The administration hall was dead silent. Elder Jing could hear her own breathing as she felt tensed around Tony.

Julie and Tony sat across from Elder Jing, waiting. Julie continued to stare at the entrance for her sister. But Tony kept his eyes on Elder Jing.

He hadn’t stopped staring since Lily left.

Julie was fairly confident her sister would return with Sword Peak Master Ronin and solve everything out. What she was less confident about was Tony’s ability to sit still and do nothing for the next ten minutes without making the situation significantly worse.

Elder Jing, for her part, had discovered that maintaining a dignified, professional expression was considerably harder when someone was watching you with the focused patience of a person who had already decided how things were going to end.

She shifted in her chair... Shuffled a paper... Looked at the wall.

Tony didn’t move.

Inside, he had already run through the options. Someone had set this up— that much was confirmed. Which meant waiting for rescue was a losing strategy. That left two paths: walk into the Healing Tower as assigned, or walk out of the academy entirely.

He was still deciding which one annoyed him less.

"Old lady," Tony said suddenly. "Do you have any family members here?"

Elder Jing blinked. Of all the things she had been expecting, a casual question about her family was not among them. She studied him for a moment, then answered carefully.

"My granddaughter. Han Jing... She studies on Sword Peak. Why do you ask?" Elder jing asked back with a confused look.

"Nothing," Tony said, the corner of his mouth pulling up. "I just want to treat her well when we meet."

The smile made his intention perfectly clear.

Elder Jing’s hands closed into fists under the desk. She felt the regret... She had just handed this boy the name of her granddaughter without a second thought, and now he was sitting there wearing that grin like he’d been given a gift.

"My granddaughter is a Grandmaster rank martial artist," she said, steadying her voice. "A 12th class disciple like you wouldn’t be able to scratch her nails."

Tony laughed. Not a polite laugh — a full, unhurried one, eyes still locked on hers.

"Hahaha... old lady, money can do many things in this world. And someone like me?" He let the laughter settle... "I can do quite a bit more than that..."

"Brother-in-law." Julie’s voice came out as a low, urgent hiss. She turned to Elder Jing immediately. "Please forgive him, Elder. He’s frustrated about the arrangement— he doesn’t mean any of it. It was clearly a mistake and he’s just upset. Please be patient."

She bowed her head slightly, which Tony did not do.

Elder Jing smoothed the front of her robe and lifted her chin. "Young master Tony... I don’t think you’ll be staying in this academy for long regardless. The Academy Master left specific instructions— you must pass the entrance examination within one month of arrival. Without clearing that test, your position here means nothing."

She let a small, satisfied smile settle on her face.

The door opened.

Lily walked back in, her footsteps quicker than usual. She looked at Tony first— and the look on her face told him everything before she opened her mouth.

"Sister!" Julie stood up. "Did Peak Master Ronin agree?"

Lily shook her head slowly.

Elder Jing’s smirk returned, quiet and unbothered.

"He said he can’t get involved directly without speaking to the Academy Master first," Lily said. Her voice had gone a little flat, the way voices do when someone is carefully keeping disappointment out of them. "He won’t help Tony until the Academy Master returns."

"Then what do we do?" Julie asked.

Lily turned to Tony instead of answering. The helplessness in her eyes was genuine and clearly aimed at him, not the situation.

Tony stood up.

"Let’s go," he said. "Show me the Healing Tower."

Lily’s expression didn’t change. "Tony, I’m sorry about all of this. If you’re willing, there’s another option."

"What option?"

Even Julie turned, curious. Elder Jing’s eyes moved between them.

"You could cancel your academy position and come with me as my attendant— in name only, of course. You’d live with me on Sword Peak. You wouldn’t have to deal with any of this."

She said it with an eager look, like she genuinely believed he might say yes.

Julie thought the same. Surviving the Nine Lotus Academy alone, without a peak, without backing, without anyone who knew the rules— it wasn’t a small thing. She had been practically trembling on her own first day.

Tony was quiet for exactly one second.

"No need." He said it without hesitation, without bitterness, without the slightest crack of doubt. "I want to see what game these idiots are playing. Honestly... I’m more interested in the Healing Tower now than anything."

He reached out and took Lily’s hand, decisive and easy, like the matter was already closed.

Lily looked at him for a long moment. Then she let out a quiet breath, stepped forward, and lifted the disciple token directly off Elder Jing’s desk without asking— and walked out.

Tony followed. At the doorway, he stopped and turned back.

Elder Jing was already watching him with a careful look... Waiting for him to leave so she could exhale.

"Han Jing," Tony said, thoughtfully, like he was testing how the name sounded. A slow grin spread across his face. "Nice name... Old lady."

He turned and walked out.

Elder Jing sat very still. But her hands began shaking unknowingly. A new worry had taken root somewhere behind her ribs, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.

***

The path down the mountain slope was long, uneven, and slippery.

Lily and Julie walked ahead, side by side. Tony followed, his hands in his pockets, watching his footing with the expression of someone who had not signed up for a hiking trip.

"Tony, Nine Lotus Academy sprawled across three great snow peaks: Sword Peak... Rising Sun Peak... Falling Sun Peak.

The Healing Tower and the academy’s smaller divisions sat at the base, nestled between the mountain slopes where the air was slightly less punishing." Lily explained while walking down slope.

Suddenly, Tony looked at the long path and stopped walking.

"Why are we walking like cavemen?" he asked. "Don’t we have hoverboards or something?"

"Hoverboards, hover boats, and any kind of travel machine are banned under academy rules," Julie said, in the tone of someone who had already accepted this tragedy personally. "They believe walking the mountain paths every day builds strength."

Tony considered this for a moment. "So there really are idiots running this place."

"You can ride a tamed beast if you have one," Lily offered, without looking back. "Tigers, lions, leopards— anything strong enough to carry a person. That falls within the rules." She steadied Julie on a slippery patch. "But, taming a beast isn’t easy, though."

"I’ll just have my father buy me a humble lion to carry me," Tony said, brightening slightly at the thought.

They walked in silence after that. The mountain air was cold and sharp, and the path curved downward through patches of old pine and rock.

They encountered few people who were also struggling to move. The surprise in their eyes was evident as they saw Tony!

Julie glanced back at Tony. He looked completely unbothered— no nerves, no hesitation, just mild irritation at the slope. She thought about her own first day, the tight knot of anxiety that had sat in her chest from morning until she finally found her room and locked the door behind her.

"Brother-in-law," she said, "aren’t you worried at all? About surviving alone in the Healing Tower?" She shook her head slightly. "I genuinely can’t tell how you’re going to manage working as a helping nurse. I don’t see a single trace of fear on your face."

Lily also turned to hear Tony’s answer.