The door to the infirmary creaked open. Susu stepped into the dimly lit room, her steps muffled by the worn wooden floor. A strong fragrance of medicinal herbs smothering the very marrow of the room.

A myriad of plants, each radiating its own unique life force, stood guard in rows against the wall. Glass jars crammed with substances lined the shelves, adding an element of disarray to the otherwise austere environment—dried leaves, crushed petals, coiled roots, and powdered bark. Each seemed to be a remnant of a thousand different ecosystems, all collected with precise intent.

As sunlight streamed through the glass panes, lighting particles within the jars aflutter in a kaleidoscope of hues. The center of the room was a long wooden table, carved from a single piece of aged gnarled wood. Its surface bearing the patina of countless years. On the wooden slab, lay Zhao Xing, the contours of his gaunt face stark against the dark grain of the table.

His torso was bare, whilst his chest rose and fell rhythmically. Embedded into his body, was a constellation of acupuncture needles. The silver tips glinting under the faint sunlight. The needles appeared alien and part of him, weaving into his life force like an integral thread.

Bo Ying sat huddled in the corner, a stone’s throw away from Zhao Xing. He was cradling a ceramic cup in his hands, steam wafting and twirling in an ephemeral dance. He sat there, eyeing his patient with a stoic calmness, wisdom etched into every crease of his face. “Am I interrupting?” Susu asked, voice firm and nonchalant as ever.

Zhao Xing scoffed a cough, not moving his gaze from the ceiling, while Bo Ying just shook his head, his attention still on his tea.

Silence fell between them, tense and heavy.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Bo Ying. He sighed, placing his cup on the tray next to him. “This is the first time we’ve been together since Master’s passing. And this is how you lot behave? Like children?” He said, looking at them with disappointment in his eyes.

Susu scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you’d followed Master’s wishes, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Instead of charging up the mountain looking for the sect, you could’ve taken Zhao Li to Lin’er in the village!” Bo Ying snapped, frowning as he looked at her.

“I don’t know anyone in this village,” She snapped back, drawing her lips into a thin line. “How am I to know she was staying with the village physician!?”

“You ask question Su’er, that’s what you do!”

“Questions?! The villagers scorn her Brother Ying…and you want me to ask questions!?”

“YES! What if I couldn’t remove the water from her lungs?! Hmmm? What then? SHE WOULD’VE DIED” Bo Ying said firmly.

Susu took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping slightly. “You’re right, but do you expect me to think clearly in such a situation…”

“YES!” Bo Ying growled, “Master taught us to be calm, in EVERY situation.”

“…if only I had you proclivity Brother Ying!

Bo Ying groaned-a-sigh then massaged his temples, a habit he picked up from Master Chaoxiang. “You both act as if you’re running on emotion. You’re both over forty years old. We cannot operate on emotion alone. We have to be calm, poised but most of all. In control of our emotions at all times!”

“If it were so easy, I wouldn’t be this way!”

“Su’er…Before Master passed, I hadn’t seen either of you for years. You know why? One of you was drowning in a bottle whilst the other was busying themselves serving justice. I’m disgusted with the both of you. But I love you both. I just wish you would stop this foolishness! We don’t know when its our time to go. Stop this NONSENSE!”

Zhao Xing lay silently, not saying a word or reacting to Bo Ying’s harsh words. He didn’t fidget, knowing full well that Ying’s words were true.

After a few minutes, Susu composed herself enough to walk towards Bo Ying and sat across from him. Without a word, he poured her a cup of tea, which she accepted with a nod before taking a sip. He refilled her cup once, twice, three times—until she had downed five cups.

“Feeling better?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” she snapped, lying. Everyone in the room knew. Bo Ying’s tea always held calming properties. The anger on her face had dissipated after the first cup, but her martial brothers knew her too well to even say anything

Susu turned to Zhao Xing, ready to address him, but Bo Ying wouldn’t let her. “Before you start, you should know what happened to Brother Xing before he arrived here.”

“Brother Ying!” Susu protested.

“You will hear his story or you will leave. I don’t care if you’re of the Qi Perception Realm, have respect for Master. He told Brother Xing to take care of Zhao Li, listen to his story!”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Susu leaned back in protest, folding her as she tried to make herself comfortable, then sipped another mouthful of tea, prepping herself for one of Bo Ying’s lecture stories.

“When Brother Xing left us at the Red Flower Society, he made his way to Shaanxi before heading west. Whilst he was in the city, Li’er fell ill, forcing him to stay in the city a few days longer than he wanted to.

“Whilst he stayed there Li’er was discovered and as you know the north of Huaxia, Faizou is known for its brothels. The men sought to take her from Brother Xing hoping to fetch a high price for her, due to her being an Axsumite…an exotic as they seem to call it.”

As Susu sat, she stirred her cup, jaw protruding showing her anger, but she kept her mouth to a line and continued to listen. ”During the skirmish, Brother Xing was poisoned, forcing him to fend them off as best as he could. Once he was successful. He began removing the poison, but his Mind Dantian began expanding.”

“He was entering the Qi Perception Realm.”

“Yes, so in order to not miss this rare chance of promotion. He stopped the detoxification…but that was the beginning of his troubles.”

“People dream of ascending to the Qi Perception Realm, what problems could he have?”

Ying shook his head and looked at Zhao, who still didn’t move, say a word or engage anyone. The shame that rose from him could be felt, but not from Susu. She was too angry to notice him…it was all about her. As usual.

“During Brother Xing’s promotion, his Core Dantian cracked due to the lingering poison.” He said whispered.

“What?” Susu said eyes widening from the shock. “What do you mean crack?”

“You heard me Su’er, during his ascent the poison cracked his Core Dantian. Whatever Qi he tries to swirl within his Core Dantian dissipates through the cracks. He’s unable to fight for extended periods.”

“So that’s why…” Susu whispered, realising that Zhao Xing had been less aggressive because he couldn’t fight at his best due to the crack in his Core Dantian. I’m so blind, She mused sourly.

“Yes, Brother Xing is much weaker than before. He can’t channel or store within his Core Dantian, appropriately.”

Susu turned to Zhao Xing, biting her lips as if she wanted to say something, but Ying wasn’t finished with his story.

“On his way to Sichuan, He met fa-- Xiaobo Jun. He offered him sanctuary, knowing full Li’er was an Axsumite. However, upon his arrival, they faced another crisis. The Red Bear Band, who apparently had an arrangement with the valley.

“Having an agreement with bandits?” Susu asked, laughing bitterly. “I’m sure that was a pleasant experience.”

“It was,” Zhao Xing grunted.

“Hush,” Bo Ying snapped, shaking his head. He turned back to Susu, sipping a mouthful of his tea and sat back in his chair. “Right…the agreement the valley had with the Red Bear Band was simple. The band would protect them from marauders and other bandits”

“I await the but…”

“You know how things go with bandits.”

“Of Course,” Susu said, “greed.”

“Exactly, the second-in-command of the group initiated a coupe.”

“Mmhmm, and what happened next?”

“You know what happened, Brother Xing arrived and killed them. He took over their base operations, this very mountain and transformed it into the Purple Mist Sect, a haven for Zhao Li.”

“Haven?” Susu scoffed, “she doesn’t live here for it to be a haven!”

“Su’er!” Bo Ying snapped, annoyed.

“Don’t snap at me, have you seen how they look at her?”

Ying shoulders slump, indicating that he did, but there was nothing he could do regarding that. Remote villages such as this…were harder to change, especially the women.

“She needs to see how she’s perceived before she can show she is not some Axsumite, Su’er,” Zhao Xing said calmly.

“BROTHER XING!” Susu growled, “She’s a child. THAT PAIN IS NOT YOURS TO TEACH. YOU ARE TO TEACH HER WHAT LOVE IS!”

The room fell silent, as Susu’s words rang true. As silent as the martial brothers were, Susu could hear their rebuttals in her mind, but she couldn’t care less.

You don’t deserve this scorn, Susu though, NO ONE DOES!

“I will admit,” Zhao Xing finally said after a few minutes of silence. “I did not know she suffered in the way that she did.”

“You saw how I was treated, Brother Xing. That’s no excuse. She’s an Axsumite. Her treatment will be a hundred-fold compared to mine!”

“Su’er, your point is well-made. We’ve all failed Li’er in our own ways.” He paused, swirling the tea in his cup. “But dwelling on past mistakes won’t help her now. What do you propose we do?”

Susu’s eyes flashed with determination, but she calmed herself…realising she didn’t know the answer. “I don’t know,” She whispered.

“We have to do something; this is why Brother Xing has done what he thought was best. Her living in the sect, would’ve isolated her from the people of the valley.”

“She’s already isolated on her skin colour alone, Brother Ying, you know this…she’s an Axsumite!”

“By birth, but she’s Huaxian,” Zhao Xing said firmly. “She doesn’t know their language; she doesn’t know their culture. She was raised here. She is LOVED here!”

“Only by a select few, Su’er” Bo Ying said calmly.

“Then we make Huaxia love her!”

“How?”

“I thin—“ Susu tried to say, but was interrupted.

“No!” Zhao Xing hissed, “I don’t want her to learn martial arts or roam the Jianghu. I am against that!”

“…and what if she wants to learn martial arts and roam the Jianghu, you plan on stopping her!?”

“YES, I’LL BREAK HER LEGS IF I HAVE TO!”

“AND FOLLOW MASTER IN DEATH!”

“COOL IT THE BOTH OF YOU!” Bo Ying growled, “Su’er, Ying didn’t mean that…right?” He said looking at his acupunctured martial brother. Xing didn’t move, but the martial siblings knew each other well enough.

“Su’er…”

“I’ll kill him…”

“You’ll have a hard time doing that!” Xing barked.

“SILENCE THE BOTH OF YOU!”

Susu and Xing silenced themselves and allowed Bo Ying to mediate, as he always have.

“Look…we’re getting nowhere like this,” he said, his voice tinged with exhaustion. “Su’er, you said you don't know how to move forward. Perhaps we all need time to think on this.”

Susu nodded, her anger deflating into a weary resignation. She sat back in her chair and looked at Zhao Xing. She turned back to Ying then nodded again. “You’re right, Brother Ying. We can’t solve with heated words.”

Zhao Xing grunted in agreement, wincing slightly as he shifted on the wooden table. The acupuncture needles glinted in the fading light.

“How about this,” Bo Ying suggested, refilling their tea cups. “We take a day. Reflect on what's best for Li’er, for the sect, and for the valley. Then we reconvene and share our thoughts. No interruptions, no accusations. Just ideas.”

Susu and Zhao Xing exchanged a glance, a silent truce passing between them.

“Agreed,” Susu said.

“Fine,” Zhao Xing muttered.