Deep within the Red Lotus Sect's inner courtyard, far from the clashing swords and roars of sparring disciples, lay a secluded residence built in the middle of a tranquil garden.
The air was still and sweet with the scent of lotus blossoms. A clear pond sat at the garden's center, ringed by smooth stones and shaded by old willows.
Crimson lotuses bloomed atop the pond's surface, petals opened wide to the morning sun.
Their reflections shimmered in the rippling water, scattered by the gentle wind and the occasional leap of a fish breaking the surface.
Beside the pond sat a young girl in a pale blue robe, her form slender and still. The fabric of her sleeves pooled around her folded knees.
Her golden hair was tied up into two neat buns, like a child untouched by the turmoil of the world.
But her eyes told another story.
They were lowered, distant, fixed on the water where she dropped small pellets from a silk pouch in her hands.
