The morning before the Annual Cultivation Aptitude Examination arrived far more quickly than anyone expected.
Within the Yuan Clan Estate, an unusual excitement lingered in the air.
Children woke before sunrise.
Parents repeatedly reminded them to remain calm.
Even the servants seemed to walk a little faster than usual.
Tomorrow…
The future of an entire generation would begin to unfold.
…
Sunlight filtered through the paper windows as Lady Yue carefully folded a freshly sewn blue robe.
The stitches were neat.
Simple.
Every thread had been sewn by her own hands.
She gently brushed away an invisible speck of dust before smiling in satisfaction.
“It should fit perfectly.”
Yuan Tian stood nearby, quietly watching.
“…Mother.”
“Hm?”
“You stayed up late making it.”
Lady Yue looked surprised.
“How did you know?”
“The candle outside your room was still lit.”
“…When I woke up.”
She blinked before laughing softly.
“So you noticed.”
“I always notice.”
Lady Yue walked over and knelt before him.
She carefully helped him into the robe, smoothing the sleeves and adjusting the collar.
“There.”
“My handsome little cultivator.”
Yuan Tian lowered his head, studying the robe.
It wasn’t luxurious.
There were no embroidered spirit beasts or expensive jade ornaments like some of the wealthier branches of the Yuan Clan preferred.
It was simply…
Comfortable.
“…I like it.”
Lady Yue smiled.
“I’m glad.”
Before either of them could say more, footsteps approached from outside.
Yuan Zhen entered carrying a small cloth pouch tied to his belt.
“Ready?”
Lady Yue looked toward him.
“So early?”
“We still need a few things before tomorrow.”
He smiled toward Yuan Tian.
“I thought we’d visit Qinghe City.”
The little boy’s eyes brightened ever so slightly.
“…The city?”
“You’ve only been there a few times.”
“And tomorrow will probably be crowded.”
“So today is better.”
Lady Yue nodded in agreement.
“Don’t come back too late.”
She gently crouched before Yuan Tian once more.
“And stay close to your father.”
“…I will.”
She lightly tapped the tip of his nose.
“And don’t spend the whole day inside a bookstore.”
Yuan Tian looked away.
“…No promises.”
Both parents laughed.
…
The eastern gate of the Yuan Clan slowly opened.
Father and son stepped onto the stone road leading toward Qinghe City.
Unlike the quiet atmosphere inside the clan, the road outside bustled with merchants, travelers, and beast-drawn carts moving in both directions.
Several people greeted Yuan Zhen respectfully.
“Third Master Yuan.”
“Good morning.”
“It has been a while.”
Yuan Zhen returned each greeting with the same calm smile.
Yuan Tian quietly observed everything.
Not the people.
The road.
Cart wheels had carved deep grooves into the packed earth.
Fresh hoofprints crossed older ones.
Merchants instinctively walked along the smoother edges instead of the center.
Everything followed invisible patterns.
After nearly half an hour, the towering walls of Qinghe City came into view.
Gray stone walls stretched across the horizon, nearly thirty meters high.
Colorful banners fluttered above the gate, each bearing the emblem of the City Lord.
Dozens of guards stood watch, carefully inspecting incoming caravans.
Yuan Tian tilted his head upward.
“…It’s bigger than I remember.”
Yuan Zhen smiled.
“It felt bigger to me when I was your age.”
As they entered the city, the atmosphere changed immediately.
The streets overflowed with life.
Merchants loudly advertised their goods.
Children chased one another through narrow alleyways.
Blacksmiths hammered glowing steel while sparks danced into the morning air.
The rich aroma of grilled meat mixed with freshly steamed buns drifted through the marketplace.
Spirit beast mounts rested beside watering troughs.
Travelers from distant towns bargained over herbs, fabrics, and ores.
For the first time…
Yuan Tian understood why everyone called Qinghe City the heart of the eastern region.
It wasn’t simply large.
It was alive.
…
Father and son slowly wandered through the market.
Yuan Zhen purchased several writing brushes, medicinal herbs, and a small leather pouch before stopping beside a tailor’s stall.
The tailor immediately recognized him.
“Third Master Yuan.”
“It has been years.”
“It has.”
“I heard Young Master will be participating tomorrow.”
Yuan Zhen nodded.
“He will.”
The tailor smiled warmly before handing Yuan Tian a small silk cord.
“A gift.”
“For good fortune.”
Yuan Tian accepted it with both hands.
“…Thank you.”
The tailor laughed.
“Your son has better manners than most adults.”
Yuan Zhen chuckled.
“He gets that from his mother.”
As they continued walking, raised voices suddenly echoed from a nearby fruit stall.
“You lowered the price again!”
“So did you!”
“You’re stealing my customers!”
A small crowd gathered almost instantly.
Several pedestrians stopped to watch the argument.
Yuan Tian quietly observed for a few moments before gently tugging on his father’s sleeve.
“…They’re pretending.”
Yuan Zhen looked down.
“Pretending?”
“They’re smiling.”
“What?”
“Their mouths are angry.”
“…Their eyes aren’t.”
Yuan Zhen turned back toward the merchants.
Only after looking carefully did he notice it.
The two men exchanged an almost imperceptible glance before continuing to argue even louder.
Moments later…
More customers gathered around both stalls.
Business increased for each of them.
Yuan Zhen couldn’t help laughing.
“…You noticed that?”
Yuan Tian nodded.
“They wanted people to stop walking.”
“So they argued.”
His father shook his head in disbelief.
“…Sometimes…”
“I honestly don’t know how your mind works.”
Yuan Tian looked toward the busy street once more.
“…I’m still trying to figure it out myself.”
Yuan Zhen smiled but said nothing.
The longer he spent with his son…
The more often he found himself forgetting Yuan Tian was only five years old.
Not because the boy behaved like an adult.
Far from it.
He still became fascinated by birds perched upon rooftops.
He still stopped to watch fish swimming beneath stone bridges.
He still asked questions with the innocent curiosity only a child possessed.
Yet…
He saw things others overlooked.
And that…
Was unusual.
…
Father and son continued deeper into Qinghe City’s marketplace.
The streets gradually widened as they approached the city’s central district.
Compared to the bustling merchant quarter, the buildings here were far grander.
Three-story restaurants overlooked the main avenue.
Large medicine halls displayed rows of carefully preserved herbs behind polished wooden shelves.
A blacksmith’s forge roared with crimson flames as apprentices carried freshly forged weapons outside to cool.
The rhythmic clang of hammer against steel echoed through the street.
Yuan Tian stopped walking.
His gaze wasn’t on the weapons.
It rested upon an old map hanging inside the shop.
The parchment had faded with age.
Its corners were torn.
Several locations had been crossed out with black ink.
“…Father.”
“Hm?”
“Why is that map damaged?”
Yuan Zhen followed his son’s gaze.
“Oh.”
“That?”
“The blacksmith bought it from a traveling merchant years ago.”
“They say it points toward an ancient ruin.”
“…Does it?”
Yuan Zhen laughed.
“No one knows.”
“Most people think it’s fake.”
“The merchant disappeared before explaining where he found it.”
Yuan Tian continued staring at the map for another few breaths.
For reasons he couldn’t explain…
It felt…
Incomplete.
Not false.
Simply…
Incomplete.
Almost as though someone had erased part of it.
He quietly memorized its general shape before following his father once more.
Neither of them noticed the elderly blacksmith watching from inside.
“…Interesting child.”
…
As noon approached, the streets became even more crowded.
Travelers from neighboring towns poured through the city gates carrying goods for tomorrow’s examination festivities.
Street performers gathered small audiences.
Children laughed while chasing colorful paper kites.
A storyteller sat beneath a large banyan tree surrounded by eager listeners.
“…And so, the great cultivator crossed the Heavenly River with a single step!”
The children gasped.
One little boy raised his hand.
“Did it really happen?”
The old storyteller smiled mysteriously.
“Some stories are true.”
“Others…”
“…become true because enough people believe them.”
Yuan Tian quietly listened until his father gently placed a hand upon his shoulder.
“We should keep moving.”
He nodded.
“…Alright.”
…
Before long, Yuan Zhen stopped outside a modest herbal medicine shop.
Unlike the larger establishments nearby, this one had very few customers.
The elderly owner immediately recognized him.
“Third Master Yuan.”
“It has been some time.”
“It has.”
The old herbalist glanced toward Yuan Tian before disappearing into the back room.
He soon returned carrying several neatly wrapped medicinal packets.
“I prepared these after hearing tomorrow was the examination.”
Yuan Zhen accepted them.
“…Thank you.”
“You’ve already done too much.”
The herbalist waved dismissively.
“You helped my grandson years ago.”
“I’ve merely been repaying an old kindness.”
Yuan Tian quietly observed the exchange.
As they left the shop, he finally asked,
“…Father.”
“You helped him?”
Yuan Zhen smiled faintly.
“A long time ago.”
“It wasn’t anything special.”
“The old man remembers it differently.”
Yuan Tian lowered his head thoughtfully.
Sometimes…
Kindness lasted much longer than the person giving it ever expected.
…
They had almost reached the western market when something lightly collided with Yuan Tian’s shoulder.
“Oh!”
Several books slipped from small hands and scattered across the stone road.
“I’m sorry!”
A young girl hurriedly knelt to gather them.
She appeared around Yuan Tian’s age, dressed in pale green robes embroidered with a silver plum blossom near the sleeve.
Without hesitation, Yuan Tian crouched beside her.
Neither spoke.
Together, they quietly picked up the fallen books.
One title caught his attention.
Records of Spiritual Herbs.
Another.
Illustrated Spirit Beasts of the Eastern Mountains.
The girl noticed him looking.
“…I like reading.”
“So do I.”
She smiled.
“I can tell.”
After the last book had been gathered, Yuan Tian handed them back with both hands.
“…Here.”
“Thank you.”
A woman’s voice called from farther down the street.
“Qing’er!”
The girl quickly turned.
“I’m coming!”
She looked back toward Yuan Tian.
“…Thank you again.”
Then…
She ran toward the waiting woman.
Yuan Tian watched for only a moment before looking away.
“…Let’s go, Father.”
Yuan Zhen smiled.
“Made a new friend?”
“I don’t know.”
“We only picked up books.”
His father laughed.
“Sometimes that’s enough.”
As they continued walking, the woman gently asked the little girl,
“Do you know him?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“But…”
“He seems nice.”
The woman smiled without another word.
Neither family knew…
Their paths would cross again.
Many years from now.
…
The afternoon sun slowly descended as father and son made their way back toward the Yuan Clan.
The excitement within Qinghe City showed no sign of fading.
Tomorrow would bring visitors from every major family in the region.
The streets would become even more crowded.
Even more lively.
As they walked through the city gate, Yuan Tian looked back one final time.
“…Father.”
“Hm?”
“Were you nervous before your first aptitude examination?”
Yuan Zhen laughed.
“Nervous?”
“I barely slept the night before.”
“…Really?”
“I was terrified.”
“Grandfather looked so serious that I thought I’d be thrown out of the clan if I failed.”
Yuan Tian smiled.
“…Were you?”
“No.”
“My father simply asked whether I’d eaten breakfast.”
Both of them laughed.
The setting sun painted the road before them in warm shades of gold.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
The silence felt comfortable.
Peaceful.
As the towering walls of the Yuan Clan came into view once more, Yuan Tian quietly looked toward the fading sky.
Tomorrow…
His life would begin to change.
Whether for better…
Or for worse…
He did not know.
Only one thing was certain.
The path ahead…
Would never be the same.