Flint pulled her hand back from Raven's bag in the deep of night, the moon casting long shadows across the eastern steps of the Cultivation Assessment Hall. Better to wait for her return, she decided.

Having no need for sleep, she settled on the stone steps and focused on circulating the Genesis energy in her throat. The night air was crisp and still. Gradually, she slipped into a meditative state, the gentle whisper of wind through the nearby trees fading from her awareness.

When she finally opened her eyes, dawn was breaking over the peaks. Golden light spilled across the courtyard as early-rising Outer Sect disciples hurried past, heading to morning training. Did Raven completely forget about this?

The morning session was well underway when hurried footsteps approached from behind. Raven rushed down the steps, her multiple rings catching the early sunlight as she moved.

"You've been here the whole time?" Raven's eyes widened as she spotted Flint. She quickly checked her drawstring bag, examining it for any signs of tampering—though of course, if someone had opened it, they could have easily retied it.

Flint nodded simply. "I was waiting for you to collect it."

Raven arched an eyebrow, her rings clinking together as she leaned forward with sudden interest. "Why wait for me?" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, the same way she had when examining Spark's golden irises the night before.

"Because if anything went missing, I'd be the prime suspect," Flint replied, smoothing out her robes as she stood. "So I figured I'd stay and prove my innocence." She brushed off a few stray leaves that had settled on her clothes during her night-long meditation.

"You're quite... interesting," Raven mused, a smile playing at her lips that mixed admiration with something less innocent.

"Wait." She called out as Flint turned to leave for sword practice.

"Yes?" Flint turned back, her expression still serene from the night's meditation. Even though her damaged mental barrier could detect a hint of hidden agenda in Raven's emotions.

"While I do engineering work at the Mystic Enigma Pavilion, I'm a merchant at heart." Raven made a self-introducing gesture with her ring-adorned hand.

"I'd like to propose a trade - involving a Mystic Terminal that you seem quite interested in." A calculating smile spread across Raven's face.

"Please, go on," Flint said, waiting to hear Raven's terms.

"First condition: twenty thousand spirit stones," Raven held up one finger. She'd need ten thousand to get a new top-of-the-line Mystic Terminal, so she was asking for double.

"Second condition: make Spark give up on you." She raised a second finger, then paused thoughtfully before adding, "At least for this week until I leave. After that, do what you want."

"Third condition: don't let anyone know you have a Mystic Terminal." A third finger joined the others.

"That's all. So, do we have a deal?" Raven crossed her arms, looking at Flint with eager anticipation.

Flint frowned in thought. The first condition - she could probably borrow from Sage South Rain. The third would be easy enough. But the second...

"I'm not sure I can control Spark's feelings," Flint said, brow furrowed.

"Oh, that's simple," Raven waved dismissively, a playful smirk on her face. "Just tell him you don't like him. Besides, you don't seem that interested anyway - why string him along?"

"What do you plan to do with Spark?" Flint asked with a deepening frown.

"Oh? Curious, are you?" Raven's tone was playful, almost teasing.

Flint wasn't sure whether she was more worried about Spark or simply curious. Finally, she nodded. "A little."

"I plan to seduce him..." Raven found Flint's innocence endearing enough to share her scheme. "Sleep with him..."

"After that, well, we'll see." Raven gave Flint a casual shrug.

"Have you slept with him?" Raven shot Flint a knowing look.

"No," Flint replied. She thought back to their first days at the way to the Celestial Sword Sect - while Spark slept, she had stayed awake. They hadn't slept together in either sense of the phrase, though her understanding of physical intimacy remained vague.

"What a shame," Raven shrugged. "He is quite a handsome wolf prince."

"Mm," Flint made a noncommittal sound.

The idea of treating Spark like a trade commodity made her deeply uncomfortable. Yet he seemed disappointed in her already, and she couldn't return his feelings anyway.

I'm just coincidentally meeting the second condition, Flint rationalized to herself.

"So, do we have a deal?" Raven prompted, bringing Flint back to their unfinished negotiation.

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"Deal," Flint sighed, agreeing to the trade.

A satisfied smile spread across Raven's face. She could dispose of her old Mystic Terminal while having a clear path to comfort a wounded wolf prince. Her merchant's mind was already calculating potential markets for second-hand Mystic Terminals.

———

As midday approached, Flint noted Spark's conspicuous absence. She hadn't caught even a glimpse of him all morning. Perhaps it's for the best, she thought, considering her deal with Raven. Without Spark bringing her meals, she'd have no food today - not that she needed any. While Initiative disciples received a modest monthly stipend for meals, few could afford extras without family support.

Just as morning training concluded, she felt a sudden tap on her back. Seedling leaned in close, her voice dropping to an excited whisper.

"Hey Flint! Remember those four in grey-blue robes? They're repairing puppets in the storage building behind the dining hall." Seedling's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "Their ear clips glow while they work, and they use these amazing crystal panels. Want to check it out?"

Flint nodded, her interest piqued by the mention of the Mystic Enigma Pavilion's technology. After her deal with Raven, she was particularly curious to see their work up close.

Flint and Seedling joined the small crowd gathered around the storage building. Several Adept Level disciples from the Celestial Sword Sect were assisting the four Mystic Enigma Pavilion members, while curious onlookers like themselves dotted the periphery.

The slender woman with the silver hairpin - Iris Echo - caught Flint's attention. Each time she adjusted her crystal ear clip, it would establish a connection with a puppet, both glowing with a subtle cyan light.

"Reed, could you open up this puppet for me?" Iris called to the bespectacled middle-aged man with curly hair. "I'm getting some odd readings from the data stream. Need to check the central processing module."

Reed Circuit examined the puppet carefully before shaking his head. "This looks like an older model I'm not familiar with. Mason, could you take a look?"

From her spot near the wall, Raven chimed in while tapping away at her Mystic Terminal. "They should just make these old models obsolete. Force the sect to upgrade to new ones."

Mason Crystal, the man wearing jade crown, brushed his neatly trimmed mustache - the only facial hair on his upper lip - as he studied the puppet thoughtfully. "Ah, this appears to be a Mark III Sweeper. One of our early cleaning models."

Flint observed intently as the maintenance team worked, particularly interested in the interaction between the ear clips and puppets.

Through her damaged mental barrier, Flint sensed a subtle flow of Stasis natural aura between the ear clips and puppets. So that's why they require Gifted-level Stasis spirit root, she mused.

"I don't have the Mark III Sweeper specs in my Mystic Terminal," Raven commented casually, still tapping at her device.

Iris nodded. "Me neither. That's probably why we're getting data transfer issues - version incompatibility. The current model is the Ice VII."

"Indeed," Mason added with a slight frown. "The Mark III used a different puppet control architecture altogether. Let’s discard this puppet instead."

As they continued discussing technical details, Flint carefully observed how the cyan glow pulsed between Iris's ear clip and the puppet's core, trying to understand the underlying principles of their technology.

Raven glanced around restlessly before announcing, "I'm hungry."

Mason gave her a dispassionate look. "We don't need to eat. Go ahead on your own."

Raven tucked away her Mystic Terminal and scanned the area. Her gaze briefly passed over Flint without much interest before continuing her search, clearly waiting for someone.

Finally, a figure appeared in the distance. Raven leapt up from her chair with excitement, calling out loudly, "Spark!"

Flint didn't turn around, but Seedling's attention was caught by the shout. She looked over to see Spark approaching.

As he drew near, Seedling raised an eyebrow. "Haven't seen you all morning."

"Slept in," Spark replied flatly, his voice devoid of emotion.

His gaze swept over Flint, who was still intently focused on Iris and Reed repairing the puppet. Something complex flickered in his eyes as he looked at her, but he quickly turned away and walked over to where Raven waited.

Raven ran over and embraced Spark right in front of Flint, forcing her to acknowledge their presence.

Seedling's lips curved into a mocking smile, her brow slightly furrowed. "Only one day and you've found someone new?" she asked Spark.

Spark frowned, irritated by both Seedling's tone and Raven's excessive enthusiasm. Raven had only asked him to join her for lunch.

The memory of last night's events made him slightly uncomfortable. He wanted to make it clear to Raven that he wasn't interested and she should stop pursuing him.

"Mind your words," Spark said coldly, carefully choosing his next words. "She's just... a stranger I barely know."

Raven playfully swatted Spark's chest in mock anger. "How could you call me a stranger?" Her eyes still held a gleam of amusement.

Spark's gaze unconsciously drifted to Flint and found her looking back at him, seemingly about to speak.

His heart stirred. He hadn't actually been sleeping this morning, but thinking alone in his room, asking himself: "Why do I like Flint?"

He had thought about many things - fleeing from Wind Patio together, his panic at seeing Flint lying in a pool of blood, their incomplete attempt at dual cultivation... Yet somehow none of these seemed adequate reasons for "liking" someone.

But then, love itself needs no reason.

Yet all their subtle intimacy had been destroyed by his own doubts during Flint's trial at the Heaven-Piercing Grand Hall...

Or was that really the cause? Flint had never blamed him for that moment...

No, perhaps it was because she was truly disappointed in him.

Spark waited with these complicated emotions, anticipating what Flint might say.

Meanwhile, beside him, Raven kept shooting meaningful glances at Flint, trying to remind her of their agreement.

"Um... Spark." Flint emerged from her reverie, noticing that Spark seemed to be waiting for her to speak, with both Raven and Seedling watching expectantly.

"Mm." Spark responded simply, gesturing for her to continue.

"Do you remember when I told you about searching for my past life memories?" Flint began carefully.

"Of course." Why is she bringing this up? Spark wondered. This was one of the first things Flint had told him when they met by the sea.

Flint hesitated, choosing her words before saying, "I think I know who my lover was in my past life. I plan to leave the sect to find him. Probably after I reach Adept Level."

Past life lover? The phrase made Spark's brow furrow deeply. He recalled what Flint had mentioned before, and what he'd seen in his own memories, about Blaze Mighty, the founder of the Celestial Sword Sect. Had he and Flint's past self, Obsidian, not been romantically involved?

Did Obsidian have a different lover...?

Despite everything, Spark felt an inexplicable glimmer of hope. Just as he was about to speak, Flint quickly added:

"It's not Blaze Mighty."

These words extinguished the last ember of hope in Spark's heart. His fists clenched unconsciously, knuckles whitening.

"Then... who is he?" Spark asked with a bitter smile.

Flint considered mentioning The Bamboo Sovereign's identity as the founder of the Abyssal Pavilion, but decided against it. After all, the Celestial Sword Sect was the largest member of the Immortal Alliance. Spark would likely remain with the Celestial Sword Sect, and might even join the Immortal Alliance someday.

"I don't think it would be appropriate for me to reveal his identity," Flint said calmly.

Raven listened with confusion, not understanding Flint's background. To her, it seemed like Flint had simply made up an excuse to discourage Spark, while possibly leaving him a thread of hope.

"Why don't you explain more clearly!" Raven interjected.

Both Spark and Seedling turned to look at her with puzzled expressions, wondering why this outsider was suddenly so invested in their conversation.

Flint was puzzled too, but reasoned that perhaps Raven was worried Spark hadn't given up hope yet.

Flint was reluctant to say anything too hurtful, so she hesitated, carefully choosing her words before speaking in a lowered voice:

"I'm going to find Lenient Pine."

That stupid wooden man who filled my mouth with pine needles the moment we met? Spark felt anger rising within him, his teeth clenching in frustration. Is he her lover from a past life, or a reincarnation of her past lover?

"You're going to find that wooden man who poisoned me?" Spark's voice was also low but taut with anger. He consciously avoided naming the Abyssal Pavilion, even in this hushed conversation.

Flint nodded simply, her expression unchanged.

This exchange left both Raven and Seedling bewildered. Raven glanced between them, trying to decipher the unspoken meaning. She could tell there was significant history behind their cryptic words, but couldn't make sense of it.

Seedling's fox ears twitched with curiosity. Unlike Raven, she knew about their early encounter with Lenient Pine, but was surprised by this unexpected development.

"Let's go," Spark said abruptly to Raven, turning away from Flint. His golden eyes had darkened, and his jaw was set in a hard line.

Raven quickly linked her arm through his, shooting a triumphant glance at Flint before they walked away. Though she hadn't fully understood the conversation, she could tell her scheme had succeeded - perhaps even better than she'd planned.

Seedling bounced on her toes, her fox tail swishing with delight. "Finally! You've thrown that faithless wolf aside."

She leaned in close to Flint, her purple eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Tell me about this pine tree of yours. Is he handsome? What's your past life story together?"

Flint watched Spark's retreating figure, releasing a sigh so faint it was barely perceptible. "Actually, I don't know much about Lenient Pine at all."

Without further comment, she turned her attention back to the maintenance team's work, observing as Iris adjusted another puppet's settings. Through her damaged mental barrier, she could sense the steady pulse of Stasis natural aura flowing between the technician's crystal ear clip and the puppet's core.