Wol Ryeong looked down at Rucheng and saw that she was staring at them blankly. They had been here for sometime now and he was surprised that they didn’t notice the two of them.

He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, especially with her eyes being so clear and expression blank.

As they all looked at her, her expressionless face was threateningly frightening.

Lan Jue looked at Wol Ryeong and asked, “How long have you been standing there? Don’t you know that it isn’t good to eavesdrop?”

Wol Ryeong didn’t want any part in this. What Qing Heng mentioned wasn’t news to him. Turning to Rucheng, he said, “I’m leaving. You know where to find me if you need anything else.”

“Mn,” she said with a nod of her head.

She turned back to Juimin and his friends when he left and said, “I’m here to invite you to dinner. Mrs Qin wants to feed you.”

She looked at his friends, saying, “You can bring them too.”

Juimin sighed inwardly. From the tension in the air, it seemed as though she heard everything. If only he could tell them she wasn’t the person they knew.

He forced a smile, asking, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier on?”

“I got the news just as I left the university,” she answered.

He nodded his head. “Not tonight. We have something to do. How about I take you home and explain it to your mother?”

Rucheng shook her head in almost disappointment, saying, “Forget it then. See you around.”

Rucheng turned, leaving them behind. When she was out of view, Juimin slowly turned to his friends, saying, “Follow me.” And they disappeared into the night.

*

They reappeared in the sky above the military base and the first thing Juimin did was send a punch at Qing Heng, making his nose bleed.

Before any of them could get a word out, Juimin started speaking, telling them of everything that had to do with Rucheng.

The men were confused and speechless now. It all made sense, but when it came to Qin Rucheng, nothing made sense.

Wiping his nose, Qing Heng said, “It looks like I have judged her wrongly.”

“Forget about you. Everyone has. The previous Qin Rucheng was detestable. Just imagine filling her shoes,” Lan Jue said.

“But why didn’t you tell us this from the beginning?” Chao Feng asked. Juimin rubbed his temples. “Even I was in the dark until recently.”

“Do you think Wol Ryeong knows? He looked uninterested before,” Lan Jue said.

With this new information, he now wished that he was the one who could help Rucheng with her request.

Thinking of Wol Ryeong knowing made him feel jealous. “I don’t know.”

“Even if he was questioning her, he’d only do it in his thoughts. A merchant never questions their clients,” Lan Jue said. His eyes suddenly brightened as he wondered, “Can we still accept their invitation?”

Juimin thought about it then shook his head, “I’m sure we could, but knowing Rucheng, she wouldn’t even sit with us and eat.”

*

Gwanliin walked into her room and saw Rucheng sitting in the middle of her bed, crossed legged, in a meditating position with her eyes closed. 

Opening her eyes, she saw the smile on his face and knew exactly why he was in a good mood.

Gwanliin climbed on the bed and looked at her, saying, “From the looks of your progress, you will be able to start cultivating with spiritual energy at the end of the month.”

Rucheng had to admit, she thought she wouldn’t be able to, but luck was on her side. She knew nothing and had to research how to grow a spiritual orb inside her body with Gwanliin’s help, but the thing that helped her the most was the healing hairpin she had gotten from Juimin.

Removing the hairpin, she looked at it, saying, “I’ll need to thank him for his help.”

Gwanliin scoffed, “That boy just wants you to go on a date with him. You should repay him, but what if he wants you to return it?”

Looking at him as she rubbed her fingers over the intricate design, she thought of Juimin. Her eyes closed as she sighed. ‘That’s true. What if he wants it back?’

“If my calculations are correct, you at least need to keep it for another year just to be safe. I wouldn’t want you going out of control,” he said as he stared at the hairpin.

Rucheng handed it to him, asking, “Are you able to recreate it?”

He raised a brow, asking, “Why?”

“If you can recreate it, I wouldn’t have to rely on it,” she said.

“Or we could give them the fake one back instead,” he suggested.

Rucheng did think of this, but she’d rather give it back to avoid future troubles. “So, can you?”

He shook his head. “I’m not a craftsman. A lot goes into creating artefacts and replicas, too.”

She nodded her head, thinking, ‘I hope he’s kind enough to let me keep it.’

Raising a brow, Gwanliin asked, “It’s been a few days since they called you out on being a whore. Are you ashamed to see them?”

She shook her head. “You know me. Do I run after men?”

Gwanliin scoffed, ‘If he was serious about you, he should’ve come by now.’

Tilting his head to the side, he said, “I’ve thought about it. After some evaluations, the water element is your best choice and because you do not plan on scaling the world, it’s a gentle element worthy of you.”

Chuckling as she placed the hairpin back, she nodded her head. “I’ll trust you on that one. I’ll speak to Wol Ryeong about techniques, artefacts and what else again?”

“Spiritual essence and orbs?” Gwanliin said as he rolled his eyes.

She waved her hand with a smile. “Forgive me, I’m still learning about all the terms and conditions.”

*

Half the day had already passed and Lan Jue was sick of classes. Looking at his friends, he smirked, then disappeared, making them frown. He always did this. Leaving them behind to suffer alone.

As he was running while invisible, he saw Rucheng make her way over, but she looked lost.

He recalled what Juimin had said a few days ago and remembered how sad he was because his father had been keeping him busy, which they all suspected was because he knew that Juimin’s mind was occupied with this beauty. Especially after her visit to the military base.

Landing behind her, he observed how confused she was.

Rucheng was trying to locate Wol Ryeong, who should be in the mythical beasts lecture hall, but she was just there and he wasn’t inside. 

She saw someone standing near a wall reading a book and was relieved. Walking up to her, she asked, “Excuse me, can you help me?”

The girl looked at her, then scoffed, “Fine.”

Rucheng was confused. Why was this person hostile towards her when she didn’t even know her?

Now she was hesitant to even speak to her. Shaking her head, she said, “Sorry to disturb you, I’m looking for Wol Ryeong. I was told that he’d be in the mystical creatures’ lecture hall, but he isn’t.”

The girl crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze turned to a glare, then she threw the book she was holding at Rucheng’s face, saying, “You sure are sick in the head to be asking me about Wol Ryeong. Hasn’t he made it clear to you he wants nothing to do with you?”

Rucheng’s face hurt. She glared back at the girl for a moment, then calmed down and said, “All I asked was where he is, not what he has said or made clear to me.”

The girl rolled her eyes with a scoff, saying, “You should’ve died. Whoever tried to kill you didn’t do a good job.”

“Rucheng?” Wol Ryeong suddenly called.

He rushed up to the two females and saw that Rucheng’s face was scratched and the book was on the floor. Immediately summing up what happened, he turned to the girl, saying, “When I get home, I will deal with you accordingly.”

Her eyes widened. She was both confused and worried, “But brother, she…”

“But nothing! I’ve told you many times to leave Qin Rucheng alone! What happens between us is none of your business,” he said furiously.

Wol Ryeong turned to Rucheng and said, “I told you I’d meet you later at the library pavilion. Why did you come looking for me?”

Rucheng looked at the girl who called him brother, then back at him and saw that they resembled one another, but you couldn’t say they did when they weren’t standing side by side.

She shook her head, “Don’t worry, after this, I won’t look for you again.”

He sighed, then looked at his sister. He raised a brow, then she darted off, frightened.

“You have a sister?” Rucheng asked him.

He looked at her confused and nodded her head. “You’ve met her before.”

Rubbing her arm nervously, she chuckled, “It’s a pity I can’t remember.”

“Why did you come looking for me?” He asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Do you have my things? I’m going away tonight with my step-father.”

He nodded as he handed her a wooden spiritual ring. “It’s all in there. When will you be back?”

She smiled at him, “Aww? Are you going to miss me?”

“Not a chance. I’m just asking because I haven’t gotten you everything you wanted. Those manuals you asked for are hard to come by, so when I do find it, how will I find you if you aren’t here?” He asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find you,” she said.

He nodded his head. As she turned to leave, he stopped her by asking, “Does Juimin know?”

Stopping, she turned to him asking, “Know what?”

“That you’re leaving? I didn’t hear any news about you two recently and from what I’ve seen at the base, I can somewhat tell that you haven’t seen each other,” he said.

Rucheng chuckled, “You’re awfully attentive in this area.”

“There’s something different about you Rucheng, I don’t know what it is, but I can tell that you are not following your old ways,” he said.

Shaking her head, she thought of Juimin, “It’s better for him to stay away from me.”