The Lin Clan's gates opened slowly as the convoy returned.
Lanterns were already being lit along the stone pathways, their warm glow reflecting against carved pillars and tiled roofs. Disciples paused in their training, servants slowed their steps, and a subtle ripple of attention spread through the outer courtyards.
Something had happened on the road.
Lin Huang felt it the moment the carriage rolled through the gates. The air of the clan was familiar, steady—yet tonight, it carried the faint tension of rumors about to be born.
Whispers followed the convoy.
"Did you feel that pressure earlier…?""They say the patriarch intervened on the road.""I heard there was a village attacked nearby…"
Lin Huang exhaled quietly.
So the capital wasn't the only place where eyes followed us.
The convoy stopped within the inner grounds. As Lin Huang stepped down, he caught sight of a young woman being helped from another carriage. She looked exhausted, wrapped in a cloak, her gaze wary but alert. She did not meet anyone's eyes for long.
For a moment, when Lin Huang passed by, he felt a faint tug in his chest.
Resonance?
He slowed unconsciously.
The girl glanced at him, then looked away just as quickly.
Lin Zhenyuan's voice cut through the murmurs. "She will be treated and given a place to rest. No one is to disturb her."
The order carried weight.
Curandeiros guided the girl away. No one asked her name.
Not yet.
Inside the main hall, Lin Yueqin finally released the worry she had been holding back since the convoy crossed the gates.
"You really can't go anywhere without trouble following you," she scolded, pressing her hands briefly to Lin Huang's shoulders as if to check whether he was whole. "First the capital, then whatever happened on the road. Are you trying to give me gray hair early?"
"I'm fine, Mother," Lin Huang said, half-amused, half-guilty. "Nothing happened to me."
"That's not the point," she huffed. "The world doesn't care whether you're careful. It cares that you exist."
Lin Tianhe stood nearby, his expression calm, but his eyes were distant.
The capital.The subtle pressure of the imperial family.The probing hostility on the road.The destroyed village.
This is not coincidence.
Lin Zhenyuan took a seat at the head of the hall, his gaze steady.
"Someone tested us," he said simply. "Whether it was the Masters of the Evil Martial Spirit or nobles hiding behind them, it does not matter. The intent was there."
Lin Tianhe nodded slowly. "Then the timing of the Academy Sol and Moon becomes even more important."
Lin Yueqin frowned. "So you're really sending him away after this?"
Lin Zhenyuan's eyes softened slightly. "Five months. That is the time we have to strengthen his foundation before the world begins to pull at him harder."
Elsewhere in the clan, the girl who had been brought back from the village lay on a spirit-infused bed. Curandeiros worked quietly, their hands glowing with gentle light.
She stirred.
After a long moment of silence, she spoke in a hoarse voice.
"My name is… Zhang Lexuan."
The room fell still.
Later, as her condition stabilized, her Martial Spirit reacted faintly to the environment of the Lin Clan. A pale, crescent-shaped shimmer flickered around her before fading.
The curandeiros froze.
One of the elders who had come to observe narrowed his eyes.
"This resonance… lunar in nature."
Lin Zhenyuan, who had arrived silently at the doorway, felt an old name surface in his mind.
Kong Deming.
So the threads truly are tightening…
The decision was made quietly.
Zhang Lexuan would remain within the Lin Clan's protection.
Far from the Lin Clan, echoes of the imperial gathering continued to ripple.
Xu Tianzhen sat by her window, the poem folded neatly in her hands. Moonlight spilled across the parchment.
"…Not as strangers," she murmured softly, then fell silent.
Xu Tianran stood near the doorway, arms folded loosely.
"You seem thoughtful," he said lightly. "He could be a good match for you, you know. The Lin Clan's heir."
Xu Tianzhen stiffened. "Brother."
"I'm only stating possibilities," he replied with a faint smile. "The future is full of them."
She looked back at the poem, expression unreadable.
In another residence, Meng Hongchen lay sprawled across a cushioned seat, staring at the ceiling. The poem rested against her chest.
"He's… annoying," she muttered, then smiled despite herself.
Xiao Hongchen paced the room. "What's annoying is how casually he talks to you. Who does he think he is?"
Meng Hongchen rolled onto her side. "Relax. You're just mad he didn't treat you like a rival."
Jing Hongchen, seated nearby, raised an eyebrow. "So this Lin Clan heir caused all this noise?"
Xiao Hongchen grumbled.
Meng Hongchen shrugged. "He's not that bad. You'd probably like him."
Jing Hongchen chuckled softly. "Then it seems the Academy Sol and Moon will be more interesting than usual this year."
Back within the Lin Clan, the family invited to cooperate in spiritual cuisine was settling in. They were shown modest quarters near the inner grounds, close enough to feel the weight of the clan's presence.
Su Mei clutched her father's sleeve, eyes shining with curiosity.
"So… this is where the patriarch's family lives?"
Her father nodded slowly. "We'll need to be careful. This is not a place where mistakes are forgiven easily."
"Do you think the young master is scary?" she whispered.
"…I don't know," he admitted. "But we'll find out."
That night, the family of the Patriarch gathered for dinner.
The table was filled with newly prepared dishes infused with gentle spiritual warmth. The flavors were simple, but nourishing.
Lin Huang's eyes lit up when he saw the unfamiliar dishes.
"So this is the family you mentioned?" he asked, clearly intrigued.
Lin Yueqin smiled faintly. "By order of the Matriarch," she said lightly. "Try not to overwhelm them with questions."
Zhang Lexuan was seated a little apart at first, her posture reserved. When Lin Huang noticed, he shifted slightly to make space.
"…You can sit here, if you want," he said quietly.
She hesitated, then nodded.
Lin Tianhe watched the scene and chuckled. "You seem to have an easy time talking to girls."
Lin Huang choked slightly on his food.
"Father—!"
Lin Yueqin shot Lin Tianhe a glare. "Don't tease him like that."
Lin Zhenyuan observed the table in silence, the faintest hint of approval in his eyes.
Su Mei stared at Lin Huang, then quickly looked down when he noticed.
Her father, outwardly calm, felt a strange sense of relief.
So this is the family of the Patriarch…They're… warmer than I imagined.
As the meal continued, talk drifted toward the future of spiritual cuisine—ways to nourish the body, restore spiritual fatigue, and perhaps even aid cultivation.
Five months.
That was the time they had.
Later that night, as the moonlight bathed the inner courtyard, Lin Huang stood quietly, feeling the familiar calm settle into his bones.
Five months to prepare.
Five months before the Academy Sol and Moon.
And somehow, he knew—
This calm would not last forever.