With my hands covering my face, I wonder why Ling Tian insists on looking for trouble in a tournament that has nothing to do with him. Not only is it reckless, but where did he get that sword? The blade looks like it came straight from a European knight's armory, completely out of place with the rest of the tournament.

  Unable to resist, I move my hands away slightly to glance at the arena, only to find a scene completely different from a few moments ago. Ling Tian is no longer fighting, and his opponent lies unconscious on the ground while he, his expression hidden behind his mask, lowers his sword as if it were a harmless branch. The fight is over too quickly, and I blink in disbelief.

  "What...?" I begin to say, but I stop myself as I turn to Lianhua, who is still beside me.

  She tilts her head slightly toward me and, lowering her voice to a whisper so as not to attract the attention of the other spectators, says “He defeated him with a single blow with that strange sword."

  I turn my gaze back to Ling Tian, who at that moment calmly leaves the arena as if all this were part of his daily routine. No matter how much I look at him, I can't reconcile the clumsy young man who could barely defend himself a little over a year ago with this confident figure who has defeated someone so easily.

  "This is ridiculous”, I mutter to myself as I feel a pang of irritation. "Why does he need to expose himself like this, even if he has somehow managed to become a little stronger?"

  I look away from the door Ling Tian has exited, but this time what I see sends a chill down my spine. The fights that continue are brutal, too raw for my taste. The screams of the combatants and the cheers of the crowd only make me feel more uncomfortable. I look away, unable to bear the spectacle, and my gaze falls on the box where my mother is talking to the governor.

  At first glance, she seems calm, almost relaxed, but I know her better than that. There is a barely perceptible stiffness in her posture and a slight tension in her eyes that tells me she is running out of patience with him. She is probably already calculating how to crush him like a worm.

  After making up my mind and not wanting to watch this stupid tournament any longer, I whisper to Lianhua and say “Go to my mother and tell her I'm not feeling well, that it would be better if we returned to the palace."

  Lianhua looks at me, narrowing her eyes, clearly seeing through my ploy, but she says nothing and simply nods before turning to carry out my orders.

  As she heads to the box where my mother is, I begin to rub my legs with slow movements, as if trying to relieve a non-existent discomfort. I don't have to wait long, and soon I hear my mother's polite but firm voice rise to apologize to those present, saying “Unfortunately, I must leave. Zhāohuán's health is my priority."

  Murmurs of understanding and sympathy follow her, and in a moment, Lianhua returns to my side. With an efficient gesture, she picks me up and we begin to leave the box. As we leave, I hear the other guests whispering as they wonder about the truth of my health, but I don't bother to pay attention. All I want now is to get away from this place.

  The luxurious hallway stretches out before us, empty and silent in contrast to the bustle of the arena. The echo of our footsteps resounds as we cross it and silently reach the carriage, which is where we left it, guarded by the Nei Wei. Lianhua helps me climb in carefully, and soon we are on our way back to the Celestial Lotus Palace.

  The gentle rattling of the carriage accompanies our breathing. My mother, sitting across from me, looks at me with an inquisitive gaze. "Wen, you're clearly fine. Why did you want to leave so soon?"

  "For two reasons”, I reply, settling into my seat. "First, because I'm tired of watching a bunch of people beat each other up."

  She stares at me, waiting for me to continue. After a moment, I let a mischievous smile cross my face "And second, because I wanted to save Tàishǒu's life before you decided to crush him like a fat, badly dressed worm."

  My mother lets out an unexpected laugh, soft and genuine, after which she replies jokingly “Thank you for your bravery, Wen. A very noble sacrifice on the part of my daughter to miss the rest of the tournament to save Tàishǒu's life."

  "You're welcome, Mother”, I reply with a nod as I respond to her joke. "I'm always willing to save lives, even if they don't deserve it."

  "So, what do you think of the tournament so far?" she asks me in a more serious tone.

  "Honestly, I don't like it”, I admit. "Watching people hurt each other for sport is not something I enjoy."

  My mother sighs, her expression becoming thoughtful. "I figured. But you better not tell anyone else that, since you'll have to get used to it because you'll be attending many more tournaments in the future."

  I am surprised by my mother's words and ask her “Why?"

  She looks at me calmly, though I notice a glint of seriousness in her eyes.

  "In the capital, tournaments are a long-standing tradition”, she explains. "They are held regularly, and although not as many people participate as in this one, they are very famous."

  "I have done my best to prevent you from having to attend until now, both because of your age and your status. But I cannot protect you forever”, she continues. "Sooner or later, as a member of the imperial family and especially because of your title of Zhāohuán, you will have to start attending some of these tournaments, even if only as a spectator, since you clearly cannot go as a participant."

  I remain silent, letting my mother's words echo in my mind as my gaze wanders to the carriage window. The streets, almost deserted, are enveloped in a strange stillness, and I imagine that most people are in the arena, watching the tournament.

  I reflect on what she has just said to me, and suddenly something obvious that I should have noticed before makes sense, as the lack of surprise in the people around me when the tournament was mentioned was a more than clear clue. This type of event is not strange or unfamiliar to them, and it is clear that they have witnessed more than one. As these thoughts run through my mind, the calm of the carriage envelops me, and I watch as we leave the almost empty streets behind and arrive without incident at the Celestial Lotus Palace.

  The tranquility of the Celestial Lotus Palace envelops me as soon as the carriage crosses the main gates, and the rattling that accompanies our journey ceases when we stop in the courtyard, after which I remain seated, waiting for Lianhua to get out and take me in her arms.

  Lianhua gets out of the carriage, but instead of helping me immediately as usual, she leaves me waiting for a few moments. Just as I begin to wonder what she is doing, she returns and helps me out. It is then that I understand her delay, as I see my chair perfectly placed next to the carriage.

  "Thank you, Lianhua”, I say as she settles me into the chair and carefully smooths out the folds in my clothes.

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  "I'm just doing my duty, Zhāohuán Wen”, she replies in her usual tone.

  I turn my head to look at my mother, who is in the courtyard talking to Lingxi and Nei Baihu, and say “Mother, I'm tired. I'd like to go rest in my room, if you don't mind."

  My mother nods as she briefly assesses me with her gaze before replying “Of course, Wen. You don't need to do anything else today."

  After listening to my mother, I signal to Lianhua, who begins to push my chair toward the palace corridors. As Lianhua heads toward my room, my mother's words about the tournaments still linger in my mind, but I decide that this is not the time to worry about them and leave it to my future self to focus on a more immediate problem, Ling Tian.

  The temptation to ignore him completely is strong, and for a moment, I wonder if it might be better to do so. But almost immediately, the image of little Xia pops into my mind, her big eyes full of curiosity, and I sigh inwardly. I can't ignore him completely, if only for the sake of his little sister, since he doesn't seem to care in the slightest despite all the drama he went through when he had to leave.

  My thoughts are interrupted when a childish, enthusiastic voice breaks the silence, and I look up to see Xia running towards us, her face beaming with excitement "Wen! Wen! Lianhua! You're back!"

  "Xia”, I greet her with a tired but sincere smile. "What are you doing here?"

  "I was waiting for you! How are you? Was it as boring as you thought it would be?" The words pour out of her mouth in an uncontrollable cascade, and for a moment I don't know where to begin to respond.

  "We're fine”, I say softly as we continue down the hallway. "And yes, the tournament was exactly as we thought it would be. Boring and monotonous."

  Xia frowns and tilts her head "So nothing interesting happened?"

  "Well, if you find it interesting to hear Tàishǒu talk about how great he is and how he has been the best governor the city has ever had, then yes”, I say lightly, trying to keep the conversation from getting too deep.

  We arrive at my room and Xia opens the door before I can say anything so we can go in. As we enter, I turn to Xia and ask “Xia, it's time for me to ask you about the book you had to read this morning."

  The joy on her face turns to surprise and her eyes widen, after which she lowers her head, looking at the floor while muttering something unintelligible.

  "What did you say? I can't hear you”, I say in a firmer tone, although I can guess what happened.

  Xia raises her voice a little, but still avoids my gaze as she replies “I forgot..."

  I raise an eyebrow and watch her closely as I ask “And what have you been doing all day?"

  "Playing in the yard”, she admits in a whisper, still looking at the floor.

  I can't help but chuckle because, after all, Xia is only a seven-year-old girl. But I can't let her get away with it, so I say “All right, Xia. As punishment, I want you to go to your room and read that book until dinner time, and then I'll come and ask you what you've learned, understand?"

  "But Wen!" she complains, puffing out her cheeks in childish protest.

  "No buts”, I say firmly. "Go right now."

  With an exaggerated sigh and a grumble I can barely understand, Xia leaves my room, leaving the space silent once again.

  "Lianhua, bring me closer to the desk”, I ask, and she nods and moves my chair closer to the desk. Once settled, I look for a book to entertain myself, but even though I open it and start reading, the words are lost in a whirlwind of thoughts I can't ignore.

  My mind keeps returning to Ling Tian. What do I do with him? Should I confront him and risk them finding out who he is? Or should I just watch him from afar and ignore him?

  His actions, the reason he is in the tournament, how he has become so strong in such a short time, it all seems like a puzzle that I'm not sure I want to solve, and I feel the weight of a responsibility that I'm not sure I want to take on settling on my shoulders as I turn a page that I haven't read at all.

  I let out a long sigh as I realize that the peace I so desired seems more elusive than ever.

  In the warm, quiet air of the room, my eyes are closed and my attention is focused on the specks of Qi floating in my sphere of influence. I hold seven of them captive with my mental hands, a task that is now as natural as breathing. However, the eighth speck eludes me once again, no matter how hard I try to reach it, but no matter how hard I try to create that eighth mental hand, it simply does not happen.

  There is no pain, not even the unpleasant feeling of pressure in my head that used to accompany my first attempts. But there is no progress either, so, resigned, I let out a sigh and release all the specks, allowing them to return to the flow of Qi that surrounds me.

  I open my eyes and the familiar ceiling of my room comes into view. I don't need to think long to reach the obvious conclusion, the amount of Qi specks I can hold is somehow linked to my progress in Body Tempering. Until I finish Tempering of Bones and Tendons, I probably won't be able to form that eighth mental hand.

  I let out another sigh as I settle back into bed, allowing my mind to wander as I wait for Lianhua to return. However, my thoughts soon turn to her. She has been acting strangely lately and sometimes seems to want to tell me something, but she always stops herself, as if she changes her mind halfway through, which is strange even for her.

  The sound of the door opening pulls me out of my thoughts, and I lift my head to see Lianhua enter, so I decide there's no reason to put this off.

  "Lianhua”, I call to her as I gesture for her to come closer.

  She obeys immediately and approaches the edge of the bed, after which she asks me “Yes, Zhāohuán Wen?"

  I look her straight in the eye and ask, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible “Lianhua, just tell me what you want to say. Your behavior these last few days is starting to make me nervous."

  Her eyes widen slightly and for a moment it looks like she's going to deny it, but she ends up tilting her head slightly as if ashamed and says “My apologies, Zhāohuán Wen."

  "I'm not angry with you”, I clarify, interrupting her apology. "I just want to know what's on your mind. I think you know you can tell me anything, so I don't understand why you don't want to this time."

  Lianhua seems to calm down a little at my words, and her rigid posture softens, although there is still some nervousness in her expression. Finally, she lets out a deep sigh as if she is preparing for something important.

  "I want to ask your permission to use one of the imperial family's positions to enter the Heavenly Fragment of the Sands”, she says in a firm voice, though I can sense the underlying tension in her tone.

  I blink in surprise, as this is not what I expected to hear, so a little stunned, I ask “The Celestial Fragment?"

  "Several days ago, I asked Guifei Xiang for permission, and she told me that it was fine on her part. But she told me that I had to get your authorization first, Zhāohuán Wen”, and still surprised, I watch as, after those words, she kneels on the floor and bows deeply. "I humbly beg you to grant me this permission."

  The whole scene only increases my surprise, and I can't help but feel uncomfortable seeing her in that position.

  "Get up, Lianhua”, I say as I move enough to get a better look over the edge of the bed. "Just tell me why you want to go in."

  Lianhua stands up with measured movements and her expression hardens as if she is trying to find the right words, after which she begins to tell me "It is to gain real combat experience, since all my experience so far, except when I fought the assassin that time, comes from training. And watching the fights in the arena, I realized that I'm not prepared to face opponents who are really fighting for their lives."

  I nod my head, still not fully understanding. She senses my confusion and hastens to continue “The people in the arena demonstrated skills that can only be acquired in real situations, Zhāohuán Wen. As a Yushi and your bodyguard, I should be better prepared. In addition, the Celestial Fragment offers the opportunity to practice other skills I learned during my training, skills that I haven't had the chance to use or fully develop."

  "That's why I thought that since the imperial family has reserved spots to enter, just like the families of the city, I could use one of them to enter and work on my shortcomings so that I can serve you better”, Lianhua finishes telling me.

  Her words make me think. As I digest them, an unexpected connection pops into my mind. The families in the city have reserved spots to enter the Fragment, and Ling Tian is in the tournament. Could it be that his plan is to use a spot to enter and hunt down the members of the four families, like some relentless avenger in the purest Charles Bronson style?

  But now is not the time to focus on Ling Tian. Right now, I must decide what to do about Lianhua's request, so I start to recall everything I have read and heard about the Celestial Fragment. I conclude that although it was dangerous when it first opened, it is now almost like a regular hunting ground. Spiritual beasts are the only significant danger, and the remaining ruins are ignored by most.

  But the subject of the ruins gives me an idea, one that could benefit both her and me, so I say to her in a deliberately calm tone “Lianhua, I will give you permission to go to the Celestial Fragment, but on one condition."

  Although she tries to maintain her usual composure, I can see the sparkle of joy in her eyes as she asks me “What is the condition, Zhāohuán Wen?"

  "I'll tell you later”, I reply, allowing my tone to carry a hint of mystery.

  But as I say these words, I am already planning how to give Lianhua a crash course in archaeology, because if she is going to explore those ruins for me, she will need to be prepared to be my Indiana Jones, or rather, considering her gender, my Lara Croft.