Yue felt a presence near him in the morning and immediately awakened. Had he been near a weapon and more capable of moving his body the maid who woke him up might’ve been missing a hand before she even touched he was awake.

He faltered a bit as he tried to move, even opening his eyes was a struggle for a bit.

“Miss Xia, It’s morning now.”  The maid said and pulled Yue’s blankets a bit, wafting the scent of the tea that could remove the effects of the candle that had made Yue fall asleep.

Yue stopped panicking when he could suddenly open his eyes and move. He was confused about what had happened to him but the maid seemed unfazed and as if she hadn’t noticed anything. After giving him tea and being told that he would change on his own, the maid left.

Yue had wanted to ask about what had happened to him but he didn’t really know if it was an issue. He needed to sleep anyway and he would’ve reacted if he were being controlled by something or if he had been in any danger.

Yue changed into a simple Hanfu, he would be changing his clothes in the afternoon to go to an auction so he didn’t pay much attention to it. Yue stretched his hands a bit as he walked down the hall with a maid that was leading him to the dining room. His body didn’t feel numb anymore but he was still a bit curious about what happened.

He got to the dining room and found Viktor casually looking through the list of things he would be buying in the auction.

“Good morning, Did you sleep well?” Viktor asked, turning to look at him as he sat down.

Yue blinked a bit at the question, it made him slightly suspicious but he ignored it and nodded.

“How many auctions are we going to today?” Yue asked after he finished breakfast.

“Two, both of them have a blue and white dress code,” Viktor said and smiled.

“I’m starting to doubt that I’ll ever see you wearing something that isn’t white or blue.” Yue laughed and rolled his eyes a bit.

Viktor just chuckled, “We’ll see.”

—

Yue felt embarrassed as he looked at himself in the mirror as the maids finished tying the back of his dress. He wore a relatively simple yet beautiful blue ball gown with a few lace details and slightly puffy sleeves. He did look very beautiful but he felt a bit uncomfortable with the fit of the clothes since he was not used to it.

A maid made him sit so she could brush and style his hair. When she finished Yue’s fringe was brushed back and held by blue and silver flower accessories while the rest flowed freely behind him. The made had Yue wear the necklace that Viktor had given him and a pair of earrings that were a very close match, the main difference being that they weren't magic items like the necklace.

His make up was very light. He had expected the maids to give him a completely different style than what he was used to and make his makeup look more like the current trends in Paris but they kept it simple, only giving him a bit of blush and a bright lip color.

He didn’t know how to feel as he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked like himself but also not at all like himself.  

There was a small knock on the door and one of the maids rushed to open the door as Yue turned to look at the door, knowing it was most likely Viktor.

Viktor walked in wearing a three-piece suit similar to what he wore to pick Yue up from the dorm. The main difference was that it was mostly blue compared to the previous suit which had been mostly white. His hair was slicked back and looked very handsome and matched Yue well.

“You look beautiful,” Viktor said as he walked up to him.  He also felt odd to see him in these clothes and that he almost didn’t seem like the same person but he knew it was definitely still Yue. 

He took Yue’s hand and helped him up with a smile.

“Shall we go?” 

Yue blushed and nodded. He turned to a maid who was handing him a blue fan and whispered thank you before he walked with Viktor out of the room.

“The first auction is for normal jewelry. It’s the auction that had the ring that had a starting price of 10 million.” Viktor explained and walked with Yue to the carriage. Yue hadn’t paid attention to the fact that they had been holding hands so he didn’t really question it and just nodded.

After helping Yue into the carriage Viktor silently looked over the head maids attire, he wasn’t surprised that she dressed appropriately but it had become a habit to check after a previous maid had dressed a bit too lavishly and started rumors that she was his lover or his father’s mistress. 

The maid dressed within the dress code but she dressed modestly. Though had she dressed in a lavish manner it wouldn’t have mattered, it was clear that Yue was the one who would have rumors going around about him. The maid would be accompanying them to hold the items list, and to hold their bid paddle.

The Auction house was full of people walking inside, most were nobles or Nouveau Riche from Paris and the surrounding countries but rich foreigners could clearly be seen. Despite wearing European style clothes they clearly stood out much like Yue did. A lot of people paused as they saw the Ivanov family crest on the carriage.

Viktor got out of the character without batting an eye at the stares but Yue hesitates a bit to grab his hand when he was going to get down from the carriage. He gulped, it was hard to ignore the stares today. The people who would usually turn away after seeing him in a Hanfu and whisper xenophobic things were now staring at him in awe as he wore a dress and was fitting their standards.

“We’re in a private area don’t worry,” Viktor whispered and had Yue hold his arm as they walked up the stairs and into the auction building. The maid was following behind them and making sure Yue’s dress was alright.

Yue nodded a bit and hid his fear with an elegant and refined expression as they entered the auction hall despite the stares. They were immediately greeted by some of the staff who led them to a private balcony area in the auction hall. 

Most people sat in the regular seating area in the large theatre-like auction hall, but a few particularly important bidders sat in the 4 balconies near the front of the hall.  Yue could see the two balconies on the opposite wall, they were both occupied by European couples who he recognized to be pretty important around the countries that surrounded academy city.

Yue noticed that both couples had tiny binoculars so they could see the stage where the items that were going to be auctioned off more easily. He realized that he and Viktor must look odd since neither of them needed binoculars while even some people down in the regular seating areas did. He was curious about the people in the balcony beside them but he could clearly see Viktor’s gaze on him as he got close to the edge of the balcony. He knew he was worrying him just by standing and he also knew that if he leaned out of the balcony he was very likely to lose balance since he wasn’t used to his heavy dress so he decided to just sit down and not worry about it.

He hadn’t actually been interested in anything from this auction but Viktor was going to be buying the ring that he had mentioned earlier. He personally wasn’t interested in it but it would be a gift for his nephew’s 10th birthday.

Yue felt a weird feeling in his eyes and blinked a bit, trying not to touch his eyes so he wouldn’t ruin his make up. The feeling persisted but he got used to it by the time the auction started up and it didn’t bother him.

The auction started up and Yue just sat and watched, a bit uninterested for most of the auction. Viktor was also quite uninterested but it didn’t show on his face much. 

There were only two items left until the main item and Yue froze as he saw the next item be introduced. It was a small gold bracelet with the small yellow jade on it being it’s only defining feature. He had seen this bracelet on the catalog for this specific auction and he had been sort of drawn to it because it wasn’t the usual style of jewelry you would see around Paris. It was a bit too plain for that. It didn’t manage to really stand out enough for him to want it back then but now he could clearly tell that the jade on the bracelet was something special.

The bid started at only one hundred thousand and some people started to bid even though they weren’t interested. Yue quickly turned to the maid.

“Sorry, this is last minute but I want to bid,” Yue said and apologized to the maid a bit. Viktor had noticed the feeling of magic from the jade and didn’t mind it. He nodded at the maid and the maid quickly raised the paddle a bid for them.

The auctioneer started raising the price and a lot of people dropped out as the price went up. It got to the point where no one in the regular seating was bidding. Yue was confused about who might be bidding and figured it might be the people in the balcony beside them since he couldn’t see them.

“9.7 million! 9.8!” The auctioneer called out and turned back and forth between the two balconies.

“10 million! Sold to number 10!” The auctioneer exclaimed and pointed to the balcony Yue and Viktor were in. The people in the other balcony had put their paddle down while the people in the regular seating were wondering why they would spend so much on a plain-looking bracelet.

“It's definitely a magic weapon...maybe a whip or a set of Chakram¹A circular indian throwing weapon with sharp outer edges.,” Yue whispered to Viktor, covering his mouth with his fan as he did so since the people from the balconies across from them were staring.

“If It’s a Chakram I doubt you’ll ever use it…” Viktor chuckled, had a clear bias toward his Jian sword so he doubted that Yue would use a weapon like a Chakram.

“I’ll just give it to someone else. Maybe Marianne…” Yue murmured. They whispered through the next auction but became a bit serious when the bid started. This time the bidding war was between them and the couple in the balcony directly across from them. Yue didn’t feel like looking at them and traced the folds of his fan aimlessly as he waited.

The bid started to get into 150 million and the couple in the other balcony was starting to falter. Viktor shrugged to himself silently, he hadn’t expected to have to bid this high but he didn’t mind.

The other couple gave up at 165 million and the auctioneer announced that it was sold to Viktor.

“Who even has that much money?!” A voice exclaimed in shock in Vietnamese.

Yue blinked in confusion and immediately stood as he noticed the familiar-sounding voice. He leaned a bit over the balcony and Viktor quickly got up and held his waist to keep him from falling. Yue didn’t pay attention to it. He leaned a bit more and noticed a woman in a light blue ball gown leaning over her balcony trying to catch a glimpse as well. 

“Ah...It is you…”

“Yue!”

Mai was leaning out of the balcony beside them and had a bright smile as she realized it was Yue. The auction was over so she ran toward the doors in the back of the balcony and quickly went over to the balcony Yue and Viktor were in.

She giggled as she saw Viktor’s arm around Yue’s waist and rushed up to hug Yue.

“Mai what are you doing.” Mai’s father said with a Venomous tone. He had been privately made aware that their balcony was beside the Ivanov family’s balcony and had been planning on telling Mai to mind her manners before she started to lean off the side of the balcony but then she suddenly ran off. He was now terribly worried about their reputation as Mai had just waltzed into the balcony area and completely ignored etiquette.

“Ba! These are my friends from the academy!” Mai said with a bright smile. Her smile faded a bit as she realized that her father was probably planning on scolding her for not properly greeting them.

Yue looked down at his feet as Mai’s parents walked into the balcony and greeted Viktor properly. He didn’t want them to see his eyes. Mai’s parents apologized for her rudeness and pulled her back a bit, keeping her from hugging Yue.

“Ah...No she was not rude to us, the three of us are quite close,” Viktor said and smiled sheepishly. He noticed Yue wasn’t looking up at them and tightened his grip on his waist, hoping to reassure him a bit. He knew he was probably nervous because of his eyes.

“We’ve even been to a dungeon together! We’re super close!” Mai said and excitedly went to interlock when arm with Yue’s.She noticed that Huy had been simply standing outside and smiled, waving him over.

“Anh! Meet my friends!”

Huy smiled a bit and walked into the room, walking toward them.  Yue first noticed that Mai called him Anh and figured she was talking about the silver haired man that he had a prophecy about her marrying. He didn't look up at Huy however, he was still overthinking what their reactions to his eyes would be.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I am Huy Pham.” Huy said with a smile.

“Eh?” Yue was surprised as he heard the name and looked up.

He and Huy met eyes and they both had a look of realization.

“Miss Xia?” Huy said, clearly showing his shock. Both he and Yue raised their hands to their eyes quickly as if to hide them.

Viktor had a clearly unhappy look on his face as he looked between them, he was jumping to conclusions about Yue and Huy's relationship already. Mai was just confused since she hadn’t introduced them to each other yet. Both Mai and Viktor noticed something different about their respective love interests.

Their eyes had changed. Yue’s pupils had become vertical slits and  his eyes had a slight tint of green near his pupils. Huy had a similar pupil change but his eyes now had a tint of yellow instead. Both of them quickly used magic to hide the change in their eyes but Mai and Viktor had noticed.

Yue’s first time using the name ‘Yue Xia’ and pretending to be female wasn’t when he was going to the academy but rather when he was 13 and accompanying his senior brother to a cultivation sect near the Vietnam border. He dressed like a young girl and had bandages wrapped around his eyes. He had met Huy for the first time that day.

—

 

“Xia Guiren. It’s a pleasure to see you, although I’m certain you will be rejecting our offer again today.” An older cultivator said as he greeted Guiren at the entrance to his cultivation sect.

Yue was hiding behind Guiren a bit, trying not to draw too much attention to himself as he looked around the sect. He could see through the bandages on his eyes, it was a skill he had perfected when he was young and forced to hide them so people wouldn’t think he was cursed. Although now it was more to hide the fact that he had the Azure dragon eyes than to keep him from being thought of as a cursed child.

“Who is that behind you?” The cultivator asked as he noticed Yue’s presence.

Guiren smiled and moved so Yue could be seen from behind him. Guiren and Yue were matching, Guiren wore mostly white Daoist robes with golden patterns while Yue wore a mostly white Hanfu with the same pattern but with some pink details and more accessories. 

“This is my younger sister Xia Yue. She’s been sick since she was young so she rarely leaves the main house. I thought she should come since she was feeling better lately.”  Guiren explained and put his hand on Yue’s shoulder.

He had actually brought Yue along with him because Lian Bai had been summoned to her family home and Fei Xiang was cultivating in seclusion. Yue had planned to sneak into a night hunt as a rogue cultivator but Guiren had stopped him since he knew that even though Yue could protect himself, he could definitely not take care of himself. He would definitely  forget to eat or stay up for days on end if he was alone. 

Guiren was too worried to leave him alone so he brought Yue to the main house of the Xia family. He had Yue become an unofficial member of the Xia family through an agreement with his father and then went on their way to Nanning to see the sect.

 

“I see…” The cultivator decided not to ask any questions about Yue’s eyes or about his health. To him, it seemed clear that Yue was sick because he was rather pale and thin to the point he almost looked malnourished. He was also rather short and didn’t actually look like a 13-year-old, he looked much younger.

Yue just walked beside Guiren as they walked through the cultivation sect. Guiren and the cultivator were talking as they reached a wide area where a group of the sect's disciples were talking. Guiren was a bit confused that the cultivator wasn’t scolding them but he noticed that they were wearing the robes of foreign disciples and just figured that they were from strong families that couldn’t be scolded for simple things like talking.

“Childe Pham, please come here.” The cultivator said and called for Huy, who was much younger at the time, to come over. Guiren figured that he was wrong and that Huy was going to be scolded. Yue felt a bit of discomfort in his eyes and reached up to his bandages a bit as Huy came over.

Huy also seemed to have some discomfort in his eyes.

“Meet Xia Guiren, he is Master Fei Xiang’s disciple.” The cultivator said and gestured to Guiren. 

Huy was amazed as he looked at Guiren, and greeted him with cupped fists. Guiren quietly told him that he needn’t do that since they were actually only a few months apart in age. He still wasn’t used to things like that despite the fact that he had been Fei Xiang’s disciple for years.

There was a rumor that Fei Xiang’s disciples all had cores that were above Ember. This rumor wasn’t completely true, Lian Bai had a Diamond Core type. But for Yue who had a Mythic core and Guiren who had a legendary core, it was true. People with core types lower than Ember would always bow to Fei Xiang's disciples  because they knew that because of their core type and their master they would struggle to ever reach their level.

Huy had a Legendary core type but he seriously respected Fei Xiang who was known to be one of the few people who didn’t have a mythic core but had achieved the first step of immortality.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Huy said and found his eyes drifting to Yue.

Guiren was going to introduce Yue when he noticed Huy’s eyes had changed color and shape. Yue noticed that as well when they stared at each other and felt an odd sense of familiarity.

Yue pulled the bandages on his eyes down and Guiren saw that Yue’s eyes had changed too.

“Vermillion Bird...Wings?” Yue said in Vietnamese quietly.

“Huh..? Then you… Azure Dragon…” Huy murmured also in Vietnamese. He was surprised that Yue suddenly named his special ability as if he could see it. He actually glanced over at his back to see if he had been revealing his ability and then back at the ground to make sure he wasn't subconsciously floating or something.

“Eyes,” Yue said and pointed to his eyes.

Guiren was looking between them, shocked. For two of the people who carry symbols to meet was a pretty crazy thing to happen. Only 4 people in all of Asia were born with the powers of the 4 symbols and they were always incredibly mysterious people, their births and deaths were never recorded and their lives were a mystery aside from the few times they expose their power.

Only a few things were certain about those with the powers of the symbols. One thing was that they were always born in the direction that their symbol rules over. Yue, the holder of the Azure Dragon Eyes, was born in the east, Huy, the holder of the Vermillion Bird Wings, was born in the south. Continuing the patter, the holders of the powers of White Tiger and Black Tortoise were born in the west and north respectively. The other thing that was certain about them was that they were absurdly powerful. 

 Yue quickly covered his eyes back up with the bandages when the cultivator who was guiding them looked over. They couldn't talk for long after that since Huy was called for a lecture soon afterward but the meeting would be something they'd remember. Yue and Guiren left before sunset and while Yue wished he could’ve talked to Huy more about his experiences with having the power of a symbol, he had already foreseen them meeting again in the future.  

—

Yue didn’t have a place to jot down the prophecy of meeting Huy again down so he ended up forgetting it even happened. That’s why he was quite shocked to have met Huy right then at the auction.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again...I offer my condolences to you and the rest of the Xia family.” Huy said and bowed his head a bit.

Yue mumbled a thank you but he clearly turned to stare at Viktor’s face for a second to calm himself down. Mai and Viktor were confused but Huy seemed to understand and seemed apologetic.

“If you even told Huy about her then you certainly must be friends…” Mai’s mother murmured, smiling a bit. She loved teasing Mai aout how clearly her affections for Huy were.

Mai turned bright red and quickly shook her head, whisper yelling that she wasn’t aware that they knew each other. 

“You two can stay here and talk to your friends, we’re going to an antique auction.”  Mai’s mother said and pretty much ignored Mai’s previous comment as she pulled her husband along.

“Oh...We were going to a Wine auction next..” Viktor murmured but the couple was already long gone.

“Let's just go together then,” Mai said and smiled, locking arms with Yue again and walking out ahead of Viktor and Huy.

Viktor and Huy silently stared at each other for a couple of seconds, silently confirming that each of them was only interested in their respective love interests. They then went to catch up with Yue and Mai.