Early the next morning, there was a sharp rapping noise on the door.

“Please make your way to the dining hall for breakfast. The second round will begin shortly after,” a voice called from the hallway. Li Xiulan slowly opened her eyes, not quite sure where she was. She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the bleariness as it all came back to her.

Right… she was in the essay competition. And she was going to be late if she didn’t get up soon.

 In the hallway, the same message was repeated at every door, making it impossible to ignore. Li Xiulan yawned and dragged herself from the bed.

After standing on her feet for a few moments, she assessed her injuries from yesterday. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the pain was mostly gone. Only a few pangs in her stomach remained.

“Ah, good. I really don’t know what I would have done without Song Fen,” Li Xiulan said, ignoring that the only reason she had the injuries in the first place was because she had messed with Hou Jin on Song Fen’s behalf. “Her spiritual energy must really be something. I can’t believe it worked.”

As she muttered to herself, she changed into the set of clothes provided by the competition hall. They were plain white robes that fit rather loosely on her and went far past her feet, trailing after her on the floor. 

“Tch. Do they not have different sizes?” she muttered, angrily pulling at her belt to try to tie up the robe into something workable. After far too much fussing, she finally gave up. Right as she was about to leave, she heard a soft knock on her door.

“Good morning, Li Xiulan. Are you ready t...t-o go?”

Li Xiulan immediately perked up, throwing open the door to see Song Fen smiling on the other side. It seemed that she had the same struggle with her clothes, as hers were also overflowing on her. Song Fen seemed to notice her looking.

“Ah… I was planning on asking for new robes if I make it t...t-hrough the round today. Want to come with me?” she asked. Li Xiulan nodded.

“I’d love to. They really should have asked us what our sizes were beforehand. I think it would be even easier for me to hide things in these robes than in my own,” she replied jokingly.

“You’re right,” Song Fen agreed with a quiet laugh. Li Xiulan came out of her room and locked the door behind her. She was happy that Song Fen had come to her of her own accord, but she hadn’t forgotten her resolve from yesterday.

“Before we go, Song Fen, I want to apologize for yesterday. I’m not exactly sure what I did, but I made you uncomfortable, and I want you to know that wasn’t my intention.”

Song Fen’s eyes widened, looking Li Xiulan up and down for a moment. “Please don’t apologize,” she said. “It was… I just…”

She shook her head, clearing her throat. “Look, most of t…t-he others have already left. We’re going to be late. Come on!”

Song Fen grabbed Li Xiulan’s hand and took off, the two of them hurrying to the dining hall.

The dining hall was an enormous rectangular room with two rows of small individual tables facing each other. Each one held a plate, a cup, and a small flower. At the very head of the room was a row of seven tables that were elevated above the rest. Probably for the judges, Li Xiulan thought. 

Many of the tables already had people sitting at them. Song Fen scanned the room and pointed near the back, where two empty tables stood next to each other.

“T...t-here,” she said, grabbing Li Xiulan’s hand and dragging her over. Li Xiulan moved quickly to keep up with her, and as she scrambled to follow Song Fen, her shoulder knocked into someone.

She turned back to apologize, but seeing who was standing there, the words froze in her throat. She sped up and pulled close to Song Fen’s ear. “Hurry, hurry, let’s go!” she whispered, but it was too late. Hou Jin turned around and locked eyes with her.

“You! Stop right there,” he called, his voice booming over the entire hall. Li Xiulan pretended not to hear and kept moving, now dragging Song Fen behind her. Hou Jin, however, was not so willing to let her get away. Without even moving his feet, he glided across the floor as if pulled by an invisible thread. Within a single moment, he had caught up to them and grabbed Li Xiulan’s wrist, pulling her back. She stopped, holding her ground as best she could, and looked him in the eyes with a calm air about her.

“Yes?” she asked sweetly. 

Keep calm. You can’t afford to fight again. 

She took a few breaths to calm her racing heart. Hou Jin’s face was just as unpleasant as it was before. It wasn’t that he didn’t have handsome features, but rather that his sour expression ruined it all. She almost wished that he was that ugly. It would better suit his nasty personality.

Hou Jin scoffed, looking her up and down. “You seem to have healed nicely from yesterday. And yet here you are, bothering me again. Do you have a death wish?” He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, and Li Xiulan realized with a start that he was still wearing the White Snake robes he had been wearing yesterday. Can he not even follow directions?

She bit back her comments and spoke through gritted teeth. “Please forgive me. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I had no intention of hitting you.”

Hou Jin’s eyes flicked behind her and seemed to notice Song Fen for the first time. She was mostly hidden behind Li Xiulan, and when their eyes met, she subconsciously took a step closer to Li Xiulan.

“Tch. You’re still here?” Hou Jin directed at her. Song Fen raised her head and glared back.

“I am. I t...t-old you that I would make the sect proud.”

“Proud? Passing the qualifying round is nothing. Even a complete fool could do that.” He gestured to them. “As is evident.”

Li Xiulan couldn’t hold back the laugh that escaped her lips. She bit her tongue as Hou Jin turned to her. Ah, well. If he’s gonna fight me, he’s gonna fight me.

“You’re right. It is evident, seeing as you made it,” she retorted. Song Fen looked at her in shock, clearly having expected Li Xiulan to be a little smarter. I know. It wasn’t even a good comeback to risk my life for. Hou Jin’s face scrunched up even more as he reached for his sword, and Li Xiulan wondered if she should start praying now.

But, to her relief, a bell rang at the front of the room. All eyes turned to the entrance, where the judges began filing in.

“Please be seated, everyone. Breakfast will be served shortly,” the announcer called. The few remaining people standing began to find seats, leaving Li Xiulan, Song Fen, and Hou Jin as the only ones still standing besides one other man. The man also wore White Snake sect robes. From a quick glance, he did not appear to be a scholar.

“Master Hou Jin. I would suggest leaving this matter for now,” the man said. Hou Jin glared, but surprisingly, his grip on his sword loosened and he turned away.

“Fine.” He looked back at Li Xiulan and Song Fen. “Consider yourself lucky this time…” He paused, narrowing his eyes and thinking. Was he trying to say her name? Li Xiulan couldn’t recall ever giving it to him.

“Li Xiulan,” she said. Hou Jin glared again.

“Whatever. My point is, this isn’t over.” He laughed. “But I’m sure you won’t even make it through the next round anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Ahem. Please take your seats,” the announcer said again, a little more forceful this time. The man behind Hou Jin cleared his throat, and Hou Jin finally backed down, with one final glare. Song Fen grabbed Li Xiulan’s sleeve and forcefully pulled her to the two tables she had seen before, which had miraculously stayed empty through the whole ordeal. 

Once everyone was seated, the bell rang again and the hall flooded with people carrying trays of food. They moved by like a whirlwind, leaving bowls of congee and dumplings at every table.

Li Xiulan was hungry after having only eaten a small amount for dinner last night, and as soon as the food was placed in front of her, she started scarfing it down like a ravenous wolf. Song Fen, in contrast, took much more reasonable bites, watching Li Xiulan with fascination.

“Did I not get enough food yesterday?” she asked, a concerned look on her face. Li Xiulan slowed down, wiping her face. She didn’t want to look rude after Song Fen had gone through all the trouble to bring her food last night.

“Ah, no, don’t worry about it. I just eat a lot,” she lied. Seeing Song Fen’s eyebrows beginning to knit together, she immediately revised her statement. “I mean, I eat a lot for breakfast. What you brought for dinner was plenty!” 

Song Fen didn’t look convinced, but she turned back to her own food all the same. Li Xiulan made sure to eat the rest of her food more carefully, slowly chewing every bite so as to not look so much like a starved man.

As she ate, Li Xiulan found her eyes wandering to the little decorative flower on the table. Around the hall, there were several different types of flowers, but the one in her vase happened to be a red orchid. Given that the orchid was her namesake, she couldn’t help but feel like maybe it was a sign of good fortune to come.

She glanced over to Song Fen’s table and saw that her flower was a white peony. It was quite a beautiful flower, but then again, peonies had always been one of Li Xiulan’s favorites, so she was a bit biased. They held a frilly, girlish charm that just made her happy every time she saw one. 

Breakfast concluded all too soon. The bowls were rushed away as quickly as they had come, leaving the hall in total silence as everyone held their breath and waited for the announcement for the next round to begin. After what felt like an eternity, the announcer stood up.

“The next round will begin shortly. Please move to the courtyard and take your seats.”

Li Xiulan and Song Fen walked out into the courtyard together. The desks that had belonged to the eliminated contestants had been removed, leaving the remaining desks in a strange pattern. Since four-fifths of the participants were gone, almost nobody was sitting together anymore. Li Xiulan and Song Fen, however, were still side-by-side. To Li Xiulan’s dismay, she saw that Hou Jin was seated just in front of them. Ugh… do we really have to be so close? 

Once everyone was seated, the real announcement began.

“For the first round, you must write a poem. It may be as long or as short as you wish, but the topic must be something you are unfamiliar with.”

With that, the time began. Li Xiulan once again found herself bouncing her leg, tapping her quill against paper. Why did the first real round have to be poetry? I’m not a poet, dang it!

She knew that there was almost always a poetry round, but she had been hoping for it to be later. Even if she failed it, at least she might have had a chance to get past some of the initial rounds. To have it as the very first round… what happened to my good luck!?

Li Xiulan held her head in her hand and subconsciously found her eyes drifting over to Song Fen’s table. Song Fen was writing quickly, her quill scratching and eyes gleaming. It seems like she really enjoys writing poems, Li Xiulan thought. As soon as she thought it, however, Song Fen scrunched up the paper and threw it on the ground beneath her desk, frustration clouding over her face.

Li Xiulan realized she was staring and brought her eyes back to her own desk. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Look how hard Song Fen’s working. I’ve got to make a poem just as good as hers!

She picked up the quill and began to write. Without a single thought in her head, she let words spill out onto the paper, then crumpled up the sheet and threw it away. When she finally felt like the words she wrote were poetic enough, she began to write a poem about writing poetry.

Even if they fail me for style, maybe they’ll enjoy the irony, she thought, bitterly writing out her feelings of desperation and anger towards flowing language and metaphors.

When time was called, she once again let the quill fall and then immediately buried her head in her hands as the papers were collected. Song Fen leaned over.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t have an idea?” she asked, looking at all the discarded, crumpled papers that Li Xiulan had thrown aside. “It t...t-ook me a while too. It’s hard to write about… something that you know nothing about.”

Li Xiulan groaned in return. “I wrote about not knowing how to write poetry!” She cringed even more and placed her head against the desk with her hands covering it. “Why did I do that? They’re going to think I’m stupid!”

Song Fen tapped her hand against her chin and looked away, unsure of what to say. As if coming to a decision, she reached over and patted Li Xiulan’s back gently. “I’m sure it’s better than you’re making it out to be. If it makes you feel any better... I wrote about planting flowers.”

Li Xiulan turned her head so she could see Song Fen. “Really? Why’d you choose that?”

Song Fen rubbed her arm and smiled sheepishly. “Well… back when I lived with my mother and father, we had… a little flower garden next t...t-o our house.” Her eyes grew soft, like she was recalling something pleasant. “My parents used to grow all sorts of flowers. They told me when I was older, t...t-hey would teach me about everything they grew.” She dropped her hand from her arm and that soft look in her eyes flickered for just a moment, some other emotion coming over her. “And, well, you know. I ended up in the sect before they could teach me.”

“Don’t you go to visit them?” Li Xiulan said with a frown. “Why wouldn’t they have taught you then?”

Song Fen’s eye twitched. It was subtle, barely more than a little wince, but Li Xiulan caught it, and she immediately regretted speaking.

“I don’t,” Song Fen said, quietly, with shame lacing the words. “My brother does, sometimes, but I…”

She shook her head, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “No. Sorry. What am I saying? T…t-his is about the competition, not about me.”