As the pair of hands pull the petal curtain apart, Chunhua places Anning's trembling body beside Maoyi and Wei. He reaches into his sleeve, retrieving a bunch of herbs and handing it to Xi, before redirecting all his focus to repairing the opening in the barrier.

As Anning grows paler by the second, Xi stuffs the herbs into her mouth and starts chewing. While grinding the herbs into a paste, Xi tears the bloody sleeve off Anning's shoulder and unties the ribbons on her fists. After exposing all the wounds, Xi spits the herb paste onto her hands and applies it carefully to stem the bleeding.

“Ch-Chunhua…” Anning, immediately recognizing the herbs from the stinging numbness and recalling the last time she saw them, turns to her senior. “D-d-d… where is h-h-h-”

“Focus on recovery.” Chunhua’s words remain deliberately simple.

After Xi finishes applying the herbs, Anning’s wounds begin to clot up, stopping her from losing more blood.

“Can you deliver five strikes?” Chunhua asks.

Upon hearing the question, Anning wastes no time reaching for the glowing root between her and Maoyi.

“You can die.” Chunhua, noticing her intention, reminds her despite being aware that Anning already knows this.

Without hesitation, Anning tears off a chunk of the root with her teeth and begins to chew. Despite feeling lightheaded from the blood loss, her eyes show no hint of fear as she grinds through the root mixed with dirt and debris.

While chewing, Anning removes the pink sash from her waist, holding one end in front of her. With a swift pull, she tears the sash down the middle. Adjusting her grip to the middle of the sash, she pulls again, completely separating it into two pieces. After swallowing her first bite, Anning takes another before starting on wrapping her fists.

“Anning, I can hold on for sev-" Chunhua pauses upon seeing Instructor Hue force the opening wider, enough to fit a head through. He pours more aura into the gap, trying his best not to let it grow any bigger. "Four. Maybe less."

Upon hearing Chunhua's limit, Anning pulls the sash taut against her wrist. She quickens her chewing, swallowing her second bite before biting off a third.

"Anning! Stop! No more! It's not processed! You'll d-" Xi chokes, tears beginning to stream from the corners of her eyes as she watches Anning commit herself to certain death with the third bite. She tries to pull the root out of Anning's hands without any success. Anning's iron grip won't let go. "Please! S-s-stop! Chunhua! T-t-tell her! T-t-ell her to st-st-stop! You s- you s-s-said you'd take care of it! S-so why?!"

Chunhua remains silent as blood escapes the corner of his mouth. It is not his place to step in if Anning has already made up her mind.

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“Ren Chunhua!” Maoyi yells as tears roll from her eyes. “Tell me you have a plan! Tell me you’re not going to just let Anning die!”

With all of his focus directed at reinforcing the side of the barrier facing Instructor Hue, Chunhua has no luxury to speak.

“Ren Chunhua! Say something!” Maoyi yells again as more tears cascade down her cheeks. “Tell us that there’s a plan!”

“Chunhua.” Anning cuts Maoyi off upon swallowing the third bite.

“Two… Less…” Chunhua struggles to answer as blood starts to pool at the corner of his eyes.

Anning, seeing him nearing his limit, places the rest of the root in her mouth before rising to her feet. While chewing, she observes the pink fabric fluttering once more. Knowing this would be the last time, she finds it increasingly difficult to consume the Azure Glimmerroot as tears well up in her eyes.

Anning lowers her eyes to look at Maoyi, a person she holds in high regard. Someone who can freely speak her mind unapologetically, while Anning struggles to speak edited thoughts. Someone who, despite barely knowing them, watches out for her juniors like they are her little sisters.

She turns to her classmate, the young lady of Song. Someone who has always been in the foreground while Anning watched silently from the back. Someone always surrounded by others yet somehow seemed so lonely. A feeling Anning knows all too well. A feeling that she hadn't felt ever since stepping foot in that carriage. Despite being strangers before that point, Xi is shedding tears for her.

Even Wei, despite his foul attitude, has earned her respect. No matter what people say about him, Anning knows who he is because she saw him with her own eyes. She saw the moment he snapped- the moment that rage took over. She witnessed that same rage six years ago- the rage that guided his hands to swing that blade. That kind of rage is the result of seeing harm befall those you hold close.

Chunhua. Anning doesn't know why, but Chunhua was the reason for that rage. The eldest and laziest- yet, here he is, appearing right when his juniors needed him most. No matter how he tries to portray himself, Anning knows who he is because she saw him with her own eyes. She saw the fleeting moment where rage guided his blade.

Seeing the blood break free from the corner of his eyes, Anning knows that time is almost up. Without any instructions from Chunhua, she makes her way to a quiet edge along the barrier.

Upon arriving, she turns around to look at the crevice beneath the elm tree, silently thanking the little girl for bringing everyone together during that awkward carriage ride. She takes one last look at her new friends, trying to recall what they looked like the night before- hoping for their unblemished smiles to accompany her into the next life.

Instructor Sun… It is nice…

"One..." Chunhua calls out as he falls onto one knee.

Anning moves her hand toward her shoulder, gently placing her palm on the wound. The stinging numbness from the herbs is still faintly present.

Five strikes…

Anning knows what she must do. Turning back to the pink tempest in front of her, she downs the chewed-up Azure Glimmerroot that she had been unable to all this time.

With less than a minute left, Anning closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath. Using what remains of her aura, she begins to circulate the Azure Glimmerroot’s energy throughout her body. As it courses through her, Anning suddenly feels light, almost as if the world around her is fading away. The accumulation of pain and fatigue starts to gather at the center of her chest. And as she exhales, it leaves her body along with her breath.

“Ren Chunhua!” Her eyes snap open with a blinding blue radiance. “Tell them: Qi Anning died unbroken!”