Inside a small room, a young boy lay asleep at the center, wrapped tightly in a pink blanket.
In one corner of the room stood an iron-barred window, but the sunlight had already stopped entering—it was noon.
Suddenly, the blanket stirred.
The sleeping boy slowly woke up.
He raised both his hands above his head and stretched lazily, as if he had enjoyed a deep, satisfying sleep.
That boy was none other than Alex.
Alex muttered to himself,
"What a feeling… I really didn't feel like coming back."
For a brief moment, anger and frustration flickered across his face.
"But what can I even do?" he continued quietly.
"The moment I fall asleep, my soul transmigrates instantly…"
He let out a slow breath and then shook his head lightly.
"Well, at least wherever that system exists, I actually like going there.
Because of it, I've been given another chance to live a better life—
a life where I might even fulfill some of my wishes."
Alex got up from the bed and carefully looked around the room.
"I haven't even eaten yet," he said.
"Maxel prepared food till 9 o'clock, but I was so eager to go there that I didn't even pay attention…"
He paused and frowned slightly.
"By the way… what time is it now?"
He reached under his cushion and took out his phone.
"So it's almost 12 o'clock now…" he murmured.
"That means I stayed there for about two hours.
When Maxel woke me up, it was already 10—
that's usually the time we leave for college."
Alex thought to himself:
'It's afternoon here, but it was night in that world.
Still, I feel like time flows the same—24 hours in both worlds.
Just that when it's day here, it's night there…
and when it's day there, it's night here.'
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
'Ling'er told me there's a banquet tomorrow morning…
That means I'll have to go there tonight itself to be present.'
He frowned slightly in thought.
'So when should I sleep here?
At 6 in the evening… or maybe around 10 or 11 at night?'
At that moment, a loud growling sound came from his stomach.
"Looks like I'm seriously hungry," Alex sighed.
"I'll think about all that later. Feeding my stomach comes first."
After a few moments…
Alex went to the bathroom and freshened up, though he didn't take a bath yet—his hunger was too strong.
He sat cross-legged to eat.
The food consisted of rice, lentil curry, and mashed potatoes—
a common breakfast meal in many parts of Bihar, India.
Looking at the food, Alex thought,
"I wonder what kind of food they eat in that world…
Tomorrow's a banquet, so the dishes must be delicious."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Fine, I'll try them too."
He then began eating.
A few hours later…
After finishing his meal, Alex finally took a bath.
Soon after, he left for college.
It wasn't exactly the right time to go, but biometric attendance was important—
it determined whether students were eligible for exams.
After all, 75% attendance was mandatory to appear in them.
Later that day, Alex returned from college alone.
Maxel wasn't with him—he was still attending his class, and leaving midway wasn't easy.
Besides, the biometric system was installed outside the classrooms, so Alex had already marked his attendance.
The room felt quiet when Alex entered.
He dropped his bag near the bed and sat down for a moment, letting out a slow breath.
After a few hours…
The door opened again.
Maxel finally returned to the room.
The two didn't waste much time talking. Instead, they worked together in silence, preparing dinner—something they had grown used to over time.
Soon, the food was ready.
They ate together, discussing nothing important, just small, everyday things.
After dinner, both of them sat down for self-study, books spread across the table.
Time passed quietly, broken only by the sound of pages turning.
Eventually, fatigue settled in.
They cleaned up, turned off the lights, and went to bed.
Alex lay down on his bed and rested his head on the cushion.
As he stared at the ceiling in the darkness, thoughts slowly surfaced in his mind.
'Ever since I started going to that world and coming back…
after understanding everything clearly…
I've realized one thing about time.'
He took a slow breath.
'Time flows at the same speed in both worlds.
Twenty-four hours here… twenty-four hours there.'
'The only difference is the cycle.'
'When it's night in that world, it's day here.
And when it's night here… it becomes day there.'
Alex closed his eyes gently.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he whispered,
"Now let's see… whether I wake up there at the right time,
or at some completely wrong moment."
The room slowly fell silent.
His breathing grew steady.
Seconds passed… then minutes.
And just like before—
A strange pulling sensation spread through his consciousness.
The world around him faded into darkness.
Somewhere else, in another world—
Night was coming to an end.
A faint glow of dawn quietly approached.
And once again, a soul began its journey between two lives.
**********
The night was deep, yet calm.
A full moon hung high in the sky, its silver radiance pouring down upon the Tian family residence—a vast estate far grander than an ordinary manor, its layered roofs and ancient pillars bathed in quiet moonlight.
Soft light slipped through carved windows, resting gently inside one of the inner chambers.
By the window sat Tian Xueya.
She leaned slightly against the wooden frame, her posture relaxed yet naturally graceful. Moonlight brushed over her face, revealing skin so pale it resembled fresh milk under frost—pure, unblemished, almost unreal. Her crimson-red hair flowed freely, strands lifting and dancing softly with the night breeze, brushing against her slender neck like living flames subdued by silence.
She wore a grey-blue robe, its fabric smooth and elegant, embroidered faintly with cloud-like patterns that shimmered subtly under the moon. The robe carried a quiet nobility—neither extravagant nor plain—giving her an unmistakable royal aura, as if she were born to belong above the mortal crowd.
Her eyes, calm yet distant, reflected the moon outside.
Beyond the window, the Tian family grounds stretched endlessly—courtyards, training fields, spirit lamps, and stone paths laid down by generations of cultivators. The air itself felt heavy with refined spiritual essence, circulating slowly like a silent tide, nourishing the land and those who lived upon it.
Xueya rested her chin lightly on her hand.
The night was peaceful… yet her heart was not entirely so.
A faint breeze passed through the room, rustling her robe and lifting her hair once more. She closed her eyes briefly, feeling the cool moonlight wash over her senses, as if the heavens themselves were observing the Tian family from above.
In this vast cultivation world—where bloodlines, talent, and fate intertwined—such quiet moments were rare.
And tonight, beneath the full moon, Tian Xueya remained alone with her thoughts, suspended between serenity and something she herself had yet to fully understand.
The wooden door made no sound as it opened.
A faint shift in the spiritual air was the only warning.
Tian Xueya opened her eyes.
Behind her, a tall figure stepped into the moonlit room—his presence calm, restrained, yet carrying an invisible pressure that came only from someone who had stood above others for far too long.
Tian Wuxian.
The head of the Tianjian Clan.
He wore a dark robe trimmed with faint silver lines, simple in appearance but heavy in authority. His gaze swept once across the room—windows, moonlight, his daughter—before finally resting on her.
He did not speak immediately.
Instead, he walked to the window and stood beside her, both of them facing the same moon.
"Full moons are rare," he said at last, his voice low and even.
"They reveal many things… especially those hidden in shadow."
Xueya did not reply. She only listened.
After a brief pause, Tian Wuxian continued, as if speaking casually.
"Recently," he said, "the world has become… interesting. Talents appearing where they shouldn't. Fortunes shifting hands without warning."
His eyes narrowed slightly—not in anger, but in calculation.
"There is a young man," he added, tone indifferent,
"who seems to draw attention without seeking it. Even elders speak his name more than they realize."
Xueya's fingers tightened just a little on the window frame.
Tian Wuxian noticed.
But he pretended not to.
"In cultivation," he went on, "one does not always grow through isolation. Sometimes, growth comes from proximity—from watching, observing, understanding."
He turned his head slightly toward her.
"You have always been… perceptive," he said.
"Better than most when it comes to sensing change in people."
A pause.
"If someone like that young man were to walk a path too fast, too alone…"
his voice softened,
"it would be unfortunate if no one noticed when the road bent."
Xueya finally spoke, her voice calm.
"Father believes I should observe him."
Tian Wuxian allowed himself a faint smile.
"Believe?" he repeated softly.
"No. I believe you will decide what is necessary."
He straightened, hands clasped behind his back.
"You have been stagnant lately," he added, almost casually.
"A change of environment may help. Different people… different rhythms."
The moonlight shifted as a cloud passed.
"For now," Tian Wuxian concluded,
"stay close to where fate gathers. The rest will become clear on its own."
With that, he turned and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he paused once more.
"Do not think of this as a task," he said quietly.
"Think of it as… an opportunity to see what kind of person stands behind sudden fortune."
The door closed without a sound.
Xueya remained by the window.
Her reflection trembled slightly in the glass.
Outside, the moon continued to shine—silent, impartial—while somewhere far away, unseen threads of fate tightened around a name she had yet to truly understand.
***********
Moonlight still lingered in the Refinement Courtyard.
The shallow pond reflected the sky like calm jade, its surface barely rippling as spiritual mist drifted low across the ground.
Chu Jingxia sat cross-legged on the stone platform, her breathing steady, her movements careful and precise. Each circulation of energy was controlled, refined—yet something felt… off.
Her brows knit slightly.
Just then, a pair of footsteps entered the courtyard.
Unhurried. Familier
Elder Chu Baishan stood a short distance away, his hands behind his back, white beard moving gently in the night breeze. He had not announced himself, yet his presence felt as natural as the courtyard itself.
"Do you like refinement?"
The question was simple.
Too simple.
Yet Baishan's tone carried something deeper, as if an old memory had surfaced without warning.
Jingxia's eyes flew open.
She turned—and the moment she saw him, all restraint vanished. Rising to her feet, she hurried forward and wrapped her arms around him.
"Grandpa…!"
Her voice softened, turning almost childish.
"Yes, I like it. I really do."
As she spoke, her face unconsciously formed a small pout, the kind a child would make when trying to please someone they loved.
Baishan looked down at her.
For a brief moment, his expression wavered.
He lifted both hands and gently held her face, thumbs resting against her cheeks.
"But you shouldn't," he said quietly.
Jingxia froze.
Her brows knit together at once.
"But why?" she asked, confusion flashing in her eyes.
"Refinement isn't more dangerous than the assassination path, is it?"
Baishan's gaze darkened.
Worry crept into his features, slow and heavy.
"Because your mother loved refinement too," he said.
"And it was because of that… that she lost her life."
The words struck like a sudden chill.
Jingxia's expression shattered—fear, curiosity, tension all mixing together at once.
"My mother…?" she whispered.
"She liked refinement too? Then what happened to her, Grandpa?"
Her eyes trembled with longing.
She had never seen her parents—not even once. From childhood to now, it had always been Baishan who stood beside her, raising her, protecting her.
And Baishan did not want history to repeat itself.
His expression hardened.
"I'll tell you another time," he said coldly.
Jingxia's face fell.
"You always say that," she replied softly, hurt slipping into her voice.
"Every time I ask about my mother, this is what you say."
She turned away, stepping out of the courtyard, her back rigid.
Then—
"Don't you want a refinement manual?"
Baishan's words stopped her in her tracks.
She turned slowly, eyes widening.
"A refinement manual?"
Her earlier gloom vanished in an instant.
"Grandpa… do you really have one?"
She rushed back toward him without hesitation.
Baishan let out a quiet sigh. Reaching toward his spatial ring, he took out a manual and held it in his hand.
"Yes," he said.
"I'll give it to you."
He paused, eyes sharpening slightly.
"But in return, you'll have to do one thing for me."
Jingxia didn't hesitate even for a breath.
"I'll do it," she said firmly.
********
Author's note --
A banquet is a large, formal feast where many people gather to celebrate a special event.