A slight thudding sound could be heard emanating from the Shin family compound as Rin punched and kicked at the wooden dummy in front of him. It had been a couple of hours since his lesson ended with Mrs. Gwi. He thought it was more of a lesson he had given her, but he wouldn’t complain since she was covering for him with his mom. With only a few hours until the first guests arrived for his birthday celebration, Rin grew increasingly anxious that he wouldn’t be able to cultivate yet again today.

His mom said it was just an affinity problem and that the young master was coming tonight to personally see what he needed to cover that gap. But Rin did not like that solution; he was a Shin, and they did not need pity from anyone—that was what his dad used to say.

"No, I will do this. I will make mom happy." With renewed fervor, she started whaling on the wooden dummy once again but was interrupted by a voice that awfully sounded like a mouse squeak. He rolled his eyes as he lightly stepped to the side.

As a pink blur rushed past him to hit the wooden dummy, he was hitting a loud smack that resounded through the courtyard, followed up by a squeaky groan. “Whyyy did you move?” she said, slowly extricating herself from the dummy.

“Because your surprise attack sucked, who shouts when they are trying to be sneaky?” Rin raised his eyebrow in the same manner his mother did when he asked a stupid question or when he was in trouble. "Also, what are you doing here, Mei Mei? The party only starts tonight.”

“So, what am I not allowed to be here right now?” She said, raising her own eyebrow in the exact same manner as Rins, still clutching her nose, making her voice sound like a congested mouse.

"No, I am not saying your,“ but Rin was cut off. “Then what are you saying, young master Shin, is the grand daughter of the great elder not good enough for you?” this time raising both her eyebrows and making her look super funny, and Rin couldn’t help himself anymore, so he laughed, making her already red face go supernova.

“Why are you laughing!!!!”Her squeeky voice now went to the higher octave as she stomped her foot and harumphed, turning away from him, but Rin couldn’t stop laughing at one of his only real friends, Yanmei Ling. Her plum blossom-colored hair and heart-shaped face all scrunched up were pretty amusing, as she was usually the smug one, usually using it to save his behind on more than one occasion. He was cut short when she turned to him.

"Fine, it seems you don’t want your present then. I guess I can give it to the Chu brothers." Rin suddenly stopped his chortling as he stared at her.

“Please not them you know how they get when they think they are the favored sons of the sect and you of all people would inflate their already high ego’s to new heights please please don’t give them anything I beg you” and Rin meant every word he said the Chu brothers were slightly talented in cultivation and were one of the first kids similar to his age to breakthrough to body refinement stage and for that the they strutted around for months after, as they used their new found power to bully those they deemed weaker which usually involved Rin being the prime candidate at being the local punching bag he was pulled out of his musings when Mei Mei answered “Hmph if you apologize and-“ she paused Rin saw her face go that slight bit pinker.

He wondered if she was really fine or if she really did hurt something when she slammed against his training dummy. It was reinforced after all, as all the proper cultivators used qi-enforced wood for training, as normal mundane wood would simply be obliterated with the first of their punches. Now Rin might not be quite a cultivator, yet he did not shirk or shy away from the training, even though it felt like he was punching a solid boulder.

That's why he wondered if Mei really did damage something when she flew straight into his head first, but before he could gather the courage to ask, she spoke first. “It doesn’t matter, just apologize, and here, take this." She flung something towards him—a small, ornate wooden box. He caught it looking between the wooden box and Mei Mei, who was still pouting. “What is this?” I asked, looking at her. “Don’t tell me the young mistress is proposing.”

That got a reaction out of Mei Mei almost immediately: “I never said such a thing. Don’t you put words in my mouth. Now open it!!” She screamed, her voice raising that octave again with every word. I chuckled to myself. It was always so easy to tease her.

Thinking better of it to try and push her more, he started to open the small box. A faint green glow started to emanate from the gaps. Rin’s eyes bulged as a slight breeze rustled through the courtyard. He couldn’t believe what he saw. He looked back to Mei and asked, “Is this what I think it is?” he stammered as he looked at Mei, who, as was normal to her, smugly lifted her nose, smiling.

“It is,” she simply said, still wide-eyed. Rin looked back at her present, which he now held more reverently; what was in his hands was a qi stone, but not just any qi stone—a refined one. “H—how... Where did you get this, Mei?” he asked, unable to take his eyes away from the intricate bracelet woven with white winter steel and the bright green luminescent gem inlaid in the middle. It was breathtaking in his stupefaction. He didn’t notice Mei’s fidgeting

“I got it as a gift for a marriage proposal from some noble family from the south,” she said. He froze stiff as a wet blanket in a blizzard. "Sorry, can you repeat that?”

“Uh, yeah, some noble family wanted to marry me, so I said no, and my grandfather agreed, so I sent them on their merry way but kept the gifts, of course.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Don’t you heehee me! This was your proposal gift! I can't take this; it would be an affront to the young noble and their family. If they see me walking around with it, I’d be glad to walk away with my life. Even if it’s beautiful, it’s not like I can use it anyway.” He winced slightly.

Mei had always been free-spirited, but this time she had gone a bit too far for cultivators. Face was everything, and what she was doing now was basically slapping whatever young master was right in the face with a rotting eel and laughing while doing it.

"Aha, but you are quite wrong in that statement, Young Master Shin." She completely ignored his sour look. “Look a little closer, and you will see."

“What do you want me to see?” he answered. “How much has this young noble spent on this very extravagant gift? I mean, it’s a qi stone—a rare wind-attributed one—but you know that I can’t use it.”

She scowled, her features darkening like his mother’s. Mei had always believed that his deficiency would be something that could be fixed, and she never took kindly to dismissing people—not even him. He quickly corrected, “I can’t use it yet, right? I can’t use it yet.” She beamed a smile at him, which was comical since she still had her hand over her nose. “No, you dummy, look closer—like really look closer.” Frowning, he did as she said and gently took out the bracelet. To his surprise, it was more of a bracer—much smaller but still larger than a wrist bracelet meant for a young lady. His interest piqued, he didn’t notice the sparkle in Mei’s eyes as he examined the brace more closely.

He noticed something; while the stone was inlaid in the middle, he saw two gems on the part of the leather. If he put it on his arm, it would be closest to his wrist. More confused than anything, he ran a light touch over them; they might not be as striking as the green qi stone, but they had their own charm. He admired it a little longer before his finger caught in the groove where the winter steel was intricately woven into the stark black of some monster's hide. It was inconsequential but still strange; this was made for a marriage proposal, so there should be no trace of the craftsmanship, even if Mei repurposed it for him. He still wasn’t sure if he would accept it, even as a birthday gift.

That thought came to an abrupt end as he turned the arm bracelet over, and his jaw dropped just as Mei released a squeal of excitement. “Are you sure you don’t want it anymore?” she said, sarcasm dripping from her every word. “Is this?” He stopped. “Where?” He started again as Mei snorted out a laugh.

“Granpa got one of those fancy shmancy rune scripters to—”

"What do you mean, rune scripters? They are one of the rarest cultivators in the world! Where did your grandpa come across one?” Rin scrambled as he cut her off, and she started laughing again.

"Breathe, Rin! They came to study the obelisk with your mom; she will probably be briefed tomorrow, or if we’re lucky, we’ll see them tonight at the party.” Her smile was so vibrant it made his stomach do backflips. He blushed slightly. “Oh, uhm, yeah.” Thinking his face was red, he wanted to be cool about it.

“Okay, cool. So now that we have established that... uh, you know, I can’t use this yet,” he said. Mei tilted her head but simply shrugged, and he rolled his eyes before they got caught in their staring contest.

“Okay, I guess you have your lesson now. Are you going to put it on or just cradle it like a baby all night?” she teased, causing Rin to shake his head as if breaking from a trance.

“What? Oh!” He realized he had been holding it to his chest like some treasured piece of jewelry. “Fine! I guess I will put it on.” He strapped it on his arm and watched the faint green glow shimmer as a cold mountain breeze brushed through the courtyard. A shiver ran down his spine, and Mei made a motion with her hand.

“Now, focus on one of the smaller gems, like you’re doing qi meditation but instead of pulling, you’re going to push.” She had an almost serious expression now, and Rin was unnerved by it. “But—” he stuttered, his cheeks reddening again.

“Just try,” she urged, and he nodded, closing his eyes once more. Every other time he tried to cultivate, he felt nothing—just a void—much like trying to grasp at smoke. This time, though, a faint vibration buzzed under his skin, like something was stirring to life. Focused, he tried to let it grow stronger, concentrating hard until he felt it surge, then—

“STOP!” Mei’s shout jolted him out of his trance, and he looked at her as if he’d lost his mind.

“What?!” he yelped, barely processing her vice-like grip on his arm. “What? Why did you shout?”

“Maybe… point it at the training post instead?” she suggested.

Rin squinted at her but nodded, lifting his arm and closing his eyes once again. The buzzing returned, intensifying until it felt like a giant hornet buzzing just beneath his skin. It felt both foreign and familiar, like a friend he had never met. Suddenly, a faint click sounded in the background, and a gust of wind whipped through the courtyard.

His eyes flew open, and there it was: a green sphere, pulsating inches from his fist. He glanced at Mei, who grinned smugly, her eyes wide. “I did it! Is that…?”

“Yes,” she answered, crossing her arms as if she were the greatest teacher in the world.

The sphere wobbled, then shot forward, hitting the dummy with a deafening crack that echoed throughout the courtyard, splinters and snow flying in every direction. Rin stared at the shattered post, dumbfounded and excited.

“That was my first qi technique!” His voice came out in a shocked whisper.

“Well, technically, I did most of it,” Mei said with a sly smile, and he laughed despite himself.