🌸 CHAPTER 1 — "The Winter Child and the Storm Boy"
Qinghe Village was the kind of place that rarely appeared on maps.
Surrounded by terraced fields, ringed by soft green mountains, and cradled by the gentle whisper of a winding river, life there passed slowly—season after season, harvest after harvest.
Children ran through the dusty paths barefoot.
Women hung red chili strings outside their windows.
Old men smoked pipes under the banyan tree and told exaggerated tales of cultivators soaring through the skies on swords.
To most, cultivation was a myth.
But for two boys, it was a dream they held closer than anything else.
---
Li Yun — the Winter Child
Li Yun was born on a snowy night when even the hearth fires flickered weakly against the biting cold. His mother always said that the moment he cried for the first time, the falling snow around the house crystallized into perfect lotus shapes — something she had never seen before.
He grew up delicate and soft-spoken, a quiet omega child with pale skin and bright, clear eyes that looked like melted frost. He smelled faintly of cool flowers even before proper secondary gender awakening.
Though small and gentle, he had a kind of resilience hidden beneath the softness — the kind of quiet that didn't mean weakness, but steadiness.
Every morning, he helped his mother feed chickens, and every evening he sat with an old villager, learning to read worn-out storybooks about cultivators.
And always, he waited for a certain boy to come dragging him out to explore the hills.
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Shen Tianshu — the Storm Boy
Shen Tianshu was the complete opposite.
Born during a summer thunderstorm that shook the entire valley, he came into the world red-faced, loud, and clutching the midwife's finger with such strength she yelped.
He grew up running wild through the forests, climbing rocks, wrestling with the other kids, and punching anyone who dared tease Li Yun.
The faint electric smell that clung to him — like the air right before lightning — only became stronger as he aged.
Everyone said:
"That child is a storm waiting to happen."
But whenever he was with Li Yun, the wildness softened.
He laughed a little gentler, spoke a little quieter, and always — always — reached back to hold the omega's hand when crossing bridges.
---
Their Dream
They found their dream when they were nine.
One summer evening, an injured cultivator collapsed in the village square — his robes torn, a cracked sword at his side, and glowing marks pulsing faintly on his skin.
Tianshu stared at him like a child seeing a hero.
Li Yun stared like someone seeing a miracle.
When the man recovered, he thanked the village and flew away on his sword, leaving behind one sentence that changed the boys forever:
"With the right roots, anyone may become a cultivator."
After that…
They spent afternoons lying under the peach tree, staring at clouds in the shape of swords, dragons, and immortal mountains.
Tianshu declared loudly:
"When we grow up, we're joining a sect!"
Li Yun smiled softly.
"Together?"
Tianshu looked offended he even asked.
"Obviously. You think I'm going without you?"
---
A Promise Made Under Moonlight
At age eleven, on the night of the lantern festival, the two slipped away from the crowd and climbed to the riverbank.
Fireflies drifted across the water.
Lanterns floated in the sky like glowing wishes.
Li Yun leaned against Tianshu's shoulder.
Tianshu tossed pebbles into the river, pretending not to be flustered by the closeness.
Li Yun whispered, voice soft as the river breeze:
"Do you think people like us… villagers with no cultivation… can really join a sect one day?"
Tianshu didn't hesitate.
He grabbed Li Yun's hand and squeezed.
"If the whole world blocks the path, I'll break it open."
A pause.
His voice dropped, almost shy.
"And you'll walk with me. Always."
Li Yun's cheeks warmed, a slow, spreading heat.
He nodded.
"Always."
Under the moonlight, their fingers intertwined perfectly — small promise, unshakeable bond.
---
The Day Everything Began to Change
When they turned fifteen, Qinghe Village buzzed with excitement.
Once every decade, the village's Spirit Testing Stone awakened.
All children of age fifteen were required to undergo the awakening ceremony — a combined Spirit Root Test and Secondary Gender Revelation.
Most got ordinary results.
Fire Root.
Water Root.
Wood Root.
Beta.
Occasionally an alpha.
Extraordinary cases?
Almost never.
But Li Yun felt something churning deeply under his skin for weeks — a cool wave in his bloodstream, a faint glow under his pulse.
Tianshu also felt restless, electricity prickling under his fingertips whenever he was upset or excited.
Neither knew what it meant.
They only knew one thing:
If they had good roots, they could take the sect entrance exam.
If they didn't…
Then their dreams would end before they even began.
--
On the morning of the ceremony, the shrine bells rang softly in the wind. Villagers gathered, murmuring blessings.
Li Yun wore simple white robes.
Tianshu wore navy blue, sleeves rolled up because he kept fidgeting.
They walked side by side up the stone steps.
Tianshu glanced at Li Yun every few seconds.
"You nervous?"
Li Yun nodded honestly.
"You?"
Tianshu puffed out his chest.
"Of course not."
A beat.
"…okay maybe a little."
Li Yun laughed, gentle and clear.
Tianshu nearly tripped.
---
The Elder Calls Their Names
They stepped inside the shrine, where a huge crystal orb pulsed with faint light.
The elder looked at them with kind but curious eyes.
"Li Yun. Shen Tianshu. Childhood companions, aren't you?"
Both nodded.
The elder smiled.
"Then let us see what fate has prepared for you two."