The rain kept falling.Thick. Cold. Heavy.
The three were still on the plateau.
No one moved.
The place where Sai had stood… was now nothing but wet stone.
Yan Li tightened her grip on the letter. Took a deep breath.
"And… now?"
Her voice came out softer than she intended.
Wang Tao raised his head.
Distant.
As if his mind were somewhere else.
Then he inhaled slowly.
"Now…" he said quietly. "We continue."
Yan Li blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Wei Lian stepped forward.
"Master just left!"
He lifted the letter.
"And left this… like…"
Wang Tao closed his eyes.Touched the brooch pinned to his robe.
When he opened them, his gaze was different.
"Master left. Complaining won't bring him back."
Silence.
"And what we can do…" he continued, "…is not waste what he gave us."
Both of them stared at him.
Wang Tao took a step forward.
"While he's gone, I'll take care of you.""I'll train you.""Until we're ready."
Yan Li felt something tighten in her chest.
"Big brother…"
Wei Lian swallowed.
"You don't have to—"
"I do." Wang Tao cut in.
He clenched his fists.
"Master doesn't protect those who can't protect themselves first.""So we'll protect ourselves."
Pause.
"Where do we start?" Yan Li asked, wiping her face.
Wang Tao thought.
"With the basics."
He turned to Wei Lian.
"Your wood techniques are slow. Bad timing. You turn yourself into a target."
Then to Yan Li.
"Your control of the five elements is unstable. Too much force, you hurt yourself."
Both listened in silence.
"Then we train," he concluded. "Now."
The rain kept falling.But no one felt cold anymore.
Yan Li stopped training.Looked at the sky.
"Brother Wang… do you think he'll come back?"
Wang Tao didn't answer immediately.
"He said he would. So he will."
Pause.
"Either way… we have to be ready.""So we don't disappoint him."
Yan Li nodded.
And went back to training.
---
Ancestors' Palace — Night
The sect slept.
Spiritual lanterns floated through the corridors, bathing the main hall in soft light.
Four figures waited.
Lin Yao stood rigid and straight.Mu Chen paced back and forth.Han Xun sat in silence.Guo Zhen watched the door.
Then…
"Am I late?"
Sai entered the hall like someone taking a casual stroll.Hands in his pockets.Carefree expression.
Mu Chen turned instantly, a wide grin on his face.
"Hahaha! So it was you, brat!""The entire sect felt it!""The Qi tripled!"
Lin Yao bowed deeply.
"Guest Elder Sai… was this your doing?"
Sai tilted his head.
"I made a small adjustment."
Guo Zhen frowned.
"Adjustment?""This changes the balance of the entire province!"
Han Xun opened his eyes.
"The Blazing Battle Sect won't ignore this."
Sai smiled faintly.
"I know."
Guo Zhen narrowed his remaining eye.
"Then why now?""We just lost an Elder.""We're on the brink of war.""And the assassin is still at large. It could be any Elder!"
Sai stopped in the center of the hall.Looked at Guo Zhen. Then at the others.
When he spoke, his voice was calm. Almost instructional.
"You think too small.""Opportunity doesn't wait for perfect timing.""Those who wait… lose."
Silence.
He took something from his spatial pouch.
Ancient scrolls.Sealed with delicate formations.
He placed them on the table.As if discarding something trivial.
"Four-Leaf Clover Manual."
Guo Zhen approached first.
"A cultivation method…"
"And professions," Sai added. "Alchemy, refinement, formations."
The four froze.
Not in excitement.Not in fear.
Mu Chen was the first to move. He stepped beside Guo Zhen and raised his hand.
CLAP.
"Mu Chen! What was that for?!" Guo Zhen snapped, furious and confused.
Mu Chen burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA! It's not a dream!""This isn't a dream! HAHAHA!"
The others slowly came back to themselves.
Han Xun spoke nervously, his usual calm nowhere to be found.
"Elder Sai… th-this…"
Sai shrugged.
"What I owed the sect for the mountain… is now paid.""From here on, the karma between us is settled."
Mu Chen froze.
"You're leaving?"
Guo Zhen stared at Sai, hand on his wounded face.
"You give us this… and abandon us right after?"
Sai smiled. Small. Almost amused.
"Abandon is a strong word.""Let's say… I don't owe anything anymore."
Han Xun narrowed his eyes.
"You threw us into the center of the storm."
"The storm was coming anyway," Sai replied."Now you have something to defend yourselves with."
Mu Chen laughed again, eyes shining.
"Defend?""With this, we'll dominate the province!"
Han Xun warned:
"Mu Chen, we must be cautious."
"Yes, yes…" Mu Chen waved him off.
Lin Yao bowed deeply.
"On behalf of the Four-Leaf Clover Sect… we accept your gift, Guest Elder Sai."
Sai nodded, satisfied.
Then turned to leave.
Lin Yao stepped forward.
"Elder Sai… where are you going?"
Sai stopped at the doorway. Did not turn around.
"Traveling.""A destiny calls me elsewhere."
Guo Zhen half-closed his eye.
"And your disciples?"
Sai finally looked back. The smile still there.
"They'll manage."
Pause.
"If they survive… perhaps we'll meet again."
The door closed.
Only the night wind remained in the hall.
Silence stretched for several moments.
No one seemed willing to speak.
Mu Chen broke it, rubbing his hands together.
"Well then, let's take a look at this beauty."
The other three rolled their eyes, but curiosity won out.
When they opened the manual, their eyes ran across the first pages.
Cultivation Technique.Body Refinement.Qi Absorption.Foundation Establishment.Golden Core.Nascent Soul.
And then…
Silence.
Lin Yao swallowed.Mu Chen stopped laughing.
Guo Zhen closed the manual slowly. Looked at the others.
"This goes beyond Foundation Establishment."
Han Xun nodded gravely.
"Far beyond."
Pause.
"No sect in this province has this," Lin Yao murmured.
"No sect in the six provinces has this," Guo Zhen corrected.
Mu Chen finally spoke, his voice stripped of its usual cheer.
"So… there really is no turning back now."
Han Xun looked out the window. The night was clear. Stars shone brightly.
Guo Zhen touched the bandage on his face.
Mu Chen smiled again.
Guo Zhen opened the manual once more.This time, more slowly.
He noticed something.
Four sections.Each marked with a small clover at the corner.
First clover: cultivation.Second: professions.Third: meditation and mental control.
He frowned.Turned to the fourth.
The title was… strange.
"Observation of Accumulated Fortune."
Mu Chen leaned in.
"Luck? What kind of technique is that?"
Guo Zhen didn't answer.He simply closed the manual.
"He never does anything halfway."
Han Xun nodded.
"If it's here… it serves a purpose."
Han Xun exhaled and called out, his voice solemn.
"Mu Chen."
"Hm?"
"Choose between alchemy or artifact refinement.""Take materials from the sect treasury and begin practicing."
Mu Chen nodded, visibly moved.
Han Xun continued.
"Zhen. Focus on mental control. Your mind has been unstable."
Guo Zhen frowned. But agreed.
"Yao'er, study the matter of fortune… we'll need it.""Meanwhile, I'll test the new manual. If I find no problems, then…"
The three nodded.
They trusted Han Xun completely.
The night would be long.
The wind passed through the window.
But none of them felt the cold.
Only the weight…
Of the future that had just begun.
And the fortune they would have to learn to hold.