(Shortly after Xuan left the cafeteria...)

[Xue Hanbi’s POV]

She stared at the parting figure of the aloof man, unsure of how to react.

Frost gathered around her, freezing the table as she stood up, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"How dare he..." Hanbi muttered, her hands slightly shaking. "Mei Mei, did I hear that right? H-He said, ’Get it yourself, princess?’"

All of a sudden, frost gathered in her chest, and in the next moment, the pendant she had hidden behind the cloak began to hover slightly in the air.

Then, a single small blob-like figure appeared, and it was none other than Mei Mei, the Heaven-ranked spirit companion her father had gotten for her 18th birthday.

"Heh... Hanbi, Hanbi..." Mei Mei trailed, hovering around her. "You didn’t hear him wrong, but I can’t find a reason to disagree with him."

"What?" Hanbi froze. "Shouldn’t you be on my side, Mei Mei?"

"Sides?" Mei Mei crossed its imaginary arms. "Just deal with it. Take this as a lesson and get out of that shell of yours."

Mei Mei... Hanbi lowered her head in resignation. "Everyone else falls over themselves to please me. Why is he the only one who dares act so... dismissive? These monks aren’t eunuchs, right?"

"I’m sure some are." Mei Mei chuckled. "But that’s not important, dear Hanbi. The world doesn’t revolve around you, but you think it does. That’s one of the many flaws you have, and I really hope one day, you manage to get out of this shell of yours."

Hearing that, Hanbi’s brows twitched as she abruptly grabbed the lamb chop off the table and took a bite out of it.

"The silent treatment whenever someone disagrees with you. Another flaw." Mei Mei clicked its tongue. "Listen, Hanbi... You know full well why your father allowed you to go on this excursion. He wants you to see the world and learn humility. I’m with him on this."

Mei Mei narrowed its small crystal-like eyes. "If you want to continue living in your shell, then be my guest. Just don’t expect me to console you every time you make a stupid mistake."

Hanbi clenched the lamb chop’s bone tightly, shattering it in an instant, causing the meat to fall to the ground, drenching the bottom half of her cloak in grease. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Her eyes widened in irritation, but as she was about to slam her hand down onto the table, she stopped, recalling Mei Mei’s words.

"Want a shortcut?" Mei Mei asked out of nowhere, making Hanbi’s ears perk up.

"Follow that man. He’s going to the training grounds, so if you go now, you’ll catch up. Take him away from the others and try to get along... If he’s the type of person that I think he is, then he might just be the one thing you need to break out of your shell."

"Him? Mei Mei... Are you trying to make fun of me?" Hanbi asked, narrowing her eyes. "Because I—"

"Bla bla..." Mei Mei cut her off. "I’m going to take a nap. Make your decision or whatever. Call me if there’s any food around. See ya, porcupine."

"P-Porcupine?" Hanbi repeated, but Mei Mei was already long gone, having returned to the pendant.

Not once had Mei Mei talked back to her like this. If anything, no one had. Her father babied her, and her mother gave her nothing but gifts. But now, after a minor inconvenience, she felt a complex anger inside her.

Why... No. Mei Mei is right.

Hanbi took a deep breath, glancing toward the cafeteria’s exit.

She had never needed to change. She had wealth, cultivation, and basically everything she could ever ask for.

But for the first time in her life, she questioned whether having everything was its own kind of prison.

I don’t understand... But I want to understand.

So because of that, she made her decision and took a step toward the cafeteria’s exit.

.

.

.

[Xuan’s POV]

Xuan strolled through the open hallways with a lamb chop in his mouth. He was nearly done now, and he could already see the packed Martial Training Grounds in the distance.

However, as he was about to take another step, someone grabbed his hand.

He turned around in an instant and, using the moment, he threw a punch. However, right as it was about to connect with the one behind him, his fist stopped.

"Oh, it’s you." Xuan chuckled.

It was none other than the woman from before, and for some reason, she looked at him with eyes brimming with determination.

Suddenly, she grabbed the edges of her cloak and pulled it back, putting her face on full display.

"You asked for my name... It’s Xue Hanbi. I’m a core disciple of the Serene Blossom Valley sect," the woman introduced herself proudly.

Xuan smiled. "My name’s Xuan. I’m not really a disciple here, though I am undergoing a test. Also... not to sound offensive, but Serene Blossom Valley? Is that some kind of brothel?"

"Y-You..." Hanbi’s lips trembled as killing intent washed over him, but it quickly faded.

"It’s not a brothel... It’s a sect from the Lower Heavens. It’s a women-only sect, where we can practice whatever techniques we want without discrimination. It’s an all-rounder sect, one of only five in the entire Lower Heavens."

"Aha? My bad then," Xuan brushed it off. "So what’s up? You stopped me here for a reason, didn’t you? Or was your name all you wanted to tell me?"

Hanbi shook her head. "I want to train with you."

"Yeah? Well, I’m going to train now, so if you—"

"Privately," Hanbi corrected herself.

Xuan raised a brow. This girl is giving me mixed signals. Does she want to...?

He shook his head inwardly and nodded at her with a smile.

"Combat training, right?"

"Of course?" Hanbi replied, slightly puzzled.

Hearing that, Xuan heaved a relieved breath and pointed off to the side of the mountain to the west.

"There’s a cave there. People don’t visit that often, but I sleep there sometimes. Wanna train over there?"

"..."

"Okay."