The door creaked open with a quiet groan, revealing a well-appointed chamber filled with the scent of sandalwood, aged paper, and the faint smell of herbal medicine. Sunlight streamed through slatted windows, casting warm rays across scroll-lined walls and a rosewood tea table.
A kind-faced elderly man stood by the desk. He wore scholar's robes in muted greens and golds, his snow-white hair tied neatly back. Though his posture was refined, his smile radiated warmth and a gentleness that instantly softened the air.
"Ah, you must be little Fei," he greeted warmly. "I am Director Wen, the head of Cloudveil City Medical Pavilion. It's good to finally see you awake."
Yuki bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, Director Wen."
The director smiled once again and told Yin Mei to take a seat.
In front of her, she saw 2 figures.
One of them was a man who appeared in his early forties, with a presence as sharp and cold as unsheathed steel. His black robes bore silver-stitched clouds that flowed down to a pair of sword emblems along the hems. And on his waist, there was a sword contained in a silver scabbard. His eyes were calm, his stance composed. Even without intention, he exuded an intimidating aura.
Yuki stiffened. Master Jian.
The man known across the empire as 'Severed Sky', one of the six Martial Sages, stood before her. He looked just as she imagined—no, more refined, more poised than the words she had once written in her notes.
But what caught her off guard wasn't him.
It was the teenager beside him.
Young. He should be around fifteen. With bright eyes, a refined face, and a calm, pleasant smile. He bowed lightly before stepping forward to prepare tea.
He moved with quiet efficiency, setting another cup from the cabinet and carefully pouring tea from a brown celadon pot. The gentle steam curled in the air as he placed the cup neatly on the table and refilled the other 2 cups on the table.
Wait… what? Yuki blinked.
"Who the hell is this kid? I didn't write him. Jian Tong Xuan's disciple? Wait, he has a disciple?"
She stared, internally rattled. After the boy finished pouring, he silently returned to stand by Master Jian's side.
Director Wen gestured with one hand, smiling. "Yin Fei, allow me to formally introduce Grandmaster Jian Tong Xuan—one of the six Martial Sages of the Celestial Empire and his disciple, Xiao Chen. Little Chen was the one who found you near the wild forest bordering Cloudveil City and brought you here."
Yuki blinked once. Twice.
"Ah… um… thank you…" Her voice was awkward, caught between disbelief and instinctive courtesy.
The boy, Xiao Chen, bowed again. "I'm just glad you're safe, Miss Yin."
Her lips twitched. "This kid… " Yuki was exasperated. "Good-looking, handsome, and polite… What the hell? That Jian Tong Xuan got such a disciple ?"
Chapter 8 : Interrogation
Master Jian spoke at last, his tone calm. "Yin Fei. Can you explain what happened before you were found?"
Yuki inhaled, careful to keep her expression faint and unsure.
"I was… in the forest," she said softly. "Looking for food. I think I collapsed. I was too hungry… and everything went dark."
She paused, then continued slowly, deliberately choosing her words. "I woke up somewhere else. Not here. It was… snowy. But wrong. The temperature wasn't as low as it should be in a snowy plain. Except that, there were two moons in the sky—one white and one violet in a crescent shape."
Director Wen's brows lifted slightly in intrigue, but he didn't interrupt.
"There were… corpses there," she said, voice quieter now. "But alive. They moved like zombies from the movies I watched when I was a child, but they ran fast."
"I found a rift. It was just there—in the air. I didn't know what it was, but it pulled me in. I… I fell."
Her hand trembled slightly. This part wasn't even an act. Because it was a gamble. Yuki didn't know which dungeon she was entering. If she got into a high difficulty dungeon, she might have fallen there.
"I woke up in a cave. After exploring, I found a chamber. Inside were markings… runes, I think, on the floor. I tried infusing them with spiritual power and then…"
She trailed off.
"A…a monster." Yuki pretended to hold her tears, like a little girl who had been frightened by such a creature and couldn't help herself to remind the pain and agony she felt in that encounter.
Her gaze lowered. "That's when I woke up in the forest. I couldn't run anymore and fainted."
Silence settled over the room.
Director Wen finally broke it, his voice calm but firm. "She was found with severe injuries. A claw mark across her chest. Her foot was punctured, almost torn. And a pale, necrotic hand gripping her leg. Its nails were embedded in her skin."
Master Jian's tone was quieter now, but no less sharp. "Spatial interference, illusions? Corpse-like entities. And a teleportation array…?"
"We'll need to investigate the area," Director Wen said.
"I will inform the military and the provincial government. They should be able to uncover something different this time."
"This time ?" Yuki questioned in her mind.
Her thought got interrupted by the warm voice of Director Wen, "Rest now," the director said gently. "You've given us more than enough."
Master Jian's eyes lingered on her a moment longer, then he questioned, "Where did you learn cultivation ?"
Master Jian's eyes narrowed, his voice low and deliberate.
The words hit harder than any sword.
Yuki's heart skipped. Her fingers clenched.
She was in panic mode. She knew that Yin Fei didn't have the innate ability to cultivate. It's only possible after getting the system. That's why Yin Fei got trashed badly at the village. If she were a cultivator seed, the villagers wouldn't dare to treat her like that.
She stared down at her tea, her breath growing shallow.
"I… I…" her voice trembled. Her lungs refused to expand.
"I d-don't…"
*Not now. Don't break. Stay calm—*
But her body didn't listen.
Her pulse raced. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. And then—
A sharp pressure filled the room.
*Hum.*
Master Jian didn't move, but the sword at his waist responded. The sword slid silently from its silver scabbard, rising into the air beside him.
A thin line of steel hovered like an arrow drawn against the breath of the world, glowing faintly.
Sword intent unfurled—powerful and heavy.
The weight of the sword intent hit her like a mountain. The air around her constricted. Her heart hammered in panic. Her chest lurched, and a mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
She crumpled forward with a sharp gasp, arms wrapped over her bandaged torso, pain shooting through every nerve. Her healing ribs ached as if split again, her vision whiting out at the edges.
"Master Jian! " Director Wen's voice cracked through the pressure like a thunderclap.
In the same breath, her hand moved. A veil of golden light bloomed in front of Yuki, intercepting the sword's will. The sword pressed against the shield with a sharp hiss, but could not pass through.
Director Wen stood tall, his sleeve still glowing golden, his expression no longer kind.
"She's a child," she snapped. "She's injured and terrified."
"She might be an impostor," Jian Tong Xuan said, calm but edged. "Don't you remember what happened 16 years ago?"
"So you think a little girl intentionally broke ribs and punctured her leg to become an impostor ?" Director Wen's voice sharpened.
There was a stalemate in their gazes. This situation continued for a minute before Director Wen resigned.
Director Wen sighed, "Please, sheath your sword first."
The sword paused in the air, then returned to its scabbard along Jian Tong Xuan's cold humph.
The pressure faded.
Yuki coughed again, blood dripping from her lip, her breath shallow and ragged.
But she lifted her head, just slightly.
"I-I didn't mean to hide anything," she choked out. "Please let me speak."
Her hands shook as she tried to sit up straighter.
"M-My mother… her name was Yin Zhi Yan. She was a cultivator. She used to be a student at BlueRock Martial University."
Yuki took a deep breath and gulped the blood down her throat.
"My mother taught me a few things when I was little. She imparted her cultivation method and how to use my spiritual energy. That's how I reached my current cultivation level."
Director Wen's gaze softened as she stepped behind Yuki, placing a gentle hand on her back.
Yuki felt a warm energy flow from behind her, the energy distributed throughout her every cell. Slowly healing every injury on her body.
Master Jian studied her without speaking. The tension in his eyes hadn't faded, but he said nothing more.
Yuki looked down, shoulders trembling—not from the pain now, but from Yin Fei's memory she'd just used as her shield.
"I can't make another mistake like that," she thought grimly.
Director Wen stood straight once more. "That's enough for today. If there are further questions, they can wait."
Yuki nodded, her body felt more refreshed than she ever had.
"I will have to make sure if what this girl said was true. I will leave first."
She didn't look up again until she heard the door close behind the departing Sword Sage.
Only then did she exhale and let herself fall back into the chair.