Song Fen was taken aback. “I… I t...t-hought your mother wasn’t going to let you join the sect?”

“Hm?” Li Xiulan said, raising her head. “Oh, right. But, she can’t control what I do once I’ve already learned cultivation, yeah? Don’t tell her, but I’m planning on joining the sect anyway once I’ve proved my power.”

“But… are you sure you’ll be able to?” Song Fen said in disbelief.

“Of course! If I’m super strong, why would they ever turn me away? My mother is the great Li Jing, after all!”

After a few moments of Song Fen staring, Li Xiulan realized what she had said.

“You… wait, your mother is… Li Jing? As in, the Li Jing…?”

Song Fen suddenly leaned in close, poring over every detail in Li Xiulan’s face. Li Xiulan could feel herself getting flustered, pushing herself backwards. The motion made Song Fen realize what she was doing and she quickly pulled back in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean t…t-o make you uncomfortable. It’s just that your eyes look very much like the ones in Li Jing’s paintings.”

Li Xiulan pulled at a strand of her hair. She had spent her whole life keeping her father a secret, and here she was spouting off about her mother without even being prompted. She been hoping to make it through the competition without anyone judging her for who her parents were, but… it was just Song Fen, after all.

“Yeah. It might be a bit surprising, but trust me, I didn’t inherit any of her skills and I have no spiritual energy naturally. I intend to become a cultivator of my own accord. I won’t use her name to get ahead.”

Song Fen was silent, trying to process the information. Finally, she managed to clear her mind and speak. “No wonder you were able to t...t-ake Hou Jin’s attack.” She grabbed Li Xiulan’s hand, searching for a sign of spiritual energy. She hadn’t noticed before because it had been so faint, but after having been boosted by Song Fen’s own energy, there was something. It was a tiny, invisible wisp that wrapped around Li Xiulan’s wrist and flowed into her palm. The energy wasn’t just in her hands, but flowing all throughout her body. Song Fen looked at Li Xiulan in excitement. “You say you have no spiritual energy, but… I can sense it. There’s something here.”

Li Xiulan’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “W-what? My mother always told me…” 

She trailed off, realizing the implication of what she said. Her hand clenched into a fist and Song Fen let go.

“Ah… I don’t know, um, what reasons your mother had… but it seems that she… overlooked something. You have a definite flow of spiritual energy. For someone completely untrained, it’s… impressive.”

Li Xiulan rubbed her wrist absentmindedly. Was that true? Did she really have spiritual energy already? 

Ever since she had first understood what cultivation was, she had asked her mother whether she could become a cultivator or not. Her mother would take her hand, think for a while, and say No, a cultivator has to be born with some spiritual energy. You have none. 

At first, Li Xiulan had been devastated. If it was something she had to be born with, how could she ever hope to achieve her dream of becoming a cultivator? But the more she studied, she found stories of many individuals who began with very little spiritual energy and trained for years to become master cultivators. After so many of the same stories, she had convinced herself that it was possible for her to do the same. To realize now that she had the ability this whole time…

Well, to be honest, it wasn’t surprising. 

“My mother’s spent her whole life trying to keep me away from cultivation. It’s no wonder that she lied to me.”

Song Fen immediately put her hands up, shaking her head. “N-No, I’m sure t...t-hat’s not it. I mean, you’re her daughter, she wouldn’t…”

“She would.”

Song Fen looked at her in shock. “But.. surely…”

“If it’s to keep me safe, or at least her version of safe, she would.” Li Xiulan sighed. “Like I said before, only a miracle would get her to change her mind. I honestly can’t believe I didn’t realize it was a lie sooner.”

Song Fen searched for words of comfort, but found none. “I’m… sorry. Should I not have t...t-old you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Li Xiulan said. Although there was a part of her that felt heavy from the realization, there was something else present. She raised her hand toward the ceiling, tracing the shape of it and feeling it with her new knowledge.

 “I’m glad that I know. The lie doesn’t matter so long as the truth makes itself known.”

Song Fen wanted to protest more, to make Li Xiulan admit that she must be uncomfortable with the idea of her own mother lying to her… but when she saw the look in Li Xiulan’s eyes, she found that she couldn’t. Despite what she had just been told, Li Xiulan’s eyes were smiling. They shone brightly even as the shadow of her hand crossed her face, like two polished gems. Song Fen pulled her knees to her chest.

“You know… I ran off yesterday because… I thought I was sharing too much,” Song Fen said, sheepishly laying a hand against her face.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Song Fen laughed. “I mean… I thought you didn’t want to listen t...t-o me. That I was rushing things. But… it seems that you’re just as willing to share about yourself.” She looked at Li Xiulan. “Sorry for assuming things… I just didn’t think… anyone would want to be friends with me so quickly.”

“O-Oh,” Li Xiulan stuttered in response. She had assumed that it had been her own fault. “To be honest with you, I’ve never really had a lot of friends, or any experience making them. If I’ve said too much, or made you say too much about yourself-”

Song Fen shook her head. “No. If I hadn’t wanted t...t-o speak, I wouldn’t have. It’s just nice to... have someone else to talk to, I guess. For both of us.”

With Song Fen seeming so sincere, some of Li Xiulan’s worries dissipated. “Yeah, it is. I’m glad we managed to find each other in all the chaos,” she said. “I’ve been really happy to share my thoughts with you.”

Song Fen smiled in silence. The two of them sat together, neither one knowing how to break the ice. Li Xiulan found that the silence was comfortable, and after a few long pauses, she finally began to relax into it.

The sun rose higher in the sky, sending its rays through the little window and brightening up the room. Song Fen and Li Xiulan found some discarded paper in the room and began to scratch out some mediocre poems, showing them to each other and trying to make each other laugh. By the time the sun was beginning to set, the papers were completely covered with ink, and the two of them had grown even more comfortable with the silence.

Finally, the silence was broken by the ringing of a gong. This time, Li Xiulan was much more prepared for it, snapping to attention as soon as it began.

“T...t-he results,” Song Fen said, placing down the piece of paper in her hand. Li Xiulan nodded.

“Let’s hurry, before the others get there.”

She and Song Fen got up and sprinted back to the result room, slowing down whenever they passed a worker so as to not be caught running in the halls. When they arrived, a small crowd had already formed around the scroll on the wall, with mixed reactions from the contestants. Li Xiulan approached the crowd, but before she could enter, she realized that Song Fen was no longer behind her. Turning around, she saw Song Fen standing at a distance, trying to follow but shaking too hard to take a step forward. Li Xiulan walked back to her side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll check the results for you. You can stay back here,” she whispered. She placed her hand on Song Fen’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“T...t-hank you,” Song Fen whispered back. “I’m just really… no good with crowds.”

“It’s okay.”

With that, Li Xiulan dove into the sea of competitors, pushing and shoving her way to the front. Surrounding her were cries of indignation and victorious cheers, swirling into one big, loud mess that assaulted her ears. When she made it to the results, though, the noise melted away. 8-8 and 8-9 were both there. She and Song Fen had made it through again!

Clasping her hands together, she sent her thanks to the heavens. Surely this great of a miracle didn’t come unaided. Father, I’m sorry I doubted you. 

She was about to duck back into the crowd to find Song Fen again when a now-very familiar face passed her. Hou Jin pushed aside every man in his way, causing shouts of anger to follow in his wake. He didn’t care at all, advancing forward despite the protests. Just a few steps behind him was the servant who had been with him before. He tactfully avoided stepping on anyone Hou Jin had tossed aside, even offering a few nods in apology. Hou Jin reached the board and made a show of searching it dramatically until his eyes finally landed on his number.

“Ah, there it is! I’ve made it through once again. Although, that’s no surprise, now is it?” He turned to the servant, who bowed slightly in recognition.

“Of course, master.”

“I wonder who else has made it through,” Hou Jin said. His tone was flat and entirely uninterested. He looked through the crowds. “I suppose it doesn’t matter, though, does it? Look at my competition, Xu Chang. My victory is practically assured.”

The servant, apparently named Xu Chang, responded in a calm, unhurried voice. “Yes. Your skills are unparalleled.”

Expressions of anger were drawn on the faces of the other contestants. Those who hadn’t moved on were outraged, and even those who had were insulted. Some seemed like they were willing to take the risk of being beat up if it meant they could land a single blow on Hou Jin. Li Xiulan, however, was not in the mood to get into another fight, and she retreated into the crowd before Hou Jin could see her face.

She found Song Fen sitting far in the back, hiding herself in the corner of the room behind a few stray tables. She perked up when she saw Li Xiulan approach.

“Ah… sorry about the hiding. I saw Hou Jin, and I… uh, I panicked.”

Li Xiulan crouched down, hiding herself next to Song Fen. “Don’t worry about it. He’s up at the front spouting nonsense again, but I still got a glance at the results before he got there.” Song Fen’s head raised, like she was a puppy lifting her ears. Li Xiulan smiled. “We both got through.”

Song Fen’s face lit up. Once again, she covered her mouth, hardly able to contain her excitement. “Seriously? We… really?”

“Yep. We’re in the top fifty now!” 

Although she exclaimed it in excitement, Li Xiulan reeled it in… after all, even if top fifty was impressive, there was still a long way to go. She took a breath. “Hou Jin made it through too, unfortunately, so we still have to deal with him.”

The excitement on Song Fen’s face dulled. “Oh… well, it’s not surprising. He’s one of t...t-he best writers in the sect.”

“Seriously?” Li Xiulan scoffed. Now that was surprising. He spoke and acted like a rich fool, so the thought of him actually being good at something was strange. But Song Fen just nodded.

“It’s t...t-rue. He’s always being praised by the elders of the sect. That’s why he’s entered this contest… the White Snake sect expects him to win and bring more honor to their name.” Song Fen’s eyes flickered down to the ground. A look passed across her face… was it jealousy? Li Xiulan raised an eyebrow.

“So… is that why you’re here?”

“H-Huh?” Song Fen sputtered, raising her head. “Why would I-I…”

“Earlier you said you had something to prove, right? Are you trying to beat Hou Jin?” Li Xiulan asked. She knew the question might be uncomfortable for Song Fen, but if she was willing to answer, Li Xiulan wanted to hear it. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were. After all, he’s a complete jerk. I hope he gets shown up by someone.”

Song Fen laughed under her breath, running a hand through the ends of her hair. “I… yeah. I guess so. It might be a dumb reason, but I t...t-hought, if I could prove just once that I was better than him…”

“Then you’d be welcomed back by the sect with open arms?” Li Xiulan finished. To her surprise, Song Fen shook her head.

“Hou Jin is the pride of the sect. Even if I managed t...t-o beat him, I’m sure nothing would change,” she sighed. Her hands fell away from her hair. “If anything, the sect would probably have my victory buried. I’d be lucky to be accepted back at all.”

“So why did you do it if there’s so much of a risk?”

There was a long pause as Song Fen thought about it. The words took a while to form, and when they finally did, they seemed like poison in her mouth. “I wanted to win. Even just once, even if I couldn’t return… I wanted to prove t...t-hat I was better than him.” Her eyes met Li Xiulan’s. “It’s selfish. I know that. But Hou Jin…”

“Is a privileged jerk who’s never had a hardship in his life and deserves to be beaten into the ground?” Li Xiulan said, a lopsided smile gracing her lips.

Song Fen blinked in shock. Li Xiulan wondered if she had ever heard anyone insult Hou Jin before.

“Um, well, I might have put it a different way, but… yes.”

“Eh, he doesn’t deserve it in a different way. Someone who starts fights and breaks rules just because they think they’re better than everyone else isn’t a person I’m gonna give my respect to.”