By the time Siu returned to the dorm, the sect had completely woken up, and he was passing by the sea of outer disciples heading to do their own things, be it cultivation, work, or both. Although he was walking fine and remained swift in stepping aside so as not to collide with any of the others coming the opposite way, anyone with eyes could tell he was hurting. He was walking like someone who had been thrown down a mountain and then challenged the rocks at the bottom to a rematch just to lose a second time.

  Well, at least by the way he flinched and his muscles tensed when shifting his weight, and not because he was bruised or anything.

  Outwardly, he was freshly bathed, his hair was somewhat still damp, and the scent of medicinal herbs came off his skin, taking a pinkish highlight under his new disciple robes. The medicinal bath had done its job, washing away the filth and sealing up the worst of the internal damage, fixing the hundreds of microfractures, but it didn’t dull the ache he was still feeling. If anything, it made everything more sensitive... Even his new clothes were like having sandpaper rubbing against his body now.

  Just as he reached the door of the dorm room, it creaked open right before his face, almost crashing into the figure coming out from behind it.

  “Siu?” Neya’s voice came first, stopping just a centimeter away from running into him, her hands clutching a satchel to her chest. She blinked in quick succession, looking up at him, her eyes instantly scanning his expression, then his posture. “Oh no… Were you… Did someone beat you up?”

  “Hm?” Siu raised an eyebrow, then offered a small, reassuring smile as he leaned slightly on the doorframe. “No, nothing like that. I just tripped down a flight of stairs.”

  "Huh...?" Neya frowned as she couldn't see any injuries or signs on him for it to be true... but his movement was different, that much she was sure of. “You’re... wait... Really?” She asked, feeling unsure.

  “I’m fine, really. Just a little sore. Don’t worry about it.” His voice remained light, changing topic before she could protest, “You heading to the kitchens?”

  “Y-yeah, it is time for my first shift,” she nodded quickly, though she kept glancing at him, not yet convinced, “You’re... really okay?”

  “If I weren’t, I’d be flopping around dramatically and making you skip your job out of pity and to swindle some CC out of you for my own good.” He joked, rolling his eyes, "I'm fine."

  "Oookay..." She puffed her cheeks at that but smiled despite herself, “You kind of... do look okay... maybe...”

  “Don't be late,” Siu chuckled, stepping aside to let her pass, and just as Neya turned to go, another voice came up from behind the door.

  “Hah! What’s this, our silver-tongued brainiac limping home?” Tian’s voice came from inside the dorm, followed by his face emerging into view. He leaned against the doorway at the opposite end, arms crossed, mouth curled in a smug half-smile, measuring Siu. “Don’t tell me someone finally got tired of your talking and taught you a lesson?”

  “Maybe,” Siu replied dryly, not bothering to elaborate, “Maybe I just enjoy a scenic walk through hell first thing in the morning. Smelling blood in the water?” He added, looking at the boy dryly, "Want to go for the 'alpha' spot right now?"

  “You look like shit,” Tian watched him, eyes narrowing slightly as he stepped closer, examining Siu with the gaze of someone trying to do just that... perhaps. “But you don’t smell like it. And I am not into beating down injured ones... I will crush you squarely." Then he sniffed again, raising an eyebrow, "Did you bathe in alchemy soup or something? Was it that bad of a beating?"

  “Medicinal bath...?” A third voice appeared as Lorean, seated on her bedding to the side, stood and took a step forward to take a look, her eyes flicking to Siu with interest. It didn't escape Siu's notice that until now, she hadn't even seemed to be listening to what was happening... but now... Suddenly, her interest was piqued.

  Of course, Siu noticed the extra glance she threw at him, too. It was subtle, but not meaningless, because unlike the others, she didn’t ask him anything directly. She just skimmed over him, noticing the discoloration of his skin, doing a single once-over, focusing on his breathing, the tension in his posture, the faint herbal scent coming off him, and Siu could see the recognition in her eyes.

  She knew. Yet, without a word, she returned to her seat, but now her posture was also stiffer than before. Instead of thinking anything more than what it was, with a mental wave of his hands, he decided to ignore the change in her attitude. If she thought more of him now, that was fine... If she didn’t, that was fine too. He knew people like her, and her reaction was proof of how Lorean was handling relationships... all depending on possible gains. He didn’t trust people who treated strength as a basic measure of friendship.

  At least Tian was open about taking everything as a competition and a challenge, wanting to be the dominating figure in any group he was put into. It was a stupid lookout... but he could respect his animalistic foolishness.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “You gonna lie down?” Tian asked, raising an eyebrow, bringing Siu's attention back to the present before he could be lost in his memories of a similar experience from years ago.

  “That was my plan,” Siu answered, finally going past them, shuffling toward his bed, “I left while you babies slept and did more work than you will do all day. So yeah... I'm resting today.”

  “Hah!” Tian snorted, shaking his head. “Big words, again. When you have finished resting, I want to see that work pay off... You and me, one on one...”

  “Sure, sure, sure... But it will make you weep if you are not prepared... Plus, you’re still here talking to me,” Siu pointed out, lowering himself slowly onto his bedding with a faint hiss of breath. “Don't you have to train to beat me up?"

  “I will do just that... and see you wobble around for another day or two.” He snorted, turning around and leaving.

  Ignoring his words, Siu had already closed his eyes for a moment, letting the aches settle and spread out evenly. It was good to be completely horizontal for a moment... Every bone in his body was hurling insults at him in the form of stinging pain, but it just meant the technique was working. In the end, even Neya left, going to work and forgoing voicing any of her worries, leaving only two people behind.

  Lorean was still seated in her corner, watching him with a new level of interest... But she didn’t speak, and of course, neither did he. It was best not to get into any kind of deeper connection with someone who saw friendships as reciprocal interactions, like a bartering merchant. Just keep things on the surface level, and all would be well. However, any more than that, and they would start adding debts and prices to every interaction... retroactively.

  ...

  ....

  ......

  The aches in Siu’s bones made every breath feel like someone was devilishly putting little pins into his skin. Even lying flat on the bedding, the faint throbbing in his ribs and hips kept shifting with each inhale, but he remained passive, focusing on resting. The medicinal bath’s heat still lingered just under his skin, giving it that exact pinkish hue, but the warmth did not erase the soreness. Instead, it simply drew it out, coaxing every protesting nerve into a sharper awareness, part of the upgrade to his new and improved body.

  "..." With another deep breath, he began forcing himself to fall asleep. The voices in the dorm and from the outside slowly began to fade, one sound bleeding into another, and the darkness behind his eyelids began to dominate... and move. Soon, they were also taking up shapes, changing the scenery around him.

  Losing the sense of time, somewhere in that darkness, the ceiling’s beams bent and straightened again, changing shape and scent. By the time Siu's eyes opened again, he was no longer in the same dorm room. Also... the air was warmer here, though in the dream he couldn’t name the season, but for sure it was... much more humid. He was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard of a more minor, humbler sect far to the west... He remembered this scenery... It was the same place he had entered as a boy, only five years old.

  Looking down at his own body, a younger Siu looked back at him from the polished stone before him, lips moving faintly, pretending to mouth the patterns of a breathing technique he was supposed to use. Of course, he remembered it well and could hear the old, raspy voice calling to him.

  "Listen here, boy... don’t start early. Fake it and keep your body whole. Exhale when they inhale, make sure you do not follow their rhythm... It will kill you... A crooked foundation will ruin everything, including your life."

  And so he did... At his young age, he had understood enough to obey the only voice that looked at him as a frightened child, taken from his home and not as some kind of... trophy. At first it was very hard... And he cried a lot, especially when he began falling behind. But, after two years of constant bullying, he had also understood enough to know what it looked like to the others. And by then, he knew that the one who would laugh in the end would be him... he just had to endure.

  "Hahaha! You are right, he is still here!" The laughter started from the far side of the courtyard when three boys, much older than Siu, all wearing the same pale robes, strolled over with the swagger of those who had found easy prey. A daily routine...

  "Look at him," one snorted, "the great genius!"

  "Doesn’t even sweat when he ‘trains!' Must be because all in his head alone!" The others chuckled.

  "My father said it first... people talk too big about him. Elder Ao had already given up on him, as it turns out, he is just a fake."

  Of course, the six-year-old Siu did not lift his head in his memory. He knew that fighting back right then and there was something impossible... So, he just let it continue, no matter how much it hurt. But... It helped him also learn something important: That smiles could shift into smirks without warning, and that hands offered in friendship could just as easily turn into stabbing motions as a blade slips out from their sleeves.

  But... he was no longer six, a realization that struck him even in the dream, and the moment his mentality shifted, everything suddenly bent around him. One blink was enough, and the courtyard’s shadows began growing while the older boys’ shapes grew taller, their expressions sharpening dangerously. Even their voices deepened, simultaneously layering with each other and their echoes, until they sounded like dozens whispering the same jeer. But it didn't really bother Siu, who slowly stood up, transforming from a young kid into his current self.

  "Laugh all you want... You’ll spend years chasing something you don’t understand. You’ll follow every trend, every scrap of gossip, and you’ll hate anyone who gets ahead or isn't useful for your petty goals. You call me fake? That’s fine. I’d rather be a fake than waste my life being you."

  Suddenly, one of the taller shadows stepped forward, reaching out and shoving him. In the real past, he had stumbled and stayed down every time it happened. But in the dream, right now? He wasn't letting it happen anymore, so his heel slid back, catching balance. More than that... he smirked faintly.

  "Go ahead... Hit me. If I lose, I’ll learn something. If I win, so will you. Either way, you’re giving me experience... I have been enduring for way too long... Try me."

  Then, before anything could happen in his dream, his eyes suddenly opened, and he was back in reality, in the middle of the night. Sitting up, his roommates were all present, sleeping in their beds, telling him that he had slept longer than he intended to. But... his body no longer ached. With one long and untroubled breath, he could tell he was fully healed and finally ready to continue.

  "Fighting... eh?" He muttered to himself, looking down at his fingers, smiling, "I'll need to learn some proper techniques..."