The Grand Library of the Silver Cloud Clan was, architecturally speaking, impressive.
Three floors of dark wood and shelves carved by hand rose toward a vaulted ceiling decorated with paintings of clouds and dragons. The light entered filtered through rice paper windows, creating an atmosphere that was probably designed to inspire academic reverence.
To me, however, it was a logistical mess with good lighting.
"This place is huge," Liling whispered as we crossed the main threshold. "I had never been in here before. Servants normally don't have access."
"Today you are not a servant," Xiao Yue said without looking at her. "You are my security assistant."
Liling smiled broadly at the improvised title.
The head librarian, an elderly man with a beard so long it was probably a tripping hazard, received us with a calculatedly measured bow. It was deep enough to recognize Xiao Yue's status as the daughter of the Clan Master, but not so much as to suggest real enthusiasm for her presence.
Politics even in the bows. This world never ceases to surprise me.
"Young Lady Xiao Yue," his voice was as raspy as old parchment. "We received the authorization from Matriarch Feng this morning. The fire element techniques section is on the second floor, east wing."
"Thank you, Archivist Liu."
Xiao Yue began to walk toward the stairs. Liling and I followed her.
The second floor was where my professional frustration began in earnest.
The scrolls and manuals were organized on shelves labeled with bronze plaques. The categories included: Legacies of the Ancestors, Techniques of the Founder, Manuals of the Golden Age, and my personal favorite, Contributions of Distinguished Elders.
Organization by seniority and political prestige. Not by physical requirements, not by elemental compatibility, not by difficulty level. Only by who wrote it and how long ago.
It was like entering a database where the files were sorted by the color of the author's tie instead of by relevant content.
"Kenji?" Liling noticed my expression. "You have that face."
"What face?"
"The face of this is poorly organized and it causes me physical pain."
Am I that obvious?
"The scrolls are classified by historical prestige," I said, pointing to the plaques. "Not by compatibility with the practitioner."
Xiao Yue stopped in front of a particularly imposing shelf labeled as Fire Techniques of the Great Ancestor Xiao.
"It has always been this way," she replied in a neutral tone. "The oldest manuals are considered the most valuable."
"Why?"
"Because they were written by more powerful cultivators."
"That does not mean they are suitable for all practitioners."
Xiao Yue looked at me with those golden eyes that still, after weeks, managed to destabilize me for a moment.
"What do you suggest then?"
"That we ignore the prestige labels and search based on functional criteria."
Liling had positioned herself strategically near the entrance of the wing, with a clear view of the stairs and the main hallway. Her posture seemed relaxed, but I recognized the subtle tension in her shoulders. She was in bodyguard mode.
"Functional criteria?" Xiao Yue repeated.
"The most powerful technique in the world is useless if your body cannot handle the load. What we need to find is not the most prestigious manual, but the one most compatible with you specifically."
Xiao Yue considered my words. I could see the conflict in her expression: years of conditioning telling her that the ancient was superior versus the undeniable logic of what I had just said.
"And how do you propose to determine that compatibility?" she finally asked. "You are not an expert in cultivation."
"No," I admitted. "But I am an expert in asking the right questions."
We found a study table in a relatively private corner of the wing. Liling maintained her vigilant position while Xiao Yue and I sat across from each other. I had brought several scrolls from different shelves, a representative sample of what was available.
"Before reviewing these manuals," I began, "I need to understand some aspects of your current cultivation better."
"You already know my situation. Stuck at the sixth level for a year."
"I know the symptom. I do not know the full cause."
Xiao Yue frowned slightly.
"What do you want to know?"
"When you practice high power techniques, how do you feel physically? Describe the sensation during the execution."
It was a question that probably no instructor had ever asked her. Traditional masters focused on the external form, not the internal experience.
"I feel..." Xiao Yue hesitated, searching for words. "Tense. As if I were pushing against something."
"Pushing against what?"
"I do not know. Just... resistance. Like walking against a strong current."
Interesting. She is describing internal friction, not weakness.
"And when you practice softer techniques? Forms of meditation or basic circulation?"
"Those are easy. They flow naturally."
"Which do you prefer? If you could choose freely, without considering what is expected of a serious cultivator."
Xiao Yue looked at me with genuine surprise.
"No one has asked me that before."
"I am asking now."
A silence followed. Liling, from her position, watched us with poorly disguised curiosity.
"I prefer... the techniques that are soft," Xiao Yue finally admitted, and there was something vulnerable in her voice. "The explosive ones exhaust me... mentally. As if I were playing a role that does not belong to me."
There it is. The confirmation of my theory.
Since I began observing her, I had suspected that Xiao Yue's cold personality was armor, not her true nature. Genuinely cold people do not rescue servants from the street. They do not spend hours selecting clothes for their assistants. Nor do they worry about whether someone has eaten or rested enough. Underneath that layer of ice was someone softer. Giving her an explosive technique was useless and counterproductive.
"Can I ask another question, My Lady?" I continued. "This one might seem strange."
"Go ahead."
"What do you like? In terms of daily life. What makes you feel... comfortable?"
Xiao Yue blinked.
"Why is that relevant?"
"Because I believe the way a person lives reflects how they should cultivate. If there is a disconnection between the two, friction is created."
Another silence. Longer this time.
"I like tranquility," Xiao Yue said, and her voice was almost a whisper. "The sound of bamboo. Reading by the window when it rains. The tea that Liling prepares in the mornings."
From her position, Liling smiled softly.
"I like when things have order," Xiao Yue continued. "When every element is in its place. I detest chaos, excessive noise, and unnecessary demonstrations of strength."
"And what do you detest specifically about explosive techniques?"
"The waste," she replied without hesitation. "All that energy wasted in light and noise. It is... vulgar."
Exactly what I suspected.
"My Lady," I said, leaning slightly forward, "I believe we have been looking in the wrong direction."
"What do you mean?"
"The most prestigious fire techniques in this clan are the most destructive. Massive fireballs, devastating explosions, total incinerations. They are spectacular, but they require a personality that enjoys that spectacularity."
"And I do not have that personality?"
"You just described demonstrations of strength as vulgar. Do you honestly believe a technique designed for maximum vulgarity is going to flow naturally with your Qi?"
Xiao Yue remained silent, processing.
"I had never thought of it that way," she finally admitted.
"Because no one had asked you. The instructors see fire element and assume all fire practitioners want the same thing: total destruction. But fire is not just destruction."
I took one of the scrolls I had selected, one that had been relegated to a lower shelf because its author was not particularly famous.
"What is that?" Xiao Yue asked.
"Principles of Refined Fire: Control and Precision over Power," I read the title. "Written two hundred years ago by a cultivator named Chen Mingyu. According to the marginal notes, he was considered a failure because his techniques lacked visual impact."
"Why did you select it?"
"Because I read the introduction. Chen Mingyu wrote that the true mastery of fire is not in how much you can burn, but in how precisely you can control the flame. It sounds like something you would like."
Xiao Yue took the scroll and began to read. Her expression gradually changed from skepticism to genuine interest.
"This is... different," she murmured. "It speaks of channeling fire like a river. Of maintaining a constant flame instead of a single detonation."
"Does it resonate with you?"
She nodded slowly.
"More than any technique I have tried before."
Liling approached slightly, her curiosity overcoming her discipline as a guard.
"Did you find something useful?"
"Possibly," I replied. "But we need to review more options to be sure."
Over the next two hours, we established an improvised filtering system. I asked questions; Xiao Yue answered with increasing honesty; together we discarded or selected scrolls based on criteria that no traditional librarian would have considered.
Does the technique require emotional explosions to activate? Discarded. Xiao Yue worked better with sustained control. Does the manual assume the practitioner enjoys direct combat? Discarded. Xiao Yue preferred precision over confrontation. Does the description mention devastation or annihilation as objectives? Discarded. Too vulgar. Does the approach prioritize energy efficiency over visual impact? Selected. Perfectly aligned with her nature.
By the end of the afternoon, we had a pile of five scrolls that seemed designed specifically for someone like Xiao Yue. None were particularly famous. None were on the prestige shelves. But they all shared a common philosophy: control over chaos.
"This is..." Xiao Yue looked at the scrolls with an expression I had not seen on her before. Hope mixed with incredulity. "Why did no one show me these techniques before?"
"Because they are not impressive," I replied. "And in a culture that values the impressive over the effective, the discreet gets lost."
"It is unfair."
"It is foolish," I corrected. "Injustice is a moral judgment. Inefficiency is a measurable fact. And this classification system is objectively inefficient."
Xiao Yue almost smiled.
"You always reduce everything to efficiency."
"It is my frame of reference. Others use tradition or honor. I use what works."
"And will this work?" she pointed to the scrolls.
"I cannot guarantee it. But I can say it has a better chance of working than continuing to try techniques designed for people who are not you."
Liling approached completely, abandoning her guard post.
"Let me see," she took one of the scrolls and examined it. "Flame of the Perpetual Dawn. I had never heard of this technique."
"Because the author was a middle rank cultivator who died young," Xiao Yue explained, having read the introduction. "According to the notes, his techniques were considered too subtle for practical application in combat."
"Too subtle," I repeated. "Translation: they did not explode enough to impress the judges."
"Kenji," Liling looked at me with that expression between amused and exasperated that was becoming familiar, "do you ever say anything without criticizing the established system?"
"Occasionally. When the system works correctly."
"And does that happen often?"
"Rarely."
Xiao Yue began to roll up the scrolls carefully.
"Kenji," she said without looking at me, "what you did today... the questions you asked... no one had tried to understand me like this before."
"I only applied basic logic. To find the right tool, you must first know the user."
"It was not just logic," she insisted, and finally looked at me. "It was... consideration. You tried to really know me as a person."
Careful, Kenji. Dangerous emotional territory.
"It is part of my job, My Lady."
"No, it is not," Xiao Yue shook her head. "Your job is to serve me tea and observe my training. This..." she pointed to the scrolls "...I do not know how to define it."
Liling watched us with a smile that suggested she was immensely enjoying the situation.
"Whatever it is," I said, trying to redirect the conversation, "the important thing is that you now have study material that could actually work."
"Yes," Xiao Yue nodded, though something in her expression suggested the conversation had not really ended. "You are right."
We began to prepare to leave. Xiao Yue carried the scrolls in a cloth case that the librarian had provided with evident reluctance upon seeing that she was taking minor manuals instead of the prestigious ones.
It was then that Liling consulted a small calendar she carried in her sleeve. Her expression changed.
"My Lady," her voice lost its relaxed tone, "there is something I forgot to mention this morning."
Xiao Yue stopped.
"What?"
"Tomorrow is mandatory training day."
The change in Xiao Yue was immediate. Her shoulders tensed. Her jaw tightened. The emotional openness of moments ago vanished, replaced by that mask of ice I knew so well.
"Mandatory training?" I asked, not fully understanding the reaction.
"Every two months," Liling explained, her tone now serious, "all disciples of the sect must participate in a group training session in the main courtyard. It is supervised by Master Wei."
"And that is problematic because...?"
"Because Master Wei," Xiao Yue spoke with a controlled voice, "believes the only way to improve is through brute effort. If a technique does not work, the solution is to do it with more strength. If you keep failing, it is because you are not trying hard enough."
Ah. An old school instructor. The type who believes problems are solved by hitting them harder.
"Also," Liling added with evident disgust, "he has the habit of using the Young Lady as an example of what happens when you do not commit to your training."
"That is..."
"Humiliating," Xiao Yue completed. "Yes. It is."
I understood the tension now. Xiao Yue had spent the last few weeks improving in private, in a controlled environment where she could experiment without judgment. Tomorrow she would be exposed. Under the sun, in front of other disciples, under the gaze of an instructor who had already labeled her a failure.
If she showed improvement, she could change the narrative. If she failed, it would confirm everything Master Wei had said about her.
"The new scrolls," I said. "Is there time to study them before tomorrow?"
"Barely," Xiao Yue shook her head. "These techniques require deep understanding before practice. I cannot learn them in one night."
"Then do not use them tomorrow."
Both women looked at me.
"What?" Liling asked.
"The goal of mandatory training is to demonstrate general progress. The Young Lady has already improved significantly in the techniques she knows."
Xiao Yue processed my words.
"But Master Wei does not evaluate efficiency. He evaluates impact."
"Then demonstrate impact through consistency. If every technique you execute is perfect, without the waste of energy you showed before, even Wei will have to notice the difference."
"And if it is not enough?"
"Then at least you will have data. You will know exactly which aspects need more work, what reacts well under pressure, and what does not. A failure with useful information is more valuable than a success without understanding."
Xiao Yue stared at me for a long moment.
"You speak as if failure does not matter."
"Failure always matters. But it matters less than paralysis caused by the fear of failure."
Liling intervened, her tone practical.
"Kenji is right, My Lady. You have improved. I have seen it. The fact that tomorrow will be difficult does not erase what you have achieved."
Xiao Yue took a deep breath. I saw the conflict in her face: the fear of exposure fighting against the knowledge of her own progress.
"The data does not lie," I said softly. "Your preparation already began weeks ago. Tomorrow is just the first stress test."
"Stress test?"
"An evaluation under adverse conditions. It is not the final exam, it is a baseline diagnostic."
Xiao Yue smiled at the terminology.
"Only you would turn a potential humiliation into a baseline diagnostic."
"It is a more useful perspective than seeing it as the end of the world."
The sun began to descend as we left the library. Xiao Yue walked slightly ahead, the scroll case against her chest as if it were something precious. Liling and I followed her at a respectful distance.
"Kenji," Liling spoke in a low voice so Xiao Yue would not hear, "what you did today in the library... the questions you asked her... do you really think finding compatible techniques will make a difference?"
"I think forcing someone to use tools that go against their nature is a recipe for failure. The Young Lady is not an explosive person. Giving her explosive techniques only generates more internal friction."
"And the techniques you selected?"
"They are more subtle. Less spectacular. But if they work with her natural flow of Qi instead of against it, the progress should be faster."
Liling nodded slowly.
We arrived at the Pavilion of Silent Bamboo as the sky began to turn orange. Xiao Yue stopped at the entrance and turned toward us.
"I am going to study these scrolls tonight," she said, her voice regaining some of its usual firmness. "Kenji is right: I cannot learn new techniques in one night. But I can understand why these techniques might work where others failed."
"Do you need anything, My Lady?" Liling asked.
"Silence," Xiao Yue replied. "And perhaps more tea than I should drink."
Liling nodded and disappeared toward the kitchen.
Xiao Yue stood there looking at me.
"Kenji."
"Yes, My Lady?"
"Thank you. For..." she hesitated "...for trying to know me instead of just evaluating me."
"It is my job."
"Stop saying that," her tone was softer than expected. "We both know it is not."
I did not know what to answer. Xiao Yue did not seem to expect an answer either.
"Goodnight, Kenji."
"Goodnight, My Lady. And tomorrow... trust in your preparation."
She nodded once and entered the pavilion, the scrolls still against her chest.
I stayed outside for a moment, watching as the last lights of the day faded over the curved roofs of the complex.