lord Jiang."
Jiang inclined his head and turned, gesturing lightly. The noble followed, along with the man beside him, a slightly younger fellow with sharper features and an air of restrained worry. The companion hadn't spoken yet, but his eyes hadn't left Jiang since that single sentence.
They moved through the estate halls until Jiang opened the door to a modest office room. No grand decorations, no ceremonial trappings. Just shelves of ledgers, a plain table, and a few chairs.
"This will do," Jiang said. "Please, sit."
The noble sat carefully, as if lowering himself required more effort than it should have. Only once he was settled did he speak again.
"My name is Cai Renyu," he said. "Former commander of the 3rd Eastern Vanguard."
Jiang's eyes flickered faintly in recognition of the title, though his expression remained unchanged.
I don't remember him, Jiang thought.
Which means he never made it through the war.
Cai Renyu continued, voice steady. "I served the empire for over ten years. I stepped down five years ago, not for lack of loyalty, but necessity."
The man beside him clenched his jaw.
"I'm sure you've already noticed," Cai Renyu said calmly. "I look older than I should."
Jiang nodded once. "You don't carry the aura of decline," he said. "But your body is… strained."
Cai Renyu smiled faintly. "You're perceptive. I suffer from a mana deficiency disorder. My body cannot regulate mana properly. It leaks constantly, wastes it. Every action consumes more than it should."
He rested a hand on the table. The fingers were steady, but the skin around the knuckles looked taut.
"I've consulted physicians, alchemists, even spiritual healers; I've seen them all. Nothing stops the decay. It only slows it."
His voice didn't waver.
"The condition worsens with time. If nothing changes, my body will collapse under its own imbalance."
The room fell quiet.
Jiang leaned back slightly, folding his hands. "And the cure?"
"There is only one," Cai Renyu said. "Advancement."
His gaze sharpened. "Reaching the next realm stabilizes the body, restructures mana flow. It is the only known solution."
"And you're stalled," Jiang said.
"Yes, I need to ascend to a Transcendent Knight." Cai Renyu let out a breath. "I've been standing at the threshold for years."
The companion finally spoke, his voice rough. "Commander Cai doesn't lack talent or will. He lacks resources."
Cai Renyu raised a hand, stopping him. "That's enough."
Jiang waited.
After a moment, Cai Renyu continued. "Three years ago, by chance, I acquired a single stalk of Dragon Tail Fern."
Jiang's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"It worked," Cai Renyu said quietly. "Not fully, but it stabilized my condition for a time. It confirmed the rumors."
He met Jiang's gaze directly now. "Enough Dragon Tail Ferns could both correct my mana disorder and push me through the bottleneck. Based on my estimates… I need at least twenty stalks."
The words settled heavily in the air.
Cai Renyu studied Jiang carefully. "But I have never heard of House Ning possessing such herbs. That is why I must ask plainly."
His tone sharpened, not aggressive, but earnest.
"Are you truly serious, Lord Jiang?"
Jiang didn't answer immediately.
"I wouldn't have invited you here," Jiang said at last, "if I wasn't."
The companion's breath hitched audibly.
Cai Renyu closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again, calmer than before. "Then I'll be honest as well."
He straightened. "Even if I sold every possession I own, my estate, my weapons, my honors it wouldn't be enough to purchase twenty Dragon Tail Ferns."
The companion's restraint finally cracked. He stood abruptly and bowed deeply toward Jiang, his voice trembling. "My lord-!"
"Sit," Cai Renyu said sharply.
The man froze, then obeyed, teeth clenched.
Cai Renyu looked back at Jiang. "I won't debase myself by pleading. If you intend to sell them, name the price. If you don't, then I thank you for your time."
Jiang regarded him quietly.
Then he spoke.
"I'm not selling them."
Both men stiffened.
"I don't want gold," Jiang continued evenly. "Nor estates. Nor favors."
Cai Renyu frowned slightly. "Then what-"
"I'll give them to you on one condition," Jiang said.
The room seemed to tighten around the words.
"When you advance," Jiang said, his voice calm and clear, "you will swear your service to House Ning. You will serve as a knight under my banner."
Silence.
Cai Renyu stared at him.
The companion's eyes widened, moisture gathering at the corners.
"To be clear," Jiang added, "the Dragon Tail Ferns will be given to you freely. No debt. No repayment. Only loyalty."
Cai Renyu's hands trembled for the first time.
"Are…" His voice faltered, then steadied. "…Are you sure thats all you wish for, nothing else..."
"Yes," Jiang said frankly.
I'm buying a future general at the lowest possible price, he thought.
Cai Renyu stood slowly. For a moment, Jiang thought he might refuse.
Instead, the man bowed.
Not hastily. Not desperately.
But deeply.
The companion dropped to his knees immediately, bowing until his forehead touched the floor.
"Thank you, my lord," the companion choked out.
Cai Renyu straightened, eyes wet but proud. "I accept. I swear it."
Jiang rose at once.
"That's enough," he said sharply. "Stand up. Both of you."
They froze.
"You don't disgrace yourselves by kneeling," Jiang said. "Not for this."
He turned toward the door. "Stay here. I'll return shortly."
As he left the room, Cai Renyu exhaled a long, shuddering breath.
For the first time in years, the future had opened again.
Jiang Ning returned a short while later.
He carried a plain wooden case in both hands. No sigils. No seals. Nothing to announce its worth. To anyone else, it could have held documents or ledgers.
He set it down on the table and opened it.
Inside, twenty Dragon Tail Fern stalks lay nestled together, their jade-green scales faintly luminous even in the dim office light. The air shifted the moment the case was opened, mana stirring softly, like a breath drawn in sleep.
Cai Renyu's breath caught.
For a long moment, he didn't move.
His companion rose halfway from his seat before stopping himself, hands clenched so tightly his knuckles went white.
"…Twenty," Cai Renyu said quietly. "All intact."
Jiang nodded once. "As promised."
There was no ceremony. No speech. He simply slid the case forward.
Cai Renyu reached out and stopped.
He looked up at Jiang, his gaze sharp, steady, searching for any trace of hesitation or condition left unspoken.
There was none.
He closed his eyes briefly, then took the case.
"The process must begin immediately," Cai Renyu said, his voice firm now, all traces of wavering gone. "Preparation, meditation, then absorption in stages. If I delay… even by a day… the backlash could be fatal."
"I expected as much," Jiang replied.
Cai Renyu stood and bowed again, but this time, it was restrained, measured.
"Then I will not waste what you've given me."
His companion bowed deeply, this time without being stopped.
"We will not forget this," the man said hoarsely.
Jiang waved it off. "Go. I'll have quarters prepared for you later. Until then, focus on surviving."
A faint smile touched Cai Renyu's lips. "That, I can do."
They left quickly after that, urgency replacing all other concerns. The door closed softly behind them.
Jiang Ning remained standing for a moment longer.
Another life diverted from its end, he thought.
Another future nudged out of its collapse.
He exhaled slowly and turned back toward the celebration.
The noise hit him before the light did.
Laughter. Music. The clink of cups. Voices raised in animated conversation. It all felt louder now, sharper, like stepping from a quiet room into a storm of sound.
He moved through it without hurry.
Near the edge of the courtyard, he spotted them.
Lina stood with her hands on her hips, brows furrowed, clearly mid-scolding. Ronan loomed in front of her like an unmovable wall, arms crossed, expression impassive.
"You don't have to follow me that closely!" Lina said, clearly annoyed. "People are staring!"
"They should," Ronan replied evenly. "It means they see me."
"That's not comforting!"
"It is effective."
Jiang paused, watching them.
They've gotten closer, he noted.
Closer than I expected.
Lina noticed him first.
Her expression brightened instantly. She lifted a hand and waved, her earlier irritation vanishing like it had never existed.
"My lord!"
Ronan turned and inclined his head at once. "My lord."
Jiang smiled as he approached. "What's going on?"
"He won't let me walk more than three steps away," Lina complained, though her tone had softened. "I just wanted to get some sweet wine."
"That wine has twice the sugar of the others," Ronan said. "It will make you dizzy."
Lina puffed her cheeks. "I'm not a child!"
Jiang chuckled. "Ronan, ease up a little."
"Yes, my lord," Ronan replied immediately, though he didn't move an inch farther away.
Lina glanced between them, then sighed, defeated. "See? You listen to him more than me."
"That's because he gives orders," Ronan said.
Jiang laughed quietly.
Lina looked up at him, eyes bright. "Are you done with your important talks?"
"For now," Jiang said.
She smiled. "Good."
He nodded once and moved on, leaving them to resume their bickering.
As he crossed the courtyard, nobles began to notice him again. Conversations paused. Eyes followed. Some smiled warmly. Others watched with calculation.
He didn't stop.
Another piece has moved into place, he thought.
A knight saved. A commander gained.
The music swelled. Lanterns flickered. The night pressed in gently around the Ning estate, peaceful and alive.
Jiang Ning lifted his gaze toward the darkened sky.
If only this peace could last a little longer.
He already knew it wouldn't.
But for tonight-
This peace was enough.