The arrival of the Wind Resonant Sect caused considerably more panic than Xuan Mei expected.
She noticed it almost immediately.
Disciples whispered as her group passed.
Several elders appeared at the welcoming pavilion with expressions far too grave for what should have been an ordinary diplomatic visit.
Someone had even prepared tea from the Radiant Daybreak Sect’s private reserves.
That concerned her more than anything else.
Rare tea usually meant one of two things.
Someone wanted something.
Or someone was preparing to apologize.
Xuan Mei followed the attending elder into the Hall of Rising Dawn.
Several figures were already waiting.
At the center sat Sect Master Jian Haru, an aging man whose calm presence spread throughout the hall.
Beside him sat Elder Cassian Atlas.
Orion’s grandfather.
Xuan Mei’s gaze lingered on him briefly.
He had aged considerably since the portrait her grandfather possessed had been painted, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Cassian studied her as well.
Then sighed.
That made Xuan Mei’s concern deepen.
She cupped her hands.
“Junior Xuan Mei greets Sect Master Jian and the elders of Radiant Daybreak.”
“You needn’t be so formal.”
Sect Master Jian gestured toward the seat opposite them.
“You have traveled far.”
Xuan Mei sat.
Behind her stood three members of the Wind Resonant Sect.
Elder Shen Lu, who had been assigned to escort her, wore an expression suggesting he would rather be anywhere else.
That did not surprise her.
He had spent nearly the entire journey attempting to convince her to reconsider what she intended to do.
Xuan Mei calmly accepted the tea placed before her.
Nobody drank.
The silence stretched.
Finally, she spoke.
“I have come today regarding the marriage agreement between myself and Orion Atlas.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Xuan Mei blinked.
Elder Cassian’s shoulders seemed to sag almost imperceptibly.
Sect Master Jian exchanged a glance with another elder.
Someone sighed.
Xuan Mei slowly lowered her teacup.
…Why does everyone look like someone died?
Sect Master Jian spoke first.
“Young Lady Xuan.”
His voice was gentle.
“Before anything is said, understand that the Radiant Daybreak Sect bears no resentment toward you.”
Xuan Mei frowned.
“Resentment?”
“Your circumstances are considerably different from when the agreement was first made.”
Elder Cassian continued.
“My late wife and your grandfather were close friends.
They arranged the engagement with good intentions.
But neither of them could have predicted how matters would develop.”
Xuan Mei’s frown deepened.
She glanced at Elder Shen Lu.
The Wind Resonant elder suddenly found the architecture extremely interesting.
Cassian continued.
“You possess the Pure Moon Sacred Physique.”
Xuan Mei said nothing.
“You entered the Meridian Foundation Realm at fifteen.
You became an inner disciple of one of the ten supreme sects before your seventeenth birthday.
Your future achievements are difficult to predict.”
His expression softened.
“Orion cannot cultivate.”
There was no disgust in his voice.
Only sadness.
Xuan Mei finally understood.
“Oh.”
Sect Master Jian nodded gravely.
“We understand why you’ve come.”
“You do?”
“Of course.”
Xuan Mei stared at him.
Apparently, they did not.
Elder Cassian exhaled.
“The engagement token will be returned.”
Xuan Mei’s eyes widened slightly.
“If the Wind Resonant Sect worries about rumors, we will publicly state that the decision was mutual.
Orion’s reputation is far less important than allowing two young people to determine their own futures.”
“Wait.”
“You needn’t feel guilty.”
“I’m not—”
“Furthermore,” Sect Master Jian continued, “no compensation will be required.”
Xuan Mei stared.
Elder Shen Lu coughed into his fist.
She slowly turned toward him.
The old man looked away.
Xuan Mei suddenly understood why he had been unusually quiet.
“You told them.”
“I sent advance notice that we were coming regarding the engagement.”
“And nothing else?”
Elder Shen Lu cleared his throat.
“I may have left certain details… unspecified.”
Xuan Mei closed her eyes.
This was why her master said old cultivators caused more problems than demonic beasts.
At least demonic beasts were direct about trying to kill you.
“I am not here to annul the engagement.”
Silence.
Elder Cassian blinked.
Sect Master Jian blinked.
One elder halfway through reaching for his tea froze.
Xuan Mei continued.
“I came because my grandfather asked me to meet Orion personally and discuss how we intend to proceed.”
Cassian leaned forward.
“You… aren’t canceling it?”
“No.”
“But Orion cannot cultivate.”
“I am aware.”
“The Wind Resonant Sect opposes the agreement.”
“I am also aware.”
Elder Shen Lu sighed.
Xuan Mei ignored him.
Sect Master Jian looked genuinely confused.
“Then why?”
Xuan Mei considered the question.
There were many answers she could give.
Duty.
Honor.
Family.
But none completely explained it.
“My grandfather made a promise.”
Her voice remained calm.
“So did Senior Lyra Atlas.”
She looked toward Cassian.
“My grandfather has told me about her since I was a child.
He said she once saved his life without asking for anything in return.
Their promise was not made to trade descendants like property.
They hoped their families might become one.”
Cassian remained silent.
“I will not marry someone I despise simply because my grandfather once made a promise.”
Xuan Mei continued.
“But neither will I humiliate a man I’ve never even met because cultivation has been unkind to him.”
For the first time, the faintest trace of irritation entered her silver eyes.
“The elders of my sect have already decided Orion is unworthy.”
Elder Shen Lu shifted uncomfortably.
“I have not.”
The hall remained quiet.
Finally, Cassian smiled.
It was small.
But genuine.
“Then perhaps we should let the two of you meet.”
Xuan Mei nodded.
“That is why I came.”
A disciple was summoned.
He returned several minutes later looking nervous.
“Reporting to Sect Master.
Young Master Orion is not at his residence.”
Cassian frowned.
“Library?”
“No, Elder.”
“Training pavilion?”
“No.”
“Where is he?”
The disciple hesitated.
“The eastern spirit fields.”
Sect Master Jian stared at him.
“What is he doing there?”
“Repairing the irrigation formation.”
Another silence.
Cassian slowly rubbed his forehead.
“Why?”
The disciple looked even more uncomfortable.
“Outer Disciple Jin struck the central regulator with a shovel.”
Xuan Mei’s lips twitched.
Elder Cassian closed his eyes.
“Of course he did.”
By the time someone found Orion, he was waist-deep in muddy irrigation water.
“Hold that pipe!”
“I’m holding it!”
“Not you, Jin!
You’ve helped enough!”
“I said I was sorry!”
“Senior Brother Orion!”
Orion looked up.
A disciple wearing the robes of the main peak stood on the embankment.
“The Sect Master is calling for you.”
“Right now?”
“Immediately.”
Orion glanced down at himself.
Mud covered his boots.
His sleeves were rolled past his elbows.
There was a wrench-like formation tool in his right hand.
“Did he say why?”
The messenger hesitated.
“The Wind Resonant Sect has arrived.”
Orion stopped moving.
There were certain names one grew up hearing often enough that they became part of the background of life.
Wind Resonant Sect was one.
Xuan Mei was another.
Orion stared at the messenger.
“Ah.”
Brother Jin looked over.
“Senior Brother, isn’t your fiancée from the Wind Resonant Sect?”
“Technically.”
“Maybe she’s here to marry you!”
Another disciple immediately hit Jin in the back of the head.
“What?”
“Idiot.”
Orion climbed from the irrigation channel.
He had long suspected this day would come.
Xuan Mei was a prodigy.
He was a mortal.
Anyone capable of basic arithmetic could recognize the difference between them.
He had never blamed her for it.
They had never even met.
If she wanted the engagement annulled, Orion had already decided he would accept.
A promise made by their grandparents should not become a chain around a stranger’s neck.
Still…
He glanced down at his mud-covered clothes.
“Could I at least change?”
The messenger looked apologetic.
“The Sect Master said immediately.”
Orion sighed.
“Naturally.”
When Orion entered the Hall of Rising Dawn, every head turned toward him.
He stopped.
His grandfather stared.
His uncle stared.
The Sect Master stared.
Several Wind Resonant cultivators stared.
Orion looked down at his clothing.
“I can explain.”
Sect Master Jian pinched the bridge of his nose.
“No.”
Orion nodded.
“Probably for the best.”
Then he saw her.
Silver hair.
Silver eyes.
Cyan robes.
Twin swords.
Xuan Mei was beautiful.
Not simply in the exaggerated way cultivators often seemed unnaturally attractive.
There was something quiet about her beauty.
Like moonlight reflected across still water.
Her silver gaze moved over him.
Not contemptuous.
Not mocking.
Curious.
Orion cupped his hands.
“Lady Xuan.”
“You may call me Xuan Mei.”
He paused.
“Orion, then.”
Her gaze drifted toward the mud covering him.
Orion glanced down again.
“Usually I make slightly better first impressions.”
For the first time since entering the Radiant Daybreak Sect, Xuan Mei smiled.
It was faint.
But it was there.
“I’ve had worse.”
“That feels suspiciously specific.”
Another tiny smile.
Orion’s grandfather suddenly looked between them with entirely too much interest.
Xuan Mei noticed.
Her expression immediately returned to calm.
She rose.
“I would like to speak with Orion privately.”
Several elders stiffened.
Elder Shen Lu frowned.
“Xuan Mei—”
“I crossed half the continent to speak with him.”
She looked at Orion.
“If he is willing.”
Orion nodded.
“Of course.”
Xuan Mei walked toward the exit.
Orion followed.
Just before passing through the doorway, he heard his grandfather whisper—
“He’s still covered in mud.”
His uncle replied,
“At least he’s memorable.”
Orion decided he had never heard either of them before in his life.