Dawn came softly.
Lu Chen didn't sleep.
He sat cross-legged on the roof of the family house, the Stellar Meridian Awakening Pill cupped in his hands. It pulsed faintly, warm against his palms—like a tiny heartbeat wrapped in starlight.
He hadn't taken it yet.
Not because he doubted it.
But because… he wanted to see.
Below, the courtyard stirred.
His mother was first—up before the sun, as always. She lit the stove under the herb-drying rack, steam rising in pale curls. Her movements were slow this morning, shoulders stiff from yesterday's sorting.
Then—footsteps.
Lu Yan stepped out, stretching, his crimson Qi already swirling lazily around his fists. He paused, sniffed the air.
"Huh," he muttered.
Chen leaned forward.
Yan's head turned—sharply—toward Xiao's room.
Even from the roof, Chen saw it: a thin trail of frost curled from the window crack. Not mist. Not dew. Frost. In mid-spring.
Yan crossed the yard in three strides. Knocked.
"Xiao? You in there?"
No answer.
He pushed the door open.
Chen held his breath.
A pause. Then—Yan stepped back, eyes wide.
"Mom!" he called, voice tight. "Get Elder Lin from the clinic—now!"
Madam Su dropped her basket of roots. They scattered across the stones like brown tears.
Chen was down the ladder and at the door in seconds.
Inside, Xiao still slept.
But the room… had changed.
Her quilt was dusted with delicate frost patterns—feathers, spirals, tiny stars. Her breath rose in soft, silver plumes. And on her pillow—the one place her head had rested—sat a perfect, glistening snowflake, no bigger than a fingernail, unmelted in the warm air.
Elder Lin arrived in minutes, his medicine bag clutched tight. He checked her pulse, her meridians, her eyes.
Then he just… stared.
"Well?" Yan demanded.
The old man exhaled, long and slow. "Her Qi channels… they're clear. Not just open—polished. Like river stones after a flood." He looked at Xiao, then at the frost. "And this… this is Ice Affinity. Pure. Refined. I've only seen this level in the Pill Hall's top prodigies."
Yan's jaw tightened. "But she was dying last week."
"No," Elder Lin said quietly. "She was waiting."
He turned to Chen, who stood silent in the doorway. "Did… did she take something?"
Chen met his mother's eyes—wide, terrified, hopeful.
He nodded. "A pill. Just… a low-grade one."
Elder Lin frowned. "Impossible. A low-grade pill couldn't—"
"Look at her," Chen said softly.
And they did.
Xiao stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open.
Her eyes—once warm brown—now held flecks of pale, shifting blue, like sunlight through glacier ice.
She sat up. No cough. No weakness. Just… stillness. Deep, calm, powerful.
"Chen-ge?" she whispered.
Then she looked down—at her hands.
A single breath.
And between her palms, a tiny sphere of frost formed. Not cold. Just… there. Perfect. Controlled.
Yan let out a choked laugh. "Well. Guess Lu the Snail isn't the only slow one in this family."
Xiao blinked. "What?"
Madam Su stepped forward, tears streaming. She pulled Xiao into a hug—then, without a word, turned and hugged Chen.
Her voice was thick. "You gave her yours. Didn't you?"
He didn't deny it.
She held him tighter. "My quiet storm," she whispered—the old nickname. "You always were the strongest."
Breakfast was quiet.
No one mentioned the pill. No one asked where Chen got it. Some truths didn't need words.
But things had shifted.
Yan kept glancing at Xiao's hands. Madam Su served Chen the first bowl of porridge—usually Yan's place of honor.
And Xiao… sat straighter. Her voice, when she spoke, was clearer. Stronger.
"Chen-ge," she said, pushing her empty bowl away. "I can feel it. The Qi. It's like… rivers. Cold, but alive."
He smiled. "Good."
Then—just as he stood to clear the table—
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
Like a temple bell, far away.
The jade scroll reappeared.
[DAILY SIGN-IN AVAILABLE]
Streak: Day 1
Rewards (Rotating):
🔸 Minor Insight: Flowing Stream Step (Basic)
🔸 1 × Spirit Stone (Low)
🔸 Herb: Dustroot (Common, near-useless)
Select one. Sign-In expires at sunset.
Chen paused, spoon in hand.
Flowing Stream Step? A beginner's movement technique—taught to six-year-olds. But… insight meant instant understanding. No months of practice.
He chose it.
✅ SIGNED IN.
Streak: 1 day
Reward Granted: Minor Insight: Flowing Stream Step
Effect: Host understands the technique's core principle instantly. Body adapts within 24 hours.
A warmth spread through his legs—subtle, like water finding its path.
He didn't move differently. Not yet.
But when he stepped toward the sink, his foot didn't scrape the floor. It glided. Silent. Effortless.
Yan, sharpening his sword nearby, looked up.
"Huh. You clean up quiet these days."
Chen just smiled.
The herb fields called.
Chen spent the morning weeding Spirit Ginseng—gentle work, pulling invasive creepers without damaging the roots. His hands moved automatically. His mind… wandered.
What if I gift Yan something?
What if I help Mother with the sorting?
What does "ten thousand times" really mean?
He didn't test it. Not yet. Gifts had to be sincere. Not experiments.
At noon, Zhao Lei appeared at the gate.
Son of the Pill Hall master. Arrogant. Talented. Stage 6 Qi Gathering. The boy who'd laughed loudest yesterday.
He leaned against the gatepost, arms crossed.
"Heard about your sister," he said, voice neutral.
Chen straightened, wiping his hands. "Yeah?"
"Elder Lin's talking to my father. Says she's got 'rare potential.'" Zhao Lei's eyes flicked to Chen. "Says she took a pill. Your pill."
Silence.
Then Zhao Lei sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look. I joked yesterday. 'Lu the Snail.' Stupid. My father says… generosity like that is rarer than genius."
He pulled a small pouch from his belt. Tossed it.
It landed at Chen's feet.
Inside: three low-grade Qi Nourishing Pills.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Zhao Lei said, already turning away. "Not charity. Consider it… an investment. See what you can do with them."
And he was gone.
Chen picked up the pouch. Heavy. Real.
He looked at the pills. Then at his family's house—where Xiao practiced tracing frost patterns on the courtyard stones, Yan watched with grudging awe, and his mother smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in years.
He didn't take a pill for himself.
Instead, he walked to the edge of the field—where old man He, the gate guard, sat on a stool, wincing as he rubbed his knee. A bandit's arrow had crippled him years ago. He still stood watch every day.
"Uncle He," Chen said, offering the pouch. "Zhao Lei sent these. For the guardhouse. Said… everyone deserves a fair chance."
The old man stared. Then chuckled, a dry, crackling sound. "Zhao boy? Sent pills? To me?" He took one, squinted. "Hmph. Low grade. Still… better than nothing."
He popped it.
Nothing dramatic. No light. No frost.
But as he stood—slowly, carefully—his limp was… lighter.
He took three steps. Then four.
"Huh," he said, wonder in his voice. "Knee doesn't grind today."
He clapped Chen on the shoulder. "Good lad. Your father raised you right."
Chen nodded, walking back to the fields.
In his mind, the scroll glowed:
[GIFT RECORDED]
— Item: 1 × Qi Nourishing Pill (Low)
— Recipient: He Wenguang (Guard, Greenpine South Gate)
— Intent: Respect. Community.
Return Ready.
🔸 [QUANTITY]
🔸 [QUALITY]
Choose.
Chen didn't hesitate.
Quality.
The scroll shimmered.
In his pocket, something shifted.
Not a pill this time.
A small, folded piece of parchment—aged, brittle, smelling of lightning and rain.
[ITEM]: Skyfall Scroll: Thunderclap Palm (Technique, Grade 5)
A lost art of the Azure Peaks. Channels Qi into explosive concussive force. Known for shattering stone—and arrogance.
Note: Last recorded user: Zhao Lei's grandfather. He lost it in a bet. How… poetic.
Chen's lips twitched.
He tucked the scroll away.
Above, the sun climbed higher.
The Spirit Ginseng leaves shimmered, stronger now.
And in the courtyard, Xiao laughed—a clear, bright sound—as a snowflake bloomed in her palm, then floated upward… and melted into a single drop of water, falling like a tear of joy onto the thirsty earth.
Chen looked at his hands.
They were still calloused. Still ordinary.
But for the first time…
He believed they could give the world something beautiful.