“What do I do?”

Two days had passed. The media was crazier than ever. In fact, when not drowning herself in books at the library or getting dragged into meetings with sects, Lin Songmei had seen several familiar names pop up in the news. A famous demon hunting squad had returned from an expedition, some famous young masters and their decisions, even the media elusive Yan Mingqing had shown up a couple of times.

No contact from Mingqing though...

Pushing that thought aside—it still popped up even after almost a week and a half—Songmei kept scrolling on her terminal, watching some famous young master she didn’t know the name of pick the sect they were going to on live video. Why? What was the point of this guy pulling 8 fakeouts only to then announce the actual sect he was going to...

Media was weird.

Taking a moment to rub and massage her tired eyes, Songmei did some stretches while looking over at the information booklets she had spent the day reading through. Doing that, Songmei had learnt a lot, however, as an added bonus of doing that too, not only did she have carpal tunnel syndrome, she now also probably had permanent lower back pain.

Great.

Are all 16 year olds supposed to be this easily hurt?

To summarize the booklets though, the sects all gave similar things, but Songmei did have to say, the first sect she had met with, the Starlight Lake Sect, was a cut above the rest, they really did deserve to be the best sect on the continent.

Even with that sect leader that didn’t know how to make a slideshow to save his own life.

Though... it was better than the sects that had a sect leader who seemed to be a wrinkled shrub that was dying as they asked her to join.

Bleh. Songmei scrunched her nose just remembering the smell that the old man gave off, maybe he was so old he was born before showers were invented...

Why was choosing so hard?

Patting her stuffed animal, a small purple cat with yellow eyes named Plum, Songmei sat there, just sinking into her thoughts. There was the conversation she had with the head lady, there were the rumors that she had heard being whispered about her and her frequent trips to the conference rooms.

Well, as she thought about it, Songmei realized... it wasn’t actually that hard. She had liked the Starlight Lake’s people the most, their offer was the best, they were the best sect, and the head lady had advised her to go there.

A long sigh escaping her lips as she fought off the sleepiness that was seeping into her as she laid on her bed, Songmei kicked herself up. She had to stop being a wet noodle that laid in bed all day, it really sucked the hours out of the day.

Rubbing her back and wrist, she made her way to the head lady’s office, hugging the Starlight Lake’s information booklet to her chest while psyching herself up to choose the Starlight Lake Sect.

... And also the head lady was scary.

------

“It’s over!” Feeling free of a massive weight after she had returned to her room, Songmei slumped onto her bed, clutching Plum to her chest. “You’re the best Plum, how are you doing today? Need a little stitching?”

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Songmei nodded towards her stuffed animal Plum who she was holding in the air, “Hmm... your ear needs a little stitching.”

Dotted with several stitches from the various times that Songmei had repaired Plum, Plum was Songmei’s prized possession. Having first received the stuffed purple cat in a charity event when she was young where a company gave each person in the orphanage one, Songmei had tried her best to take care of hers: she had washed it, she had patched it up, and she had slept with it almost every night.

Remembering the time in her life where she wasn’t doing great, and remembering the times she had spent crying while pouring out her emotions to Plum, Songmei coughed, an embarrassed tinge creeping up on her face. “Just forget about those times already Songmei...”

“Anyway~, let’s get you patched up Plum.” Songmei murmured, deciding to distract herself by patching Plum’s ear while playing some music in the background.

Stitch. Stitch. Stitch.

Her voice quiet as she sang along to the song under her breath, Songmei’s needle looped under then out, under then out.

Songmei, all her life, found it relaxing to sew. Sewing was a critical life skill at the orphanage, everyone knew how to patch up their clothes, everyone had a little sewing kit in their room. Hers in particular was a little more luxurious, Songmei had bought a few more colors of string and kept a little stock of different cloth patches just in case.

Her sewing kit was kinda a hazard though... Songmei had never been good at keeping it organized, every time she reached into it she lost a few bits of flesh. If she didn’t clean it out every time she sewed, maybe a little flesh monster would’ve formed after a while.

Stitch, Stitch, Stitch.

...

Knock. Knock.

“Yes? Come in please.” Songmei called out, raising her head from the sewing she was doing.

Cracking the door open, Songmei saw a familiar assistant on the other side of the door. However, as she was getting ready to explain that she had already chosen so there wasn’t a need to have her go to another meeting, the assistant informed, “The Starlight Lake Sect has replied, they’ll be coming by to pick you up tomorrow. So please pack your bags and be ready for that.”

Tomorrow?

... Tomorrow?!

Almost leaping to her feet and beginning to panic pack, Songmei sat back down from her half-standing position, taking a few deep breaths.

It was good she didn’t have many possessions.

Sighing, Songmei chuckled under her breath at her own little joke, that was one benefit of being poor... sadly being poor came with many other drawbacks.

Cracking the door open once more, the assistant then added, “I’ve also placed some bags outside your room that are free for you to use and keep.”

Click.

What the hell...

Still, it had barely even begun to set in that she was leaving this place and she was leaving... tomorrow?

Songmei was glad for sure, everything was bad here, her bed with a mattress that could pass for a solid rock, her super duper ultra mega thin blanket that could’ve been a curtain in its past life, and the overall just... dilapidatedness of the place. She didn’t even have any friends! She was just a quiet person who read books all day!

‘But I still have some attachment to this place...’

Reminiscing a little in her time in the orphanage, Songmei finished up patching Plum, patting it a few times before setting it down on her bed and beginning to pack.

“Clothes... clothes... clothes...”

...

“Alright done with clothes.”

“One book, two books, three books... and that’s all my books.”

Already having packed most of her possessions, Songmei paused... maybe packing in one night would be easier than she thought.

So, as the night fell, as the others in the orphanage went to bed, some still despairing over their cultivation aptitude test, while others were excited to attend the upcoming sect entrance tests, Songmei packed all the items she needed except those she’d need the next morning, reminiscing in her memories of the orphanage while suppressing her excitement for the next day.

‘... This smile won’t go away...’

‘... I’m so excited...’

‘I can leave this place!’